This article is about Tarkhan, a Northern Indian tribe. For other uses, see Tarkan (disambiguation)

Tarkan (disambiguation)

Tarkan may refer to:* Tarkhan, an ancient Turkic and Mongol nobility title* Tarkhan , a tribe inhabiting northern India and Pakistan* Tarkhan , an ancient Egyptian site...

The Tarkhan ( (Shahmukhi), तरख़ान (Devanagari

Devanagari

Devanagari |deva]]" and "nāgarī" ), also called Nagari , is an abugida alphabet of India and Nepal...

) tarkhān) are considered a Punjabi

Punjabi people

The Punjabi people , ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ), also Panjabi people, are an Indo-Aryan group from South Asia. They are the second largest of the many ethnic groups in South Asia. They originate in the Punjab region, which has been been the location of some of the oldest civilizations in the world including, the...

 tribe 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...

i Punjab

Punjab (Pakistan)

Punjab is the most populous province of Pakistan, with approximately 45% of the country's total population. Forming most of the Punjab region, the province is bordered by Kashmir to the north-east, the Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan to the east, the Pakistani province of Sindh to the...

 while a caste

Caste

Caste is an elaborate and complex social system that combines elements of endogamy, occupation, culture, social class, tribal affiliation and political power. It should not be confused with race or social class, e.g. members of different castes in one society may belong to the same race, as in India...

 in 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...

n Punjab

Punjab (India)

Punjab ) is a state in the northwest of the Republic of India, forming part of the larger Punjab region. The state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the east, Haryana to the south and southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest as well as the Pakistani province of Punjab to the...

. They are carpenter

Carpenter

A carpenter is a skilled craftsperson who works with timber to construct, install and maintain buildings, furniture, and other objects. The work, known as carpentry, may involve manual labor and work outdoors....

s by occupation.

H.A. Rose supposed that they are descended from the Saka

Saka

The Saka were a Scythian tribe or group of tribes....

 tribes, and originally settled in Taxila

Taxila

Taxila is a Tehsil in the Rawalpindi District of Punjab province of Pakistan. It is an important archaeological site.Taxila is situated about northwest of Islamabad Capital Territory and Rawalpindi in Panjab; just off the Grand Trunk Road...

. Scholars such as Khalsa have analysed the work of ethnographers such as Ibbetson, Cunningham, and Elliot, and have concluded that agrarian and artisan communities in Punjab such as Tarkhans may be of Scythic origin .

Further analysis has suggested that Tarkhans may be descended from Scythic tribes who settled in north-western India in successive waves between 500 B.C. too 500 AD.

Ramgarhia/Tarkhan tribes

According to Sir Denzil Ibbetson, the major Twelve Tarkhan tribes of the 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...

 and the Northwest Frontier Province are:

• Jhangra
  Jhangra
  Jhangra is a small town and one of the 51 union councils of Abbottabad District in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is located in the south west of the district.-Subdivisions:...
  
  - found in Delhi and Hissar
• Dhaman - found in Karnal, Ambala, Jalandahar, Sialkot, Patiala, Nabha, Faridhkot and Firozpur.
• Khattia - found in Karnal, Ambala, Jalandahar, Sialkot, Patiala, Nabha, Faridhkot and Firozpur.
• Siawan - Jallandhar and Sialkot
• Gade - Amritsar
• Matharu
  Matharu
  Matharu or Matharoo is a prominent Sikh clan belonging to the Khatri/Rajput and Jat tribe.-Origins:The Matharu clan originated from Punjab.Sikh Tarkhans are more commonly known as Ramgarhias because of their reverence for the famous Misl leader, Jassa Singh Ramgarhia, who was a Tarkhan.They were...
  
  - Ludhiana, Amritsar and Lahore.
• Netal - Hoshiarpur
• Janjua - Rawalpindia
• Tharu - Gurdaspur and Sialkot
• Khokar - Lahore, Rawalpindi and Multan
• Bhatti - Lahore, Rawalpindi and Multan
• Begi Khel - Hazara.

Ibbetson notes further that:

"The carpenters of Sirsa are divided into two great sections: the Dhaman and Khati proper, and the two will not intermarry. These are two great tribes of the Lohars (q.v.). The Dhamans again include a tribe of Hindu Tarkhans called Suthar, who are almost entirely agricultural, seldom working in wood, and who look down upon the artisan sections of their caste. They say they came from Jodhpur, and that their tribe still holds villages and revenue free grants in Bikaner."

Tarkhans and Lohars

Lohar

Lohar

Lohar is an ethnic sub-caste found among Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims in Northern India and Northern Pakistan. Originally this community was a warrior tribe living in provinces of Kermanshah in Iran right up to Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan. In India the Lohars are also known as Vishwakarma, Sharma,...

s are blacksmiths. According to HA Rose and Denzil Ibbetson, Lohars are descended from Rajputs and Jats. Lohars have been accepted into Tarkhan tribal affiliations.