nadir shah and the afghans, 1732–47sure the fugitives did not leave. When Shah Zaman found out he had
been betrayed, he remonstrated with Mullah ‘Ashiq about his breach of
nanawatai and offered him treasure and other rewards in return for his
freedom, only for his entreaties to fall on deaf ears. Realizing the fate that
awaited him, Shah Zaman sought to deny Mahmud legitimacy by hiding
the Koh-i Nur diamond in the wall of the qal‘a, where it remained until it
was recovered several years later by Shah Shuja‘ al-Mulk. A few days later
some of Payinda Khan’s sons arrived with a surgeon, who proceeded to
lance the king’s eyes. Shah Zaman and Wafadar Khan were taken to Kabul,
where Mahmud had been proclaimed king. Fateh Khan then put Wafadar
Khan and his brother to death with his own hands and Shah Zaman was
confined in the palace of the Upper Bala Hisar. The ex-king later managed
to escape and fled to Bukhara, but finding he was not welcome there either,
he made his way to Ludhiana and joined his brother Shah Shuja‘.
The change of head of state failed to end the civil war and by the time
Shah Mahmud took power all semblance of central authority had broken
down, with the kingdom divided into a plethora of semi-independent
fiefdoms ruled by tribal khans and amirs. Shah Zaman’s cause was taken
up by his brother Shuja‘ al-Mulk, governor of Peshawar, but when he tried
to oust Shah Mahmud from Kabul he was defeated. Beyond the Hindu
Kush, the Khan of Bukhara made another attempt to occupy Balkh and
the invasion was repulsed only with great difficulty.
In the winter of 1801 a certain ‘Abd al-Rahim, who claimed descent
from Mir Wa’is Hotaki, declared himself king, occupied Kandahar and
besieged Ghazni, while a second army of Tokhi Ghilzais marched down the
Logar to attack Kabul. In March 1802 two battles took place on the same
day. In the first encounter, at Shewaki in the lower Logar, the Qizilbash
massacred the Tokhis and Shah Mahmud celebrated his victory by making
a pyramid from their skulls. The second encounter took place at Pul-i
Sangi on the Ghazni–Kabul road, which led to the defeat and death of
‘Abd al-Rahim Hotak. Having put down the rebellion, Fateh Khan ordered
every Ghilzai stronghold between Kandahar and Ghazni to be demolished.
Shah Mahmud, the Persian siege of Herat and anti-Shi‘a riotsQaisar Mirza continued to cling to power in Herat for a few months after
the fall of Shah Zaman, but he fled to Persia when his spies told him that
his wazir, Afzal Khan, was planning to assassinate him. Wazir Afzal Khan
then sent envoys to Firoz al-Din Mirza, Qaisar’s brother, asking him to
become ruler of Herat but he refused, declaring he had become a Sufi.