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32-567: In 1715, Mirwais died of natural causes and his brother Abdul Aziz succeeded him. He did not reign long as he was killed by his nephew Mahmud , who deposed the Safavid Shah and proclaimed his own rule over Iran. Mahmud in turn was succeeded by his cousin Ashraf following a palace coup in 1725. Ashraf also did not retain his throne for long, as the Iranian conqueror Nader-Qoli Beg (later Shah ), leading

64-752: A Safavid loyalist movement in the south led by Sayyed Ahmad , who had taken over much of Fars, Hormozgan, and Kerman. Ashraf's army was defeated in the October 1729 at the Battle of Damghan by Nader Shah Afshar, an Iranian soldier of fortune from the Afshar tribe , and the founder of the Afsharid dynasty that replaced the Safavids in Persia. Nader Shah had driven out and banished the remaining Ghilji forces from Persia and began enlisting some of

96-708: A fresh desperate effort, resulting in the complete defeat of the Persian army (of whom only some 700 escaped) and the death of their general. Two years later, in 1713, another Persian army commanded by Rustam Khán was also defeated by the rebels, who thus secured possession of the whole province of Qandahár . Abdul Aziz sided with the Persians and re-entered the suzerainty of Safavid Iran , which proved unpopular with fellow Afghans. Mahmud Hotak , his nephew, seeing that his father, Mirwais Hotak 's achievements would be washed away, assembled many of his fathers loyal followers, and entered

128-555: A hospital and a school of engineering which was built back in 1957. Grishk is located on the important transport route known as Highway 1 , which was built during the time of the Soviet–Afghan War . This route links Farah Province in the west and to Kandahar Province in the east. As part of Operation Moshtarak the British Army and Afghan workers are constructing Route Trident , a road that will eventually connect Grishk with

160-522: A pilgrimage to Mecca . He managed to get a fatwa from the religious authorities approving Mirwais's plan to overthrow tyrannical Safavid rule. In the summer of 1708 or January 1709 he returned to Kandahar and waited for the opportunity to kill Gurgin Khan. That opportunity came in April 1709. The Kakar tribe refused to pay taxes and revolted, so Gurgin Khan and his men went out to campaign against them. Protected by

192-536: A seven-week march; he crushed disturbances going on in the province at the time. He soon encountered Mirwais Hotak , the mayor ( kalantar ) of Kandahar and one of the richest and most influential people among the Ghilzais . At first Mirwais had good relations with the Georgians but it began to sour when Mirwais was removed from his position as mayor in 1706 and replaced by Alam Shah Afghan. The Georgians were hated throughout

224-399: Is the hottest month of the year with an average temperature of 32.2 °C. The coldest month January has an average temperature of 7.0 °C. The population of Grishk is primarily made up of Pashtuns, along with large minorities of Hazaras and Shia Tajiks, being one of the only regions of Helmand province with a significant Shia minority. Grishk was under control of Noorzai tribe during

256-635: Is the new name of Zamindawar which is named after the invasion the region by Nader Afshar army and given to Ghilji tribe in 18th century. Grishk a town in Grishk District of Helmand province , geographically located along the Helmand River in Afghanistan , some 120 km (75 mi) northwest of Kandahar , at 817 metres (2,680 ft) altitude. Upstream lies the Kajaki Dam which diverts water to

288-506: The Abdali Afghans of Farah and Kandahar in his military. Nader Shah's forces, among them Ahmad Shah Abdali and his 4,000 Abdali troops, went on to conquer Kandahar in 1738. They besieged and destroyed the last Hotak seat of power, which was held by Hussain Hotak (or Shah Hussain). Nader Shah then built a new town nearby, named " Naderabad " after himself. The Abdalis were then restored to

320-590: The Boghra Irrigation Canal , an essential infrastructure for the region's crops. Grishk Dam is also nearby. Grishk was originally built around a fort on the east bank of the river but was later rebuilt on the west. The fort was twice captured by the British: first in the First Anglo-Afghan War and again in 1879. In both cases the fort was later abandoned. Grishk has a population of about 48,546 and has

352-473: The Safavid garrison were on an expedition outside the city, followers of Mirwais and Abdul Aziz fell on the remainder and killed the greater number of them, including Gurgin Khan. The Pashtun tribes rankled under the ruling Safavids because of their continued attempts to forcefully convert them from Sunni to Shia Islam. After Gurgin Khan and his escort were killed in April 1709, the Hotak tribe took control of

