Qila Niazi (Niazi Fort, Qalaye Niazi, Niyāzī Kalā, نیازی کلا) is a village located in the north of the city of

Gardez , settlement_type =City , image_skyline =gardez_paktya.jpg , imagesize = , image_caption =The Bala Hesar fortress in the center of Gardez City , image_flag = , flag_size = , image_sea ...

, capital of

Paktia Province Paktia (Pashto/Dari: – ''Paktyā'') is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the east of the country. Forming part of the larger Loya Paktia region, Paktia Province is divided into 15 districts and has a population of roughly 6 ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

. It is about south of

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

. It was an ancient fortified area belonging to

Niazi Niazi (; , ps, نيازي; ur, نیازی) Niazai, Nyazi, Nyazai, Niyazi or Niyazai is one of the largest Pashtun tribes which resides in Afghanistan and northwestern part of Pakistan. The earliest work which provides the details about ...

tribal chieftains who had married into the

Barakzai Dynasty The two branches of the Barakzai dynasty (, "sons of Barak") ruled modern day Afghanistan from 1823 to 1973 when the monarchy ended under Musahiban Mohammed Zahir Shah. The Barakzai dynasty was established by Dost Mohammad Khan after the Durra ...

and settled in Paktia Province. Named after its creators the Khans of Niazi, translated into English the name literally meant "Fort of the Niazis". The area originally housed a mud brick fort. Although Niazis had inhabited the area as far back as 1500 BC it is impossible to determine the date the fort was founded, since available oral evidence is contradictory. The fort was inhabited until the late 1930s, when the Great Khan Niazi migrated to

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 ...

as a result of the political turmoil in Afghanistan, which caused the nation to practically disintegrate into chaos. Today a village inhabited by Niazi tribesmen stands on the grounds of the fort.Pasha Khan
/ref>

References

Tribes and Turbulence

Glossary of the Tribes and Castes of the Punjab and North West Frontier Province

{{Coord, 33, 38, 37, N, 069, 12, 37, E, display=title Populated places in Paktia Province

See also

References