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Durrani Empireد درانیانو ټولواکمني
1747–1823 1839–1842
Flag
The Afghan Empire at its peak in 1761The Afghan Empire at its peak in 1761
Capital	Kandahar (1747–1776) Kabul (1776–1842) Peshawar (1776–1818; winter capital)
Common languages	Pashto Persian
Religion	Islam
Government	Absolute Monarchy
Shah
• 1747–1772	Ahmad Shah Durrani (first)
• 1839–1842	Shuja Shah Durrani (last)
History
• Established	1747
• Disestablished	1842
Preceded by Succeeded by Afsharid dynasty Mughal Empire Maratha Empire Khanate of Bukhara Emirate of Afghanistan Sikh Empire
Today part of	Afghanistan  Iran  Pakistan  India  Turkmenistan

The Durrani Empire (Template:Lang-ps, also referred to as the Last Afghan Empire) was founded in 1747 by Ahmad Shah Durrani with its capital at Kandahar, Afghanistan. It was a Muslim monarchy of Afghans who often fought with the Hindus and Sikhs in the Punjab region, and the Persians in the west. The Durrani Empire encompassed present-day Afghanistan, northeastern Iran, the Kashmir region, the modern state of Pakistan, the Panjdeh oasis of Turkmenistan, and northwestern India. With the support of various tribal leaders, Ahmad Shah Durrani extended Afghan control from Mashad in the west to Delhi in the east, and from the Amu Darya in the north to the Arabian Sea in the south.

The Afghan army began their conquests by capturing Ghazni and Kabul from the local rulers. In 1749 the Mughal ruler ceded sovereignty over what is now Pakistan and the northern areas of India to the Afghans. Ahmad Shah then set out westward to take possession of Herat, which was ruled by Shahrukh Afshar. He next sent an army to subdue the areas north of the Hindu Kush and in short order all the different tribes began joining his cause. Ahmad Shah and his forces invaded India four times, taking control of the Kashmir and the Punjab region. Early in 1757, he sacked Delhi, but permitted the Mughal dynasty to remain in nominal control as long as the ruler acknowledged Ahmad Shah's suzerainty over the Punjab, Sindh, and Kashmir.

After the death of Ahmad Shah in about 1772, his son Timur Shah became the next ruler of the Durrani dynasty who decided to make Kabul the new capital of the empire. The Durrani Empire is considered the foundation of the modern state of Afghanistan, with Ahmad Shah Durrani being credited as "Father of the Nation".

Independence and conquests

In 1709 Mir Wais Hotak, chief of the Ghilzai tribe of Kandahar Province, gained independence from the Safavid Persians. By 1722, his son Mahmud captured what is now Iran and declared himself as Shah of Persia. However, the Hotaki dynasty came to a complete end in 1738 after being toppled by the Afsharids who were led by Nader Shah of Khorasan.

The year 1747 marks the definitive appearance of an Afghan political entity independent of both the Persian and Mughal empires. In October 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. Despite being younger than the other contenders, Ahmad Shah had several overriding factors in his favor. He belonged to a respectable family of political background, especially since his father served as Governor of Herat who died in a battle defending the Afghans. He also had a well-trained larger army and possessed a substantial part of Nadir Shah's treasury, including the world's largest Koh-i-Noor diamond.

One of Ahmad Shah's first military action was the capture Ghazni from the Ghilzais, and then wresting Kabul from the local ruler. In 1749, the Mughal ruler was induced to cede Sindh, the Punjab region and the important trans Indus River to Ahmad Shah in order to save his capital from Afghan attack. Having thus gained substantial territories to the east without a fight, Ahmad Shah turned westward to take possession of Herat, which was ruled by Nader Shah's grandson, Shah Rukh of Persia, and then Mashhad (in present-day Iran). Ahmad Shah next sent an army to subdue the areas north of the Hindu Kush mountains. In short order, the powerful army brought under its control the Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, Turkmen, and other tribes of northern Afghanistan. Ahmad Shah invaded the remnants of the Mughal Empire a third time, and then a fourth, consolidating control over the Kashmir and Punjab regions, with Lahore being governed by Afghans. 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. Leaving his second son Timur Shah to safeguard his interests, Ahmad Shah left India to return to Afghanistan. He returned to India to defeat the Hindu Maratha Empire.

Third Battle of Panipat

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Battle of Jamrud

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European influence in Afghanistan

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Republic of Afghanistan

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Notes

1. Hanifi, Shah Mahmoud. "Timur Shah transferred the Durrani capital from Qandahar in 1775-76. Kabul and Peshawar then shared time as the dual Durrani capital cities, the former during the summer and the latter during the winter season." p. 185. Connecting Histories in Afghanistan: Market Relations and State Formation on a Colonial Frontier. Stanford University Press, 2011. Retrieved 2012-08-04.
2. ^ Singh, Sarina (2008). "Like the Kushans, the Afghan kings favoured Peshawar as a winter residence, and were aggrieved when the upstart Sikh kingdom snatched it in 1818 and levelled its buildings." p. 191. Pakistan and the Karakoram Highway. Retrieved 2012-08-10. Cite error: The named reference "Singh" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
3. "Last Afghan empire". Louis Dupree, Nancy Hatch Dupree and others. Encyclopædia Britannica. 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-25.
4. "Afghanistan (Archived)". John Ford Shroder. University of Nebraska. 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-21.
5. "Aḥmad Shah Durrānī". Encyclopædia Britannica. 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-25.
6. ^ "The Durrani dynasty". Louis Dupree, Nancy Hatch Dupree and others. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-25.
7. ^ "Ahmad Shah and the Durrani Empire". Library of Congress Country Studies on Afghanistan. 1997. Retrieved 2010-08-25.
8. "Afghanistan". CIA. The World Factbook. Retrieved 2010-08-25.
9. D. Balland (December 15, 1983). "Afghanistan x. Political History". Encyclopædia Iranica. Retrieved 2012-08-08.

References

• Malleson, George Bruce (1879) History of Afghanistan, from the Earliest Period to the Outbreak of the War of 1878 W.H. Allen & Co., London, OCLC 4219393, limited view at Google Books
• Singh, Ganda (1959) Ahmad Shah Durrani: Father of Modern Afghanistan Asia Publishing House, London, OCLC 4341271
• Fraser-Tytler, William Kerr (1953) Afghanistan: A Study of Political Developments in Central and Southern Asia Oxford University Press, London, OCLC 409453
• Tanner, Stephen (2002) Afghanistan : a military history from Alexander the Great to the fall of the Taliban Da Capo Press, New York, ISBN 0-306-81164-2, also available from NetLibrary

External links

• Afghanistan 1747-1809: Sources in the India Office Records
• Some details and images of Durrani coins
• Biography of Ahmad Shah Abdali (Durrani)
• Ahmad Shah Baba
• History of Abdali tribe
• Afghanistan and the Search for Unity Article on Durrani methods of government, published in Asian Affairs, Volume 38, Issue 2, 2007, pp. 145–157.

• Modern Afghanistan
• History of Pakistan
• States and territories established in 1747
• Durrani Empire