ORIGINAL KING AFGHANISTAN PHOTO Amānullāh Khān امان الله خان‎ VINTAGE RARE

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Seller: memorabilia111 ✉️ (808) 100%, Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan, US, Ships to: US & many other countries, Item: 176277816023 ORIGINAL KING AFGHANISTAN PHOTO Amānullāh Khān امان الله خان‎ VINTAGE RARE. A RARE VINTAGE ORIGINAL PHOTO OF KING Amānullāh Khān (Pashto: امان الله خان‎) OF AFGHANISTAN Amānullāh Khān was the sovereign of the Kingdom of Afghanistan from 1919 to 1929, first as Emir and after 1926 as King. 
  AMĀNALLĀH (1892-1961), ruler of Afghanistan (1919-29), first with the title of amir and from 1926 on with that of shah. He was the third son of Amir Ḥabīballāh, who was assassinated on 20 February 1919 when Amānallāh was serving as governor of Kabul with control over the army and the royal treasury, an advantage that aided him to succeed in the struggle for the throne against his uncle, Naṣrallāh. Having secured power (an open darbār was held on 13 April), Amānallāh proceeded to declare a holy war against the British in India. He was strongly under the influence of the Afghan intellectual, author, and publisher of the journal Serāǰ al-aḵbār, Maḥmūd Ṭarzī (he had married one of Ṭarzī’s daughters, Ṯorayyā, in 1914). Ṭarzī’s influence worked in the direction of anti-colonialist, anti-British, pan-Islamic, and reformist attitudes; his journal exhorted Muslims to shed western imperialist control and to modernize. The Third Anglo-Afghan War (3 May-3 June 1919) gave vent to these concerns, while the Treaty of Rawalpindi, signed on 11 Ḏu’l-qaʿda 1337/8 August 1919, secured for Afghanistan full independence, including the right to conduct its own foreign affairs. Further negotiations led to the Anglo-Afghan Treaty of 1921. With independence secured, Amānallāh turned to internal modernization. He inaugurated a comprehensive series of legal, social, economic, military, and political reforms; he was both forerunner and emulator of Ataturk and Reżā Shah. The various legislative and executive measures can be roughly divided into three stages. The first (1919-23) was confined largely to legal codification; also in this period Afghanistan’s first constitution was promulgated (9 April 1923). The second stage (1924-26) dealt mostly with military and executive reforms; a brief third stage (1928-29) sought to emphasize social and religious change. Reforms included the following: The army was reorganized, with military service now based on a lottery. Educational standards were imposed on the religious establishment, the privileges of which were curbed. Tribal subsidies were eliminated, internal customs duties were abolished, and payment of taxes in cash substituted for payment in kind. The first Afghan budget was compiled, import-substitution industries were founded, and agriculture promoted through tax incentives and land reform. Social reforms were inaugurated—by legislation, persuasion, propaganda, or royal fiat. Women were encouraged (not required) to unveil and to participate in public life; polygamy was discouraged, while slavery was legally banned. A strict anti-corruption campaign was launched. Education of both boys and girls received top priority; it was secularized and modernized to include foreign languages and study abroad. Public works programs included roads, bridges, and many public buildings; the first (and only) opera house in Afghanistan and a small railroad linking Kabul with a new administrative capital (Dār al-Amān) were constructed. In foreign affairs, Amānallāh obtained diplomatic recognition of Afghanistan from most of the major powers between 1921 and 1923 (the United States, due to British influence and lack of commercial or cultural interests there, did not officially recognize Afghanistan until 21 August 1934; a resident mission was not opened in Kabul until June, 1942). Relations with Iran were nominally friendly but rather remote. Those with the USSR were cordial in the 1920s, when the Bolsheviks were asserting authority over the Muslim areas of the former Russian empire; but once they ended Bokhara’s autonomy, Amānallāh was disillusioned and relations cooled. In British India officials had difficulty in accepting Afghanistan’s total independence, while Afghans bitterly resented British patronizing attitudes. The tribal border areas were a constant source of ferment and trouble, and Amānallāh’s public championing of the cause of Indian independence brought added irritation. Amānallāh’s reign produced mixed results. The Afghan economy was greatly stimulated, enabling Afghanistan to pay for its own development program and foreign technicians. Most of the educational reforms were accepted with gusto, especially by the young. The army reforms, implemented by a Turkish military mission, though well-intentioned, were poorly executed and caused disaffection, making the army almost useless during the final rebellion. Religious and tribal resistance was concentrated on those features of the modernization program which curbed the financial and social privileges of the mollās and the khans and threatened tribal autonomy. In 1924 the warlike Mangals and allied tribes started a major revolt which was put down with great difficulty. Amānallāh learned little from this close call and proceeded with his reforms. In 1927-28 after a triumphal tour of the Middle East and Europe, he and Queen Ṯorayyā returned even more convinced of the need for rapid modernization. In late 1928 he announced a greatly expanded reform program, but this was interrupted in early 1929 by another major tribal revolt. This time, caught between the Pashtun tribes of the east and the Tajik tribes of the north, Amānallāh’s government collapsed. A brief comeback launched from Qandahār also failed. Disillusioned, he fled to Italy in June, 1929; he died there on 21 September 1961. Views conflict as to why Amānallāh’s modernization attempt failed. Many Afghans believe that the revolt was the result of a British plot, but careful research in the secret British files of the period has failed to substantiate this charge, and there is considerable circumstantial evidence to disprove it. A long-accepted theory holds that an inherently conservative, orthodox people revolted in protest against reforms involving women’s freedom, an attempt to abolish the veil, an attack on polygamy, educational changes such as coeducation, secularization of the legal codes, and imposition of educational standards on religious leaders. But recent scholarship, working with newly available archives and oral history techniques, rejects this theory, maintaining that the rebellion was a classical tribal separatist movement reacting to the centralizing thrust of Amānallāh’s political and economic reforms. The underlying resistance was not to the social and educational reforms but to such threats to the tribal autonomy, the vested interests of the khans, and the inflated privileges of the ʿolamāʾ as the anti-corruption drive, the lottery draft, the elimination of tribal and religious subsidies, equitable tax enforcement, and the roads and telegraphs which penetrated tribal areas and brought law enforcers, teachers, and tax collectors. According to this better supported thesis, rebel propagandists justified their revolt by using religious and social rhetoric to arouse mass feelings; the propaganda then became the accepted explanation for the rebellion. But the fact remains that the tribal people who rebelled were the least affected by the social and religious reforms, which were almost entirely urban phenomena. Amānallāh’s reign and works are important not only as a prototype of an attempt to modernize a tribal society but also because almost the entire structure of later Afghan modernization has been built on the base which he created. How did Nadir accede the throne? Originally translated by Maliha Fazel Zafar from Afghan writer and historian, Sayed Qasim Reshtia.  The late Sayed Qasim Reshtia was born in 1913 as son of Sayed Habib.  He was brother to former Parliament members Mir Mohammad Sidiq Farhang and Ruqia Abubakr.  He served three times as Ambassador and three times as Cabinet Minister during the reign of King Zahir Shah.  Mr. Reshtia died several months after writing his final book in Switzerland in March 1998.               The accession of Nadir to the throne and the fall of all the others in the struggle against Habibullah Kalakani, were not accidental.  The British imperialist government planned it all.  The British had taken a certain number of weak-willed people under special patronage.  Among those Nadir was the desirable candidate to the throne of Afghanistan.   The plan was conceived at an early date.  