Afghan Biographies

Durani Tribe Durrani Abdali


Name Durani Tribe Durrani Abdali
Ethnic backgr. Pashtun
Date of birth
Function/Grade Pashtun Tribe mainly in West- and South Afghanistan
History and Biodata

Durrani or Abdali Tribe
is one of the two largest Pashtun tribes of Afghanistan (the other is the Gilzai Tribe) and is also found in large numbers in western Pakistan. They are estimated to be roughly 20% of the population of Afghanistan and number around 7 million there with another 1-2 million found in Pakistan and hundreds of thousands also live in northeast Iran. The Durrani are the most "Persianized" of Pashtun tribes, often bilingual in Dari (or Afghan Persian), as well as arguably being among the most urbanized and educated of the Pashtuns in Afghanistan. The Durrani have been prominent leaders, as the royal family of Afghanistan is derived from the tribe, and a substantial number of Durrani are bureaucrats and public officials, as well as businessmen and merchants. The particular dialect of Pashtu favored by the Durrani tends to be tinged with a slight Persian inflection and is considered the more gentil and urbane dialect, often viewed by Pashtuns overall as the more 'proper' dialect, as opposed to the rougher "Pashtu" version favored in the north and by most of the Pashtuns of Pakistan. The Durrani, like most other Pashtuns, are Muslim and are mostly of the Hanafi Sunni Islamic sect and, like most Pashtuns, continue to follow the Pashtun honor code known as Pashtunwali. Current social conditions: Like most Pashtun groups, the Durrani can be sub-divided into smaller clans and subtribes which will still acknowledge each other as kinsmen. The literacy rate of the Durrani is the highest of all of the Pashtun tribes in Afghanistan and hovers around 25%. Perhaps the most liberal of the Pashtun groups, the Durrani are currently at the forefront of rebuilding war-torn Afghanistan and are quickly filling the ranks of the military and are valued as city officials and policemen in cities such as Kandahar and Kabul. The Durrani in Pakistan are largely refugees, but many have become prominent merchants in Quetta and Peshawar. The Durrani continue to live in close proximity to other Afghans and culturally overlap in many ways with the Tajiks with whom they often share more cultural and socio-economic traits in comparison to the more tribal Pashtuns such as the Ghilzai, who are the other major Pashtun group in Afghanistan. The Durrani are part of Sarbans, a Pashtun tribal group.

Last Modified 2011-04-10
Established 2010-03-11