Pukhton Empires

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[Giankhel]

FIRST EMPIRE

Bahlol Khan Lodhi (1451-1489 AD):

 

He was the first king and the founder of the Lodhi dynasty, with a view to restoring the Delhi Sultanate its past glory, he conquered many territories including the powerful kingdom of Jaunpur. Buhlul Khan extended his territories over Gwalior, Jaunpur and upper Uttar Pradesh. He appointed his eldest son Barbak Shah as viceroy of Jaunpur in 1486. Buhlul Khan was confused as to who should succeed him among his sons Barbak Shah and Nizam Shah and grandson Azam-i-Humayun.

 

Sikander Khan Lodhi (1489-1517 AD):

 

After Buhlul Khan's death, his second son Nizam Shah was proclaimed the king, under the title of Sultan Sikandar Shah, on July 17, 1489. He made all efforts to strengthen his kingdom. He extended his kingdom from Punjab to Bihar, and also made a treaty with Alauddin Husain Shah of Bengal. He founded a new town in 1504 (where now the modern city of Agra stands) to control the chiefs of Etawab, Biyana, Koli, Gwalior and Dholapur. He was also a good administrator. He was kind to his subjects. He died on November 21st 1517 AD.

 

Ibrahim Khan Lodhi (1489-1517 AD):

 

After the death of Sikandar, his son Ibrahim ascended the throne. A faction of the nobility advocated a partition of the kingdom and set up his younger brother Jalal Khan on the throne of Jaunpur. But soon Jalal Khan was assassinated by his brother's men. Ibrahim Lodhi was not an able ruler. He became more and more strict with the nobles. He used to insult them. Thus, to take revenge of their insults, Daulat Khan Lodi, governor of Lahore and Alam Khan, an uncle of Sultan Ibrahim Lodhi, invited Babur, the ruler of Kabul,
to invade India. Ibrahim Lodhi was killed at Panipat in 1526 AD by Babur's army. Thus came the final collapse of Delhi Sultanate and paved the establishment of new the Turkish rule in India. First Battle of Panipat The battle was fought between Mongol prince Zahir-ud-Din Muhammad 'BABUR' and the Afghan Sultan of Delhi Ibrahim Lodhi.

 

It developed over few years as Ibrahim Lodhi lost control over his noblemen and wazirs. Sultan Ibrahim Lodhi of Delhi. The handsome Ibrahim Lodhi multi plied his rigors at Delhi. Mian Bhua the vazir of his father was first thrown in prison then given a cup of poisoned wine. Noblemen like Azam Humanyun (Not Babur's son) and Hussain Khan Farmuli were assassinated. Babur promised to help Daulat Khan to fight sultan of Delhi Ibrahim Lodhi in 1523 and made many raids into Punjab.In November 1525 he set out to meet the Sultan of Delhi.Passage of Indus took place on 15th December.Babur crossed Satluj at Roper and reached Amballa without meeting any resistance.Prudently Babur took up a defensive position.He based his right flank upon city walls, a ditch protected his left flank and front lay behind a line of 700 carts tied together with rawhide ropes to break cavalry charges.Every 100 yards passages were provided for his horsemen to ride through for attack.Those passages were heavily defended by his archers and matchlock men. For 8 days he waited for Sultan's attack.Ibrahim marched slowly and without plan as his officers had never seen such defences before.Mongols have created a fort in middle of a plain his spys informed him.Babur sent out his horsemen to raid Sultan's army on 9th April. After a light engagement Mongol broke and ran back,it was a fient and it worked.Ibrahim was elated at the ease with which his troops had repulsed best horsemen Babur had sent. Overconfident and full of high hope he decided to attack. Next morning Sultan Ibrahim Lodhi advanced rapidly. At about 400 yards Babur's Cannons opened fire noise and smoke terrified Afghans and the attack lost momentum.Seizing the movement Babur sent out his flanking columns
to envelop the Sultan's army.Here Afghans met first time the real weapon of Mongols 'Turko-Mongol Bow'. Its superiority as an instrument of war lay in the fact that it was the arm of the nobles,of the finest warriors.Bow in hand of a Turko-Mongol would shoot three times as rapidly as musket and could kill at 200 yards.Attacked from 3 sides Afghans jammed into each other.Elephants hearing noise of cannon at close range ran wildly out of control. Ibrahim Lodhi and about 6000 of his troops were involved in actual fighting.Most of his army streaching behind upto a mile never saw action.Battle ended in about 3 hours with death of Ibrahim Lodhi who was at forefront. And in place where fighting had been the fiercest dead amid the heap of Mongols slain of his sword,lay the vain but courageous Sultan Ibrahim,his head was cut off and taken to Babur wrote a Mongol historian. When Afghans fled they left 20,000 dead and wounded.

