Dost Mohammad Khan
Dost Mohammad Khan was born on the 23rd of December 1792 in Kandahar, within the crumbling Durrani Empire. His father, Payandah Khan, served as chief of the Barakzai Pashtuns and held a civil servant position under the ruling dynasty. The family lineage traced back through Hajji Jamal Khan, Yousef, Yaru, Mohammad, Omar Khan, Khisar Khan, Ismail, Nek, Daru, Saifal, and Barak to Abdal, the founder of the Abdali tribe. Abdal had four sons: Popal, Barak, Achak, and Alako. Dost Mohammad's mother belonged to the Qizilbash group, adding another layer to his ethnic background. He spoke Pashto, Persian, Punjabi, and Turkish, and was credited with knowledge of Kashmiri by Mohan Lal. His elder brother, Fateh Khan, installed Mahmud Shah Durrani as sovereign in 1800 and restored him to the throne in 1809. Fateh Khan served as Prime Minister of Kabul until his brutal assassination in 1818 by Mahmud Shah. This act incurred the enmity of the entire Barakzai tribe. Following a bloody conflict, Mahmud Shah was deprived of all possessions except Herat, while the rest of his dominions were divided among Fateh Khan's brothers. Dost Mohammad received Ghazni, which he later added to Kabul, the richest of the Afghan provinces, in 1826. At the time of his enthronement, government revenue stood at about 500,000 rupees, rising to 2.5 million rupees by the 1830s. The foundation of his power rested on this tribal inheritance and the political chaos that followed his brother's death. The next phase would see him fighting for control of the Peshawar Valley against a rising Sikh power.
The Afghans lost their former stronghold of the Peshawar Valley in March 1823 to the Sikh Khalsa Army of Ranjit Singh at the Battle of Nowshera. Afghan forces in that battle were led by Mohammad Azim Khan, the half-brother of Dost Mohammad Khan. In 1835, Dost Mohammad advanced up to the Khaibar Pass, threatening to recover Peshawar. Hari Singh Nalwa, the Sikh general guarding that frontier with Prince Nau Nihal Singh, built a chain of forts including one at Jamrud at the eastern end of the Khyber Pass. Dost Muhammad erected a fort at Ali Masjid at the other end. In early 1837, Prince Nau Nihal Singh returned to Lahore to get married while the Maharaja and his court prepared for the wedding. Dost Muhammad Khan sent a force of 25,000 men, including local irregulars and 18 heavy guns, to invest Jamrud. The Sikh garrison there held only 600 men and a few light artillery pieces. The Afghans besieged the fort and cut off its water supply while sending a detachment to the neighboring Sikh fort of Shabqadar to prevent help. Mahan Singh Mirpuri, the garrison commander of Jamrud, kept the invaders at bay for four days and sent a desperate appeal for help to Hari Singh Nalva at Peshawar. Nalva rose from his sick bed and rushed to Jamrud. The final battle was fought on the 30th of April 1837, and the Afghans withdrew after Hari Singh Nalva was killed. This defeat marked the end of Afghan hopes to hold Peshawar permanently. The loss of this strategic valley forced Dost Mohammad to look elsewhere for expansion and security.
At the intersection of British, Russian, and French imperial interests, political maneuvering became necessary for survival. Dost Mohammad rejected overtures from Russia and endeavored to form an alliance with Great Britain. He welcomed Alexander Burnes to Kabul in 1837. Burnes was unable to prevail on the governor-general, Lord Auckland, to respond to the Emir's advances. Dost Mohammad was enjoined to abandon the attempt to recover Peshawar and to place his foreign policy under British guidance. He replied by renewing his relations with Russia. In 1838, Lord Auckland set the British troops in motion against him. To enable such an action, the British manufactured evidence needed to justify the overthrow of the Afghan ruler. Shah Shujah Durrani, the dethroned Sadozai prince, was used by Ranjit Singh as an instrument to destabilize Dost Mohammad. In 1834, Shah Shujah made an attempt to recover his kingdom. Dost Mohammad mobilized for this, beginning with the Jalalabad campaign and then marching on Kandahar. Shah Shuja was defeated by Dost Mohammad under the walls of Kandahar, but Ranjit Singh seized the opportunity to annex Peshawar. In 1838, with the help and agreement of the Sikh monarch who joined the Tripartite Treaty with British viceroy Lord Auckland, Shah Shuja was restored to the Afghan throne in Kabul on the 7th of August 1839. Dost Muhammad Khan was exiled by the British to Mussoorie in November 1840. The collapse of Shah Shujah's rule would soon create an opening for his return.
