Ayyub Khan (Afghanistan)

Ayyub Khan was the fourth son of Shir 'Ali, Amir of Afghanistan, and brother of Ya'qub Khan. When in 1873 Shir 'Ali named his favourite son 'Abd Allah Jan as heir-apparent, Ayyub fled to Persia. In 1879, when Ya'qub Khan succeeded Shir 'Ali as amir, Ayyub returned to Afghanistan and was appointed governor of Herat. ¹

Towards the end of the Second Afghan War (1878-80), Lord Lytton's government chose a Sadozai prince, also named Shir 'Ali, as wali of Kandahar. Ayyub Khan ousted him from that post, and on 27 July 1880 decisively defeated a British army under General Burrows at Maiwand. Sir Frederick (afterwards Lord) Roberts then marched rapidly from Kabul to Kandahar, routed Ayyub's troops and forced him to retire on Herat. ¹

When 'Abd al-Rahman Khan became amir at Kabul, his first task was to extend his control over the country. In July 1881 Ayyub Khan, who held Herat, declared a jihad against him, as a British nominee, and occupied Kandahar. Towards the end of 1881 'Abd al-Rahman crushed him, expelled him from Herat and forced him to take refuge at Mashhad in Persia. In 1887, during the Ghalzai rebellion, he tried once more to regain his position in Afghanistan, but was defeated and compelled to flee to India, where he remained for a time. The entry's text ends there in the scan. ¹