Wazīr Akbar Khān (

Pashto Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani (). Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official langua ...

Dari Dari (, , ), also known as Dari Persian (, ), is the variety of the Persian language spoken in Afghanistan. Dari is the term officially recognised and promoted since 1964 by the Afghan government for the Persian language,Lazard, G.Darī ...

: ; 1816-1847), born Mohammad Akbar Khān () and also known as Amīr Akbar Khān (), was an

Afghan Afghan may refer to: *Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia *Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity **Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pash ...

prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. ...

, general,

emir Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cer ...

for a year, and finally wazir/heir apparent to

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-ye ...

until his death in 1847. His fame began with the 1837 Battle of Jamrud, while attempting to regain Afghanistan's second capital

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

from the

Sikh Empire The Sikh Empire was a state originating in the Indian subcontinent, formed under the leadership of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who established an empire based in the Punjab. The empire existed from 1799, when Maharaja Ranjit Singh captured Lahor ...

. Wazir Akbar Khan was militarily active in the

First Anglo-Afghan War The First Anglo-Afghan War ( fa, جنگ اول افغان و انگلیس) was fought between the British Empire and the Emirate of Kabul from 1838 to 1842. The British initially successfully invaded the country taking sides in a succession di ...

, which lasted from 1839 to 1842. He is prominent for his leadership of the national party in

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 #Districts, 22 municipal dist ...

from 1841 to 1842, and his massacre of Elphinstone's army at the

Gandamak Gandamak is a village of Afghanistan located between Kabul and Jalalabad, from Jalalabad on the old road to Kabul. History During the retreat from Kabul of General Elphinstone's army in 1842, a hill near Gandamak was the scene of the Battle of ...

pass before the only survivor, the assistant surgeon William Brydon, reached the besieged garrison at Jalalabad on 13 January 1842. Wazir Akbar Khan became the emir of Afghanistan in May 1842, and ruled until Dost Mohammad Khan's return in 1843. In 1847 Wazir Akbar Khan died of

cholera Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium '' Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting an ...

Early life

Akbar was born as Mohammad Akbar Khan in 1816 to Emir

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...

and Mermən Khadija

Popalzai Popalzai or Popalzay ( ps, پوپلزی), also known as Popal, are Durrani (formerly called Abdali or Bor Tareen) Pashtuns of Afghanistan. The Popalzai are part of the Zirak confederation of Pashtun tribes. The origin of the Abdali forefat ...

. Dost Mohammad Barakzai had 16 wives, 27 sons (including Wazir Akbar Khan) and 25 daughters.

Adult life

In 1836 Dost Mohammad Barakzai's Muslim forces, under the command of his son Wazir Akbar Khan, fought the Sikhs at the Battle of Jamrud, fifteen kilometers west of present-day

. Dost Mohammad Barakzai did not follow up this triumph by retaking Peshawar, however, but instead contacted

Lord Auckland Baron Auckland is a title in both the Peerage of Ireland and the Peerage of Great Britain. The first creation came in 1789 when the prominent politician and financial expert William Eden was made Baron Auckland in the Peerage of Ireland. I ...

, the new British

governor-general Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

, for help in fighting the

. With this letter, Dost Mohammad formally set the stage for British intervention in

, which would lead to the so-called "

Great Game The Great Game is the name for a set of political, diplomatic and military confrontations that occurred through most of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century – involving the rivalry of the British Empire and the Russian Empi ...

" with

Imperial Russia The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. The ...

for control over influence in Afghanistan. Akbar Khan led a revolt in Kabul against the

British Indian British Indians are citizens of the United Kingdom (UK) whose ancestral roots are from India. This includes people born in the UK who are of Indian origin as well as Indians who have migrated to the UK. Today, Indians comprise about 1.4 mil ...

mission of William McNaughten,

Alexander Burnes Captain Sir Alexander Burnes (16 May 1805 – 2 November 1841) was a Scottish explorer, military officer, and diplomat associated with the Great Game. He was nicknamed Bokhara Burnes for his role in establishing contact with and e ...

and their garrison of 4,500 men. In November 1841, he besieged

Major-General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

William Elphinstone William Elphinstone (143125 October 1514) was a Scottish statesman, Bishop of Aberdeen and founder of the University of Aberdeen. Biography He was born in Glasgow. His father, also William Elphinstone, later became the first Dean of the Fa ...

's force in Kabul. Elphinstone accepted a safe-conduct for his British force and about 12,000 Indian camp followers to Peshawar; they were ambushed and annihilated in January 1842. At least one set of British war memoirs bore witness to Akbar Khan’s double dealing, saying that, during the retreat, Akbar Khan could be heard alternately commanding his men, in Persian to desist from, and in

to continue, firing. Portrait of Akhbar Khan ILN 1842-0611-0008

In May 1842, Akbar Khan captured Bala Hissar in Kabul and became the new emir of Afghanistan. When Dost Mohammad Khan returned and became the emir in 1843, Akbar Khan was such in a powerful position that he managed to become the wazir and heir apparent to Dost Mohammad. In September 1847 there was a cholera outbreak in Kabul. Akbar Khan contracted the disease and died shortly after.

In fiction

The historical figure Akbar Khan plays a major role in

George MacDonald Fraser George MacDonald Fraser (2 April 1925 – 2 January 2008) was a British author and screenwriter. He is best known for a series of works that featured the character Flashman. Biography Fraser was born to Scottish parents in Carlisle, England, ...

's novel '' Flashman''.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Wazir Akbar 1816 births 1847 deaths 19th-century Afghan monarchs Emirs of Afghanistan Barakzai dynasty Afghan military personnel People of the First Anglo-Afghan War Pashtun people 19th-century Afghan politicians 19th-century monarchs in Asia

Early life

Adult life

In fiction

See also

References

External links