afghanistanyoke and ordered the name of the Khan of Bukhara to be read in the
khutba, an action that provided the excuse Dost Muhammad Khan sought
to invade Balkh.
By the mid-1840s the wilayat of Balkh was in turmoil, beset by dynastic
wars, a cholera epidemic and plagues of locusts. The economic situation
was so dire that families were selling their children into slavery in order
to feed themselves. The Chahar Wilayat was being torn apart by sibling
rivalry in the wake of the deaths of Zu’l-fiqar Khan, beglar begi of Sar-i Pul,
Mizrab Khan, wali of Maimana, and Shah Wali Khan, hakim of Andkhui.
As rival claimants in these Uzbek amirates fought each other for suprem-
acy, they sought military support from their neighbours, including Yar
Muhammad in Herat and the Khan of Bukhara. When Ghazanfar Khan
of Andkhui appealed for Bukharan assistance against his rival, Shah Wali
Beg, Nasr Allah Khan passed him over to the Mir Wali, who joined forces
with Ishan Uraq and Ishan Sudur (the Bukharan governors of Balkh and
Aqcha), Shuja’ al-Din, mutawalli of Mazar-i Sharif, and Mahmud Khan,
the new beglar begi of Sar-i Pul. Together they subdued Hakim Khan of
Shibarghan and reinstated Ghazanfar Khan, but as soon as the Mir Wali
withdrew, Shah Wali Khan retook Andkhui, backed by Hukumat Khan,
wali of Maimana, and Hakim Khan of Shibarghan.
Hukumat Khan in Maimana then appealed to Yar Muhammad Khan
for military aid to depose his rival and half-brother, Sher Muhammad
Khan, an appeal that provided the justification for Yar Muhammad Khan
to invade. He marched on Maimana with an army of around 10,000 men,
forced Sher Muhammad Khan to flee for his life and reinstated Hukumat
Khan as wali. Ghazanfar Khan then petitioned Yar Muhammad Khan and
Hukumat Khan to help him depose Shah Wali Khan, to which they agreed.
Andkhui fell after a brief siege and was pillaged by the Herati troops, who
slaughtered the settlement’s Turkman population.
Following this victory, Yar Muhammad Khan marched on Balkh but
its garrison refused to surrender. As winter was already setting in and
with supplies running low, Yar Muhammad decided not to risk besieg-
ing the citadel and ordered his troops to return to Herat. Many of his
soldiers, however, perished from starvation and exposure as they crossed
the snowbound passes of the Murghab watershed. Despite this setback,
in the following year, 1849, Yar Muhammad marched again on Maimana,
but Hukumat Khan had had enough of the Heratis’ depravations and
refused to allow Yar Muhammad to enter his capital. Yar Muhammad
Khan besieged Maimana for the next eleven months but eventually had
to admit defeat and return to Herat. His rampage through the Chahar