Timur Shah Durrani

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Timur Shah Durrani
Emir of Afghanistan
Reign	Durrani Empire: 1772 - 1793
Full name	Timur Shah Durrani
Born	1748
Died	May 18, 1793
Predecessor	Ahmad Shah Durrani
Successor	Zaman Shah Durrani
Dynasty	Durrani dynasty
Father	Ahmad Shah Durrani

Timur Shah Durrani (1748 - May 18, 1793) was the second ruler of the Durrani Empire from October 16, 1772, until his death in 1793.^[1] An ethnic Pashtun, he was the second and eldest son of Ahmad Shah Durrani.

Timur Shah had a quick rise to power by marrying the daughter of Mughal Emperor Alamgir II. He received Sirhind as a wedding gift and later his father Ahmad Shah Durrani made him governor of Punjab, Kashmir and the Sirhind district, in 1757 when he was only 9 years old. He ruled from Lahore under the regency of his Wazir, general Jahan Khan, who administered these territories for approximately one year, from May 1757 until April 1758. Timur Shah and Jahan were never able to establish law and order.

Afghanistan and the Marthas States in 1760.

Adina Beg Khan, governor of the Julundur Doab, along with Raghunath Rao leading the Maratha empire, forced Timur Shah and Jahan from Punjab and put in place their own government under Adina Beg Khan. In 1759, Ahmad Shah Durrani finally conquered Punjab, invading with a force of 60,000 Afghans against the Marathas 45,000 men. The conflict reached its conclusion in the Battle of Panipat on January 14, 1761. When Timur Shah succeeded his father in 1772, the regional chieftains only reluctantly accepted him, and most of his reign was spent fighting a civil war to resist rebellion. During his reign, the Durrani Empire began to crumble forcing the move of its capital from Kandahar to Kabul in 1776.

Timur Shah died in 1793, and was then succeeded by his fifth son Zaman Shah Durrani.