The Principality of Qandahar was a state that existed in

Qandahar Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118. It is the ca ...

from 1818 to 1855. It was ruled by the Dil brothers, members of the

Barakzai dynasty The two branches of the Barakzai dynasty (, "sons of Barak") ruled modern day Afghanistan from 1823 to 1973 when the monarchy ended under Musahiban Mohammed Zahir Shah. The Barakzai dynasty was established by Dost Mohammad Khan after the Dur ...

, in a confederation. In 1855 the principality was conquered by

Dost Mohammad Khan Dost Mohammad Khan Barakzai (Pashto/Persian: ; 23 December 17929 June 1863), nicknamed the Amir-i Kabir, Also titled Amir al-Mu'minin, was a member of the Barakzai dynasty and one of the prominent rulers of the Emirate of Afghanistan. His 37-year ...

History

In 1818, the Dil brothers seized Qandahar and its surroundings and declared independence. Sherdil Khan was in charge of the military in the principality. The rule of the four brothers was very unpopular. Sherdil Khan was supposed to be in charge of Qandahar's walls but after his death the brothers fought each other and allowed the city's walls to fall into decay. In 1842 Kohandil Khan, Mehrdil Khan, and Rahmdil Khan left their exile in Kerman and set out towards Qandahar. They occupied Qandahar and re-established the principality. In the aftermath of the First Anglo-Afghan War, Kohandil Khan aimed to expand his influence into Sistan, which had fractured into a number of tribal fiefdoms. As part of this move, Kohandil Khan expanded his sphere of influence up to the district o
Rudbar
controlled by the

Sanjarani Sanjarani ( fa, سنجراني, also Romanized as Sanjarānī) is a village in Jahanabad Rural District, in the Central District of Hirmand County, Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, ...

Baluch.

Herat Herāt (; Persian: ) is an oasis city and the third-largest city of Afghanistan. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains (''Selseleh-ye Safē ...

under Yar Mohammad Khan Alakozai also claimed Sistan as part of his domain, and this would cause clashes between both powers.

Territory and subdivisions

Initially, in the 1820s and 1830s, the territories under the control of the Principality consisted of

Zamindawar Zamindawar is a historical region of Afghanistan. It is a very large and fertile valley the main sources for irrigation is the Helmand River. Zamindawar is located in the greater territory of northern Helmand and encompasses the approximate area of ...

Deh Rawood Deh Rawood is a town in Deh Rawood District in Uruzgan province, Afghanistan. It is located 400 kilometres southwest of Kabul. Since the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan the area has been noted as a remaining Taliban stronghold. The area is rural wi ...

Garmsir Garmsir ( ps, ګرمسير; from Persian گرمسیر, meaning "hot place") is the center of Garmsir District in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. It is situated on the eastern bank of the Helmand River on at 714 m altitude and 63 km southwest ...

, Shorawak, Pishin, and

Sibi Sibi (Sindhi: سيوي ur, ) is a city situated in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. The city is the headquarters of the district and tehsil of the same name. Etymology The origin of the town's name is attributed to Rani Sewi, a Hindu lad ...

. The

Hazaras The Hazaras ( fa, , Həzārə; haz, , Āzərə) are an ethnic group and the principal component of the population of Afghanistan, native to, and primarily residing in the Hazaristan (Hazarajat) region in central Afghanistan and generally scatt ...

Uruzgan Uruzgan ( Dari), also spelled as Urozgan or Oruzgan, is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. Uruzgan is located in the center of the country. The population is 436,079, and the province is mostly a tribal society. Tarinkot serves as ...

paid tribute to the principality. Sindh and

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...

were also dependent on the principality, but was able to break away in August 1826. The territory of the principality seems to have been split among the various brothers. At the time of Charles Masson's visit to Qandahar during the reign of Purdil Khan, the division of the principality seems to have been as follows: * Purdil Khan (in possession of the district of

and its surroundings) * Kohandil Khan (controlled the frontier with

and the lands of

, and the Alizais,

Nurzai Nurzai also spelled as ''Noorzai'' ( ps, نورزئی) (meaning ''son of the light'') is the name of a Pashtun tribe, part of the Panjpai section of Durrani Tareen Pashtuns. The word "''nūr''" derives from the Arabic word for ''the light''. ...

s, and

living there) * Mihrdil Khan (controlled the frontier bordering on the domains of the

Tokhi ''Tokhi'' (Pashto: توخی) is a Ghilji Pashtun tribe found throughout southern, eastern, southeastern and northeastern Afghanistan. Historically they have mostly lived in what is now Zabul Province, Helmand and Kandahar in Afghanistan. Notables ...

and

Hotak The Hotak ( ps, هوتک) or Hotaki () is a tribe of the Ghilji confederacy of the Pashtun people. The Hotak started centuries ago as a political family. The first king to take power in Kandahar, Afghanistan, was Mirwais Hotak (1673–1715). A ...

tribes) * Rahmdil Khan (controlled the districts of

, Pishin, and Shorawak)

Rulers

# Sherdil Khan (1818 – July 1826) # Purdil Khan (July 1826 – 1830) # Kohandil Khan (1830 – 25 April 1839) #

Shuja ul-Mulk His Highness Sir Shuja ul-Mulk KCIE (1 January 1881 – 13 October 1936) was the Mehtar (from fa, ) of the princely state of Chitral, and reigned it for 41 years until his death in 1936. He belonged to the royal Katur dynasty, which rule ...

(1839 – 5 April 1842) # Kohandil Khan (5 April 1842 – August 1855) # ''Civil War'' (August – November 1855)

References

History of Kandahar Province History of Kandahar Former political entities in Afghanistan 19th century in Afghanistan {{Afghanistan-hist-stub