The events leading to the formation of Afghanistan dates back to a popular revolt under the rebel Mirwais Hotak. Afghanistan, the nation of various tribes and
ethnicities was not bound by the laws of a single statehood until well into the
18th century. How these people came to be united as one is
remarkable, for on their way stood obstacles of east-persia, south-Mughal
Empire, North-turkic tribes, as well several dozens of small kingdoms within
the region. Yet within a short span of time, the revolt of Mirwais would serve as an example of courage and his fellow Pashtuns would embark on the same path to creating the Afghan Empire.
At the time of Hotak, the Safavids reigned from 16th
century to 18th century. Afghanistan was well known at the time of
Safavid reign, comprising one of their eastern territories was the city of
Kandahar and Herat. The mixed Turkic-persian rulers knew these distant cousins
as their own, who spoke the same language and lived similar to them. However,
with the slight differences in religion, that is the Safavids were Shiate and
their eastern subjects were Sunni. The Safavids were not found of the Sunnis,
and had previous clashes with Sunni nations such as the Ottoman Empire. Their
hatred for the Sunnis would reach new heights under the reign of Sultan Husayn,
who was known for his harsh policies against minority sects. The Sultan
forcefully converted the followers of Zoroastrianism and decided to enforce his
policies on the eastern regions. In 1704, he appointed Gurgin Khan, a Georgian
noble to suppress the rebellions in Kandahar province and to force mass
conversions. Gurgin was relentless in his campaign and ruthlessly suppressed
the revolts. One of his prisoners was Mirwais Hotak, who would in
five years defeat Gurgin, capture Kandahar and separate the centuries old
connection between eastern Persia(Afghanistan) and inner Persia.
When young Mirwais revolted, he
dealt with Gurgin on an even level by ordering an assassination. After the governor was displaced, the Safavid
power was not only crushed, but also proven humiliating. When relief forces under
Gurgin’s nephew arrived in outskirts of Kandahar in 1711, the army faced a
horrible defeat with the almost the entire forces annihilated. Another
expedition by the general Rustam Khan was also crushed, thus securing the whole
of Kandahar province under Mirwais’ control. For the next few years the successors
of Mirwais would topple the Safavid power and seize the capital of the Empire,
thereby ending centuries old reign of Safavid rule over Afghanistan. The Afghan
rule over Persia would be brief, from 1709-1738. The revolt of Mirwais would
trigger a political separation of the peoples of Afghanistan and Persia, who
shared common culture and history for thousands of years; modern Afghanistan
would emerge with growing differences to Persia.
Mirwais would be known as the
liberator, similar to George Washington and create the path for the creation of
the modern state of Afghanistan. His people would continue to march for freedom, with a leader that would accomplish far more territory and support than Mirwais ever did. That leader would be Ahmad Shah Durrani, and his territories would stretch from Mashhad, Iran, to Northern India. The power and
prestige of the Durrani Empire would strike anxiety to even the British Empire,
who saw the Afghan Empire as a major threat to power in India. The Afghan
Empire would serve as one of the major Islamic Empires of the 18th
century, alongside the Ottomans and the Mughals.
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