Durrani Empire Durrani Kingdom | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Status |
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| Capital | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Common languages | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Religion | Sunni Islam(official) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Government | Elective monarchy | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Shah | |||||||||||||||||||||
• 1747–1772(first) | Ahmad Shah Durrani | ||||||||||||||||||||
• 1857–1863(last) | Sultan Ahmad Khan | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Historical era | Early modern period | ||||||||||||||||||||
• Dynasty established byAhmad Shah Durrani | July 1747 | ||||||||||||||||||||
• Decline | 1823 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1839 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1842 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1862–1863 | |||||||||||||||||||||
• Disestablished | 1863 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Area | |||||||||||||||||||||
• Total | 2,000,000[8] km2 (770,000 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Population | |||||||||||||||||||||
• | 14 million[9] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Today part of | Afghanistan Pakistan Iran India Turkmenistan Tajikistan | ||||||||||||||||||||
TheDurrani Empire,[b] colloquially known as theKingdom of Afghanistan,[10][11][12]Afghan Empire[13] or theSadozai Kingdom,[14] was anAfghan empire founded by theDurrani tribe ofPashtuns underAhmad Shah Durrani in 1747, which spanned parts ofCentral Asia, theIranian plateau, and theIndian subcontinent. At its peak, it ruled over present-dayAfghanistan, much ofPakistan, parts of northeastern and southeasternIran, easternTurkmenistan, and northwesternIndia.[15][14]: 190 Next to theOttoman Empire, the Durrani Empire is considered to be among the most significantIslamic empires of the second half of the 18th century.[16]
Ahmad was the son of Muhammad Zaman Khan (anAfghan chieftain of theAbdali tribe) and the commander ofNader Shah Afshar. Following Afshar's death in June 1747, Ahmad secured Afghanistan by takingKandahar,Ghazni,Kabul, andPeshawar. After his accession as the nation's king, he changed his tribal name fromAbdali toDurrani. In 1749, theMughal Empire had ceded sovereignty over much of northwestern India to the Afghans; Ahmad then set out westward to take possession ofMashhad, which was ruled by theAfsharid dynasty underShahrokh Shah, who also acknowledged Afghan suzerainty.[17] Subsequently, Ahmad sent an army to subdue the areas north of theHindu Kush down to theAmu Darya, and in short order, all of the differentAfghan tribes began to join his cause. Under Ahmad,the Afghans invaded India on eight occasions, subjugating parts ofKashmir and the majority ofPunjab. In early 1757,he sacked Delhi, but permitted Mughal emperorAlamgir II to remain in nominal control as long as he acknowledged Afghan suzerainty over the regions south of theIndus River, till Sutlej river.
Following Ahmad's death in 1772, his sonTimur Shah Durrani became the next ruler of theDurrani dynasty. Under Timur, the city of Kabul became the new capital of the Durrani Empire while Peshawar served as itswinter capital. However, the empire had begun to crumble by this time,[18] andfaced territorial losses of Peshawar, Multan and Kashmir to theSikh Empire in the early 19th century.[19] The dynasty would become heirs of Afghanistan for generations, up untilDost Muhammad Khan and theBarakzai dynasty deposed the Durrani dynasty in Kabul, leading to its supersession by theEmirate of Afghanistan. The Durrani Empire is considered to be the foundational polity of the modernnation-state of Afghanistan, with Ahmad being credited as itsFather of the Nation.[20]
In 1709,Mirwais Hotak chief of theGhilji tribe ofKandahar Province, gained independence from theSafavid Persians. From 1722 to 1725, his sonMahmud Hotak briefly ruled large parts ofIran and declared himself asShah of Persia. However, theHotak dynasty came to a complete end in 1738 after being toppled and banished by theAfsharids who were led byNader Shah Afshar ofPersia.
The year 1747 marks the definitive appearance of an Afghan political entity independent of both the Persian andMughal empires.[21] In June of that year aloya jirga (grand council) was called into session. Thejirga lasted for nine days and two chief contestants emerged: Hajji Jamal Khan of the Mohammadzai lineage and Ahmad Khan of the Sadozai. Mohammad Sabir Khan, a noteddarwish (holy man), who had earlier predicted that Ahmad Khan would be the leader of the Afghans, rose in thejirga and said
Why all this verbose talk? God has created Ahmad Khan a much greater man than any of you; his life is the most noble of all the Afghan families. Maintain, therefore, God's work, for His wrath will weigh heavily upon you if you destroy it.
