List of Afghans

The following is a list of notable Afghan people, which includes all the ethnic groups of the modern state of Afghanistan. Afghanistan has gone through territorial changes. This list generally excludes Ethnic Pashtuns who originate from regions that were not controlled by Afghanistan at the time, though there are exceptions for certain figures who are prominent to Pashtuns.

Monarchs

Humayun (reigned 26 December 1530 – 17 May 1540) Second Mughal emperor in India.
Demetrius I of Bactria (c. 200 – c. 180 BCE) King of Bactria
Eucratides I (reigned 171–145 BC) King of the Bactrian Empire
Menander I (reigned 165/155–130 BC) Indo-Greek king
Mahmud of Ghazni (reigned 998 – 30 April 1030) Sultan of the Ghaznavid Empire
Ghiyath al-Din Muhammad (reigned 1163 – 11 February 1203) Sultan of the Ghurid Empire
Muhammad of Ghor (reigned 1173–1202) Sultan of the Ghurid Sultanate
Muhammad Shah (reigned 27 September 1719 – 26 April 1748) 13th Mughal Emperor
Abu Sa'id Mirza (reigned Samarkand: 1451–1469, Herat: 1459–1469) Ruler of the Timurd empire
Alauddin Khalji (reigned 19 July 1296 – 4 January 1316) Turco-Afghan Ruler of Delhi Sultanate
Ulugh Beg II (reign 1461–1502) Timiurd Ruler of Kabul and Ghazni
Sayed Kayan Sayed Nadir Shah Al-Hussaini Kayani who was known as Sayed Kayan was a prominent Islamic philosopher, religious and political figure.
Abul-Qasim Babur Mirza Timiurd Ruler of khorasan
Sher Shah Suri (1537 – 22 May 1545) Founder of the Suri Empire in India,
Sultan Husayn Bayqara (reigned 1469 – 4 May 1506) Amir of the Timurid Empire
Ahmad Shah Durrani (1747–1772) was the founder of the Durrani Empire and is regarded as the founder of the modern state of Afghanistan
Jalal-ud-din Khalji (reigned 13 June 1290 - 19 July 1296) Founder of the Khalji dynasty, 12th Ruler of the Delhi Sultanate
Kalu Khan Yousufzai - Yousufzai Afghan monarch of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. known for the Battle of Malandari Pass (1586)

Presidents

Ashraf Ghani – served as the fifth president of Afghanistan and as the second and final president of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
Burhanuddin Rabbani
Daoud Khan
Hamid Karzai
Mohammad Najibullah
Nur Muhammad Taraki

Politicians and diplomats

Mohammad Shafiq Hamdam, civil right activists, political and international affairs analyst and tech expert.
Muhammad Yunus Nawandish, was the Mayor of Kabul from after his appointment by Afghan President Hamid Karzai in January 2010
Mohammad Siddiq Chakari
Sayed Mansur Naderi Former Vice-president of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
Abdul Ahmad Zahedi Niqala
Sadat Mansoor Naderi, Former State Minister for Peace
Wahid Omar
Amrullah Saleh the second Panjshir resistance
Rafael Pinhasi Israeli politician
Mahmud Tarzi Afghan politician and intellectual, known as founder of Afghan journalism
Mohammad Ibraheem Khwakhuzhi
Zalmay Khalilzad Afghan-American diplomat and foreign policy expert
Rangin Dadfar Spanta
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
Ali Ahmad Khan Afghan politician and self proclaimed Emir of Afghanistan for a few weeks
Ismael Balkhi Hazara political leader and reformist
Abdul Rahman Pazhwak diplomat, scholar and poet
Abdul Qadir (Afghan communist) Afghan politician, diplomat, and military officer
Mohammed Aziz Khan Afghan prince and diplomat
Abdur Rahim Khan (governor) Afghan governor of Herat
Abdul Rashid Dostum Afghan warlord
Farkhunda Zahra Naderi, Former MP and Senior Advisor to President Ashraf Ghani
Mohammad Shafiq Hamdam
Juma Khan Hamdard governor of Paktia Province from 2007 to 2015
Sayed Mohammad Ali Jawid Afghan politician
Khairullah Khairkhwa current Afghan Minister of Information and Culture and a former Minister of the Interior.
Dawood Laghmani Afghan politician
Abdur Rahman Mahmudi, medical doctor and politician
Kubra Noorzai Afghan politician. She was the first woman to become a government minister in the country.
Nasima Razmyar Afghan-Finnish politician, elected to the Finnish Parliament in 2015
Mohammad Nabi Omari Afghan politician, governor of Khost province and held for nearly twelve years in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay
Abdul Ali Mazari political leader of the Hezb-e Wahdat party
Khushnood Nabizada Chief of Staff to State Ministry for Peace (SMP)
Ahmad ibn Nizam al-Mulk born in Balkh, Persian vizier of the Seljuq Empire and then the Abbasid Caliphate.
Shah Mahmud Khan Prime Minister of Afghanistan from May 1946 to 7 September 1953, under King Mohammed Zahir Shah's monarchy
Abdul Hadi Dawi Afghan poet, diplomat and government official.
Naqibullah Orya Khail, leader of Hezb-e-Jawanan Musalman Afghanistan

