Theories on the origins of Pakhtuns

By Ismail Khan

The Pakhtuns (also Pushtun , Pakhtun , ethnic Afghan , or Pathan) are an ethno-linguistic group of people, living primarily in eastern and southern Afghanistan, the Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan, and small communities in India. The Pakhtuns are characterized by their indigenous code ("religion") of honor and culture, Pashtunwali (pakhtunwali). The Pakhtuns are the world's largest segmental lineage (patriarchal) tribal group in existence. The total population of the group is estimated at ca. 40 million.

Pakhtun culture is ancient and much of it is yet to be recorded in contemporary times. There are many conflicting theories, some contemporary, some ancient, about the origins of the Pakhtun people, both among historians and the Pakhtun themselves.


"The word Afghan… first appears in history in the Hudud-al-Alam, a work by an unknown Arab geographer who wrote in 982 AD." Until the advent of the modern Afghan state in the 18th century, the word Afghan had been synonymous with Pakhtun.


From the 1st century BC to the 5th century AD the regions where the Pakhtuns lived saw immense migrations of peoples from Central Asia and the Middle East: the arrival of the Sakas, Kushans, Huns, Gujjars Hebrews,and Greeks.


According to most anthropologists, the Pakhtuns appear to be primarily of Iranic descent similar to the Persians, Ossetians, Kurds, Balochis and Tajiks. The Pakhtuns have eastern Iranic origins as the Pashto language is classified as an eastern Iranic tongue closely related to Avestan among other Iranic languages.


There are more mythological and romanticized origins for the Pakhtuns. For example, according to the Encyclopedia of Islam, the Theory of Pakhtun descent from Israelites is traced to Maghzan-e-Afghani who compiled a history for Khan-e-Jehan Lodhi in the reign of Mughal Emperor Jehangir in the 16th century AD. This reference is in line with the commonly held view by Pakhtuns that when the twelve tribes of Israel were dispersed (Israel and Judah, Lost Ten Tribes), the tribe of Joseph among other Hebrew tribes settled in the region.

Hence the term "Yusef Zai" in Pashto (pukhto) translates to the ' sons of Joseph'; the Yusefzai are the 8th largest tribe of the Pakhtuns. Other Pakhtuns claim descent from Arabs and some groups such as the Afridis claim to be descended from Alexander the Great's Greeks as well. What may be the case is that the Pakhtuns have been modified by various invaders, while maintaining their eastern Iranic base both linguistically and genetically overall.

The Pakhtuns are intimately tied to the history of modern-era Afghanistan. The country's founder, Ahmad Shah Durrani, was a Pakhtun. He founded the state, as we know it today, in 1747 and the Pakhtuns would rule it for the next 200 years. The Pakhtuns fought both the British and Russians to a standstill during the Great Game.