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384-436: The 16th century until the early 18th century. At the same time, the native Afghan tribes living in the area were Sunni Muslims . Immediately to the east was the powerful Sunni Mughal Empire , who occasionally fought wars with the powerful Safavids over the territory of southern Afghanistan. The Khanate of Bukhara controlled the area to the north at the same time. By the late 17th century, the Safavids started to decline. With

416-542: The 2nd Battalion 7th Marines, Echo Co, which was sent there to help support train the Afghan Police, worked with the Danish and British military. On December 4, 2008, two Danish soldiers were killed near Grishk. In June 2017, the son of Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada , named Hafiz Abdur-Rahman, committed a suicide attack against Afghan forces based in the city. The city, along with other parts of Helmand province and

448-701: The Ghaznavid Nasher Khans, Mirwais and his men ambushed Gurgin Khan on April 21 and killed him. They expelled the Georgian garrison from Kandahar and the surviving Georgians fled to Gereshk and waited. When the Safavid court heard of this, they sent Kaikhosro Khan with 12,000 men to recapture Kandahar. He left Isfahan for Qandahar in November 1709, and were aided by members of the Abdali tribe . The army progressed slowly as

480-514: The Shah, Sultan Husayn . Having ingratiated himself with the Safavid court, Mirwais sought and obtained permission to perform the pilgrimage to Mecca in the Ottoman empire . He had studied carefully all the military weaknesses of the Safavids while he spent time in their court. In 1709 Mirwais and Abdul Aziz began organising their countrymen in preparation for a major uprising. When a significant number of

512-599: The city and the province. The Pashtun rebels then defeated a large Qizilbash and Persian army, sent to gain control over the area. Several half-hearted attempts to subdue the rebellious city having failed, the Persian Government despatched Khusraw Khán , nephew of the late Gurgín Khán, with an army of 30,000 men to effect its subjugation, but in spite of an initial success, which led the Afgháns to offer to surrender on terms, his uncompromising attitude impelled them to make

544-465: The court was unwilling to help much, and they arrived at Farah in April–May or November 1710. In the summer of 1711 Kaikhosro marched to Kandahar and besieged it. The Ghilzais sued for peace but Kaikhosro refused to accept it, so they kept fighting. The Baluchis frequently harassed the Georgians and forced them to retreat on October 26. The defenders of Kandahar emerged and pursued the Georgians, resulting in

576-518: The death of Shah Abbas in 1629, succeeding Safavid rulers were less effective and caused the empire to decline. On 29 July 1694, Shah Suleiman died and Sultan Husayn took the throne. Under his reign the problems worsened. Husayn barely left the palace during his reign, not an uncommon aspect of many later Safavid Shahs. Later Safavid rulers were immobile and their courts were riddled with factionalism unlike their more mobile ancestors who spent more time on campaigns and had smaller courts. The government

608-607: The death of Kaikhosro. Another Persian army was sent to Kandahar in 1712 but they never made it there as their commander died in Herat, leaving the Hotaks to their own devices. With this, Mirwais was able to extend his control over the entire province of Kandahar. After his peaceful passing in November 1715 from natural causes, his brother Abdul Aziz succeeded him; the latter was murdered later by Mirwais' son Mahmud after having only ruled for eighteen months. In 1720, Mahmud's Afghan forces crossed

640-513: The death of his brother, Mirwais Hotak . He was the father of Ashraf Hotak , the fourth ruler of the Hotak dynasty. Abdul Aziz was killed in 1717 by his nephew Mahmud Hotak . The tradition of parricide continued as Mahmud died at the hands of his cousin and Abdul Azīz's son Ashraf. Abdul Aziz was born in a wealthy and politically connected family in the Kandahar area. His family had been involved in social and community services for many years. He

672-419: The deserts of Sistan and captured Kerman . He planned to conquer the Persian capital, Isfahan. After defeating the Persian army at the Battle of Gulnabad on March 8, 1722, he proceeded to besiege Isfahan . The siege lasted about six months and the people of Isfahan were in such a state of hunger that they were forced to eat rats and dogs. On October 23, 1722, Sultan Husayn abdicated and acknowledged Mahmud as

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704-476: The dynasty lived under great turmoil due to bloody succession feuds that made their hold on power tenuous. After the massacre of thousands of civilians in Isfahan – including more than three thousand religious scholars, nobles, and members of the Safavid family – the Hotak dynasty was eventually removed from power in Persia. Ashraf Hotak took over the monarchy following Shah Mahmud's death in 1725. He had to deal with