[Giankhel]

Second Pukhton Empire


Sher Khan, known as Sher Shah Suri, was an Afghan leader who took over the Mughal Empire after defeating Humayun in 1540. Sher Shah occupied the throne of Delhi for not more than five years, but his reign proved to be a landmark in the Sub-continent. He formulated a sound imperial administration that was inspired by the Safavid regime in Iran. Sher Shah employed a powerful army, which is said to have comprised of 150,000 horses, 250,000 foot-soldiers and 5,000 elephants. He personally inspected, appointed and paid the soldiers, thus making him the focus of loyalty and subduing the jealousies between clans and tribes. To prevent fraud, he revived the tradition of branding horses, introduced first by Alauddin Khalji.
The principal reforms for which Sher Shah is remembered are those connected with revenue administration. He set up a revenue collection system based on the measurement of land. Justice was provided to the common man. Numerous civil works were carried out during his short reign; planting of trees, wells and building of Sarai (inns) for travelers was done. Roads were laid; it was under his rule that the Grand Trunk road from Delhi to Kabul was built. The currency was also changed to finely minted silver coins called Dam.
During his lifetime, Sher Shah commissioned the construction of tombs for his father, Hasan Khan Suri and for himself. A third one was begun for his son Islam, but remained unfinished due to the dynasty's fall. Sher Shah died in 1545 by a gunpowder explosion and left his kingdom to his two sons and grandsons. Unfortunately, his successors were incompetent and succumbed to old Afghan rivalries. This resulted in the downfall of the Suri Dynasty

TOMB OF SHER SHAH SURI

http://www.storyofpakistan.com/articletext.asp?artid=A013&Pg=1




Proud to be Pukhton

[Giankhel]

Third Pukhton Empire

A picture of life in the old city of Kandahar under the Timurids, the Safavids and the Moghuls has begun to emerge since the British Institute began its excavations in 1974. Bronze ewers, imported glazed ceramics and ornate glass from Persia and im-ported porcelains from China speak of widespread trade. Locally made glazed wares in the Persian style speak of a cultural orienta-tion toward the west.

On the whole the indigenous Pushtun tribes living in the Kandahar area were more attached to the Persians and, indeed, on those occasions when the Moghuls received the city by means other than conquest, it was disaffected Persian governors who instigated the transfer, not the tribes. The tribes were not above pitting foreigner against foreigner in order to further their attempts to better one another. However, siding sometimes with the Persians, sometimes with the Moghuls, but never with each other, they perpetuated tribal disunity and prolonged foreign domination.

The principal contenders in these tribal disputes came from the two most important Pushtun groups in the Kandahar area, the Ghilzai and the Abdali (later Durrani), between whom there was long-standing enmity. As a matter of fact, because of these quarrels, many of the turbulent Abdali had been forcibly transferred to Herat by the irritated Persians by the end of the 16th century. This left the Ghilzai paramount in Kandahar, but the dispute more hotly contested, the hatred more deeply entrenched, and revenge more fervently sought.

The Persians were adept at manipulating such machinations and their rule at Kandahar was tolerant until the court at Isfahan began to sink in decadence. Mirroring this, the Persian governors of Kandahar became more and more rapacious and, in response, the tribes became more and more restless. Mounting tribal disturbances finally caught the concern of the court and they sent Gurgin, a Georgian known for his uncompromising severity toward revolt, to Kandahar in 1704. Kandahar's mayor at this time was Mir Wais Hotak, the astute and influential leader of the Ghilzai.

Gurgin, advocate of law by force, burnt, plundered, murdered and imprisoned, but the tribes would not be subdued; revolts were crushed only to break out anew and Mir Wais, credited with master-minding the rebellions, was sent to Isfahan tagged as a highly dangerous prisoner. Imagine Gurgin's surprise and dismay when Mir Wais returned to Kandahar shortly thereafter clothed in lustrous robes of honour, symbols of respect and trust. The Shah of Persia thus declared the influence of Mir Wais, not Gur-gin, at the Persian court. Mir Wais had extricated himself from a very nasty situation but, more importantly, he had observed the depths of decay at Isfahan, much as Babur had observed it at Herat, and correctly determined that the Safavid Empire was on the brink of collapse.

 
 
Mir Wais Khan Hotaki  
 

Mir Wais formulated plans for disposing of the hated Gurgin; only the difficult task of waiting for the right moment remained.

The moment came in April, 1709. Because details of the assas-sination are varied, this discussion recounts the version popular among Kandaharis today who say that Mir Wais invited Gurgin to a picnic at his country estate at Kohkran on the outskirts of Kandahar city. Here the guests were fed all manner of rich dishes and plied with strong wines until "everyone was plunged in de-bauch." This was the moment. Mir Wais struck, killing Gurgin, and his followers killed the Georgian's escort. The rebels then marched to take possession of the citadel.

Isfahan was astounded and sent emissaries to complain. The emissaries were imprisoned. Isfahan sent armies to take the city. The armies were defeated. The Persian court then sat in stunned idleness while Mir Wais extended his authority throughout the Kandahar region.