Ahmad Khan reputedly hesitated to accept the open decision of thejirga, so Sabir Khan again intervened. He placed some wheat or barley sheaves in Ahmad Khan's turban, and crowned himBadshah, Durr-i-Dauran (Shah, Pearl of the Age).[22] Thejirga concluded near the city of Kandahar withAhmad 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 had served asGovernor of Herat who died in a battle defending the Afghans.
One of Ahmad Shah's first military actions was to captureQalati Ghilji andGhazni from theGhilji, and wrestKabul andPeshawar from Mughal-appointed governor Nasir Khan. In 1749, the Mughal EmperorAhmad Shah Bahadur was induced to cedeSindh, thePunjab region and the important transIndus River to Ahmad Shah Durrani in order to save his capital from Afghan attack.[23]: 69 Having thus gained substantial territories to the east without a fight,Ahmad Shah turned westward to take possession ofMashhad, which was ruled by Nader Shah Afshar's grandson,Shahrukh Afshar. Ahmad Shah next sent an army to subdue the areas north of theHindu Kush mountains. In short order, the powerful army brought under its control theTajik,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, withLahore 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 sonTimur Shah to safeguard his interests, Ahmad Shah left India to return to Afghanistan.
Fazil Biy, the ruler ofKokand, and other Kyrgyz chieftains pleaded to Ahmad Shah to aid them against Qing expansionism. Ahmad Shah, delighted to use a casus belli in the name ofIslam, accepted, and occupied the regions betweenTashkent andKokand in 1763, though later withdrawing by 1764 as any alliance failed to be forged.[24][25]
In 1763, Ahmad Shah had dispatched an embassy to theQing. His aims in this are unknown, however, an embassy allowed Ahmad Shah to establish himself as an emperor. The letter he sent to the Qing emperorQianlong is missing, but from the Qing reply, the letter was likely dedicated to his conquests and victory atPanipat, alongside Qing expansion.[26]
The letter positioned Ahmad Shah's expansions as bringing order and stability to areas overrun with rebels and lawlessness (in reference to hiscampaigns in Iran and India). The battle of Panipat was strongly detailed in the letter, in what was likely a fath-nama, meaning a victory letter or declaration to celebrate a victory. The Qing emperor ignored the effective threat.[27]
In the second part of the letter, Qianlong appeared much more defensive, justifying theQing conquest of the Dzungars and theAltishahr Khojas. He accused them of causing devastation and laying false accusations against him. A report also suggested that Ahmad Shah considered the territories the Qing claimed belonged to the Muslims. In reality, Ahmad Shah possibly wanted to establish spheres of influence, which was similarly done with theOttomans which dividedIran between them, and atreaty with Bukhara that had established theAmu Darya as the border.[28]
Why has your Khan dispatched you? Has your Khan not sent you to appear at an audience with the brilliance of our Great Lord? Our Great Lord is the ruler who has united All under Heaven. Besides you Afghans, as soon as people from the West, Russia, even the former Zunghars came, all of them promptly prostrated themselves before the Great Lord. He is like Heaven; do you not bow before Heaven?[29]
When the Afghan embassy had arrived in Beijing, the chief envoy, Khwaja Mirhan, had refused tokowtow before the Qing emperor. The Qing officials, in shock, demanded he kowtow, to which Mirhan eventually acquiesced. This incident damaged the Qing-Afghan relations and Qianlong cut ties with the Afghans following this. No immediate consequence occurred, and the envoy was shown favor.[30]
Mirhan's refusal likely came out of religious reasons, but the Qing received it as Ahmad Shah declaring himself equal to Qianlong. From Qianlong's view, he saw the Afghans as a significant power and attempted to impress the envoy and in contrast, Ahmad Shah, of the Qing empire. This was especially done in motivation of Altishahr's recent conquest and concerns over stability in the region.[31]
Ahmad Shah's gifts to the Qing emperor includedfour horses, which were painted by the Qing court painter,Giuseppe Castiglione. Nonetheless, by the time of the envoy's return journey to Afghanistan, Qianlong made preparations to secure Qing territories.[32]
In 1759, as the revolt of theAltishahr Khojas crumbled, two descendants of the Afaqi Sufi lineage crossed into Badakhshan, being pursued by the Qing forces. Fude, the Qing general of the expedition, demanded that Sultan Shah, the ruler of Badakhshan, to arrest the brothers. Sultan Shah accepted, likely wishing to receive Qing military aid against the Durrani Empire. Distrust occurred, however, due to the Afaqi descendants residing in Badakhshan for months, including Sultan Shah's initial refusal to hand them over, possibly intending to send them toBukhara. Qianlong threatened invasion, which did not occur as one of the descendant's remains were sent toYarkand.[33]
