TheKhalaj (Bactrian:χαλασσ,romanized: Xalass;Persian:خلجها,romanized: Xalajhâ) are aTurkic ethnic group who mainly reside inIran.[3] In Iran they still speak theKhalaj language, although most of them arePersianized.[4]
Historically, the Khalaj who lived amongPashtuns were slowlyPashtunized. Due to this, theKhaljis ofDelhi, originating from Khalaj migrants from Afghanistan into India, were often considered to be Pashtuns by other Turkic nobles.[5] TheGhiljis, one of the largestPashtun tribes, also derive their name from the Khalaj, and it is likely that the Khalaj initially formed the core of this tribe.[6]
According to linguistGerhard Doerfer,Mahmud al-Kashgari was the first person mentioning the Khalaj people in hisDīwān Lughāt al-Turk:
TurkologistYury Zuev stated that*Qalaç resulted from *Halaç, owing to the sound-change of prothetic *h- to *q-, typical in many medieval Turkic dialects, and tracedHalaç's etymology back toala,alač,alaça "motley,piebald".[9]
However, according to historianV. Minorsky, the ancient Turkic form of the name was indeedQalaj (orQalaç), but the Turkic /q/ changed to /x/ inArabic sources (Qalaj >Xalaj).[10]
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Followingal-Khwarizmi,Josef Markwart claimed the Khalaj to be remnants of theHephthalite confederacy.[11] The Hephthalites may have been Indo-Iranian,[11] although there is also the view that they were ofTurkicGaoju origin.[12][13] according toAndré Wink, the Khalaj were the remnants of Indo-European and Iranic nomads; theKushans,Sakas and Hephthalites who becameTurkicized and later merged with the Afghans.[14] according toDavid Bivar, The Khalaj may originally have been Turkic-speaking and only federated with Iranian-speaking tribes in medieval times.[15]
However, according to linguistSims-Williams, archaeological documents do not support the suggestion that the Khalaj were the successors of the Hephthalites,[16] while according to historianV. Minorsky, the Khalaj were "perhaps only politically associated with the Hephthalites."[17]
The Khalaj might have later been incorporated into theWestern Turkic khaganate, as Hèluóshī (賀羅施), mentioned besidesTürgesh (Tūqíshī 突騎施),[18] before regaining independence after the collapses of the Western Turkic and the Türgesh khaganates. Groups of the Khalaj people migrated into Persia beginning with the invasions of the Seljuq Turks, during the 11th century. From there, a branch of them migrated to theAzerbaijan region, where they supposedly picked up greater Oghuz influence in their language. However, the Khalaj are very few amongIranian Azerbaijanis today. Sometime shortly prior to the time of Timur (1336-1405), a branch of Khalaj migrated to the area southwest ofSaveh in theMarkazi Province, which is where a large branch of the Khalaj are located today.[11] However, today, the Khalaj people also identify asPersians despite still speaking their local Turkic language. This is due to undergoing processes of Persianization and forceful assimilation starting in the mid 20th century.[4]
Discussing their relationship withKarluks, Minorsky and Golden noted that the Khalaj and Karluks were often confused by medieval Muslim authors, as their names were transcribed almost similarly in Arabic.[19] Even so,Kitāb al-Masālik w’al- Mamālik's authorIbn Khordadbeh distinguished Khalajs from Karluks, though he mentioned that both groups lived beyond theSyr Darya of theTalas; Muhammad ibn Najib Bakran wrote in hisJihān-nāma (c. 1200-20) that "by mistake (in writing) the people called the KhallukhKhalaj."[20]
Ilkhanate's statesman and historianRashid-al-Din Hamadani mentions the Khalaj tribe in his 14th centuryJami' al-tawarikh as part of theOghuz (Turkoman):
Over time, these peoples were divided into numerous clans, [and indeed] in every era [new] subdivisions arose from each division, and each for a specific reason and occasion received its name and nickname, like the Oghuz, who are now generally called the Turkmens [Turkoman], they are also divided into Kipchaks, Kalach, Kanly, Karluk and other tribes related to them.[21]
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Medieval Muslim scholars, including 9th-10th century geographersIbn Khordadbeh andIstakhri, narrated that the Khalaj were one of the earliestTurkic tribes to have crossed theAmu Darya fromCentral Asia and settled in parts of present-day Afghanistan, especially in theGhazni,Qalati Ghilji (also known as Qalati Khalji), andZabulistan regions. According to Istakhri, "The Khalaj are a tribe of Turks who in ancient times came to the land betweenal-Hind andSijistān, behind al-Ghūr".[23] The mid-10th-century bookHudud al-'Alam described the Khalaj assheep-grazingnomads in Ghazni and the surrounding districts, who had a habit ofwandering through seasonalpastures. Today, the Khalaj mainly live a semi-nomadic lifestyle inIran and follow theQizilbash branch ofShia Islam.
