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Wazīr Akbar Khān (Pashto/Dari: وزير اکبر خان; 1816 [citation needed] –1847), born Mohammad Akbar Khān (محمد اکبر خان) and also known as Amīr Akbar Khān (امير اکبر خان), was a Barakzai prince, general, emir for a year, and finally wazir/heir apparent to Dost Mohammad Khan until his death in 1847.
Wazir Akbar Khan (وزیر اکبر خان) is a neighbourhood in northern Kabul, Afghanistan, forming part of District 10. It is named after the 19th century Afghan Emir Wazir Akbar Khan. It is one of the wealthiest parts of Kabul.
Wazīr Akbar Khān, born Mohammad Akbar Khān and also known as Amīr Akbar Khān, was a Barakzai prince, general, emir for a year, and finally wazir/heir apparent to Dost Mohammad Khan until his death in 1847. His fame began with the 1837 Battle of Jamrud, while attempting to regain Afghanistan's second capital Peshawar from the Sikh Empire.
- Background
- Occupation
- Afghan Uprising
- Elphinstone's Army
- Retreat and Massacre
- Aftermath
- Depictions
- See Also
- References
- External Links
In 1838 the East India Company feared an increased Russian influence in Afghanistan after Dost Mohammad Barakzai had seized power from former ruler Shuja Shah Durrani in 1834. Dost Mohammad had rejected earlier overtures from Russia, but after Lord Auckland, the Governor-General of India, tried to force Afghan foreign policy under British guidance,...
In August 1839 the British, under pressure from Shah Shuja, refrained from remaining in occupation of Kabul's citadel, instead establishing their military cantonments 2.5 kilometres (1+1⁄2miles) outside Kabul. This decision, made on diplomatic grounds, would prove to be a grave military error, as the garrison was sited in a defensively weak positio...
On 2 November 1841, Akbar Khan proclaimed a general revolt and the citizens of Kabul quickly followed suit. They stormed the house of Sir Alexander Burnes, one of the senior British political officers, and killed him and his staff. Both Elphinstone and Macnaghten were caught by surprise. By now the East India Company had only 4,500 men in and aroun...
Elphinstone commanded a column consisting of one British infantry battalion (the 44th Regiment of Foot), three regiments of regular Bengal Native Infantry (the 5th, 37th and 54th BNI), one regiment of Shah Shujah's Levy (a British-subsidised force of Indian troops recruited for Afghan service), Anderson's Irregular Horse, the 5th Bengal Light Caval...
At first light on 6 January Elphinstone's column began slowly to move out of Kabul leaving Shuja Shah Durrani and his followers to their fate. As Akbar Khan had guaranteed safety to all concerned, the sick, wounded and infirm were also left behind. However once the rearguard finally left the cantonments, Afghans quickly moved in and began firing at...
The annihilation left Britain and India in shock and the Governor General, Lord Auckland, suffered an apparent stroke upon hearing the news. In the autumn of 1842, an "Army of Retribution" led by Sir George Pollock, with William Nott and Robert Sale commanding divisions, leveled the great bazaar and all the larger buildings of Kabul.Sale personally...
German novelist and poet Theodor Fontane in 1858 wrote the ballad Das Trauerspiel von Afghanistan (The Tragedy of Afghanistan). British writer George MacDonald Fraser describes this event in the first book of his Flashman Papers series, Flashman. Victoria (2017) episode "A Soldier's Daughter" dramatizes Brydon's survival in the retreat. In the show...
Arbuthnot, Alexander John (1886). "Brydon, William" . In Stephen, Leslie (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 7. London: Smith, Elder & Co. p. 166.Colley, Linda (2010) [1st pub. 2007 Knopf Doubleday]. Captives – Britain, Empire and the World 1600–1850. Random House. ISBN 978-0-7126-6528-5. OCLC 1004570815.Dalrymple, William (2013). Return of a King; the Battle for Afghanistan. London: Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-1-4088-1830-5. OCLC 955470310.Herrick, Claire E. J. "Brydon, William (1811–1873)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/3811. (Subscription or UK public library mem...Account of the death march on The Baldwin Project- 6-13 January 1842
- Afghan victory
One hospital, Wazir Akbar Khan, received approximately 60 injured people and 145 dead bodies, according to a doctor from the emergency ward who asked not to be named over safety concerns.
Mohammad Akbar Khan (18131845) was an Afghan Prince, a general and a tribal leader. He was active in the First Anglo-Afghan War, which lasted from 1839 to 1842. He is prominent for his...
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Wazīr Akbar Khān (Pashto/Dari: وزير اکبر خان; 1816–1847), born Mohammad Akbar Khān (محمد اکبر خان) and also known as Amīr Akbar Khān (امير اکبر خان), was a Barakzai prince, general, emir for a year, and finally wazir/heir apparent to Dost Mohammad Khan until his death in 1847.
