Chapter I INTRODUCTORY THE RISE OF THE ABDALJS THE SADDOZEIS The Abdali tribe of the Afghans to which Ahmad Shah Durrani, the subject of this work, belonged traces its origin to Abdal,^ the fifth in descent from Qis of Israelite extrac- tion. Qis embraced Islam during the time of Prophet Muham- mad and, according to Muslim practice, was given the name of Abdur Rashid. Abdal, son of Tarin, was the grandson of Sharaf-ud-Din, whose father, Sara-ban, was the eldest son of Abdur Rashid. It does not come within the design and scope of this work to enter into genealogical details of the tribe or to dwell at length upon the history of its numerous off-shoots* Suffice it to say, for our purpose here, that the Durranis— the name acquired by Ahmad Shah on his coming to power and subsequently retained by his followers and descendants— are descended from the first wife of Abdal, whose grandson Suleman, alias Zirak, son of Isa, was the immediate ancestor of the Popalzeis, the Barakzeis, the Alikozeis and the Musazeis. To the Popalzeis belonged Umar, whose second son Saddo^ — ^the sixteenth from Abdur Rashid — ^lent his name to the branch of his descendants, called the Saddozeis. Saddo 1. According to some writers, Abdal was not his real name. It was the title conferred upon him by the well-known Muslim saint, Khawaja Abu Ahmad Abdal of the Chishti order in appreciation of his service and devotion. 2. His real name was Assadulla, Saddo being the nickname by which he was popularly known. He is believed to have been born in the month of Zil-hijja 965 AH. (September-October 1558 AD.), during the reign of Shah Tahmasp Safavi of Iran. At the age of ninety, his father, Umar — eight years before his death — appointed Saddo his suc- cessor and performed the ‘belt and sword-girding’ ceremony with his own hands. Saddo was only twenty-five years old then. But this talented young man was so promising and popular that his elevation to the chiefship of the tribe was welcomed and acclaimed by all, including his sixty years old brother Mafik Saleh, 2 AHMAD SHAH DURRANI had five sons, o£ whom the second, Khwaja Khizar Khan, became the head o£ the Khizar-Khel clan. Khwaja Khizar was a godly man and is still worshipped by the Afghans as a favourite saint to whom offers of Nazar-o-niaz, presents and prayers, are made on all solemn occasions. The devotion and awe, inspired by this holy personage, lent a sense of sanctity to the whole clan of Saddozeis, and its members enjoyed peculiar privileges. ‘Their persons were sacred; no punish- ment could be inflicted on them, except by one of their own family; nor could even the head of the Abdalees himself pass sentence of death upon a Saddozye.’^ Towards the end of his life, Saddo wished to appoint Khwaja Khizar Khan the head of the tribe, but his choice was rejected by the chiefs of the various clans in favour of Maghdud Khan, Khizar’s elder brother, on the ground of his primogenitary right. On the death of Saddo, however, the tribesmen unanimously elected Khizar Khan to the high office considering him better fitted for its duties and responsibili- ties, mER KHAN ^SADDOZEl Khizar was succeeded by his older son, Kliuda-dad, who was believed to have received the title of Sultan from Emperor Aurangzeb of India and was known among the Afghans as Sultan KhudakeL^ Not long afterwards, how- ever, he resigned his office in favour of his younger brother, Sher Khan, by way of repentance for the murder of an inno- cent man and three infants. For himself, he agreed to serve as a deputy to his own nominee. Sher Khan occasionally 3. Tarikh-i^MakhzanA-^Afghani; Tar^?ch-^-A/lma(^, 4-5; Tarikh- i-Busain Shahi^ 4-6; Saulat‘-i~- Afghani, 336-7; Nash, History of the War in Afghanistan, 23; HayaUi^Afghani, 115, 122-3. This Khwaja Khizar Khan shoiild not, however, be confused with the mythical Immortal prophet of Ah-i’-Hayat fame, although he had, to some extent, displaced him from among the Afghan tribes. Ac- cording to a tradition among the Saddozeis, mentioned in the Hayat-i- Afghani, this Khizar was born as a result of the blessings of the prophet Khizar and was so named after him This weighed in his favour at the time of his nomination by his tribesmen. (See p. 123.) 