Siah-Posh Kafirs
Encyclopedia
Siah-Posh Kafirs was the former designation of the major and dominant group of the Hindukush Kafirs inhabiting the Bashgul (Kam) valley
of the Kafiristan
, now called Nuristan. They were so-called because of the color of the robes they wore. They were distinguished from the Sped-Posh (white-robed) Kafirs (sometimes also called Lal-Posh or Red robed) by reason of the color of their dress as also because of their language, customs and other characteristics. The Siah-Posh Kafirs (Nuristanis) have sometimes been erroneously confused with Kalasha people, though they are not directly related to the Kalash
of the neighboring Chitral
Province in Pakistan
.
who visited Kafiristan and studied the Kafirs for about two years (1889–1891) had improved upon the old classification and re-classified the Kafirs more scientifically into (1) Siah-Posh, (2) Waigulis, (3) Presungulis, or Viron people and (4) Ashkuns. The Ashukuns are probably allied to the Waigulis. The later three groups of the Kafirs formerly were collectively known as Sped-Posh Kafirs.
frontier
. The Ramgulis Katirs control twenty four village of the Ramgul valley from which they derive their name
All Siah-Posh groups of Kafirs are regarded as of common origin. The Siah-Posh Katirs themselves admit of common origin and general relationship to each other. They all have a common dress and customs and though currently they do not speak precisely same language
, but the difference in their speech is more a difference of dialect than radical distinction of language. The Kati language or its dialects are spoken by various Siah-Posh communities.
Nicholas Barrington et al. report that the Sped-Posh Kafirs (Waigulis and Presungulis) refer to all Siah-Posh Kafirs (including the Kamoz) as Katirs and regard them of the same stock linguistically and ethnographically.
According to American ethnographer Richard Strands, the Bashgul valley Kafirs have various designations like Kata, Kom, Mumo, Ksto, Bini, Jamco and Jasi etc. But they are also called by other names like Kamtozi/Kantozi, Kamozi, Kam, Katir etc.
While the Siah-Posh Kamtoz Katirs of the lower Bashgul valley are the most numerous, the Siah-Posh Kam or Kamoz/Kamoje Kafirs of the upper Bashgul valley were the most intractable and fierce and to be most dreaded for their military prowess.
(Nuristan) formed a portion of the Greek
strapy of the Paropamisadae
in the fourth and third century BCE. The people of the region were then called Kambojas
and described as of mixed Indo-Iranian
descent. Possibly, they occupied much wider area then and were gradually forced to their present mountaneous fastnesses by the Muslim onslaught during medieval era. One of their dominant clans is still known as Kam or Kamoz, while the other is called Kamtoz, which remind us of the name Kamboja"
Cf: "The Kamoz tribe of Kafirs are fairly supposed to be the surviving representatives of the Kambojas of primeval Indian literature, a name with which scholars have connected that of Cambyses
....In two other Kafir tribe
s — the Asphins and Ashkins (Ashkuns) — one is tempted to trace remnants of the Aspasii and Assaceni of Alexander's historians".
Geographical Dictionary of Ancient and Medieval India
and several other authorities note that the Siah-Posh tribe living in Hindukush mountains descended from the ancient Kambojas
While discussing the Kambojas, H. H. Wilson and several other authorities also acknowledge that there is an apparent trace of their (Kambojas' ) name in the Camojis of Kafirstan (Nuristan) who may have retreated to the mountains before the advance of the Turk
tribe
s.
The physiognomic features and other physical characteristics of the Siah-Posh tribes resemble those of the Kamboj
population of greater Panjab
(Pakistan). Like the (unmixed) Kamboj, they have fairly tall stature, fair-body color, light brown or some times green eyes, brown and some times blond hair, slender and straight or acquiline noses, high physical and mental tenacity & stamina etc.