Military figures

Kamal al-Din Gurg (died late 1315 or early 1316), general of the Delhi Sultanate ruler Alauddin Khalji.
Adham Khan general of Akbar the Great, third Mughal empire
Mullah Omar Mujahideen leader, co-founder of the Taliban and served as its first leader
Ahmad Shah Massoud military commander - “National Hero of Afghanistan”
Jalaluddin Haqqani Afghan insurgent commander who founded the Haqqani network
Ala al-Dawla Mirza Timurid prince and a grandson of the Central Asian ruler Shah Rukh
Bairam Khan military commander and commander-in-chief of the Mughal army
Wazir Akbar Khan Afghan prince, general and Emir
Habibullāh Kalakāni leader of the Saqqawists
Abdul Qadir (Afghan communist) military officer in the Afghan Air Force
Commander Shafi Hazara ethnic Hazara military commander in Afghanistan
Kabir Andarabi military official
Sayed Jafar Naderi Military Official and former governor of Baghlan province.
Abdul Rasul Sayyaf Mujahideen commander
Dadullah Taliban's senior military commander in Afghanistan until his death in 2007
Obaidullah Akhund Defence Minister in the Afghan Taliban government of 1996–2001
Amin Wardak major Afghan Mujahideen leader
Abdul Raziq Achakzai Afghan Army Lieutenant General and Police Chief, considered to be one of the most powerful security officials in Afghanistan for the last few years of his life
Tahir ibn Husayn General and Governor of Khurasan during the Abbasid caliphate
Masrur al-Balkhi senior military officer in the late-9th century Abbasid Caliphate
Azad Khan Afghan military commander
Sardar Shah Wali Khan political and military figure in Afghanistan
Mohammad Akram, vice Chief of Staff of the Afghan National Army; died in a suicide attack in 2005.
Mohammad Fahim (1957–2014), Marshal in the Afghan National Army
Khoshal Sadat Pashtun military officer

Scientists

Jamal ad-Din al-Afghani – philosopher
Abolfadl Harawi the astronomer of Herat
Ahmad ibn Farrokh physician of 12th century
Hedayat Amin Arsala – economist
Mohammad Amin Fatemi – physician
Habib Mangal – physician
Abdul Ahad Mohmand – astronaut, he became the first Afghan citizen and the fourth Muslim to visit outer space, he also made Pashto the 4th spoken language in space.
Abdul Karim Mustaghni
Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Harawi the physician of 15th century Herat
M. Ishaq Nadiri – professor of economics
Ghulam Faroq Nijrabi – physician
Abbas Noyan – engineer
Hamidullah Qalandarzai – engineer
Mohammad Qayoumi – engineer; president of San Jose State University
Daud Shah Saba – geologist
Sima Samar – physician
Habiba Sarobi – hematologist
Nazif Shahrani – professor of anthropology
Ishaq Shahryar – solar energy inventor
Kabir Stori – psychologist
Zemaryalai Tarzi – archeologist
Abdul Qayum Tutakhail – physician
Ghulam Sediq Wardak – inventor
Sediq Afghan – mathematician
Abu Ma'shar al-Balkhi (787-886 AD) – astrologer
Abu Zayd al-Balkhi (850–934 AD) – geographer and mathematician
Al-Muqanna (-783 AD) – chemist, also known for leading an Islamic revolt and claiming to be a prophet
Al-Sijzi (945-1020 AD) – Muslim astronomer, mathematician, and astrologer

