Editing Abdur Rahman Khan (section)

==Background and early career==
Before his death in [[Herat]], on 9 June 1863, Abdur Rahman's grandfather, [[Dost Mohammad Khan]], nominated his third son, [[Sher Ali Khan]], as his successor, passing over the two elder half brothers of Sher Ali, [[Mohammad Afzal Khan|Afzal Khan]] and [[Mohammad Azam Khan|Azam Khan]]. At first, the new Amir was quietly recognized. But after a few months, Afzal Khan raised an [[insurrection]] in the north of the country, where he had been governing when his father died. This began a fierce internecine conflict for power between Dost Mohammad's sons, which lasted for nearly five years.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=37}} The [[Musahiban]] are descendants of [[Dost Mohammad Khan]]'s older brother, [[Sultan Mohammad Khan]].<ref>{{cite book |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title= The Far East and Australasia 2003 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=LclscNCTz9oC&pg=PR7|publisher= Eur|page= 62|date= 2002|isbn= 1-85743-133-2}}</ref>

Described by the American scholar and explorer [[Eugene Schuyler]] as "a tall well-built man, with a large head, and a marked Afghan, almost [[Jewish people|Jewish]], face",<ref>Eugene Schuyler, ''Turkistan: notes of a journey in Russian Turkistan, Kokand, Bukhara, and Kuldja'', F.A. Praeger (1966), p. 136</ref> Abdur Rahman distinguished himself for his ability and energetic daring. Although his father, Afzal Khan came to terms with Amir Sher Ali, Abdur's behavior in the northern province soon excited Amir's suspicion and, when he was summoned to Kabul, fled across the [[Oxus]] into [[Bukhara]]. Sher Ali threw Afzal Khan into prison, and a revolt followed in southern Afghanistan.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=37}}

The Amir had scarcely suppressed it by winning a desperate battle when Abdur Rahman's reappearance in the north was a signal for a mutiny by troops stationed in those parts and a gathering of armed bands to his standard. After some delay and desultory fighting, he and his uncle, Azam Khan, occupied Kabul in March 1866. The Amir Sher Ali marched up against them from [[Kandahar]], but in the battle that ensued at Sheikhabad on 10 May, he was deserted by a large body of his troops, and after his signal defeat Abdur Rahman released his father, Afzal Khan, from prison in [[Ghazni]], and installed him upon the throne as Amir of Afghanistan.  Notwithstanding the new Amir's incapacity, and some jealousy between the real leaders, Abdur Rahman and his uncle, they again routed Sher Ali's forces and occupied Kandahar in 1867. When Afzal Khan died at the end of the year, Azam Khan became the new ruler, with Abdur Rahman installed as governor in the northern province. But towards the end of 1868, Sher Ali's return and a general rising in his favour resulted in Abdur Rahman and Azam Khan's defeat at ''Tinah Khan'' on 3 January 1869. Both sought refuge to the east in Central Asia, where Abdur Rahman placed himself under Russian protection at [[Samarkand]].<ref name=EB>{{cite encyclopedia|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|title='Abdor Rahman Khan|edition=15th|year=2010|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.|volume=I: A-Ak – Bayes|location=Chicago, IL|isbn=978-1-59339-837-8|pages=[https://archive.org/details/newencyclopaedia2009ency/page/20 20]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/newencyclopaedia2009ency/page/20}}</ref> Azam died in Kabul in October 1869.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=37}}