Mohammad Azim Khan

Mohammad Azim Khan Barakzai^[a] was the Afghan governor of Kashmir from 1812 to 1819.^[1] He was the fifth son of the chief of the Barakzai tribe, Payandah Khan. His elder brother Fateh Khan was the kingmaker and vizier to Mahmud Shah Durrani.

In 1810, Azim Khan was tasked by Mahmud Shah Durrani to capture his rival for the throne, Shah Shujah Durrani, who had raised an army of partisans in Peshawar. He successfully defeated Shah Shuja's armies and was subsequently involved in the 1812-13 joint Afghan-Sikh capture of Kashmir from its rebellious governor Atta Khan Bamzai. He was appointed governor of Kashmir and in 1814 successfully repelled an attempted invasion by the Sikhs led by Ranjit Singh.

After the blinding and murder of Fateh Khan by Shahzada Kamran Durrani, Mohammad. Azim Khan became Barakzai chief and along with his brothers swore revenge against the Emir. All former Durrani Empire provinces except Herat came under Barakzai control and he set himself up as Governor of Kabul having left Kashmir in the hands of his half-brother Jabbar Khan Navab. He invited Shah Shujah Durrani back from exile but installed Ayub Shah Durrani as puppet ruler instead.

In the summer of 1819 his half-brother Yar Mohammad. Khan, governor of Peshawar, failed to impede Ranjit Singh on his march towards Kashmir and the Sikhs annexed the province after defeating Jabbar Khan in the Battle of Shopian. He attempted but failed to secure an alliance with the British^[2] while trying to secure his wealth and political position against his brothers, other Afghan nobles, the Sikhs and neighbouring rulers.

In March 1823, Azim Khan alongside other Pashtuns faced off against the Sikh Khalsa Army of Ranjit Singh at the Battle of Nowshera near Peshawar. After being repulsed on the first day he abandoned his allies, who had regrouped to continue fighting and retreated to Kabul where he died shortly thereafter. As a result, the Afghans lost their former stronghold of Peshawar Valley to the Sikh Empire.

彼は、特にカシミール総督時代に、戦争略奪と過剰な課税によって莫大な富を得たと伝えられている。アジム・カーンはノウシェラの戦いの直後にコレラで亡くなった。^{[ 3 ]}彼の息子ハビバラ・カーンは彼の財産を相続し、彼の死後カブールを支配したが、すぐにドスト・モハメド・カーンによって追放された。

• カニンガム、ジョセフ・デイヴィー（1849）。シーク教徒の歴史 ：民族の起源からサトレジの戦いまで。ロンドン「J.マレー」。
• ラティフ、サイアド・ムハンマド（1891）。パンジャブの歴史。
• モハナ・ララ、ムンシ（1846年）。カブールのアミール・ドスト・モハメッド・カーンの生涯。ロンドン・ロングマン、ブラウン、グリーン、ロングマンズ。