The Siah-posh Kafirs of the Hindukush ranges, who till recently were collectively known as Kamoges or Kamojis (Sanskrit
Kambojis or Kambojas) are stated to have been a remain of a considerable ancient people among whom were original Kashmerians
and a greater part of Badakshan and Kabol as far as Deggan tribe
s...and on the southern face of the higher ridges of Himalaya extending to an unknown distance...Though whole of their pristine population being subjected to Muslim
conquerors in the Middle Ages, and having mixed with them, they have now lost their pristine individuality of national character but still among the Kabulis, in particular, it is still not infrequent to observe heads and figures that might serve for models to the sculptors who would portray a Jupiter
or a Mars
according to the refined idealism of the ancient Greek
s. The Kafirs have oval faces, their brows are well-arched and the nose and mouth even more refined than the Greeks. They are still fairer, generally, with lighter hair and gray eyes. Blending with the nearest black-haired tribes, the ancestors of the Kamoges are believed to have given rise to ancient Persian
s and with the faired-haired on the north, they are said to have produced the handsome tribes of the Goths
. The name Kamoges or Kamojis apparently reminds one of the ancient Kambojas living in Hindukush, Pamirs as well as in Badakshan. (See: Kamboja Location). The Siah-Posh clans of Kams, Kamoz/Kamoges and Kamtoz, as stated above, are said to have descended from the ancient Kambojas.
in 1398 CE. Timur's autobiography (Tuzak-i-Timuri) amply attests that he had battled both with the Katirs as well as the Kam sections of the Siah-Posh (black-robed) Kafirs of the Hindukush mountains.
invaded Afghanistan
in March, 1398. On the basis of local complaints of ill-treatment and extortions filed by the Muslim
s against the Kafirs, Timur personally attacked the Kators of the Siah-Posh group located north-east of Kabul
in Eastern Afghanistan. The Kators left their fort Najil and took refuge at the top of the hill. Timur razed the fort to ground, burnt their houses and surrounded the hill where the Kator had collected for shelter. The relic of the historic fort is said to still exist a little north to Najil in the form of a structure known as Timur Hissar (Timur's Fort). After a tough fight, some of the Kators were defeated and were instantly put to death while the others held out against heavy odds for three days. Timur offered them death or Islam
. They chose the latter, but soon recanted and attacked the regiment of Muslim
soldiers during night. The latter being on guard, fought back, killed numerous Kators and took 150 as prisoners and put them to death afterwards.
Next day, Timur ordered his troop
s to advance on all four sides to kill all men, enslave the women and children and plunder or lay waste all their property. In his autobiography
called Tuzak-i-Timuri, Timur proudly boasts of the towers of the skulls of the Kators which he built on the mountain in the auspicious month of Ramazan
A.H. 800 (1300 CE)
It is notable that Timur does not boast of any killings or imprisonment of the Siah-Poshes as he does for the Katirs and numerous other communities of India proper. Also, he gives no further details of his conflict with the Siah-Poshes in his Tuzak-i-Timuri after this encounter, which clearly shows that the outcome of the fight against the Siah-Poshes was very costly and shameful for Timur.
Other references to these Kafirs are made in the fifteenth and later in sixteenth century during the Moghul period.
In 1839, the Kafirs sent a deputation to Sir William Macnaghten in Jalalabad claiming relationship with the fair skinned British troops who had invaded the country
Bashgal Valley
The Bashgal Valley is geographical feature of Nuristan Province, Afghanistan, formed by the Bashgal River, which empties into the Kunar river at Arundu and Chigar-Serai.-History:...
of the Kafiristan
Kafiristan
Kāfiristān or Kāfirstān was a historic name of Nurestan , a province in the Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan and Pakistan, prior to 1896. This historic region lies on, and mainly comprises, basins of the rivers Alingar, Pech , Landai Sin, and Kunar, and the intervening mountain ranges...
