The Hotak () or Hotaki () is a tribe of the

Ghilji The Ghiljī (, ; ) also spelled Khilji, Khalji, or Ghilzai and Ghilzay (), are one of the largest Pashtuns, Pashtun tribes. Their traditional homeland is Ghazni and Qalati Ghilji in Afghanistan but they have also settled in other regions throu ...

confederacy of the

Pashtun people Pashtuns (, , ; ;), also known as Pakhtuns, or Pathans, are an Iranic ethnic group primarily residing in southern and eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. They were historically also referred to as Afghans until 1964 after the ...

who live mainly in Afghanistan.

History

The first king to take power in

Kandahar Kandahar is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city, after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118 in 2015. It is the capital of Kandahar Pro ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

, was

Mirwais Hotak Mirwais Khan Hotak (Pashto/Dari: ; 1673-1715) was an Afghan ruler from the Ghilji tribe of Pashtuns of Kandahar, Afghanistan, and the short-lived founder of the Hotak dynasty. In 1709, after overthrowing and assassinating George XI of Kartil ...

(1673–1715). Mirwais Hotak led a revolt against the

Safavid dynasty The Safavid dynasty (; , ) was one of Iran's most significant ruling dynasties reigning from Safavid Iran, 1501 to 1736. Their rule is often considered the beginning of History of Iran, modern Iranian history, as well as one of the gunpowder em ...

and successfully established the

Hotak dynasty The Hotak dynasty ( ) was an Afghan monarchy founded by Ghilji Pashtuns that briefly ruled portions of Iran and Afghanistan during the 1720s. It was established in April 1709 by Mirwais Hotak, who led a successful rebellion against the declining ...

in 1709. After his death in 1715, he was succeeded by

Abdul Aziz Hotak Shāh Abdul Azīz Hotak (Pashto/Dari: ; died 1717) was the second ruler of the Ghilji Hotak dynasty of Kandahar, in what is today the state of Afghanistan. He was crowned in 1715 after the death of his brother, Mirwais Hotak. He was the father o ...

. Abdul Aziz was killed in 1717 by his nephew,

Mahmud Hotak Shāh Mahmūd Hotak, (Pashto/Dari: ) or Shāh Mahmūd Ghiljī (), also known by his epithet, The Conqueror (lived 1697 – April 22, 1725), was the ruler of the Hotak dynasty who overthrew Safavid dynasty to become the king of Persia from 172 ...

, who would go on to war with the Safavids. Mahmud successfully captured

Isfahan Isfahan or Esfahan ( ) is a city in the Central District (Isfahan County), Central District of Isfahan County, Isfahan province, Iran. It is the capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is located south of Tehran. The city ...

and established Hotak rule in Iran. Mahmud Hotak was assassinated in 1725 by his cousin,

Ashraf Hotak Shah Ashraf Hotak (Pashto/ Persian: ; died 1730), also known as Shah Ashraf Ghilji or Ghilzay (), was an Afghan ruler who reigned as Shah of Iran from 1725 to 1729. He was a member of the Hotak tribe of the Ghilji Pashtuns, who revolted agai ...

. Under Ashraf's rule, the Hotaks would be kicked out of Persia. After Ashraf's death,

Hussain Hotak Shah Hussain Hotak (Pashto/ Dari: ), son of Mirwais Hotak, was the fifth and last ruler of the Ghilji Hotak dynasty. An ethnic Pashtun ('' Afghan'') from the Ghilji tribe, he succeeded to the throne after the death of his brother Mahmud Hotak ...

would succeed him and would be deposed from power by

Nader Shah Nader Shah Afshar (; 6 August 1698 or 22 October 1688 – 20 June 1747) was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran and one of the most powerful rulers in Iranian history, ruling as shah of Iran (Persia) from 1736 to 1747, when he was a ...

in the Siege of Kandahar, ending the

. Later Hotak rulers include

Mullah Omar Muhammad Umar Mujahid (196023 April 2013), commonly known as Mullah Omar or Muhammad Omar, was an Afghan militant leader and founder and the first leader of the Taliban from 1994 until his death in 2013. During the Third Afghan Civil War, the T ...

, who founded the

Taliban , leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders , leader1_name = {{indented plainlist, * Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013) * Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016) * Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...

, and was the ruler of the

from 1996 to 2001. The Taliban would regain power and re-establish the Emirate after a near twenty year long conflict from 2001 to 2021.

References

{{Pashtun tribes Ghilji Pashtun tribes Tribes of Afghanistan Ethnic groups in Kandahar Province

History

See also

References