Hussain Hotak

Shah Hussain Hotak (Pashto/Dari: شاه حسين هوتک), son of Mirwais Hotak, was the fifth and last ruler of the Ghilji Hotak dynasty. An ethnic Pashtun (Afghan) from the Ghilji tribe, he succeeded to the throne after the death of his brother Mahmud Hotak in 1725 at the hand of their cousin Ashraf Hotak. He was also a Pashto language poet. While his cousin Ashraf ruled most of Persia from Isfahan, Hussain ruled Kandahar, but was defeated.

Ashraf's death in 1729 marked the end of the very short-lived Hotak rule in Persia (Iran), but Kandahar was still under Hussain's control until 1738 when Nader Shah conquered it. It was only a short pause before the establishment of the last Afghan Empire in 1747.