We can find its origin a century earlier in the days of the Peshawar Sardars such as Sultan Mohammad Khan Telai, the great grand father of Nadir.  He had links with the British, and then his sons, Yahya Khan and Zikria Khan, followed the path.  During the Second Anglo-Afghan War they struggled on the British side.  After the above-mentioned Sardars the underhand activities continued by their sons: Sardar Mohammad Asif Khan and Sardar Mohammad Yousof Khan, private advisors to Amir Habibullah Khan, son of Amir Abdur Rahman Khan.  Finally Nadir and his brothers and cousins took up the task.  They received training at Dehradun in India from the British and were kept there until circumstances became favourable in Kabul for their appearance.  This was at the end of the reign of Amir Habibullah Khan.  By that time the British became sure of the fall of Amir Abdur Rahman Khan, the IRON AMIR, and the mentioned family was sent back to Afghanistan.  So it was the British who enabled the family influence the successor of Amir Abdur Rahman Khan.  Thus, according to the British plan, the work ran on smoothly.  The beautiful daughter of Sardar Mohammad Yousof Khan was engaged to the new king.  The engagement smoothened the path for the activities of all the members of that family in influencing sate affairs.  Each one received a suitable position at the royal court, according to their field of training, and according to their ages.    The older Sardars, like Mohammad Asif Khan and Mohammad Yousof Khan, were appointed as special companions of the king.  Sardar Mohammad Sulaiman Khan, who was a soldier in the mounted unit of the British army, received the position of military attaché; Sardar Fatih Mohammad Khan Zikria became the magistrate and Sardar Mohammad Aziz Khan was appointed as cultural attaché.  Sardar Mohammad Nadir Khan who was in the British artillery was awarded the position of Brigadier at the royal guard.  Sardar Mohammad Hashim Khan and Sardar Shah Wali Khan respectively got the military positions of (Sir Soru and Sir Mir Espor).  Sardar Ahmad Shah Khan Asifi received the military position of Sir Mir Espor, and Sardar Shah Mahmud Khan was appointed military chief of Parwanaha.               Thus, those were the important ranks held by that trained family in the military and civil service.  Until the end of the reign of Amir Habibullah Khan, they regularly received promotions.  In that order Mohammad Sulaiman Khan became the governor of Herat and Sardar Shir Ahmad Khan Zikria, who also was in the British army, was appointed military attaché.               But, the one who was the focus of the British attention was Nadir.  Nadir very soon secured the position of General and as then promoted to the position of General Commander.  In the beginning of the First World War, The British actually prepared the plan of the Mangal rebellion in 1913.  The British wanted to compel the Amir to resist the enlightened, who wanted Afghanistan to assume an anti-British posture.  A revolt was engineered at Mangal and Nadir suppressed it.  The revolt was staged merely for Nadir to enhance his reputation.               In the beginning of the World War, ostensibly, Afghanistan declared a policy of neutrality.  The royal aides made sure the king would not act against the British policy and interests.  When the war entered into its second year, a joint delegation of Turks and Germans came to Kabul.  To appease public opinion, and due to presence of the representative of the Ottoman Sultan in the delegation, the Amir saw it fit and welcomed them.  According to a declassified document of the British Government, the Sardars assured the agents of the British Government, Hafiz Saifullah, that they should not be concerned about the arrival of the delegation.  It was only for the sake and satisfaction of the group, which favoured the country’s entrance into the war.  Consequently the delegation of Turks and Germans headed by Raja Mahendra Partab, who led the Indian liberals, and its members, Von Niedermeiyer and Von Hentag who were German soldiers, and Kazem Beg the representative of the Sultan of Turk, left Kabul after six months with empty hands.  Thus the foreign policy of Afghanistan until the end of the war remained as the British desired.               They deceived the Afghans with vague promise of recognizing their independence, and kept them hoping so until one year after the war.  The people of Afghanistan were plagued during the war with various problems, like recession and lacking necessary imported commodities, laying of heavier taxes for strengthening the defensive capability of the country.  The enlightened of Afghanistan were afraid to miss the opportunity created by the defeated a number of the great imperialist powers, the disunity and weakness of the remaining powers, including the victorious states, as well as the workers’ revolution and liberal movements in countries around Afghanistan.  They started to act immediately.  As a result, in a matter of a few dramatic days, the struggles of the conservative and reactionary groups were failed.  The enlightened liberal group under Amanullah Khan came into power.  It was the first time that the British initiative failed here in Afghanistan.  The new leader not only refused to accept all the agreements earlier signed with the British, but wanted her to recognize the independence of Afghanistan.  In the face of the hesitation of the British who pinned their hopes on the activities of their protégés the Afghans were compelled to resort to arms.  Thus the third Anglo-Afghan War, known in Afghan history as the war of Independence, was started.  The war begun by the will power and action of the people of Afghanistan, with coordination of all class to banish the shameful influence of foreigners.               People came from all sides of the country and voluntarily took part in the war of Independence.  They hoisted the flag of war and moved toward the enemies’ frontier.  Along with using arms, the vast and influential publicity was continued through the India frontier as well as in India.  The mentioned aspects and means compelled the British government to stop her rigid policy toward Afghanistan.  Before the rise of the people in the free frontier and the Indian people who were interested in Afghanistan, the British became ready to negotiate and compromise.  The British army had all the facilities which the Afghans lacked, but in spite of that, the Afghans inflicted heavy losses to the enemy on all the battlegrounds of Afghanistan.  Sustaining heavy losses and sacrifices, the Afghans got their independence.  The British, after spending forty years at this land, under the Rawalpindi agreement of Assad 28, 1298 (August 17, 1919), officially recognized and declared Afghanistan independent.               In spite of those victories, the British imperialists were still attempting to ruin our victorious national plans.  The British protégés here were activated to serve this end.  One of their objectives was the return of the “Musahiban (Companion) family” to the summit of power.  Although the mentioned family, during the struggle of Amanullah Khan with his opposition, sided with the opposition to Amanullah Khan, but after Amanullah Khan’s victory incredibly took the enlightened nationalists’ side.  Not only were they acquitted, but their titles and privileges were also restored.  However, those privileges did not suffice them, so Nadir volunteered to lead the army in one of the most sensitive battlegrounds, the Southern front.  Since Amanullah was in a sensitive position at the time, therefore, he welcomed Nadir’s gesture.  Nadir as well as his two brothers, Shah Wali and Shah Mahmud, were appointed by Amanullah Khan as head of the army divisions and departed for Paktia.  It is worth mentioning that the main strategy of the Afghan army previously sent to the Eastern and Western (Kandahar) battle grounds, and the southern field considered by the British a secondary and defensive field because of no transportation roads and the regional problems and did not send there the new strategy.  Vice-versa, in connection of disturbances at the provinces and its favour from Afghanistan, they compelled to disarm the militia of the provinces.  Thus the forward military divisions at the Afghanistan boundary like Wana, Tandi, Saratochi, and Speen Wam became vacant.  Instead, the Indian army, under the British officers, occupied a number of important divisions like Miran, Razmak and Fort Sundiman.               Accordingly Nadir and his brothers by provincial cooperation which formed the front power, passed through the Durand Line.  Without facing any difficulty and resistance of the enemy, captured the unoccupied forts, which the British let them capture and occupy.  