The death of the Afaqi brothers spurned relations with the Afghans, causing Sultan Shah to plead to the Qing, claiming that Ahmad Shah intended to exact revenge for their deaths. No immediate Afghan invasion occurred. The Qing however, faced numerous frustrations with their tributaries inCentral Asia, alongside a major insurrection inUch-Turfan that required tremendous effort to defeat.[34]
As a result, Qianlong adopted a policy of strict non-interference, realizing that Qing troops in Altishahr were significantly stretched and spread thin. The Afghans, however, seen as a threat, would show the weakness of Qing control in the region.[35]
In August 1768, Qianlong was informed of the Afghan invasion of Badakhshan led by Shah Wali Khan in May, with Afghan forces seizing Sultan Shah's capital,Fayzabad. A Qing agent, Yunggui, held the position that the Qing should interfere in the conflict. Qianlong, however, affirmed that military intervention would irrational, and strictly forbade any military interference. Historians see this as surprising, as the invasion by the Afghans threatened the Qing Empire itself.[36]
_in_Peking_in_1761.jpg)
Qing sources affirm that the Afghans established Sarimsaq, a child of the Afaqi's who escaped to Badakhshan, inKunduz. Qianlong was distraught, as another possible revolt could revolve around Sarimsaq, especially after reports came of Muslim travelers and funds being sent to Sarimsaq. This still did not convince Qianlong to act, and he refused to send any negative response to Ahmad Shah at all. During this, Sultan Shah defeated the Afghan governor and reoccupied his capital, but feared another Afghan invasion, sending desperate letters to the Qing in the winter of 1768 to ask for help, claiming that Ahmad Shah would invade next year.[37]
Qianlong rebutted, blaming Sultan Shah for provoking the conflict with the Afghans and affirmed that he would only fight the Afghans if they actually invaded Qing territory. Sultan Shah wrote a letter toEmin Khoja in response in August 1769, expecting aid as he was a vassal, only to find himself abandoned. In December 1769, Sultan Shah wrote another letter that accused Qianlong of failing to uphold his duties. Qianlong rebuked him, and stated that under no circumstances would the Qing aid him.[38]
We have long known that you have previously presented gifts to the Afghans. That you now have no more options but to evade the issue just shows that you are paying tribute to the Afghans! […] If you cannot protect your own lands, and wish to submit to the Afghans, then suit yourself! […] If you wish to rely on our armies to serve your enmities and to subjugate your neighboring tribes, then we will under no circumstances provide you with our troops.[39]
Qianlong had initially considered the Afghanstributaries, but after the former incident, he no longer even sought the prospect of any form of Durrani submission. His reply to Sultan Shah effectively saw the Qing recognize the Afghans as a rival power to them, with Qianlong recognizing that the Afghans were unable to be treated like tributaries. Rather than aiding the ruler of Badakhshan as his initial policy implicated him to, Qianlong instead justified the Afghan invasion, prompted to by overextended armies, the distance, and stability. Instead, gambling on the difficult terrain between the Afghan and Qing realms for safety.[40] Within the year, Ahmad Shah occupied Badakhshan and Sultan Shah was executed.[41]
TheMughal power in northern India had been declining after the death of EmperorAurangzeb, who died in 1707. In 1751–52, theAhamdiya treaty was signed between theMarathas andMughals, whenBalaji Bajirao was thePeshwa.[43][full citation needed] Through this treaty, the Marathas controlled virtually the whole of India from their capital atPune and the Mughal rule was restricted only to Delhi (the Mughals remained the nominal heads of Delhi). Marathas were now straining to expand their area of control towards the Northwest of India. Ahmad Shahsacked the Mughal capital and withdrew with the booty he coveted. To counter the Afghans, Peshwa Balaji Bajirao sentRaghunathrao. He defeated the Rohillas and Afghan garrisons in Punjab and succeeded in ousting Timur Shah and his court from India and brought Lahore, Multan, Kashmir and other subahs on the Indian side of Attock under Maratha rule.[44] Thus, upon his return to Kandahar in 1757, Ahmad was forced to return to India and face the formidable attacks of the Maratha Confederacy.