Dost Muhammad Khan was exiled by the British to Mussoorie in November 1840, but was restored to his former position after the murder of Shah Shuja in April 1842. During his exile in Calcutta, he was treated warmly. After the end of the First Anglo-Afghan War in 1842, Dost Mohammad Khan was now in a position to expand his state dramatically. This expansion was partly due to the improving relationship between Dost Mohammad Khan and the British. He took note of the technological superiority of the British and was convinced that constant wars with them would damage Afghanistan. Instead, Dost Mohammad advocated for an alliance with the British as the only way to ensure the survival of the state. With the First and Second Anglo-Sikh Wars eliminating any threat that the volatile Sikh Empire would have had on Afghanistan, Dost Mohammad Khan was now able to freely expand his kingdom with the help of the British. He realized that he and the British had common Central Asian goals. In 1843, Dost Mohammad Khan subdued the Hazarajat regions of Behsud, Dai Zangi, and Dai Kundi, as well as Bamian, which had seized the power vacuum during the British invasion to become independent. A rebellion by the Kohistani Tajiks of Tagab was suppressed in 1846, and Dost Mohammad consolidated his position on that traditionally rebellious area. The Sikhs proposed to cede Peshawar to the Afghans, although it never became a reality. As a result, Mohammad sent 5,000 Afghans under Mohammad Akram Khan to aid the Sikhs in the war. When the Sikhs were defeated and the British retook Peshawar, it was feared in Kabul that the British would follow up their victory by invading Afghanistan. However, this never happened. Dost Mohammad therefore sent his son, Mohammad Akram Khan, to invade Balkh in the Spring of 1849.
The invasion of Balkh was successful and the province was annexed into Afghanistan. When Afzal Khan took materials from the dilapidated city of Balkh to construct a cantonment known as Takhtapul nearby, by 1854 Takhtapul was a fully grown city complete with gardens and courts. In 1850, Mohammad Akram Khan's half brother, Ghulam Haidar Khan, conquered Tashqurghan and the Mir Wali was forced to flee. In July 1848, Dost Mohammad intended to send a force to conquer Balkh, but the Second Anglo-Sikh War prevented this and occupied him for another year. The Sikhs proposed to cede Peshawar to the Afghans, although it never became a reality. When the Sikhs were defeated and the British retook Peshawar, it was feared in Kabul that the British would follow up their victory by invading Afghanistan. However, this never happened. Dost Mohammad therefore sent his son, Mohammad Akram Khan, to invade Balkh in the Spring of 1849. The province was annexed into Afghanistan. In 1850, Ghulam Haidar Khan conquered Tashqurghan and the Mir Wali was forced to flee. By the end of his reign, he had reunited the principalities of Kandahar and Herat with Kabul. Dost had ruled for a lengthy 36 years, a span exceeded only by Mohammad Zahir Shah more than a century later. His government revenue rose from 500,000 rupees at enthronement to 7 million rupees by the time of his death. The consolidation of these territories created a unified Afghan state that had eluded all his predecessors except Ahmad Shah Durrani and Timur Shah Durrani. The next challenge would be securing an alliance with the British to protect these gains.
On the 30th of March 1855, Dost Mohammad reversed his former policy by concluding an offensive and defensive alliance with the British government. The treaty was signed by Sir Henry Lawrence, Chief Commissioner of the Punjab, and first proposed by Herbert Edwardes. In November 1855, he conquered Kandahar. In 1857, he declared war on Persia in conjunction with the British. A treaty was concluded in July by which the province of Herat was placed under a Barakzai prince. During the Indian Rebellion of 1857, Dost Mohammad refrained from assisting the insurgents. His later years were disturbed by troubles at Herat and in Bukhara. The alliance with Britain provided the stability needed to expand his territory without constant fear of invasion. The British had previously manufactured evidence to justify overthrowing him, but now they stood as allies. This shift in policy allowed Dost Mohammad to focus on internal consolidation and external threats from Persia and Bukhara. The treaty marked a turning point in Afghan foreign policy, moving from isolation to engagement with European powers. The final phase of his reign would be defined by the conquest of Herat and his sudden death.
In March 1862, Ahmad Khan, the ruler of Herat, captured Farah, which had been controlled by the Barakzai Emirs since the 30th of October 1856. This became Dost Mohammad Khan's casus belli to launch an attack on Herat. On the 29th of June or the 8th of July, Farah was captured by the Muhammadzais. On the 22nd of July, Sabzawar was captured. By the 28th of July, Herat was besieged. After a 10-month siege on the 27th of May 1863, he captured Herat. On the 9th of June, he died suddenly in the midst of victory, after playing a great role in the history of South and Central Asia for forty years. He named his son, Sher Ali Khan, as his successor. He was buried in Herat at the Gazurgah. By the time of his death, the annual state revenue of his government had risen to 7 million rupees. Dost Mohammad Khan, nicknamed the Great Emir, was the founder of the Barakzai dynasty and one of the prominent rulers of Afghanistan during the First Anglo-Afghan War. His death marked the end of an era that began with his birth in 1792. The legacy of his 36-year reign would shape the future of Afghanistan for generations to come.
