- Shuja Shah Durrani
Infobox Monarch
name =Shuja Shah Durrani
title =Emir of Afghanistan
caption ="Shah Shuja sitting at his Kabul Palace"
reign =Durrani Empire : 1803–1809
coronation =
othertitles =
full name =Shuja Shah Durrani
predecessor =Mahmud Shah Durrani
successor =Dost Mohammad Khan
suc-type =
heir =
queen =
consort =
spouse 1 =Daughter of Fath Khan Tokhi
spouse 2 =Wafa Begum
spouse 3 =Daughter ofSayyid Amir Haidar Khan
spouse 4 =Daughter of Khan Bahadur Khan Malikdin Khul
spouse 5 =Daughter of Sardar Haji Rahmatu'llah Khan Sardozai
spouse 6 =Sarwar Begum
spouse 7 =Bibi Mastan
issue =
royal house =
dynasty =Durrani dynasty
royal anthem =
father =Timur Shah Durrani
mother =
date of birth =November 4 ,1785
place of birth =
date of death =April 5 ,1842
place of death =
date of burial =
place of burial =|Shuja Shah Durrani (also known as "Shah Shujah", "Shoja Shah", "Shujah al-Mulk") (c.
November 4 ,1785 –April 5 ,1842 ) was ruler of theDurrani Empire from 1803 to 1809. He then ruled from 1839 until his death in 1842. Shuja Shah was of theSadozai line of theAbdali group of Pashtuns. He became the fifth Emir of Afghanistan. [Encyclopedia Britannica - [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9067071/Shah-Shoja Shah Shoja] ]Family
Shuja Shah was the son of
Timur Shah Durrani of theDurrani Empire . He ousted his brother, Mahmud Shah, from power, and ruledAfghanistan from 1803 to 1809.Marriages
# A daughter of Fath Khan Tokhi
# Wafa Begum
# A daughter ofSayyid Amir Haidar Khan;Amir ofBokhara
# A daughter of Khan Bahadur Khan Malikdin Khul
# A daughter of Sardar Haji Rahmatu'llah Khan Sardozai;Wazir
# Sarwar Begum
# Bibi Mastan; ofIndia n originCareer
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 in onJuly 13 , 1803.Shuja allied Afghanistan with the
United Kingdom in 1809, as a means of defending against a combined invasion ofIndia byNapoleon andRussia .On
May 3 , 1809, he was overthrown by his predecessor Mahmud Shah and went into exile inIndia , where he was captured by Jahandad Khan Bamizai and imprisoned atAttock (1811–2) as well as inKashmir (1812–3). Shortly afterwards, he was handed over to MaharajahRanjit Singh and imprisoned atLahore from 1813 to 1814. Once a holder of the famousKoh-i-Nor diamond , he was forced to hand it over to his captor to gain back his freedom. He stayed first in Punjab and later inLudhiana .In 1833 he struck a deal with Maharajah
Ranjit Singh of the Punjab: He was allowed to march his troops through Punjab, and in return he would cedePeshawar to the Sikhs if they could manage to take it. In a concerted campaign the following year, Shuja marched on Kandahar while theSikhs , commanded by generalHari Singh Nalwa attacked Peshawar. In July, Shuja Shah was narrowly defeated atKandahar by the Afghans underDost Mohammad Khan and fled. The Sikhs on their hand seizedPeshawar .In 1838 he had gained the support of the British and Punjab for an invasion of Afghanistan. This triggered the First Anglo-Afghan War (1838–42). Shuja was restored to the throne by the British on August 7, 1839 [Moon, P. (1989). "The British Conquest and Dominion of India", London: Duckworth, ISBN 0 7156 2169 6, p.515] , almost 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. [Moon, P. (1989). "The British Conquest and Dominion of India", London: Duckworth, ISBN 0 7156 2169 6, p.552]References
Further reading
* "Divan-i-Shuja" (1825)
* "Memoirs of Shuja ul-Mulk Shah, King of Afghanistan" (1826)External links
* [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9067071/Shah-Shoja Encyclopedia Britannica - Shah Shoja]
* [http://www.bl.uk/collections/afghan/chronology1747to1809.html The British Library - Shah Shuja]
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