11th-century bookTarikh Yamini, written by al-Utbi, stated that when theGhaznavid EmirSabuktigin defeated theHindu Shahi rulerJayapala in 988, the Khalaj and Pashtuns (Afghans) betweenLaghman andPeshawar, the territory he conquered, surrendered and agreed to serve him. Al-Utbi further stated that Khalaj and Pashtun tribesmen were recruited in significant numbers by the Ghaznavid SultanMahmud of Ghazni (999–1030) to take part in his military conquests, including his expedition toTokharistan.[24] The Khalaj later revolted against Mahmud's son SultanMas'ud I of Ghazni (1030–1040), who sent apunitive expedition to obtain their submission. In 1197,Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khalji, a Khalaj general fromGarmsir,Helmand in the army of theGhurid SultanMuhammad of Ghor, capturedBihar inIndia, and then became theruler of Bengal, beginning theKhalji dynasty of Bengal (1204-1227). During the time of theMongol invasion of Khwarezmia, many Khalaj andTurkmens gathered inPeshawar and joined the army of Saif al-Din Ighraq, who was likely a Khalaj himself. This army defeated the petty king of Ghazni, Radhi al-Mulk. The lastKhwarazmian ruler,Jalal al-Din Mangburni, was forced by the Mongols to flee towards theHindu Kush. Ighraq's army, as well as many other Khalaj and other tribesmen, joined the Khwarazmian force of Jalal al-Din and inflicted a crushing defeat on the Mongols at the 1221Battle of Parwan. However, after the victory, the Khalaj,Turkmens, and Ghoris in the army quarreled with the Khwarazmians over the booty, and finally left, soon after which Jalal al-Din was defeated byGenghis Khan at theBattle of the Indus and forced to flee to India. Ighraq returned to Peshawar, but later Mongol detachments defeated the 20,000–30,000 strong Khalaj, Turkmen, and Ghori tribesmen who had abandoned Jalal al-Din. Some of these tribesmen escaped toMultan and were recruited into the army of theDelhi Sultanate.[25]Jalal-ud-din Khalji (1290-1296), who belonged to the Khalaj tribe from Qalati Khalji, founded theKhalji dynasty, which replaced theMamluks and became the second dynasty to rule the Delhi Sultanate. 13th-centuryTarikh-i Jahangushay, written by historianAta-Malik Juvayni, narrated that a levy comprising the "Khalaj of Ghazni" and Pashtuns were mobilized by the Mongols to take part in a punitive expedition sent toMerv in present-dayTurkmenistan.[10]
The Khalaj were sometimes mentioned alongside Pashtun tribes in the armies of several local dynasties, including theGhaznavids (977–1186).[26] Many of the Khalaj of the Ghazni and Qalati Ghilji region becamePashtunized and assimilated into the localPashto-speaking population and they likely formed the core of the PashtunGhilji tribe.[27] They intermarried with the local Pashtuns and adopted their manners, culture, customs, and practices, also bringing their customs and culture to India where they established theKhalji dynasty of Bengal (1204–1227) and theKhalji dynasty of Delhi (1290–1320).[28] Minorsky noted: "In fact, there is absolutely nothing astonishing in a tribe of nomad habits changing its language. This happened with theMongols who settled among Turks and probably with someTurkomans living amongKurds."[10] Because of theirlanguage shift andPashtunization, the Khalaj were treated as Pashtuns (Afghans) by the Turkic nobles of theDelhi Sultanate (1206–1526).[29][30][31]
Just before the Mongol invasion, Najib Bakran's geographyJahān Nāma (c. 1200-1220) described the transformation that the Khalaj tribe was going through:
The Khalaj are a tribe ofTurks who from theKhallukh limits migrated toZabulistan. Among the districts ofGhazni there is a steppe where they reside. Then, on account of the heat of the air, their complexion has changed and tended towards blackness; the tongue too has undergone alterations and become a different language.
— Najib Bakran,Jahān Nāma
The Khiljis were a Turkish tribe but having been long domiciled in Afghanistan, and adopted Afghan habits and customs. They were treated asAfghans inDelhi Court
Indeed, it seems very likely that [the Khalaj] formed the core of the Pashto-speaking Ghilji tribe, the name [Ghilji] being derived from Khalaj.
{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal= (help)Indeed, it seems very likely that [the Khalaj] formed the core of the Pashto-speaking Ghilji tribe, the name [Ghilji] being derived from Khalaj.
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