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THE DURRANIS (Variously called Abdalis & Sadozais):
After the death of Nadir Shah, Ahmad Khan Abdali with his
contingent of 4,000 Afghans returned to Kandahar. There in
October, 1747, a tribal Jirga was held to consider the future of
the country, and to elect a king of their own. Everyone of the
tribal chiefs put forth his claim. So heated did the discussion
and dissensions become that a recourse to arms seemed imminent.
At this critical moment, Sabar, a respectable dervish, intervened
on behalf of Ahmad Khan. Making a wreath of sheaves of
wheat, he put it on Ahmad Khan's head and said, "May this
serve you as a crown". The choice was approved by all and
Ahmad Khan became the elected King of the Afghans.
Ahmad Shah Durrani (1747-1773): Ahmad Shah was
a chief of the Sadozai clan, a branch of the Abdalis. On his
accession he took the title of Dur-i-Durran (Pearl of the Age). So
this family has come to be known as Abdalis, Sadozais or
Durranis.
Ahmad Shah, though very young at this time (for he was
hardly twenty-five) proved himself to be a capable ruler. His
first object was to sccure the affection of his people and to wold
them into a strong nation. His popular manners, combined
with his courage, activity, vigilance and other martial virtues,
soon endeared him to all of his people, and he became the idol of
his nation who gave him the title of 'Baba' -Father of the
Nation.
Within a short space of a quarter of a century, he was not
only able to liberate Afghanistan from foreign yoke, but also
carried his victorious arms from Meshed to Kashmir, & Delhi,
and from the Oxus to the Arabian Sea.
Roughly two thirds of characters agree with a modern printed edition of the same text. Much of the disagreement is editorial, not misreading. Treat the transcription as a finding aid and read the page image before quoting. How this was measured.