Abdur Rahman Khan, Afghan emir (b. 1844)
Abdur Rahman Khan GCSI (Pashto/Dari: عبدالرحمن خان) (between 1840 and 1844 – 1 October 1901) was Emir of Afghanistan from 1880 to his death in 1901. He is known for uniting the country after years of internal fighting and negotiation of the Durand Line Agreement with British India.Abdur Rahman Khan was the first child and only son of Mohammad Afzal Khan, and grandson of Dost Mohammad Khan, founder of the Barakzai dynasty. Abdur Rahman Khan re-established the writ of the Afghan government after the disarray that followed the second Anglo-Afghan war. He became known as The Iron Amir, because his government was a military despotism. This despotism rested upon a well-appointed army and administered through officials absolutely subservient to an inflexible will and controlled by a widespread system of espionage.The nickname, The Iron Amir, is also associated due to his victory over a number of rebellions by various tribes who were led by his relatives. One source says that during his reign there were over 40 rebellions throughout his rule. Abdur Rahman Khan's rule was termed by one British official as a "reign of terror", as he was absolutely despotic and had up to 100,000 people judicially executed during his 21 years as Emir. Thousands more starved to death, caught deadly diseases and died, were massacred by his army, or were killed during his forceful migrations of tribes. However, he was perhaps the greatest military genius Afghanistan ever produced.