afghanistanShah’s own tent, where secrecy was guaranteed, and the ghazis were on
hand in case of trouble. Over a period of several days these nine military
commanders haggled over their stake in the new kingdom and, in order
to secure their endorsement, Ahmad Shah made a number of concessions,
including a pledge that all the clans represented at the meeting would be
exempt in perpetuity from taxation on their land and forcible conscription.
They and their heirs would also have the right to sit on the royal tribal
council. In return, the ulus commanders agreed to supply military levies
in the event of war. Nur Muhammad Khan ‘Alizai, who was still a powerful
figure, was placated for his loss of rank and face by being appointed as the
new mir-i Afghaniha.
Hajji Jamal Khan Barakzai, however, challenged Ahmad Shah’s right to
the throne and demanded he be acknowledged as king, for the Barakzais
were the most numerous and powerful of the ‘Abdali clans of the Helmand
and Kandahar region. Hajji Jamal’s status was also enhanced by his seniority
of age, the fact that he was a substantial landowner – Nadirabad was built
on his family’s land – and by having performed the pilgrimage to Mecca.
Ahmad Shah, on the other hand, was in his early twenties and a stranger
to Kandahar, having been born and brought up in Multan. Furthermore,
though he was a Sarmast Khel Saddozai, his forebears had been sultans of
Herat, not Kandahar. Ahmad Shah’s only acquaintance with Kandahar up
to this point in time had been seven years in the local jail.
The ‘shrine and sheaf ’ motif on a postage stamp, c. 1915. From the reign of Amir
Habib Allah Khan onwards this motif became one of the most emotive symbols
of the Durrani monarchy. On the right is the shrine and sheaf motif as elaborated
under the Musahiban dynasty (1929–73).