Durrani Campaign to Kabul (1747)
| Campaign to Kabul | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Painting depicting the city of Ghazni and its citadel | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Durrani Empire |
 Mughal Empire | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Ahmad Shah Durrani |
Nasir Khan | ||||||||
The Campaign to Kabul (1747) was a military expedition undertaken by Ahmad Shah Durrani during the early months of his reign to subdue a rebellion by Nasir Khan, the governor of Kabul, Ghazni, and Peshawar.
Background
[edit]
Weeks after Ahmad Shah's accession, Nasir Khan, the governor of Kabul, Ghazni, and Peshawar revolted against him. Ahmad Shah previously imprisoned Nasir Khan and ransomed him for an annual tribute of 500,000 rupees, and while Nasir Khan was attempting to raise this amount, the Ghilzai tribes refused to pay their taxes toward 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 appealing to Muhammad Shah for aid.[1][2]
Campaign
[edit]In Autumn of 1747, Ahmad Shah began his campaign against Nasir Khan. Appointing his nephew Luqman Khan as the regent in Kandahar while he left on campaign, Ahmad Shah marched his army toward Ghazni only to be halted at Qalati Ghilji by his former allies, the Tokhi Ghilzai. Ahmad Shah captured the fortress of Qalat, bringing the Tokhis to submission and annexing their lands over the following decades.[1][3] Ahmad Shah continued to Ghazni, defeating the governor established there and conquering it with little opposition.[2][4]
Before advancing on Kabul, Ahmad Shah garnered the support of the Suleimankhel tribes in the region, while Taqi Khan managed to procure the defection of the Qizilbash garrison in Kabul, so that once the Afghan army would arrive, they'd hand over the city. The acceptance of these terms forced Nasir Khan to flee to Peshawar, and when Ahmad Shah arrived at Kabul in October 1747, the Qizilbash handed over the Bala Hissar fortress. Ahmad Shah awarded the Qizilbash by giving them districts in Chindawol and Murad Khani.[1][2][5]
Aftermath
[edit]After Ahmad Shah’s campaign in Kabul, he turned eastwards towards India, beginning his first Indian invasion in 1747-1748.[6][7]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Lee, Jonathan L. (2022-03-08). Afghanistan: A History from 1260 to the Present. Reaktion Books. p. 118. ISBN 978-1-78914-019-4.
- ^ a b c Singh, Ganda (1959). Ahmad Shah Durrani: Father of Modern Afghanistan. Asia Publishing House. pp. 36–37.
- ^ Runion, Meredith L. (2017-04-24). The History of Afghanistan. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 91. ISBN 978-1-61069-777-4.
- ^ Jr, Robert L. Canfield (2008). Islamic Legitimacy in a Plural Asia. Routledge. p. 261. ISBN 9781134057092.
- ^ Noelle-Karimi, Christine (1997). State and Tribe in Nineteenth-Century Afghanistan: The Reign of Amir Dost Muhammad Khan (1826-1863). Routledge. p. 111. ISBN 9780700706297.
- ^ Lee, Jonathan L. (2022-03-08). Afghanistan: A History from 1260 to the Present. Reaktion Books. p. 119. ISBN 978-1-78914-019-4.
- ^ Sarkar, Sir Jadunath (1964). Fall of the Mughal Empire. M. C. Sarkar. p. 127.