Portrait of Ahmad Khan Bangash

 

Portrait of Ahmad Khan Bangash, 18th century painting. It was Acquired by an English collector at Fatehgarh in 1794. The inscription on the verso in ink: “Portrait of Aimut Cawn (sic.) Bangaish, Nabob of Furruckabad, father to the present Nabob Muzzuffer Jung – 1794. Futtygur [Fatehgur] 2nd Novr.” .

Source: 'Indian court painting' by Oliver Forge and Brenden Lynch.

Malik Mir Muhammad Khan Bangash of Sadda

Photo of Malik Mir Muhammad Khan Bangash of Sadda (in Kurram district). 

Malik Mir Muhammad Khan Bangash accompanied Kuli Khan Khattak to Mamozai in 1923 and helped in the matter of securing the release of Miss Eliss (the girl who was kidnapped by Ajab Khan Afridi) from tribal territory. According to a confidential letter by the Political agent of Kurram, he made use of his influence with the Alisherzai and Massozai to this end : 

 "(Note) This Malik was one of the two sent by me with food and clothing on 16th April which was eventually delivered to Miss Eliss. He stayed throughout with K.B. Kuli Khan". 

Via Anwar Bangash

Recommended Books

Portrait of Ahmad Khan Bangash (r.1749-71), the ruler of Farrukhabad

 

Portrait of Ahmad Khan Bangash . Source

The grandfather of Ahmad Khan Bangash migrated from Pakhtunkhwa to India during the reign of Aurangzeb and settled at Mau Rashidabad (a Pashtun town in India founded by a grandson of Pir Roshan).

Rasul Khan Bangash on a horse with attendants, circa 1770-1780

 

Rasul Khan Bangash on a horse with attendants, circa 1770-1780. Made in Awadh. Source

Ahmad Khan Bangash (r. 1749-71)

Nawab Ahmad Khan Bangash (r. 1749-71) with his son Diler Himmat Khan, Farrukhabad, 1770. Source

Nawab Ahmad Khan Bangash seated with a woman on a terrace at night, 1765 (c). The San Diego Museum of Art. Source

Bangash, Turi, Waziri, 1827-1843

Bangash, Turi, Waziri, 1827-1843. By Imam Bakhsh Lahori, Illustrations des Mémoires du général Claude-Auguste Court, Lahore. Courtesy : catherine

Tafazzul Husain Khan, the Nawab of Farrukhabad, 1857

H.G.Raverty saw Nawab Taffazul Hussain Khan in 1857 and gives the following description of him;

" Little did I imagine, whilst stationed in the Punjab a few years since, that I should behold the last of the Nawabs of Farrukhabad, escorted by a party of my own regiment, conducted, on foot, with fetters on his legs, through the streets of Nassick, in Western India (where I then was stationed in command of a detachment), on his way to undergo perpetual banishment at Makka, for the share he took in the massacre at Farrukhabad, during the late rebellion in India. He had been sentenced to death; but his punishment was commuted to perpetual exile, in any place he might select. He chose Makka in Arabia, where, I have since heard, he subsists on alms. I spoke a few words to the wretched man at Nassick; the first he had heard in kindness, he said, for many long days. He appeared to be any thing but what one might expect, from all that has been proved against him. He was rather fair, slightly made, and about thirty years of age. To me, he appeared very wretched, and heart broken. He was only an Afghan in name: the centuries of admixture of Indian blood, by intermarriage with the people of the country, had left little of the Afghan blood remaining."

Nawab of Furrakhabad, 1857 (c). Watercolour painting by unknown artist. Source

Bangash tribe

Bangash was originally name of an extensive territory, and not of a specific tribe. The region of Bangash stretched from River Indus to Spin-Ghar. The present-day districts of Kohat and Hangu constituted the Lower Bangash while Kurram district along with the adjoining territory of Zazai tribe, constituted the Upper Bangash. The Lower and Upper Bangash were collectively referred to as 'Bangashast'. It includes some of the major passes, namely Khost, Kurram, Aryob, Paiwar, Shalozan, Ziran and Karman. The Pashtun tribes of the Bangash region are referred to as 'Afghans of Bangash' or 'Aqwam-i-Bangash' (tribes of Bangash) in Mughal sources. They, with very few exceptions, are Karlanris. With time, 'the tribes of Bangash' (Aqwam-i-Bangash) nomenclature morphed into 'the tribe of Bangash' (Qaum-i-Bangash). Only three among several tribes of the Bangashast, became the Bangash tribe. They are Baizai, Malik Miri and Kaghzai.

The Baizai, descendants of Bai, and the Malik-Miris or Miranzais, sprung from Malik Mir, were the parent tribes of the Afghans of Bangash, and to these were affiliated the Kaghzi, descended from Kakhai or Kaghai, daughter of Malik Mir, by a husband of an unknown tribe. The Malik-Miris, as Malik Mir's descendants in the male line, held the chieftainship, but it subsequently passed to the Baizais. The latter has several brandies, the Mardo, Azu, Lodi and Shahu Khels. The Miranzai khels are the Hassanzai, with the Badah, Khakhai, and Umar khels. A third branch the Shamilzai, apparently identical with the Kaghzi, produced the Landi, Hassan Khel, Musa Khel and Isa Khel.

Like the other Karlarni tribes,  the Afghans of Bangash were disciples of the Pir-i-Roshan, and their attachment to that heresy brought about their ruin, the Mughal government organizing constant expeditions against them. After the Khataks had moved towards the north-east from the Shawal range (in Waziristan), the Baizai, Malik-Miris and Kaghzis then settled in the Upper Bangash, invaded the Lower (Kohat) and, in alliance with the Khataks, drove the Orakzai who then held the Lower Bangash westwards into Tirah. This movement continued till the reign of Akbar.

The history of the Bangash tribes and the part they took in the Mughal operations against the Roshanias are obscure. Probably they were divided among themselves. But those of them who had remained in Kurram appear to have adhered to the Roshania doctrines.

After Aurangzeb's accession in 1659, we find Sher Muhammad Khan, of Kohat, chief of the Malik-Miris, in revolt against the Mughals. He was captured, but subsequently released and became an adherent of the Mughals. Khushhal Khan the Khatak gives a spirited account of his little wars with Sher Muhammad Khan which ended in his own defeat and the final establishment of the Bangash in their present seats.

A Bangash, 1827-1843. By Imam Bakhsh Lahori, Illustrations des Mémoires du général Claude-Auguste Court, Lahore. Source

Group of Buland Khels (Bangashs), 1907 (c). Postcard by Raphael Tuck & Sons.