With the fall of his
vizier the king's power rapidly declined, and he fled to Herat,
virtually yielding up the rest of his kingdom. He died in 1829, his son,
Kamran, succeeding to the limited government of that portion only of his
former dominions. Upon the flight of Mahmood to Herat, the horrid murder
of their brother threw the whole of the Barukzye family into open
revolt, the eldest of whom, Azeem Khan, recalled Shah Shooja from his
exile. From the time Shah Shooja lost his throne, he had been first a
captive in the hands of the son of his former vizier, and then a
pensioner on the bounty of the Maharajah, at Lahore, who in return
extorted from him the famous diamond, "The Mountain of Light," and other
jewels, which he had brought away with him when he fled at Neemla. He
then made his escape from the Maharajah, and found protection and
support from the British government of India. Upon the summons from
Azeem Khan, Shah Shooja immediately hastened to Peshawur; where, before
his benefactor had time to meet him, he practically displayed his ideas
of royalty so unwisely, and so insulted some of the friends of the
Barukzye family, that the whole party took offence, and they at once
rejected him, and placed his brother Eyoob on the throne.
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