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Shah Shuja

1911 Encyclopedia Britannica

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SHAH SHUJA (1780?-1842), king of Afghanistan, was the son of Timur Shah, and grandson of Ahmad Shah, founder of the Durani dynasty. After conspiracies that caused the dethronement of two brothers, Taman Shah and Mahmud Shah, he became king in 1803. He was, however, in his turn driven out of Afghanistan in 1809 by Mahmud Shah, and found refuge and a pension in British territory. Distrusting the attitude of the Amir Dost Mahommed towards Russia, Lord Auckland in 1839 attempted to restore Shah Shuja to the throne against the wishes of the Afghan people. This policy led to the disastrous first Afghan War. After the retreat of the British troops from Kabul, Shah Shuja shut himself up in the Bala Hissar. He left this retreat on the 5th of April 1842, and was immediately killed by the adherents of Dost Mahommed and his son Akbar Khan.