4. Hayat’^i-‘Afghani, 123-4; Saulat^i-Afghanif 337-8, iHE RISE OF ABDALlS 3 came into conflict with the Persian Governor of Qandahar, Beglar Begi,^ who set up a rival to him in the person of Shah Husain, son of Maghdud Khan, with the title of Mirza. But this Mirza satellite of the Persians could not, for long, retain their favour, his party dwindled into insignificance with his disgraceful fall, resulting in his imprisonment at the hands of his patron. The dejected Mirza then made up with Sher Khan and retired to India for a safer asylum.® From him descended the ancestors of Nawab Muzzaffar Khan, the last Afghan governor of Multan, who fell fighting in his des- perate struggle against Maharaja Ranjit Singh in June DAVLAT KHAN SADDOZEI Sher Khan, while out on a hunting excursion at the ag^ of sixty-five, had a fatal fall from his horse. Before his death he called Bakhtiar Khan — a descendant of Saleh Khan, son of Umar — to his side and entrusted to him the care of his son, Sarmast Khan. Sarmast, in turn, bequeathed his heritage to his minor son, Daulat Khan, under the guardianship of his cousin Hayat Sultan, son of Sultan Khuda-dad. On coming of age, Daulat Khan got into difficulties with the Persian governor of Qandahar, resulting from the weakness of his guardian, Hayat Khan, who left the country and sought shelter in the neighbourhood of Multan.® But Daulat KJtian was a man of a different mould. He defeated in two battles the Persian expeditionary forces sent against him, and won name and fame for himself among the Afghans.® Daulat Khan’s victories not only raised him in the estimation of his people, but also shattered the popular belief in the invincibility of the Persians. This frightened the Safavi court of Iran. They were then guided by a bigoted ascetic, Shah Husain, who was nothing but a puppet m the hands of corrupt priests and eunuchs. As Malleson tells us 5. According to Tarikh-i^Sultani, p 61, Beglar Begi was appointed the governor of Qandahar in 1105 AH. (1693-94 A.D.). 6. Tarikh-^iSultam, 61-64; Saulat-t- Afghani^ 338; HayaUi’-Afghani^ 123-4. 7. SauUUi-Afghani, 338; HayaUi-Afghani, 125. 8. Wagct-^i-Multan, 19; Saulat-i-Afghani 339, Hayat^i-Afghani, 126. 9 . Tarikh^USulta^i, 66 . 4 AHMAD SHAH DURRANt in his History of the Afghans^ ‘the measures taken by Shah Abbas the Great, by his successors of the same name, and by Sulaiman, to ensure the contentment of the Afghan tribes, came gradually to be relaxed under the rule of Sultan Husen,’ with the inevitable result that the subject ‘tribes, the Ghilzais especially, were not slow to betray their dis- content/ Though there were no actual popular revolts, the demonstrations they made in the successful defensives, like those of Daulat Khan Saddozei, mentioned above, were so strong that, for some time, the effete advisers of Husain hesitated as to the measures they should take to meet them/® GURGIN KHAN The governor of Qandahar was recalled and in his place was deputed the ablest general of the empire, a Georgian convert to Islam, Gurgin Khan, later on surnamed Shah Nawaz Khan, He was a man of great talents and had dis- tinguished himself by his military skill and severity. Against Daulat Khan, he brought into play all his political diplomacy and stratagem. On arrival at Qandahar in 1702, he sent a large number of valuable presents to the Abdali chief and entered into friendly negotiations with him. He knew that the Afghans were not then a united people. The spirit of self-sacrifice and concord that goes to make a homogeneous nation was absent. Gurgin Khan could, therefore, easily play upon the selfish interests of the Afghan chiefs and make them dance to the tune of his divide et empera chords. There was no dearth of such men among the Abdalis, nay, among the Saddozeis themselves. He took into his hands two of Daulat Khan’s worst opponents, the Saddozeis Izzat and Atal, and assured them of undisputed Sardari of the Abdalis when the obstacle of Daulat Khan was removed from the way.