Muhammad Alam Khan Barakzai
Muhammad Alam Khan Barakzai (died 1857) was an Afghan noble of the Barakzai dynasty and the second son of Rahim Dil Khan, the fourth and last Sardar of the Principality of Kandahar.[1][2] A commander on the Kandahari side during Dost Muhammad Khan's conquest of the city, he is recorded as surrendering when the Principality fell, and he later died at the hands of bandits while returning from exile in Persia.[2][3]
Lineage
Muhammad Alam Khan was born into the Muhammadzai sub-clan of the Barakzai dynasty. His father, Rahim Dil Khan, served as governor of Sindh and Baluchistan before succeeding his brother Kohan Dil Khan as Sardar of Kandahar from 21 August 1855 until his overthrow in September 1856.[1] Muhammad Alam's mother was Hawa Begum, daughter of Sardar Rahim Dad Khan, Sultan Muhammad Barakzai.[2] He was one of seven sons and two daughters of Rahim Dil Khan; he married a daughter of his uncle Mehr Dil Khan, and had seven sons of his own.[2]
The conquest of Kandahar
During Dost Muhammad Khan's conquest of Kandahar in 1855–56, Muhammad Alam Khan is listed among the Kandahari commanders — alongside Sultan Ahmad Khan, Khush Dil Khan, Muhammad Sadiq Khan, Sultan Ali Khan, and Muhammad Umar Khan — who opposed the Kabul-based Amir and ultimately surrendered.[3] The conquest ended the semi-independent Principality of Kandahar, which had been ruled by the Dil brothers since 1818, and absorbed it into the Emirate of Afghanistan.[1][3]
Exile and death
Following the fall of Kandahar, Muhammad Alam Khan was exiled to Persia in 1855–1857, as were other members of the overthrown Kandahari branch. In 1857 he joined Amir Sultan Ahmad Khan at Herat, the last Barakzai stronghold resisting Dost Muhammad's consolidation.[2] While returning to Persia later that year, he was killed by bandits.[2] His father Rahim Dil Khan survived him, dying in Qajar Iran in 1859.[1]