Malak Ahmad Khan Yusufzai (1460–1530) also known as Malak Ahmad Baba was an
Afghan
Afghan may refer to:
*Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia
*Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity
** Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pas ...
chief and warrior. He belonged to the Razar Mandanr clan of the Yousafzai. Ahmad Khan's life was spent in fighting and resettling the Yusufzai in modern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The Yusufzai fought the Dilazak and Sultan Awais Swati for control of northern KPK. The Dilzaks had initially given refuge to the Yusufzai before they were driven out by them. After being expelled, Malak Ahmad Khan replaced his uncle Malak Suleiman Shah as the chief of the Yusufzai. Through
Bibi Mubarika
Bibi Mubarika Yusufzai ( ps, بيبي مبارکه یوسفزۍ;) was the Empress consort of the Mughal Empire. She was the fifth wife of Emperor Babur, the founder of the Mughal Empire and the first Mughal emperor.
She is frequently mentioned in ...
marriage to Babur, the Yusufzai finally made peace with the Mughals and were able to establish their stronghold in Dir,
Swat
In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...
Swabi
Swabi ( ps, صوابۍ; ur, ) is a city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan,Mardan with Thana, Malakand as the capital.
Bibi Mubarika
Bibi Mubarika Yusufzai ( ps, بيبي مبارکه یوسفزۍ;) was the Empress consort of the Mughal Empire. She was the fifth wife of Emperor Babur, the founder of the Mughal Empire and the first Mughal emperor.
She is frequently mentioned in ...
was the daughter of
Shah Mansur
Shah Mansur, also named Shah Mansoor or Shahmansoor, is a town and Union Council of Swabi District in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a coun ...
Ahmad Khan was born in or around 1460 to the MandanrYusufzai tribe of
Pashtuns
Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...
. He was the son of Malak Sultan Shah and the grandson of Malak Tajudeen. The Yusufzai migrated from Kandahar, Afghanistan to Kabul when Ulugh Beg was governor. He succeeded his father Shah Rukh, who was the son of Timur, in 1447 A.D. The Yusufzai settled outside Kabul and were one of the most influential Pashtuns. When
Ulugh Beg II
Ulugh Beg II also known as Ulugh Beg Kabuli (d.1502) was the Timurid ruler of Kabul and Ghazni from 1461 to 1502.
Reign
Born the fourth son of the Timurid Sultan Abu Sa'id Mirza, Ulugh Beg was given the cities of Kabul and Ghazni by his father, ...
came to power, the Yusufzai lent him their support. Ulugh Beg II was the son-in-law of Malak Suleiman Shah. Ulugh Beg II initially favored them. Over time problems arose between the Yusufzai and the Timurids and the Yusufzai defeated them in a battle. It is also said that the Yusufzai viewed the Timurids as foreigners and wanted to united all Afghans under ethnic Afghan rule. Orientalist
Annette Beveridge
Annette Susannah Beveridge (née Akroyd) (1842–1929) was a British Orientalist known for her translation of the '' Humayun-nama'' and the '' Babur-nama''.
Background and education
Annette Akroyd's father William Akroyd was a Unitarian indus ...
recorded the following regarding Ulugh Beg and the head of the Yusufzai, Malik Sulaiman:
"One day a wise man of the tribe, Shaikh Usman saw Sulaiman sitting with the young Mirza (Ulugh Beg) on his knee and warned him that the boy had the eyes of Yazid I and would destroy him and his family as Yazid had destroyed that of Prophet Muhammad. Sulaiman paid him no attention and gave the Mirza his daughter in marriage. Subsequently, the Mirza, having invited the Yusufzai to Kabul, treacherously killed Sulaiman and 700 of his followers. They were killed at the place called Siyah-sang near Kabul; it is still known as the Grave of the Martyrs. Their tombs are revered and that of Shaikh Usman in particular."
Malak Suleiman Shah made three requests of Ulugh Beg, the third was that Ahmad Khan's life should be spared, this was the only request granted, The massacre took place in 1484, Ulugh Beg sensed that the Yusufzai were now too powerful to be defeated in the field after defeat in the battle of Ghwarah Margha. He invited the Yusufzai inside Kabul on the pretext of a peace treaty. He arranged a big feast and asked them to hand over their weapons at the gate. With the help of the Khogyani (Pashtun tribe), 701 of Yusufzai chiefs including Malak Suleiman were massacred. The only one spared was Malak Ahmad Khan. Malak Ahmad Khan led the Yusufzai to the east settling in Dilzak lands. He married the sister of the Malak of Dilzaks, the Malak of Dilzaks later killed this sister for unknown reasons.