Mohammad Afzal Khan

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Mohammad Afzal Khan Barakzai (1815 – 7 October 1867) was a key Afghan ruler and military leader. He served as governor of Afghan Turkestan from 1849 to 1863. After the death of his father, Dost Mohammad Khan, a civil war broke out among his brothers. In May 1866, Afzal Khan seized power from his brother Sher Ali Khan and captured Kabul, becoming Emir of Afghanistan. He ruled until dying of cholera on 7 October 1867. His son Abdur Rahman Khan would later be Emir from 1880 to 1901. Afzal Khan belonged to the Barakzai Pashtun dynasty and was the eldest son of Dost Mohammad Khan. He was born in Kabul in 1815 and helped create Takhtapul, a royal seat in Kabul. He had two wives — a daughter of Samad Khan Bangash and Bibi Murwarid — and four children: one son, Abdur Rahman Khan, and three daughters (Sahib Sultana Begum, Bibi Shah Bobo, and another daughter).