After Nadir fulfilled the mentioned activities, the first British reinforcements under General Dyer arrived at the field.  Before starting to fight, both sides in the war received orders to cease-fire.  And each side, according to the instruction of their countries, drew back their forces about ten miles.               About Nadir and his brothers’ victory, the foreign authors have one opinion that concerning their title, warrior and the conqueror of Kabul, it could not be considered completely accidental.    Because, without taking part in a real battle, they received the mentioned titles.  Since Amanullah Khan was looking for a symbol for the remembrance of the independence war therefore, he made the mistake and instructed to build a monument in which the name of the mentioned personalities, instead of the names of the martyrs who bravely lost their lives for their land, was inscribed.  On the other hand Nadir with his family always were relying on that historical error and counted all the honour and glories connected to the war to their credits.  Even the “Taq-e-Zafar (Arch of Victory)” At Paghman, and the monument of Unknown Soldier, nearly for a half century was completely forgotten.  And in place of those historical monuments, the foreign quests and the ambassadors had to lay wreaths on their family cemetery as the commemorative place.               So far Amanullah Khan was not completely aware of the inauspicious purposes and selfish plans of Nadir, therefore in his return from Paktia he was appointed as the minister of war.  Moreover the opportunity was given to Nadir to travel and visit all over Afghanistan as the first minister and contacted with the people.  It was part of the plan of Nadir and his Masters.  At the Eastern province in 1920, he gathered the people for a provincial meeting, there to the “Maliks” and “Mullahs” he presented robes of honour and arranged for them the colonial salary.  A year later, he started to visit the northern province.  Then from Qatarghan, he visited the boundary of Russia and built relationships with contradictories of that country.  His treatment nearly spoiled the relation between the two countries.  Because of Nadir’s adventurous and stubborn activities, Amanullah Khan was compelled to go there to advise them.  Therefore, he himself left Kabul on horseback and went to Panjshir and passed the Khawak Pass.  There he punished Nadir and told him to come back to Kabul.  During the peace negotiations with the British government in Kabul, in which Nadir participated and indulged self-serving interventions under arising Afghan national interests and dignity, just to get along with the British.  The British government wanted Nadir to influence the Afghans not to certify and approve the friendly agreement of cooperation with Russia; in that case the British would supply financial aid to Afghanistan.  This is mentioned in the declassified documents of the British, as well as in the book Fire in Afghanistan by American writer Rhea Talley Stewart.  Since Nadir resisted on the matter very seriously, therefore, Abdul Hadi Dawi called him at the meeting by the name of perfidious and treacherous, and Mahmud Tarzi interfered and settled down the dispute.  The peace agreement was signed with the British as the British required and planned it before.    It was at that time that Amanullah Khan became suspicious about Nadir’s incantations.  When Nadir held the position of War Minister and the General Commander of all forces of Afghanistan, the Mangal rebellion was started and he excused himself from going to Mangal.  Because Nadir was aware of what was going on in the back of the scene and what was his purposes.  Again in another meeting of the cabinet between Nadir and the other members an argument was started about how to face the revolt.  Nadir was opposed to use of force and wanted to accept the demands of the rebels.  He meant that the fundamental reforms for the state should be put aside.  There Nadir remained in the minority and became compelled to resign.  It was at that time that Amanullah Khan understood his schemes and considered his staying unnecessary in Kabul.  So, Nadir was appointed as the Ambassador of Afghanistan in Paris and brother Hashim was sent to Moscow as the cultural attaché.  Both of the brothers considered the mentioned appointments as exile.  Thus, after those appointments they rendered their relations with the British closer.  Eventually, Nadir before leaving Kabul met in person with the British Ambassador, Humphreys, at his office.  During the mentioned meeting, which is written in the declassified document of the British, Nadir promised to follow whatever role would be given to him by the British.   In Paris, he was always in contact with he British Ambassador.  According to the declassified documents of the British, Hashim Khan was also in contact with the British ambassador in Moscow and openly with him slandered Amanullah Khan.  He was always saying to the Ambassador that Nadir was the suitable and best candidate for the state of Afghanistan.  Moreover, he became ready to hand all the secret materials related to Afghanistan and Russia’s relations to the British government.  And for preparing the copies Faqir Ahmad Panjshiri, the first secretary of the embassy, who was the real patriot, quarrelled with Hashim.  Since Hashim Khan persisted to get the copies of the related correspondence, therefore, Faqir Ahmad Panjshiri became compelled to fire at him.  The rumour of their quarrel reached Kabul, and as a result Hashim Khan was dismissed from his position.   Nadir, who was in charge of the running of the plan against Amanullah Khan, because of the dismissing of his brother got angry and pretended that he was sick, and resigned.  Thus, the two brothers bought a villa in the south of France in a remote corner named Garas.  Far from the sight of the foreigners and according to the instruction of their masters became busy to work on the plan.    Soon, Shah Wali Khan who was promoted to the rank of Vice-General Commander of the Army pretended to visit his elder brother, but defected and joined them in France.  But Shah Mahmud Khan remained in Afghanistan as the centre for their contact.  Shah Mahmud Khan was in an important position, Governor of Mashriqi (Eastern Provinces), and was able to prepare easily the contact with the interior provinces as well as with the free frontier people.                With British advice and with the assistance of a number of authoritative people including the Sardars and the religious figures and high ranking personnel, Nadir proposed a plan connected to the fall of the progressive regime of Amanullah Khan with the help of the imperialist organization and the local backward-looking.  The mentioned proposal has been cited in the declassified document of the British government by the name of “Patyala Plot,” Patyala is a place at Dayra Ismail Khan, and the plan was authored there.  The plot called for a coup d'état in Afghanistan when Amanullah Khan was leaving for his European visit.  Accordingly Mohammad Wali Khan and the Party of Jadid Khiyalan (Modern Visionaries) should be captured and the power should be transferred to the followers of Nadir.  Then by request Nadir should return to Afghanistan to assume authority as the king of Afghanistan.  Moreover, the help of the provincial people and the cooperation of military were quiet significant in carrying out the coup d'état.  Some of the provincial governors were in the group of coup d'état.  Some of the provincial governors were in the coup d'état as well.    The date and agenda of the Patyala meeting which was helped in presence of the prominent banished religious and other provincial personalities, especially the leaders of the nomad tribes, the names of people who colluded with them in Kabul, Jalalabad, Khost, and Kandahar with their messengers all were written in the official reports of the British agents.  Moreover, in the 23rd issue of the Tarjuman-i-Sarhad (The Frontier Interpreter) dated February 1928, all their names were also documented.  But it is certain that the centre of real activity was Jalalabad.  The person who played a pivotal role in the plot was Shah Mahmud Khan, the High Governor of Mashriqi (Eastern Province), who was in the meantime the contact man of the plotters, Nadir and his brothers who were in southern France.               The importance of the Patyala plot was so great that in spite of the information which was received continuously by different means through the British Charge D’Affairs in Kabul, the British asked the Indian government by a telegram on February 28, that they should be informed about all the affairs of the plot, and the related correspondence should be sent to London.  It was a few days before the appointed date, March 8, 1928, for the coup d'état.  