Afghanistan: 'A Durrani nobleman and his attendant, Kandahar, 1841'. James Atkinson (1780-1852), 'Character and Costumes...

Durrani or Abdali is the name of a chief Sarbani Pashtun tribal confederation in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Originally known by their ancient name Abdali, they have been called Durrani since the beginning of the Durrani Empire in 1747. The number of Durranis are estimated to be roughly 16% of the population of Afghanistan or 5 million individuals. Durrani are found throughout Afghanistan and Pakistan, although large concentrations are found in the South, they are also found to less extent in East, West and Central Afghanistan. Many Durranis are found in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab provinces of Pakistan and in a lesser number in India, many of whom adopted Urdu as their language. The Durrani Pashtuns of the Afghan capital Kabul are usually bilingual in Pashto and Dari Persian. The ruling Sadozai and Barakzai dynasties of Afghanistan were originally from the Durrani.