Khamb

The Khamb are tribe of mixed Turkish and Mongol extraction, found in the Pothohar region of Punjab, Pakistan.

History and origin

According to their traditions, the ancestors of the Khamb arrived from Kathiawar, in what is now the modern state of Gujerat in India.

The Khamb were settled in their present abode, by a Hashmat Khan, a chief of the Thathaal tribe, who are natives of the Pothohar region. This Hashmat Khan was appointed as a garrison commander of Khambhat in Kathiawar, by the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. When Hashmat returned to the Pothohar region, he was accompanied by members of the garrison at Khambait. These troops were of a mixed origin and included troopers of Mongol and Afghan origin from Badakshan. He ordered that a village be built and named it Khanpur, and the Khamb tribe was granted lands in and around the new town. The tribe is still mainly found in Khambi and are also known as the “KAKKAY BILLEY” due to their blue eyes and blond hairs.

The Khamb, being of at least partly Turkic extraction are now considered a clan of the Mughal tribe.

Distribution & Villages

The Khamb are now found mainly in compact territory covering Sargodha, Jhelum and Gujrat, roughly following the course of the Jhelum River from Bhalwal to Jhelum city. There are also a few isolated villages in Rawalpindi and Chakwal districts as well.

Khambi and Chak Jalilpur in Jhelum District.

Khamb and Khanpur Khamb in the Kharian Tehsil of Gujrat District.

Khamb Kalan in the Phalia Tehsil of Mandi Bahauddin District.

Khamb Nau and Khamb Kohna in the Bhalwal Tehsil of Sargodha District

Khamb in Rawalpindi District

See also

• Mughal
• Tribes and clans of the Pothohar Plateau