, now called Nuristan. They were so-called because of the color of the robes they wore. They were distinguished from the Sped-Posh (white-robed) Kafirs (sometimes also called Lal-Posh or Red robed) by reason of the color of their dress as also because of their language, customs and other characteristics. The Siah-Posh Kafirs (Nuristanis) have sometimes been erroneously confused with Kalasha people, though they are not directly related to the Kalash
Kalash
Kalasha or Kalash may refer to:*Kalash people of Chitral, northern Pakistan**Kalasha **Kalash language, also known as Kalasha-mondr**Kalasha Desh, their valleys*Nuristani people of Nuristan, Afghanistan...
of the neighboring Chitral
Chitral
Chitral or Chetrar , translated as field in the native language Khowar, is the capital of the Chitral District, situated on the western bank of the Kunar River , in Pakistan. The town is at the foot of Tirich Mir, the highest peak of the Hindu Kush, high...
Province in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
.
Pre-1895 (un-Islamized) Kafir society
Prior to 1895, the Kafirs of Hindukush were classified into two groups as (i) Siah-Posh and (ii) Safed-Posh. But the British investigator George Scott RobertsonGeorge Scott Robertson
Sir George Scott Robertson KCSI was a British soldier, author, and administrator who was best known for his arduous journey to the remote and rugged region of Kafiristan in what is now northeastern Afghanistan. He chronicled his Kafiristan experience in the book The Kafirs of the Hindu-Kush...
who visited Kafiristan and studied the Kafirs for about two years (1889–1891) had improved upon the old classification and re-classified the Kafirs more scientifically into (1) Siah-Posh, (2) Waigulis, (3) Presungulis, or Viron people and (4) Ashkuns. The Ashukuns are probably allied to the Waigulis. The later three groups of the Kafirs formerly were collectively known as Sped-Posh Kafirs.
Siah-Posh Sub-divisions
The Siah-Posh tribe was further sub-divided into (1) Siah-Posh Katirs (Kamtoz), (2) Siah-Posh Mumans (or Madugals), (3) Siah-Posh Kashtoz (or Kashtan), (4) Siah-Posh Gourdesh (or Istrat) and (5) Siah-Posh Kams (or Kamoze). The Siah-Posh Katirs (Kamtoz) further comprise (1) the Katirs who occupy twelve village of the lower Bashgul (Kam) country, (2) the Kti or Katawar Siah-Posh Kafirs live in the Kti valley possessing two village. (3) the Kulam Siah-Posh Katirs living in the Kulam country and controlling four villages. (4) and the Ramguli Katirs, the most numerous among the Siah-Posh Kafirs living in the most western part of Kafiristan on the AfghanAfghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
frontier
Frontier
A frontier is a political and geographical term referring to areas near or beyond a boundary. 'Frontier' was absorbed into English from French in the 15th century, with the meaning "borderland"--the region of a country that fronts on another country .The use of "frontier" to mean "a region at the...
. The Ramgulis Katirs control twenty four village of the Ramgul valley from which they derive their name
All Siah-Posh groups of Kafirs are regarded as of common origin. The Siah-Posh Katirs themselves admit of common origin and general relationship to each other. They all have a common dress and customs and though currently they do not speak precisely same language
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
, but the difference in their speech is more a difference of dialect than radical distinction of language. The Kati language or its dialects are spoken by various Siah-Posh communities.
Nicholas Barrington et al. report that the Sped-Posh Kafirs (Waigulis and Presungulis) refer to all Siah-Posh Kafirs (including the Kamoz) as Katirs and regard them of the same stock linguistically and ethnographically.
According to American ethnographer Richard Strands, the Bashgul valley Kafirs have various designations like Kata, Kom, Mumo, Ksto, Bini, Jamco and Jasi etc. But they are also called by other names like Kamtozi/Kantozi, Kamozi, Kam, Katir etc.
While the Siah-Posh Kamtoz Katirs of the lower Bashgul valley are the most numerous, the Siah-Posh Kam or Kamoz/Kamoje Kafirs of the upper Bashgul valley were the most intractable and fierce and to be most dreaded for their military prowess.
