Editing Ahmad Shah Durrani (section)

===Encounters with the Qing (1763—1764, 1768—1769)===
{{main|Four Afghan Steeds}}
[[File:Route of Khwāja Mirhan’s embassy from Fayzabad to Beijing, through Central and East Asia.png|thumb|Map of the route the Afghan embassy undertook to the Qing dynasty in 1763|alt=Route of the Afghan embassy to Beijing]] 
Fazil Biy, the ruler of [[Khanate of Kokand|Kokand]], and other Kyrgyz chieftains pleaded to Ahmad Shah to aid them against Qing expansionism. Ahmad Shah, delighted to use a casus belli in the name of [[Islam]], accepted, sending men to occupy the regions between [[Tashkent]] and [[Kokand]], though these men later withdrew by 1764 as any alliance failed to be forged.{{sfn|Newby|2005|p=34}}

In 1763, Ahmad Shah had dispatched an embassy to the [[Qing]]. His aims in this are unknown, however, an embassy allowed Ahmad Shah to establish himself as an emperor. The letter he sent to the Qing emperor [[Qianlong]] is missing, but from the Qing reply, the letter was likely dedicated to his conquests and victory at [[Third Battle of Panipat|Panipat]], alongside Qing expansion.{{sfn|Eijk|Khan|2023|p=715-717}}

The letter positioned Ahmad Shah's expansions as bringing order and stability to areas overrun with rebels and lawlessness (in reference to his [[#Military campaigns|campaigns in Iran and India]]). The battle of Panipat was strongly detailed in the letter, in what was likely a fath-nama, meaning a victory letter or declaration to celebrate ones victory. The Qing emperor ignored the effective threat and downplayed the Afghan victory.{{sfn|Eijk|Khan|2023|p=716-717}}

In the second part of the letter, the Qianlong appeared much more defensive, in need of justifying the [[Dzungar–Qing Wars|Qing conquest of the Dzungars]] and the [[Revolt of the Altishahr Khojas|Altishahr Khojas]]. He accused them of causing devastation and laying false accusations against him. A report also suggested that Ahmad Shah considered the territories the Qing claimed belonged to the Muslims. In reality, Ahmad Shah possibly wanted to establish spheres of influence, which was similarly done with the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottomans]] which divided [[Iran]] between them, and a [[#Turkestan (1751–1768)|treaty with Bukhara]] that had established the [[Amu Darya]] as the border.{{sfn|Eijk|Khan|2023|p=717-718}}
{{Quote box |quote  = Why has your Khan dispatched you? Has your Khan not sent you to appear at an audience with the brilliance of our Great Lord? Our Great Lord is the ruler who has united All under Heaven. Besides you Afghans, as soon as people from the West, Russia, even the former Zunghars came, all of them promptly prostrated themselves before the Great Lord. He is like Heaven; do you not bow before Heaven?{{sfn|Eijk|Khan|2023|p=708}}
|author = A Qing grand councillor, remarking at the Afghan envoy's refusal to Kowtow
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When the Afghan embassy had arrived in Beijing, the chief envoy, Khwaja Mirhan, had refused to [[kowtow]] before the Qing emperor. The Qing officials, in shock, demanded he kowtow, to which Mirhan acquiesced. This incident damaged the Qing-Afghan relations and Qianlong cut ties with the Afghans following this. No immediate consequence occurred, and the envoy was given favor.{{sfn|Eijk|Khan|2023|p=718-720}}

Mirhan's refusal possibly came out of religious reasons, but the Qing received it as Ahmad Shah declaring himself equal to Qianlong. Qianlong, however, was reconciliatory and instead shifted blame on their escort. From Qianlong's view, he saw the Afghans as a significant power and attempted to impress the envoy and in contrast, Ahmad Shah, of the Qing empire. This was especially done in motivation of Altishahr's recent conquest and concerns over stability in the region.{{sfn|Eijk|Khan|2023|p=720-724}} 
{{multiple image|perrow = 2|total_width=300
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 | footer = Depiction of the four Afghan horses sent by Ahmad Shah, painted by Qing court painter [[Giuseppe Castiglione (Jesuit painter)|Giuseppe Castiglione]]
}}
Ahmad Shah's gifts to the Qing emperor included [[Four Afghan Steeds|four horses]], which were painted by the Qing court painter, [[Giuseppe Castiglione (Jesuit painter)|Giuseppe Castiglione]]. Nonetheless, by the time of the envoy's return journey to Afghanistan, Qianlong made preparations to secure Qing territories.{{sfn|Eijk|Khan|2023|p=724-726}}

