Mir Yazdanbakhsh () was a chieftain of the Behsud Hazaras in the

Hazarajat Hazarajat (), also known as Hazaristan () is a mostly mountainous region in the central Afghan highlands, central highlands of Afghanistan, among the Kuh-e Baba mountains in the western extremities of the Hindu Kush. It is the homeland of the H ...

of central

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 ...

in the 19th century. Son of Mir Wali Beg, he was born in 1790. He expelled his older brother, Mir Muhammad Shah after his father was assassinated by a minor chief. He consolidated his power to become undisputed chief of the

Hazaras The Hazaras (; ) are an ethnic group and a principal component of Afghanistan’s population. They are one of the largest ethnic groups in Afghanistan, primarily residing in the Hazaristan (Hazarajat) region in central Afghanistan. Hazaras al ...

(?-1832) Yazdanbakhsh was a powerful figure in Behsud (in modern

Wardak Province Wardak is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in Central Afghan highlands, central Afghanistan. Its capital is the closest provincial city to Kabul. Wardak Have 8 District. Wardak or Wardag (Dari/Pashto: ), is one of the 34 provinces o ...

), who controlled the Shibar and Hajigak passes into

Bamiyan Bamyan (), also spelled Bamian or Bamiyan, is the capital of Bamyan Province in central Afghanistan. Its population of approximately 100,000 people makes it the largest city in Hazarajat. Bamyan is at an altitude of about above sea level. The ...

. His great power concerned

Dost Muhammad Khan Dost Mohammad Khan Barakzai (Pashto/; 23 December 1792 – 8 June 1863), nicknamed the Amir-i Kabir, was the founder of the Barakzai dynasty and one of the prominent rulers of Afghanistan during the First Anglo-Afghan War. With the decline of ...

, who lured him to

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

and imprisoned him. Yazdanbakhsh managed to escape, or pay a ransom, and returned to Behsud, where he continued to control the Bamiyan routes and submit revenues to Kabul. He was assassinated in Bamiyan.

Sources

*Christine Noelle . ''State and tribe in nineteenth-century Afghanistan: the reign of Amir Dost Muhammad Khan (1826-1863)''. Routledge, 1997. ,

References

Hazara people History of Maidan Wardak Province People from the Durrani Empire 1790 births 1832 deaths Afghan warlords {{afghanistan-bio-stub