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150 affairs of the State in the hands of his powerful and resourceful Vizir, Fateh Khan. The minister, too, had a rival in the person of Akram Khan Alizai. The rivalries and jealousies of these two influential chiefs gave great offense to the people. There were uprisings on all sides and the King's army could not cope with the situation. Some of the chiefs, who had personal grievances against the King or his ministers, invited Shah Shuja, a full brother of Zaman Shah, to Kabul. The intrigue was successful. Shuja rode into the capital triumphantly. Mahmoud, finding that all was over, sued for peace. His life and eyes were spared, but he was taken to the Bala Hissar and cast into prison. Shah Shuja (1803—1809): The new King was incapable of restoring peace and prosperity in a country torn by internal dissensions. The chiefs had become too powerful and unruly, and the outlying provinces were trying to assert their independence. The Sikhs were encroaching upon Afghan territories from the east and the Persians were threatening from the west. The Shah could not conciliate the powerful Barakzai chief, Fateh Khan. This caused the general condition of the country, already on the verge of bankruptcy and ruin, to deteriorate still further. Napoleon of France was at this time at the zenith of his power. In 1807 he and Alexander I of Russia signed the Treaty of Tilsit. The two monarchs meditated a combined invasion of India. This once more aroused the British to efforts to recover their lost prestige at the Persian Court. They also planned to protect their Indian Empire by binding the western frontier states in a chain of friendly alliances. A mission, headed by Elphinstone, was sent to meet Shah Shuja