History of Afghanistan E04 | Founding father of Afghanistan, Ahmad Shah Abdali

Founding father of Afghanistan, Ahmad Shah Abdali 

Genghis Khan attacked the Khwarazmian Empire in 1219. The empire stretched from Kazakhstan to iThe reason for this invasion was the massacre of 450 Mongol traders in the city of Uttar, Kazakhstan. 

Utrar's governor was behind this massacre. But Khwarazmian ruler Ala ad-Din Muhammad II didn't punish him. He fuelled Genghis Khan's anger. In response, Genghis Khan invaded the Khwarizmi Empire with an army. Genghis Khan's Mongol army destroyed great cities such as Samarkand and Bukhara. However, the Mongol army met its match in Afghanistan. The Mongols faced stiff resistance at every step. The Afghans defeated the Mongols. This defeated the mighty Mongol Empire.

How did all this happen?

Ala ad-Din Muhammad II had a son named Jalal al-Din Khwarazmshah. 

He was leading the Muslim resistance against the Mongols. He fought his way through Central Asia to Afghanistan and gathered Afghan warriors to fight the Mongols. The Afghans supported him because they wanted a strong alliance against Genghis Khan. The Afghans preferred Jalal al-Din's rule over Genghis Khan. Jalal al-Din was their first option. As a result, Jalal al-Din soon gathered a large army of about 80,000. Its soldiers were mostly Afghan fighters. With this army, Jalal al-Din encamped in Ghazni and waited for Genghis Khan's army. As Jalal al-Din was getting ready, more was happening in Afghanistan. Many Afghans were also fighting the Mongols in other parts of the country. Every Afghan fort was giving Mongols a tough fight. A grandson of Genghis Khan was also killed in Bamyan. Genghis Khan was so shocked that he personally led the attack on Bamyan and massacred everyone in the fort. Even insects and animals were killed. But his real challenge was to face Jalal al-Din and his 80,000 strong armies. But Genghis Khan somehow underestimated his enemy. He sent only 40,000 troops under another commander against Jalal al-Din's force of 80,000. Genghis Khan paid a heavy price for his miscalculation. Both armies faced each other in Parwan province in 1221.  The Mongols suffered one of the worst defeats in their history. Thousands of Mongol soldiers were killed and the rest of the army fled the battlefield. Nearly 1,500 years after Alexander the Great's death, another great conqueror was defeated in Afghanistan. When the news of this defeat reached Genghis Khan's camp, he realized his mistake. So he gathered his whole army and set out in pursuit of Jalal al-Din. Under Genghis Khan's command, the Mongol army pursued Jalal al-Din to the Indus River in Punjab. Jalal al-Din could not fight the large Mongol army but he managed to flee. He jumped into the Indus River and saved his life. Genghis Khan returned to the Afghan territory with his victorious army. But even this success could not stop the consequences of the first defeat. This defeat gave a new ray of hope to the Muslims living unde
r Mongol occupation. The Muslims thought that they could now defeat the Mongols. Many cities in Central Asia and Afghanistan rose in rebellion. Many Mongols were killed in rebel cities.In response, the Mongols destroyed many of these rebel cities.  Afghan cities of Ghazni, Balkh, and Herat were also destroyed. A few years after these events, Genghis Khan died in 1227 CE. After his death, Afghanistan's political landscape changed once again. Genghis Khan's children and grandchildren took over his Empire. Afghanistan was also affected. Genghis Khan's son Chagatai Khan controlled the northeastern part of Afghanistan. Genghis Khan's grandson Hulagu Khan's Ilkhanate controlled remaining Afghanistan. Then the Mongols ruled Afghanistan until 1350 CE. Afghanistan recovered from the widespread destruction inflicted by the Mongols. For the first time in history, the name of Kandahar was recorded in 1281 CE. Balkh and Ghazni, devastated by the Mongol invasions, were repopulated. Another city in the southern foothills of the Hindu Kush and along the river also established its own identity. This city is known today as Kabul. Kabul has a 3,500 years old history. But it was less important than cities like Ghazni and Herat. But in the 13th century, under Mongol control, this city developed like other Afghan cities. Mongol soldiers also married local women and settled in Afghanistan. The majority of the Hazara community in Afghanistan are descendants of Mongol soldiers. Hazaras were born out of intermarriages between Mongol soldiers and Tajik women Around 1350 CE, the Mongol Empires declined and Afghanistan was temporarily free. But Afghanistan and Central Asia had never experienced permanent peace. Attackers continued to invade these places. Chagatai and Ilkhanate empires were replaced by a Tatar chief Emir Timur, who invaded Afghanistan. But Amir Timur's goal was not to conquer Afghanistan. He wanted to reach India through Afghanistan. Local tribal chiefs of Afghanistan resisted Emir Timur. However, Emir Timur defeated this resistance. Then he attacked Delhi and massacred the local population. Emir Timur withdrew from India. However, Afghanistan became part of his Empire. Emir Timur died in 1405 CE. However, his successors continued to rule Afghanistan. Afghanistan flourished during the Timurid period. Timur's son Shah Rukh shifted his capital to the Afghan city of Herat. He built magnificent buildings in Afghanistan. Thus a new era of progress began in Afghanistan. However, when Shah Rukh died in 1447 CE, the political situation became worse again. The bad political situation affected Afghanistan's progress. The Timurid dynasty began to fight the Mongol rulers of Central Asia. The fighting ended the central authority in Afghanistan. Local warlords became powerful in many areas. This situation lasted for at least a century. Then a great-great grandchild of Emir Timur made Afghanistan part of a new empire for 200 years. He was Zahīr up-Dīn Babur, the founder of the Mughal dynasty in India. He was the ruler of Ferghana and Samarkand (Uzbekistan). His relatives drove him out of Central Asia. So he went to Afghanistan. He had only a handful of men with him.

