Dost Mohammad Khan (Emir of Afghanistan) in the context of "Mohammadzai"

Abdur Rahman Khan GCSI (Pashto; Persian: عبدالرحمن خان, between 1840 and 1844 – 1 October 1901), also known by his epithet, The Iron Emir, was Emir of Afghanistan from 1880 to his death in 1901. He is known for perpetrating the Hazara genocide, and suppressing Hazara rebels in the most brutal ways, while uniting the country after years of strong centralization, internal fighting, and negotiation of the Durand Line agreement with British India.

Abdur Rahman Khan was the only son of Mohammad Afzal Khan, and grandson of Dost Mohammad Khan, founder of the Barakzai dynasty. Abdur Rahman Khan re-established the writ of the Afghan government after the disarray that followed the second Anglo-Afghan war. He became known as The Iron Amir because of his government's military despotism. This despotism rested upon a well-appointed army and was administered through officials subservient to an inflexible will and controlled by a widespread system of espionage.

Mohammad Afzal Khan Barakzai (1815 – 7 October 1867) was the governor of Afghan Turkestan from 1849 to 1863 and was Emir of Afghanistan from May 1866 to October 1867. The oldest son of Dost Mohammad Khan, Afzal Khan was born in Kabul in 1815. His father died on 9 June 1863 followed by a civil war among Dost Mohammad Khan's sons. In May 1866 he seized power from his brother Sher Ali Khan and captured Kabul. A year later he contracted cholera and died on 7 October 1867. Following Afzal Khan's death, Mohammad Azam Khan was proclaimed Amir of Afghanistan. He was an ethnic Pashtun and belonged to the Barakzai tribe.

Mohammad Afzal Khan's third son Abdur Rahman Khan was Emir from 1880 to 1901. Afzal Khan was also responsible for the creation of Takhtapul.