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Ahmad Shah declared ajihad (orIslamic holy war) against theMarathas, and warriors from various Afghan tribes joined his army, including theBaloch people under the command ofKhan of Kalat MirNasir I of Kalat.Suba Khan Tanoli (Zabardast Khan) was selected as army chief of all military forces. 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. Ahmad Shah Durrani was famous for winning wars much larger than his army[citation needed]. By 1760, the Maratha groups had coalesced into a big enough army under the command of Sadashivrao Bhau. Once again,Panipat was the scene of a confrontation between two warring contenders for control of northern India. The Third Battle of Panipat (14 January 1761), fought between largely Muslim and largely Hindu armies was waged along a twelve-kilometer front. There were rebellions in the north in the region ofBukhara. The Durranis decisively defeated the Marathas in theThird Battle of Panipat on 14 January 1761.[45] The defeat at Panipat resulted in heavy losses for the Marathas, and was a huge setback for Peshwa Balaji Rao. He received the news of the defeat of Panipat on 24 January 1761 atBhilsa, while leading a reinforcement force. Besides several important generals, he had lost his own sonVishwasrao in the Battle of Panipat. He died on 23 June 1761, and was succeeded by his younger sonMadhav Rao I.[46]
The victory at Panipat was the high point of Ahmad Shah's—and Afghan—power. However, even prior to his death, the empire began to unravel. In 1762, Ahmad Shah crossed the passes from Afghanistan for the sixth time to subdue theSikhs. From this time and on, the domination and control of the Empire began to loosen, and by the time of Durrani's death he had lost parts of Punjab to the Sikhs, as well as earlier losses of northern territories to the Uzbeks, necessitating a compromise with them.[23]: 71
He assaulted Lahore and, after taking their holy city ofAmritsar, massacred thousands ofSikh inhabitants, destroyed their reveredGolden Temple.[47] Within two years, the Sikhs rebelled again and rebuilt their holy city of Amritsar. Ahmad Shah tried several more times to subjugate the Sikhs permanently, but failed. Durrani's forces instigated theVaḍḍā Ghallūghārā when they killed thousands of Sikhs in thePunjab in 1762.[48]: 144–45 [49][50][48]: 154 Ahmad Shah also faced other rebellions in the north, and eventually he and the Uzbek Emir ofBukhara agreed that the Amu Darya would mark the division of their lands. Ahmad Shah retired to his home in the mountains east of Kandahar, where he died in 1772.[51] He had succeeded to a remarkable degree in balancing tribal alliances and hostilities, and in directing tribal energies away from rebellion. He earned recognition as Ahmad Shah Baba, or "Father" of Afghanistan.[2]
Ahmad Shah's successors governed so ineptly during a period of profound unrest that within fifty years of his death, the Durrani empireper se was at an end, and Afghanistan was embroiled in civil war. Much of the territory conquered by Ahmad Shah fell to others in this half century. By 1818, theSadozai rulers who succeeded Ahmad Shah controlled little more than Kabul and the surrounding territory within a 160-kilometer radius. They not only lost the outlying territories but also alienated other tribes and lineages among the Durrani Pashtuns.
