Bangash

The Bangash, Bungish, Bangaš or Bangakh (بنګښ) are a tribe of Pashtuns, inhabiting their traditional homeland, historically known as Bangash district, which stretches from Kohat to Tall in Hangu and Spīn Ghar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. They also live as a smaller population in Gardez Paktia, Afghanistan. The Bangash are also settled in large numbers in Uttar Pradesh, India, especially in the city of Farrukhabad, which was founded in 1714 by Nawab Muhammad Khan Bangash. According to a popular folk etymology, the name Bangash, Bungish or Bangakh is derived from bon-kash (بن‌کش), which is Persian for "root drawer" or "root destroyer," implying that during battles, the Bangash would not rest until they had annihilated the enemy. During the early modern period, the Bangash homeland was known as "Bangash district and was ruled by the Khan Of Hangu since 1540 which is well documented " Babur, a Timurid (and later Mughal) ruler from Fergana (in present-day Uzbekistan) who captured Kabul in 1504, described Bangash district in his Baburnama as one of the 14 tūmān of Kabul province. In 1505, after plundering Kohat for two days, Babur's Timurid army marched southwest to raid Bangash district. As they reached a valley surrounded by mountains between Kohat and Hangu, the Bangash Pashtuns occupied the hills on both sides, surrounding the army. However, the Timurids successfully pushed the Pashtuns down towards a nearby detached hill, after which the Timurids surrounded them from all sides and got hold of them. About 100 to 200 Pashtuns were taken during the attack. On the next day, Babur reached Hangu, where the Bangash Pashtuns had fortified a sangar on the top of a hill. The Timurid army immediately captured it and beheaded about 100 to 200 more Pashtuns, setting up another tower of heads. From Hangu, the Timurid army marched to Tall. The soldiers set out to plunder the Bangash Pashtuns of the neighborhood. Afterwards, the Timurids marched from Bangash to Bannu on the Kurram River, where they set up their third pillar of severed heads.