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Ahmad Shah Durrani

Coordinates: 31°37′10″N 65°42′25″E / 31.61944°N 65.70694°E / 31.61944; 65.70694
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Ahmad Shah Durrani
احمد شاه دراني
Padishah
Ghazi
Shāh Durr-i-Durrān ("King, Pearl of Pearls")
Portrait of Ahmad Shah Durrani, c. 1757, Bibliothèque nationale de France
1st Emir of the Durrani Empire
ReignJuly 1747–4 June 1772
CoronationJuly 1747
PredecessorPosition established
SuccessorTimur Shah Durrani
BornAhmad Khan Abdali
1720–1722
Herat, Sadozai Sultanate of Herat (present-day Afghanistan) or
Multan, Mughal Empire (present-day Pakistan)
Died (aged 49–52)
Maruf, Kandahar Province, Durrani Empire
(present-day Afghanistan)
BurialJune 1772
Tomb of Ahmad Shah Durrani, Kandahar, Afghanistan
31°37′10″N 65°42′25″E / 31.61944°N 65.70694°E / 31.61944; 65.70694
Spouse
​
(m. 1757)​
​
​
(m. 1757)​
Names
Ahmad Shah Abdali
DynastyHouse of Durrani
FatherMohammad Zaman Khan Abdali
MotherZarghona Anaa[1]
ReligionSunni Islam
Royal sealAhmad Shah Durrani احمد شاه دراني's signature

Ahmad Shāh Durrānī (Pashto: احمد شاه دراني; Persian: احمد شاه درانی), also known as Ahmad Shāh Abdālī (Pashto: احمد شاه ابدالي), was the founder of the Durrani Empire and is often regarded as the founder of modern Afghanistan.

Name and title

His birth name was Ahmad Khan, born into the Abdali tribe. After his accession to power in 1747, he became known as Ahmad Shah. His tribe also changed the name from Abdali, instead becoming the Durrani.[2][3][4] Afghans often call him Ahmad Shāh Bābā, meaning "Ahmad Shah the Father".[5][6]

In historical sources, his tribe name is interchangeably used between Abdali and Durrani, with other common names for him being Ahmad Shah Abdali.[2][7]

Early life

Ahmad Shah was born between 1720–1722 in either Herat, Afghanistan, or Multan, Pakistan. Sources are disputed on where he was born.[8] Contemporary scholarship came to the consensus that Ahmad Shah was born in Multan, but this is disputed by Nejatie, who states that the majority of sources from Ahmad Shah's time state that he was born in Herat, rather than Multan, including the Tarikh-i Ahmad Shahi.[9]

His father, Zaman Khan, was the ruler of the Sadozai Sultanate of Herat. Zaman Khan had died in 1721, leading to Ahmad Shah being raised alongside his brother Zulfiqar Khan in Shindand and Farah. In the mid 1720s, Zulfiqar Khan was invited to rule Herat. Nothing else is heard of Ahmad Shah until 1731–1732, when Zulfiqar Khan was defeated by Nader Shah, forcing both Zulfiqar Khan and Ahmad Shah to flee to Kandahar, where they remained political prisoners of Hussain Hotak.[10][11][12]

After Nader Shah conquered Kandahar, Ahmad Shah and Zulfiqar Khan were freed. Ahmad Shah spent much of his early life in the service of Nader Shah. Accompanying him on his invasion of India, Ahmad Shah was later resettled in Mazandaran alongside his brother. After his brothers death, Ahmad Shah enlisted in the Afsharid military in 1742. Some sources suggest that it was only Zulfiqar Khan that left for Mazandaran, while Ahmad Shah remained in Nader Shah's service as an officer.[13][14][15]

During Nader Shah's invasion of India, Ahmad Shah personally commanded a regiment of Durrani tribesmen. Ahmad Shah's forces committed massacres and sacked Delhi alongside Nader Shah's forces in 1739.[16] According to legend, Nizam ul-Mulk, the Mughal governor of Hyderabad, who was an expert in physiognomy, predicted that Ahmad Shah would become king. Nader Shah took notice of this and also believed in the prophecy, supposedly clipping a piece of Ahmad Shah's ears, and remarking "When you become a king, this will remind you of me". Nader Shah also requested that Ahmad Shah be generous with his descendants.[17][18] Nejatie is skeptical of the account.[19]

