Ahmad Shah Durrani

Ahmad Shah Durrani

(born c. 1722, Multan, Punjab—died Oct. 16?, 1772, Toba Ma'ruf, Afg.) Founder of modern Afghanistan. The son of an Afghan chief, he became shah in 1747 on the death of the Persian conqueror Nadir Shah, in whose army he had served. He proceeded to invade India nine times over the next 22 years in an attempt to control the trade routes between northern India and central and western Asia and became ruler of an empire that extended from the Amu Darya to the Indian Ocean and from Khorasan to present-day northern India. His hold on the Punjab, governed by his son Timur Shah, was weakened by rebellions at home, and he ultimately lost control of it to the Sikhs. Much of his empire disintegrated after his death.