Probable Racial Origin
- Some earlier writers had speculated and propagated the myth that the Kafirs of Hindukush may have descended from the army of Alexander the Great. The Pakistani Tourist Bureau still continues to propagate that the peoples in the mountains are descendants of soldiers from the army of Alexander but Greek descent of Kafirs has been discounted by H. W. Bellew, George Scott RobertsonGeorge Scott RobertsonSir George Scott Robertson KCSI was a British soldier, author, and administrator who was best known for his arduous journey to the remote and rugged region of Kafiristan in what is now northeastern Afghanistan. He chronicled his Kafiristan experience in the book The Kafirs of the Hindu-Kush...
and many later scholars. However many other scholars do believe in thei authenticity of this tale that the Kalash themselves claim as being descedants of Alexander's army. This list of scholars who propagate the Kalash's ancestry claim is true includes Sir George Scott Robertson, and Eric S. Margolis.
- The Siah-Posh Kafirs themselves claim to have descended from certain Koresh (Gurashi/Gorish or Goraish) a name linked to KoreshKoreshKoresh is a Hebrew name corresponding to the anglicised name Cyrus . It can also mean sun...
tribeTribeA tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists...
of Arabs but this is merely a fashionable fiction. H. W. Bellew relates name Gurish/Gorish or Koresh of the Kafirs accounts to Kurush and writes that Koresh or Kurush is the nationNationA nation may refer to a community of people who share a common language, culture, ethnicity, descent, and/or history. In this definition, a nation has no physical borders. However, it can also refer to people who share a common territory and government irrespective of their ethnic make-up...
al designationDesignationDesignation may refer to:* Professional certification* Designation , an official classification determined by a government agency or historical society- See also :* United States Department of Defense aerospace vehicle designation...
of the Kafir tribes of Kafiristan, north of Laghman. Bellew further speculates that Koresh (or Kurush) may have been the family name of the CyrusCyrus the GreatCyrus II of Persia , commonly known as Cyrus the Great, also known as Cyrus the Elder, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire. Under his rule, the empire embraced all the previous civilized states of the ancient Near East, expanded vastly and eventually conquered most of Southwest Asia and much...
, king of Persia who was born in the Cabul countryKabulKabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
. Keruch, according to Bellew is the name of a Rajput clan which may have been adopted into the Rajput nation though of different race and descent. Thus, Bellew seem to relate Siah-Posh Kafirs to the IranIranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ians.
- George Scott RobertsonGeorge Scott RobertsonSir George Scott Robertson KCSI was a British soldier, author, and administrator who was best known for his arduous journey to the remote and rugged region of Kafiristan in what is now northeastern Afghanistan. He chronicled his Kafiristan experience in the book The Kafirs of the Hindu-Kush...
also rejects Greek origin of the Kafirs. According to him, the present dominant clans of Kafirstan viz. the Katirs (Kamtoz), the Kams (Kamoz) and the Wais are mainly descended from the ancient IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n population of Eastern AfghanistanAfghanistanAfghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
who refused to embrace IslamIslamIslam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
in tenth century, and fled for refuge from victorious Moslems to the hilly fastnesses of Kafirstan. There they probably found other races already settled, whom they vanquished, drove away, or enslaved, or with whom they amalgamated.
- According to Donald Wilber and other recent writers, the Anthropological data suggests that the Kafirs are not the tenth century migrants to Kafirstan but are a remnant of original population of the area which according to some was DravidianDravidian peoplesDravidian peoples is a term used to refer to the diverse groups of people who natively speak languages belonging to the Dravidian language family. Populations of speakers of around 220 million are found mostly in Southern India. Other Dravidian people are found in parts of central India, Sri Lanka,...
but according to the others Indo-AryanIndo-AryansIndo-Aryan is an ethno-linguistic term referring to the wide collection of peoples united as native speakers of the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-Iranian family of Indo-European languages...
