Editing Durrani Empire (section)

====Humayun Mirza (1772)====
[[File:Kandahar City during 1839-42.jpg|thumb|City of [[Kandahar]], its principal bazaar and citadel, as seen from the Nakkara Khauna]]
A few months before his death, [[Ahmad Shah Durrani|Ahmad Shah]] summoned Timur Shah from [[Herat]] and publicly declared him heir to the Durrani Empire. Ahmad Shah made this decision without consulting with his tribal council, as a result the authority of the Durrani Emperor was put into question and created a growing rift that would toil the Durrani empire for years to come, as the tribal council had in majority, supported Ahmad Shah's eldest son and Timur Shah's brother, Sulaiman, the governor of Kandahar. Prominent figures in court who supported the Sulaiman faction were Shah Wali Khan, Ahmad Shah's Wazir, and military chief [[Jahan Khan (Afghan general)|Sardar Jahan Khan]]. The court had attempted to urge Ahmad Shah to reconsider his decision, coinciding with the fact that the eldest son should ascend to the throne. Ahmad had ignored this, and quoted: "Timur Shah was infinitely more capable of governing you than his brother". As well as accusing Sulaiman of being "Violent without clemency", and out of favour with the Kandahari [[Durranis]]. Ahmad Shah's decision could have been influenced by his illness, which had affected his brain and his mental state. However, choosing Timur Shah as a successor was likely to restrict power of the Senior Generals and the Durrani Tribal Council, which he deemed as a threat to his dynasty in the future.<ref name="Lee">{{cite journal |last1=Lee |first1=Jonathan|title=Afghanistan A History From 1260 To The Present |journal=AAF |date=2019 |page=144 |url=https://archive.org/details/Book_1094 |access-date=4 October 2021}}</ref>

When Ahmad Shah was on his death bed, Sardar Jahan Khan had capitalized on Timur Shah's far proximity with him ruling over Herat, and poisoned the ear of the Shah. This had worked as Timur Shah was denied an by Ahmad Shah on his deathbed, as a result, Timur Shah had begun mobilizing his forces for the inevitable conflict with his brother. Timur Shah's plans were stalled, however, as a rebellion by Darwish Ali Khan under the Sunni Hazaras, likely instigated by the Sulaiman faction had risen up. Timur Shah had crushed this revolt quickly and Darwish Khan was imprisoned; however, he later escaped. Timur Shah had then lured him into [[Herat]], offering pardon, where then Timur Shah had ordered his execution where his nephew, Muhammad Khan would be appointed in his place.{{sfn|Lee|2019|p=145}}

During the revolt of Darwish, Ahmad Shah had died of his illness in 1772. Shah Wali Khan and Sardar Jahan Khan kept the Shah's death a secret by placing the body on a palanquin covered by thick curtains.{{sfn|Lee|2019|p=145}} They had then left the King's mountain, taking as much treasure as they could and marched to Kandahar. Shah Wali Khan had also announced to everyone that the king was ill and had given orders to not disturb him except his trusted officials. To make the deception more believable, Ahmad Shah's chief eunuch, [[Yaqut Khan]] had brought food for the "Sick" Ruler. Shah wali Khan had then notified Sulaiman that Ahmad Shah was dead and proclaimed Sulaiman as king. However, many of the Amirs including Mahadad Khan had disliked Shah Wali's ambitions, and thus had fled to Timur's side, also notifying him of the ongoing situation at [[Kandahar]].<ref name="Fayz">{{cite journal |last1=Muhammad Katib Hazarah |first1=Fayz |title=The History Of Afghanistan Fayż Muḥammad Kātib Hazārah's Sirāj Al Tawārīkh By R. D. Mcchesney, M. M. Khorrami |journal=AAF |date=2012 |page=131 |url=https://archive.org/details/the-history-of-afghanistan-fayz-muhammad-katib-hazarahs-siraj-al-tawarikh-by-r.-/page/n255/mode/2up?view=theater |access-date=11 November 2021}}</ref> Timur Shah had then marched toward [[Kandahar]] to face Shah Humayun.{{sfn|Muhammad Katib Hazarah|2012|p=55}} Shah Wali, fearing of Timur's march had consulted with Shah Humayun, and had agreed on him marching out to Prince Timur Shah to welcome him. He left [[Kandahar]] with over 150 horsemen and had arrived at Prince Timur's force at [[Farah, Afghanistan|Farah]]. Having not sent word, once Shah Wali had dismounted, Timur Shah ordered the killing of Shah Wali. Angu Khan Bamiza'i assassinated Shah Wali Khan and his two sons, including 2 of his sisters children.{{sfn|Muhammad Katib Hazarah|2012|p=56}} Shah Sulayman surrendered the throne to Timur Shah following this, and became a loyal follower of him according to the depiction of Amir Habibullah Khan.{{sfn|Muhammad Katib Hazarah|2012|p=56}} Timur Shah ascended the throne in November 1772.<ref>{{cite thesis |last1=Khan Malik |first1=Ajmal |title=UNIVERSITY OF PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN |date=1993 |volume=01 |page=158 |publisher=University of Peshawar, Pakistan |url=http://prr.hec.gov.pk/jspui/handle/123456789/6261 |access-date=4 December 2021 |type=Thesis |archive-date=4 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211204040757/http://prr.hec.gov.pk/jspui/handle/123456789/6261 |url-status=live}}</ref>