Shuja Shah Durrani
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Shuja Shah (Shoja Shah, Shah Shujah, Shujah al-Mulk) (c. November 4, 1785 - April 5, 1842) was of the Sadozai line of the Abdali group of Pashtun clans.
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[edit] Family
A son of Timur Shah of the Durrani dynasty. He ousted his brother, Mahmud Shah, from power, and ruled Afghanistan from 1803 to 1809.
[edit] Marriages
- A daughter of Fath Khan Tokhi
- Wafa Begum
- A daughter of Sayyid Amir Haidar Khan; Amir of Bokhara
- A daughter of Khan Bahadur Khan Malikdin Khul
- A daughter of Sardar Haji Rahmatu'llah Khan Sardozai; Wazir
- Sarwar Begum
- Bibi Mastan; of Indian origin
[edit] Career
[edit] Depositions, Imprisonments and Alliances
Shuja was the governor of Herat and Peshawar from 1798 to 1801. He proclaimed himself as King of Afghanistan in October 1801 (after the deposition of his brother Zaman), but only properly ascended to the throne in on July 13, 1803.
Shuja allied Afghanistan with the United Kingdom in 1809, as a means of defending against a combined invasion of India by Napoleon and Russia.
On May 3, 1809, he was overthrown by his predecessor Mahmud Shah and went into exile in India, where he was captured by Jahandad Khan Bamizai and imprisoned at Attock (1811-1812) as well as in Kashmir (1812-1813). Shortly afterwards, he was handed over to Maharajah Ranjit Singh and imprisoned at Lahore from 1813 to 1814. Once a holder of the famous Koh-i-Nor diamond, he was forced to hand it over to his captor to gain back his freedom. He stayed first in Punjab and later in Ludhiana.
In 1833 he struck a deal with Maharajah Ranjit Singh of the Punjab: He was allowed to march his troops through Punjab, and in return he would cede Peshawar to the Sikhs if they could manage to take it. In a concerted campaign the following year, Shuja marched on Kandahar while the Sikhs, commanded by general Hari Singh Nalwa attacked Peshawar. In July, Shuja Shah was narrowly defeated at Kandahar by the Afghans under Dost Mohammad Khan and fled. The Sikhs on their hand seized Peshawar.
In 1838 he had gained the support of the British and Punjab for an invasion of Afghanistan. This triggered the First Anglo-Afghan War (1838-42). Shuja was restored to the throne by the British in August 1839, almost 30 years after his deposition, but did not remain in power when the British left. He was assassinated by Shuja ud-Daula in April 1842.
[edit] Books
- Divan-i-Shuja (1825)
- Memoirs of Shuja ul-Mulk Shah, King of Afghanistan (1826)
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Mahmud Shah |
Shah of Afghanistan 1803-1809 |
Succeeded by Mahmud Shah |
| Preceded by Dost Mohammad Khan |
Shah of Afghanistan 1839-1842 |
Succeeded by Dost Mohammad Khan |
