Hazara People - History

History

The first mention of Hazaras are made by Babur in the early 16th century and later by the court historians of Shah Abbas of the Safavid dynasty. It is reported that they converted to Shia Islam between the end of the 16th and the beginning of the 17th century, during the Safavid period.

Hazara men along with tribes of other ethnic groups have been recruited and added to the army of Ahmad Shah Durrani in the 18th century. Some claim that in the mid 18th century Hazaras were forced out of Helmand and the Arghandab District of Kandahar Province. During the second reign of Dost Mohammad Khan's in the 19th century, Hazaras from Hazarajat began to be taxed for the first time. However, for the most part they still managed to keep their regional autonomy until the subjugation of Abdur Rahman Khan began in the late 19th century.

When the Treaty of Gandomak was signed and the Second Anglo-Afghan War ended in 1880, Abdur Rahman Khan set out a goal to bring Hazarajat and Kafiristan under his control. He launched several campaigns in Hazarajat due to resistance from the Hazaras in which his forces committed atrocities. The southern part of Hazarajat was spared as they accepted his rule, while the other parts of Hazarajat rejected Abdur Rahman and instead supported his uncle, Sher Ali Khan. In response to this Abdur Rahman waged a war against tribal leaders who rejected his policies and rule. Abdur Rahman arrested Syed Jafar, chief of the Sheikh Ali Hazara tribe, and jailed him in Mazar-e-Sharif.