Dost Mohammad Khan

Emir Dost Mohammad Khan, known as Amir-i Kabir (The Great Amir), was born on December 23, 1793, into the powerful Barakzai clan. Seizing power in Kabul in 1826 following the collapse of the Durrani line, he established a new dynasty that governed Afghanistan for over a century.

When the British invaded Afghanistan in 1839 in the First Anglo-Afghan War to replace him with Shah Shujah, Dost Mohammad fought gallantly before surrendering and being exiled to India. Following the catastrophic annihilation of Elphinstone's British army in the mountain passes in 1842, the British restored Dost Mohammad to the throne in Kabul. He skillfully maintained Afghan independence, signed treaties with the British, and reconquered Herat just weeks before his death in 1863.