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Niazi

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Niazi
Regions with significant populations
 Afghanistan •  Pakistan
Languages
Pashto • Hindko • Punjabi • Urdu
Religion
Islam • Sunni Muslim
Related ethnic groups
Pashtuns • Lodhi • Marwat • Isa Khan Niazi • Isakhel • Mianwali District • Rahim Yar Khan • Afghan

The Niazi (Pashto: نيازي, Niāzī; IPA: [niːˈɑːziː]), or Niyazi, is a Pashtun tribe originating in Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan.

Etymology and origins

The Niazi (Pashto: نیازی ), also written as Niayazi, Niazovi is a famous Pashtun tribe of Lodhi descent. The family head of Niazi tribe was known as Ibrahim. Legends has it that the tribe derives from a descendent of Qais Abdur Rashid (the legendary patriarch of all Pashtuns).

Theory of Niazi descent from bani-israel

See also: Theory of Pashtun descent from Israelites, Ten Lost Tribes, and Bani Israel

The Niazis and other Pashtuns of Afghanistan and Pakistan have also been alleged to be the descendants of lost Jewish tribes. However, DNA and other research towards validating such claims has been inconclusive.[1][2][3]

According to the encyclopedia of Islam, the theory of Pashtun descent from Israelites is traced to Maghzan-e-Afghani who compiled a history for Khan-e-Jehan Lodhi in the reign of Mughal Emperor Jehangir in the 17th century. One conflicting issue in the belief that the Pashtuns descend from the Israelites is that the Ten Lost Tribes were exiled by the ruler of Assyria, while Maghzan-e-Afghani says they were permitted by the ruler to go east to Afghanistan.[citation needed] This inconsistency can be explained by the fact that Persia acquired the lands of the ancient Assyrian Empire when it conquered the Empire of the Medes and Chaldean Babylonia, which had conquered Assyria decades earlier. But no ancient author mentions such a transfer of Israelites further east, or no ancient extra-Biblical texts refer to the Ten Lost Tribes at all.

History

See also Bannu

The Niazis originally lived in the Salghar area of Afghanistan. The Niazis migrated eastwards, and settled in Tank. For several generations, they lived there as traders and carriers along with their cousins, the Marwats, whom they had allied with. In the later 15th century, the Niazis expanded northwards towards the present-day Lakki Marwat, and settled on the banks of the Kurram and Gambila rivers south of Bannu Eventually, the Niazis migrated across the Kurram river towards Isakhel and Kamar Mushani, and then settled in Mianwali District.[4] after expelling the Awans they found there, and reducing the miscellaneous Jat inhabitants to quasi-serfdom.

Niazis were incredibly dominant in the northern parts of the country even before the Emperor Akbar presented it in jagir to two of their local chiefs. During the civil commotions of Jahangir's reign, the Niazis drove away the Ghakars across the Salt Range, and though in the following reign the latter recovered their position, still their hold on the country was unstable, and came to an end about the middle of the 18th century. The remains of Muazam Nagar, their local capital, were visible on the left high bank of the Indus about six miles south of new Mianwali until 1857 AD, when the site was eroded by the river. The Niazis thus established themselves in Essa Khel about 500 years ago, but their Sarang branch did not finally obtain their possessions in Mianwali until nearly 150 years later. The acquisition of their cis-Indus possessions was necessarily gradual, the country having a settled though weak government, and being inhabited by Awans and Jats.

Isa Khan's Tomb

Isa Khan Niazi (Pashto: عیسی خان نيازي) was an Afghan noble in the court of Sher Shah Suri and his son Islam Shah Suri, of the Sur dynasty, who fought the Mughal Empire. Isa Khan Niazi was a prominent member among the Ruling family. Being in the same tribal unit of nobels like Ibrahim Lodhi, Sher Shah Suri . The large part these families was attached with Delhi Derbar.

However, a large number of the Niazi tribe still lives in parts of Afghanistan, mainly in Qalaye Niazi, Gardez, Logar and Paktia province. A considerable number have also settled in Karachi and other major Pakistani cities such as Multan, Lahore and Islamabad.

People

The Niazis in Pakistan mainly live in Mianwali (Mianwali although included in Punjab lies at the confluence of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab), Multan, Dera Ismail Khan, Bannu, Lakki Marwat, Chakwal District, Swabi, Mardan, Bajaur Agency, Peshawar, Hangu, Quetta, Attock, Pishin, Loralai, Khanewal, Faisalabad, Kohat and Bhakkar. Across the Durand Line, a large number of the Niazis still lives in parts of Afghanistan, mainly in Qalaye Niazi, Khost, Laghman, Kandahar, Ghazni Province, Gardez, Logar and Paktia province. A considerable number have also settled in Karachi and other major Pakistani cities such as Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Peshawar.

Many Niazis are also found in the United Kingdom where some descendants live.

The Niazis living in Afghanistan speak Pashto, as do those inhabiting the districts of Hangu, Kohat, Swabi, Mardan, Peshawar, Bajaur Agency, Lakki Marwat and Bannu. However, most of the Niazis of Mianwali have adopted Saraiki dialect which is influenced by Pashto, while in other parts of Punjab, most Niazis have adopted Hindko and although most of them still speak Pashto.

Some Niazis are the Pathans of Punjab (Punjabi/Saraiki: پنجابی پٹھان; Pashto: د پنجاب پښتانه; also called Punjabi Pathans or Saraiki Pathans depending upon region of Punjab) are originally Pashtun people (Pathans) who have settled in the Punjab region of Pakistan and India.[5] These Pashtun communities are scattered throughout the Punjab and have over time assimilated into the Punjabi identity, both culturally and linguistically. On the other hand, those who settled in the southern parts of Punjab have gradually assimilated into Saraiki culture.

These non-frontier Pathans are usually known by the town or locality in which they are settled, e.g., Kasuri Pathans or Multani Pathans.[6] They should not be confused with the Hindkowan people, mostly comprising several Indo-Aryan groups from the same region who are a distinct yet closely related group to the Pathans, albeit there are some Hindko-language speaking clans who also have ethnic Pathan roots.

Notable people

See also

References

  1. ^ Amir Mizroch (2010-01-09). "Are Taliban descendants of Israelites?". The Jerusalem Post.
  2. ^ Sachin Parashar (2010-01-11). "Lucknow Pathans have Jewish roots?". Times of India.
  3. ^ Rory McCarthy (2010-01-17). "Pashtun clue to lost tribes of Israel". The Observer.
  4. ^ Excerpts from Gazetteer of the Bannu District, 1887. Khyber.ORG. History and Settlement of Bannu: The Niazis.
  5. ^ Punjabi Musalmans by J M Wikely
  6. ^ Punjabi Musalmans by J. M Wikely
  7. ^ http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/Columnist/m-a-niazi

Further reading

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