nadir shah and the afghans, 1732–47flight, there was chaos in their camp and Qaisar Mirza, taking advantage
of the confusion, attacked and routed the Persians.
Following this victory Shah Zaman resumed campaigning in the
Punjab and eventually recaptured Lahore. In an attempt to divide the Sikhs,
he appointed a nineteen-year-old Sikh, Ranjit Singh, as nawab of Lahore
and returned to Peshawar. All along the road to the Jhelum river the Sikh
army harried the Afghans and then, while attempting to cross the river, a
sudden surge of water caused by exceptionally heavy rains high up in the
catchment swept away thousands of men and supplies and bogged down
the heavy artillery in the mud. When Shah Zaman and the remnants of
his army reached Kandahar in late 1799 they were exhausted, but any hope
the king may have had of spending the winter peacefully recuperating
were quickly dashed.
The death of Wazir Payinda Khan Barakzai and the fall
of Shah ZamanTowards the end of his reign Timur Shah had become increasingly
concerned at the power wielded by Wazir Payinda Khan. In an attempt
to reduce his influence he appointed Fath Allah Khan, a Kamran Khel
Saddozai and brother-in-law of Shuja‘ Khan Saddozai, as his wazir. 18 Better
known by the title Wafadar Khan, Fath Allah Khan and his family were
indebted to Timur Shah for the recapture of Multan and re-establishing
his family as subadars of the province. When Fath Allah Khan died in 1782
he was succeeded by his son Rahmat Allah Khan, who inherited the title
of Wafadar Khan. After Shah Zaman ascended the throne he confirmed
Rahmat Allah Khan as his wazir, an action that aroused the jealousy of
Payinda Khan, who claimed he had the hereditary right to the highest
office of state under the agreement made between Ahmad Shah Durrani
and Hajji Jamal Khan Barakzai. He was even angrier because Shah Zaman
would not have become king had it not been for his efforts in securing the
support of the Qizilbash.
Shah Zaman gave Wafadar Khan a free hand and trusted him implic-
itly, overlooking his blatant corruption and his enmity with Payinda
Khan. Wafadar Khan even went to the extent of confiscating jagirs
gifted to Hajji Jamal Khan’s family by Ahmad Shah. Matters came to a
head in the winter of 1799/1800 while Shah Zaman was recuperating in
Kandahar. According to the ‘official’ version of events, Payinda Khan and
Muhammad ‘Azim Khan Alakozai, supported by Nur Muhammad Khan
Baburi, ’Amin al-Mulk, Arsala Khan, the head of the Jawanshir Qizilbash,