Alakozai ( ps, الکوزی - meaning ''descendant of Alako'' in

Pashto Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani (). Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official languages ...

) is the name of a

Pashtun tribe The Pashtun tribes ( ps, پښتانه قبايل), historically also known as Afghan tribes, are the tribes of the Pashtun people, a large Eastern Iranian ethnic group who use the Pashto language and follow Pashtunwali code of conduct. They ar ...

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 ...

. Spelling variations include Alakozi, Alakoozi, Alekozai, Alekuzei, Alikozai, Alokozay, Alokozay, Alkozai, Alokzai, Hulakozai, Alecozay, Alikusi, and Alakuzei. They are one of the four tribes of the

Zirak The Zirak is a tribal confederation of Durrani (Abdali) Pashtuns in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Tribes Among the tribes that form a part of the confederation are: * Popalzai * Achakzai * Alikozai * Barakzai * Mastay * Mohammadzai * Alakozai ...

tribal confederacy of

Durrani The Durrānī ( ps, دراني, ), formerly known as Abdālī (), are one of the largest tribes of Pashtuns. Their traditional homeland is in southern Afghanistan (Loy Kandahar region), straddling into Toba Achakzai in Balochistan, Pakistan, but ...

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 ...

History

Their eponymous ancestor is claimed to be Alako, son of King Zirak Khan, son of Abdal, son of

Tareen The Tareen (or Tarin) ( ps, ترین) is a Pashtun tribe inhabiting southern Afghanistan, and western region of Pakistan.Caroe O. ''The Pathans 550 B.C.- A.D. 1957'' Oxford University Press . Page 521.Muhammad Hyat Khan, "Hayat i Afghan" (Orig. i ...

Distribution

The Alakozai people are found primarily in

Helmand Helmand (Pashto/Dari: ; ), also known as Hillmand, in ancient times, as Hermand and Hethumand, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, in the south of the country. It is the largest province by area, covering area. The province contains 13 ...

Kandahar Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a List of cities in Afghanistan, city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population ...

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 ...

, Laghman, Kunar Sarkani District and

Herat Herāt (; Persian: ) is an oasis city and the third-largest city of Afghanistan. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains (''Selseleh-ye Safēd ...

provinces in Afghanistan, and form the majority of the population in the

Sangin District Sangin is a Districts of Afghanistan, district in the east of Helmand Province, Afghanistan. Its population was reported at 58,100 in 2012, all of which belong to Pashtun people, Pashtun ethnic group. The district centre is the town of Sangin. The ...

Jaldak Jaldak (ترنک او جلدک ولسوالۍ) is a village in Tarnak Aw Jaldak District, Zabul Province, Afghanistan. Jaldak is located at 31° 55' 32" North, 66° 31' 13" East and is at an altitude of 1395 m. The village is north west of Kanda ...

, which is located 110 km northeast of Kandahar, is the original domicile of the Alakozai tribe. The Alakozai people stretch from Farah to Kandahar, and constitute a majority in the

Arghandab District Arghandab (Pashto/ fa, ارغنداب) is a district in the central part of Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. It borders Panjwai and Khakrez districts to the west, Shah Wali Kot District to the north and east and Kandahar District to the east an ...

of Kandahar. The Arghandab district was given to the Alakozai tribe by King Nadir Shah, who brought down the Safavid empire of Persia with the help of the Alakozai in 1738.Chayes, Sarah (2007-11-18). "A Mullah Dies, and War Comes Knocking". The Washington Post. Retrieved on 2008-07-20.
/ref> Arghandab was referred to by the Greek historians as Arakozia, or the "Land of Arako/Alako".Afghanistan, Volumes 25-26 By Anjuman-i Tārīkh-i Afghānistān
/ref>The Khyber Gateway Alakozai
/ref>

Notable individuals

* Sadullah Khan Alkozai of Chaghar Matti, Chief of Peshawar, according to the report of the regular settlement of the Peshawar district of the Punjab by Edward George G. Hastings page 115, Publication date 1878, Publisher Printed at the Central Jail Press. *

Mullah Naqib Mullah Naqib Alikozai, sometimes called Naqibullah (c.1950 – 11 October 2007), was an Afghan mujahideen commander and politician from the Kandahar area of southern Afghanistan. He was the leader of the Alikozai Pashtun tribe. Mujahideen com ...

(c.1950 – October 11, 2007), famous

freedom fighter A resistance movement is an organized effort by some portion of the civil population of a country to withstand the legally established government or an occupying power and to disrupt civil order and stability. It may seek to achieve its objectives ...

during the

Soviet–Afghan War The Soviet–Afghan War was a protracted armed conflict fought in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989. It saw extensive fighting between the Soviet Union and the Afghan mujahideen (alongside smaller groups of anti-Soviet ...

