The Hotaki dynasty (Pashto: د هوتکیانو واکمني) was an Afghan (Pashtun) dynasty that ruled the Persian Empire after the Safavid dynasty, before the rise of the Afsharid dynasty. It was founded in 1709 by Mirwais Khan Hotak, the chief of the Ghilzai Pashtuns of Kandahar. Mirwais Khan and his Afghan followers rose against the Persian Safavids in Kandahar City in 1709. He began by killing George XI (Gurgīn Khān), the Georgian governor of Kandahar pro...
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The Hotaki dynasty (Pashto: د هوتکیانو واکمني) was an Afghan (Pashtun) dynasty that ruled the Persian Empire after the Safavid dynasty, before the rise of the Afsharid dynasty. It was founded in 1709 by Mirwais Khan Hotak, the chief of the Ghilzai Pashtuns of Kandahar. Mirwais Khan and his Afghan followers rose against the Persian Safavids in Kandahar City in 1709. He began by killing George XI (Gurgīn Khān), the Georgian governor of Kandahar province and the direct representative of the Persian kings. Next, Mirwais ordered the deaths of the remaining Persian government officials in the region. The Afghans then defeated twice a large Persian army that was dispatched from Isfahan (capital of the Safavid Empire).
Mirwais Khan died peacefully in 1715 from natural cause and was succeeded by his son Mir Mahmud Hotaki, who later led an Afghan army to invade Persia. In 1722, Mir Mahmud sacked the city of Isfahan and declared himself Shah of Persia (meaning King of Persia). The majority...
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