Very soon before the formal visit of Amanullah Khan to London, and in spite of all efforts of the forces opposed to Amanullah Khan to conceal the matter, the Afghanistan government discovered the plot.    The one who actually unfolded the secret was Abdul Aziz Khan Barakzai, Minister of War and Second Deputy for Amanullah Khan.  The plot makers trusted him because of his conservative inclinations, and his loyalty to the mentioned banished clergy and let him in the secrets of the plot.  They revealed more and more secret messages o him and his brother Abdul Hakim Khan, High Governor of Southern Province.  As a result of Abdul Aziz Khan Barakzai, who was faithful to Amanullah Khan, and then spent of his life in the prison of Nadir.  He was the one who informed Amanullah Khan about what was going on his behalf in Kabul.  In reply, Amanullah Khan instructed him that before missing the time he should consult with Mohammad Wali Khan and other cabinet members to take the necessary actions to foil the plot.    During this time, Shah Mahmud Khan was busy arranging the final organization for his provincial visit and also did propaganda against Amanullah Khan and in favour of his brother, Nadir.  He was dismissed by Mir Hashim Khan, Minister of Finance, was sent back to Kabul.  The other personalities related to the plot, were dismissed from their positions or were detained.  Moreover, Mohammad Wali Khan handed a notice to the British Charge D’Affairs to get out the mentioned clergy from the Frontier immediately.  Thus, the Patyala plot failed to materialize, and Nadir’s bid to the throne failed this time.   Still, work on the basis of the plan was continued.  Only its date and its process were put under review and study of the British imperialists in light of their experience and the recent developments.  At the end of this article, there are detailed studies drawing on official documents and creditable sources.  Before going into details, it is wise to explain the Master plan of the intelligence service.    I would like to reveal here a very novel and skilful action of Nadir to reach his goal: He met with Amanullah Khan in France, during his European visit.  After complaining he expressed that a number of undesirable personalities have circled the king.  If the king would remove them and grant the authority to him, he would be ready to go back to Afghanistan with his brothers.  By that proposal he had in mind that he would be able to run the plan of the coup d'état.   From within the country much more easily and without the fear of failure.  Then he would be able to assume power in Afghanistan.   Since Amanullah Khan was informed from the events running on in Afghanistan, he did not accept the bets on Nadir’s conditions.  He replied to Nadir that he and his brother like any other Afghans have the citizenship of Afghanistan.  So, whenever they wanted they could go to their homeland.  This was the result of their meeting.    After that unsuccessful coup d'état, the British directly handled the activities themselves and embarked upon a complicated plan with several stages, step by step.   According to documents and other credible sources, the plan to depose King Amanullah Khan and to fail all the plans of Amanullah Khan were prepared ahead of time, two years earlier, by the imperialist power and the internal backward-looking.   When Amanullah Khan announced the details of his European visit, and added the name of the two countries, Turkey and Russia, on his itinerary the idea became mature in the Indian British political circles.  In spite of that, the experts of Afghanistan affairs in Delhi and London were waiting hopefully to cancel his visit when he was passing from Indian transit to other than altering his intention to visit those two countries with whose policies differed with those of the British and the revolutionary regime in London.  That is why Amanullah Khan was accorded a greater welcome than any other king who previously had visited Britain.    Economic and transportation assistance including building of the railway line between Peshawar and Kabul, and even to construct an arms factory were proposed to Amanullah Khan by the British government.  As it is the method of the imperialist states to help with one hand and to dispose with the other, they managed the fall of Amanullah Khan’s government.  British agents were instructed that in case Amanullah Khan insisted upon his plan, they should start their activities for the fall of his regime.  Thus, according to the official document of Indian government, Sheikh Mahbub Ali, the eastern desk secretary at the British Embassy in Kabul, was responsible to gather the information and received for that purpose a monthly salary of six thousand Indian rupees, considerable amount in those days, to maintain contact with the backward-looking and the opposition to Amanullah Khan.  He was responsible to ensure their cooperation for the coming activities.    The British Consulate in Jalalabad and Kandahar worked under Sheikh Mahbub Ali for the mentioned purpose.  Nonetheless, the duty f Jahangir Khan, Consul at Jalalabad, was much more important and sensitive.  Chapman and Baker’s book Wings over Kabul mentions in detail Jahangir Khan played a very important role during the revolt.   According to the test of the official reports of the British government, especially document Number F.51, 1928; a number of authoritative Afghans were contemplating to pave the ground for the future activity.  One of them was Sardar Shah Mahmud Khan, the High Governor of the Eastern Province, and the other one was Sardar Mohammad Osman Khan, former Governor of Kandahar, and the third one was Sardar Faiz Mohammad Khan Zikria, Minister of Education, who were in contact with the prominent religious figures banished to Dehradun, India.   Since Amanullah Khan refused to accept the proposal of the British government not to visit Russia, the British forged the news about disturbances in Afghanistan and let Amanullah Khan become aware of the news through the press.  Humphreys, who accompanied the king as his host, tried to influence the other members of the delegation like Sardar Shir Ahmad Zikria, President of the Parliament, to make the king drop Russia from his itinerary.  In spite of all the efforts and struggles, Amanullah Khan did not change his mind and followed his trip according to the arranged program.   In particularly, after the visit of Amanullah Khan to Moscow and the warm and sincere welcome he received, and the agreement on air transportation between Tashkent and Kabul caused the British authorities to engineer the fall of Amanullah Khan, planned originally for a year later in time.  The related personnel of the India government were authorized to follow and launch the British plan.   Although it seemed as if peacetime prevailed in Afghanistan and Mohammad Wali Khan looked after the state affairs on the behalf of Amanullah Khan, news from the Easters and Southern Frontiers revealed secret activities.    One of these involved a number of known thieves and robbers at the Frontiers area who used to move between Peshawar and Parachenar.  Moreover, poisonous propaganda against the king frequently was perpetuated by different sources in the country.  Furthermore, photos of the king and queen dressed in European styles in receptions and functions at various countries of Europe were distributed among the people y unknown sources.   Seeing photos of Queen Soraya without the “chadari” was unacceptable and strange for conservatives and for the hypocritical religious people.  British agnets such as Mullah Lang of Paktia and the brothers Sadiq and Mian Hazrat Mojadidi of Shor Bazaar.   The pictures were copied from the cover of the Illustrated London News magazine’s special issue and dispatched to Afghanistan by aide of the mentioned clergy.  It is worth mentioning that during Amanullah Khan’s visit, the news which were disseminated about the riots in Afghanistan to some extend were true.  In spite of that Mohammad Wali Khan and his compatriots were thought to be in full control.  Therefore, Amanullah Khan was assured by cable, of complete peace in the country, and they themselves adopted precautionary measures.   As noted in the declassified documents of the India government, Mohammad Wali Khan, deputy for the kingdom, and Minister of Foreign Affairs, summoned the Charge D’Affairs, B.J. Gold, of the British Embassy in Kabul on January 21, 1928 and told him, “since relations’ between the two countries are getting better now than any other time in the past and also His Majesty the King will soon visit England, so it would be necessary that you should try not to allow any erroneous action to be taken from here.  