Ahmad Shah Abdali

Ahmad Shah Abdali's role in the history of the region is never well evaluated. None of the many historians ever bothered to place him within his proper historical and sociopolitical perspective. The reason why Ahmad Shahs merit was never recognized was his rise at a time when the Indian and Persian empires were disintegrating and the alien invaders from the West were scrambling into fill the vacuum. Whatever Ahmad Shah accomplished benefited the alien invaders and his achievements were eclipsed by the volatility of the time.

Ahmad Shah was a conqueror, a great administrative genius, but his successors were not gifted with his qualities. The inability of his successors even to hold on to his accomplishments manifestly contributed to his relative obscurity. Their lack of administrative and governing potential was exploited by the British colonialists to further their sinister designs. They, on one hand banked upon his victories against the Indian rulers annihilating a people weakened by his armies. On the other hand, they manipulated the weakened heir to Ahmad Shah to let them use a Afghanistan as a buffer zone against the Russians in the Great Game.

People a great majority of them, interested in the history of Afghanistan view Ahmad Shah as a great conquer; a general who channelized formidable jingoism of the savage Afghans to play havoc with northern India. Not many, however, have been able to appreciate the services of the great king rendered while governing, at the uneasiest of times, the most unpredictable of people and the most confounding of land.

He surged the tide of fortune as all great men in human history did. The times he lived in were most opportune for the great man make history. But the way he manoeuvred to reach the zenith of Pakhtun history needed quite an extraordinary mind to use circumstances to his advantage.

Ahmad Shah was a soldier in the Persian army of Nadir Shah Afshar who had adopted a reconciliation stance towards the Afghans knowing he could not afford indefinite rivalry with them. He gave precedence to Abdalis over Ghilzais due to their superior fighting capabilities. Ahmad Shah progressed from a Yasawal (personal servant) to the rank of the commander of the Abdali regiment. Quite a few writers believe that the death of Nadir Shah Afshar at the hands of the Qizalbash soldiers was an act of jealousy. They are critical of Ahmad Shahs growing importance. This seems to be a remote conclusion. The Qizalbash must had been wary of growing Afghan influence, and Ahmad Shahs significance and relevance must be seen as part of it. So it was a matter of group jealousy with personal jealousy put in for good measure. But the every growing prestige of this young man was sufficient testament to his diplomatic skill and personal charisma.

The death of the mentor didnÕt end the career of the young man. He not only showed great honour and loyalty by providing security to the family of the late king but convened a Jirga another testimony of his ingenuity. Not only this, he also sent letters to different tribal elders on his way to attend the Jirga. This prior communication must have had an effect upon the elders who readily accepted him as their leader. Ahmad Shah may have won the hearts of the jingoistic Pakhtuns through military skill and 5000 strong army, but by communicating with them, leader prior to the Jirga, he must had been able to dispel the misgivings of the Afghan leaders. They must have got the implicit message that the young general was no tyrant but simply considering himself worthy enough to become first among the equals. And this must have been the reason for his accession to throne as the first king of Afghanistan in October, 1747, near the tomb of Shaikh Surkh, adjacent to Nadir Abad Fort.

It was not awe but humility that made Haji Jamal Khan Muhammad Zai abdicate his claim to leadership. Thus making a way for Ahmad Shah to become a king more easily. Pir Sabir Shah, the spiritual guide of the time, showered his praise for the young Ahmad Shah by declaring him Dar-e-Durran (pearl of the pearls) not because that he was a milititary giant but for his humanity a definite quality of statesman.

Ahmad Shah fought like a soldier but ruled like a statesman giving a sense of participation to his fellows. His council of nine ministers had always been at his side and he even advised his successors to keep the institution alive. But it was never meant to be. They were neither intelligent nor fortunate enough to put to good use their available resources.

Ahmad Shah Durrani was greatly skilled in managing human resources for his advantage. He always honoured the tribal traditions of the Pakhtuns. All the tribes were ruled by the men of their choice in his reign, and he never tried to interfere into the affairs of internal administration of the allied tribes. He organized a special force with men from all tribes in commanding positions. The Durranis were placed at the top.