Entrepreneurs

Historians

Abdul Rauf Benawa Chronicler
Abd al-Razzaq Samarqandi – chronicler and Islamic scholar
Abdul Hai Habibi (1910–1984)
Abdul Shakoor Rashad (1921–2004)
Abu Mansour al-Hosein ibn Muhammad al-Marghani
Akram Assem
Faiz Mohammad Katib Hazara
Ghulam Mohammad Ghobar (1898–1978)
Hamid Naweed
Khvandamir
Omara Khan Massoudi – geographer, historian
Zalmay A. Gulzad

Actors and film directors

Latif Ahmadi – director of Afghan Film, Afghanistan's state-run film company
Leena Alam – actress
Siddiq Barmak (born 1962) – directed the drama film Osama (2003)
Abdul Ghafoor Breshna – painter, music composer, poet and film director
Sonia Nassery Cole – directed the drama film The Black Tulip (2010)
Zohre Esmaeli (born 1985) – model, author, designer
Fahim Fazli – actor, author, modification speaker, cultural technical advisor for US Marines
Azita Ghanizada, actress
Marina Golbahari
Haji Kamran
Kader Khan (1937–2018), Bollywood film actor and producer
Ahmad Khan Mahmidzada
Mamnoon Maqsoodi (born 1966)
Celina Jaitly, actress in Indian cinema
Shakila, Indian actress
Anisa Wahab
Abdul Wahid Nazari (born 1953)
Nelofer Pazira
Soosan Firooz
Arshi Khan, model and celebrity
Atiq Rahimi – French-Afghan filmmaker, writer
Salim Shaheen
Kawa Ada
Awesta Zarif – actress, director, singer

Writers (including journalists)

Qais Akbar Omar (born in 1982 in Kabul, Afghanistan) writer, journalist, memoirist
Abdul Khaliq Hussaini journalist, activist
Abu Mansur al-Azhari (895–980) lexicographer, philologist and grammarian of Arabic; prominent philogist of his time
Abu Ubaid al-Qasim bin Salam (770–838) philologist and the author of many standard works on lexicography, Qur’anic sciences
Ahmad Javeed Ahwar
Aziz Ullah Haidari journalist
Chékéba Hachemi Afghan feminist and writer
Dr. Hafiz Sahar (1928–1982)
Fariba Nawa (born 1973)
Gul Mohamad Zhowandai
Hafizullah Khaled
Homeira Qaderi
Khaled Hosseini (born 1965)
Khushnood Nabizada, journalist and entrepreneur
Leila Christine Nadir
Mahmud Tarzi (1865–1933)
Mohammad Haider Zhobal history writer
Mohammad Jan Fana (born 1932)
Nelofer Pazira
Nelufar Hedayat
Qiamuddin Khadim
Rahnaward Zaryab
Sakena Yacoobi
Sayed Ihsanuddin Taheri
Sultan Munadi (1976–2009)
Tamim Ansary
Yalda Hakim, journalist

Poets

Abdul Bari Jahani Afghan poet, most notable work is the national anthem of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
Abdul Rahman Pazhwak (1919–1995)
Abu al-Fath al-Busti (942–1010)
Ali-Shir Nava'i (1441–1501) poet, writer, politician, linguist, mystic and painter
Ghani Khan (1914–1996)
Hafizullah Khaled
Hakim Sanai (1080–1131)
Hamza Baba (1907–1994) Sage of Herat, the great Sufi mystic of 11th century
Kabir Stori (1942–2006)
Khalilullah Khalili (1907–1987)
Khushal Khan Khattak (1613–1689)
Khwaja Abdullah Ansari
Latif Nazemi (born 1947)
Layla Sarahat Rushani (died 2004)
Mahmūd Tarzī (1830–1900)
Makhfi Badakhshi
Matiullah Turab^[1]
Mohammad Hashem Zamani
Nadia Anjuman
Nazo Tokhi
Parween Pazhwak (born 1967)
Pir Roshan (1525–1582/1585)
Qahar Asi (1956–1994)
Rabia Balkhi from the city of Balkh, possibly the first female poet of Persian literature
Rahman Baba (1650–1715)
Jalāl ad-Dīn Mohammad Rūmī the great Sufi mystic and poet of 13th century
Sana Safi
Unsuri 10-11th century Persian poet, from Balkh
Wasef Bakhtari

Artists

Abdul Ghafoor Breshna – one of Afghanistan's most talented artists
Ali-Shir Nava'i (1441–1501)
Dust Muhammad – born in Herat, Persian painter of miniatures, calligrapher, and art historian. Disciple of Kamāl ud-Dīn Behzād
Kamāl ud-Dīn Behzād (1455–1535) – painter
Lida Abdul – video artist and performance artist
Malina Suliman – graffiti artist, metalworker, and painter
Mariam Ghani – visual artist, photographer, filmmaker
Shamsia Hassani – graffiti artist, a fine arts lecturer, and the associate professor of Drawing and Anatomy Drawing at the Kabul University

