Durrani Empire
The Durrani Empire (Pashto: د درانيانو ټولواکمني), also called the Sadozai Kingdom[6]: 116 and the Afghan Empire,[7] was an Afghan empire founded and built by Ahmad Shah Abdali in parts of Central Asia, the Middle East and South Asia. At its maximum extent, the empire ruled over the modern-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan, as well as parts of northeastern and southeastern Iran, eastern Turkmenistan, and northwestern India.[8][6]: 190 Next to the Ottoman Empire, the Durrani Empire was the greatest Muslim empire of the second half of the eighteenth century.[9]
Ahmad Shah Abdali was the son of Muhammad Zaman Khan Abdali (Chieftain of the Abdalis) and the commander of Nader Shah Afshar. Conquering the disunity in his tribe, in June 1747 after Nader's death, Ahmad Shah Abdali secured Afghanistan by taking Kandahar, Ghazni, Kabul and Peshawarthat year, becoming the King of Afghanistan. After his accession, Ahmad Shah Abdali changed his tribal name to "Durrani", henceforth becoming known as Ahmad Shah Durrani. In 1749 the Mughal ruler had ceded sovereignty over much of northwest India to the Afghans. Ahmad Shah then set out westward to take possession of Mashhad, which was ruled by Shahrokh Shah and acknowledged Ahmad Shah's suzerainty.[10]He next sent an army to subdue the areas north of the Hindu Kush down to the Amu Darya, and in short order, all the different tribes began joining his cause. Ahmad Shah and his forces then invaded India four times, taking control of Kashmir and the Punjabregions. Early in 1757, he sacked Delhi but permitted the Mughal emperor Alamgir II to remain in nominal control as long as the ruler acknowledged Ahmad Shah's suzerainty over the regions south of the Indus.
After the death of Ahmad Shah Durrani in about 1773, his son Timur Shah Durranibecame the next ruler of the Durrani dynasty. Under Timur Shah, Kabul became the new capital of the empire while Peshawar became the winter capital; however the empire began to crumble by this time.[11] The dynasty would become heirs of Afghanistan for generations, up until Dost Mohammad Khan gained control in 1823. The Durrani Empire is considered the foundation of the modern state of Afghanistan, with Ahmad Shah Durrani being credited as "Father of the Nation".[12]