Sultan Sarang
Encyclopedia
Gakhar
Gakhar may refer to:*Gakhars, an ancient clan predominantly in present day Punjab, Pakistan.*Gakhar Hindus, the Hindu section of the Gakhar clan*Ghakhar Mandi, a small city in northeastern Punjab, Pakistan...
tribe which resided in the Pothohar region in Northern Punjab
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...
, modern day 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...
. He was born in Pharwala
Pharwala
Pharwala is a historic fort located about 40 km from Rawalpindi in Punjab, Pakistan. It is naturally defended by one side by a small Himalayan range and the other by the Swaan River. It is a Gakhar fort built in the 15th century on the ruins of a 10th century Hindu Shahi Fort...
fort and his father was a Gakhar
Gakhar
Gakhar may refer to:*Gakhars, an ancient clan predominantly in present day Punjab, Pakistan.*Gakhar Hindus, the Hindu section of the Gakhar clan*Ghakhar Mandi, a small city in northeastern Punjab, Pakistan...
chief Tatar Khan. Due to his services to Mughal emperor Babur, Sarang Khan was bestowed the title of Sultan by Emperor Babur.
Sarang's father Takar Khan/Tattar Khan allied with Mughal Emperor Babur
Babur
Babur was a Muslim conqueror from Central Asia who, following a series of setbacks, finally succeeded in laying the basis for the Mughal dynasty of South Asia. He was a direct descendant of Timur through his father, and a descendant also of Genghis Khan through his mother...
on his campaign of Hind
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...
. However, Hathi Gakhar had assassinated Takar/Tattar in a late night raid on his camp, capturing his possessions, his women and wealth. Whence Hathi Khan was defeated by Babur (who recruited the local Janjua Rajputs for this battle), he was later assassinated by an aged Sarang through poison. Sarang, now claimed leadership of the turbulent Gakhar tribe, inheriting also the title of Sultan from Mughal Babur.
Sher Shah Suri
Sher Shah Suri , birth name Farid Khan, also known as Sher Khan , was the founder of the short-lived Sur Empire in northern India, with its capital at Delhi, before its demise in the hands of the resurgent Mughal Empire...
expelled Mughal Humayun
Humayun
Nasir ud-din Muhammad Humayun was the second Mughal Emperor who ruled present day Afghanistan, Pakistan, and parts of northern India from 1530–1540 and again from 1555–1556. Like his father, Babur, he lost his kingdom early, but with Persian aid, he eventually regained an even larger one...
the son of Babur, Sarang resisted Sher Shah on the notion of loyalty to the ousted Mughal.
Sultan Sarang was later captured by Emperor Sher Shah and flayed alive. His daughter was handed to Mughal commander Khawas Khan in accordance with the Imperial order of revenge upon Sarang for his refractory rebellion against the Suri Empire.
Sultan Sarang died in 1546 CE and is buried in tomb in Rawat Fort
Rawat Fort
Rawat Fort is located in Pothohar Pakistan. The fort was built in early 16th century by Gakhars, a tribe of the Pothohar plateau. It is 17 km east of Rawalpindi on Grand Trunk Road....
. His brother Adam Khan assumed leadership of the tribe upon his demise.
Sultan Raja Erij Zaman Khan
Sultan Raja Erij Zaman Khan
Raja Erij Zaman Khan of Khanpur, in Haripur District of Hazara division, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, is the present Chief of the Gakhars tribe. He is the great-grandson of Khan Bahadur Raja Jahandad Khan a prominent chief in British India. In 1963, he succeeded his father Raja Rukan Zaman...
is the present chief.