Religious figures

Ibrahim ibn Adham
Abdullah Ansari the religious saint of Herat in 11th century
Ibrahim ibn Adham – early ascetic Sufi saint
Ibn Hibban Scholar of Hadith
Ibn Karram 9th century Islamic scholar of Balkh
Asif Mohseni – Afghan Twelver Shi'a Marja'
Muqatil ibn Sulayman – scholar of Islam, wrote earliest, possibly first commentaries of the Quran
Hiwi al-Balkhi – 9th century exegete and critic of the bible
Ali Hujwiri – 11th-century sunni Muslim mystic, theologian and preacher.
Shahid Balkhi – Persian theologian, philosopher, poet and Sufi. Famous Persian poet Rudaki has a poem in Balkhi's elegy.
Ali al-Qari – Islamic scholar
Haji Dost Muhammad Qandhari – Afghan Sufi master
Sheikh Mohammad Rohani – Sufi cleric born around 1220 AD
Abobaker Mojadidi – spiritual Muslim leader and socio-political activist
Ahmed Gailani – was the leader of the Qadiriyyah Sufi order in Afghanistan
Mirza Muhammad Ismail – Afghan religious scholar and the first convert to the Ahmadiyya faith
Sultan Balkhi – 14th century Muslim saint, known for preaching Islam in Bengal
Ibn Hibban – scholar, Muhaddith, historian and author of well-known works
Malak Yousaf Afghan – primogenitor of the Qazyan family^[2]

Sportspeople

Asghar Afghan – cricketer, Afghanistan's former captain and ended his career with the highest T20I wins as a captain.
Dawlat Zadran – cricketer
Farid Basharat – UFC Fighter
Gulbadin Naib – cricketer
Hamid Hassan – cricketer
Hazratullah Zazai – cricketer, led Afghanistan to the highest T20I score of 278/3
Hussain Sadiqi – Afghan Australian martial artist
Jan Alam Hassani – volleyballer
Ashraf Hussainzada – football referee
Javed Ahmadi – cricketer
Javid Basharat – UFC Fighter
Jeff Bronkey – Afghan-American former Major League Baseball pitcher
Khaleqdaad Noori – cricketer
Mohammad Nabi – cricketer, 1st in Allrounder rankings.
Moshtagh Yaghoubi – Afghan-born Finnish footballer
Mujeeb Ur Rahman – cricketer
Mustafa Amini – Afghan-Australian footballer
Nadia Nadim – footballer
Nasrat Haqparast – UFC Fighter
Nasratullah Nasrat – cricketer
Qaher Hazrat – cyclist
Qais Ahmad – cricketer
Raees Ahmadzai – cricketer
Rahmanullah Gurbaz – cricketer
Rashid Khan – cricketer, the ICC Men's T20I Player of the Decade
Rohullah Nikpai – first Afghanistan's Taekwondo Olympic winner of 2008 and 2012
Said Karimulla Khalili – Russian-Afghan biathlete
Sandjar Ahmadi – footballer
Shamila Kohestani – footballer, and former captain of the Afghanistan women's national football team
Shamsuddin Amiri – footballer
Siyar Bahadurzada – UFC fighter
Yamin Ahmadzai – cricketer

Musicians (including composers)

Abdul Rahim Sarban
Ahmad Wali
Ahmad Zahir
Aryana Sayeed
Dawood Sarkhosh
Farhad Darya
Hangama
Latif Nangarhari
Meira Omar
Miri Maftun
Mozhdah Jamalzadah
Naghma
Naim Popal
Nainawaz – artist, poet and composer; composed some of the most iconic pieces in Afghan popular music
Nashenas – one of the oldest surviving musicians from Afghanistan
Nasrat Parsa
Omar Akram – Grammy Award-winning Afghan-American recording artist, composer and pianist
Rahim Bakhsh
Rukhshana – one of the first Afghan female singers
Soosan Firooz – actress and rapper
Ubaidullah Jan – Pashto singer

