Indian campaign of Ahmad Shah Durrani in the context of "List of Indian monarchs"

The Durrani Empire, colloquially known as the Kingdom of Afghanistan, Afghan Empire or the Sadozai Kingdom, was an Afghan empire founded by the Durrani tribe of Pashtuns under Ahmad Shah Durrani in 1747, which spanned parts of Central Asia, the Iranian plateau, and the Indian subcontinent. At its peak, it ruled over present-day Afghanistan, much of Pakistan, parts of northeastern and southeastern Iran, eastern Turkmenistan, and northwestern India. Next to the Ottoman Empire, the Durrani Empire is considered to be among the most significant Islamic empires of the second half of the 18th century.

Ahmad was the son of Muhammad Zaman Khan (an Afghan chieftain of the Abdali tribe) and the commander of Nader Shah Afshar. Following Afshar's death in June 1747, Ahmad secured Afghanistan by taking Kandahar, Ghazni, Kabul, and Peshawar. After his accession as the nation's king, he changed his tribal name from Abdali to Durrani. In 1749, the Mughal Empire had ceded sovereignty over much of northwestern India to the Afghans; Ahmad then set out westward to take possession of Mashhad, which was ruled by the Afsharid dynasty under Shahrokh Shah, who also acknowledged Afghan suzerainty. Subsequently, Ahmad sent an army to subdue the areas north of the Hindu Kush down to the Amu Darya, and in short order, all of the different Afghan tribes began to join his cause. Under Ahmad, the Afghans invaded India on eight occasions, subjugating parts of Kashmir and the majority of Punjab. In early 1757, he sacked Delhi, but permitted Mughal emperor Alamgir II to remain in nominal control as long as he acknowledged Afghan suzerainty over the regions south of the Indus River, till Sutlej river.

The sack of Delhi occurred from 28 January to 22 February 1757, carried out by the Durrani Empire under the Afghan king Ahmad Shah Durrani. Delhi, the capital of the Mughal Empire, experienced multiple invasions by the Afghans during the 18th century.

The decline of the Mughal Empire began with the death of Emperor Aurangzeb on 3 March 1707. The Mughals faced numerous invasions from the Maratha Confederacy and internal conflicts over succession. The Mughals continued declining under Muhammad Shah, allowing adventurers such as Nader Shah to invade Mughal territories and sack Delhi. Following Nader Shah's death, his eastern domains were taken over by Ahmad Shah Durrani, who formed the Durrani Empire and centered his power base in Kandahar, Afghanistan. After three invasions by the Afghans, the Mughals lost numerous territories including Kashmir, Punjab, and Sindh.