Editing Azim Khan

{{Short description|19th-century Afghan politician}}
{{About|the early 19th century Afghan noble|the 17th century Mughal general|Azim Khan's Tomb|the Afghan cricketer|Azim Khan (cricketer)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Azim Khan
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| office              = [[Durrani Empire|Durrani]] governor of [[Kashmir valley|Kashmir]]
| 1blankname          = [[Monarch]]
| 1namedata           = [[Mahmud Shah Durrani]]
| term_start          = 1812
| term_end            = 1819
| predecessor         = [[Fateh Khan Barakzai|Fateh Khan]]
| successor           = [[Moti Ram]] (as [[Sikh Empire|Sikh]] governor)
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| battles             = [[Battle of Nowshera]]<br>[[Stratagem of Peshawar (Jamrud Fort 1818)|Stratagem of Peshawar]]<br>[[Battle of Shopian]]<ref>{{citation |title=Hari Singh Nalwa - Champion of the Khalsaji |last=Nalwa |first=Vanit |year=2009 |publisher=Manohar Books |location=New Delhi |isbn=978-81-7304-785-5 |page=45}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The History of the Sikhs Volume 5|last=Gupta |first=Hari Ram  |year=1991 |publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal|isbn=9788121505154|pages=128}}</ref>
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'''Sardar Mohammad Azim Khan Barakzai''' ({{langx|ps|عظیم خان}}) was the last [[Durrani Empire|Durrani Afghan]] governor of [[Kashmir Valley|Kashmir]] (1812–1819).<ref name="Bakshi1997">{{citation|last=Bakshi|first=S.R.|title=Kashmir: History and People|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U1LEY1yWmagC&pg=PA144|year=1997|publisher=Sarup & Sons|isbn=978-81-85431-96-3|pages=144–}}</ref> He was the second son of the [[Barakzai]] chief Payinda Sarfaraz Khan, while his elder brother [[Fateh Khan Barakzai|Fateh Khan]] was the [[kingmaker]] and [[Vizier]] to [[Mahmud Shah Durrani]]. He was one of 21 brothers from eight mothers including his half-brother [[Dost Mohammad Khan]] who would later become [[Emir of Afghanistan]].

==Career==
In 1810, Azim Khan was tasked by Mahmud Shah Durrani to capture his rival for the throne, [[Shah Shujah Durrani]], who had raised an army of partisans in [[Peshawar]]. He successfully defeated Shah Shuja's armies and was subsequently involved in the 1812-13 joint Afghan-Sikh capture of Kashmir from its rebellious governor Atta Khan Bamzai. He was appointed governor of Kashmir and in 1814 successfully repelled an [[Afghan–Sikh Wars|attempted invasion by the Sikhs]] led by [[Ranjit Singh]].

After the blinding and murder of Fateh Khan by [[Shahzada Kamran Durrani]], Mohammad. Azim Khan became Barakzai chief and along with his brothers swore revenge against the Emir. All former [[Durrani Empire|Durrani empire]] provinces except [[Herat Province|Herat]] came under Barakzai control and he set himself up as Governor of [[Kabul Province|Kabul]] having left Kashmir in the hands of his half-brother Jabbar Khan Navab. He invited Shah Shujah Durrani back from exile but installed [[Ayub Shah Durrani]] as [[puppet ruler]] instead.

In the summer of 1819 his half-brother Yar Mohammad. Khan, governor of [[Peshawar District|Peshawar]], failed to impede Ranjit Singh on his march towards Kashmir and the Sikhs annexed the province after defeating Jabbar Khan in the [[Battle of Shopian]]. He attempted but failed to secure an alliance with the British<ref>{{cite web |title=IOR/F/4/751/20530 |url=http://searcharchives.bl.uk/IAMS_VU2:IAMS041-000741754 |website=bl.uk |publisher=India Office Records and Private Papers (British Library) |accessdate=21 September 2018}}</ref> while trying to secure his wealth and political position against his brothers, other Afghan nobles, the Sikhs and neighbouring rulers.

In March 1823, Azim Khan alongside other Pashtuns faced off against the [[Sikh Khalsa Army]] of Ranjit Singh at the [[Battle of Nowshera]] near Peshawar. After being repulsed on the first day he abandoned his allies, who had regrouped to continue fighting and retreated to Kabul where he died shortly thereafter. As a result, the Afghans lost their former stronghold of [[Peshawar Valley]] to the Sikh Empire.

He was reputed to have acquired great wealth through [[Looting|war plunder]] and excessive taxation, especially during his time as governor of Kashmir. Azim Khan died shortly after the battle of Nowshera from [[Cholera]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lee |first=Jonathan L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=asR9DwAAQBAJ |title=Afghanistan: A History from 1260 to the Present |date=2022-03-08 |publisher=Reaktion Books |isbn=978-1-78914-019-4 |language=en|page=185}}</ref> His son Habiballah Khan inherited his estate and took control of Kabul after his death but was soon ousted by Dost Mohammad Khan.

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
*{{cite book |last1=Cunningham |first1=Joseph Davey |title=A history of the Sikhs : from the origin of the nation to the battles of the Sutlej |date=1849 |publisher=London " J. Murray |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofsikhsfr01cunn}}
*{{cite book |last1=Latif |first1=Syad Muhammad |author-link =Syad Muhammad Latif|title=History Of The Panjab |date=1891 |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.34649}}
*{{cite book |last1=Mohana Lala |first1=Munshi |title=Life of the Amir Dost Mohammed Khan of Kabul |date=1846 |publisher=London Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans |url=https://archive.org/details/lifeofamirdostmo01mohauoft}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Azim}}
[[Category:Pashtun politicians]]
[[Category:Governors of Kashmir]]
[[Category:Governors of provinces of Afghanistan]]
[[Category:Year of death unknown]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]