Key Facts
- Duration
- 1709–1738 (29 years)
- Founded by
- Mirwais Hotak
- Ethnic origin
- Ghilji Pashtuns
- Ended by
- Nader Shah after siege of Kandahar, 1738
- Peak extent
- Iran and parts of Afghanistan (1720s)
Imperial Zenith Metrics
Historical Trajectory
Phase I: Rise
In 1709, Mirwais Hotak led a successful rebellion against the declining Safavid Persian empire in the Kandahar region, founding the first Afghan dynasty. Building on Ghilji Pashtun tribal strength, the Hotaks consolidated control over Loy Kandahar and then pushed westward. His son Mahmud extended the empire dramatically by invading Persia proper, defeating the Safavid forces and seizing Isfahan, the Safavid capital, around 1722.
Phase II: Zenith
At its height in the early 1720s, the Hotak empire controlled much of present-day Afghanistan and Iran, with Mahmud ruling as Shah over a vast territory. The dynasty had effectively displaced the once-powerful Safavid rulers across a large swath of the Iranian plateau, positioning Kandahar-origin Pashtuns as the dominant force across a region stretching from southern Afghanistan to central Iran.
Phase III: Decline
Mahmud's successor Ashraf faced growing resistance from Iranian forces rallying under Nader-Qoli Beg. Defeated decisively at the Battle of Damghan in 1729, Ashraf was expelled from Iran and the empire contracted to a small enclave around Kandahar. In 1738, Nader Shah completed the conquest by besieging and capturing Kandahar, killing Ashraf's successor Hussain Hotak and ending Hotak rule entirely.
Notable Imperial Reigns
Selected rulers mapping the empire’s trajectory