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Did you know?: Ahmad Shah Durrani

Although the names of Timur, Genghis Khan, and Mahmud of Ghazni are well-known for the destruction they wrought in South and Central Asia, the name of the founder of the Afghan nation-state is relatively unknown to Westerners, though Ahmad Shah created an Afghan empire that, at its largest in the 176Os, extended from Central Asia to Delhi and from Kashmir to the Arabian Sea. There have been greater conquerers in the region before and since Ahmad Shah, but never before his reign and rarely since has there been a ruler of this fragmented area capable not only of subduing the truculent Afghan tribes but also of pulling them together into a nation.

Early life

Ahmad Shah Durrani was bom in 1720 A.D. to Mohammad Zaman Khan Abdali and his wife, Zarghoona Alakozai. His grandfathers were Dawlat Khan and Sarmast Khan from the Abdali tribe, one of the two ruling tribes of Kandahar. The other one is Ghilzai. His birth place is believed to be Herat. Many Dunmis migrated there from Kandahar. Ahmad was the second son of the chief of the Sadozai, which although small was the most honored of the Abdali lineages. Along with his brother, he had risen in rebellion against Nadir Shah and had been jailed by the Ghilzai in Kandahar.

Ahmad Shah is buried in Kandahar from where his family and tribe originated. Before rising to power, Shah Hussain Hotak of the Ghilzi tribe was ruling the country.

Ahmad Shah began climbing to power in 1745 A.D. and established the modern Afghanistan kingdom. He ruled over cities in Iran, Pakistan, India and Russian Turkistan for about 26 years. Those were exciting years of politics, wars, and conquering. He died in 1771 A.D. at the age of 51.

Ahmad Shah and his ..→