Shah Shuja

Family

Shuja Shah was the son of Timur Shah Durrani of the Durrani Empire. He ousted his brother, Mahmud Shah, from power, and ruled Afghanistan from 1803 to 1809.
Marriages[edit]
A daughter of Fath Khan Tokhi
Wafa Begum
A daughter of Sayyid Amir Haidar Khan; Amir of Bokhara
A daughter of Khan Bahadur Khan Malikdin Khel
A daughter of Sardar Haji Rahmatu'llah Khan Sardozai; Wazir
Sarwar Begum
Bibi Mastan; of Indian origin
Career[edit]
Depositions, imprisonments and alliances[edit]

Shuja Shah was the governor of Herat and Peshawar from 1798 to 1801. He proclaimed himself as King of Afghanistan in October 1801 (after the deposition of his brother Zaman Shah), but only properly ascended to the throne on July 13, 1803.

Shuja allied Afghanistan with the United Kingdom in 1809, as a means of defending against a combined invasion of India by Napoleon and Russia.


On May 3, 1809, he was overthrown by his predecessor Mahmud Shah and went into exile in India, where he was captured by Jahandad Khan Bamizai and imprisoned at Attock (1811–2) and then taken to by Atta Muhammad Khan Kashmir (1812–3). When Mahmud Shah's vizier Fateh Khan invaded Kashmir alongside Maharaja Ranjit Singh's army, he chose to leave with the Sikh army. He stayed in Lahore from 1813 to 1814. In return for his freedom, he handed the Koh-i-Nor diamond to Maharaja Ranjit Singh and gained his freedom. He stayed first in Punjab and later in Ludhiana with Shah Zaman. The place where he stayed in Ludhiana is presently occupied by Main Post Office near Mata Rani Chowk and a white marble stone inside the building marking his stay there can be seen.

In 1833 he struck a deal with Maharaja Ranjit Singh of the Punjab: He was allowed to march his troops through Punjab, and in return he would cede Peshawar to the Sikhs if they could manage to take it. In a concerted campaign the following year, Shuja marched on Kandahar while the Sikhs, commanded by General Hari Singh Nalwa attacked Peshawar. In July, Shuja Shah was narrowly defeated at Kandahar by the Afghans under Dost Mohammad Khan and fled. The Sikhs on their part occupied Peshawar.

In 1838 he had gained the support of the British and the Sikh Maharaja Ranjit Singh for wresting power from Dost Mohammad Khan Barakzai. This triggered the First Anglo-Afghan War (1838–1842). Shuja was restored to the throne by the British on August 7, 1839,[2] almost 30 years after his deposition, but did not remain in power when the British left. He was assassinated by Shuja ud-Daula, on April 5, 1842.[3]

thepukhtunkhwa.blogspot.com