When Ahmad Shah made advanced on Peshawar after conquering Kabul, he interfered negligibly in the affairs of the tribes of this land. The Afridis and Shinwaris remained the toll collectors and Ahmad Shah refrained from posing any threat to their autonomy and authority. These were the traits of a statesman who brought the area from Swat to Balochistan under his command. The rest of our present day NWFP was under his rule by December 1747.

He not only rewarded his own race but also respected worthy enemies of other stocks. His courtesy to Mir Muneer, the governor of Lahore, is an ample proof of his manliness and grace.

There were many Pakhtun tribes who didn't pay homage to him but he never pressed them hard to do so. The Khattaks of Lanri, living in the mountains were never forced to submit. And when they aided him against the Marhattas, he duly rewarded them.

Above all these merits was his quality to rever the pious, Pir Sabir Shahs love for Ahmad Shah is well known. He sacrificed his life defending the honour of the king. But this was not because of the over powering personality of Ahmad Shah. It was in fact, due to his allegiance, and devotion to the pious. His fondness for Mian Muhammad Umar of Chamkani is known to all.

Although these acts endeared him to his fellowmen, one must not jump to the conclusion that these were simply acts of statesmanship: Gimmicks of political Shrewdness. These were in fact, expressions of great piety. His sufi influences can be easily traced in his style of governance. His consultative attitude towards his fellowmen can not be easily found in other men of his time. His conquests and subsequent bestowal of the conquered land upon the worthy among the defeated also indicates his greatness and selflessness a great desire to rule judiciously.

As a Poet

By blood, we are immersed in love of you.
The youth lose their heads for your sake.
I come to you and my heart finds rest.
Away from you, grief clings to my heart like a snake.
I forget the throne of Delhi
When I remember the mountain tops of my Pushtun land.
If I must choose between the world and you,
I shall not hesitate to claim your barren deserts as my own.

AHMAD SHAH, the founder of the Durrani monarchy, rose from the mere character of a partisan, to a distinguished command in the service of the Persian conqueror; Nadir Shah. Of the family of the Saddozis, and chief of the tribe of Abdali, the most illustrious family of the Afghans, he was, in his youth, imprisoned in a fortress, with his elder brother Zulfikar Khan, by Husain Khan, governor of Kandahar for the Ghalzis, which powerful tribe of Afghans, after overrunning the whole of Persia, had, a few years previously, trodden the throne of the sufis in the dust, and conquered that mighty empire.

Ahmad Shah and his brother, whose tribe were at feud with the Ghalzis, owed their freedom to Nadir Shah who in the year A.D. 1736-37, laid siege to Kandahar, which he captured. The brothers, with a powerful body of their clansmen, followed the fortunes of the conqueror; and greatly distinguished themselves in the war with the Turks; and were rewarded with the lands now held by the Durrani tribe in the vicinity of Kandahar.

On the day subsequent to the murder of Nadir Shah, (the particulars of which, as belonging to Persian history, need not be here detailed, although one among the causes of it has been attributed to his attachment to the Afghan troops in his service) a battle ensued between the Persians on the one side, and the Afghans and Uzbaks on the other; but the event does not appear to have decided any thing. But after this affair; Ahmad Shah saw that no time was to be lost in looking to the safety of himself and clansmen, and he accordingly fought his way through the greater part of Khura-san with a small force of between 2000 and 3000 horsemen, and repaired, by rapid marches, to Kandahar, which had now become the head-quarters of the Abdali tribe, and chief city of south-western Afghanistan. Here he intercepted an immense treasure, which had been sent from India for the use of Nadir Shah, which Ahmad appropriated, after compelling the Durranis, who had first siezed upon it, to give it up.

