Dost Mohammad Khan

Dost Mohammad Khan دوست محمد خان
Emir of Afghanistan Amir al-Mu'minin
Miniature on ivory in gold frame, by a Company artist.
Emir of Afghanistan
Reign	1826 – 2 August 1839 1845 – 9 June 1863
Predecessor	Shah Shujah Durrani
Successor	Wazir Akbar Khan
Born	23 December 1793 Kandahar, Durrani Empire, now Afghanistan
Died	9 June 1863 (aged 69) Herat, Emirate of Afghanistan, now Afghanistan
Spouse	25 wives
Issue	27 sons and 25 daughters at the time of his death
Full name Amir Dost Mohammad Khan Barakzai
Dynasty	Barakzai dynasty
Father	Sardar Payinda Khan Muhammadzai (Sarfraz Khan)
Mother	Zainab Begum

Dost Mohammad Khan (Pashto: دوست محمد خان‎, December 23, 1793 – June 9, 1863) was the founder of the Barakzai dynasty and one of the prominent rulers of Afghanistan during the First Anglo-Afghan War. With the decline of the Durrani dynasty, he became Emir of Afghanistan from 1826 to 1839 and then from 1843 to 1863. An ethnic Pashtun, he was the 11th son of Sardar Payendah Khan (chief of the Barakzai tribe) who was killed in 1799 by Zaman Shah Durrani. Dost Mohammad's grandfather was Hajji Jamal Khan.

The Musahiban family started with his older brother, Sultan Muhammad Khan, nicknamed "Telai", meaning "golden", a nickname he was given because of his love of fine clothing. This brother was the ruler of Peshawar.

Dost Mohammad Khan was born to an influential family on 23 December 1793 in Kandahar, Durrani Empire. His father, Payindah Khan, was chief of the Barakzai tribe and a civil servant in the Durrani dynasty. Their family can be traced back to Abdal (the first and founder of the Abdali tribe), through Hajji Jamal Khan, Yousef, Yaru, Mohammad, Omar Khan, Khisar Khan, Ismail, Nek, Daru, Saifal, and Barak. Abdal had Four sons, Popal, Barak, Achak, and Alako. Dost Mohmmad Khan's mother is believed to have been a Shia from the Persian Qizilbash group.