Khalaj people

The Khalaj (; ) are a Turkic ethnic group who mainly reside in Iran. "Al-Masudi saying that they were of Turkic origin. Istakhri says that they have lived between India and Sijistan since ancient times and that they are Turkic in shape, dress, language. Ibn Khordadbeh introduces them as a Turkic tribe living near the Karluks in the steppes of Central Asia. Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Khwarizmi saying that they were of White Hun origin." In Iran, they still speak the Khalaj language, although most of them are Persianized."ḴALAJ ii. Ḵalaji Language" - Encyclopaedia Iranica, September 15, 2010 (Michael Knüppel)

Historically, the Khalaj who lived among Pashtuns were slowly Pashtunized. Due to this, the Khaljis of Delhi, originating from Khalaj migrants from Afghanistan into India, were often considered to be Pashtuns by other Turkic nobles. The Ghiljis, one of the largest Pashtun tribes, also derive their name from the Khalaj, and it is likely that the Khalaj initially formed the core of this tribe.

Etymology According to linguist Gerhard Doerfer, Mahmud al-Kashgari was the first person mentioning the Khalaj people in his Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk: "The twenty twos call them 'Kal aç' in Turkic languages. This means 'Stay hungry'. Later, they were called 'Xalaj'."Divanü Lügat-it – Türk, translation by Atalay Besim, TDK Press 523, Ankara, 1992, Volume III, page 415 "Oguzs and Kipchaks translate 'x' to 'k'. They are a group of 'Xalaj'. They say 'xızım', whereas Turks say 'kızım' (my daughter). And again other Turks say 'kande erdinğ', whereas they say 'xanda erdinğ', this means 'where were you?"Divanü Lügat-it – Türk, translation by Atalay Besim, TDK Press 523, Ankara, 1992, Volume III, page 218 Turkologist Yury Zuev stated that *Qalaç resulted from *Halaç, owing to the sound-change of prothetic *h- to *q-, typical in many medieval Turkic dialects, and traced Halaç'''s etymology back to ala, alač, alaça "motley, piebald".Zuev, Yu. A. (2002) Early Türks: Sketches of history and ideology, Almaty. p. 144

However, according to historian V. Minorsky, the ancient Turkic form of the name was indeed Qalaj (or Qalaç), but the Turkic /q/ changed to /x/ in Arabic sources (Qalaj > Xalaj).; excerpts from "The Turkish Dialect of the Khalaj", Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies, University of London, Vol 10, No 2, pp 417-437 (retrieved 10 January 2007).

Origin

Following al-Khwarizmi, Josef Markwart claimed the Khalaj to be remnants of the Hephthalite confederacy. The Hephthalites may have been Indo-Iranian,"ḴALAJ i. TRIBE" - Encyclopaedia Iranica, December 15, 2010 (Pierre Oberling) although there is also the view that they were of Turkic Gaoju origin.. "The suggestion that the Hephthalites were originally of Turkic origin and only later adopted Bactrian as their administrative, and possibly native, language (de la Vaissière 2007: 122) seems to be most prominent at present." According to André Wink, the Khalaj were the remnants of Indo-European and Iranic nomads; the Kushans, Sakas and Hephthalites who became Turkicized and later merged with the Afghans. According to David Bivar, The Khalaj may originally have been Turkic-speaking and only federated with Iranian-speaking tribes in medieval times.

However, according to linguist Sims-Williams, archaeological documents do not support the suggestion that the Khalaj were the successors of the Hephthalites, while according to historian V. Minorsky, the Khalaj were "perhaps only politically associated with the Hephthalites."

The Khalaj might have later been incorporated into the Western Turkic khaganate, as Hèluóshī (賀羅施), mentioned besides Türgesh (Tūqíshī 突騎施), before regaining independence after the collapses of the Western Turkic and the Türgesh khaganates. Groups of the Khalaj people migrated into Persia beginning with the invasions of the Seljuq Turks, during the 11th century. From there, a branch of them migrated to the Azerbaijan region, where they supposedly picked up greater Oghuz influence in their language. However, the Khalaj are very few among Iranian Azerbaijanis today. Sometime shortly prior to the time of Timur (1336-1405), a branch of Khalaj migrated to the area southwest of Saveh in the Markazi Province, which is where a large branch of the Khalaj are located today."ḴALAJ i. TRIBE" - Encyclopaedia Iranica, December 15, 2010 (Pierre Oberling) However, today, the Khalaj people also identify as Persians despite still speaking their local Turkic language. This is due to undergoing processes of Persianization and forceful assimilation starting in the mid 20th century.

Discussing their relationship with Karluks, Minorsky and Golden noted that the Khalaj and Karluks were often confused by medieval Muslim authors, as their names were transcribed almost similarly in Arabic.Golden, Peter B. (1992). An Introduction to the History of the Turkic People. Otto Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden. p. 387 Even so, Kitāb al-Masālik w’al- Mamālik's author Ibn Khordadbeh distinguished Khalajs from Karluks, though he mentioned that both groups lived beyond the Syr Darya of the Talas; Muhammad ibn Najib Bakran wrote in his Jihān-nāma (c. 1200-20) that "by mistake (in writing) the people called the Khallukh Khalaj."Minorsky, V. "Commentary" on "§15. The Khallukh" and "§24. Khorasian Marches" in Ḥudūd al'Ālam. Translated and Explained by V. Minorsky. pp. 286, 347-348

Ilkhanate's statesman and historian Rashid-al-Din Hamadani mentions the Khalaj tribe in his 14th century Jami' al-tawarikh as part of the Oghuz (Turkoman):

History

Medieval Muslim scholars, including 9th-10th century geographers Ibn Khordadbeh and Istakhri, narrated that the Khalaj were one of the earliest Turkic tribes to have crossed the Amu Darya from Central Asia and settled in parts of present-day Afghanistan, especially in the Ghazni, Qalati Ghilji (also known as Qalati Khalji), and Zabulistan regions. According to Istakhri, "The Khalaj are a tribe of Turks who in ancient times came to the land between al-Hind and Sijistān, behind al-Ghūr". The mid-10th-century book Hudud al-'Alam described the Khalaj as sheep-grazing nomads in Ghazni and the surrounding districts, who had a habit of wandering through seasonal pastures. Today, the Khalaj mainly live a semi-nomadic lifestyle in Iran and follow the Qizilbash branch of Shia Islam.