In 1759, as the revolt of the [[Revolt of the Altishahr Khojas|Altishahr Khojas]] crumbled, two descendants of the Afaqi Sufi lineage crossed into Badakhshan, being pursued by the Qing forces. Fude, the Qing general of the expedition, demanded that Sultan Shah, the ruler of Badakhshan, to arrest the brothers. Sultan Shah accepted, likely wishing to have Qing military aid, especially against the [[Durrani Empire]]. Distrust occurred between the Qing and Sultan Shah due to the Afaqi descendants residing in Badakhshan for months, including Sultan Shah's possible initial refusal to hand them over, possibly intending to send them to [[Bukhara]]. Qianlong threatened invasion, which did not occur as one of the descendant's remains were sent to [[Yarkand]].{{sfn|Eijk|Khan|2023|p=726-729}}

The death of the Afaqi brothers spurned relations with the Afghans, causing Sultan Shah to plead to the Qing, claiming that Ahmad Shah intended to exact revenge for their deaths. No immediate Afghan invasion occurred. The Qing however, faced numerous frustrations with their tributaries in [[Central Asia]], alongside a major insurrection in [[Uqturpan County|Uch-Turfan]] that required tremendous effort to defeat.{{sfn|Eijk|Khan|2023|p=729-730}}

As a result, Qianlong adopted a policy of strict non-interference, realizing that Qing troops in Altishahr were significantly stretched and spread thin. The Afghans, however, seen as a threat, would show the weakness of Qing control in the region.{{sfn|Eijk|Khan|2023|p=730-732}}

In August 1768, Qianlong was informed of the Afghan invasion of Badakhshan led by Shah Wali Khan in May, with Afghan forces seizing Sultan Shah's capital, [[Fayzabad, Badakhshan|Fayzabad]], who fled north. A Qing agent, Yunggui, held the position that the Qing should interfere in the conflict. Qianlong, however, affirmed that military intervention would irrational, and strictly forbade any military interference. Historians see this as surprising, as the invasion by the Afghans threatened the Qing Empire itself.{{sfn|Eijk|Khan|2023|p=732}}
[[File:万国来朝图 Badakhshan delegates (拔達克山) in Peking in 1761.jpg|thumb|right|Delegates from Badakhshan in [[Peking]], 1761]]
Qing sources affirm that the Afghans established Sarimsaq, a child of the Afaqi's who escaped to Badakhshan, in [[Kunduz]]. Qianlong was distraught, as another possible revolt could revolve around Sarimsaq, with reports of Muslim travelers and funds being sent to Sarimsaq. This still did not convince Qianlong to act, and he refused to send any message negatively to Ahmad Shah at all. During this, Sultan Shah defeated the Afghan governor and reoccupied his capital, but feared another Afghan invasion, sending desperate letters to the Qing in the winter of 1768 to ask for help, claiming that Ahmad Shah would invade next year.{{sfn|Eijk|Khan|2023|p=733}}

Qianlong harshly rebutted, blaming Sultan Shah for provoking the conflict with the Afghans and affirmed that he would only fight the Afghans if they actually invaded Qing territory. Sultan Shah wrote a letter to [[Emin Khoja]] in response in August 1769, expecting aid as he was a vassal, only to find himself totally abandoned. In December 1769, Sultan Shah wrote another letter which Qianlong received that accused him of failing to uphold his duties. Qianlong rebuked him, and stated that under no circumstances would the Qing aid him.{{sfn|Eijk|Khan|2023|p=733-734}}
{{Quote box |quote  = We have long known that you have previously presented gifts to the Afghans. That you now have no more options but to evade the issue just shows that you are paying tribute to the Afghans! […] If you cannot protect your own lands, and wish to submit to the Afghans, then suit yourself! […] If you wish to rely on our armies to serve your enmities and to subjugate your neighboring tribes, then we will under no circumstances provide you with our troops.{{sfn|Eijk|Khan|2023|p=734}}
|author = Qianlong's reply to Sultan Shah's plea for aid against Ahmad Shah
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Qianlong had initially considered the Afghans [[Tributary state|tributaries]], but after the former incident, he no longer even sought the prospect of any form of Durrani submission. His reply to Sultan Shah effectively saw the Qing recognize the Afghans as a rival power to them, with Qianlong recognizing that the Afghans were unable to be treated like tributaries. Rather than aiding the ruler of Badakhshan as his initial policy had implicated him to, Qianlong instead justified the Afghan invasion, prompted to by overextended armies, the distance, and stability. Instead, gambling on the difficult terrain between the Afghan and Qing realms for safety.{{sfn|Eijk|Khan|2023|p=734-735}}

Within the year, Ahmad Shah occupied Badakhshan and Sultan Shah was executed.{{sfn|Newby|2005|p=43}}