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Historical person

Dost Mohammad Khan

1793–1863

Dost Mohammad Khan was emir of Afghanistan and founder of the Barakzai dynasty’s rule in Kabul. His rivalry with Shah Shujah and negotiations with British and Russian representatives contributed to the First Anglo-Afghan War; after British withdrawal he returned to power and expanded his authority.

Driven from Kabul during the First Anglo-Afghan War, Dost Mohammad surrendered to the British and spent several years in exile in India before being allowed to return after the collapse of Shah Shujah’s regime. Restored to power in 1843, he gradually rebuilt Afghan authority and later reached an accommodation with the British during the period of Anglo-Russian rivalry in Central Asia. In the final phase of his reign he brought Kandahar under his control and captured Herat in 1863, dying only days after that success.

In William Dalrymple’s Return of a King, the occupation of Kabul depended on an unpopular ruler, uncertain intelligence and expensive political subsidies, while resistance gathered around Afghan leaders including Dost Mohammad Khan and Mohammad Akbar Khan. George MacDonald Fraser’s Flashman encounters Dost Mohammad Khan, Shah Shujah and Mohammad Akbar Khan as resistance to the occupation becomes open revolt. Further fictional perspectives on Dost Mohammad Khan can be found in G. A. Henty’s To Herat and Cabul. For broader historical treatment of Dost Mohammad Khan, see T. A. “Tony” Heathcote’s The Afghan Wars 1839–1919. Alexander Cordell’s Beloved Exile places Dost Mohammad Khan at the centre of Afghan politics surrounding Kabul and the First Anglo-Afghan War, anchoring Iestyn Mortymer’s fictional adventures in the struggle against British intervention.

Series

Historical novels and book series featuring Dost Mohammad Khan (2 series)

The Flashman Papers in Order

by George MacDonald Fraser 12 books 4.2(80,547)

The Flashman Papers present the supposed memoirs of Sir Harry Paget Flashman, the bully expelled from Rugby School in Tom Brown’s School Days who becomes a decorated Victorian soldier despite being a coward, liar, opportunist and sexual predator. George MacDonald Fraser places this fictional witness inside documented nineteenth-century…

All books in this series

1. Flashman

First published 1969 · 4.1(19,890)

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2. Royal Flash

First published 1970 · 4.2(10,448)

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3. Flash for Freedom!

First published 1971 · 4.3(6,645)

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4. Flashman at the Charge

First published 1973 · 4.4(6,918)

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5. Flashman in the Great Game

First published 1975 · 4.4(5,364)

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6. Flashman’s Lady

First published 1977 · 4.2(6,297)

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7. Flashman and the Redskins

First published 1982 · 4.3(5,108)

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8. Flashman and the Dragon

First published 1985 · 4.3(4,459)

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Flashman and the Mountain of Light cover

9. Flashman and the Mountain of Light

First published 1990 · 4.3(4,945)

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Flashman and the Angel of the Lord cover

10. Flashman and the Angel of the Lord

First published 1994 · 4.2(3,709)

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11. Flashman and the Tiger

First published 1999 · 4.1(3,254)

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12. Flashman on the March

First published 2005 · 4.2(3,510)

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Mortymer Saga in Order

by Alexander Cordell 7 books 4.3(1,188)

The Mortymer Saga traces one Welsh family through the upheavals created by industrialisation, political protest and empire. It begins with This Proud and Savage Land in 1800, continues through the three novels originally marketed as the Mortymer Trilogy—Rape of the Fair Country, Hosts of Rebecca and Song of…