, politician and peace maker from Kandahar. He was one of the most respected elders of the Alakozai Pashtun tribe in the Kandahar area. *Queen Zarghoona Alakozai (mother of King Ahmad Shah Durrani, founder of the

Durrani Empire The Durrani Empire ( ps, د درانيانو ټولواکمني; fa, امپراتوری درانیان) or the Afghan Empire ( ps, د افغانان ټولواکمني, label=none; fa, امپراتوری افغان, label=none), also know ...

). *Abdul Ghani Alakozai, governor of Nadirabad and chieftain of the

, under King Nader Shah. *Juma Khan Alakozai, governor of

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 ...

(1788–1792). His administration was faced by serious floods,

Shia Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his S ...

–

Sunni Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...

riots and rioting by the Bambas. He died of

dysentery Dysentery (UK pronunciation: , US: ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications ...

in 1792.''Kashmir: A Wailing Valley''
M. L. Gupta; Anmol Publications PVT. LTD., 2001; ; p. 65 *Abdullah Khan Alakozai, governor of Kashmir (1795–1807, under King Zaman Shah Durrani). *Shah Aghasi Nawab Khan Alkozai, governor of Kashmir (1831–1840) *Yar Mohammad Khan Alakozai (Died June 11, 1851) Minister under King Shahzada Kamran Durrani. Minister-regent at

, he served as

Vizier A vizier (; ar, وزير, wazīr; fa, وزیر, vazīr), or wazir, is a high-ranking political advisor or minister in the near east. The Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was a ...

of Herat from 1829 to 1842. In Early 1842 he deposed Kamran Shah and ruled Herat until his death on June 11, 1851. He was the son of 'Ata Mohammad Khan Alakozai, vizier of Herat from 1818 to 1829. *Sa'id Mohammad Khan Alakozai, son of Yar Muhammad Khan and ruled Herat from June 11, 1851, to September 1855. Herat was briefly occupied by

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

in the spring of 1852 due to an attempted invasion of the Kandahar Sardars. *'Abd al-Ghani Khan Alakozai (maternal uncle of King Ahmad Shah Durrani), governor of Kandahar during Ahmad Shah Durrani's reign. *Zarghuna Begum Alakozai, wife of Governor Sardar Muhammad Zaman Khan of

Jalalabad Jalalabad (; Dari/ ps, جلال‌آباد, ) is the fifth-largest city of Afghanistan. It has a population of about 356,274, and serves as the capital of Nangarhar Province in the eastern part of the country, about from the capital Kabul. Jala ...

(1839 to 1842), and daughter of Khalu Khan Alakozai. *Queen Alakozai, stepmother of King

Dost Mohammad Khan Dost Mohammad Khan Barakzai (Pashto/Persian: ; 23 December 17929 June 1863), nicknamed the Amir-i Kabir, Also titled Amir al-Mu'minin, was a member of the Barakzai dynasty and one of the prominent rulers of the Emirate of Afghanistan. His 37-year ...

of Afghanistan,Life of the amir Dost Mohammed Khan of Kabul: with his political proceedings towards the English, Russian and Persian governments, including the victory and disasters of the British army in Afghanistan. By Mohan Lal, 1846; p. 22
/ref> and wife of Sardār Pāyenda Khan, chief of the

Barakzai Bārakzai ( ps, بارکزی, ''Bārakzay;'' plur. ps, بارکزي, ''Bārakzī'') is the name of a Pashtun tribe from present-day, Kandahar, Afghanistan. '"Barakzai" is a common name among the Pashtuns and it means "son of Barak" in Pashto. A ...

clan. * Salman Khan's paternal great-grandparents were Alakozai Pashtuns 324] 526] from Afghanistan 7who immigrated to Indore State, Indore Residency (now in Madhya Pradesh), British India in the mid-1800s; however, Jasim Khan in his biography of the actor states that his ancestors belonged to the Akuzai sub-tribe of the Yusufzai Pashtuns from Malakand in the Swat valley of North-West Frontier Province, British India (present-day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan). 8His grandfather Abdul Rashid Khan was a Deputy Inspector General of the Indore state who was awarded Diler Jung award of the Holkar times

References

External links

Alikozai Tribal Dynamics
from the Tribal Analysis Center {{Pashtun tribes Durrani Pashtun tribes

History

Distribution

Notable individuals

See also

References

External links