| Timur Shah Durrani Pushto; Pashto: {{nq|تیمور شاہ درانی | |
| Shah of the Durrani Empire | |
| Succession: | Emir of the Durrani Empire |
| Reign: | November 1772 – 20 May 1793 |
| Coronation: | 1772 |
| Full Name: | Timur Shah Abdali Dur-e-Durran |
| Predecessor: | Ahmad Shah Durrani Humayun Mirza (disputed) |
| Successor: | Zaman Shah Durrani |
| Spouse: | Gauhar-un-Nissa Begum Maryam Begum[1] Gauhar Shad Begum[2] Ayesha Durrani[3] |
| Issue: | Zaman Shah Durrani Mahmud Shah Durrani Shah Shujah Durrani Ahmed Mirza Sultan Mirza Nurdah Mirza Malik Gawhwar Akbar Mirza Husein Mirza Hasan Mirza Abbas Mirza Buland Mirza Shahrukh Mirza Shahpur Mirza Jahan Wala Humayun Mirza Ibrahim Mirza Faruk Mirza Khawar Mirza Ayub Mirza Miran Mirza Kohandil Mirza Nader Mirza |
| House: | Durrani |
| House-Type: | Dynasty |
| Father: | Ahmad Shah Durrani |
| Birth Date: | December 1746 |
| Birth Place: | Mashhad, Afsharid Persia (present-day Iran)[4] |
| Death Date: | 20 May 1793 (aged 46) |
| Death Place: | Char Bagh, Durrani Empire (present-day Afghanistan) |
| Date Of Burial: | 21 May 1793 |
| Place Of Burial: | Maqbara-i-Timur Shah, Kabul |
| Religion: | Sunni Islam |
| Module: | |
Timur Shah Durrani (; ;), also known as Timur Shah Abdali or Taimur Shah Abdali (December 1746 – 20 May 1793) was the second ruler of the Afghan Durrani Empire, from November 1772 until his death in 1793.[5] An ethnic Pashtun, he was the second eldest son of Ahmad Shah Durrani.
Timur Shah was born in December 1746, in Mashhad.[6]
He received the city of Sirhind as a wedding gift under his governorship, and was later given the title of Viceroy of Punjab, Kashmir and the Sirhind district in 1757[6] (when he was only 11 years old), by his father Ahmad Shah Durrani for one year, from May 1757 until April 1758. Ahmad Shah Durrani had immediately appointed Toryal Khan Afridi, the eldest son of his army's commander and his most trustworthy soldier, Awalmir Khan Afridi, to teach horseback riding and swordsmanship to Timur. Toryal Khan Afridi also had the responsibility for the safety and protection of Timur, so he continuously stayed with Timur in the royal palace.
Timur Shah ascended to the throne of the Durrani Empire in November 1772[7] with Shah Humayun giving up his throne.
Timur Shah went to Peshawar to spend the winter there.
See main article: Battle of Rohtas (1779).
A year before the death of Ahmad Shah Durrani, the Sikhs conquered Multan in 1772. Timur Shah ascended to the throne of the Durrani Empire after his father's death. Due to Sikhs having been in possession of the provinces of Lahore and Multan, these provinces served as a barrier for any attempt by Timur Shah to invade, many chiefs and nobility, dependencies of Durranis, paid no respect to the Durrani sovereignty, such as Sindh which reduced the amount of tribute and hardly paid it, mostly due to its concurrent civil war between the Talpurs, and the Kalhoras; Nasir Khan Baloch, the ruler of the Khanate of Kalat under Timur Shah did not acknowledge the authority of Afghan monarch, as a result, inducing other Durrani chiefdoms to do the same, including the chief of Bahawalpur, who treated the authority of Timur Shah with no respect.[8] Timur Shah thereupon tried to recover Multan by diplomacy and therefore sent Haji Ali Khan, as his agent, along with companions, to the Bhangi Sikh Chiefs to negotiate, with advice to behave and be polite, but instead, Haji Ali Khan threatened the Bhangi Chiefs to retire from Multan or face the royal wrath. The Bhangis tied Haji to the tree and shot him dead whereas his companions were left unharmed and sent back to report to Timur.Upon the news of death of his agent, Timur Shah detached a force of 18,000 men that included Yusafzais, Durranis, Mughals and Qizalbashes under general Zangi Khan,[9] with orders to march by less known routes and fall upon the Sikhs unaware and Zangi Khan gave strict orders to his army to keep the movement secret. Zangi Khan halted 25 km from the Sikh camps with orders to imprison anyone who goes in the direction of the Sikh camp to make the Sikhs aware of their presence. Timur Shah positioned himself in the centre, at the head of 5,000 Yusafzai men.[10] Little before daybreak, early morning, the Sikhs completely unaware of Afghan army's presence, were attacked, and though unorganized, the Sikhs gave tough resistance but were eventually overwhelmed. About 3000 Sikhs were killed, and 500 others drowned in river Jhelum in trying to cross it during the Sikh retreat, while 2000 escaped by successfully reaching the opposite bank of the river.
See main article: Siege of Multan (1780) and Battle of Shujabad (1780).
Timur Shah also marched on Multan, besieging the city in January 1780.
Azad Khan was confirmed as successor and ruled Kashmir, beginning his rule from Srinagar in 1783, at the age of 18 years old.
By 1788, Timur Shah Durrani, attempted again to ford the plains of Punjab to rescue his brother-in-law, the Mughal emperor Shah Alam II. The emperor had been blinded by the Rohilla leader Ghulam Qadir, who occupied and plundered Delhi for two and a half months in 1788. Timur Shah prepared an invasion and wrote letters to the English authorities, including Earl Cornwallis, and pleaded for a quick restoration of Shah Alam II to the throne, but was informed that he already had been restored as emperor by the Marathas. Therefore, he retreated back again. Timur Shah ascertained this information by sending an ambassador to the Mughal court and later requested that the British protect and obey the Mughal dynasty.[11] [12]
Shah Murad demanded that Timur Shah's governor of Aqcha and Balkh be recalled. When Timur Shah failed to comply, Shah Murad crossed the Amu Darya in the summer of 1788.[13]
Nonetheless, Timur Shah, with his army marched north, at a slow pace to make sure Shah Murad would not be notified of this attack. Timur Shah with his armies arrived at Aqcha on the month of Dhu al-Hijjah, Shah Murad was however prepared, and drew up his men for battle.
After the death of Timur Shah, Zaman Shah Durrani ascended the throne, inheriting the Durrani Empire.[14] Five of his sons would eventually become rulers in their own right or contendents for power. According to Fayz Muhammad those sons were as follows (notable sons are in bold):
