Kalhora dynasty

History

Kalhora rule of Sindh began around the start of the 18th century when Yar Muhammad Kalhoro was invested with title of Khuda Yar Khan and was made subahdar of upper Sindh by royal decree of the Mughals. Later, after his death, his son was additionally appointed Subahdar of Sehwan and thus oversaw most of Sindh.

The Kalhora dynasty succumbed to the invasion of Nader Shah. Sind was then conquered by Ahmad Shah Durrani in 1748–1750 making it a vassal of the Durrani Empire.

The Kalhora nawabs also participated in the Third Battle of Panipat as part of the victorious Islamic coalition. Ghulam Shah Kalhoro brought stability to Sindh by restructuring the state. His successors could not control Sindh for long and were overthrown by Talpur mirs in the Battle of Halani. Abdul Nabi Kalhoro was the last Kalhora ruler, being overthrown in 1783. He went on to govern Layyah and Bhakkar from 1787 to 1790 after defeating the Jaskani tribe.

In 1793, the Afghan ruler Timur Shah died and was succeeded by Zaman Shah who demanded from Abdul Nabi arrears of one lakh and twenty thousand rupees. Abdul Nabi failed to pay the dues and did not comply with the orders of the Afghan court, and as a result his jagir was cancelled and granted to Nawab Muhammad Khan Saddozai.

According to Ḳāniʿ, who visited their court, the Kalhora spoke Sindhi in court.