Khalj Sultans of Delhi were not Afghans

[Samandri]

Khalj Sultans of Delhi were not Afghans | History of Pashtuns د پښتنو تاريخ

[kunatawar]

their identity is conflicted but I guess them being turks from afghanistan makes the most sense.

Is there no connection between khiljis and ghilzais? this is just something ive heard in other places

[Samandri]

their identity is conflicted but I guess them being turks from afghanistan makes the most sense.

Is there no connection between khiljis and ghilzais? this is just something ive heard in other places

There is no dispute about the fact that Khalj were Turks. There is still Khaljis in Iran who speak the original Khalj variant of Turkic language. As a portion of Khalj were settled in Ghaznin so its speculated that Ghilzai Pashtuns might have evolved from them (though there is no historical evidence for such transformation). Some historians (non-Pashtun) do say that there is possibility that Ghilzais are descendants of Khalj.

Abdul Hai Habibi (Afghan historian) came up with new assertion that Khalj were actually proper Pashtuns mistaken to be Turks. Because of his work , every Afghanistani historian and nationalists now firmly believe that Ghilzai Pashtuns had been erroneously referred to as Khalji Turks. Many Afghanistanis from Ghilzai tribe have started using "Khilji" as surname.

The medieval Afghan historians of India who wrote about Afghan monarchies in India , do not include Khaljis in the list of Afghan kings. Khaljis (spelled as خلج in those sources) are mentioned as non-Afghans, at the same time Ghilzai (spelled as غلزی in those sources) are mentioned as Afghans and kin of Lodis. Shah Hussain Ghilzai was an Afghan general of Sher Shah Sur according to Tarikh-i-SherShahi. In the reign of Lodis, it mattered a lot who is Afghan , even remote indianized descendants of Afghans were expected to gather under banner of an Afghan leader. But not once the neighboring Khaljis of Malwa (1436-1531) are referred to as Afghans. Khaljis of Malwa considered themselves Turko-Mongols and claimed descendant from Qilij Khan, supposed to be a son-in-law of Genghis Khan. While Khaljis of Delhi (1290-1320) were putting Afghans in the same brackets as Mongols, as evident from work of Amir Khusrao, a darbari poet and historian of Khalji Sultans. According to 17th century poet Khushal Khan Khattak , Jalaluddin Khalji was a Ghalji (غلجي) of Wilayat but at another place he says that six generations of Pashtuns ruled India (counting only Lodis and Surs). Khushal Khattak mentions only Bahlul Lodi and Sher Shah (founders of respective dynasties) when he proudly talks about the Pashtun rule in India......he does not mention Jalaluddin Khalji in the same breath as Bahlul and Sher Shah

[Sarbani]

Abdul Hai Habibi (Afghan historian) came up with new assertion that Khalj were actually proper Pashtuns mistaken to be Turks. Because of his work , every Afghanistani historian and nationalists now firmly believe that Ghilzai Pashtuns had been erroneously referred to as Khalji Turks. Many Afghanistanis from Ghilzai tribe have started using "Khilji" as surname.

Where I am from (Swabi), there aren't really many Ghilzais here, but we are aware of their existence. We call them "Ghilji". Is this an erroneous way of saying it? I don't know anyone with that surname, but this is the word we use to refer to them.

[Samandri]

Where I am from (Swabi), there aren't really many Ghilzais here, but we are aware of their existence. We call them "Ghilji". Is this an erroneous way of saying it? I don't know anyone with that surname, but this is the word we use to refer to them.

They ( as well we) convert some of the words with "z" into "j" ......for example there is a clan of Marwats by name of Adamzi (Adamzai), we pronounce it as Adamji. Ghilji (plural of Ghiljaey) is dialectal modification of Ghilzi or Ghalzai (غلزی) which in turn is derived from Ghal-zoey (غل زوی) according to Pashtun tradition. One of the five men sent o Afghanistan by compiler of Makhzan-i-Afghani (to investigate genealogies of Pashtuns), was a Ghilzai by name of Hamza Khan Tokhi. So in early 17th century Ghilzais were not claiming any connection with Khalj Turks. Its after Abdul Hai Habibi's work that Ghilzais of Afghanistan (the educated ones) have started connecting themselves with Khaljs of the past.

[maneatinglizard]

Because of his work , every Afghanistani historian and nationalists now firmly believe that Ghilzai Pashtuns had been erroneously referred to as Khalji Turks. Many Afghanistanis from Ghilzai tribe have started using "Khilji" as surname.

Never met a single Afghan with Khilji as their last name. I've seen a few Pakistanis on Facebook with that last name though. I guess they could've been Afghan refugees, but the name is not common in Afghanistan itself.

Neither is the theory among the educated Afghans I know.

Where I am from (Swabi), there aren't really many Ghilzais here, but we are aware of their existence. We call them "Ghilji". Is this an erroneous way of saying it? I don't know anyone with that surname, but this is the word we use to refer to them.

I think that's because of the way Ghiljis themselves pronounce it. In Paktia, the Ghilzai Kuchis are referred to as "Ghilji" by everyone else, and the Ghilzai people I know all call themselves Ghilji as well.

[Samandri]

Also Ghilji is plural of Ghiljaey......while Khilji (which is actually mispronunciation of Khalji) is singular. The plural of Khalj or Khalji is Akhlaj or Khalaj. Khalj was also the name of place adjacent to Seistan on banks of river helmand, so Khalji ,meaning inhabitant of Khalj, (like Ghori is inhabitant of Ghor) was also used but the proper name of the tribe was Khalj. Its a coincidence that Ghilji (plural) sound very similar to Khalji (singular).

[Sarbani]

They ( as well we) convert some of the words with "z" into "j" ......for example there is a clan of Marwats by name of Adamzi (Adamzai), we pronounce it as Adamji. Ghilji (plural of Ghiljaey) is dialectal modification of Ghilzi or Ghalzai (غلزی) which in turn is derived from Ghal-zoey (غل زوی) according to Pashtun tradition. One of the five men sent o Afghanistan by compiler of Makhzan-i-Afghani (to investigate genealogies of Pashtuns), was a Ghilzai by name of Hamza Khan Tokhi. So in early 17th century Ghilzais were not claiming any connection with Khalj Turks. Its after Abdul Hai Habibi's work that Ghilzais of Afghanistan (the educated ones) have started connecting themselves with Khaljs of the past.

How strong is the theory that Ghilzai came from ghal zai? Ghal zai means "son of a thief".

[maneatinglizard]

How strong is the theory that Ghilzai came from ghal zai. Ghal zai means "son of a thief".

I thought it came from "ghar zai," i.e. "son of the mountain."

[Samandri]

How strong is the theory that Ghilzai came from ghal zai. Ghal zai means "son of a thief".

Not a theory, its a historical legend.

[Samandri]

I thought it came from "ghar zai," i.e. "son of the mountain."

Ghar-zai crap is modern invention by Abdul Hai Habibi, the Afghan nationalist historian