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| Sher Ali Khan شیر علی خان | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emir of Afghanistan | |||||
 Amir Sher Ali Khan in 1869 | |||||
| Emir of Afghanistan | |||||
| Reign | 9 June 1863 – May 1866 (First reign) 22 August 1868 – 21 February 1879 (Second reign) | ||||
| Predecessor | Dost Mohammad Khan | ||||
| Successor | Mohammad Afzal Khan Mohammad Yaqub Khan | ||||
| Born | 1825 Kabul,Emirate of Afghanistan | ||||
| Died | 21 February 1879 (age 53 or 54) Mazar-e Sharif,Afghanistan | ||||
| Burial | |||||
| Spouse | Mirmon Ayesha | ||||
| |||||
| Dynasty | Barakzai dynasty | ||||
| Father | Dost Mohammed Khan | ||||
| Mother | Bibi KhadijaBegum[1] | ||||
| Religion | Sunni Islam | ||||
Sher Ali Khan (Persian andPashto:شیر علی خان; c. 1825 – 21 February 1879) wasAmir ofAfghanistan from 1863 to 1866 and from 1868 until his death in 1879. He was one of the sons ofDost Mohammed Khan,[2] founder of theBarakzai dynasty in Afghanistan.
Sher Ali Khan was born into aBarakzaiPashtun family. Initially he seized power after his father died, but was quickly ousted by his older brother,Mohammad Afzal Khan.Afghan Civil War (1863-1869) followed and ended after Sher Ali Khan defeated his brother and regained the title of Amir.
Sher Ali Khan's reign as Amir is often remembered for his attempts at reforming Barakzai rule in Afghanistan. Changes brought during his rule included the creation of government posts, military reform, the introduction of the first postal service in Afghanistan and the first attempts by an Afghan leader at promoting the Pashto language.
Sher Ali Khan tried to limit the power of theBarakzai sardars.[3] He didn't allow his sons to administer provinces and instead appointed governors loyal to him.[4] He also had a council of 12 members to advise him on matters of state. He created various ministerial offices like Prime Minister (Sadr-i Azam/صدر اعظم), minister of finance, minister of the interior, minister of war, minister of foreign affairs, and minister of the treasury.[4]
Under Sher Ali Khan's reign, Afghanistan was divided into 5 provinces: Kabul, Herat, Afghan Turkestan, Kandahar, and Farah.[5] Formerly Farah had been subject to Herat, but instead he made it a separate province and gave it to his cousin, Sardar Mohammad Afzal (not to be confused withMohammad Afzal Khan).
During his reign, Sher Ali Khan embarked on a project to modernise his armed forces, standardising uniforms and equipment. After being gifted a battery ofmountain guns and severalhowitzers by theBritish in 1868, Sher Ali realised the potential ofbreech-loading artillery and was determined to moderniseAfghanistan's arsenal. Whilst his early attempts failed, Sher Ali's craftsmen had soon established new workshops at theBala Hissar Arsenal and began to produce four to five modern breechloaders each month. Despite his successes in producing relatively modern weapons and equipment, poor discipline and a lack of competent officers meant the new cannons were quickly captured by theBritish during theSecond Anglo-Afghan War. British forces captured more than 250 guns from the Afghans during their campaign.[6]
Sher Ali's rule was hindered by pressure from both theBritish Empire and theRussian Empire, though he attempted to keepAfghanistan neutral during their conflict. His neutrality resulted in Afghanistan being invaded by theBritish which started theSecond Anglo-Afghan War. This war resulted in a British victory and a devastating loss to Afghanistan as Sher Ali Khan was forced to give away a large amount of territory toBritish India including the city ofQuetta. In 1878, the fragile neutrality fell apart with Sher Ali Khan's resisting of British demands for Afghanistan to accept a permanent envoy in Kabul. The British viewing this as confirmation of Sher Ali Khan's inclination towards Russia, gathered their forces and marched onKabul. Sher Ali Khan opted to leave Kabul in order to seek political and military aid from the Russian Empire. He died inMazar-e Sharif trying to reach theRussian border, leaving the throne to his sonMohammad Yaqub Khan.
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Barakzai dynasty Emir of Afghanistan 9 June 1863 – 1866 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Barakzai dynasty Emir of Afghanistan 7 October 1868 – 21 February 1879 | Succeeded by |
 Hotak Empire | |
|---|---|
 Durrani Empire | |
 Barakzai Emirate | |
 Barakzai Kingdom | |
 Saqqawist Emirate(unrecognized) | |
| Barakzai Kingdom(restored) | |
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