Ashraf Khan
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Ashraf Shah Hotak (b.? - d.1729)
The Last Hotak Afghan ruler of Persia and Afghanistan. He succeeded to the throne after the death of Mahmud Khan Hotak in 1725. The nephew of Mirwais Khan Hotak, his reign was noted for the sudden decline in the Hotak Empire under increasing pressure, from Turkish, Russian and Persian forces.
Ashraf halted both the Russian and Turkish onslaughts, in case of the Ottomans they were defeated in battle near Kirmán-sháh despite having reached within miles of Isafahan. This led to peace negotiations with the Sublime Porte which were briefly disrupted after Ashraf's ambassador insisted his master should be Caliph of the East and the Ottoman Sulṭán Caliph of the West which caused great umbrage to the Ottomans, but ultimately concluded in a peace agreement signed at Hamadán in September, 1727.
Ultimately though it was a little known rebel, Nader Qoli Beg better known as Nader Shah, defeated the Afghans at Damghan in October 1729 and drove them from Persia. During the retreat Ashraf was murdered by Baloch tribesmen, probably on orders from his cousin, who was then holding Kandahar.
His death marked the end of the dynasty, but only a short pause before the establishment of a permanent Afghan Kingdom.
| Preceded by Mir Mahmud Hotaki |
King of Afghanistan 1725–1729 |
Succeeded by Ahmad Shah Durrani |
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