Common questions
When was Dost Mohammad Khan born and where did he die?
Dost Mohammad Khan was born on the 23rd of December 1792 in Kandahar and died suddenly on the 9th of June 1863 in Herat. He was buried at the Gazurgah in Herat after capturing the city following a 10-month siege that ended on the 27th of May 1863.
What were the two periods of Dost Mohammad Khan's rule as Emir of Afghanistan?
Dost Mohammad Khan ruled as Emir of Afghanistan from 1826 to 1839 and again from 1843 to 1863. His total reign lasted 36 years, a span exceeded only by Mohammad Zahir Shah more than a century later.
How did Dost Mohammad Khan lose power during the First Anglo-Afghan War?
Dost Mohammad Khan was exiled by the British to Mussoorie in November 1840 after Lord Auckland set British troops in motion against him. He was restored to his former position after the murder of Shah Shuja in April 1842 and the end of the First Anglo-Afghan War in 1842.
Which territories did Dost Mohammad Khan annex to create a unified Afghan state?
Dost Mohammad Khan annexed the Hazarajat regions of Behsud, Dai Zangi, and Dai Kundi, as well as Bamian, Balkh, Kandahar, and Herat. By the end of his reign, he had reunited these principalities with Kabul to create a unified Afghan state.
When did Dost Mohammad Khan sign an alliance with the British government?
Dost Mohammad Khan concluded an offensive and defensive alliance with the British government on the 30th of March 1855. The treaty was signed by Sir Henry Lawrence, Chief Commissioner of the Punjab, and first proposed by Herbert Edwardes.
What was the annual state revenue of Dost Mohammad Khan's government at the time of his death?
The annual state revenue of Dost Mohammad Khan's government rose to 7 million rupees by the time of his death. This figure represented a significant increase from the 500,000 rupees recorded at the time of his enthronement.
All sources
20 references cited across the entry
- 1DŌST MOḤAMMAD KHAN15 December 1995
- 2BookThe Return of a King: The Battle for AfghanistanW. Dalrymple — Bloomsbury — 2013
- 3BookThe History of Afghanistan (6 vol. set): Fayż Muḥammad Kātib Hazārah's Sirāj al-tawārīkhRobert McChesney et al. — BRILL — 19 December 2012
- 4BookA History of Afghanistan, from 1793 A.D. to 1865 A.D.Mohamed Yusuf — New York University — 1988
- 5BookA Political and Diplomatic History of Afghanistan, 1863-1901M. Hasan Kakar — Brill — 2006
- 7DŌSTMOḤAMMAD KHANAmin H. Tarzi — Columbia University
- 8Dalrymple (2013)Dalrymple — 2013
- 9BookThe A to Z of Afghan Wars, Revolutions and InsurgenciesLudwig W. Adamec — Scarecrow Press — 2010
- 11BookState and Tribe in Nineteenth-Century Afghanistan: The Reign of Amir Dost Muhammad Khan (1826–1863)Christine Noelle — Taylor & Francis — 2012
- 13BookThe History of IndiaKenneth Pletcher — Britannica Educational Publishing — 2010
- 14BookState and Tribe in Nineteenth-Century Afghanistan: The Reign of Amir Dost Muhammad Khan (1826–1863)Christine Noelle — Routledge — 25 June 2012
- 15BookThe "Ancient Supremacy": Bukhara, Afghanistan and the Battle for Balkh, 1731-1901Jonathan L. Lee — BRILL — 1 January 1996
- 16BookAfghanistan: A History from 1260 to the PresentJonathan L. Lee — Reaktion Books — 15 January 2019
- 17AFŻAL KHAN, AMIR MOḤAMMADḤabībī A. — 1984
- 18BookThe Pearl in Its Midst: Herat and the Mapping of Khurasan (15th–19th Centuries)Christine Noelle-Karimi — Austrian Academy of Sciences Press — 2014
- 20ThesisEvolution of Eastern Iranian boundaries: Role of the Khozeimeh Amirdom of Qaenat and Sistan.Pirouz Mojtahed-Zadeh — SOAS University of London — 1993
- 21BookAid Paradoxes in Afghanistan: Building and Undermining the StateNematullah Bizhan — Routledge — 14 August 2017