. They appear to be a mixture of an extremely ancient element related to oldest known population of central Himalayas (the Presuns), the element with resemblance to the KurdKürdKürd or Kyurd or Kyurt may refer to:*Kürd Eldarbəyli, Azerbaijan*Kürd Mahrızlı, Azerbaijan*Kürd, Goychay, Azerbaijan*Kürd, Jalilabad, Azerbaijan*Kürd, Qabala, Azerbaijan*Qurdbayram, Azerbaijan...
s and a type with NordicNorthern EuropeNorthern Europe is the northern part or region of Europe. Northern Europe typically refers to the seven countries in the northern part of the European subcontinent which includes Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Finland and Sweden...
and DinaricDinaricThe term Dinaric comes from the name of a mountain called Dinara, on the border of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.* In geography, it is used to describe the Dinaric Alps mountain chain.* In physical anthropology, it is used to describe the Dinaric race....
traits (the Siah-Posh/Wai groups) which goes back to the ancient prototype of these races preserved in the midst of Indo-AryanIndo-AryansIndo-Aryan is an ethno-linguistic term referring to the wide collection of peoples united as native speakers of the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-Iranian family of Indo-European languages...
ascendancy.
Connection with Kambojas
"Parts of KafiristanKafiristan
Kāfiristān or Kāfirstān was a historic name of Nurestan , a province in the Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan and Pakistan, prior to 1896. This historic region lies on, and mainly comprises, basins of the rivers Alingar, Pech , Landai Sin, and Kunar, and the intervening mountain ranges...
(Nuristan) formed a portion of the Greek
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
strapy of the Paropamisadae
Paropamisadae
Paropamisadae or Paropamisus was the ancient Greek name for a region of the Hindu-Kush in eastern Afghanistan, centered on the cities of Kabul and Kapisa .-History of Paropamisadae:...
in the fourth and third century BCE. The people of the region were then called Kambojas
Kambojas
The Kambojas were a kshatriya tribe of Iron Age India, frequently mentioned in Sanskrit and Pali literature.They were an Indo-Iranian tribe situated at the boundary of the Indo-Aryans and the Iranians, and appear to have moved from the Iranian into the Indo-Aryan sphere over time.The Kambojas...
and described as of mixed Indo-Iranian
Indo-Iranians
Indo-Iranian peoples are a linguistic group consisting of the Indo-Aryan, Iranian, Dardic and Nuristani peoples; that is, speakers of Indo-Iranian languages, a major branch of the Indo-European language family....
descent. Possibly, they occupied much wider area then and were gradually forced to their present mountaneous fastnesses by the Muslim onslaught during medieval era. One of their dominant clans is still known as Kam or Kamoz, while the other is called Kamtoz, which remind us of the name Kamboja"
Cf: "The Kamoz tribe of Kafirs are fairly supposed to be the surviving representatives of the Kambojas of primeval Indian literature, a name with which scholars have connected that of Cambyses
Cambyses
Cambyses can refer to two ancient rulers and two plays:-*Cambyses I, King of Anshan 600 to 559 BCE*Cambyses II, King of Persia 530 to 522 BCE*Cambyses, a tragedy by Thomas Preston...
....In two other Kafir tribe
Tribe
A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists...
s — the Asphins and Ashkins (Ashkuns) — one is tempted to trace remnants of the Aspasii and Assaceni of Alexander's historians".
Geographical Dictionary of Ancient and Medieval India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and several other authorities note that the Siah-Posh tribe living in Hindukush mountains descended from the ancient Kambojas
While discussing the Kambojas, H. H. Wilson and several other authorities also acknowledge that there is an apparent trace of their (Kambojas' ) name in the Camojis of Kafirstan (Nuristan) who may have retreated to the mountains before the advance of the Turk
Turkic peoples
The Turkic peoples are peoples residing in northern, central and western Asia, southern Siberia and northwestern China and parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. They share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds...
tribe
Tribe
A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists...
s.
The physiognomic features and other physical characteristics of the Siah-Posh tribes resemble those of the Kamboj
Kamboj
The Kambojs , also Kamboh, are an ethnic community of the Punjab region. They may relate to the Kambojas, an Iranian tribe known to the people of Iron Age India and mentioned in ancient Sanskrit texts and epigraphy. Kamboj is frequently used as a surname in lieu of the sub-caste or the gotra name...
population of greater Panjab
Punjab region
The Punjab , also spelled Panjab |water]]s"), is a geographical region straddling the border between Pakistan and India which includes Punjab province in Pakistan and the states of the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and some northern parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi...
