Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "Qizilbash" in English language version.
The Qizilbash, or "Red Heads," were Turkic warriors-turned-Persian who had arrived in Afghanistan in numbers after Nadir Shah's and other Persian debacles.
Some of Nadir's Qizilbash soldiers settled in Afghanistan where their descendants had successful careers in the army (until the end of Dost Muhammad's rule), government, the trades, and crafts.
According to Husaini, the "gholam Khana" furnished 15,000 out of Shah Zaman's total cavalry of 100,000 and consisted mostly of Qizilbash. Burnes reports that the Qizilbash retained a great degree of their autonomous organization and only pledged direct allegiance to their individual khans, who were in turn answerable to the king. This statement is borne out by the fact that the command of the entire bodyguard rested with the Qizilbash leader Mahmud Khan Bayat during 'Timur Shah's time. Up to Shah Zaman's reign the Khorasani contingents were listed according to tribal allegiance.
In 1996, approximately 40 percent of Afghans were Pashtun, 11.4 of whom are of the Durrani tribal group and 13.8 percent of the Ghilzai group. Tajiks make up the second-largest ethnic group with 25.3 percent of the population, followed by Hazaras, 18 percent; Uzbeks, 6.3 percent; Turkmen, 2.5 percent; Qizilbash, 1.0; 6.9 percent other. The usual caveat regarding statistics is particularly appropriate here.
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