Ahmad Shah Durrani (born Ahmad Khan Abdali; c. 1720–1722 – 16–23 October 1772) was the first ruler and founder of the Durrani Empire. He is often regarded as the founder of modern Afghanistan. As Shah, he relentlessly led military campaigns for over 25 years across West Asia, Central Asia, and South Asia, creating one of the largest Islamic empires in the world, encompassing Afghanistan, much of Pakistan, Iranian Khorasan, and parts of Northern India.
Born between 1720 and 1722, Ahmad Shah accompanied Nader Shah in his campaigns until Nader's assassination in 1747, which resulted in the division of the Afsharid Empire. Ahmad Shah took advantage and was crowned near Kandahar, establishing his rule in Afghanistan and founding the Durrani Empire.
In 1748, he invaded the Mughal Empire and began a series of invasions into India that would span the next 24 years. Following his third invasion of India, Ahmad Shah annexed Punjab and Kashmir from the Mughals. His forays continued, including the occupation and sacking of Delhi in 1757 during his fourth invasion, and the annihilation of Maratha armies at the Third Battle of Panipat, the largest battle of the 18th century, during his fifth. Outside of India, he campaigned in Khorasan and Afghan Turkestan, subjugating the Afsharids, crossed swords with the Khanate of Bukhara, and had diplomatic encounters with Qing China. In his later reign, he led numerous invasions against the Sikhs to maintain control over the Punjab. Years of nonstop campaigning took a toll on his health, and he died in 1772 in Maruf. He was buried in Kandahar, where his mausoleum is located.
Throughout his reign, Ahmad Shah fought over fifteen major military campaigns. Nine of them were centered in present-day India, three in Khorasan, and three in Afghan Turkestan. Having rarely lost a battle, historians widely recognize Ahmad Shah as a brilliant military leader and tactician, typically being compared to military leaders such as Marlborough, Mahmud of Ghazni, Babur, and Nader Shah. Ahmad Shah has been described as one of the greatest military leaders of eighteenth century Asia, as well the "greatest general of Asia of his time", and as one of the greatest conquerors in Asian history.
His campaigns, however, left the Indian subcontinent in complete chaos and contributed to the decline of Muslim power in Northern India, with Ahmad Shah overseeing several indiscriminate massacres throughout his campaigns as well as pillaging, and mass enslavement conducted by Afghan soldiers.
Name and title
His birth name was Ahmad Khan, and he was born into the Abdali tribe of Pashtuns. After his accession to power in 1747, he became known as Ahmad Shah. His tribe also changed their name from Abdali to Durrani. Afghans often refer to him as Ahmad Shāh Bābā, meaning "Ahmad Shah the Father".
In historical sources, his tribe's name is interchangeably used between Abdali and Durrani, and he is commonly referred to by names including Ahmad Shah Abdali. Eventually, Ahmad Shah would forbid the usage of the old tribal name of Abdali, rather insisting on the usage of Durrani instead, an act likely done to ward off other rival Abdali claimants.
Early life
Ahmad Shah was born between 1720 and 1722, with sources differing on whether his birthplace was in Herat in present-day Afghanistan; or Multan in present-day Pakistan. Modern scholarship generally favours Multan as his birthplace. However, this is disputed by historian Sajjad Nejatie, who argues the majority of sources from Ahmad Shah's time state he was born in Herat and not in Multan, including the Tarikh-i Ahmad Shahi, a primary source commissioned by Ahmad Shah himself.
His father, Zaman Khan, was the Sultan of Herat. Zaman Khan had died in 1721, and as a result, Ahmad Shah was raised alongside his brother Zulfiqar Khan in Shindand and Farah. In the mid-1720s, Zulfiqar Khan was invited to rule Herat. Ahmad Shah does not appear in historical records again until 1731–1732, when Zulfiqar Khan was defeated by the Iranian monarch Nader Shah. This forced both Zulfiqar Khan and Ahmad Shah to flee to Kandahar, where they remained political prisoners of Hussain Hotak, the Hotak king.
After Nader Shah conquered Kandahar, Ahmad Shah and Zulfiqar Khan were freed. Ahmad Shah spent much of his early life in the service of Nader Shah. Accompanying him on his invasion of India between 1738 and 1739. Ahmad Shah was later resettled in Mazandaran along with his brother. According to the Encyclopædia Iranica, Ahmad Shah may have been appointed governor of Mazandaran. After the death of his brother, Ahmad Shah enlisted in the Afsharid military in 1742. Some sources suggest only Zulfiqar Khan went to Mazandaran, while Ahmad Shah remained in Nader Shah's service as an officer.
