1871.] The District-of Bera Ismail Khan, Trans-Indus. 11 
neighbourhood from Kach Makran, entered the service of Sultan 
Husain, who was then Governor of Multan, and received from him 
land on both sides the Indus, nearly corresponding with the present 
district of Hera Ismail Khan. At first his liead quarters were at 
Babbar, twelve or fourteen miles south of the modern station, but 
Malik Suhrab’s two sons Ismail Klian and Fath Khan founded 
the towns which have since borne their names. The success of 
Malik Suhrab appears to have encouraged other adventurers from 
Kach Makran ; and one of these, Haji Khan, with his son Ghazi 
Khan, founded the town since called by the name of the latter. 
Such are the main features of the tradition, though there are sever¬ 
al slightly discrepant versions of it, the discrepancies bearing 
chiefly on the exact relationship and tribe of the three founders. 
Firislitah mentions Ismail Khan, but describes his caste as Dodai. 
These adventurers were contemporaries of Humayrin and Sher Shall, 
and are referred to in Erskine’s history, page 424, and elsewhere, 
as acknowledging the authority of Humayun’s rival. The descen¬ 
dants of Ismail and Gliazi Khan retained possession of their re¬ 
spective towns down to the time of the Durrani empire. A strange 
custom existed in both families of alternating between two names 
or titles from generation to generation. Thus Ismail Khan’s son 
was*called Braham Khan. His successor was another Ismail Khan, 
and he was followed by a second Braham Khan, and so on. In the 
same way the line of succession at Dera Ghazi alternated between 
Ghazi Khans and Haji Khans down to a recent date. But each in¬ 
dividual had an independent name besides, as the following genea¬ 
logical tree of Ismail Khan’s family proves. 
Sultan Ahmad Khan, called Malik Suhrab. 
Ismail Khan. 
Muhammad Klian. 
i 
Fath Khan. 
Nek Braham Khan. 
Khan Murad Khan. 
