| Shah Ashraf Hotak شاه اشرف هوتک | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||
| Shah of Iran | |||||
| Reign | 22 April 1725 – 5 October 1729 | ||||
| Coronation | 22 April 1725,Isfahan | ||||
| Predecessor | Mahmud Hotak | ||||
| Successor | Tahmasp II | ||||
| Born | c. 1700 Kandahar Province,Safavid Iran | ||||
| Died | c. 1730 Balochistan,Hotak dynasty | ||||
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| Dynasty | Hotak | ||||
| Father | Abdul Aziz Hotak[2] | ||||
| Religion | Sunni Islam | ||||
Shāh Ashraf Hotak, (Pashto/Persian:شاه اشرف هوتک; died 1730) also known asShāh Ashraf Ghiljī (شاه اشرف غلجي), son ofAbdul Aziz Hotak, was the fourth ruler of theHotak dynasty. AnAfghan from theGhiljiPashtuns, he served as a commander in the army ofMahmud Hotak during his revolt against the heavily decliningSafavid Persians. Ashraf also participated in theBattle of Gulnabad. In 1725, he briefly succeeded to the throne to becomeShah of Persia after he killed his cousin Mahmud Until 1730.
The nephew ofMirwais Hotak, his reign was noted for the sudden decline in the Hotak tribal rule under increasing pressure from the two great powers of the timeTurkish,Russian, and Persian forces.[3]
Ashraf Khan halted both the Russian and Turkish onslaughts. In theOttoman-Hotaki War, He defeated theOttoman Empire, who wanted to reestablish their former arch rivals, theSafavids, back on the throne, in a battle nearKermanshah. This led to peace negotiations with theSublime Porte, which were briefly disrupted after Ashraf's ambassador insisted his master should beCaliph of theEast and the Ottoman Sultan Caliph of theWest. This caused great umbrage to the Ottomans, but a peace agreement was finally signed (Treaty of Hamedan) in October 1727.[4]
Ultimately, the royal Persian army of ShahTahmasp II (one of the ShahSultan Husayn's sons) under the leadership ofNader defeated Ashraf's Ghilji forces in a decisive battle known as theBattle of Damghan in October 1729 And In Murche Khort (1729). banishing and driving out the Afghans back to what is nowAfghanistan.[3]
When escaping from Persia, Ashraf was captured and murdered by theBalochKhan of Kalat Mir Mohabbat Khan Baloch in 1730.[5]
Ashraf, having takenYazd andKirmán, marched intoKhurásán with an army of thirty thousand men to give battle to Ṭahmásp, but he was completely defeated by Nádir on October 2 at Dámghán. Another decisive battle was fought in the same year at Múrchakhúr near Iṣfahán. The Afgháns were again defeated and evacuated Iṣfahán to the number of twelve thousand men, but, before quitting the city he had ruined, Ashraf murdered the unfortunate ex-Shah Husayn, and carried off most of the ladies of the royal family and the King's treasure. WhenṬahmásp II entered Iṣfahán on December 9 he found only his old mother, who had escaped deportation by disguising herself as a servant, and was moved to tears at the desolation and desecration which met his eyes at every turn. Nádir, having finally induced Ṭahmásp to empower him to levy taxes on his own authority, marched southwards in pursuit of the retiring Afgháns, whom he overtook and again defeated nearPersepolis. Ashraf fled fromShíráz towards his own country, but cold, hunger and the unrelenting hostility of the inhabitants of the regions which he had to traverse dissipated his forces and compelled him to abandon his captives and his treasure, and he was finally killed by a party ofBalúch tribesmen.[3]
— Edward G. Browne, 1924
Ashraf Khan's death marked the end of Hotak rule in Persia, but thecountry of Afghanistan was still under ShahHussain Hotak's control until Nader Shah's 1738 conquest of Kandahar, where the youngAhmad Shah Durrani was held prisoner. There was only a short pause before the establishment of the lastAfghan Empire[6] (modernstate ofAfghanistan) by Ahmad Shah Durrani in 1747.[7][8]
Ashraf Hotak Born: c. 1700 Died: c. 1730 | ||
| Preceded by | Shah of Persia 1725–1729 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Mahmud Hotak | Emir of Afghanistan 1725–1730 | Succeeded by |
 Hotak Empire | |
|---|---|
 Durrani Empire | |
 Barakzai Emirate | |
 Barakzai Kingdom | |
 Saqqawist Emirate(unrecognized) | |
| Barakzai Kingdom(restored) | |
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