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History of Afghanistan

Turk Shahis

© HistoryMaps

History of Afghanistan

Turk Shahis

665 Jan 1 - 822
Kabul, Afghanistan
Turk Shahis
The Bala Hissar fortress, west Kabul, originally built around the 5th century CE © HistoryMaps

The Turk Shahis, a dynasty that may have been of Western Turk, mixed Turko-Hephthalite, Hephthalite origin, or possibly Khalaj ethnicity, ruled from Kabul and Kapisa to Gandhara between the 7th and 9th centuries CE. Under the leadership of Western Turk ruler Tong Yabghu Qaghan, the Turks crossed the Hindu-Kush and occupied Gandhara up to the Indus River around 625 CE. The Turk Shahi territory spanned from Kapisi to Gandhara, and at one point, a Turkic branch in Zabulistan became independent. Gandhara, which bordered the kingdoms of Kashmir and Kannauj to the east, had Udabhandapura as its capital, possibly serving as a winter capital alongside Kabul's role as a summer capital. The Korean pilgrim Hui Chao, who visited between 723 and 729 CE, recorded that these areas were under the rule of Turk kings. Emerging in a period following the Sasanian Empire's fall to the Rashidun Caliphate, the Turk Shahis were possibly an offshoot of the Western Turks who expanded from Transoxonia into Bactria and the Hindu-Kush area from the 560s, eventually replacing the Nezak Huns, the region's last Bactrian rulers of Xwn or Huna descent. The dynasty's resistance to the Abbasid Caliphate's eastward expansion lasted over 250 years until their defeat by the Persian Saffarids in the 9th century CE. Kabulistan, incorporating Zabulistan and Gandhara at various times, served as the Turk Shahi heartland.


Background

In 653 CE, the Tang dynasty recorded Ghar-ilchi, the last Nezak ruler, as the king of Jibin. By 661 CE, he brokered a peace treaty with the Arabs that year. However, in 664-665 CE, the region was targeted by Abd al-Rahman ibn Samura, who aimed to reclaim territories lost during the Caliphate Wars. A series of events significantly weakened the Nezaks, with their ruler converting to Islam and being spared. By around 666/667 CE, the Nezak leadership was supplanted by the Turk Shahis, initially in Zabulistan and later in Kabulistan and Gandhara. The ethnic identity of the Turk Shahis is debated, and the term may be misleading.


Since around 658 CE, the Turk Shahis, alongside other Western Turks, were nominally under the Chinese Tang dynasty's protectorate. Chinese records, especially the Cefu Yuangui, describe the Kabul Turks as vassals to the Tokharistan Yabghus, who pledged loyalty to the Tang dynasty. In 718 CE, Puluo, the younger brother of Tokhara Yabghu Pantu Nili, reported to the Tang court in Xi'an. He detailed the military might in Tokharistan, noting that "two hundred and twelve kingdoms, governors, and prefects" acknowledged the Yabghus' authority. This included the Zabul king commanding two hundred thousand soldiers and horses, similarly for the Kabul king, tracing back to the era of their grandfather.


Resistance against Arab Expansion

Under Barha Tegin's leadership, the Turk Shahis launched a successful counter-offensive around 665 CE, reclaiming territories up to Arachosia and Kandahar from the Arabs after Abd al-Rahman ibn Samura's replacement as Governor of Sistan. Subsequently, the capital was moved from Kapisa to Kabul. The Arabs' renewed offensives in 671 CE and 673 CE under new governors were met with resistance, leading to a peace treaty that recognized Shahi control over Kabul and Zabul. Arab attempts to capture Kabul and Zabulistan in 683 CE were thwarted, leading to significant Arab losses.


Despite briefly losing control to the Arabs between 684–685 CE, the Shahis demonstrated resilience. An Arab attempt in 700 CE ended in a peace treaty and an internal rebellion within the Umayyad ranks. By 710 CE, Tegin Shah, Barha's son, reasserted control over Zabulistan, as indicated by Chinese chronicles, signaling a period of fluctuating political dependence and resistance against Arab control. From 711 CE, the Shahis faced a new Muslim threat from the southeast with Muhammad ibn Qasim's campaigns, establishing an Umayyad and later Abbasid-controlled province of Sind up to Multan, presenting a sustained challenge until 854 CE.


Decline and Fall

In 739 CE, Tegin Shah abdicated in favor of his son Fromo Kesaro, who continued the struggle against Arab forces with apparent success. By 745 CE, Fromo Kesaro's son, Bo Fuzhun, ascended to the throne, earning recognition in the Old Book of Tang and a military title from the Tang dynasty, indicative of a strategic alliance against expanding Islamic territories. The Chinese withdrawal around 760 CE, following their defeat at the Battle of Talas in 751 CE and the An Lushan Rebellion, diminished the Turk Shahis' geopolitical standing. Around 775–785 CE, a Turk Shahi ruler submitted to Abbasid Caliph Al-Mahdi's demand for allegiance.


The conflict persisted into the 9th century, with the Turk Shahis, led by Pati Dumi, seizing the opportunity presented by the Great Abbasid Civil War (811-819 CE) to invade Khorasan. However, their advances were curtailed around 814/815 CE when Abbasid Caliph Al-Ma'mun's forces defeated them, pushing into Gandhara. This defeat forced the Turk Shahi ruler to convert to Islam, pay a significant annual tribute, and cede a valuable idol to the Abbasids. The final blow came around 822 CE when the last Turk Shahi ruler, Lagaturman, likely Pati Dumi's son, was deposed by his Brahmin minister, Kallar. This ushered in the era of the Hindu Shahi dynasty with its capital in Kabul. Meanwhile, to the south, the Zunbils continued to resist Muslim encroachments until succumbing to the Saffarid offensive in 870 CE.

Page Last Updated: 10/13/2024

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