Hotaki dynasty

The Hotaki were an Afghan tribe and dynasty that ruled over Afghanistan, most of Iran, and northwestern parts of Pakistan from 1722 to 1729, after defeating the Persian Safavid dynasty. The Hotaki dynasty was founded in 1709 by Mirwais Hotak, chief of the Ghilzai Pashtuns of Kandahar who led a successful revolution against the Persian Safavids.^[1] After the death of Mirwais in November 1715, the monarchy passed on to his brother Abdul Aziz followed by their sons until the dynasty finally ended in 1738 when Nader Shah and his Afsharids of Khorasan defeated Hussain Hotaki at his Kandahar fortress.^[2]

Rise to power

Kandahar province was captured and ruled by the Shi'a Safavids during the early 18th century but the native Afghan tribes living in the area were Sunni Muslims. immediately to the east began the Sunni Moghul Empire of India, who occasionally fought wars with the Safavids over the territory of Kandahar.^[3]

In 1704, the Safavid Shah Husayn appointed George XI (Gurgīn Khān), who had converted to Islam.^[4] Gurgin began imprisoning and executing many Afghans, especially those suspected of organizing rebellions. One of those arrested and imprisoned was Mirwais Hotak who belonged to an influential family in Kandahar. Mirwais was sent as a prisoner to the Persian court in Isfahan but the charges against him were dismissed by the king, so he was sent back to his native land as a free man.^[5]

In April 1709, Mirwais along with his followers revolted against the Safavid rule in Kandahar City. The uprising began when Gurgīn Khān and his escort were killed during a picnic that was prepared by Mirwais at his farmhouse outside the city. It is reported that heavy drinking of alcohol was involved. Next, Mirwais ordered the deaths of the remaining Persian government and military officials in the region. The Afghans then defeated twice a large Persian army that was dispatched from Isfahan (capital of the Safavids), which included Qizilbash and Georgian troops.^[6]

Several half-hearted attempts to subdue the rebellious city having failed, the Persian Government despatched Khusraw Khán, nephew of the late Gurgín Khán, with an army of 30,000 men to effect its subjugation, but in spite of an initial success, which led the Afgháns to offer to surrender on terms, his uncompromising attitude impelled them to make a fresh desperate effort, resulting in the complete defeat of the Persian army (of whom only some 700 escaped) and the death of their general. Two years later, in A.D. 1713, an­other Persian army commanded by Rustam Khán was also defeated by the rebels, who thus secured possession of the whole province of Qandahár.^[6]

—Edward G. Browne, 1924

Refusing the title of a king, Mirwais was given the title "Prince of Qandahár and General of the national troops" by his Afghan countrymen. He died peacefully in November 1715 from a natural cause and was succeeded by his brother Abdul Aziz, who was murdered later by Mirwais' son Mahmud. In 1720, Mahmud's Afghan forces crossed the deserts of Sistan and captured Kerman.^[6] His plan was to conquer the Persian capital, Isfahan.^[7] After defeating the Persian army at the Battle of Gulnabad on March 8, 1722, he proceeded to and sacked the city of Isfahan.^[8] On October 23, 1722, Sultan Husayn abdicated and acknowledged Mahmud as the new Shah of Persia.^[9]

Majority of the Persian people, however, rejected the Afghan regime as usurping. For the next seven years until 1729, the Hotakis became the de facto rulers of Persia, but the southern and eastern areas of Afghanistan still remained under their control until 1738.

The Hotaki dynasty was a troubled and violent one as internecine conflict made it difficult to establish permanent control. The dynasty lived under great turmoil due to bloody succession feuds that made their hold on power tenuous, and after the massacre of thousands of civilians in Isfahan – including more than three thousand religious scholars, nobles, and members of the Safavid family – the Hotaki dynasty was eventually removed from power in Persia.^[10] On the other hand, the Afghans were also suppressed by the Safavid government under Gurgin Khan before their uprising in 1709.^[5]

Decline

Ashraf Hotaki, who took over the monarchy following Shah Mahmud's death in 1725, and his soldiers were defeated in the October 1729 Battle of Damghan by Nader Shah, a soldier of fortune from the Sunni Turkmen background and the founder of the Afsharid dynasty that replace the Safavids in Persia. Nader Shah had driven out the remaining Ghilzai forces from Persia and began enlisting the Abdali Afghans of Farah and Kandahar in his military. Nader Shah's forces (among them were Ahmad Shah Abdali and his 4,000 Abdali troops) conquered Kandahar in 1738. They besieged and destroyed the last Hotaki seat of power, which was held by Hussain Hotaki (or Shah Hussain).^[7][11] Nader Shah then built a new town nearby, named after himself, "Nāderābād", to replace the ancient city. The Abdalis were also restored to the general area of Kandahar, with the Ghilza'is being pushed back to their former stronghold of Kalat-i Ghilzai--an arrangement that lasts to the present day Afghanistan.

List of rulers

See also

• Durrani Empire

References

External links

• Encyclopædia Britannica Online - Last Afghan empire
• Afghanland - Mirwais Khan Hotak