From 1722 to 1725, his son Mahmud Hotak briefly ruled large parts of Iran and declared himself as Shah of Persia.
From 1722 to 1725, his son Mahmud Hotak briefly ruled large parts of Iran and declared himself as Shah of Persia.
However, the Hotak dynasty came to a complete end in 1738 after being toppled and banished by the Afsharids who were led by Nader Shah Afshar of Persia. The year 1747 marks the definitive appearance of an Afghan political entity independent of both the Persian and Mughal empires.
Conquering the disunity in his tribe, in June 1747, Ahmad Shah Abdali secured Afghanistan and became the King of Afghanistan.
After his accession, Ahmad Shah Abdali changed his tribal name to "Durrani", henceforth becoming known as Ahmad Shah Durrani. After the death of Nader Shah Afshar in June 1747, Ahmad Shah Durrani laid claim to the region of Kandahar.
However, the Hotak dynasty came to a complete end in 1738 after being toppled and banished by the Afsharids who were led by Nader Shah Afshar of Persia. The year 1747 marks the definitive appearance of an Afghan political entity independent of both the Persian and Mughal empires.
In July 1747 a loya jirga (grand council) concluded near the city of Kandahar with Ahmad Shah Durrani being selected as the new leader of the Afghans, thus the Durrani dynasty was founded.
In 1749 the Mughal ruler had ceded sovereignty over much of northwest India to the Afghans.
In 1749, the Mughal Emperor Ahmad Shah Bahadur was induced to cede Sindh, the Punjab region and the important trans Indus River to Ahmad Shah Durrani in order to save his capital from Afghan attack.
In 1751–52, Ahamdiya treaty was signed between the Marathas and Mughals, when Balaji Bajirao was the Peshwa.
Early in 1757, he sacked Delhi but permitted the Mughal dynasty to remain in nominal control as long as the ruler acknowledged Ahmad Shah Durrani's suzerainty over the Punjab, Sindh, and Kashmir. After the death of Ahmad Shah Durrani in about 1772, his son Timur Shah Durrani became the next ruler of the Durrani dynasty who decided to make Kabul the new capital of the empire, and used Peshawar as the winter capital.
He sacked Delhi in 1757 but permitted the Mughal dynasty to remain in nominal control of the city as long as the ruler acknowledged Ahmad Shah's suzerainty over Punjab, Sindh, and Kashmir.
Thus, upon his return to Kandahar in 1757, Ahmad was forced to return to India and face the formidable attacks of the Maratha Confederacy. Ahmad Shah declared a jihad (or Islamic holy war) against the Marathas, and warriors from various Afghan tribes joined his army, including the Baloch people under the command of Khan of Kalat Mir Nasir I of Kalat.
Early skirmishes were followed by victory for the Afghans against the much larger Maratha garrisons in Northwest India and by 1759 Ahmad Shah and his army had reached Lahore and were poised to confront the Marathas.
By 1760, the Maratha groups had coalesced into a big enough army under the command of Sadashivrao Bhau.
The Third Battle of Panipat (14 January 1761), fought between largely Muslim and largely Hindu armies was waged along a twelve-kilometer front.
The Durranis decisively defeated the Marathas in the Third Battle of Panipat on 14 January 1761.
He received the news of the defeat of Panipat on 24 January 1761 at Bhilsa, while leading a reinforcement force.
He died on 23 June 1761, and was succeeded by his younger son Madhav Rao I. ===Final years=== The victory at Panipat was the high point of Ahmad Shah's—and Afghan—power.
In 1762, Ahmad Shah crossed the passes from Afghanistan for the sixth time to subdue the Sikhs.
Durrani's forces instigated the Vaḍḍā Ghallūghārā when they killed thousands of Sikhs in the Punjab in 1762.
Early in 1757, he sacked Delhi but permitted the Mughal dynasty to remain in nominal control as long as the ruler acknowledged Ahmad Shah Durrani's suzerainty over the Punjab, Sindh, and Kashmir. After the death of Ahmad Shah Durrani in about 1772, his son Timur Shah Durrani became the next ruler of the Durrani dynasty who decided to make Kabul the new capital of the empire, and used Peshawar as the winter capital.
Ahmad Shah retired to his home in the mountains east of Kandahar, where he died on April 14, 1773.
Timur died in 1793 and was then succeeded by his fifth son Zaman Shah ===Zaman Shah (1793–1801)=== After the death of Timur Shah, three of his sons, the governors of Kandahar, Herat and Kabul, contended for the succession.
The clans of the chiefs Zaman had executed joined forces with the rebels, and they took Kandahar without bloodshed. ===Mahmud Shah (first reign, 1801–1803)=== Zeman Shah's overthrow in 1801 was not the end of civil strife in Afghanistan, but the beginning of even greater violence.
On June 7, 1809, Shuja Shah signed a treaty with the British, which included a clause stating that he would oppose the passage of foreign troops through his territories.
Two of his sons also ruled for a brief period in 1842. ===Mahmud Shah (second reign, 1809–1818)=== Mahmud's second reign lasted nine years.
By 1818, the Sadozai rulers who succeeded Ahmad Shah controlled little more than Kabul and the surrounding territory within a 160-kilometer radius.
He seized power for a brief period in 1818–1819. ===Ayub Shah (1819–1823)=== Ayub Shah was another son of Timur Shah, who deposed Sultan Ali Shah.
He earned recognition as Ahmad Shah Baba, or "Father" of Afghanistan. The Durrani Empire lost its control over Kashmir to the Sikh Empire in the Battle of Shopian in 1819. ==Other Durrani rulers (1772–1823)== Ahmad Shah's successors governed so ineptly during a period of profound unrest that within fifty years of his death, the Durrani empire per se was at an end, and Afghanistan was embroiled in civil war.
The Durrani Empire lost its control over Kashmir to the Sikh Empire in the Battle of Shopian in 1819.
Ayub Shah was himself later deposed, and presumably killed in 1823. ==Military== The Durrani military was based on cavalry armed with flintlocks who performed hit-and-run attacks, combining new technology in firearms with Turco-Mongol tactics.
Mahmud Shah's first reign lasted for only two years before he was replaced by Shuja Shah. ===Shuja Shah (1803–1809 and 1839–1842)=== Yet another of Timur Shah's sons, Shuja Shah (or Shah Shuja), ruled for only six years.
Much later, he was reinstated by the British, ruling during 1839–1842.
Two of his sons also ruled for a brief period in 1842. ===Mahmud Shah (second reign, 1809–1818)=== Mahmud's second reign lasted nine years.
Infantry played a very small role in the Durrani army and, with the exception of light swivel guns mounted on camels, the Zamburak, so did artillery. == See also == Indian Campaign of Ahmad Shah Durrani List of Pashtun empires and dynasties Deoni ==Notes== ==References== ==Sources== Malleson, George Bruce (1879) History of Afghanistan, from the Earliest Period to the Outbreak of the War of 1878 W.H.
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