The Baloch people are an ethnic group which speaks the Western Iranian Balochi language and are native to the Balochistan region of South and West Asia, occupying parts of Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan. There are also Baloch diaspora communities in neighbouring regions, including in Central Asia, and the Arabian Peninsula. They were traditionally nomadic pastoralists.
The majority of the Baloch reside within Pakistan. About half of the total Baloch population lives in the Pakistani province of Balochistan,Blood, Peter, ed. "Baloch". Pakistan: A Country Study. Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress, 1995. while 40% are settled in Sindh and a significant albeit smaller number resides in the Pakistani Punjab. They make up 3.6% of Pakistan's population, 2% of Iran's population, and around 0.5%–1% of the population of Afghanistan, and the largest non-Arab community in Oman.
Etymology The exact origin of the word "Baloch" is unclear. Ernst Emil Herzfeld believed that the word Baloch is derived from the Median term brza-vačiya meaning "loud shouting".Iran in the Ancient East: Archaeological Studies Presented in the Lowell Lectures at Boston Hardcover by Ernst Emil Herzfeld – 1988.
Language
Balochi (, romanised: ) is an Indo-European language, spoken by the Baloch and belonging to the Indo-Iranian branch of the family. As an Iranian language, it is classified in the Northwestern group, spoken primarily in the Balochistan region of Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan. In addition, there are speakers in Oman, the Arab states of the Persian Gulf, Turkmenistan, East Africa and in diaspora communities in other parts of the world.
There are a number of characteristic features that Balochi shares to Parthian and Median and close affinity with them.
The Balochi dialects are classified as:
Eastern group (the Soleimani dialect group) Southern group or Makrani dialect (part of the Makrani dialect group) Western group (part of the Rakhshani dialect group)
Koroshi is also classified as Balochi.Ethnologue report for Southwestern Iranian languages
Many Baloch are either bilingual or multilingual, speaking the language of their respective nation of origin, such as Urdu, Persian, and Arabic as a second language alongside their native Balochi, while those in diaspora communities often speak three or more languages.
History Antiquity During the Achaemenid rule, the Baloch were among rebellious Medes and Parthians who supported Bardiya against Darius I and later allied with Darius III in the Battle of Gaugamela with Alexander.
Šahrestānīhā ī Ērānšahr is a surviving Middle Persian text on Sasanian administrative geography and history, based on the source, Padishkhwārgar (located at the vicinity of Segistan) was a Sasanian province in Late Antiquity and people who contributed to building 21 cities in Padishkhwargar were the Kōfyār "mountain dweller" people called Baločān "Baloch".
During the Sassanid era, Anoshervan and Ardashir fought against the Baloch and after initially sustaining a defeat, succeeded in subjugating the Baloch. The Baloch scattered in the Makran (modern-day Balochistan in Iran and Pakistan) and Kerman regions, areas that formed the southeastern frontier of the Sassanid Empire. Periodic uprisings or refusals to pay tribute might have been part of their interactions with the Sassanid kings. Medieval period According to Baloch lore, their ancestors hail from Aleppo in what is now Syria. After the conflict against Abbasid caliph Harun under Ameer Hamza the Kharijites leader migrated to east or southeast of the central Caspian region, specially toward to east or southeast of the central Caspian region, specially toward Sistan, Iran.
Based on an analysis of the linguistic connections of the Balochi language, which is one of the Western Iranian languages, the original homeland of the Baloch tribes was likely to the east or southeast of the central Caspian region. The Baloch began migrating towards the east in the late Sasanian period. The cause of the migration is unknown but may have been as a result of the generally unstable conditions in the Caspian area. The migrations occurred over several centuries.
By the 9th century, Arab writers Istakhri, Yaqut al-Hamawi and al-Muqaddasī refer to the Baloch as a distinct ethnical group living in the area between Kerman, Khorasan, Sistan, and Makran. Ibn Khordadbeh, in Kitab al-Masalik wal-Mamalik, describes the geography of Makran, and mentions the Baloch as They are powerful, numerous, and engaged in animal husbandry, their houses are made of wood. Al-Muqaddasī documented that Panjgur was the capital of Makran and that it was populated by people called Baloch.
The 12th century Seljuk invasion of Kerman seemed to have stimulated the further eastwards emigration of the Baloch, towards what is now the Balochistan province of Pakistan, although some remained behind and there are still Baloch in the eastern parts of the Iranian Sistan-Baluchestan and Kerman provinces. By the 13th–14th centuries, waves of Baloch were moving into Sindh, and by the 15th century into the Punjab.
Traditionally, Jalal Khan was the ruler and founder of the first Baloch confederacy in the 12th century. Jalal Khan left four sons – Rind Khan, Lashar Khan, Hoth Khan, Korai Khan and a daughter, Bibi Jato, who married his nephew Murad. Since 12th century Baloch chieftains ruled over most of Balochistan. Mir Jalal khan and Mir Chakar after the establishment of the Baloch Confederation, They extended their dominance on outside the borders of Balochistan, Mir Chakar seized control over Punjab and captured Multan. The great Baloch kingdom was based on tribal confederation, Punjab and Balochistan remained under his rule for a period of time .