^^ He also encouraged the ambitions of a Ghalzei, Haji Amir Khan Hotak, popularly known as Mir Wais, to supreme leadership of the Afghans. This, as Gurgin Khan put it to him, Could come to fruition only if the possibility of opposition from the 10. Malleson, History of Afghanistan, 211. 11. Tarikh-^i-Sultani, 66-7; ‘Saulat’-i’-Afgliani, 49-50; HayatA** Afghani, 65-60; Ferrier, History of the Afghans, 24, THE RISE OE ABDALIS 5 only quarter of his solitary rival, Daulat Khan, could be eluninated. The two Saddozeis and the Hotak readily agreed to work out the Georgian’s plan. Not long afterwards, an opportunity offered itself. Daulat Khan happened to take his quarters in a subterranean residence outside the fort of Shahr Safa. Quietly the conspirators availed themselves of the darkness of night and surprised the place. Daulat Khan, his son Nazar Khan, and a slave named Faqir, were made prisoners and carried to the governor, who ordered them to be put to the sword.^^ RUSTAM KHAN AND ZAMAN KHAN SADDOZEI Daulat Khan had three sons, one of whom, Nazar Khan, had shared his father’s fate. The other two were Rustam Khan and Zaman Khan. Even in that distracted state of affairs, when their own personal safety was in danger, noth– ing could induce them to bow to the Georgian. Gurgin, therefore, offered to acknowledge Rustam Khan as the head of the Abdalis if he would, m return, hand over to him his younger brother, Zaman Khan, as a hostage. Rustam Khan consulted the chiefs of the tribe who preferred this course to allowing their leadership to pass into the unworthy hands of the treacherous tyrants.^^ Rustam Khan, then, became the acknowledged head of his tribe. The hostage, Zaman Khan, was sent by Gurgin Khan to the distant province of Kirman where he could be easily watched by the Persians. Rustam soon won the confidence of the Persian governor and gained superiority over the other Afghan chiefs. This was very distasteful to his Abdali and Ghalzei opponents. At this time, as ill luck would have it, came the revolt of the Baluchis, which Rustam was called upon by Gurgin to suppress. The expedition was a dismal failure. Rustam* came back defeated with a heavy loss of life and property. This helped the Ghalzei and his Saddozei accomplices. They represented Rustam as a traitor to the cause of the Persian empire and his defeat as of his own seeking. The infuriated Georgian threw him into prison and 12. Tarikh-iSulianij 67. 13. Tarikh-irSultanif 67. 6 AHMAD SHAH DUEEANI ordered his immediate execution. The clever Ghalzei then withdrew to the background and, with Gurgin’s consent, pushed forward the Saddozeis to do this nefarious work. At the last moment something from within Izzat revolted against it and he shuddered at the thought of touching with a sharp iron edge the sacred person of a Saddozei and shedding his innocent blood. But Atal’s vision was blinded by the dazzling prospect of the coveted leadership of the Abdalis. His con- science had been deadened by repeated acts of similar barbarity. He, therefore, put Rustam to death and became a w illing tool in the’ hands of a foreign usurper for the destruction of his own people.^^ MIR WAIS GHALZEI AND HIS DESCENDANTS It did not, however, take him long to be disillusioned and meet a worse fate. Gurgin Khan offered to Atal the leader- ship of the Abdalis on the condition that he brought them to reside in the neighbourhood of Qandahar. There, he thought, their activities could be easily watched and counter- acted and his own secret designs conveniently worked out. Atal, evidently, was too thick-headed for the wily Georgian and blmdly walked into the trap. The leaderless Abdalis, frightened by the seventies of Gurgin Khan, agreed to move out of their inaccessible recesses into the open suburbs of Qandahar. Mir Wais was privy to, if not actual instigator of, Gurgin’s criminal designs against the unsuspecting Abdalis who, under cover of a dark night, were subjected to an in- discriminate massacre. Those who escaped slaughter were made prisoners and exiled to the province of Kirman. This happened about the year 1707, after which, for some time, the Abdalis receded into the background, and the Ghalzeis, under the leadership of Mir Wais, appeared on the stage with their successful struggles agamst the Persians and their declaration of Afghan independence at Qandahar (1709) . 