The Principality of Kandahar () was a state that existed in

Kandahar Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a List of cities in Afghanistan, 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 ...

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 Durra ...

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

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

-based half-brother of the Kandahari Dil brothers,

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 Kandahar and its surroundings and declared independence. Sher Dil Khan was in charge of the military in the principality. The rule of the four brothers was very unpopular. Sher Dil Khan was supposed to be in charge of Kandahar's walls but after his death in 1826, the brothers fought each other and allowed the city's walls to fall into decay. In 1842 Kohan Dil Khan, Mehr Dil Khan, and Rahim Dil Khan left their exile in Kerman and set out towards Kandahar. They occupied Kandahar and re-established the principality. In the aftermath of the First Anglo-Afghan War, Kohan Dil Khan aimed to expand his influence into Sistan, which had fractured into a number of tribal fiefdoms. As part of this move, Kohan Dil 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 Safēd ...

under

Yar Mohammad Khan Alakozai '' Yar Mohammad Khan Alakozai bin Abdullah Khan () was the vizier of the Principality of Herat from 1829 to 1842, and the ruler of Herat from 1842 until 1851. He was born in 1790 into the Alakozai tribe. In 1829, he became vizier of Herat. In 184 ...

also claimed Sistan as part of his domain, and this would cause clashes between both powers. in 1855, Kohan Dil Khan died, sparking a succession crisis between Rahim Dil Khan, and the sons of Kohan Dil.

capitalized off of this period of anarchy and conquered the Principality in 1855.

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 Province, Helmand and encompasses the ap ...

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, 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 la ...

. 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 ...

of Uruzgan paid tribute to the principality.

Sindh Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...

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 were 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 Kandahar during the reign of Pur Dil Khan, the division of the principality seems to have been as follows: * Pur Dil Khan (in possession of the district of

and its surroundings) * Kohan Dil Khan (controlled the frontier with

and the lands of Garmsir,

, Uruzgan, and the Alizais, Nurzais, and

living there) * Mehr Dil 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). Af ...

tribes) * Rahim Dil Khan (controlled the districts of

, Pishin, and Shorawak)

Rulers

# Sher Dil Khan (1818 – July 1826) # Pur Dil Khan (July 1826 – 1830) # Kohan Dil 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 ruled t ...

(1839 – 5 April 1842) # Kohan Dil 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