You know that in India some people including the clergy who oppose the policy of the government of Afghanistan indulge in activities and propaganda, inconsistent with the friendly relations of the two countries.  These are notorious people and criminals who have escaped to India.  It would be wise, if you could hand them over to us, or you could keep them there under surveillance.”   In addition, Mohammad Wali Khan showed B.J. Gold, the clipping of the Indian papers, which exposed the activities of the mentioned clergy, and the facilities offered them by the personnel of the Indian government.  Mohammad Wali Khan handed him a list of the names, which contained the names of Habibullah Kalakani (whom Nadir personally named as Bacha-i-Saqao), Sayed Hussain Charikari, Azam Maidani, and a number of others.  The British Charge D’Affairs without losing any time passed the information to Indian government.   Accordingly the political agent of Baluchistan, Major Scott, on June 28, 1928 reported that the mentioned clergy were transferred to Lahore.  Then because of the second reference of the government of Afghanistan he was sent to southern India.  According to the declassified documents of the Indian government in so far the thieves and robbers were concerned, the provincial government of the Frontier was let by the central government of India to shed light on the problem.  Thus, informed them about the visit of the two thieves, Habibullah Kalakani and Azam Maidani, to Peshawar.  It was mentioned in the text of the telegram Number 78 dated February 17, 1928 of the provincial government of Frontier, which is preserved as document number F.68, of the Foreign Affairs at the National Archive of India, that Habibullah and Azam were imprisoned in Peshawar in January.   The sentence of their imprisonment was issued out according to article 40th of the criminal regulations for committing robbery and theft at the bazaar of Parachenar.  But the court for deferment of their imprisonment asked that each one of them should pay three thousand rupees in bail.  Both paid the mentioned amount through a citizen in Kurm.  Nonetheless, the court did not accept that for the sentence was issued at Peshawar and the person who guaranteed should be from the same state.  Thus, their cash guarantee was restored by the court and both of them sentenced each to two years of imprisonment according to article 41 of the mentioned regulations.   The British Charge D’Affairs, B.J. Gold, in Kabul let Mohammad Wali Khan know of the matter.  Gold assured Wali Khan that Sayed Hussain and his comrades had left the area of the Frontier and had already returned to Afghanistan before the action of the British government.    Thus, Habibullah Kalakani and his friend Azam Maidani were in the Peshawar prison in April 1928 (Saur 1307).  And the duration of their imprisonment was for three years.  However, strangely, three months after the mentioned date in Asad 1307, Habibullah Kalakani was seen in Paghman busy with acts of robbery and murder.   Before explaining this, the point is worth mentioning that Habibullah Kalakani who was sentenced to three years imprisonment and the matter was communicated to the Afghanistan government.  Still, after giving the information to the Afghanistan government, immediately all the files of Kalakani were closed by the provincial government and nothing was added to this file after that.  But about his cell friend let us make a note of following by the Higher Commissioner of Peshawar:   “Francis Humphrey, the British Envoy in Kabul, returned to Peshawar on March 2, 1929 and told me, ‘Habibullah the Amir of Kabul asked me at a farewell meeting that if his cell friend, Azam Maidani with Mohammad Aslam and two others be free from the prison of Peshawar.’  Since their imprisonment took place because of the request of the government of Amanullah Khan, therefore, it is unreasonable to keep them in prison.  Thus, because of the request of the new Amir of Kabul and the agreement of the Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the government of India, Dahis Beri, the mentioned robbers were freed on April 5, 1929 and were sent from the Frontier area to Afghanistan.”                 It was mentioned by Habibullah, the real hero of the story, himself at various meetings in Kabul in the months of Saratan and Asad.  He killed a man by the name of Abdul Qadir in Paghman for five thousand afghanis and a rifle.  Moreover, he expressed with pride that he was walking in Paghman’s public garden one day where Amanullah Khan was playing ball with a few others.  He wanted to shot him with the mentioned rifle but he took pity on his youth.  Otherwise, he said, there and then he could accede to the throne and would become king in place of Amanullah Khan.               You could see that Habibullah Kalakani in spite of being at the prison was free and walking around the capital here and there in Summer 1928 (1307) corresponding to the time of returning of Amanullah Khan from Europe, and committing robbery and killing people.  Then he spent all his time in Kohdaman and Kohistan to lead a group of robbers and thieves until his attack upon Kabul.  His name and his fabulous and curious deeds once in a while were published in the home papers as well as in the foreign papers.  One of his deeds was the murder of Ghulam Ghaus Khan, the Governor of Charikar, in broad daylight inside the bazaar of Charikar.  Its news was published in the paper of Aman-i-Afghan with the two names Habibullah Kalakani and Sayed Hussain.               By that time Habibullah had gained enough popularity and skill to carry out the greater roles of the play, the fall of the government of Amanullah Khan and ending his reforms programmes including by the British imperialist Master plan with cooperation of the local backward-looking and followed skilfully and step by step.  As said earlier the play was ready to be enacted and all the actors had occupied their roles but an expert and experienced director need to lead the cast.               For the performing of that difficult and sensitive role the famous Colonel Lawrence of Arabia who passed another examination ten years ago in Saudi Arabia and gained enough experience and international fame was seen to be the suitable candidate.  At that time Lawrence was at home because he resigned when his opinions in relation to the secession of Syria and Lebanon for the assigned prince Amir Faisal, the second son of Sharif Hussain were rejected because of the insistence of the French government.  Both came under the mandate of France and out of the British guardianship.               Again he was employed by his government to start his activities in another part of the globe.  But his role here in Afghanistan in comparison with Arabia was just opposite to each other; there in Arabia he should stimulate the sense of nationalism between Arabs and them to arise against the 400-year rule of the Ottoman Turks.  Here in Afghanistan, he should stimulate the sense of the people of Afghanistan against the regime of the king, Amanullah Khan, and enlightened monarch.  Still, so far in his field of activities in both places was of the same type.  His actual and main problem in Afghanistan was to know the people and their characteristics and to learn their language which required him a certain period of time.  Therefore, according to the approval of Stanley Baldwin, the conservative Prime Minister of Britain in 1926, Lawrence employed by the British Royal Air Force without receiving technical education in the field.               After receiving primary training in 1927, he was transferred to India.  He spent some time working as an airplane technician.  As his real job was a thorough and general study of the Afghans and Afghanistan as well as to learn Pashtu and Urdu, on the other hand he was a language specialist.  Therefore, during one year he became able to receive all the necessary information.  As it was mentioned in Wings over Afghanistan by the Air Marshall of Britain Chapman that when Amanullah Khan was passing through India for his European visit in December 1928, Irman Shah arrived at the Frontier area and began his activities.  At that time he was also the airplane technician at Miran Shah Airport in the Waziristan Province.               Both the Indian and the British governments tried to keep secret the identification and his residence and succeeded in that for about two years.  During that time Irman Shah by using his rare free time used to go to the Frontier area even inside Afghanistan territory to study the land and meet certain individuals.  Irman Shah continued his activities until Amanullah Khan returned after his six-month visit to the three continents.  