Karlāṇī or Karrani is a Pashtun tribal confederacy. They primarily inhabit the FATA region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan and certain parts of eastern Afghanistan. In the 16th century the Karlani founded the Karrani dynasty, the last dynasty to rule the Bengal Sultanate. .

Origins

The Karrani are likely to be related or descendants of the house of karen of Parthians Their name is said to be derived from Parthian royal families. Karlani itself means "adopted". The 17th century Mughal scribe Nimat Allah al-Harawi does not mention Karlani tribes in his Makhzan-i-Afghani. According to a legend, Karlan was the adopted son of Qais Abdur Rasheed, the eponymous ancestor of Pashtuns. In another variant of the tradition, Karlan was adopted in exchange of a cooking pot, and was found by two Ormur brothers in an empty field where an army had encamped previous night. The childless brother then exchanged baby for a pot. This suggests that Karlanis are adopted tribes of non-Pashtun origins unlike the rest of the tribes. The exact genesis of Karlani Pashtuns remains disputed, with Karlani tribes like Afridis and Bangash having Dardic or Arab origins. Sections of Karlanis claim descent from Muhammad. Nevertheless, the Karlanis consider themselves as Pashtuns.

Dialect

Karlani tribes speak central dialect, a distinct dialect of Pashto.

Karlani tribes