1 ® It may be briefly stated that Mir Wais soon paid Gurgin Khan in his own coin. Not long after the massacre of the Abdalis, Gurgin Khan seized Mir Wais also and sent him as 14. Tarikh-i-Sultani, 67-8. 15. Tarikh-i-Sultani, 68-0. THE RISE OF ABDALIS 1 a prisoner to the Persian capital. There he soon gained in- fluence with the court through his wealth and became a favourite of the Shah. On his return to Qandahar to be restored to his former position, Wais developed friendly rela- tions with Gurgin Khan. Gurgin was thus lulled into a sense of false security and was murdered at an entertainment party to which he was invited by the Ghalzei. Mir Wais then pro- claimed the independence of the Afghans at Qandahar (1709) Three powerful Persian armies, one after the other, were sent against him, but Wais inflicted crushing defeats on them and made his independence secure. He died in November, 1715, and was succeeded by Mir Abdul Aziz, also known as Abdullah (1715-16). Abdullah soon lost the confidence of his people and was assassinated in March, 1716, by Wais’s son Mir Mahmud, who not only consolidated the Afghan kingdom of Qandahar but also pulled down the Safavi dynasty from the Persian throne which he occupied displacing Shah Husain in March, 1722. The Ghalzei rule in Persia lasted for only eight years and was brought to an end in 1730 by Nadir Shah who conquered the Afghan dominions of Qandahar in 1736 and of Kabul, then a Mughal province, in 1738.17 THE ABDALIS AS MASTERS OF HERAT ABDULLAH KHAN The successes of Mir Wais in driving the Persians out of Qandahar and the proclamation of the independence of the Ghalzeis fired the other Afghan tribes with the idea of revolt. The most prominent among them were the Abdalis of Herat. They invited Abdullah Khan, son of Hayat Khan, from Multan to which place the latter had retired during the time of Daulat Khan. The Heratis had a double purpose in this 16. Ferrier, 28-9; Malleson, 225-6; Tarikh-i-Sultani, 68-9; Lockhart, Nadir Shah, 3. 17. Cf. Jahan-kusha-i-Nadiri; Lockhart, Nadir Shah; Ferrier, 25- 33; Malleson, 211-66. For a detailed study of Mir Wais, see Sayyad Muhhammad al-Musawi’s Kitah-i-Tahqiq-o^-Tadad-i-Aqwam-i-Afghan (B.M. Ms. Or. 1861) and Min- Ways, the Persian Cromwell, by a Swedish Officer, London, 1724; Husain Shahi, 6-7; Tankh^i-Ahmed, 5-6; Tarikh- i^’SuUam, 97-8, 8 AHMAD SHAH DURRANI move, the ostensible one being to wreak their vengeance upon Mir Wais against whom a powerful Persian army was then, in 1711, advancing under the command of Gurgin Khan’s nephew, Khusrau Khan. Inwardly, they wished to consolidate their strength under an influential leader and to strike for their freedom from the Persian yoke as and when an op- portunity came to hand. Abdullah Khan with his son, Asadullah, hastened to the standard of Khusrau Khan and offered him assistance against the Ghalzei. This won him influence with the Georgian commander, and, with his help, he became the acknowledged head of the Abdalis. The ex- pedition of Khusrau Khan was, however, a failure and he lost his life at the time of his retreat from Qandahar. Another attempt of the Shah also met with a similar fate. But the successor of Mir Wais, Mir Abdullah (1715-16), showed an intention of making peace with Persia and sent a mission to Isfahan for this purpose. Abdullah Khan and his son came to Herat. Abbas Quli Khan Shamlu, the governor of Herat, apprehended some danger for the Persian rule in Herat at their hands, and he threw them both into prison. At this time the Qizzilbashes of Herat turned against Shamlu and put him aside During the interim — before Shamlu’s succes- sor, Jafar Quli Khan Astajlu, arrived in Herat — ^Abdullah Khan and his son escaped to the western hills of Doshakh.