11th-century book Tarikh Yamini, written by al-Utbi, stated that when the Ghaznavid Emir Sabuktigin defeated the Hindu Shahi ruler Jayapala in 988, the Khalaj and Pashtuns (Afghans) between Laghman and Peshawar, the territory he conquered, surrendered and agreed to serve him. Al-Utbi further stated that Khalaj and Pashtun tribesmen were recruited in significant numbers by the Ghaznavid Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni (999–1030) to take part in his military conquests, including his expedition to Tokharistan.R. Khanam, Encyclopaedic ethnography of Middle-East and Central Asia: P-Z, Volume 3 - Page 18 The Khalaj later revolted against Mahmud's son Sultan Mas'ud I of Ghazni (1030–1040), who sent a punitive expedition to obtain their submission. In 1197, Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khalji, a Khalaj general from Garmsir, Helmand in the army of the Ghurid Sultan Muhammad of Ghor, captured Bihar in India, and then became the ruler of Bengal, beginning the Khalji dynasty of Bengal (1204-1227). During the time of the Mongol invasion of Khwarezmia, many Khalaj and Turkmens gathered in Peshawar and joined the army of Saif al-Din Ighraq, who was likely a Khalaj himself. This army defeated the petty king of Ghazni, Radhi al-Mulk. The last Khwarazmian ruler, Jalal al-Din Mangburni, was forced by the Mongols to flee towards the Hindu Kush. Ighraq's army, as well as many other Khalaj and other tribesmen, joined the Khwarazmian force of Jalal al-Din and inflicted a crushing defeat on the Mongols at the 1221 Battle of Parwan. However, after the victory, the Khalaj, Turkmens, and Ghoris in the army quarreled with the Khwarazmians over the booty, and finally left, soon after which Jalal al-Din was defeated by Genghis Khan at the Battle of the Indus and forced to flee to India. Ighraq returned to Peshawar, but later Mongol detachments defeated the 20,000–30,000 strong Khalaj, Turkmen, and Ghori tribesmen who had abandoned Jalal al-Din. Some of these tribesmen escaped to Multan and were recruited into the army of the Delhi Sultanate.Chormaqan Noyan: The First Mongol Military Governor in the Middle East by Timothy May Jalal-ud-din Khalji (1290-1296), who belonged to the Khalaj tribe from Qalati Khalji, founded the Khalji dynasty, which replaced the Mamluks and became the second dynasty to rule the Delhi Sultanate. 13th-century Tarikh-i Jahangushay, written by historian Ata-Malik Juvayni, narrated that a levy comprising the "Khalaj of Ghazni" and Pashtuns were mobilized by the Mongols to take part in a punitive expedition sent to Merv in present-day Turkmenistan.

Transformation of the Afghan Khalaj

The Khalaj were sometimes mentioned alongside Pashtun tribes in the armies of several local dynasties, including the Ghaznavids (977–1186).The Pearl of Pearls: The Abdālī-Durrānī Confederacy and Its Transformation under Aḥmad Shāh, Durr-i Durrān by Sajjad Nejatie. https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/handle/1807/80750. Many of the Khalaj of the Ghazni and Qalati Ghilji region became Pashtunized and assimilated into the local Pashto-speaking population and they likely formed the core of the Pashtun Ghilji tribe. They intermarried with the local Pashtuns and adopted their manners, culture, customs, and practices, also bringing their customs and culture to India where they established the Khalji dynasty of Bengal (1204–1227) and the Khalji dynasty of Delhi (1290–1320). Minorsky noted: "In fact, there is absolutely nothing astonishing in a tribe of nomad habits changing its language. This happened with the Mongols who settled among Turks and probably with some Turkomans living among Kurds." Because of their language shift and Pashtunization, the Khalaj were treated as Pashtuns (Afghans) by the Turkic nobles of the Delhi Sultanate (1206–1526).

Just before the Mongol invasion, Najib Bakran's geography Jahān Nāma'' (c. 1200-1220) described the transformation that the Khalaj tribe was going through:

Notable people Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khalji, founder of the Khalji dynasty of Bengal (d. 1206) Shiran Khalji, second Khalji governor of Bengal (d. 1208) Ali Mardan Khalji, rebel Khalji governor of Bengal (d. 1212) Iwaz Khalji, third Khalji governor of Bengal (d. 1227) Ali Sher Khalji, Khalji governor of Northwest Bengal (d. 1227) Malik Balkha Khalji, final Khalji governor of Bengal (d. 1231) Jalal-ud-din Khalji, founder of the Khalji dynasty of Delhi (d. 1296) Alauddin Khalji, most powerful Sultan of the Khalji dynasty of Delhi (d. 1316) Qutbuddin Mubarak Shah, Sultan of Delhi (d. 1320) Mahmud Khalji, Sultan of Malwa Sultanate Ghiyath Shah, Sultan of Malwa Sultanate Mohammad-Taghi Khalaji, (Born 1948) Iranian Cleric & Politician

See also Alat tribe Khalajestan Ghilji

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Further reading