So, it was time for the British to announce the beginning of their activities.               At that time the Master plan of the British was completed, approved, and considered through the complicated channels of Indian government in Delhi and by the high authorities of the British government.  Moreover, each of the actors for the play was placed in his right position and was ready to start it.               In the activities, Sir Francis Humphreys, the British Ambassador in Kabul was the main and actual contact of Colonel Lawrence.  Both of them during the First World War were working at the battleground in Egypt and knew each other very well.  The duo here started their activities to run the Master plan with the difference that Lawrence ran all his activities in clandestine but Humphreys worked partly in covert and sometimes overtly. So far as their authorities are concerned they were allowed as much money as required and to act without following administration procedures with any high-ranking Indian government and even at any part of the British Empire.               As I, Sayed Qasim Reshtia, myself witnessed the incidents during rebellion days, actually the declassified documents of the British government in London or Delhi which are accessible to the researchers and to the interested people shed light on each part episode by episode, the light some time shows the incidents very clearly and sometimes one could get a picture of them from the meaning of the context.  In most parts the role of Lawrence and the intelligence service is quite clear and helps one to know the cause and actions of the reactionary revolution of 1307, and its main characteristics.   It is true that Habibullah Kalakani and Sayed Hussain Charikari took the oath and by the guarantee of a great local clergy became free and handed enough money and arms by the government to leave for the Mashriqi Province, but then they changed that skilfully and started toward Kabul.  Suddenly on the 23rd of Qaus, 1307 they attacked Kabul.  But the military students who were busy practicing around Kolola Pushta and Sharara held back their advances and did not let them march toward the Palace.  Since their attack was unexpected and the capital had no preparation for it, therefore, it took several days to get them out from the city.  But after a month’s struggle, they got the upper hand because a stronger leader, Sir Francis Humphreys, the British Ambassador, backed them.               As mentioned in the notes of Humphreys’ Special Secretary named Bust and Mrs. Humphreys, Habibullah Kalakani after the attack when entered Kabul directly went to the British Embassy in Kabul and introduced himself to Humphreys from behind the gate entrance and explained that his purpose was the fall of Amanullah Khan.  Then they started talking in the Dari language and it was their first meeting, which followed then by detailed meetings in the future.               After than Humphreys’ policy changed completely toward the government of Afghanistan. He, without the permission of the government of Afghanistan, asked for a plane from his government to come to Kabul and fly over the British Embassy and over the city as well.  That plane used to distribute the menacing flyers against the dignity and prestige of Afghans.  In those flyers, Afghans were called in a sarcastic way: “O, brave and religious people of Afghanistan” then warning them “if in case a British national might receive a hurt here, the government of Britain would take revenge.”  That direct address to the people of the people of Afghanistan was against international law and opposite to the independence and national domination of Afghanistan.  Moreover, the British Embassy brought by plane a telegraph machine but without the permission of the government of Afghanistan, which was installed at the embassy to contact India directly, and it was against the treaty of 1921.               Still that did not suffice them, so in reply to a courteous notice of the Foreign Ministry of Afghanistan which expressed regret for some unintentional damages brought to the British Embassy during the war expressed wit harshness and far from grace that the British reaction in the matter would be reciprocal.  The text of that reply which was against diplomatic relations is contained in the book Wings over Kabul.               It is quite natural that those irritating acts were intolerable for Afghans, even though because of the sensibility of the circumstances and according to the recommendations of Amanullah Khan’s advisors he refrained from direction reaction.  Until two connected incidents occurred in Kabul and remained no possibility to keep silent.  Therefore, the opposition between the countries became manifest.  One of these incidents was the discovery of Mahmud Sami’s correspondences with the British agents and who handed them very detailed reports about the military, number of soldiers, quality and quantity of arms, the kind of arsenal and other arms equipments.               Although the relations of Mahmud Sami with the British was known earlier to the others but the king himself resisted that he was his classmate at the military school and considered him as a loyal friend.  Here it is worth mentioning that the published declassified documents of the British clearly pointed out to the nightly meetings of Mahmud Sami and Sir Henry Dubs, Head of the British Delegation in Kabul.  It was mentioned in the reports that of Mr. Dubs to his government that it was Mahmud Sami who persuaded Amanullah Khan to act against the opinion of Mahmud Tarzi, the Foreign Minister of Afghanistan.  As a result, Amanullah Khan intervened in the matter of Central Asia against the interests of the USSR.  That dangerous and unessential intervention took place and ended with the slaying of Anwar Pasha in Bokhara. Again the relation between Afghanistan and USSR became friendly.               The discovery of documents and the knowing of communicator, Rahmatullah Khan, an attendant at the British Embassy who later during the reign of Habibullah Kalakani became guard of the embassy.  Between both sources, Mahmud Sami and Humphreys became evident.  So, Amanullah Khan disposed Mahmud Sami and kept him under house arrest.                The matter was sent to the military court and because of the occurring incidents the order about Sami was not executed.  Also, at the military court other documents were presented and showed that during the days of Habibullah Kalakani’s attack Mahmud Sami pretended to have an illness and stayed home.  He purposely postponed all the immediate works and the urgent orders for days.  Finally, as a result of the complaint of the military heads at the battlegrounds, it became evident that by his order, the arsenal were sent to the battlegrounds one kind of arm instead of the one which was needed and caused the failure of the army and brought them heavy losses.        When Habibullah Kalakani acceded the throne, Mahmud Sami became his advisor and remained in his position until the last day of his rule that could be counted for his collaboration with the British imperialists.               During the days of Kabul’s crisis, a network of British spies were discovered inside the palace whose main operators were Madam See, the tutor of the royal family, and Tasaduq Ali, the king’s driver.  They informed nearly every day the British Embassy of what happened in the palace.  According to declassified documents, Madam See herself wrote most of the mentioned reports.  She was a Romanian emigrant and a citizen of France.  It is strange that she suddenly disappeared while holding secret inquires and on the next day she appeared between children and women of the British diplomats who were leaving Kabul for England.  One the same day, Tasaduq Ali was found killed inside his car.               It is very surprising that after passing three days from his murder the British Embassy handed a petition by the family of Tasaduq Ali to the Afghanistan government.  Then though an official note asked from the government of Afghanistan to shed light on his death.  IT should be mentioned that Tasaduq Ali was an Indian by birth but he lived in Afghanistan since the time of Amir Habibullah Khan in Kabul’s Deh Afghanan District.  He was employed by Afghanistan’s Ministry of Court and he had the citizenship of Afghanistan.               A tumultuous incident was the capture of another British spy, arrested at the door of the Ministry of Defence.  This took place during the attack of Habibullah Kalakani at Kabul.  When searching him, letters of recommendation, identity cards, and special service passports in Pashtu and Urdu as well as considerable amounts of Indian Rupees, Kaldars, a gun and bullets were found on him and his residence.               