^® Collecting from there a large number of their tribesmen, and with reinforcements from the neighbourhood of Bakua and Farrah, they marched upon Herat. Jafar Quli Khan issued out to meet them. In the battle that ensued the Afghans got the better of their adversaries and Jafar fell into their hands. The Abdalis laid siege to the city. The resistance was stout hut, as no succour arrived from Persia, the friends of the Abdalis inside the city succeeded in admitting the besiegers by the Filkhana tower during the dark night of the 26th of Shaban, 1129 AH., July 26, 1717. The Abdalis thus became masters of Herat and declared their independence.^^ It, 18. Eusain Shahi, 6-7; Tankh’-i-’Ahmadj 5-6′; TankU’-i^Sultam^ 97-8 19. For this account, I have drawn upon the TarikhASultani by Sultan Muhammad Khan ibn Musa Khan Durrani (Mohammadi Press, Bombay, 1298 AH.). Ferrier in his History of the Afghans, p. 35-36, [Continued on p. 9 THE RISE OF ABDALIS S however^ received its final touches two years later, in 1719, when Asadullah Khan defeated a powerful Persian army, thirty thousand strong, under the command of Safi Quli Khan, with only fifteen thousand Afghans Then began a series of struggles between the two rival tribes of the Ghalzeis and the Abdalis and, in 1132 A.H., 1720 A.D., Asadullah Khan was killed at Dilaram on the bank of the Kash Rud in a contest for the fort of Farrah that he had captured from the Ghalzeis The death of his promising son Asadullah Klian shocked the aged father Abdullah Khan. No longer being in a healthy state of mind, he was replaced, with the help of Abdul Ghani Alikozei, by Zaman Khan Saddozei (brother of Rustam Khan) who had by then returned from his exile in Kirman. Further misfortunes overtook Abdullah Khan when, at the instigation of Jafar Khan Astajlu, who was then set at [Continued from p 8 followed by Malleson’s History of Afghanistan^ p. 236-237, gives a differ- ent account. According to Ferrier, the Persian Governor of Herat then was ‘Zaman Khan Koortchee Bashi’ to whom Hayat Sultan Saddozei, anxious to obtain certain favours, had sent his beautiful young ‘son’ Asadullah for unnatural crime The crime accomplished, the unfortu- nate youth, on his escape from the Persian camp, appealed to the sense of honour of his tribe and seized and imprisoned his parent, and then surprised the Koortchee Bashi and killed him. After this the victorious youth marched on Herat, and, having obtained an entrance into the city, exterminated the few Persians he found there. After this he again took the field and made himself, almost without oppo- sition, the master of the whole province, which on the 26th of Ramzan, 1128 AH., 1716 AD, he constituted as an independent principality. This seems to be incredible on the very face of it. Asadullah, in the first place, was the grandson, not the son, of Hayat Sultan And, then, there is the difference in the name of the Governor. The SaulaU i-Afgham has further confused Zaman Khan Koortchee Bashi with Zaman Khan Saddozei, the father of Ahmad Shah Durrani. See p. 340. Cf. Hayat^i^Afghani, 127. 20. Husain Shahi, 7; Tartkh^iSultani, 5-6, 97-98, Saulat-i^-Af’^ ghani, 340; Sykes, History of Persia, ii, 311. 21. Tankh-i’-Sultani, 99. Lockhart in Nadir Shah, p. 31, places this event in 1718. The town of Dilaram lies on the road from Qan- dahar to Herat, between Girishk and Farrah, being 75 miles from Girishk and 83 miles from Farrah Muhammad All’s Guide, p. 91, G, Z 10 AHMAD SHAH DURRANI liberty, or through the personal jealousy of the new chief, he was thrown into prison, and was there, as it is alleged, poison- ed or otherwise done to death by Zaman Khan.^^ Very little of the exploits of Zaman Khan as the chief of the Abdalis is known to history. He remained at the head of the tribe for about two and a half years and on his death was succeeded in 1135 A.H., 1722-23 A.D., by Muhammad Khan, a brother of Asadullah Khan, son of the murdered Abdullah Khan.23 ZULFIQAR KHAN In the winter of 1722-23, Muhammad Khan marched on Mashhad and besieged it for four months, but failed to take it. This brought him into disgrace with his tribe and he was deposed in favour of Zulfiqar Khan, the elder son of Zaman Khan, whose younger son Ahmed Khan afterwards became famous as Ahmad Shah Durrani. In 1137 A.H., 1724-25 A.D., Rahman, a son of the murdered Abdullah Khan, sought to avenge his father’s murder by attacking Zulfiqar Khan. The internecine feud continued for some time and came