The Mughal “Caste” of Pakistan and India
The term Mughal (or Mughul in Persian) literally means Mongol, and relates to the Turco-Mongol Timurid conqurores of South Asia.
In Pakistan and Northern India, ‘Mughals’ are a variety of culturally related Indo-Turkic clans claiming descent from various Central Asian, Turkic, Mongolic and Persian peoples.
History and Identity
In Theory they descend from largely Turkic and Mongolic people who accompanied Babur in his conquest of India, the land they settled thereafter.
However, in reality many of the Mughal families preceed even Babur, having arrived much earlier accompanying the various Turkic sultans of Delhi or the Mongols.
Assimilation into the Mughal Identity
Although the “Mughals” of today are believed to be of Turkic/Mongolic origin, many of the foreign aristocratic families of the Mughal empire were assimalted into the Mughal identity.
““The court itself does not now consist, as originally of real Mongols, but a medley of Turks, Turkman/Uzbeks, Arabs and Persians or descendants of all these classes; known, as said before by the general appellation Mughal by the Muslims of native origin”
Supposedly, if one was a foreigner, Muslim and of fair skin they would be considered Mughal.
Indeed, Persians formed the most significant faction in the Mughal court and likely account for many of todays Mughal people; others such as Arabs to a lesser extent.
Evolution: An Indo-Turkic/Indo-Persian people
On a side note, Indo-Turkic and Indo-Persian are important descriptors, as the Mughal people have intermarried heavily with Indics; loosing much of their original characteristics.
Mughal Clans
The Mughal people descend from a variety of Turkic/Persian clans that were later heavily assimilated into Indic society. I will give a brief description of the common ones;
Barlas
The leading clan of the Barlas tribe traced its origin to Qarchar Barlas, head of one of Chaghadai’s regiments.
The Barlas formed a significant part of the Mughal population in South Asia, and are the clan from which Babur hailed. Like the Chagtai, the Barlas were concentrated in cities such as Lahore, a major centre of the Mughal empire, and a smaller number in Luknow, Sindh and Kashmir.
Chugtai
Chugtai is a distorted form of Chaghadai meaning ‘he who is white’. They are perhaps the most widespread Mughal clan in South Asia, who settled across Afghanistan, Pakistan and India while accompanying Babur, maternally a Chugtai himself.
British records, unsuprisingly, showed their greatest concentrations in Delhi, the centre of Mughal power, Lucknow, the capital of the Nawabs of Awadh, and in the towns of UP, Kashmir, Hazara and Punjab.
Uzbek
Many Uzbeks accompanied Babur, and migrated into Hindustan after Mughal rule was established. Although they were considered enemies due to earlier conflicts, they formed a staple part of the army and nobility.
Tazik/Tajik
The Tajiks are an iranian people native to central Asia. The term is syonnoymous with eastern Persians and Farsiwans (persian speakers).
In the Safavid empire they were considered an unmartial people, ‘Men of the Pen’ as opposed to the Turks, ‘men of the sword’. Under the Mughals, however, they took part in both administration and the military.
Tajiks, along with the rest of their Persian/Irani kin, formed the most significant faction in the Mughal nobility; many were assimilated into the Mughal identity.
Taimuri
Taimuri is a loose term refuring to Timurid (Turco-Mongol) ancestry, specifically relating to the dynasties of Timur and Babur.
Qizilbash/Zilbash
Qizilbash, meaning ‘Red head’ in reference to their headwear, refers to a diverse array of Turkoman and Tajik (Iranian) shia militant groups that flourished in Iranian Azerbaijan and surrounding regions from the 15th century onwards.
They were the ruling class in Safavid Persia, and were the primary force utilised by Humayun to revive the Mughal emprie; thus becomming a powerful faction in the Mughal court (in which they were included amongst the Irani/Persian faction).
Colonies were settled in Kabul, Peshawer and Lahore, largely urban centres. The term later referred not only to soliders, but also traders.
Turk/Toork
Turk is a general term; almost all of the Mughal clans, except the Tajik and certain Qizilbash clans (and the assimilated Iranians/Arabs) are Turks/Turkic.
This refers to two sepcific communities of turkic extraction; those of Punjab and those of Uttar Pradesh. The Turks of UP are a cultivating community claiming descent from Turkish soldiers who accompanied Muhammad of Ghor.
In Punjab the term Turk refers to any inhabitant of Central Asia or historial Turkestan. The Turks of the Punjab region include the Karlugh Turks of the Hazara Division. Additionaly, there was also a colony of Turks ropemakers settled in Gurdaspur district. They claim descent from Turk soldiers settled in there by the Khilji sultans.
Another interesting community, who are not considered Mughal, are the militaristic Rowthers of southern India.
Turkmen/Turkoman
Historically, all of the Western or Oghuz turks have been called Türkmen or derisively Turkoman; however, today the terms are usually restricted to the Turkmen people of Turkmenistan and surrounding areas.
A large number of Turkmen clans were settled in India by the Mughal rulers. The Turkmen now form the principal Mughal clan among the Mughal communities of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in North India.
Faking Lineage
Many in South Asia, due to the horrible Caste system, had a tendency to fake lineage and claim Sayyid, Shaikh, Pashtun, Persian and Mughal descent.
Although most fake claimants went with Sayyid & Shaikh, some fabricated Turco-Persian Mughal ancestry as well.
Furthermore, many communities claim Mughal descent but the claims are not universally accepted. Such as the Rajputs of Potohar, or the Lohar/Tarkhan of Lahore.
Depictions
Barlas/Chugtai/Taimuri (Turco-Mongol)
Qizilbash/Zilbash (Turkomen + Iranian)
Uzbek (Turk)
Tazik/Tajik (Iranian)
Toork (Turk)
Turkmen/Turkoman (Turk)
Foot notes
Obviously, most of the descendents of these clans have intermarried with Indians to a significant extent, thus likely have barely if any genetic admixture left.
Most of these communities, excluding the Tajik and certain Iranic Qizilbash clans, would typically have mongolic like features such as the Epicanthic fold, which is no longer present.
This is evident from the last Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar, a direct descendant of Babur and Timur.