Female activists

Adela Mohseni^[3]
Anahita Ratebzad (1931–2014)
Aryana Sayeed – women's rights activist and famous singer
Asila Wardak
Farida Azizi – advocate for peace and women's rights.
Farkhunda Zahra Naderi – women Rights Activist
Fatema Akbari
Fawzia Koofi
Jamila Afghani – founder of Noor Educational and Capacity Development Organization (NECDO)
Khadija Ahrari – helped give women the right to vote
Laila Haidari (born 1978)^[4]
Malalai Joya (born 1978)
Manizha Wafeq^[5]
Mariam Ghani – artist and advocate for women's rights
Marzia Basel – advocate for women's education
Masuma Esmati Wardak
Rona Tarin – Afghan politician and women's rights activist
Roqia Abubakr
Safia Ahmed-jan – women's rights activist
Sima Samar – human rights, democracy, first Afghan's Noble award candidate
Sitara Achakzai – women's rights activist

Others

Abdul Khaliq Hazara – assassin
Abdul Khaliq Hussaini (born 1977)
Abdul Latif Pedram – professor of literature
Abdul Majid Zabuli (1896–1998) – founder of Bank-e-Melli Afghanistan
Afghana – tribal chief or prince of Pashtuns, traditionally considered the progenitor of modern-day Pashtuns.
Ahmad Massoud (born 1989)
Al-Farabi (872–950) early Islamic philosopher and polymath; also known as Alpharabius in the west
Azizullah Royesh – social activist
Baysunghur – prince from the house of Timurids
Durkhanai Ayubi – Afghan-Australian food expert, restaurateur, and prize-winning cookbook author
Faiz Ahmad – Marxist–Leninist Afghan revolutionary and the founding leader of the Afghanistan Liberation Organization (ALO)
Ghulam Muhammad Tarzi – soldier, poet, and military leader
Khalid ibn Barmak – born in Balkh, 8th century Soldier and administrator
Khwaja Usman – Mughal opponent, Baro-Bhuyan chieftain
Malalai of Maiwand – national folk hero of Afghanistan also known as "Afghan Jeanne d'Arc"; rallied the Pashtun fighters to fight against the British invaders in the Battle of Maiwand causing an Afghan victory
Mir Masjidi Khan (died 1841) – Afghan resistance leader
Mohammad Sharif Razai – medical doctor and researcher
Nur Jahan – Empress consort of Mughal Empire
Qurban Ali Mirzaee, actor
Razia Muradi (born 1995/1996) academic
Robert Joffrey – born Anver Bey Abdullah Jaffa Khan to Afghan father and Italian mother; choreographer, dancer, director
Roxana princess that Alexander the Great married, either born in Bactria (Balkh) or Sogodia
Safi Rauf (born 1994)
Sharbat Gula (born 1972)
Trapusa and Bahalika – first two lay disciples of the Buddha
Vida Mohammad – model
Vida Samadzai – model
Yoram Cohen – born to Afghan Jewish parents, director of Israel's internal security service "Shin Bet"
Youssof Kohzad – writer, painter, playwright, artist, poet and actor
Zablon Simintov – Afghan Jewish carpet trader and restaurateur; widely known for being thought as the last Jew remaining in Afghanistan
Zallascht Sadat – model

References

↑ Ahmed, Azam (19 August 2013). "An Afghan Shapes Metal and Hard Poetry". The New York Times.
↑ "Rohani Taroon" by Qazi Abdul Haleem Asar Afghani
↑ Hamilton, Graeme (7 June 2013). "How Ottawa abandoned an Afghan activist who received death threats for working with Canadian 'infidels'". National Post. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
↑ Nordland, Rod (2019-02-15). "She's a Force of Nature, and She Just Declared War on Peace With the Taliban". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-03-14.
↑ "Peace Through Business Network's Profile Photo Peace Through Business Network". ptbn.org.af. Archived from the original on 2016-12-20. Retrieved 2016-12-08.

[1] Ahmed, Azam (19 August 2013). "An Afghan Shapes Metal and Hard Poetry". The New York Times.

[2] "Rohani Taroon" by Qazi Abdul Haleem Asar Afghani

[3] Hamilton, Graeme (7 June 2013). "How Ottawa abandoned an Afghan activist who received death threats for working with Canadian 'infidels'". National Post. Retrieved 2026-06-14.

[4] Nordland, Rod (2019-02-15). "She's a Force of Nature, and She Just Declared War on Peace With the Taliban". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-03-14.

[5] "Peace Through Business Network's Profile Photo Peace Through Business Network". ptbn.org.af. Archived from the original on 2016-12-20. Retrieved 2016-12-08.

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