29 Facts About Ahmad Shah Durrani

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

However, Durrani was told that the Shah had been killed by one of his wives.

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

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

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

Ahmad Shah Durrani made two campaigns into Khorasan.

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

In 1749, Ahmad Shah captured the area of Punjab around Lahore.

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

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

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

The Afaqi brothers died in Badakhshan and the ruler Sultan Ahmad Shah Durrani delivered their bodies to the Qing.

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

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.

Ahmad Shah Durrani wrote a collection of odes in his native Pashto.

Ahmad Shah Durrani was the author of several poems in Persian.

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

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".