During Nader Shah's invasion of India, Ahmad Shah possibly commanded a regiment of Durrani tribesmen. His forces participated in the sacking of Delhi and were involved in massacres during the invasion. According to legend, Nizam ul-Mulk, the Mughal governor of Hyderabad, supposedly an expert in physiognomy, predicted Ahmad Shah would become king. Nader Shah is said to have taken notice, clipping part of Ahmad Shah's ear as a symbolic gesture, reportedly saying: "When you become a king, this will remind you of me". Nader Shah also requested Ahmad Shah be generous with his descendants. Nejatie is sceptical of the account, and remarks that evidence of Ahmad Shah being fully involved in the campaign is inconclusive.
In 1744, Ahmad Shah was promoted to Nader Shah's personal staff. In a campaign against the Ottomans, Ahmad Shah distinguished himself and was permitted to raise a contingent of 3–4,000 Durrani tribesmen by Nader Shah. The unit became one of Nader Shah's most trusted units, and he increasingly relied on it to suppress the influence of his other commanders, whom he suspected of plotting a rebellion or his assassination.
Death of Nader Shah
In June 1747, Nader Shah was convinced his personal guard intended to assassinate him. As a result, he summoned Ahmad Shah and other loyal commanders. Nader Shah ordered Ahmad Shah to assemble his Durrani regiments and to arrest his personal guard. If the personal guard resisted, Ahmad Shah was given permission to kill them all. He was ordered to do this at first light. Nader Shah then chose to sleep with his favourite wife, but did so outside the royal tent, where the same guards he had accused of treachery presumed night duty. Meanwhile, Ahmad Shah with his regiments was stationed at the defences of the camp.
News of Nader Shah's plan leaked, with the conspirators being forced to act. Four conspirators entered the royal enclosure and Nader Shah's tent at Quchan, assassinating him. Chaos ensued afterward, and plans to cover up the killing by the conspirators failed. They resorted to pillaging the royal enclosure while news of Nader Shah's death rapidly spread. The next morning, the royal guard attacked Ahmad Shah's forces, who drove away the Persians and Qizilbash despite being heavily outnumbered. Ahmad Shah then entered the tent of Nader Shah, taking the Koh-i-Noor diamond and a signet ring from his body.
Return to Kandahar
Having driven off the Persians and Qizilbash, Ahmad Shah departed for Kandahar with his regiments, and his Uzbek ally, Hajji Bi Ming. Ahmad Shah first resolved the dispute of leadership, asserting himself as the leader of Durrani tribesmen by forcing the former leader to step down. Ahmad Shah also killed 'Abd al-Ghani Khan, his uncle and the governor of Kandahar to consolidate full control over the Durrani regiments. Following this act, his forces grew to over 6,000 men.
Ahmad Shah then moved through Khabushan, advancing to Kashmar. On the way, Ahmad Shah accumulated supplies for his army before proceeding to Torbat-e Heydarieh, where he received news that Adel Shah had dispatched a force to block the Afghan advance. Ahmad Shah responded by leading his forces to Tun and then Farah, where they defeated Adel Shah's army. With Farah under his control, the Afghans continued on to Grishk, and then Kandahar.
While en route to Kandahar, Ahmad Shah recovered a military convoy carrying the annual tribute from Sindh. Estimates of the convoy's value vary widely, ranging from 3 to 260 million rupees. The convoy was escorted by Mohammad Taqi Khan Shirazi, a disgruntled former officer of Nader Shah, and Nasir Khan, the governor of Kabul and Peshawar. Taqi Khan joined Ahmad Shah and divided the wealth, while Nasir Khan refused and was subsequently imprisoned. He was later released on the conditions he pay an annual tribute of 500,000 rupees and acknowledge Ahmad Shah's suzerainty. Following this, Ahmad Shah's army grew to over 18,000 men, and came to include war elephants. Sindh would also enter Afghan suzerainty and see tribute imposed by Ahmad Shah during this period.
Accession and coronation
Upon reaching Kandahar, Ahmad Shah encamped in Naderabad and prepared to be crowned king. According to legend, Ahmad Shah declared a Jirga summoning all tribal leaders, who unanimously selected Ahmad Shah as king. A piece of wheat or barley was then placed on Ahmad Shah's turban. Historian Ganda Singh cites this account, despite no contemporary evidence suggesting this event ever occurred.
