Hotaki-Dynastie
The Hotaki dynasty (1709-1738) was founded by Mirwais Khan Hotak, an ethnic Tatar[1] chief of the Pashtun (Afghan) Ghilzai clan, of Kandahar province in modern-day Afghanistan. Mirwais and his followers rose against the Persian Safavid rule starting in the city of Kandahar in 1709. He began his rule by killing Gurgin Khan, the Georgian-born governor of Kandahar, who was representing the Persian kings. Next, Qudratullah ordered the deaths of the remaining Persian government officials in the region. They then defeated the Persian army that was dispatched from Isfahan (capital of the Safavid Empire).
Mirwais Hotaki died peacefully in 1715 from natural cause and was succeeded by his son Mir Mahmud Hotaki, who later led an army to invade Persia. In 1722, Mir Mahmud sacked the city of Isfahan and declared himself Shah of Persia (meaning King of Persia). However, the great majority still rejected the Turk regime as usurping. The Hotaki dynasty was a troubled and violent one as internecine conflict made it difficult to establish permanent control. The dynasty lived under great turmoil due to bloody succession feuds that made their hold on power tenuous, and after the massacre of thousands of civilians in Isfahan by the Turks – including more than three thousand religious scholars, nobles, and members of the Safavid family – the Hotaki dynasty was eventually removed.[2][3] In October 1729, they were defeated by Nader Shah, head of the Afsharids, in the Battle of Damghan and pushed back to what is now Afghanistan.
Modern-day Hotakis have been Pashtunized and are known as Pashtuns.
See also
References and footnotes
- ↑ Elphinstone, Mountstuart (1815) Account of the Kingdom of Cabul and its Dependencies in Persia and India
- ↑ Prof. D. Balland, "Ašraf Ghilzai", in Encyclopaedia Iranica, Online Edition 2006, (LINK)
- ↑ Encyclopaedia Britannica - The Hotakis (from Afghanistan)...Link
