The Bomba , also spelled as Bambas, are a powerful tribe of Muzaffarabad District

Muzaffarabad District

Muzaffarabad district of Azad Kashmir is located on the banks of the Jhelum and the Neelum rivers, and is very hilly. The district is bounded to Pakistan in the west and to Kupwara and Baramulla districts that comes under the Kashmir section which is part of the greater dispute between India and...

 in Azad Kashmir

Azad Kashmir

Azad Jammu and Kashmir or Azad Kashmir for short, is the southernmost political entity within the Pakistani-administered part of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir...

 Pakistan. They are also found in the Mansehra District

Mansehra District

Mansehra District is in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, an area still unofficially known as the Northwest Frontier. Mansehra district and town are named after Man Singh, a leading general of Mughal Emperor Akbar...

 of the North West Frontier Province (now Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa) of Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

.

History and origin

The Bambas erroneously style themselves as 'Sultans', claiming origins from the Quraysh Arab

Arab

Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...

 tribe, and say the name Bomba is a corruption of Banu Hashim

Banu Hashim

Banū Hāshim was a clan in the Quraysh tribe. Muhammad, was a member of this clan; his great-grandfather was Hashim, for whom the clan is named. Members of this clan are referred to by the Anglicised version of their name as Hashemites, or Huseini or Hasani...

. In fact, according to most authoritative sources they are most probably converted 'hill Rajputs'; while there is also another theory which considers them to be of Kashmiri Brahman

Brahman

In Hinduism, Brahman is the one supreme, universal Spirit that is the origin and support of the phenomenal universe. Brahman is sometimes referred to as the Absolute or Godhead which is the Divine Ground of all being...

/Pundit origins, having earlier converted to Islam

Islam

Islam . The most common are and .   : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

. In the past Bombas ruled the Jhelum

Jhelum River

Jehlum River or Jhelum River , ) is a river that flows in India and Pakistan. It is the largest and most western of the five rivers of Punjab, and passes through Jhelum District...

 valley and had a close alliance with the Khakha Rajput

Khakha

The Khakha Rajputs of Azad Kashmir, Pakistan are clan of Muslim Rajputs who have inhabited the Kashmiri region since the 13th century after the conquer of Janjua warlord Raja Khakha of the region of Upper Jhelum Valley of Kashmir.They are a branch of the powerful Janjua Rajput dynasty of Northern...

 tribe who also inhabited the same area. The success of this alliance, earned them a warlike and refractory reputation, as jointly they fought the early Mughal

Mughal Empire

The Mughal Empire ,‎ or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...

 rule of Akbar and later resisted the Sikh

Sikh

A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...

s.

Sultan Khan Muzaffar Khan Bomba established the city of Muzaffarabad

Muzaffarabad

Muzaffarabad is the capital of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, Pakistan. It is located in Muzaffarabad District on the banks of the Jhelum and Neelum rivers...

 in present day Azad Kashmir

Azad Kashmir

Azad Jammu and Kashmir or Azad Kashmir for short, is the southernmost political entity within the Pakistani-administered part of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir...

. Sultan Sher Ahmed Khan Bomba was the last Bomba ruler, who was defeated by the Dogra

Dogra

The Dogras are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group in South Asia. Being a diversified group, the Dogras include both Savarnas such as Brahmins, Rajputs and Non-savarnas. The Dogras also incluide merchant castes such as Mahajans...

 ruler Maharaja Rambir Singh at Panzgam, Kupwara

Kupwara

Kupwara is a town and a notified area committee in Kupwara District in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir.Among the many tourist places in Kupwara, Lolab Valley has special significance. Sogam is a Tehsil and a really beautiful place to visit for its meadows, mountains, gushing waters, and...

 in current day Indian Kashmir during the later 19th century.

Bombas of Hazara Division

The Bomba are found in the Boi tract of the Mansehra District

Mansehra District

Mansehra District is in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, an area still unofficially known as the Northwest Frontier. Mansehra district and town are named after Man Singh, a leading general of Mughal Emperor Akbar...

 of the Hazara Division

Hazara Division

On the dissolution of West Pakistan in 1970, Hazara District and the two tribal agencies were merged to form the new Hazara Division with its capital at Abbottabad...

of the North West Frontier Province/Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. They are represented by two main families, one of Boi and the other of Jabri Kahsh. The Boi family is an important one in this region.