Shuja Shah

From Freepedia

Shuja Shah (Shoja Shah, Shah Shujah, Shujah al-Mulk) (? - April 1842) was of the Sadozai line of the Abdali group of Pashtun clans. A son of Timur Shah of the Durrani dynasty. He ousted his brother, Mahmud Shah, from power, and ruled Afghanistan from 1803 to 1809.

Shuja allied Afghanistan with the United Kingdom in 1809, as a means of defending against a combined invasion of India by Napoleon and Russia.

He was deposed by his predecessor Mahmud Shah in 1809 and went into exile. He stayed first in Punjab and later in Ludhiana.

In 1833 he struck a deal with Maharajah Ranjit Singh of the Punjab: He was allowed to march his troops through Punjab, and in return he would cede Peshawar to the Sikhs if they could manage to take it. In a concerted campaign the following year, Shuja marched on Kandahar while the Sikhs, commanded by general Hari Singh Nalwa attacked Peshawar. In July, Shuja Shah was narrowly defeated at Kandahar by the Afghans under Dost Mahommed Khan and fled. The Sikhs on their hand seized Peshawar.

In 1838 he had gained the support of the British and Punjab for an invasion of Afghanistan. This triggered the First Anglo-Afghan War (1838-42). Shuja was restored to the throne by the British in August 1839, almost 30 years after his demise, but did not remain in power when the British left. He was assassinated in April 1842