THE 



ANNUAL CYCLOPAEDIA. 



A 



ABDURRAHMAN* KHAN, the new 



Ameer of Cabool, is a son of the Ameer Af- 

 zool Khan, who died in 1867, and a grandson of 

 Dost Mohammed, or, as the Afghans still call 

 him, the " Great Ameer," who died in 1863. 

 Even before he was elevated to his present 

 position, he was regarded as one of the most 

 prominent among the numerous descendants 

 of his distinguished grandfather. Of his early 

 life little or nothing is known. He is said to 

 have been born about 1830, and to have taken 

 part in the second campaign in the Punjaub, 

 when Akbar Khan crossed the Indus to aid 

 the Sikhs. He did not come prominently for- 

 ward, however, until a much later period. In 

 1863, the death of his grandfather, Dost Mo- 

 hammed, was the signal for the commence- 

 ment of disturbances, which in the following 

 year declared themselves in a civil war. The 

 first campaign between Shere Ali, whom Dost 

 Mohammed had selected as his successor, and 

 the elder brother, Afzool Khan, Abdurrah- 

 man's father, closed with the discomfiture of 

 Afzool, who was nothing loath after his defeat 

 to come to an understanding with his success- 

 ful brother. An agreement was accordingly 

 arranged between them at Balkh, and, while 

 Afzool swore fealty to Shere Ali on the Koran, 

 the latter took a similar oath to spare Afzool's 

 life. The arrangement was of short duration, 

 owing chiefly, it is believed, to Abdurrahman, 

 who was utterly dissatisfied with the surren- 

 der of his father's pretensions. At all events, 

 the tranquillity of the camp of Balkh was soon 

 disturbed by the arrest of Afzool and the flight 

 of Abdurrahman. While Shere Ali returned 

 with his captive brother to Cabool to inarch 

 against other rebels, Abdurrahman sought ref- 



* A genealogical table of the family of Dost Mohammed, 

 which shows the relation of Abdurrahman to the other mem- 

 bers of the family who are mentioned in the former and the 

 present volumes of the "Annual Cyclopaedia,' 1 is given in the- 

 article AFGHANISTAN. When first mentioned in the history of 

 the civil wars of his country, his name was frequently given 

 as Rahman, or Rhainan Khan. (See Annual Cyclopaedia for 

 18T4, p. 3.) 



VOL. XX. 1 A 



uge in Bokhara, where he was well received. 

 He remained there until after Shere Ali had 

 driven Azim Khan into English territory; 

 but when he found that Shere Ali, instead 

 of following up his successes, was sunk in a 

 state of apathy at Candahar, he crossed the 

 Oxus with an irregular force and easily es- 

 tablished his authority in Balkh. Abdurrah- 

 man's success north of the Hindoo Koosh did 

 not suffice to rouse Shere Ali to a sense of 

 the dangers which surrounded him. With Ca- 

 bool as well as Candahar in his possession, he 

 remained apparently of opinion that the period 

 for reestablishing his authority in the outlying 

 portions of the state might be deterred until a 

 more convenient season. Abdurrahman, who 

 measured the situation more correctly, struck 

 hard and quick. In February, 1866, he had 

 been joined by his uncle Azim, and was in the 

 close neighborhood of Cabool, held at that time 

 by Ibrahim, Shere Ali's second son. On the 2d 

 of March Cabool surrendered, and Azim was 

 installed as temporary ruler. Soon after a 

 decided victory over Shere Ali's forces was 

 gained at Shekabad, of which the immediate 

 consequences were the release of Afzool and 

 the capture of Ghuznee. Afzool then became 

 the recognized Ameer at Cabool, and his son 

 was looked upon as the Hotspur of the con- 

 federacy. His right to this title was shown 

 still more conclusively at the crowning victory 

 at Khelat-i-Ghilzai in the early part of 1867. 

 Afzool, after being proclaimed Ameer at Bala- 

 Hissar, soon degenerated into a drunkard, and 

 his death was precipitated, if not caused, by 

 the excesses which he committed after his re- 

 lease from confinement. Azim also had be- 

 come a petty tyrant, who in the distribution 

 of the chief posts secured the most important 

 for himself and his son Surwar. After Afzool's 

 death there was a critical moment when it was 

 doubtful whether Abdurrahman would recog- 

 nize Azim as Ameer. He finally concluded, 

 however, to take the oath of allegiance to his 

 uncle, but he quitted Cabool in disgust, and 