Prior to his death,Ahmad Shah announced that his son,Timur Shah, would inherit the empire. This was controversial in the court, as many powerul military and tribal leaders had supported Ahmad Shah's elder son,Sulaiman Shah; they attempted to convince Ahmad Shah to change his mind. However, Ahmad Shah said he felt that Sulaiman was violent, unpopular with the KandahariDurranis, and would be an inferior leader. Timur's appointment would also possibly limit the power held by Senior Generals and the Durrani Tribal Council.[52] Timur was inHerat, however far from his ailing father; Begi Khan Bamizai andSardar Jahan Khan used this opportunity to turn Ahmad Shah against his son. When Timur came to see his father, he turned him away. Recognizing that a conflict with his brother was imminent, Timur began building his forces; in this task he was interrupted by Darwish 'Ali Khan's revolt, an action was that possibly orchestrated by those loyal toSulaiman. Timur promised Darwish Ali pardon and power, then executed him after he arrived in Herat.[53]
Upon Ahmad Shah's death in 1772, Shah Wali Khan and Sardar Jahan Khan pretended that the Shah was not dead, merely ill, and was being kept separate from all but the most trusted officials. They began a march, with his body, to the capital,Kandahar; upon arriving, they told Sulaiman of his father's death and declared Sulaiman was to be king. Timur received word of this from Amirs who had turned against Shah Wali, and he too went to Kandahar.[53] The two sides met atFarah, where Shah Wali and his sons were assassinated.[54] Shah Sulayman surrendered to Timur Shah and became loyal, according to Amir Habibullah Khan.[54] Timur Shah ascended the throne in November 1772.[55][56]
%2c_minted_in_Lahore%2c_dated_1757-1758.jpg)
After his father,Ahmad Shah Durrani's death, he fought his brother Humayun Mirza for the throne, with Humayun supported by Shah Wali Khan. Shah Wali was killed by Timur Shah as he attempted to ride into his camp and beg for peace and mercy. Timur Shah then marched toKandahar, forcing Humayun to either flee or stay as a devout supporter for Timur Shah. With his throne secured, he began consolidating his power, with efforts to drive power away from the Durrani Pashtuns, and more toward the growing influentialQizilbash and Mongol guards consisted in his army. Timur Shah would also move the capital of the Durrani Realm fromKandahar toKabul, as a better base of operation to combat any threat arriving from anywhere, as Kabul was essentially the heart of the empire. After consolidating his power, Timur Shah marched against the Sikh's in 1780 in aJihad, and decisively defeated the Sikhs, forcing them to returnMultan toward Durrani Suzerainty after it was seized after the death ofAhmad Shah Durrani. Timur Shah, having securedPunjab, also faced recurring rebellions against him, including an assassination attempt early in his reign atPeshawar. Timur Shah would encounter harsh resistance and rebellion, prominently those of Fayz Allah Khan, Azad Khan, and Arsalan Khan. Timur Shah in his reign also fought againstShah Murad, the ruler of Bukhara who attempted raids into Afghan Turkestan and Khorasan, often harassing the Durrani vassal of theAfsharid dynasty centred inMashhad. In conclusion, Timur Shah spent most of his reign consolidating the empire, while also fighting off rebellion, he prove himself as a competent leader from holding the unstable empire apart. Timur Shah died on 20 May 1793, succeeded by his son,Zaman Shah Durrani
After the death of Timur Shah, three of his sons, the governors of Kandahar, Herat and Kabul, contended for the succession.Zaman Shah, governor of Kabul, held the field by virtue of being in control of the capital, and became shah at the age of twenty-three. Many of his half-brothers were imprisoned on their arrival in the capital for the purpose, ironically, of electing a new shah. The quarrels among Timur's descendants that threw Afghanistan into turmoil also provided the pretext for the interventions of outside forces.
The efforts of the Sadozai heirs of Timur to impose a true monarchy on the truculent Pashtun tribes, and their efforts to rule absolutely and without the advice of the other major Pashtun tribal leaders, were ultimately unsuccessful. TheSikhs started to rise under the command of Sikh chief,Ranjit Singh, who succeeded in wresting power from Zaman's forces. Later, when Zaman was blinded by his brother, Ranjit Singh gave him asylum in Punjab.
