Hotaki dynasty

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History of Afghanistan History of the area since antiquity Pre-Islamic Period History of the initial Islamic conquest and rule Islamic Conquest Emergence of Pashtun rule Hotaki dynasty Durrani Dynasty Modern Afghanistan British and Russian influence Independence and civil war Reigns of Nadir Shah and Zahir Shah Republic of Afghanistan Communist rule Afghanistan since 1992 War in Afghanistan (2001–present) Timeline

The Hotaki dynasty (1709-1738) was founded in 1709 by Mirwais Khan Hotak, an ethnic Pashtun (Afghan) from the Ghilzai clan^[1] of Kandahar province in modern-day Afghanistan. Mirwais and his followers rose against the Persian Safavid rule starting in the city of Kandahar in 1709. He began his rule by killing Gurgin Khan, the Georgian-born governor of Kandahar, who was representing the Persian kings. Next, Mirwais ordered the deaths of the remaining Persian government officials in the region. The Ghilzai Afghans then defeated the Persian army that was dispatched from Isfahan (capital of the Safavid Empire).

Mirwais Khan Hotak died peacefully in 1715 from natural cause and was succeeded by his son Mir Mahmud Hotaki, who later led his army to invade Persia. In 1722, Mir Mahmud sacked the city of Isfahan and declared himself Shah of Persia (meaning King of Persia). However, the great majority still rejected the Ghilzai regime as usurping. For the next 7 years the Hotaki became the de facto rulers of eastern Persia and the Peshawar Valley.

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.^[2]^[3] In October 1729, they were defeated by Nader Shah, head of the Afsharids, in the Battle of Damghan and pushed back to what is now Afghanistan. Nadershah marched his army through Kandahar in 1738 and eliminated the Hotaki dynasty.^[4]

References and footnotes

^ See Malleson, George Bruce (1879) "Chapter 7: The Ghilzai Rule" History of Afghanistan, from the Earliest Period to the Outbreak of the War of 1878 W.H. Allen & Co., London, OCLC 4219393, limited view at Google Books, for details on the origins of Mir Wais, chief of the Ghilzai tribe.
^ Prof. D. Balland, "Ašraf Ghilzai", in Encyclopaedia Iranica, Online Edition 2006, (LINK)
^ Encyclopaedia Britannica - The Hotakis (from Afghanistan)...Link
^ Afghanistan: Mullah, Marx, and Mujahid By Ralph H. Magnus, Eden Naby, page 29