afghanistanhis name, and not that of his grandfather, Hayat Khan, appear on the new
coinage and be recited in the khutba. 45
Once confirmed as Herat’s new ruler, Sultan Shah Muhammad Khan
marched out to attack Mashhad, but while he was away Qasim Khan’s
father, Sa’id Khan, organized a conspiracy to depose him. Shah Muhammad
broke off the siege of Mashhad and on his return to Herat executed around
a hundred leading ‘Abdalis on suspicion of involvement in the plot. Two
years later Zu’l-fiqar Khan, the eldest surviving son of Muhammad Zaman
Khan who was governor of Farah, marched against Herat, but again the
‘Abdali elders intervened and persuaded both men to step aside in favour of
‘Abd Allah Khan’s younger son, Allah Yar Khan. Sultan Shah Muhammad
Khan, forced to abdicate, left for Multan while Zu’l-fiqar Khan returned
to Farah.
When Allah Yar Khan arrived in Herat from Multan he was immedi-
ately entangled in a web of intrigue. Allah Yar Khan was a Khudakka Khel
Saddozai, so Zu’l-fiqar Khan in Farah, who was from the rival Sarmast
Khel lineage, refused to accept his appointment and was supported by
‘Abd al-Ghani Khan, son of Khalu Khan Alakozai. For the next six months
Herat became a battleground with rival factions fighting in the streets
and plundering villages and trade caravans. Eventually the ‘Abdali elders
intervened once more and divided the sultanate between the two rivals:
Zu’l-fiqar Khan retained Farah, while Allah Yar Khan was sent packing
to Maruchak. What evidence there is suggests Herat was governed by a
council of tribal elders.
This arrangement lasted less than a year. At the end of 1726 General
Nadir Quli Khan, having radically transformed the Persian army into a
professional force, took Mashhad and threatened to march on Herat. The
‘Abdali leaders responded by recalling Allah Yar Khan and put him in
charge of the city’s defences. In October 1727 Nadir Quli overran the fron-
tier post of Sangan, massacring its defenders and defeating a relief column,
only to return to Mashhad in order to deal with a challenge to his power
from Fath ‘Ali Khan Qajar and Shah Tahmasp. Nadir Quli quickly put
down the revolt, reducing Shah Tahmasp to a mere puppet in the process,
and in May 1729 set out again to attack Herat.
In another encounter at Kafir Qal‘a, during which Nadir Quli person-
ally led a counter-charge against the ‘Abdali cavalry, the Afghans were
defeated. Following two further defeats, Allah Yar Khan sued for peace
only to change his mind when he heard that Zu’l-fiqar Khan was march-
ing north with a combined force of ‘Abdalis and Ghilzais. The two men,
though, failed to coordinate their attack and Nadir Quli picked off each