(Pakistan). Like the (unmixed) Kamboj, they have fairly tall stature, fair-body color, light brown or some times green eyes, brown and some times blond hair, slender and straight or acquiline noses, high physical and mental tenacity & stamina etc.
Ancient Roots of the Kafirs (Nurestanis)
The Siah-posh Kafirs of the Hindukush ranges, who till recently were collectively known as Kamoges or Kamojis (Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
Kambojis or Kambojas) are stated to have been a remain of a considerable ancient people among whom were original Kashmerians
Kashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
and a greater part of Badakshan and Kabol as far as Deggan tribe
Tribe
A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists...
s...and on the southern face of the higher ridges of Himalaya extending to an unknown distance...Though whole of their pristine population being subjected to Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
conquerors in the Middle Ages, and having mixed with them, they have now lost their pristine individuality of national character but still among the Kabulis, in particular, it is still not infrequent to observe heads and figures that might serve for models to the sculptors who would portray a Jupiter
Jupiter (mythology)
In ancient Roman religion and myth, Jupiter or Jove is the king of the gods, and the god of the sky and thunder. He is the equivalent of Zeus in the Greek pantheon....
or a Mars
Mars (mythology)
Mars was the Roman god of war and also an agricultural guardian, a combination characteristic of early Rome. He was second in importance only to Jupiter, and he was the most prominent of the military gods worshipped by the Roman legions...
according to the refined idealism of the ancient Greek
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
s. The Kafirs have oval faces, their brows are well-arched and the nose and mouth even more refined than the Greeks. They are still fairer, generally, with lighter hair and gray eyes. Blending with the nearest black-haired tribes, the ancestors of the Kamoges are believed to have given rise to ancient Persian
Persian people
The Persian people are part of the Iranian peoples who speak the modern Persian language and closely akin Iranian dialects and languages. The origin of the ethnic Iranian/Persian peoples are traced to the Ancient Iranian peoples, who were part of the ancient Indo-Iranians and themselves part of...
s and with the faired-haired on the north, they are said to have produced the handsome tribes of the Goths
Goths
The Goths were an East Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin whose two branches, the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths, played an important role in the fall of the Roman Empire and the emergence of Medieval Europe....
. The name Kamoges or Kamojis apparently reminds one of the ancient Kambojas living in Hindukush, Pamirs as well as in Badakshan. (See: Kamboja Location). The Siah-Posh clans of Kams, Kamoz/Kamoges and Kamtoz, as stated above, are said to have descended from the ancient Kambojas.
Siah-Posh Kafirs in history
The first reference to Siah-Posh Kafirs occurs in Timur's invasion of AfghanistanAfghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
in 1398 CE. Timur's autobiography (Tuzak-i-Timuri) amply attests that he had battled both with the Katirs as well as the Kam sections of the Siah-Posh (black-robed) Kafirs of the Hindukush mountains.
Timur's encounter with Katirs/Kators
TimurTimur
Timur , historically known as Tamerlane in English , was a 14th-century conqueror of West, South and Central Asia, and the founder of the Timurid dynasty in Central Asia, and great-great-grandfather of Babur, the founder of the Mughal Dynasty, which survived as the Mughal Empire in India until...
invaded Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
in March, 1398. On the basis of local complaints of ill-treatment and extortions filed by the Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s against the Kafirs, Timur personally attacked the Kators of the Siah-Posh group located north-east of Kabul
Kabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
in Eastern Afghanistan. The Kators left their fort Najil and took refuge at the top of the hill. Timur razed the fort to ground, burnt their houses and surrounded the hill where the Kator had collected for shelter. The relic of the historic fort is said to still exist a little north to Najil in the form of a structure known as Timur Hissar (Timur's Fort). After a tough fight, some of the Kators were defeated and were instantly put to death while the others held out against heavy odds for three days. Timur offered them death or Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
. They chose the latter, but soon recanted and attacked the regiment of Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
soldiers during night. The latter being on guard, fought back, killed numerous Kators and took 150 as prisoners and put them to death afterwards.
