The Khan Mughals or Kamangars ( Mongolian: ''Kamangaruud'';

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

: ''کمنگرز'') are a tribe of the Barlas Mughal people of Turko-

Mongol The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member of ...

descent. They are primarily found in the Mirpur,

Kotli Kotli ( ur}) is a city in Kotli District of Azad Kashmir in Pakistan. It lies on the Poonch River, and the river contains several notable waterfalls including the Lala Waterfall near the town of Kotli and the Gulpur Waterfalls at the village of ...

, Pooch and

Bagh Bagh ( fa, باغ, link=no, meaning "garden") may refer to: Places India * Bagh Caves in Madhya Pradesh, India * Bagh, Dhar, a town in Madhya Pradesh, India Iran * Bagh, Ardabil, a village in Ardabil Province * Bagh, Larestan, a village ...

districts of

Azad Jammu and Kashmir Azad Jammu and Kashmir (; ), abbreviated as AJK and colloquially referred to as simply Azad Kashmir, is a region administered by Pakistan as a nominally self-governing entitySee: * * * and constituting the western portion of the larger Ka ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, particularly near the mountains of

Pir Panjal Range The Pir Panjal Range (Kashmiri: ) is a group of mountains in the Lesser Himalayan region, running from east-southeast (ESE) to west-northwest (WNW) across the Indian territories of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir and then Pakistan's ...

. The Khan Mughals speak

Hindko Hindko (, romanized: , ) is a cover term for a diverse group of Lahnda dialects spoken by several million people of various ethnic backgrounds in several areas in northwestern Pakistan, primarily in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Pun ...

and Pahari/Pothwari languages and are predominantly

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...

. They traditionally assert descent from the Barlas tribe of the Chaghatai Mughal Turks who conquered the Indian subcontinent. Their ancestors initially spoke

and Chaghatai Turkic, although

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

, Pahari, and

Kashmiri Kashmiri may refer to: * People or things related to the Kashmir Valley or the broader region of Kashmir * Kashmiris, an ethnic group native to the Kashmir Valley * Kashmiri language, their language People with the name * Kashmiri Saikia Baruah ...

are contemporarily the most prevalent native tongues. The renowned

Dhaka Nawab dynasty The Nawab of Dhaka (Bengali: "ঢাকার নবাব"), originally spelt in English Nawab of Dacca, was the title of the head of largest Muslim zamindar in British Bengal and Assam, based in present-day Dhaka, Bangladesh. The title of ''na ...

and Comilla Munshibari dynasty averred descent from the Khan Mughal clans of

Iranian Azerbaijan Azerbaijan or Azarbaijan ( fa, آذربایجان, ''Āzarbāijān'' ; az-Arab, آذربایجان, ''Āzerbāyjān'' ), also known as Iranian Azerbaijan, is a historical region in northwestern Iran that borders Iraq, Turkey, the Nakhchivan ...

Etymology

The word Kamangar is derived from Kaman Gar which means bow-maker in the

. As a community, they are in essence village

artisans An artisan (from french: artisan, it, artigiano) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art, s ...

, who are now involved mainly in the manufacture of pots and pans. They were originally bow makers before the arrival of

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

in the

19th Century The 19th (nineteenth) century began on 1 January 1801 ( MDCCCI), and ended on 31 December 1900 ( MCM). The 19th century was the ninth century of the 2nd millennium. The 19th century was characterized by vast social upheaval. Slavery was abolis ...

, they have now shifted to calling themselves as Khan Mughal, and no longer the word kamangar. The word

Mughal Mughal or Moghul may refer to: Related to the Mughal Empire * Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries * Mughal dynasty * Mughal emperors * Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia * Mughal architecture * Mug ...

is Persian and

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

History and origin

The arrival of Mughal clans in

Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

and

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

can be traced back to the initial invasion of the Western Subcontinent current day Pakistan, launched by the Mughal warlord

Babur Babur ( fa, , lit= tiger, translit= Bābur; ; 14 February 148326 December 1530), born Mīrzā Zahīr ud-Dīn Muhammad, was the founder of the Mughal Empire in the Indian subcontinent. He was a descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan through his ...

, or the reign of

Akbar Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hum ...

during which a bloody feud erupted between Akbar and his brother Nabeel Muhammad Hakim, the ruler of

Kabulistan Kabulistan (Pashto: کابلستان) is a historical regional name referring to the territory that is centered on present-day Kabul Province of Afghanistan. In many Greek and Latin sources, particularly editions of Ptolemy's ''Geography'', the ...

. Upon Akbar's victory, most tribesmen were relocated to regions easily accessible for Delhi to quash another attempt by the Kabul Mughals. Most Mughal Khans take descent from the

Barlas Mughals The Barlas Mughals or Barlas Moghols ( Mongolian: ''Barulās Mogolchuud''; Chagatay/Persian: ''برلاس مغل'') are a Mughal tribe in Pakistan, whose ancestors came from the Barlas Dynasty of Central Asia. The founder of the Mughal empire in ...

, the same tribe from which the kings of the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

emerged. They arrived during the time of Babur's invasion of the

subcontinent A continent is any of several large landmasses. Generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, up to seven geographical regions are commonly regarded as continents. Ordered from largest in area to smallest, these seven ...

, but it is unknown when or why the clans had split.

References

{{Reflist Mongol peoples Turkic peoples Mughal clans of Pakistan Ethnic groups in Pakistan Social groups of Pakistan Pakistani people of Mongol descent Pakistani people of Turkic descent Surnames

Etymology

History and origin

See also

References