but lost Peshawar to the Sikhs in 1834 : styled himself Amir in 1833. In 1837 Burnes was sent on an embassy to Kabul, to oppose Persian designs on Herat : Dost Muhammad was found to be intriguing with Russia, and a Russian Envoy appeared at Kabul : Lord Auckland's Government decided to depose Dost Muhammad and reinstate Shah Shuja as Amir : on the approach of the British force in 1839 Dost Muhammad fled to Bokhara, but escaped, advanced on Kabul, made a stand at Bajgah, but was defeated and fled again : after a success against the English at Parwandarra, he surrendered, Nov. 3, 1840, to the English envoy and was sent down to Calcutta : at the end of the first Afghan war, in 1842, he returned to Kabul and resumed his reign : in the Panjab campaign of 1848–9, he sent assistance to the Sikhs : he concluded the treaty of Pesha-war with the Governor-General in March, 1855, by which the independence of Afghanistan was recognised : and a sub-sidy was given to him, under an agreement made in Jan. 1857 : he regained Kanda-har in Jan. 1856 : remained quiet and staunch to the British during the mutiny : established his power throughout Afghanistan, capturing Herat, May 27, 1863 : died at Herat, June 9, 1863: was a strong ruler, and leader of men, but cruel and unscrupulous.
AFGHANISTAN, SHIR ALI, AMIR OF (1820–1879)
Fifth son of Dost Muhammad (q.v.), whom he accompanied in exile to India : succeeded him on his death, at Herat, in 1863, being recognised by the Government of India : civil war ensued between him and his brothers. He lost his eldest son, Muhammad Ali, in the battle of Kajhbaz, in 1865, when he defeated his brother Muhammad Amir and took Kandahar : lost Kabul to his nephew, Abdur Rahman : imprisoned, 1864, his brother Afzal, who regained his freedom after the battle of Shekhabad in May, 1866, was proclaimed Amir, but died 1867. Shir Ali at one time had lost Kabul and Kandahar, but, having recovered Kabul from his brother Muhammad Azam, defeated Abdur Rahman (q. v.), son of Afzal, on Jan. 3, 1869, drove him out and was recognised as Amir by the Government of India. Lord Mayo received him in darbar at Umbala in 1869. Shir Ali returned disappointed from the darbar, and showed resentment at the failure of his requests and his subsequent treatment by the British Government : in 1873 he sent an envoy, Saiyad Nur Muhammad, to India, to make certain proposals, which were not accepted : negotiations took place in 1877 between the envoy and Sir L. Pelly, on behalf of the Governor-General, Lord Lytton, but were fruitless. Abdullah Jan, named in 1873 as his heir, died in 1877. In 1878 Shir Ali was found to have received, at Kabul, a Russian mission under General Stolietoff : he stopped Sir Neville Chamberlain's mission at Ali Masjid, and the second Afghan war ensued. On the approach of the British forces. Shir Ali fled from Kabul and died at Mazar-i-Sharif, in Afghan Turkistan, on Feb. 21, 1879.
AGA ALI SHAH ( ? –1886)
Like his father, Aga Khan, the spiritual head of the Khoja community, from whom he received tribute in Asia and Africa : best known to Englishmen as a keen sportsman, a strong supporter of the turf : Member of the Bombay Legislative Council : succeeded by his son, Aga Sultan Muhammad Shah : died in 1885.
AGA KHAN (1800–1881)
The venerable spiritual head of the Khoja community, of Shia Muhammadans : descendant of the mysterious and dreaded "old man of the mountains" : claimed to be descended from Ali and Fatima : fled from Persia 40 years before his death, after an attempt to gain the Persian throne, at which his family aimed : assisted the British with his light horse in the Afghan war, 1842 : received Rs. 1,000 a month as pension : resided a short time in Calcutta, and then 30 years in Bombay, holding his court in grand style, and taking a leading part in turf and sporting matters : the keenest racing man in India : exercised almost absolute control over his subjects, "a king without a territory," the annual tribute from his followers amounting to a lakh of rupees : died April 12, 1881.
AGA SULTAN MUHAMMAD SHAH (1875–)
Born 1875 : Aga Khan : succeeded his