In October of the same year, Ahmad, then but twenty-three years old, assumed the title of Shah or King of Afghanistan, and was crowned at Kandahar; with great pomp, the different chiefs of the various Afghan tribes, with but few exceptions, and the Kazal-ba~lios, Baluchis, and llazarahs, assisting; thus laying the founda-tion of the Durrani monarchy. And although the warlike and indepciident people, who now became his subjects, had never been accustomed to a sovereign’s yoke, save in being compelled to pay tribute to a foreign ruler; yet such were his energy and capacity for government, that he was successful in gaining the affection of his own tribe; and with the exception of the Ghalzis, ever a most turbulent and unruly sept, he succeeded in instilling among the other Afghan tribes a spirit of attachment to their native monarch; and also in others, not Afghans, but dwelling in Afghanistan. With the Balüch and Hazarah tribes, his neighbours, he formed an offensive and defensive alliance.

Having first brought the refractory Ghalzis into subjection, Ahmad Shah began his conquests; and such was the uninterrupted tide of his success, that by the summer of 1751 he had conquered the whole of the countries, extending as far west as Nishapur in Persian Khursan. In 1752 he conquered Kashmir, and obtained from the Mughal Emperor of Hindustan, a cession of the whole of the tract of country as far east as Sirhind, thus laying the founda-tion of a kingdom, which soon became formidable to surrounding nations.

Ahmad Shah had now leisure to turn his attention to internal affairs, and to the settlement of Afghanistan and the newly-acquired provinces. He thus passed the next four years in tranquillity, and appears to have had time to devote himself to literature. He used to hold, at stated periods, what is termed a Majlis-i-Eeulama, or Assembly of the Learned, the early part of which was generally devoted to divinity and civil law-for Ahmad Shah himself was a Molawi and concluded with conversations on science and poetry. He wrote a Collection of Odes in Pushto his own native tongue, tinged, as usual, with the mysticisms of the sufis, and from that work the following specimens have been taken. The work is scarce, particularly in eastern Afghanistan. He was also the author of several poems in the Persian language.

In the year 1756 Ahmad Shah had again to buckle on the sword, and advance into the Panjab, which the Mughals about this time attempted to recover; but he quickly regained all that had been lost; drove them out of the Panjab; and advanced straight upon Dilhi, which he entered after but a faint opposition. His troops having become sickly, from passing the whole of the hot season in India, warned Ahmad Shah to return, which he did soon after, having compelled the Mughal Emperor to bestow the Panjab and Sindh upon his son Timur; who had already been married to a Mugbal princess. Ahmad Shah passed the next winter at Kandahar; but was obliged to set out soon after, for the purpose of quelling disturbances in Persia and Turkistan.

During the next year; matters had gone on badly in India; and Prince Timur was unable to stem the tide of Maharata conquest. which had now rolled upon the Panjab. The Maharatas had taken Sirhind, and were advancing from the west, which put Prince Timur under the necessity of retiring across the Indus with his troops. The Maharatas, being now unopposed, pushed on as far as the Hydaspes or Jhilum, and also detached a force to take possession of Multan.

These events happened in the summer of 1758; and Ahmad Shah was preparing to march into India, when he was detained by the rebellion of the Baluchis and although this matter was subsequently settled by negociation, it was not until the winter of 1759 that he could cross the Indus and advance towards Hindustan, the Maharatas retreating before him towards Dilhi, with the intention of covering that city. After totally defeating them at Budli, Ahmad Shah again captured Dilhi. He afterwards pursued his conquests in the Do-ab; but subsequently encamped at a place near Anup-ahahr, where, being joined by the Wazir of Hindustan, with the few available troops of the Mughal Emperor; he prepared for passing the monsoon, or rainy season, and for the final struggle with the Maharatas, upon which the fate of India rested.

The strength of Ahmad Shah’s army consisted of 41,800 horse, his own subjects, on whom he chiefly relied; 28,000 Rohilahs- Afghans, who were descended from those tribes who had emigrated from Afghanistan at different periods, and settled in India and about 10,000 Hindustani troops, under their own chiefs. He had also 700 zamburaks, or camel swivels, small pieces carrying balls of about a pound weight, and a few pieces of artillery.

