Shah Shujah Durrani

Shuja Shah Durrani (also known as Shah Shuja, Shah Shujah, Shoja Shah, Shujah al-Mulk) born on November 4, 1785 and died on April 5, 1842 was ruler of the Durrani Empire from 1803 to 1809. He then ruled from 1839 until his death in 1842. Shuja Shah was of the Sadozai line of the Abdali group of Pashtuns. He became the fifth Emir of Afghanistan.

On the fall of Zaman Shah in 1801, Shuja-ul-Mulk who was holding his post at Peshawar, marched on Kabul in September 1801 after having proclaimed himself king of Afghanistan. Fath Khan defeated Shuja. ‘Mahmud, the elder brother of Zaman and Shuja, ‘ after seven years of waiting, conflict and misfortune, ascended the throne at Kabul in 1801 A.C. He showed generosity to the army and to his chiefs. Vazir Fath Khan, whom we have already known as the eldest son of Painda Khan (Sarfraz Khan), was given the title of ‘Shah Dust.’ He is the Warwick of Afghanistan or its King-Maker. Sher Muhammad Khan, son of Shah Vali Khan Bamizai, was named Mukhtar-ud-Daula. Sardar ‘Abdullah Khan Halokozai, called by Kashmir historians Alkuzai and by some ‘Alikuzai – father of Yar Muhammad Khan – who had been confined in the Bala Hisar of Kabul by Shah Zaman, was released from this fortress, and made governor of Kashmir. Kamran Mirza, his own son, was sent out to fight Shah Shuja, who fled to the fastnesses of the Khyber pass. Mahmud’s two rivals, Shah Shuja ‘and Prince Qaiser, Zaman’s Son, who had lost Herat which he held during his father’s time, were now out of the way. Mahmud ruled in peace. There were, however, riots twice between Ghilzais and Durranis but they were quelled.

Two years and six months after Mahmud’s accession Shi’a-Sunni or Qizilbash and Afghan clashes at Kabul Stirred the country. Mahmud was indolent and Fath Khan was absent from the capital trying to track out Shuja. Indifference to the Sunnis on the part of Mahmud disappointed them. Fath Khan returned to Kabul to find the situation out of control. Shuja was endeavouring to subsist himself and a few followers by the sale of royal jewels in the Afridi country, when an express was sent to him to come to Kabul. On his arrival the revolution was complete. Mahmud was imprisoned in Bala HIsar, Kabul, and Shuja was enthroned in the smae city on 13th July, 1802. Fath Khan fled. ‘Ashiq Khan Shinwari who had betrayed Zaman was executed and thus met the doom he deserved.

Marriage

After coming to power in 1803, Shuja ended the “blood feud” with the Barakzais and also forgave them. To create an alliance with them, he married “their sister” Wa’fa Begum.

Career- Depositions, imprisonments and alliances

Shuja Shah 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 Shah), but only properly ascended to the throne on July 13, 1803.
Shuja allied Afghanistan with the United Kingdom in 1809, as a means of defending against a invasion of Afghanistan and India by Russia.
In June, 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 (1811–2) and then taken to Kashmir (1812–3) by Atta Muhammad Khan. When Mahmud Shah’s vizier Fateh Khan invaded Kashmir alongside Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s army, he chose to leave with the Sikh army. He stayed in Lahore from 1813 to 1814. In return for his freedom, he handed the Koh-i-Nur diamond to Maharaja Ranjit Singh and gained his freedom. He stayed first in Punjab and later in Ludhiana with Shah Zaman. The place where he stayed in Ludhiana is presently occupied by Main Post Office near Mata Rani Chowk and a white marble stone inside the building marking his stay there can be seen.

In 1833 he struck a deal with Maharaja 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 part reclaimed Peshawar.

In 1838 he had gained the support of the British and the Sikh Maharaja Ranjit Singh for wresting power from Dost Mohammad Khan Barakzai. This triggered the First Anglo-Afghan War (1838–1842). Shuja was restored to the throne by the British on August 7, 1839, 30 years after his deposition, but did not remain in power when the British left. He was assassinated by Shuja ud-Daula, on April 5, 1842.

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