Ahmad Shah Durrani

Emir of the Durrani Empire

c. 1722 Herat, Hotak Empire4 or Multan, Mughal Empire5 6 7 9 10 excessive citations

4 June 1772 (50)1 Maruf, Kandahar Province, Durrani Empire

NamesAhmad Shah Abdali Durr-i-Durrān

For the Afghan cricket umpire, see Ahmed Shah Durrani (umpire). Founder of the Afghan Durrani Empire (r. 1747–1772) Padishah, Ghazi, Shāh Durr-i-Durrān ("King, Pearl of Pearls"), Father of the Nation (Afghanistan) Ahmad Shah Durrani احمد شاه دراني Padishah, Ghazi, Shāh Durr-i-Durrān ("King, Pearl of Pearls"), Father of the Nation (Afghanistan)1st Emir of the Durrani EmpireReign1747–1772CoronationJuly 1747PredecessorPosition establishedSuccessorTimur Shah DurraniBornc. 1722 Herat, Hotak Empire (present-day Afghanistan) or Multan, Mughal Empire (present-day Pakistan)Died4 June 1772 (aged 50) Maruf, Kandahar Province, Durrani EmpireBurialTomb of Ahmad Shah Durrani, Kandahar, Afghanistan 31°37′10″N 65°42′25″E  /  31.61944°N 65.70694°E  / 31.61944; 65.70694 Coordinates: 31°37′10″N 65°42′25″E  /  31.61944°N 65.70694°E  / 31.61944; 65.70694 SpouseHazrat Begum Iffat-un-Nissa BegumDynastyDurraniFatherMuhammad Zaman Khan AbdaliMotherZarghuna AnaReligionSunni Islam Ahmad Shāh Durrānī (c. 1722 – 4 June 1772) (Pashto/Dari: احمد شاه دراني ), also known as Ahmad Khān Abdālī (احمد خان ابدالي ), was the founder of the Durrani Empire and is regarded as the founder of the modern state of Afghanistan. In July 1747, Ahmad Shah was appointed as the King of Afghanistan by a loya jirga in Kandahar, where he set up his capital. Assisted by a council of nine advisers from various Afghan tribes, Ahmad Shah pushed east towards the Mughal and Maratha Empires of India, west towards the disintegrating Afsharid Empire of Iran, and north towards the Khanate of Bukhara of Turkestan. Within a few years, he extended his control from Khorasan in the west to Kashmir and North India in the east, and from the Amu Darya in the north to the Arabian Sea in the south. Soon after accession, Ahmad Shah adopted the epithet Shāh Durr-i-Durrān, "King, Pearl of Pearls," and changed the name of his Abdali tribe to "Durrani" after himself. The Tomb of Ahmad Shah Durrani is located in the center of Kandahar, adjacent to Kirka Sharif (Shrine of the Cloak), which contains a cloak believed to have been worn by the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Afghans often refer to Ahmad Shah as Ahmad Shāh Bābā, "Ahmad Shah the Father".