The Khalaj are a Turkic ethnic group who mainly reside in Iran.
In Iran they still speak the Khalaj language, although most of them are Persianized.
Coin of Tegin Shah, described as "Iltäbar (sub-King) of the Khalaj", dated to the year 728 CE, on the Hephthalite model, imitating Sasanian king Peroz I (438-457). Obverse: Crown with tridents and lion head. Brahmi inscription around (starting 11:00): sri-hitivira kharalava parame – svara sri sahi tiginadeva karita ("His Excellency, Iltäbär of Khalaj, worshipper of the Supreme God, His Excellency the King, the divine Lord Tegin had minted this coin"). Inside,
A Khalaj coin of the 8th century CE on the Hephthalite model, imitating Sasanian king Peroz I (438-457), whose crowned bust appears on the obverse. On the reverse: Shiva standing holding trident, with legend to left χαλαγγ or χαλασσ ("Khalaj") in Bactrian.
Coinage of Muhammad Bakhtiyar Khalji as Governor of Bengal (1204-1206 CE). Struck in the name of Mu'izz al-Din Muhammad bin Sam with legends in Sanskrit, dated Samvat 1262 (1204 CE).
A coin of Jalal-ud-din Khalji (1290–1296)
The Ghiljī also spelled Khilji, Khalji, or Ghilzai or Ghilzay (غرزی), are one of the largest Pashtun tribes. Their traditional homeland is Ghazni and Qalati Ghilji in Afghanistan but they have also settled in other regions throughout the Afghanistan-Pakistan Pashtun belt. The modern nomadic Kochi people are predominantly made up of Ghilji tribes. The Ghilji make up around 20–25% of Afghanistan's total population.
Ghilji chieftains in Kabul (c. 1880)
Shah Hussain Hotak (1725–1738), the last ruler of the Hotak dynasty
Mohammad Najibullah, of the Ghilji tribe, was President of Afghanistan from 1987 to 1992
Ashraf Ghani, of the Ghilji tribe, was President of Afghanistan from 2014 to 2021