Afghanistan: Saddozai Kings & Vaziers 1747-1842 introduces an Afghan tribe led by its charismatic leader, Ahmed Shah Abdali, that transformed a band of warring Afghan tribes into the country that we know today as Afghanistan.
After the Ottoman empire, Afghanistan became the second largest empire of the Muslim world. However, after its formation the subsequent Saddozai kings, in less than a century, squandered away a whole empire to be banished forever from Afghanistan in 1842. The second man to pick up the fallen standard and lead the way was Vizier Usman Khan who, along with his three sons, was knighted for gallantly fighting alongside the British. In this man, the spirit of the First Leader Ahmed Shah Abdali was revived, proving that the Saddozai were tenacious warriors to be admired and respected.
This book is a fascinating, in-depth study into not only the history of Afghanistan, but into why in more recent years it has reverted to tribal warfare and defies international efforts to be welded together into a modern nation state.
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Born on 19th October 1939, Wing Commander Sardar Ahmed Shah Jan has a family tree that dates back to the period of Shah Abbas the Great of Persia. He comes from the Saddozai clan of the Popalzai tribe of Afghanistan, whose forefathers migrated to the Indian sub-continent in 1842. He is the great grandson of Col. Sir Nawab Wazirzada Sardar Muhammed Aslam Khan, K.C.I.E., K.C.V.O. He studied at Lawrence College, Ghora Gali, and Presentation Convent Murree initially, before moving on to study at Burn Hall School, Abbottabad, which is run by Irish priests. He took a degree at Islamia College Peshawar and Mastered in M.A. English from Peshawar University. He taught English at PAF Academy, Risalpur and retired as a Wing Commander in 1984. He writes ‘Letters to the Editor' in the Daily DAWN. Besides this, he is a layman horticulturist and tends to his garden.
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