Ahmad Shāh Durrānī (c. 1722 – 16 October 1772) (Pashto: احمد شاه دراني), also known as Ahmad Khān Abdālī (Pashto: احمد خان ابدالي), was the founder of the Durrani Empire and is regarded as the founder of the modern state of Afghanistan. He began his career by enlisting as a young soldier in the military of the Afsharid kingdom and quickly rose to become a commander of the Abdali Regiment, a cavalry of four thousand Abdali Pashtun soldiers.