Page "Abdur Rahman Khan" Paragraph 1

Before his death in Herat, on June 9, 1863, Dost Mohammad Khan had nominated as his successor Sher Ali Khan, his third son, passing over the two elder brothers, Afzal Khan and Azam Khan.

At first, the new Amir was quietly recognized.

But after a few months Afzal Khan raised an insurrection in the north of the country, where he had been governing when his father died.

This began a fierce contest for power between Dost Mohammad's sons, which lasted for nearly five years.