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 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 phrase Zaban-e Urdu-e Mualla written in Urdu Urdu () is an Indo-European language of the Indo-Aryan family that developed under Persian, Turkish, and Arabic influence in South Asia during the Delhi Sultanate and Mughal Empire (1200-1800). ... North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) is geographically the smallest of the four provinces of Pakistan. ... Mardan, or Hoti-Mardan, is a town 30 miles north of Peshawar, in northwestern Pakistan. ... // History Geography Climate Economy Civic administration Transport Utility services Demographics People and culture Media Education Sports External links Further reading References ... Swabi lies between the river Indus and river Kabul, in the north west frontier (NWFP) of Pakistan. ...

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. Events March - French troops under Guy de Richemont besiege the English commander in France, Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, in Caen April 15 - Battle of Formigny. ...

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. Arabic can mean: From or related to Arabia From or related to the Arabs The Arabic language; see also Arabic grammar The Arabic alphabet, used for expressing the languages of Arabic, Persian, Malay ( Jawi), Kurdish, Panjabi, Pashto, Sindhi and Urdu, among others. ... Pashto (پښتو; also known as Afghan, Pathan, Pushto, Pashtoe, Pashtu, Pushtu, and Pukhto) is the language spoken by the ethnic Afghan otherwise known as the Pashtun people who inhabit Afghanistan and the western provinces of Pakistan. ...

See also

• Pashtun