The Nose Mask of Abdali and the End of Durrani Empire Face mask of an Muslim Ruler Ahmad Shah Abdali , later known as Ahmad Shah Durrani , was the founder of modern Afghanistan. Respected by the Afghans as 'Baba", Ahmad Shah is known in Indian history as a genocidal maniac who massacred over 100,000 Indians, kidnapped their women, and plundered their properties. Not many know that Ahmad Shah Abdali wore a nose mask to hide a cancerous would inflicted by the Sikhs during the battle of Amritsar. Before being elected king in 1747, Abdali was a cavalry general under the Persian emperor Nadir Shah Afshar. Abdali was part of Nadir Shah's army as it plundered Delhi and annexed the famous diamond Koh-i-Noor from the Mughal Emperor Muhamad Shah. Koh-i-Noor on British Royal Crown Nader Shah was a ruler of Iran belonging to Turkish Afshars , a semi-nomadic Qizilbash tribe settled in the northern valleys of Khorasan , a province in the north-east of the Persian Empire. N