24 Facts About Ahmad Shah Durrani

1.

Ahmad Shah Durrani, known as Ahmad Shah Abdali, was the founder of the Durrani Empire and is regarded as the founder of the modern Afghanistan.

FactSnippet No. 1,705,314
2.

Primarily with the support of the Pashtun tribes, Ahmad Shah pushed east towards the Mughal and Maratha Empires of India, west towards the disintegrating Afsharid Empire of Iran, and north towards the Khanate of Bukhara of Turkestan.

FactSnippet No. 1,705,315
3.

The Tomb of Ahmad Shah Durrani is located in the center of Kandahar, adjacent to Kirka Sharif, which contains a cloak believed to have been worn by the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

FactSnippet No. 1,705,316
4.

Nader Ahmad Shah Durrani had been enlisting the Abdalis in his army since around 1729.

FactSnippet No. 1,705,317
5.

Zulfiqar was made Governor of Mazandaran while Durrani remained working as Nader Shah's personal attendant.

FactSnippet No. 1,705,318
6.

Nader Ahmad Shah Durrani recruited him because of his "impressive personality and valour" because of his "loyalty to the Persian monarch".

FactSnippet No. 1,705,319
7.

Ahmad Shah Durrani began his military conquest by capturing Qalati Ghilji from its governor Ashraf Tokhi and installed his own governor in Ghazni.

FactSnippet No. 1,705,320
8.

Ahmad Shah Durrani then wrestled Kabul and Peshawar from Mughal-appointed governor Nasir Khan, and conquered the area up to the Indus River.

FactSnippet No. 1,705,321
9.

Ahmad Shah conquered Herat in 1750, Balkh and Badakhshan in 1751, and Kashmir in 1752.

FactSnippet No. 1,705,322
10.

Ahmad Shah Durrani's forces suffered heavy casualties and were forced to retreat in early 1751.

FactSnippet No. 1,705,323
11.

Ahmad Shah Durrani sacked the Mughal capital and withdrew with the booty he coveted.

FactSnippet No. 1,705,324
12.

Ahmad Shah Durrani succeeded in ousting Timur Shah and his court from India and brought northwest of India up to Peshawar under Maratha rule.

FactSnippet No. 1,705,325
13.

In 1761, Ahmad Shah Durrani set out on his campaign to win back lost territories.

FactSnippet No. 1,705,326
14.

Ahmad Shah Durrani accused Sultan Shah of having caused the Afaqi brothers to die.

FactSnippet No. 1,705,327
15.

Ahmad Shah Durrani then sent envoys to Beijing to discuss the situation regarding the Afaqi Khojas.

FactSnippet No. 1,705,328
16.

Ahmad Shah suffered a wound on his nose during a horse-riding accident in Kabul in 1768, which gradually worsened and spread to other parts of his face, including his left eye.

FactSnippet No. 1,705,329
17.

Ahmad Shah Durrani was buried in the city of Kandahar adjacent to the Shrine of the Cloak, where a large mausoleum was built.

FactSnippet No. 1,705,330
18.

King of high rank, Ahmad Shah Durrani, Was equal to Kisra in managing the affairs of his government.

FactSnippet No. 1,705,331
19.

Ahmad Shah Durrani seems to have been naturally disposed to mildness and clemency and though it is impossible to acquire sovereign power and perhaps, in Asia, to maintain it, without crimes; yet the memory of no eastern prince is stained with fewer acts of cruelty and injustice.

FactSnippet No. 1,705,332
20.

Ahmad Shah Durrani's successors, beginning with his son Timur Shah and ending with Shuja Shah Durrani, proved largely incapable of governing the last Afghan empire and faced with advancing enemies on all sides.

FactSnippet No. 1,705,333
21.

Much of the territory conquered by Ahmad Shah fell to others by the end of the 19th century.

FactSnippet No. 1,705,334
22.

Timur Shah would consolidate the holdings of the Durrani Empire, and fight off civil war and rebellion throughout his reign, he would lead multiple campaigns into Punjab to try and repeat his fathers success.

FactSnippet No. 1,705,335
23.

Ahmad Shah Durrani was "an expert in physiognomy" and predicted that Ahmad Shah was "destined to become a king".

FactSnippet No. 1,705,336
24.

When Nader Ahmad Shah Durrani learned of it, he "purportedly clipped" his ears with his dagger and made the remark "When you become a king, this will remind you of me".

FactSnippet No. 1,705,337