Ahmad Shah Durrani defeats the Marathas in the Battle of Barari Ghat.

Ahmad Shah Durrani invaded India eight times between 1748 and 1767. After the assassination of Nadir Shah, Ahmad Shah Durrani succeeded the throne of Afghanistan and started plundering wealth from nearby regions. In the Chota Ghalughara and Vada Ghalughara, Abdali managed to massacre many through ambush, but in the end, Abdali retreated when he encountered the Sikhs on his way to India on the banks of river Chenab. That was his last invasion he would ever do as shortly after he died. After Durrani returned to Afghanistan, the Sikhs rebelled and annexed several cities in the Punjab region. His repeated incursions destroyed the Mughal empire and at Panipat, dealt a major blow to Maratha dominions in the North and created a power vacuum. His objectives were met through the raids (taking the wealth and destroying sacred places belonging to the Indians) and caused political issues in India.

Ahmad Shāh Durrānī (Pashto/Dari: احمد شاه دراني; 1722 – 16 October 1772), also known as Ahmad Shah Abdālī, or Ahmad Khān Abdālī, (Pashto/Dari: احمد خان ابدالي), was the founder of the Durrani Empire and is regarded as the founder of the modern state of Afghanistan. In July 1747, Ahmad Shah was appointed as the King of Afghanistan by a loya jirga in Kandahar, where he set up his capital. Assisted by a council of nine advisers from various Afghan tribes, Ahmad Shah pushed east towards the Mughal and Maratha Empires of India, west towards the disintegrating Afsharid Empire of Iran, and north towards the Khanate of Bukhara of Turkestan. Within a few years, he extended his control from Khorasan in the west to Kashmir and North India in the east, and from the Amu Darya in the north to the Arabian Sea in the south.Soon after accession, Ahmad Shah adopted the epithet Shāh Durr-i-Durrān, "King, Pearl of Pearls," and changed the name of his Abdali tribe to "Durrani" after himself. The Tomb of Ahmad Shah Durrani is located in the center of Kandahar, adjacent to Kirka Sharif (Shrine of the Cloak), which contains a cloak believed to have been worn by the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Afghans often refer to Ahmad Shah as Ahmad Shāh Bābā, "Ahmad Shah the Father".