This spy used to disguise himself as a frontiersman except that he had the green eyes and yellow hair of an Englishman.  Thus, at first, it was thought that he might be Lawrence himself.  Everyday he was seen opposite the entrance of the Ministry of Defence conversing with the people who had just been called up for military service.  Because of his suspicious behaviour the responsible authorities captured him.                During the investigation, it was proved that he was a spy and the military Supreme Court sentenced him to death.  Through his confessions the government of Afghanistan learned that Colonel Lawrence had been staying in the Shinwar region.  The malicious interference of the British government clear from this evidence and it was therefore decided to publicize this news all over the world.               A strong article with all details was published in the “Aman-i-Afghan” paper, the only publication of the state of Afghanistan.  Copies of the article were sent abroad to all diplomatic missions of Afghanistan, and they were instructed to try to distribute it to the foreign press.  It was first published in January 5, 1929 in the Sunday Express of London under title “Colonel T.A. Lawrence, the responsible person in sedition of Afghanistan tribes against Shah Amanullah.”  On the following day, most widely read newspapers of England, France, German, and Italy had published it.               After ten years’ of obscurity the name of Lawrence, who was once famous as Lawrence of Arabia, was brought back to public attention.  The news caused a commotion and offered a means for the British opposition government to attack the conservative party headed by Stanley Baldwin.  The press of the Soviet Union, Turkey, the Arab countries and India soon took up the matter.               According to available documents, the Russian press shed light on the role of this famous, enigmatic spy of the British Empire during his stay in Arabia and later in Afghanistan.  The storm of the related publicity not only created disorder on the London and Delhi political scenes but its repercussions in Afghanistan finally made Sir Francis Humphreys ask his government to recall Lawrence from the Frontier.    By the time Colonel Lawrence had done his job, his Master plan for the fall of the regime of Amanullah Khan having reached its desired end.  He was no longer needed in the Frontier area nor in India.  As a result on January 22, 1929, Sir Austin Chamberlain, Britain’s Secretary of State, replied to questions concerning this agent of the Liberal Party.  He announced that although Lawrence was an ordinary mechanic at the Miran Shah airport and had no connection wit the incidents in Afghanistan since his existence there caused anxiety for the British agent in Kabul, he had consequently been removed from there.               This speech was delivered at a time when Amanullah Khan had been deposed and had left for Kandahar.  Furthermore, his successor Enayatullah Khan had left the country for Peshawar on a British airplane.  It was Habibullah Kalakani who now took the throne of Afghanistan following the plane of Lawrence and Humphreys.  Thus, the second act ended successfully and the third one, the reign of Habibullah Kalakani began.               Habibullah, as he had done during his first attack, went directly to the British Embassy to meet Sir Francis Humphreys.  His supporters had taken the city and Habibullah, riding a white horse and followed by a number of horsemen stopped at the entrance of the British Embassy and asked to meet the ambassador.               According to Wings Over Kabul, a British pilot, Donaldson who was in Kabul in those days stated that the ambassador came out alone and went directly toward Habibullah Kalakani.  Another person introduced, as Habibllah’s cousin knew some English and helped in interpretation.  They spoke in secret for a while and then Habibullah left for Bagh-i-Balah where Enayatullah, the successor of Amanullah Khan, to persuade Kalakani to accept him as king, arranged a meeting.               The important meeting was that Habibullah who never had the idea to become king of Afghanistan and whose intention was only to depose Amanullah Khan and bring a suitable person to the throne according to the will of the people of Afghanistan.  The result was he taking control abruptly on a new role.  He not only refused to accept Enayatullah as the king of Afghanistan whose cousins, Abdul Ghafur Khan and Ghulam Mohammad Khan Tagaowi had cooperated with Habibullah.  Furthermore, he also rejected the possible candidates Hazrat Mohammad Sadiq Mojadidi and Sardar Mohammad Osman Khan.  Kalakani in this same meeting declared himself as king of Afghanistan.  This sudden decision astonished even his near comrades.               The British plan was not only against Amanullah Khan but used Amanullah Khan as a pawn to reach their final goal with Amanullah and his progressive ideas as an effective means.  If this had not happened, Afghanistan would not have become the scene of war and struggle for a period of nine months during which it suffered heavy losses, the economy ruined, and the country put back half a century.               But, as mentioned earlier, the British master plan once mobilized continued rapidly toward its goal with no possibility to stop it.  According to the plan Habibullah Kalakani was the buffer between the accused leader, Amanullah Khan and the new desired candidate, Nadir.  It was necessary to surround the new and inexperienced player with a number of seasoned and qualified men to keep an eye on his actions.  The most important and trustworthy of these people was Shirjan, Minister of Court, who had the illiterate new king completely under his control.               During the reign of Amir Habibullah, Shirjan who was the companion of king, Enayatullah Khan who was originally deputy for the king, Ataulhaq Khan and Mohammad Sidiq Khan reached the highest position in short time periods.  When Habibullah Kalakani came to power Shirjan was the Governor of Kohdaman, Ataulhaq was Commander of Forces, and Mohammad Sidiq Khan was the commander of the military in the southern provinces.  Consequently, though Shirjan was Minister of Court, in reality he was the Prime Minister and Ataulhaq was the Foreign Minister.  Mohammad Sidiq held the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Central Forces.  Their youngest brother, Mohammad Karim was appointed Head of the Secret Police.  Thus, this family actually ran the government until the fall of Habibullah.               They were not in league with Habibullah’s criminal deeds, on the contrary, they tried to teach them how to behave like cultured men.  The above-mentioned family was not alone.  A number of other people such as Mahmud Sami (whose secret activities with the British Embassy are discussed earlier), the former commander of the Central Forces, accompanied them.               Mahmud Sami besides being a Marshall was also the military advisor of Habibullah.  Other men such as Sardar Shir Ahmad Zikria, Head of Inspection, and Sardar Faiz Mohammad Khan Zikria, Minister of Education during the Amani period, surrounded the throne and without having any distinctive position, their opinions and authority were felt in every aspect of government activity.  IT was even more stranger that Amanullah Khan three months before his fall appointed Sardar Zikria Khan as the Prime Minister of Afghanistan.  Since the entire cabinet member were aware of his secret relations with the British and knew him to be an experienced friend of the British, they refused to stay in his cabinet.  Thus, he did not succeed in forming a cabinet.               Sardar Faiz Mohammad Khan Zikria, six months before the succession of Habibullah delivered a speech in Paghman’s public garden.  He called Amanullah Khan the Great Amanullah.  Then to please Habibullah, he presented a play called “Fall of Indulus” which was a satire on Amanullah Khan’s supposed weak personality.  It was given at the Stor Palace by the students of Lycee Estiqlal.               Another comrade of Faiz Mohammad Zikria was the principal of Lycee Habibia who was then appointed Director of Education.  He outwardly acted against the British but in reality was faithful to the British.  For year he posed as an intellectual and liberal.  During Habibullah’s reign he was the Editor of Habib-al-Islam, the only publicity organ of Habibullah.               These personalities who were the authoritative figures in the administrative, military and political organization of the government of Habibullah.  Lawrence’s plan through clandestine movements was to take over all candidates to the throne.               