Bangash

The Bangash (Pashto: بنګش‎), (Urdu: بنگش‎) are one of the largest and perhaps the most powerful and influential Karlani Pashtun tribe of the border region of eastern Afghanistan and North Western Pakistan. They primarily inhabit the Kohat, Doaba, Thall, and Hangu districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as well as portions of the Kurram Agency in FATA. A large number of Bangash are also found in the northeastern section of the Paktia and Paktika Province in Afghanistan. Descendants of Bangash are also found in the Uttar Pradesh state of India, particularly in the city of Farrukhabad which was founded by Muhammad Khan Bangash in 1714.

Etymology and origins

The name Bangash or Bankash is said to be derived from Persian namely "bun", meaning root, and "Kashtan", meaning 'To tear apart'.Since the origin of the tribe it was believed that during battle the tribesmen of the Bangash would not rest until they had ripped the enemy off of their roots.Hence the Name 'Bangash' or 'Root Destroyer'.It is believed by the tribe that they are the descendants of a man named Esmail, who moved from Persia to the Solayman mountains but whose eleventh-generation ancestor was the famous Arab general Khalid ibn Walid. According to Pashtun folklore, the Bangash tribe traces its origin back to the eponymous ancestor of all Pashtuns, Qais Abdur Rashid, through his youngest son, Karlan. Thus, the Bangash tribe are one of the Karlani tribes.