736-506: The general area of Kandahar, with the Ghiljis being pushed back to their former stronghold of Kalat-i Ghilji . This arrangement lasts to the present day. Abdul Aziz Hotak Shāh Abdul Azīz Hotak ( Pashto / Dari : عبد العزیز هوتک ; died 1717) was the second ruler of the Ghilji Hotak dynasty of Kandahar , in what is today the state of Afghanistan . He was crowned in 1715 after

768-405: The new Shah of Persia. For the next seven years until 1729, the Hotaks were the de facto rulers of most of Persia, and the southern areas of Afghanistan remained under their control until 1738. The Hotak dynasty was a troubled and violent one from the very start as an internecine conflict made it difficult to establish permanent control. The majority of Persians rejected the leaders as usurpers, and

800-465: The province. They ruled with brutality towards the local population. This would encourage the Ghilzais to revolt against Safavid rule, and Mirwais was involved in one of these revolts. Gurgin Khan found out and sent Mirwais to Isfahan . While there, he saw the weakness of the Safavid court and complained about the brutality of Gurgin Khan. He turned the shah and his court against Gurgin Khan, and then went on

832-600: The provincial capital of Lashkar Gah . Grishk is also the southern terminus of Route 611 . The area is irrigated by the Helmand and Arghandab Valley Authority . Grishk has a hot desert climate ( Köppen BWh ), characterised by little precipitation and high variation between summer and winter temperatures. The average temperature in Grishk is 19.6 °C, while the annual precipitation averages 117 mm. Summers start in mid-May, last until late-September, and are extremely dry. July

864-564: The resurgent Safavid banner, defeated him at the Battle of Damghan of 1729. Ashraf Hotak was banished to what is now southern Afghanistan, confining Hotak rule to a small corner of their former empire. In 1738, Hotak rule ended when Nader Shah defeated Ashraf's successor Hussain Hotak after a lengthy siege of Kandahar . Subsequently, Nader Shah began re-establishing Iranian suzerainty over regions lost decades before to Iran's archrivals—the Ottoman and Russian Empires . The Shi'a Safavids ruled Loy Kandahar as their easternmost territory from

896-649: The royal palace. Mahmud Hotak himself killed Abdul Aziz, and ascended the throne of the Hotaks at the age of 18. Abdul Aziz was buried at a mausoleum next to his brother in the Kokaran section of Kandahar City in Afghanistan. Grishk 31°49′N 64°33′E  /  31.817°N 64.550°E  / 31.817; 64.550 Grishk ( Pashto : ګرِشک , romanized:  Grishk ; Persian : گِرِشک , romanized :  Gereshk ), also spelled Gereshk ,

928-506: The time of first Taliban government, and Mullah Mir Hamza an ethnic Pashtun from Noorzai tribe was the District governor of Grishk, while Mullah Mahmmad Azam an ethnic Pashtun from Noorzai tribe was the commander of Taliban forces in Grishk. In November, 2003, Afghan Civilian Abdul Wahed died in Grishk at the special forces base, after being exposed to torture by the Afghan army. In April 2008

960-539: Was in a state of chaos due to it being fought over for control by the Shi'a Persian Safavids and the Sunni Moghuls of India. Mirwais Khan, a Sunni tribal chief whose influence with his fellow-countrymen made him an object of suspicion, was held as a political prisoner by the Safavid governor of the region, Gurgin Khan , and sent to the Safavids' court at Isfahan . He was later released and even allowed to meet regularly with

992-693: Was the son of Salim Khan and Nazo Tokhi (also known as "Nazo Anaa"), grandson of Karum Khan and great grandson of Ismail Khan, a descendant of Malikyar, the original head of the Hottaki or Hotaks. The Hottaki is an important branch of Ghilji , one of the main tribes among the Pashtun people . Hajji Amanullah Hottak reports in his book that the Ghilji tribe were the original residents of Ghor or Gherj. This tribe migrated later to obtain lands in southeastern Afghanistan and then grew in number in this region. In 1707, Kandahar

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1024-532: Was weak and the army was ineffective. This power vacuum allowed tribal groups like the Turkmen , Baluch , Arabs , Kurds , Dagestanis , and Afghans to constantly raid frontier provinces. In 1704, the Safavid Shah Husayn appointed his Georgian subject and king of Kartli George XI ( Gurgīn Khān ), a convert to Islam , as the governor of Kandahar . In early May 1704, George marched from Kerman and after

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