In 1744, Ahmad Shah was promoted to a personal staff of Nader Shah. In a campaign against the Ottomans, Ahmad Shah distinguished himself and was allowed to raise a contingent of 3–4,000 Durrani tribesmen by Nader Shah. Ahmad Shah's contingent became one of Nader Shah's most trusted, utilizing them to shatter the power of his other commanders due to his perception that they were planning to rebel or kill him.[20][3]

Death of Nader Shah

In June 1747, Nader Shah was convinced that his personal guard intended to assassinate him. As a result, he summoned Ahmad Shah and other loyal commanders. Nader Shah ordered Ahmad Shah to assemble his Durrani regiments, and to arrest his personal guard. If the personal guard resisted, Ahmad Shah was given permission to kill them all. He was ordered to do this at first light. Nader Shah then chose to sleep with his favorite wife, but did so outside the royal tent, where the same guards he accused of treachery presumed night duty, while Ahmad Shah with his regiments were established at the defenses of the camp.[21]

News of Nader Shah's plan leaked, with the conspirators being forced to act. Four conspirators entered the royal enclosure and entered Nader Shah's tent, assassinating him.[22][23] Chaos ensued following the assassination, and plans to coverup by the conspirators failed. They resorted to pillaging the royal enclosure while news of Nader Shah's death rapidly spread. The next morning, the royal guard attacked Ahmad Shah's forces, who despite being heavily outnumbered, drove the Persians and Qizilbash off. Ahmad Shah then entered the tent of Nader Shah, taking the Koh-i-Noor diamond and a signet ring from his body.[24][25]

Return to Kandahar

Having driven off the Persians and Qizilbash, Ahmad Shah departed for Kandahar with his regiments, and his Uzbek ally, Hajji Bi Ming. Ahmad Shah first settled the dispute of leadership, asserting himself as the leader of Durrani tribesmen by forcing the former leader to step down. Ahmad Shah also killed 'Abd al-Ghani Khan, the governor of Kandahar and Ahmad Shah's uncle to secure complete power over the Durrani regiments. With the dispute over leadership concluded, Ahmad Shah commanded a force of over 6,000 Afghans.[26]

Following this, Ahmad Shah moved through Khabushan, advancing to Kashmar. While on-route, Ahmad Shah accumulated supplies for his army and proceeded toward Torbat-e Heydarieh, where they received news that Adel Shah had sent a force to halt the Afghans. As a result, Ahmad Shah led his forces to Tun and then Farah, where they defeated an army sent by Adel Shah. With Farah under his control, the Afghans proceeded to Grishk, and then Kandahar.[27][26]

Accession and coronation

Legendary coronation of Ahmad Shah Durrani by Abdali chiefs at Kandahar in 1747

Upon reaching Kandahar, Ahmad Shah established camp in Naderabad and prepared to be crowned as King. According to legend, Ahmad Shah declared a Jirga, summoning all tribal leaders who unanimously selected Ahmad Shah as king. A piece of wheat or barley was then placed on Ahmad Shah's turban.[28] Singh cites this account, despite there being no contemporary evidence to suggest this occurred.[29]

In reality, Ahmad Shah was brought to power through a nine man military council. Ahmad Shah's accession was further disputed by Jamal Khan, the leader of the Barakzai tribe. The Barakzai were the most powerful clan of the Durranis centered in the Kandahar and Helmand regions. The dispute over accession continued until an agreement was made where Jamal Khan would submit to Ahmad Shah as king, while Ahmad Shah would make Jamal Khan and his descendants Wazir. With an agreement reached, Sabir Shah, Ahmad Shah's advisor, took a piece of greenery or stalk and attached it to Ahmad Shah's cap, officially crowning him. Scholars state that Ahmad Shah's rise to power was effectively a military coup, rather than an election.[30]

Following his accession, Ahmad Shah adopted the epithet "Durr-i Durrān", meaning "Pearl of Pearls", also changing his tribes name from Abdali to Durrani.[31][32][3]

