‘Akbar Khan, son of Dost Mohammed, ruler of Afghanistan’, 1840 circa (miniature on ivory)

‘Akbar Khan, son of Dost Mohammed, ruler of Afghanistan’, 1840 circa. Miniature on ivory by a East India Company artist, 1840 circa. Muhammed Akbar Khan (1813-1845) was the son of Emir Dost Mohammed who was overthrown by the British in 1839 and replaced by Shah Shuja. In November 1841 Akbar Khan led the tribal insurrection against Shah Shuja which resulted in the death of the British envoys in Kabul. He also commanded the subsequent pursuit of the retreating British army from Kabul to Gandamak in 1842. He died in suspicious circumstances in 1845, with many suspecting that his father, who feared his ambitions, had poisoned him.