Next day, Timur ordered his troop
Troop
A troop is a military unit, originally a small force of cavalry, subordinate to a squadron and headed by the troop leader. In many armies a troop is the equivalent unit to the infantry section or platoon...
s to advance on all four sides to kill all men, enslave the women and children and plunder or lay waste all their property. In his autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
called Tuzak-i-Timuri, Timur proudly boasts of the towers of the skulls of the Kators which he built on the mountain in the auspicious month of Ramazan
Ramazan
The word Ramazan is used to refer to several different things:*People:** Ramazan Tavşancıoğlu, Australian football player** Ramazan Kurşunlu, Turkish football player** Ramazan Ramazanov, Russian kickboxer...
A.H. 800 (1300 CE)
Timur's encounter with Kam Kafirs
Again, according to Timur's autobiography (Tuzak-i-Timuri), a military division of ten thousand Muslim soldiers was sent against the Siah-Posh (Kam) Kafirs under the command of General Aglan Khan to either slay these infidels or else to convert them into Islam. Tuzak-i-Timuri frankly admits that the regiment was badly routed by a small number of Siah-Posh Kafirs. The Muslim forces had to flee from the battle-field leaving their horses and armor. Another detachment had to be sent under Muhammad Azad which fought gallantly and recovered the horses and the armor lost by General Aglan and came back home, leaving the Siah-Posh alone.It is notable that Timur does not boast of any killings or imprisonment of the Siah-Poshes as he does for the Katirs and numerous other communities of India proper. Also, he gives no further details of his conflict with the Siah-Poshes in his Tuzak-i-Timuri after this encounter, which clearly shows that the outcome of the fight against the Siah-Poshes was very costly and shameful for Timur.
Other references to these Kafirs are made in the fifteenth and later in sixteenth century during the Moghul period.
In 1839, the Kafirs sent a deputation to Sir William Macnaghten in Jalalabad claiming relationship with the fair skinned British troops who had invaded the country
See also
- Hindukush Kafir people
- KomKom (people)The Kom or Kam or kamboj are a Nuristani tribe in Afghanistan and Pakistan.Most used alternative names are Kamozi, Kamoz/Camoze, Caumojee/Kaumoji, and Camoje The Kom or Kam or kamboj are a Nuristani tribe in Afghanistan and Pakistan.Most used alternative names are Kamozi, Kamoz/Camoze,...
- Kata-variKata-variKata-vari is a dialect of the Kamkata-viri language spoken by the Kata in parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan. The most used alternative names are Kati, Kativiri or Bashgali, which derive from Khowar....
- Katirs
- Kamtoz
- KamKAMSKAMS is a radio station licensed to Mammoth Spring, Arkansas, USA. The station is currently owned by E-Communications, LLC....
- Kafirstan
- Nurestan
- Nuristani people
- Nuristani languagesNuristani languagesThe Nuristani languages are one of the three groups within the Indo-Iranian language family, alongside the much larger Indo-Aryan and Iranian groups. They are spoken primarily in eastern Afghanistan...
- KambojasKambojasThe Kambojas were a kshatriya tribe of Iron Age India, frequently mentioned in Sanskrit and Pali literature.They were an Indo-Iranian tribe situated at the boundary of the Indo-Aryans and the Iranians, and appear to have moved from the Iranian into the Indo-Aryan sphere over time.The Kambojas...
- KambojKambojThe Kambojs , also Kamboh, are an ethnic community of the Punjab region. They may relate to the Kambojas, an Iranian tribe known to the people of Iron Age India and mentioned in ancient Sanskrit texts and epigraphy. Kamboj is frequently used as a surname in lieu of the sub-caste or the gotra name...