to an end through the mediation of some of the elders of the Abdali tribe, who sent Zulfiqar Khan towards Bakharz and Rehman towards Qandahar. Allahyar Khan, son of Abdullah Khan, and a brother of the former governor, Muhammad Khan, was invited from Multan and was elected the chief of the tribe in 1138 A.H., 1725-26 A.D. At this stage Abdul Ghani Khan Alikozei, the maternal uncle of Zulfiqar Khan, reappeared on the scene. He was naturally interested in the advancement and safety of his sister’s family, particularly of her three- year-old son, Ahmad Khan, whose safety could be ensured only by keeping Zulfiqar Khan either in power or under his 22. Tankh’-i~Sultaniy p. 100, Cf. Saulat^i-Afghanif p. 340, and HayaUi^-Afghani, p. 127, Lockhart in his Nadir Shah^ p, 31, places the event in 1718 and says that Abdullah Khan was murdered by Muham- mad Zaman Khan. 23. Jahan-kusha-^i-Nadiriy 95; Tarikh-^iSultani, p. 100; SaulatA– Afghani, Cf, Lockhart, Nadir Shah, 31. This event must have taken place between the first week of October, when 1135 A.H. began, and the last week of December, when 1722 AD ended, as in the same winter of 1722-23, according to Lockhart’s Nadir Shah, we find his successor Muhammad Khan leading military operations in Mashhad. TH:e RI3E OF ABDALIS 11 own obligation. Under his guidance Zulfiqar Khan issued out of his retreat in Bakharz and challenged the authority of Allahyar Khan. As he was no less powerful, AUahyar Khan could not easily drive him away and the civil war con- tinued for about six months.^^ At this time Nadir Khan Afshar, who afterwards be- came famous as Emperor Nadir Shah of Persia, had captured Mashhad (16th of Rabi-ul-Akhir, 1139, November 16, 1726), and it was rumoured that he would soon march upon the Abdalis. With this common danger hovermg over’ their borders, the Saddozei elders patched up the differences between the rival factions and brought about an amicable settlement. Allahyar Khan was allowed to continue in Herat, and Zulfiqar Khan was made the governor of Farrah.^^ On account of his many distractions, and his differences with Tahmasp, the attack of Nadir on the Abdalis was avert- ed for two years and four months. In the first week of Shawwal, 1141 A.H., towards the end of April, 1729 A.D., the Persian conqueror marched upon Herat. On receipt of this news, Allahyar Khan advanced from Herat to meet him. But he could not successfully oppose him. He was about to sur- render when he heard that his erstwhile rival, Zulfiqar Khan, was marching to his assistance. But Nadir proved too strong even for their combined forces, and the Abdalis were reduced to subjection in June. They not only agreed to submit to him but also offered to assist the Persians against the Ghal- zeis. Allahyar was appointed governor of Herat on behalf of Tahmasp, and the Persians started homewards towards the end of the month.^® While Nadir was busy with his first Turkish campaign, Zulfiqar made another bid for independence, heading a revolt of some of the Abdalis fomented by Husain Sultan Ghalzei of 24. Tarikh<-i^^Sultani, 100-1; Lockhart, Nadir ‘Shaky 31, The author of Ahmad Shah Baha thinks that Zulfiqar and Ahmad Were, perhaps, not real brothers but from different mothers. Accord-^ ing to him, there is the probability of a real brother of Ahmad Shah by the name of Ali Mardan Khan. See pp. 31-34. 25. Jahan-kusha-i-Nadiriy 96. 26. Jahan-kusha-i-Nadiriy 96-103; Husain Shahi, 7-8; ITarikh-i-^ Ahmadi 6-7; Tarikh-iSultaniy 102-6; Lockhart, Nadir Shah, 31-4* 12 AHMAD SHAH DURRANI Qandahar early in 1730. As Allahyar Khan had refused to join the rebels in Herat, he was easily driven out with their help (April 1730) . Encouraged by his initial success, Zulfiqar khan advanced on Mashhad and defeated its commander, Ibrahim Khan (brother of Nadir Khan) , who had sallied out to meet the invader (Saturday, the 13th of Muharram, 1143 A.H., July 18, 1730 A.D.). The siege of the city was con- tinued for thirty-one days. Zulfiqar Khan then returned to Herat27 Nadir Khan came back to Mashhad on the last day of Eabi-us-Sani, 1143, Saturday, October 31, 1730, and on Satur-> day, the 15th of Ramzan of the same