Yousafzai
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The Yousafzai or Yusufzai (also Esapzey) (Urdu: یوسف زئی ) are an Afghan tribe. The majority of the Yousafzai tribe reside in the Pukhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan. Yousafzais are the predominant population in the districts of Swat, Mardan, Malakand and Swabi. They speak the northern variant of "Pukhtu" with the hard "kh" replacing the softer "sh" of southern Afghan tribes. Their manner of speaking Pashto is universally recognised as being the purest among all Pashtun tribes.
The Yousafzai tribe originated in the Kandahar area, and at that time were a small clan known by the name Khakhkhe. Disputes arose with another Afghan tribe, the Abdalis, who were more numerous and as a consequence they were forced out. They headed for Kabul, where they settled for a time during the reign of Ulugh Beg. Owing to disputes with Ulugh Beg and his Turco-Mongols, a battle was fought that was evenly drawn. Ulugh Beg invited the Khakhkhe chiefs to a dinner to discuss peace terms. They came without weapons as per the terms of the truce. Ulugh Beg treacherously massacred all the chiefs except one - a young chief, Malik Ahmad. Malik Ahmad led his people, along with allied tribes of Mohammadzai and Utmankhel and Mohmands, and settled the country from Dir to Swabi.
The Yousafzai tribe came to Swat in approximately 1450 AD and were invited south by the native Indian tribe of Dilazaks. The Yousafzais were attracted to the area and realised the weaker martial qualities of the Dilazaks. They dispossessed the Dilazaks of their land and sent them across the Indus. Further efforts by the latter to regain their lost lands led to the mass deportation of the Dilazaks to India under the command of the Moghuls.
The Yousafzai take their name from one Yousaf, of the tribe of Khakhkhe. The word Yousaf means 'Joseph' in Arabic and Zai means 'sons of' in Pashto. Yousafzai literaly means 'Sons of Joseph'. This Yousaf is a more recent ancestor. As per their oral history, as is common to all tribes that call themselves Afghan, they are the descendents of King Saul, who was from the tribe of Benjamin, of the nation of Israel.