   josiah harlan, prince of ghor (12 june 1799 â 1871) was an american adventurer, best known for travelling to afghanistan and punjab with the intention of making himself a king. while there, he became involved in local politics and factional military actions, eventually winning the title prince of ghor in perpetuity for himself and his descendants in exchange for military aid. rudyard kipling's short story the man who would be king is believed to be partly based on harlan. ==harlan's childhood== josiah harlan was born in newlin township in chester county, pennsylvania. his parents, joshua harlan and sarah hinchman,ancestry of josiah harlan were quakers, and josiah and his nine siblings, including richard harlan, were raised in a strict and pious home. his father was a merchant broker in philadelphia and several of his sons would later enter the merchant business. losing his mother at the age of thirteen, josiah delved into reading. a contemporary records that harlan, at the age of fifteen, amused himself with reading medical books and the biographies of plutarch, as well as the inspired prophets. he read latin and greek, while speaking fluent french. he also developed a passion for botany that would last his entire life. he also studied greek and roman ancient history, particularly taken by stories of alexander the great. ==early travels== in 1820, harlan embarked on his first travels. his father secured him a job as supercargo on a merchant ship bound for the east, sailing to calcutta, india, then guangzhou, china and back. returning from this first trip and preparing for the next, he fell in love. it was arranged that they were engaged and to be married when he returned. however, in calcutta he received notice that his fiancÃ©e had broken the engagement and already married another. broken by this news, harlan vowed never to return to [[united states of america
1799_births 1871_deaths American_mercenaries British_East_India_Company_Army_officers Central_Asian_studies People_from_Chester_County,_Pennsylvania People_of_the_First_Anglo-Burmese_War Princes