year, March 13, 1731, left it for the final subjugation of the Abdalis of Herat. Zulfiqar Khan made a desperate struggle for the indepen- dence of his tribe and was joined by the Ghalzei forces of Sultan Husain of Qandahar under the command of Muham- mad Saidal Khan. But Nadir drove them back and invested the city of Herat early in May. After having been besieged for two months, Zulfiqar emerged from Herat on the 17th of Muharram, 1144 A.H., July 11, 1731 A.D., but was repelled. This discouraged Saidal Khan, and, on the advice of some of the Abdali chiefs, he secretly marched away with his Ghal- zeis. Zulfiqar Khan, at last, sued for peace, and Nadir was pleased to grant it. In response to the request of Zulfiqar and the Abdalis, Allahyar was reappointed governor of Herat, which he occupied on 18th of Safar, August 11. Zulfiqar Khan returned to Farrah.^^ Encouraged either by the strength of Herat’s defences, or by the combination at Isfaraz of the forces of Zulfiqar Khan with 40,000 fresh Ghalzeis under Saidal, then rumour- ed to be advancing against the exhausted Persians, Allahyar Khan renounced his allegiance to Nadir and kept the flag of Afghan independence flying. But Nadir was too strong for the weakened and disunited Abdalis and the vigour of his retaliation broke all resistance^ By making proposals of peace in the middle of December, 1731, Allahyar Khan tried 27. JaJian-TcnsTia-i-Nadm, 141-6; Tarikh^-USultani, 106-7; Sdulat-* i^Afghani, 340; Lockhart, Nadir Shah, 51-2. 28. Jahan-TcitaTia-i-Nadzn, 156-72; Tarikh’-i^Svltani^ 109-15* THJl RISE OF ABDALIS 13 to gain time, but their withdrawal immediately after they had been accepted by Nadir exasperated the latter beyond all clemency. The siege was tightened and by vigorous assaults the city was forced to surrender on the 1st of Ramzan, 1144 A.H., February 16, 1732, when Allahyar Khan surrendered for the last time and retired to Multan. Nadir Khan could no longer leave Herat in the hands of the Abdalis. He occu- pied it and entrusted its administration to a Persian governor, Pir Muhammad Sultan.^^ At the same time Zulfiqar Khan was also driven from Farrah. To avoid the possibihty of the combined forces of Zulfiqar Khan and the Ghalzeis under Saidal Khan reinforc- ing the besieged in Herat, Nadir had detailed his brother, Ibrahim Khan, against Farrah, which fell as soon as the defeated Allahyar Khan was seen there on his way to Multan. Zulfiqar Khan and his younger brother, Ahmad Elian, fled away to seek shelter at Qandahar where they were thrown into prison by their self-sought host, Mir Husain, and were released only when Nadir Shah conquered that place in March, 1738.30 But Nadir Shah was not to be satisfied with the fall of Herat and Farrah and the flights of Allahyar Khan and Zulfi- qar Khan so long as their Abdali tribesmen were there in the country with a host of clannish chiefs^ at their head. They would come back, he thought, as soon as he turned his back upon their country. He, therefore, decided upon their wholesale clearance from Afghanistan and exiled as many as six thousand of them, along with Ghani Elian Alikozei and Nur Muhammad Khan Ghalzei, to the districts of Mashhad, Nishapur and Damghan in the province of Khurasan, to which he had some time previously transferred a ten times larger number of Afshars and other Persian tribes. Some of the Abdali chiefs, however, were taken into service and kept under his personal surveillance.3i 29. Jahan-kushaA-Nadiri, 172-9; Tarikh-U’SuUani, 115-13; Lock- hart, 54. 30. JahcLn‘“kush<t-~i-“NcLdiTiy 179-32, 328; Tcifikh-~i’~Sultam^ 118. 31. Jahan-kusha-i-Nadin, 179-82; Lockhart, 52, 54. 14 AHMAD SHAH DURRANI Thus was sealed the fate of the Abdalis for some six years to come. During this period they regained the confi- dence of Nadir and, by his grace in 1738, were restored to their original homes in Herat and Qandahar. Their indepen- dence, however, took nine years more to return, when in 1747, after the death of Nadir Shah, Ahmad Khan, brother of Zulfiqar Khan, was elected the grand-chief of the tribe and was crowned as the Shah of the Afghans under the royal title of Ahmad Shah Durr-i-Durran,