This was the year 1504 CE.

Zahīr up-Dīn Babur has written the story of Afghanistan in his book Baburnama. 

He sent a message to the ruler of Kabul and asked him to surrender the city. At the same time, he alerted his troops outside Kabul. The ruler of Kabul thought that the enemy had more troops than the Kabul garrison. This was the time there was no central authority in Afghanistan. Several small warlords had established their own governments. Kabul was also just a small city-state. So the ruler of Kabul surrendered the city to Babur. Then Kabul and many other areas of Afghanistan became part of the Mughal Empire. After 22 years, Babur invaded India in 1526 CE. He defeated Sultan Ibrahim Lodi and captured Delhi. The Mughal Empire ruled most of India and eastern/southern Afghanistan for the next 2 centuries, until the death of Aurangzeb Alamgir in 1707. Kandahar changed hands between the Mughals and the Safavid Empire of Iran. Western Afghanistan was ruled by Iran and northern Afghanistan by the Kingdom of Bukhara. The Afghan city of Jalalabad is named after the Mughal emperor Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar. So this was the story of the 7 centuries when the Pashtun tribes struggled for a separate identity and an independent state. We had pointed out this fact in the previous part 3 During this time Afghans had become a major power and were building empires. The Khaljis, for example, a people of Turco-Afghan origin ruled India from 1290 to 1320. The most successful ruler of this dynasty was Alauddin Khalji, who repulsed several Mongol invasions of India. Similarly, Ibrahim Lodhi who was defeated by Babur was also a Pathan. Later, another Pathan, Sher Shah Suri temporarily snatched the throne of Delhi from Babur's son Humayun. However, after a gap of 15 or 16 years, Emperor Humayun recaptured Delhi. In other words, the Pathans had become a political power in Afghanistan and India. But they never thought to create a single independent state for themselves. Only individuals used this political power to create empires of their own. Actually, Afghans had no leader who could unite them and create a free state for them. However, the 17th century Pashto poet Khushal Khan Khattak tried to unite the Pashtuns against the Mughals. He was a Pashtun chief and was born in Akora Khattak, near Peshawar. His family had been loyal to the Mughals since the time of Mughal Emperor Akbar. But during the reign of Emperor Aurangzeb Alamgir, these relations deteriorated. Aurangzeb Alamgir got angry over a tax collection issue and imprisoned Khushal Khan Khattak. Khushal Khan Khattak was imprisoned in Peshawar, Delhi, Agra, and other places. He was also imprisoned at Ranthambore Fort in Rajasthan. A well-known misunderstanding is that he was also imprisoned in the fort of Gwalior. This is a misunderstanding. He was actually imprisoned in Ranthambore. Khushal Khan Khattak remained in prison for 5 or 7 years. Then the Mughals released him. Khushal Khan Khattak returned to Peshawar and launched a rebellion against the Mughals. He defeated the Mughals many times on the battlefield and also attacked their forts. Khushal Khan Khattak was a great warrior and a great poet as well. He is said to have written more than 100 books of poetry. Among them, Dastar Nama and Baz Nama are very popular. Allama Iqbal also called him the sage of the Afghan nation. Just like Allama Iqbal who sometimes is also called the sage of the nation. So Allama Iqbal had said the same thing about Khushal Khan Khattak. Western historians also consider Khushal Khan to be the national hero and poet of the Pashtuns. But even Khushal Khan Khattak could not turn the Pashtuns into a political nation or create a separate homeland for them. He died at the age of 76 in the year 1689 CE. He told his followers to bury him in a place where even the dust of the Mughal horses could not reach. He was buried in his native area of ​​Akora Khattak.

The death of Khushal Khan Khattak deprived the Pashtuns of a popular leader.

However, the political vacuum created by his death was soon filled. 

Aurangzeb also died 18 years after the death of Khusal Khan. His death weakened the Mughal Empire. Then the Pashtuns finally found their savior after the long wait of 7 centuries. This leader was Ahmad Shah Abdali also known as Ahmad Shah Durrani. He is considered the founder and father of the modern Afghan nation.