In reality, Ahmad Shah was brought to power through a nine-man military council. Ahmad Shah's accession was disputed by Jamal Khan, the leader of the Barakzai tribe. The Barakzai were the most powerful clan of the Durranis centered in the Kandahar and Helmand regions. The dispute over accession continued until an agreement was made where Jamal Khan would submit to Ahmad Shah as king, while Ahmad Shah would make Jamal Khan and his descendants wazir. With an agreement reached, Sabir Shah, Ahmad Shah's advisor, took a piece of greenery or stalk and attached it to Ahmad Shah's cap, officially crowning him. Scholars state Ahmad Shah's rise to power was effectively a military coup rather than an election.
Following his accession, Ahmad Shah adopted the title of Padishah, and the epithet "Durr-i Durrān", meaning "Pearl of Pearls", also changing the name of his tribe from Abdali to Durrani.
Reign as Shah (1747–1772)
Administration
At the beginning of his rule, Ahmad Shah's empire consisted of Kandahar, Helmand, and Farah. The Hazaras of Bala Murghab and the Khanate of Kalat ruled by Nasir Khan also came under Afghan suzerainty. However, Ahmad Shah had no administrative experience, neither did most of his closest advisors. As a result, he chose to adopt a government style similar to the Mughals and Safavids, with his main idea of a government based on an absolute monarchy. A tribal council ruled in hand with Ahmad Shah, serving as a type of cabinet. However, Ahmad Shah had made the positions of his cabinet hereditary, thus making it difficult to dismiss advisors without causing conflict. Their roles, were almost purely de-jure, and tasks were delegated to subordinates.
The civil service of the empire was dominated by the Qizilbash, as most of the Durrani elite were illiterate. The Qizilbash also significantly formed the major part of Ahmad Shah's bodyguard, counterbalancing other Durrani leaders and tribes. These complications and effectively divided government made the administration's functioning difficult, and caused ethnic tension between the Qizilbash and the tribal council of Ahmad Shah.
Further complications erupted in Ahmad Shah's administration after he exempted his own tribe from taxation. Other Afghan tribes and ethnicities were discontent with this, as they were also not allowed to serve in the administration of the empire. This disquiet was further exacerbated by Ahmad Shah when he gave the right of revenue collection to the highest bidder. The victors of these auctions, typically members of Ahmad Shah's own tribe, were completely free in taxing as much as they wished. While members of the Durrani tribe rapidly became rich, some landholders were pushed into complete debt, forcing many to sell their lands or flee the kingdom. Their land was also likely to be bought by the Durranis who had driven them to bankruptcy.
Ahmad Shah envisioned himself as the successor of Nader Shah. Instead of establishing a capable administration, Ahmad Shah focused on wars and military campaigns to supply his treasury, with any downturns easily being covered by the treasures of war. Throughout his reign, he rarely spent his time in Kandahar, the capital of his empire, and instead pursued military campaigns, returning only to restore stability after conflict. By the end of his reign, Ahmad Shah had launched over fifteen military campaigns, nine of them in India, three in Khorasan, and three in Afghan Turkestan.
Objectives
Afghanistan was a relatively poor country at the time. As a result, Ahmad Shah, following in the footsteps of conquerors before him such as Mahmud of Ghazni, invading India to plunder and obtain wealth. Adopting the practices of Muhammad of Ghor, he also invaded India to establish his own political dominance. The power vacuum following the decline of the Mughal Empire allowed him to repeat extensive campaigns, while also reviving the prominence of Afghans in India. Furthermore, by institutionalizing the casus belli of holy war, Ahmad Shah was able to direct the majority of his campaigns toward India. He also saw invasions as the proper way to propagate his strength, as Afghan chiefs and nobility initially saw him as an upstart, and as a result, Ahmad Shah sought victories to legitimize himself.
Military campaigns
Campaign to Kabul (1747)
Weeks after Ahmad Shah's accession, Nasir Khan, the governor of Kabul, Ghazni, and Peshawar revolted against him. Ahmad Shah had previously imprisoned Nasir Khan and ransomed him for an annual tribute of 500,000 rupees. While Nasir Khan was attempting to raise this amount, the Ghilzai tribes refused to pay their taxes to the Durranis, and only wished to do so to their Mughal sovereign, Muhammad Shah. With a growing Ghilzai revolt, Nasir Khan declared his independence from Durrani suzerainty and began raising an army of Uzbeks and Hazaras, while also frantically asking Muhammad Shah for aid.