Zaman's downfall was triggered by his attempts to consolidate power. Although it had been through the support of the Barakzai chief, Painda Khan Barakzai, that he had come to the throne, Zaman soon began to remove prominent Barakzai leaders from positions of power and replace them with men of his own lineage, the Sadozai. This upset the delicate balance of Durrani tribal politics that Ahmad Shah had established and may have prompted Painda Khan and other Durrani chiefs to plot against the shah. Painda Khan and the chiefs of theNurzai and theAlizai Durrani clans were executed, as was the chief of theQizilbash clan. Painda Khan's son fled to Iran and pledged the substantial support of his Barakzai followers to a rival claimant to the throne, Zaman's younger brother,Mahmud Shah. The clans of the chiefs Zaman had executed joined forces with the rebels, and they took Kandahar without bloodshed.Mahmud Shah had then proceeded to march to Kabul, where he met Zaman Shah and his army on the way from Ghanzi to Kabul, Zaman Shah was decisively defeated, including portions of his army fleeing to Mahmud Shah's cause. Mahmud Shah ordered the lancing of Zaman Shah's eyes, and had succeeded Zaman Shah on the throne of the Durrani Empire.[57]
Zaman Shah's overthrow in 1801 was not the end of civil strife in Afghanistan, but the beginning of even greater violence. Mahmud Shah's first reign lasted for only two years before he was replaced byShuja Shah.
Yet another of Timur Shah's sons, Shuja Shah (or Shah Shuja), ruled for only six years. On June 7, 1809, Shuja Shah signed a treaty with theBritish, which included a clause stating that he would oppose the passage of foreign troops through his territories. This agreement, the first Afghan pact with a European power, stipulated joint action in case ofFranco-Persian aggression against Afghan or British dominions. Only a few weeks after signing the agreement, Shuja was deposed by his predecessor, Mahmud. 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's second reign lasted 9 years, where he had further attempted to consolidate power, but was deposed by his brother in 1818, Mahmud's reign was also disputed in 1810, while he was campaigning, another one ofTimur Shah Durrani's sons had seized the throne, but was defeated by Shah Mahmud in 1810.
While Mahmud Shah was campaigning in 1810, another one of Timur Shah's sons placed himself in rule at Kabul. Abbas Mirza ruled for a short period of time before being defeated by Mahmud Shah once he returned from campaign.
Ali Shah was another son ofTimur Shah. He seized power for a brief period in 1818–1819. in 1818 or 1819, He was strangled by his brother, Isma'il.[58]
Ayub Shah was another son of Timur Shah, who took control of the Durrani Empire after the death of Ali Shah Durrani.[59] The Durrani Empire lost its control overKashmir to the Sikh Empire in theBattle of Shopian in 1819.[60] Ayub Shah was himself later deposed, and presumably killed in 1823.[61]
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In the 19th century as a whole,Britain andRussia were interlocked in a battle for influence in South Asia. Russian advance was trudging through Central Asia, while the British were landing in the masses on the Indian subcontinent. The "Army of the Indus", full of both British and Indian infantrymen and cavalrymen, was intent on restoringShah Shuja Durrani, the deposed monarch to the throne of Afghanistan. By March 1839, the British had already crossed into theEmirate of Afghanistan.
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.[62] The core of the Durrani army were the 10,000sher-bacha (blunderbuss)-carrying mountedghulams (slave-soldiers) of which a third were previously Shia soldiers (Qizilbash) of Nader Shah. Many others were also former troops of Nader Shah. The bulk of the army were Afghan irregular tribal cavalry armed with lance and broadsword. Mounted archers were still used but were uncommon due to the difficulty of training them. Infantry played a very small role in the Durrani army and, with the exception of lightswivel guns mounted on camels, theZamburak, so did artillery.[63]
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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.
Like theKushans, 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.
[The Sadozai kingdom] continued to exist in Herat until the city finally fell to Dost Muhammad Khan in 1862.
Despite Ahmad Shah Durrani's flirtations with founding a Pashto-based bureaucracy, when the capital moved from Qandahar to Kabul in 1772, Durrani and post-Durrani Afghanistan retained Persian as its chancery and chief court language.
Next to theOttoman Empire, the Durrani Empire was the greatest Muslim empire of the second half of the eighteenth century.
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)holcaust, massacre, great destruction, deluge, genocide, slaughter, (historically) the great loss of life suffered by Sikhs at the hands of their rulers, particularly on 1 May 1746 and 5 February 1762
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