Order of the Durrani Empire (Nishan-i-Daulat-i-Durrani)
1st Class Star awarded to Sir Thomas Willshire in theMusée national de la Légion d'Honneur et des Ordres de Chevalerie, Paris
Awarded byEmir of Afghanistan
Type	Order
Established	1839
Eligibility	British field officers
Awarded for	In gratitude for the restoration to the throne
Status	Obsolete
Founder	Shah Shujah Durrani
Grades	Grand Cross Grand Commander Companion
Ribbon of the order

TheOrder of the Durrani Empire(Nishan-i-Daulat-i-Durrani) was awarded to British field officers and above during theFirst Afghan War byShah Shujah Durrani ofAfghanistan in gratitude for his restoration to the throne.^[1]

The first investiture of the order was held at a granddurbar in the courtyard of the Harem Serai of theBala Hissar,Kabul, on the evening of 17 September 1839.^[2] At the time there were not enough decorations prepared but on the day those who were not on duty were presented before the king.^[3] The result was that there are numerous variations in the stars and medals as many were subsequently made in India and Europe, particularly in the number of pearls on the order.

There were three classes to the order as to emulate the three classes of theOrder of the Bath. The first and second classes had both a star and a medal while the third consisted of a medal only. The medal of all three classes had the red/green ribbon of theGhuznee Medal.

Medal: A gold Maltese cross with eight points terminating in a gold bead on two crossed swords. In the centre is a green flower on a blue enamel ground with the words "durr-i-durran" in Persian script, meaning "pearl of the age", the name attributed to theDurrani dynasty. The enamel centre is encircled by pearls.

Star: A silver star with a smaller Maltese cross in gold overlaid in the same style as the medal with the addition of a diamond on each arm of the gold cross. There are 17 pearls circling the enamel work.

Medal: As the 1st class but with 20 pearls encircling the centre.

Star: A silver star shaped like a Maltese cross with the gold medal overlaid as above but with 18 pearls.

Medal: As the 1st class but with 14 pearls encircling the centre.

This is not an exhaustive list

1st Class

1. Lieut. Col.Sir Alexander Burnes
2. Lieut. GeneralSir Willoughby Cotton
3. Lord Auckland
4. Lieut. GeneralSir John Keane
5. Sir William Hay Macnaghten
6. Lieut. Col.Sir Claude Martin Wade
7. Major General SirThomas Willshire

2nd Class

1. Lieut. Col. Robert Arnold
2. Lieut. Col. JG Beaumgardt
3. Major A Campbell
4. Major Patrick Craigie
5. Major William Garden
6. Lieut. Col. Keith
7. Lieut. Col. Macdonald
8. Major GeneralSir James Outram
9. Major General James Parsons
10. Major Alexander Peat
11. Major GeneralAbraham Roberts
12. Major GeneralSir Robert Henry Sale
13. Lieut. Col. J Scott
14. Major General Edward Simpson
15. Lieut. Col. Stephenson
16. General SirJoseph Thackwell
17. Lieut. Col. George Thomson
18. Major Elliot D'Arcy Todd
19. Lieut. Col. Hugh Wheeler

3rd Class

1. Major GeneralAugustus Abbott
2. Major William Alexander
3. Captain William Anderson
4. Superintending SurgeonJames Atkinson
5. Captain JDD Bean
6. Colonel David Birrell
7. Lieut. Col. Bulstrode Bygrave
8. Lieut. Col. Neil Campbell
9. Lieut. Col. Charles Carmichael Smyth
10. Lieut. Col. Richard Carruthers
11. Major General John Christie
12. Major CJ Connyngham
13. Captain Edward Barry Conolly
14. Lieut. Col. Croker
15. Lieut. Col. David Cuninghame
16. Lieut. Col. Charles Robert Cureton
17. Lieut. Col. Daly
18. Captain David Davidson
19. Lieut. Col. William Dennie
20. Major Deshon
21. Major General Thomas Douglas
22. Superintending Surgeon J Forsyth
23. Major J Fraser
24. Captain H Garbett
25. Major C Griffiths
26. Major Crawford Hagart
27. Major Henry Hancock
28. Major John Hay
29. Lieut. Col. John Herring
30. Captain Hugh Johnson
31. GeneralSir George St Patrick Lawrence
32. Major Robert Leech
33. Mr PB Lord
34. LieutenantFrederick Mackeson
35. Lieut. Col. James Maclaren
36. Lieut. Col. McDowell
37. Lieut. Col. GHM McGregor
38. Captain James McGregor
39. Major Thomas McSherry
40. ColonelThomas Monteath
41. Lieut. Col. Joseph Orchard
42. Lieut. Col.John Pennycuick
43. Lieut. Col. William Persse
44. Lieut. Col. Peter Pew
45. Major Edward Pottinger
46. Lieut. Col.Sir HC Rawlinson
47. Captain James Nathaniel Rind
48. Lieut. Col. Henry Salter
49. Captain Edward Sanders
50. Lieut. Col. Bentham Sandwith
51. General Sir Richmond Shakespeare
52. Lieut. Col. LR Stacy
53. Lieut. Col. Foster Stalker
54. Major Robert Thomas
55. Major John Thompson
56. Lieut. Col. Tronson
57. Captain Hamilton Wade
58. Captain A Wall
59. Major General George Warren
60. Lieut. Col. John Weston
61. Lieut. Col. CBWheeler
62. Captain FosterWheler
63. Colonel GP Wymer
64. Captain AGFJ Younghusband

• First Anglo-Afghan War
• British military personnel of the First Anglo-Afghan War
• Orders, decorations, and medals of Afghanistan
• Awards established in 1839
• Campaign medals

• Use dmy dates from April 2022