The Maharata army, under Wiswas Rao, and Saeddasheo Rao-better known as the Bhow-consisted of about 70,000 horse, 15,000 infantry, trained after the European fashion, and 200 pieces of artillery, besides numberless shutturnalls, or zamburaks.

At length, on the 7th of January 1761, after facing each other for some months, the Maharatas, who had been blockaded in their own intrenched camp at Panipatt, a few miles from Dilhi, were, from the extremities to which they were put, for want of food and forage, under the necessity of attacking the Durrani army. The details of this great and important battle need not be enlarged on here: suffice it to say, that Ahmad Shah was completely successful. The Maharatas were entirely defeated and put to flight; and Wiwas Rao, the heir-apparent of the Maharata empire, and almost the whole of the army, perished in the flight or pursuit.

The crowning victory at Panipatt, which was fatal to the power of the Maharataa, laid Hindustan at the feet of Ahmad Shah; but he, seeing the difficulty of retaining so remote a dominion, adhered to the wise plan he had, from the first, carved out, and contented himself with that portion of India that had formerly been ceded to him, bestowing the rest on such native chiefs as had aided him in the struggle.

In the spring of 1761, Ahmad Shah, returned to Kabul; and from that period, up to the spring of 1773, was actively employed against foreign and domestic foes; but at that time his health, which had been long declining, continued to get worse, and pre-vented his engaging in any foreign expeditions. His complaint was a cancer in the face, which had afflicted him first in 1764, and at last occasioned his death. He died at Murghah, in Afghanistan, in the beginning of June 1773, in the fiftieth year of his age.

The countries under his dominion extended, at the time of his death, from the west of Khurasan, to Sirhind on the Jumna, and from the Oxus to the Indian Ocean, all either secured by treaty, or in actual possession.

The character of Ahmad Shah has been so admirably depicted by Mountstuart Elphinstone, that I shall not hesitate to give it here in full.

“The character of Ahmad Shah appears to have been admirably suited to the situation in which he was placed. His enterprise and decision enabled him to profit by the confusion that followed the death of Nadir, and the prudence and moderation, which he acquired from his dealings with his own nation, were no less necessary to govern a warlike and independent people, than the bold and commanding turn of his own genius.

“His military courage and activity are spoken of with admiration, both by his own subjects, and the nations with whom he was engaged, either in wars or alliances. He 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.

“In his personal character he seems to have been cheerful, affable, and good-natured. He maintained considerable dignity on state occasions, but at other times his manners were plain and familiar; and with the Durranis he kept up the same equal and popular demeanour which was usual with their Khans or Chiefs before they assumed the title of King. He treated Moollahs and holy men with great respect, both from policy and inclination. He was himself a divine and an author, and was always ambitious of the character of a saint.

“His policy towards the different parts of his doniinions was to rely principally on conciliation with the Afghans and BalUchIs with this difference between the nations, that he applied himself to the whole people in the first case, and only to the chief in the other. His possessions in Turkistan he kept under by force; but left the Tartar chiefs of the country unremoved, and used them with moderation. The Indian provinces were kept by force alone; and in Khurasan he trusted to the attachment of some chiefs, took hostages from others, and was ready to carry his arms against any who disturbed his plans.

The handsome tomb of Ahmad Shah stands near the palace at Kandahar. It is held in great estimation by the Durranis, and is respected as a sanctuary, no one venturing to touch one who has taken refuge there. It is not uncommon for persons of even the highest rank, to give up the world, and spend their lives at the monarch’s tomb; and certainly, if ever an Asiatic King deserved the gratitude of his country, it was Ahmad Shah, the “Pearl of the Durranis.”

Ahmad Shah was the grandfather of the unfortunate Shah-Shujase-ul-Mulk, whom the British re-seated on the throne of the Durranis in 1839, which affair terminated so unfortunately for all concerned.