Dost Mohammad Khan
Emir Dost Mohammad Khan Barakzai (Pashto/Persian: دوست محمد خان); December 23, 1792 - June 8, 1863, nicknamed the Amir-i Kabir, was the founder of the Barakzai dynasty and one of the prominent rulers of Afghanistan during the First Anglo-Afghan War. With the decline of the Durrani dynasty, he became the Emir of Afghanistan in 1826. An ethnic Pashtun, he belonged to the Barakzai tribe. He was the 11th son of Payendah Khan, chief of the Barakzai Pashtuns, who was killed in 1799 by King Zaman Shah Durrani.
| Dost Mohammad Khan دوست محمد خان | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amir al-Mu'minin Amir-I-Kabir The Great Amir | |||||
Dost Mohammad Khan in The World's Inhabitants by George Thomas Bettany | |||||
| Emir of Afghanistan | |||||
| Reign | Summer 1826 – 2 August 1839 1843 – 9 June 1863 | ||||
| Predecessor | Sultan Mohammad Khan | ||||
| Successor | Wazir Akbar Khan Sher Ali Khan | ||||
| Born | 23 December 1792 Kandahar, Durrani Empire | ||||
| Died | 9 June 1863 (aged 70) Herat, Emirate of Afghanistan | ||||
| Burial | Shrine of Khwaja Abd Allah (Gazur Gah), Herat, Afghanistan | ||||
| Spouse | 16 wives | ||||
| Issue | 27 sons and 25 daughters at the time of his death | ||||
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| Dynasty | Barakzai dynasty | ||||
| Father | Sardar Payinda Khan Mohammadzai (Sarfraz Khan) | ||||
| Mother | Zainab Begum | ||||
| Religion | Sunni Islam | ||||
| Military career | |||||
| Battles/wars |
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At the beginning of his rule, the Afghans lost their former stronghold of Peshawar Valley in March 1823 to the Sikh Khalsa Army of Ranjit Singh at the Battle of Nowshera. The Afghan forces in the battle were led by Azim Khan, half-brother of Dost Mohammad Khan. By the end of his reign, he had reunited the principalities of Kandahar and Herat with Kabul. Dost had ruled for a lengthy 36 years, a span broken only by Zahir Shah more than a century later.
The Musahiban family started with his older brother, Sultan Mohammad Khan, nicknamed "Telai", meaning "golden", a nickname he was given because of his love of fine clothing.