According to Akhtar Baloch, professor at University of Karachi, the Baloch migrated from Balochistan during the Little Ice Age and settled in Sindh and Punjab. The Little Ice Age is conventionally defined as a period extending from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries, (noted in Grove 2004:4). or alternatively, from about 1300Miller et al. 2012. "Abrupt onset of the Little Ice Age triggered by volcanism and sustained by sea-ice/ocean feedbacks" Geophysical Research Letters 39, 31 January: abstract (formerly on AGU website) (accessed via wayback machine 11 July 2015); see press release on AGU website (accessed 11 July 2015). to about 1850.Grove, J. M., Little Ice Ages: Ancient and Modern, Routledge, London (2 volumes) 2004.Matthews, J. A. and Briffa, K. R., "The 'Little Ice Age': re-evaluation of an evolving concept", Geogr. Ann., 87, A (1), pp. 17–36 (2005). Retrieved 17 July 2015.
The area where the Baloch tribes settled was disputed between the Persian Safavids and the Mughal emperors. Although the Mughals managed to establish some control over the eastern parts of the area, by the 17th century, a tribal Brahui leader named Mir Hasan established himself as the first "Khan of the Baloch". In 1666, he was succeeded by Mir Aḥmad Khan Qambarani who established the Khanate of Kalat under the Ahmadzai dynasty. Originally in alliance with the Mughals, the Khanate lost its autonomy in 1839 with the signing of a treaty with the British colonial government and the region effectively became part of the British Raj.
Safavid period
The Baloch tribes revolted against the Safavid government. Engelbert Kaempfer writes about this: Despite their small numbers, they attacked Suleiman Shah with their fortifications.
Afsharid period
After the fall of the Safavids, Iran fell under the control of the Afsharid Empire ruled by Nader Shah. Nader Shah sought to consolidate and expand his empire, which brought him into contact with the Baloch. Mohammad Khan Baloch became military commander in Afsharid Iran and Nader appointed Mohammad Khan Baloch the governor of fars, Kohgiluyeh and Khuzestan. Many Baloch were moved to Khorasan in order to protect the eastern border from invading Afghans during the reign of afsharid dynasty.
Khanate of Kalat The Khanate of Kalat founded in the 16th century by Mir Altaz Sani Khan Qambrani and played an important part of Baloch history. The major figure in its establishment was Mir Ahmad Khan, who, established his authority over Kalat. The dynasty established as a tribal confederacy of Brahui tribes and emerged as a political entity that consolidated the power of these tribes under a single ruler, known as the Khan. Mir Ahmad Khan I was strong enough to capture Quetta, Mastung, and Pishin from the Mughal governor at Kandahar.
Nasir Khan I Ahmadzai the sixth ruler of kalat was one of the most prominent and influential rulers of the Khanate of Kalat. He played a crucial role in consolidating Baloch power, unifying the Baloch tribes, and shaping the political and administrative structure of the Khanate. The border of Balochestan in the reign of Nasir khan stretched from across modern-day Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan. Northern Border in areas such as Helmand and parts of Kandahar (Balochistan, Afghanistan). In the East stretched as far as Punjab including Dera Ghazi Khan, in the south Makran coast along the Arabian Sea from Karachi to Bandar Abbas, in the western included Persian Balochistan (modern-day Sistan and Baluchestan Province in Iran), Kerman and Bandar abbas.
The Khanate of Kalat declined in the early 19th century, losing much of its territory to Qajar Iran, Emirate of Afghanistan and British Balochistan.
Talpur period
Talpur was a Baloch dynasty that originated in the modern-day Sindh region of Pakistan. The Talpur ruled the Sindh until British conquest of Sindh in 1843. The Talpur Baloch were a prominent Baloch tribe that rose to power in Sindh during the late 18th century and established their rule. The Battle of Miani (1843), took place near Hyderabad, Baloch forces under the last Talpur ruler Amir Nasir Khan Talpur defeated by the East India Company led by Charles Napier.
Modern era
For centuries, Balochistan was governed autonomously and local Baloch chieftains ruled Balochistan.
Baloch tribes in the Sarhad resisted the Persian government force. Gamshadzai, Yar Ahmadzai, Ismailzai and Kurd tribes fought against Persian force during 1888. Sanjrani Baloch ruled Seistan with its capital at Chakansur in the early and late 19th century. In 1897 the western regions of Balochistan were under the leadership of the chieftains of the Narui tribe.
Baloch nationalism in its modern form began in the form of the Anjuman-e-Ittehad-e-Balochan-wa-Balochistan based in Mastung in 1929, led by Yousaf Aziz Magsi, Abdul Aziz Kurd and others. In Pakistan's Balochistan province, insurgencies by Baloch nationalists have been fought in 1948–50, 1958–60, 1962–63 and 1973–1977, with an ongoing low-level insurgency beginning in 2003. The Baloch population in Pakistan has endured grave violations of human rights, which include extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and torture. These actions are purportedly perpetrated by state security forces and their associates.
The First Balochistan conflict started when three of the princely states of Kalat acceded to Pakistan in 1947 after independence.
During the Second Balochistan conflict The Baloch nationalist leader Nawab Nauroz Khan led an armed rebellion against the central government, demanding greater autonomy. This triggered a major armed conflict, with over 50,000 Baloch fighters resisting the Pakistani military.
The Third Balochistan conflict began and engaging in guerrilla warfare against the Pakistani military. Sher Mohammad Marri led militants into guerrilla warfare from 1963 to 1969 by creating their own insurgent bases. This insurgency ended in 1969, with the Baloch separatists agreeing to a ceasefire granting general amnesty to the separatists as well as freeing the separatists.
Baloch communities Pakistan