How did Ahmad Shah Abdali lay the foundation of modern Afghanistan?

Ahmad Shah Abdali's father Zaman Khan was a chief of the Abdali tribe. 

This tribe also descended from Qais Abdur Rashid, the legendry Afghan ancestor. Ahmad Shah Abdali was the 2nd son and legally unqualified to succeed his father. The tribal custom dictated that only the eldest son could become chief of a tribe. But at the age of 16, he met Iranian ruler Nadir Shah Durrani in Kandahar. Nadir Shah had conquered Afghanistan in 1738 CE. Nadir Shah liked young Ahmad Shah Abdali and made him the caretaker of his personal servants. Nadir Shah conquered Delhi in 1739. Abdali also participated in this campaign. Nadir Shah appointed Ahmad Shah Abdali as the Deputy Governor of Deccan. Nadir Shah was killed by his own troops in 1747. He was killed in the Iranian city of Quchan. Ahmad Shah Abdali was also present in the Iranian camp at that time. He visited Nadir Shah's tent after his assassination. He removed Nadir Shah's ring which was the symbol of his government. Nadir Shah had also brought the Koh-i-Noor diamond from Delhi. This diamond was always tied to his arm. Ahmad Shah Abdali also took it off. However, Afghan historians say that Abdali didn't remove the Koh-i-Noor diamond from Nadir Shah's arm. They say Nadir Shah's queen gifted this diamond to Abdali. Abdali had saved her from being raped by some soldiers. It doesn't matter which version of the history is correct. After the assassination of Nadir Shah, Abdali had decided to become the king of Afghanistan. So he quickly left for Kandahar. The wind of change was blowing in Afghanistan as well. Pashtuns had tolerated foreign occupations for thousands of years. Now they wanted to be free. So the Pashtun tribes decided to declare their independence as a separate state. A large Jirga was held near Kandahar to discuss the formation of a new state. Today this Jirga is known as Loya Jirga. First time in the history of Afghanistan, people were making an important national decision through dialogue. Before that, it was the sword that made every decision in Afghanistan. Ahmad Shah Abdali was the candidate for the kingship. His opponent Jamal Khan belonged to Ghilzai or Muhammadzai tribe. Now each tribe wanted its candidate to become ruler. Some tribes supported Abdali while others stood behind Jamal Khan. The people could not reach a consensus. So the situation became tense. The most important event of Afghan history was about to become a bloody affair. Suddenly a widely respected saint Sabir Shah Wali stepped forward. He said that God had made Abdali the greatest and most honorable among Afghans. He advised the Afghans to bow to the will of God. Sabir Shah Wali's words settled the matter. Even Jamal Khan resigned in favor of Ahmad Shah Abdali. Thus all the Afghans unanimously chose Ahmad Shah Abdali as their king. Then Sabir Shah made an earthen platform as the throne of Abdali. He took a bunch of wheat and placed it on Abdali's head like a crown. Then the Afghans declared their independence from Iran.

But how did the word Abdali become Durrani?

And how did Durrani Empire get the name Afghanistan?

It was Sabir Shah wali who gave him the title of Durr-i-Durrān. 

It meant the pearl of the pearls. This Durr-i-Durrān later became Durrani. Abdali tribe also adopted this title and Ahmad Shah Abdali was then called Ahmad Shah Durrani. But who did name the Durrani Empire Afghanistan? This photo is of the mausoleum of Mian Muhammad Omar Chamkani, a famous saint of KPK. The mausoleum is located in Chamkani village, 7 km from the main Peshawar city. Ahmad Shah Abdali visited Mian Omar after conquering Peshawar. It is said that it was Mian Omar who asked Ahmad Shah Abdali to name his kingdom Afghanistan. Some historians even claim that it was Mian Omar who gave Ahmad Shah Abdali the title of Durr-i-Durrān. Mian Omar was not only a religious leader of the Pashtuns but also a political leader. He had millions of followers. He sent 17,000 of his followers to assist Abdali in the 3rd battle of Panipat. The election of Ahmad Shah Abdali as King made Kandahar the powerbase of the Pashtuns. It also made Loya Jirga a sacred gathering. However, historian Jonathan Lee dismisses the story of Loya Jirga. He gives a different version of history. He says that the Iranian governor of Sind, Taqi Beg passed through Kandahar with a military convoy. He joined forces with Abdali. He also gave him (Abdali) 20 million rupees. Abdali used this money to buy loyalties of tribal chiefs and recruited an army of 18,000 men. He used this army and money to become the ruler of Afghanistan. Now you have both versions of history before you. But there is no doubt about one fact. The modern history of Afghanistan starts in 1747. That was the year when an independent Afghanistan was formed. Some people say that Afghanistan is the graveyard of empires. Some say that this is the Afghanistan that has never lost a war.

Is this true?