Reign as Shah (1747–1772)

Poetry

Durrani wrote a collection of odes in his native Pashto. He was also the author of several poems in Persian. One of his most famous Pashto poems was Love of a Nation:[33][34][35]

ستا د عشق له وينو ډک سول ځيګرونه
By blood, we are immersed in love of you
ستا په لاره کښې بايلي زلمي سرونه
The youth lose their heads for your sake
تا ته راسمه زړګی زما فارغ سي
I come to you and my heart finds rest
بې له تا مې اندېښنې د زړه مارونه
Away from you, grief clings to my heart like a snake
که هر څو مې د دنيا ملکونه ډېر سي
Whatever countries I conquer in the world,
زما به هېر نه سي دا ستا ښکلي باغونه
I will never forget your beautiful gardens
د ډیلي تخت هېرومه چې را ياد کړم
I forget the throne of Delhi when I remember,
زما د ښکلي پښتونخوا د غرو سرونه
The mountain tops of my beautiful Pashtunkhwa
د فريد او د حميد دور به بيا سي
The eras of Farid [Sher Shah Suri] and Hamid [Lodi] will return,
چې زه وکاندم پر هر لوري تاختونه
When I launch attacks on all sides
که تمامه دنيا يو خوا ته بل خوا يې
If I must choose between the world and you,
زما خوښ دي ستا خالي تش ډګرونه
I shall not hesitate to claim your barren deserts as my own

See also

References

Notes

Citations

  1. ^ "Afghan first lady in shadow of 1920s queen?". 1 October 2014. Archived from the original on 23 October 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2020 – via www.aljazeera.com.
  2. ^ a b Mehta 2005, p. 246.
  3. ^ a b c Barfield 2022, p. 98.
  4. ^ Balland 1995.
  5. ^ Singh 1959, p. 459.
  6. ^ Runion 2007, p. 71.
  7. ^ Chaurasia 2002, p. 321.
  8. ^ Nejatie 2017, p. 287.
  9. ^ Nejatie 2017, p. 287-293.
  10. ^ Nejatie 2017, p. 294.
  11. ^ Singh 1959, p. 15-16.
  12. ^ Lee 2022, p. 87.
  13. ^ Nejatie 2017, p. 296-298.
  14. ^ Singh 1959, p. 18.
  15. ^ Lee 2022, p. 91.
  16. ^ Mehta 2005, p. 247.
  17. ^ Nejatie 2017, p. 300.
  18. ^ Singh 1959, p. 19.
  19. ^ Nejatie 2017, p. 302.
  20. ^ Lee 2022, p. 100.
  21. ^ Lee 2022, p. 102.
  22. ^ Lee 2022, p. 102-103.
  23. ^ Singh 1959, p. 21-22.
  24. ^ Lee 2022, p. 103.
  25. ^ Nejatie 2017, p. 305-306.
  26. ^ a b Lee 2022, p. 105.
  27. ^ Nejatie 2017, p. 306.
  28. ^ Singh 1959, p. 24-27.
  29. ^ Lee 2022, p. 106.
  30. ^ Lee 2022, p. 107-113.
  31. ^ Nejatie 2017, p. 334.
  32. ^ Mehta 2005, p. 248.
  33. ^ "Ahmad Shah Durrani (Pashto Poet)". Abdullah Qazi. Afghanistan Online. Archived from the original on 8 September 2010. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
  34. ^ "A Profile of Afghanistan – Ahmad Shah Durrani (Pashto Poet)". Kimberly Kim. Mine Action Information Center. Archived from the original on 22 May 2009. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
  35. ^ Akbar, Said Hyder (December 2008). Come Back to Afghanistan: A California Teenager's Story. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN 9781596919976. Archived from the original on 17 October 2023. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  36. ^ "Mr Christos Mojo". The Indian Express. 6 March 2011. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  37. ^ "Ashutosh Gowariker's period drama 'Panipat' first poster is out". connectgujarat.com. Retrieved 13 November 2024.

Bibliography


Regnal titles
Preceded by
Position established
 Emir of Afghanistan
1747–1772 		Succeeded by
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