The Principality of Kandahar (Persian: شاهزاده نشین قندهار) was a state that existed in Kandahar from 1818 to 1855. It was ruled by the Dil brothers, members of the Barakzai dynasty, as a confederation. In 1855 the principality was conquered by the Kabul-based half-brother of the Kandahari Dil brothers, Dost Mohammad Khan.
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Dost Mohammad Khan Barakzai, (23 December 1792 – 9 June 1863) nicknamed the Great Emir, was the founder of the Barakzai dynasty and one of the prominent rulers of Afghanistan during the First Anglo-Afghan War. With the decline of the Durrani dynasty, he succeeded his brother Sultan Mohammad Khan, and became the Emir of Afghanistan in 1826. An ethnic Pashtun, he belonged to the Mohammadzai branch of the Barakzai tribe. He was the 11th son of Payandah Khan, chief of the Barakzai Pashtuns, who was killed in 1800 by King Zaman Shah Durrani.
At the beginning of his rule, the Afghans lost their former stronghold of Peshawar Valley in March 1823 to the Sikh Khalsa Army of Ranjit Singh at the Battle of Nowshera. The Afghan forces in the battle were led by Mohammad Azim Khan, half-brother of Dost Mohammad Khan. By the end of his reign, he had reunited the principalities of Kandahar and Herat with Kabul. Dost had ruled for a lengthy 36 years, a span exceeded only by Mohammad Zahir Shah more than a century later.
Herat (Persian: هَرات, romanized: Harāt), or Emirate of Herat (Persian: امیرنشین هَرات, romanized: Amir nešine Harāt, or Principality of Herat (Persian: شاهزادهنشین هَرات, romanized: Šāhzāde nešine Harāt), or Herat Khanate (Persian: خاننشین هَرات, romanized: Xān nešine Harāt) was a state in Afghanistan from 1793 to 1863, and one of the three main khanates that existed in 19th century Afghanistan (the others being the khanates of Kabul and Kandahar) after the breakup of the Durrani Empire.
In 1793, Timur Shah Durrani died and Mahmud Shah took control of Herat, making the town and the surrounding region independent. In 1801, the principality was revived by Firuz al-Din Mirza. Herat was prosperous under his reign in spite of multiple invasions by Qajar Iran. In 1818, Mahmud and later Kamran Shah took over, attempting to keep the region stable as a buffer region between the Barakzais and Qajars. However, the region was devastated by constant infighting and further Iranian invasions.
The Conquest of Kandahar took place on 14 November 1855, and its consolidation lasted as long as September 1856. Following the death of Kohan Dil Khan, the ruler of Kandahar under the Dil brothers, the region had fallen into a succession crisis between Rahmdil Khan, the brother of Kohandil, and Kohandil's sons, who wished to gain power for themselves. Dost Mohammad Khan, the ruler of the Emirate of Afghanistan, sought to take advantage of the anarchy and chaos, and conquer Kandahar for himself.