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Sarbani
سړبني
Sarbani; سړبني
Ethnicity	Pashtun
Location	Afghanistan, Pakistan
Population	several millions
Branches	Durrani, Ghoryakhel, Tareen, Yousufzai
Language	Pashto
Religion	Islam

The Saṛbanī (Pashto: سړبني) or Sarban Confederacy are a tribal group of Pashtuns. They are situated in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Sarbani include many Pashtun tribes, including Yusufzai, Sherani, Tareen, Loni, Durrani (Abdali), Khalil, Kheshgi, Kasi which includes Mohmand and Shinwari, Daudzai, Muhammadzai, Chamkani and Tarkalani. According to the Pashtun legend of origins, the members of the Sarbani group all descend from Sarban, said to be the first son of the legendary founding father of the Pashtun people, Qais Abdur Rashid.

History

The origin of the Sarbani may be connected with Hephthalites,^[1] who had a large nomadic confederation that included present-day Afghanistan and Pakistan in the 5th-6th centuries AD, as well as with Scythians,^[2] who are known to have settled where most of Pashtuns live today.

The Durrani Empire that existed in the 18th-19th centuries and that was centered in the territory of present-day Afghanistan and Pakistan was founded by the Ahmad Shah Durrani, a Pashtun military commander under Nader Shah of Persia and chief of the Abdali Sarban tribe. Since that time, the Abdali tribe has been known as Durrani.

Geographic distribution

Afghanistan

In Afghanistan, Sarbani mainly inhabit the provinces of Kandahar, Zabul, Uruzgan, Helmand, Nimroz, Farah, Herat, Badghis, Balkh, and Kunduz, as well as the provinces Nangarhar and Kunar in the eastern part of the country.

Pakistan

In Pakistan, Sarbanis are living throughout the city of Peshawar, northern and eastern parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas regions. Additional large settlements are found in Multan, Quetta, KPK, Mansehra, Abbottabad, Haripur and in the northern parts of Balochistan.^[3]

Sarbani tribes

Abubakar Siddique writes that "Under the prevailing classifications, Pashtuns are divided into four main tribal groupings: the Sarbani, Bettani, Ghurghust and Karlani. The Sarbanis are divided into two branches: the Sharkbun and the Kharshbun. The most significant tribes of this branch today are the Chamkani, Daudzai, Durrani, Loni (Pashtun tribe), Kansi, Khalil, Mohmand, Sherani, Shinwari, Tareen, Tarkalani, and Yusufzai.^[4]