SHAH SHUJA (178o?—1842)  ,

king of Afghanistan, was the son of Timur Shah, and grandson of Ahmad Shah, founder of the Durani dynasty . After conspiracies that caused the dethronement of two brothers, Taman Shah and Mahmud Shah, he became king in 1803 . He was, however, in his turn driven out of Afghanistan in 1809 by Mahmud Shah, and found refuge and a pension in British territory . Distrusting the attitude of the Amir Dost Mahommed towards Russia, Lord Auckland in 1839 attempted to restore Shah Shuja to the throne against the wishes of the Afghan people . This policy led to the disastrous first Afghan War . After the retreat of the British troops from Kabul, Shah Shuja shut himself up in the Bala Hissar . He left this retreat on the 5th of April 1842, and was immediately killed by the adherents of Dost Mahommed and his son Akbar Khan .