History and Biodata |
Background: Barakzai or Barakzay is a Pashtun tribe, belonging to Afghanistan and some also to Pakistan. The "Barakzai Dynasty" was the line of rulers in Afghanistan in the 19th and 20th centuries. Following the fall of the Durrani Empire in 1818, chaos reigned in the domains of Ahmed Shah Durrani's empire as various sons of Painda Khan struggled for supremacy. Afghanistan temporarely ceased to exist as a single nation, disintegrating for a brief time into a fragmented collection of small units. Dost Mohammad Khan gained preeminence in 1826 and founded the dynasty about 1837. Thereafter, his descendants ruled in direct succession until 1929, when King Amanullah Khan abdicated and his cousin Mohammed Nadir Shah was elected king. The most prominent subclan of the Barakzai Pashtun tribe is the Mohamedzai (Mohammadzai) clan, of which the several last kings had come from, including Mohammad Zahir Shah, the last king of Afghanistan. |