If they were to remain free the tribes must be united and to this formidable task the venerable statesman devoted the rest of his life. But not many years were left for Mir Wais. He died in 1715. An imposing bluedomed mausoleum at Bagh-i-Kohkran, next to the orchard where Gurgin was assassinated, is a fitting monu-ment to Afghanistan's first great nationalist.

The qualities which enabled Mir Wais to lead the tribes toward a meaningful unity were not, unfortunately, inherited by his ambi-tious 18 year old son, Mahmud, whose visions only encompassed conquest and power. Killing his uncle, elected successor to Mir Wais, Mahmud gathered his followers and marched across Persia and seized the Safavid throne (1722). Mahmud met an early death in 1725 and was succeeded by his cousin, Ashraf, who ruled until 1730 when a new soldier-of-fortune, the Turkoman Nadir Quli Beg, ended Ghilzai rule.
 
Proud to be Pukhton

[Giankhel]

Fourth Pukhton Empire


Ahmad Shah (1724-1773), founder of the Durrani dynasty in Afghanistan, was the son of Sammaun-Khan, hereditary chief of the Abdali tribe. While still a boy Ahmad fell into the hands of the hostile tribe of Ghilzais, by whom he was kept prisoner at Kandahar. In March 1738 he was rescued by Nadir Shah, who soon afterwards gave him the command of a body of cavalry composed chiefly of Abdalis. On the assassination of Nadir in 1747, Ahmad, having failed in an attempt to seize the Persian treasures, retreated to Afghanistan, where he easily persuaded the native tribes to assert their independence and accept him as their sovereign. He was crowned at Kandahar in October 1747, and about the same time he changed the name of his tribe to Durrani.

Two things may be said to have contributed greatly to the consolidation of his power. He interfered as little as possible with the independence of the different tribes, demanding from each only its due proportion of tribute and military service; and he kept his army constantly engaged in brilliant schemes of foreign conquest. Being possessed of the Koh-i-Noor diamond, and being fortunate enough to intercept a consignment of treasure on its way to the shah of Persia, he had all the advantages which great wealth can give.

He first crossed the Indus River in 1748, when he took Lahore; and in 1751, after a feeble resistance on the part of the Muslim viceroy, he became master of the entire Punjab. In 1750 he took Nishapur, and in 1752 subdued Kashmir. His great expedition to Delhi was undertaken in 1756 in order to avenge himself on the Mughal empire for the recapture of Lahore.

Ahmad entered Delhi with his army in triumph, and for more than a month the city was given over to pillage. The shah himself added to his wives a princess of the imperial family, and bestowed another upon his son Timur Shah, whom he made governor of the Punjab and Sirhind. As his viceroy in Delhi he left a Rohilla chief in whom he had all confidence, but scarcely had he crossed the Indus when the Muslim wazir drove the chief from the city, killed the Great Mogul and set another prince of the family, a tool of his own, upon the throne. The Maratha chiefs availed themselves of these circumstances to endeavour to possess themselves of the whole country, and Ahmad was compelled more than once to cross the Indus in order to protect his territory from them and the Sikhs, who were constantly attacking his garrisons.

In 1758 the Marathas obtained possession of the Punjab, but on the 6th of January 1761 they were totally routed by Ahmad in the great battle of Panipat. In a later expedition he inflicted a severe defeat upon the Sikhs, but had to hasten westward immediately afterwards in order to quell an insurrection in Afghanistan. Meanwhile the Sikhs again rose, and Ahmad was now forced to abandon all hope of retaining the command of the Punjab.

After lengthened suffering from a terrible disease, said to have been cancer in the face, he died in 1773, leaving to his son Timur Shah the kingdom he had founded.

[Nice & Naughty]

Salam respected Giankhel.

wanted to say dat as u started the same topic wid different threads so i merged dem all in one post...u can continue posting rest of ur posts regarding Pukhtoon Empire under this thread.

Thanks for co operation.

Tc n Bye..

>>>Nice & Naughty <<<

[esepzye]

Grana Giankhel!
Salamoona.I profoundly appreciate your efforts to remind the Pukhtuns their lost glory.You should also try to show them their destiny.The woes of the aborted endeavours of the great pukhtuns to regain that glory should also needs to be shared with the brain-washed and ignorant pukhtuns.The struggle of Khushal Khan,Umara Khan(Afghan Napolean),Aimal Khan,Darya KHan,Faqir Ippi and Bacha Khan was a perpetual war to get the Pukhtuns their destiny.
 We are not discouraged.We see our Fifth Empire in the offing.

[Afghanzai_007]

I simply agree to your last sentence. Insh'Allah, the fifth [not actually fifth coz we've had many empires] is on its way to emerge in coming few years by the will of Allah [SWT].

POUD TO BE AFGHAN! [PAKHTUN]