credited as having been the greatest ruler Afghanistan ever had. Early Life and rise to Power (1792-1826) Dost Mohammad Khan was born to an influential family on 23 December 1792 in Kandahar, Durrani Empire. His father, Payinda Khan, was chief of the Pashtun Barakzai tribe and a civil servant in the Durrani dynasty. Their family can be traced back to Abdal (the first and founder of the Abdali tribe), through Hajji Jamal Khan, Yousef, Yaru, Mohammad, Omar Khan, Khisar Khan, Ismail, Nek, Daru, Saifal, and Barak. Abdal had Four sons, Popal, Barak, Achak, and Alako. Dost Mohmmad Khan's mother belonged to the Qizilbash group, and from the Persian tribe of Sīāh Manṣūr. Dost Mohammad Khan spoke Persian, Pashto, Punjabi and Turkish, but also had knowledge of the Kashmiri language. According to Alexander Burnes, Dost Mohammad Khan also knew French. Dost Mohammad Khan was only seven years old when his father, Payinda Khan, was executed. Due to this and the realms instability, Dost Mohammad Khan was unable to receive any proper education, unlike his brothers. After Fateh Khan and Mahmud Shah Durrani conquered Kandahar in 1800, he became the attendant of his older brother, Fateh Khan Barakzai. Dost Mohammad grew even more prominent in Mahmud's second reign, taking up military positions, and even important political office positions, such as the deputyship of Kabul, and the governorship of the Kohistan region. His elder brother, the chief of the Barakzai, Fateh Khan, took an important part in raising Mahmud Shah Durrani to the sovereignty of Afghanistan in 1800 and in restoring him to the throne in 1809. Dost Mohammad accompanied his elder brother and then Prime Minister of Kabul Wazir Fateh Khan to the Battle of Attock against the invading Sikhs. Mahmud Shah repaid Fateh Khan's services by having him executed in 1818, thus incurring the enmity of his tribe. The Barakzai brothers would lead a campaign against Mahmud, including Dost Mohammad, who briefly occupied Kabul in 1818, and established his brother as temporary governor. After a bloody conflict, Mahmud Shah was deprived of all his possessions but Herat, the rest of his dominions being divided among Fateh Khan's brothers. Of these, Dost Mohammad received Ghazni, to which in 1826, Dost Mohammad toppled his brother, Sultan Mohammad Khan in a coup for Kabul, Dost Mohammad did this by capitalizing on Sultan Mohammad Khan's unpopularity, mostly due to his alienation of the Qizilbash factions