one of the two chief tribal confederations of Afghanistan, the other being the Ghilzay. In the time of Nāder Shāh the Durrānī were granted lands in the region of Qandahār, which was their homeland; and they moved there from Herāt.

In the late 18th century the Durrānī took up agriculture. Under Aḥmad Shāh Durrānī and Timur Shāh, the Durrānī constituted the most significant political and military support of the monarchy. The later 18th-century policy of reducing their power aroused Durrānī resistance and served as one of the principal causes of the 18th- and early 19th-century civil wars.