Afghan Civil War (1863–1869)

Mohammad Afzal Khan opposed Sher Ali Khan's ascension to the throne and sought help from the local Uzbek rulers of the area. In July 1863 he promised them autonomy in exchange for supporting his march on the Afghan capital.[13] However, he had been the governor of Afghan Turkestan for quite some time and in fact was the primary instigator in the destruction of the Uzbek khanates of the region. As a result, the local rulers rebelled and for the most part sided with Sher Ali Khan throughout the war.[13]

Husain Khan Ming, the ruler of Maimana, defected to Sher Ali Khan and began to attack garrisons around Khairabad and Daulatabad.[13] He was encouraged by the Emir of Bukhara, Muzaffar Khan, who promised a Bukharan army would cross the Amu Darya and liberate the area from the Afghans. At the same time, however, Afzal Khan sent ambassadors to Bukhara on possible assistance for his cause. In early August 1863, the Bukharans sent their own envoy to Takhtapul to discuss the alliance.[13] However, the negotiations failed and Afzal Khan reneged on his promise for autonomy due to widespread revolts in the area, including a revolt by the garrison of Khanabad. According to the Siraj al-Tawarikh, the garrison pelted the door of 'Abd al-Rahman Khan's house and looted property in the town, only being suppressed upon 'Abd al-Rahman Khan's troops arriving at the city.[3]

Afzal Khan forced the ruler of Andkhui, Ghazanfar Khan, to join the campaign against Maimana, disrupting the caravan routes with Bukhara.[13] However, despite clashes between the Afghan and Maimanagi troops, neither side could gain an advantage. Afzal Khan began to lose much ground in the Chahar Wilayat. Fayz Mohammad Khan and Mohammad Zaman Khan, commanders at Sheberghan and Sar-i Pol respectively, defected to Sher Ali Khan.[13][3] Shortly after, Ghazanfar Khan of Andkhui declared his independence and expelled the Afghan garrison from the city. Afzal Khan was forced to recall all troops to Aqcha and defend Balkh against Uzbek incursions. He would soon be faced with a revolt in Qataghan.

The Mir Ataliq of Qunduz, who had been in exile for some time, saw the civil war as an opportunity to take back Qataghan from Afghan domination.[13][3][7] While Sher Ali Khan was still in Herat, the Mir Ataliq sent his son, Sultan Murad, into the area to stir up discontent. 'Abd al-Rahman Khan sent 3 infantry regiments, 1,000 cavalry, 12 field guns, and 2,000 khasadars under the leadership of Mohammad 'Alam Khan and Ghulam Mohammad Khan to suppress the revolt.[3][13] Mohammad 'Alam Khan marched ahead and reached Nahrin before the rest of the army. However, he and his 200 horsemen had ridden into an ambush. 2,000 Uzbek cavalry charged towards him. Mohammad 'Alam Khan's cavalry deserted him until he had only 20 left, and they were all massacred by the Uzbek swords.[3] They attempted to seize Mohammad 'Alam Khan's head but suffered 300 casualties due to the main Afghan army arriving.

The next day, the Afghans faced the 40,000 Qataghani troops in the field. The bitter battle lasted into the evening, and the Afghan forces adopted the British tactic of the infantry square, tearing into Qataghani forces.[13][3] As a result, 10,000 Qataghanis were killed or wounded while only 21 Afghans (Mohammad 'Alam Khan and his companions) were killed and 10 were wounded.[3][13] The battle of Nahrin shattered the revolt and the locals were forced to submit. Sultan Murad fled with 6,000 men (3,000 of which had been sent by the mirs of Badakhshan to aid him), and 3,000 Qataghani troops were taken captive by the Afghans.[3] Afzal Khan fined the region 12 lakh (1.2 million) rupees.[13][3] Some Badakhshani remnants of the rebellion disguised themselves as merchants and had inflicted a number of casualties on the Afghan camp. However, they were eventually executed by being blown from cannons. The Siraj al-Tawarikh accuses them of being thieves but according to Lee, it's more likely that they were guerilla leaders of the revolt.[13]

20 days after the execution, Jahandad Khan of Badakhshan learned of their arrest and sent an envoy to request they be freed. However, the envoy was harshly sent back to Badakhshan. 'Abd al-Rahman Khan sent 3,600 infantry and 3,000 cavalry against Jahandad Khan, first reaching Taleqan and then capturing the town of Farkar.[3] Jahandad Khan had requested Bukharan aid to make the mirdom a Bukharan protectorate, but he was informed that Badakhshan was in Kabul's sphere of influence and he should submit to them, although if they were oppressed by Kabul the Bukharan government would intervene.[13][7] Jahandad Khan was forced into submission and was to pay tribute to the Afghans, aiming to avoid the fate of the Mir Ataliq.[3]

In the end though, by September 1863 Afzal Khan was forced to submit to Sher Ali Khan, as the loss of the Chahar Wilayat showed the reality of the situation. He was forced to proclaim the khutbah and strike coins in Sher Ali Khan's name.[13]

Afzal Khan's submission to Sher 'Ali Khan finally restored, if only temporarily, peace towards the province in the winter of 1863/64. Rumors continued to circle that Afzal Khan would march on Kabul once the Fitr and Nowruz festivals ended.[13] In late February 1864, when Bukharan forces conquered the principality of Kulab, Afzal Khan aided the Bukharan army due to previous Kulabi raids on Qataghan and in return received the submission of the Mir Ataliq, who had fled there when the Qataghan rebellion was crushed a year previously.[13]

By March 1864, the relationship between Afzal Khan and Sher 'Ali Khan would finally explode. The Amir discovered correspondence between Afzal Khan and A'zam Khan, which included notes by A'zam Khan urging Afzal Khan to take the throne, and a letter from Afzal Khan stating that he planned to march towards Kabul around April 24.[13][2] Sher Ali Khan had the conspirators arrested, and on March 20 he held a conference with his closest advisors on what to do with the rebellious Afghan princes. The following day on March 21, Sher Ali Khan sent his son, Sardar Mohammad 'Ali Khan to attack Bajgah and gave Yaqub Khan, governor of Herat, orders to oppose Afzal Khan if he attempted to attack the area.[13] Sher 'Ali Khan also promised the native rulers of Afghan Turkestan autonomy in order for them to support his cause, sending Ishan Uraq to spread anti-Afzalid propaganda in the province.

When Mohammad Afzal Khan heard of Sher Ali Khan's decision, he inserted his own name into the khutbah and marched towards Bajgah in order to reinforce it.[13] He also tried to counter Ishan Uraq's propaganda with his own promises of autonomy, however due to his role in the Afghan conquest of the region, his claims were not regarded as genuine.