Khilji Dynasty - Khalji People

Khalji People

Before their expansion into India, the Khalji people were mainly concentrated in Turkestan. In the writings of Al-Biruni, Ibn-Batuta, Ibn-Khaldun, Al-Khwarezmi, Masudi, Varahamihira and in Hudud al-'alam, they are presented as a group of Turkic origin which formed one of the older members of the Hephthalite confederation, and included many nomads near Bactria (in Turfan) and east of modern Ghazni. Many migrated to various parts of Persia, including to parts of what are now Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, then under the control of the Ghaznavids. In Iran they migrated mainly to Pars, where they settled an isolated region which is called today Khaljistan ("land of Khaljis"). However, Persian-speakers in Iran also use the term Khalji to describe nomads of Turkic background in their country. The Khaljis began to become Pashtunized (Afghanized) since the 8th century and later known as Ghilzais, part of the Pashtun ethnic group.