Abdur Rahman Khan

Abdur Rahman Khan
Amir Ziya'al-Milat wa al-Din
Abdur Rahman Khan in 1897
Amir of Afghanistan
Reign	31 May 1880 – 1 October 1901
Predecessor	Ayub Khan
Successor	Habibullah Khan
Born	1840–1844 Kabul, Afghanistan
Died	1 October 1901 (aged c. 56–61) Kabul, Afghanistan
Burial	1901 Palace at Zarnegar Park, Kabul, Afghanistan
Spouse	Babo Jan
Names Abdur Rahman Khan
Dynasty	Barakzai dynasty
Father	Mohammad Afzal Khan

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The palace of the emir in 1839
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Abdur Rahman Khan GCSI (Pashto: عبدالرحمن خان) (between 1840 and 1844 – 1 October 1901) also known by his epithet, The Iron Amir,^[1][2] was Amir of Afghanistan from 1880 to his death in 1901.^[3] He is known for perpetrating the Hazara Genocide, but also uniting the country after years of internal fighting and negotiation of the Durand Line Agreement with British India.^[4]

Abdur Rahman Khan was the only son of Mohammad Afzal Khan, and grandson of Dost Mohammad Khan, founder of the Barakzai dynasty. Abdur Rahman Khan re-established the writ of the Afghan government after the disarray that followed the second Anglo-Afghan war.^[5] He became known as The Iron Amir because of his government's military despotism. This despotism rested upon a well-appointed army and was administered through officials subservient to an inflexible will and controlled by a widespread system of espionage.^[2]

The nickname, The Iron Amir, is also associated due to his victory over a number of rebellions by various tribes who were led by his relatives.^[6] One source says that during his reign there were over 40 rebellions against his rule.^[7] Abdur Rahman Khan's rule was termed by one British official as a "reign of terror", as he was considered despotic and had up to 100,000 people judicially executed during his 21 years as Emir.^[8] Thousands more starved to death, caught deadly diseases and died, were massacred by his army, or were killed during his forceful migrations of tribes.^[8] However, scholars such as Jonathan Lee note that he was perhaps one of the most skilled military leaders from Afghanistan.^[8]