Wazir Akbar Khan
| Mohammad Akbar Khan محمد اکبر خان | |
|---|---|
| Ghazi | |
A drawing of Akbar Khan by Vincent Eyre | |
| Emir of Kabul | |
| Reign | December 1842 – April 1843 |
| Predecessor | Sultan Shahpur Durrani |
| Successor | Dost Mohammad Khan |
| Born | 11 November 1817 Mazar-i-Sharif, Durrani Empire |
| Died | 10 December 1847 (aged 30) Jalalabad, Emirate of Kabul |
| Burial | Blue Mosque, Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan |
| Spouse | 5 wives
|
| Issue | 2 sons and 2 daughters
|
| House | Barakzai |
| Father | Dost Mohammad Khan |
| Mother | Merman Khadija Popalzai |
| Religion | Sunni Islam |
| Military career | |
| Conflicts | Dost Mohammad's Campaign to Jalalabad (1834) |
Mohammad Akbar Khan Barakzai, (11 November 1817 – 10 December 1847) famously known as Wazir Akbar Khan, was a Barakzai prince and military commander who served as Emir of Afghanistan from December 1842 to April 1843. He also served as vizier and heir apparent to his father, Emir Dost Mohammad Khan, until his death in 1847.
Wazir Akbar Khan's fame began with the 1837 Battle of Jamrud. He was militarily active in the First Anglo-Afghan War, which lasted from 1839 to 1842. He is prominent for his leadership of the national party in Kabul from 1841 to 1842, and his massacre of Elphinstone's army at the Gandamak pass before the only survivor, the assistant surgeon William Brydon, reached the besieged garrison at Jalalabad on 13 January 1842. Wazir Akbar Khan became the emir of Afghanistan in May 1842, and ruled until Dost Mohammad Khan's return in 1843. In 1847 Wazir Akbar Khan died of cholera.