Ashraf Hotak

Shah Ashraf Hotak (Pashto/Persian: شاه اشرف هوتک; died 1730), also known as Shah Ashraf Ghilji or Ghilzay (شاه اشرف غلجي), was an Afghan ruler who reigned as Shah of Iran from 1725 to 1729.

He was a member of the Hotak tribe of the Ghilji Pashtuns, who revolted against the declining Safavid dynasty of Iran and conquered the capital Isfahan in 1722. He was the son of Abdul Aziz Hotak and a nephew of Mirwais Hotak. He served as a commander in the army of his cousin Mahmud Hotak during the revolt against the Safavids. Ashraf also participated in the Battle of Gulnabad. In 1725, he killed his cousin and reigned as Shah of Iran until 1729. His reign was noted for the sudden decline in the Hotak tribal rule under increasing pressure from Ottoman, Russian, and Persian forces.

Ashraf Khan halted both the Russian and Ottoman onslaughts. In the Ottoman–Hotaki War, he defeated the Ottoman Empire, which wanted to restore the Safavids to the throne, in a battle near Kermanshah. A peace agreement was finally signed in October 1727, in which Ashraf was recognized as Shah.

Ultimately, the royal Persian army of Shah Tahmasp II (one of the Shah Sultan Husayn's sons) under the leadership of Nader decisively defeated Ashraf's forces at the Battle of Damghan in October 1729 again at Murche-Khort the next year, causing the collapse of the Afghan army. Ashraf was killed on the way back to Kandahar, possibly on the orders of his cousin Hussain Hotak.