After Habibullah acceded to the throne, the first candidate for the throne was Ali Ahmad Khan who Amanullah Khan appointed President of Administration of the Eastern Provinces during the last days of his reign.  Ali Ahmad Khan who for years had hopes of becoming king after arriving in Jalalabad, instead of turning the people toward Amanullah Khan declared himself to be a future candidate for the throne.  When heard that Amanullah Khan had been deposed before waiting for the situation to clear, he declared himself king and with the military forces and the provincial army behind him he immediately started for Kabul.  He halted at Jagdalik and from there he sent the messengers, Malik Mohammad Shah and Malik Qais, to Habibullah to declare that he was intending to take the throne.               But Habibullah by giving the messengers bribes and attractive promises brought them over to his side and they returned to Jagdalik to sow discord at the camp of Ali Ahmad Khan.  At this time, a British plane with a pilot (who later published his memoirs in Wings Over Kabul) and a mechanic apparently because of mechanical problems landed on the riverbed by Jagdalik.    Both were brought to the military camp of Ali Ahmad Khan where they were interrogated.  They were then escorted by the military up to the British Consulate in Jalalabad’s Charbagh District.                With the cooperation of the British consulate contact between the British authorities in Kabul and Peshawar was made and extra equipment for the plane was brought from Peshawar by another plane.  The damaged planed with its two men then left for India.  But, as later incidents showed, these men had landed not because of the problems of the plane but for the purpose of contacting Ali Ahmad Khan and warning him not to attack Kabul.  Since Ali Ahmad Khan loved power and authority it was too late for him to change his mind.  His messengers returning from Kabul started to fight and Malik Mohammad Shah who had remained on the side of Ali Ahmad Khan was killed.  The provincial armies attacked his camp and Ali Ahmad Khan was compelled to leave the country and cross by foot the open frontier to Peshawar.               At Peshawar he tried to prove to the British that he was loyal to them but did not succeed.  Nadir and his brothers were warmly welcomed by the British while Ali Ahmad Khan was told to leave India within three days or to return to Afghanistan at his own risk.  Ali Ahmad Khan accepted to return to Afghanistan where he went to Kandahar to see Amanullah Khan, who was betrayed by his demand for the kingdom.  He sought pardon for his actions against Amanullah Khan, who forgave him and before his departure appointed him Commander-in-Chief of all the Army which was scattered.                Amanullah Khan knew that with this appointment Ali Ahmad Khan could not escape his destiny.  When Ali Ahmad Khan received the new that Amanullah Khan had left the border he left the battlefield and returned to Kandahar.  As was expected he declared himself king for the second time.  However, Habibullah’s forces under Purdil Khan, the commander of the army, did not allow him to fulfil his desire even for a few short days.               The city of Kandahar was surrounded within twenty-four hours and the people opened the doors of the city from inside.  Ali Ahmad Khan who was a refugee and concealed in a private residence in the region of Tohp Dara was captured and handed over to Habibullah’s men.  They brought him back to Kabul.               Habibullah knew him from the past and accused him of being a treacherous and unfaithful man.  He ordered his men to parade Ali Ahmad Khan through the city of Kabul, so the people could see a traitor before he was put to death.  Perhaps these were some of the unsavoury incidents, which occurred during the reign of Habibullah.  No doubt these activities were aided by the old imperialists who were helped by local backward-looking against the people of Afghanistan with the aim of stopping the development of the country.  The plan now enters its third and decisive stage.               Amanullah with a limited number of ministers and advisors on the 24th of Jadi reached the Kandahar’s Ahmad Shahi District.  He did not contact the people but waited to see what his brother had done.  Enayatullah Khan had already left Kabul for India.               The two brothers stood in front of the people on the veranda of Kandahar’s palace and Amanullah Khan addressed the people, “Now, it was up to the people to select him or his brother as the future king of Afghanistan.”  Amanullah Khan realized that the people wanted him to be king and the people of Kandahar in spite of being dissatisfied with Amanullah Khan welcomed his proposal.  Thus, Amanullah Khan announced his intention to take the throne.  He set about with a number of advisors to plan for the future of his country.               The plan, military, rather than political to depose Habibullah and to occupy the city of Kabul was a reasonable one:  Herat accepted to be the executive centre of the forces while Kandahar and Mazar-i-Sharif would be the centre of action.  Both forces would attack Kabul under the leadership of the king himself who was stationed in Herat.                  In the meantime, it was decided that Kandahar because of its location should be considered as the second strategic centre.  It was also decided that for the time being, Shujal-Dawla who was Afghan Ambassador in London, the Minister of Safety, and the former administrator of Herat, should come to Herat. They were authorized to replace Mohammad Ibrahim Khan.  As for the other eastern and southern provinces, the military commanders and governors were ordered to stay where they were and were not allowed to take any direct action or make any decision related to the coming preparations until Ali Ahmad Khan’s position became clear.                It was also decided that the younger of Amanullah Khan, Aminjan, with a delegation should visit the Hazarajat and seek their help when Amanullah Khan was ready to attack Kabul.  The Hazarajat favoured Amanullah Khan because of his righteous treatment of them, especially the abolishment of slavery.                 At the same time Ghulam Sidiq Khan Charkhi, Minister of Foreign Affairs, was sent abroad to approach friendly countries and ask for their cooperation especially for arms and military equipment.  He worked through the Afghan embassies as the Ambassador-at-Large of Afghanistan.  Ghulam Sidiq Khan Charkhi therefore left Herat for Moscow.               According to the time and circumstances, it can be said that the plan was a comprehensive and practicable one and if it profited from previous experience, chances of its success were relatively high.  But unfortunately, the British master plan neutralized any of these efforts in advance.               The first reaction of the British government towards Amanullah Khan’s announcement of his return to the throne was to publish a proclamation, which stated that Amanullah Khan’s power did not extend over the entire country.  Therefore, the British government refused to recognize his rule.  In Wings over Kabul, the text of the proclamation written with the help of Ambassador Humphreys states:    “On January 30, 1929, Sir Austin Chamberlain, the Foreign Minister, at the House of Commons relied on the mentioned proclamation to reply to Mr. Thomas’ question on the non-partiality policy of the government toward Afghanistan. ‘The British government was officially informed by Amanullah Khan of his dethronement.  Now in spite of his dethronement, if the people of Afghanistan wanted him to be their king that is another question and up to the people of Afghanistan, but we could not recognize him as the legal figure of Afghanistan.’”               A result of this proclamation was that the India government not only refused to all the arms and other military equipment bought by Amanullah Khan to cross the Indian borders, but it also stopped the export of petroleum to Afghanistan under the pretext that it could be considered a military arm.  Offenders were severely punished.  Not content with this and against all international postal regulations, they intercepted the diplomatic post from London addressed to Ghulam Sidiq Khan Charkhi.  Instead they despatched it to Ataulhaq Khan, Habibullah’s Foreign Minister, so that he would be aware of Amanullah Khan’s activities in Kandahar and would be better able to plan his strategies against him.               It is surprising that all these restrictions against Amanullah Khan were imposed only at the frontier of Kandahar.  But there were no restrictions at the Torkham frontier.  Thus, until the end of the reign of Amir Habibullah sufficient petroleum arrived from India to cover strategic needs on land and in the air.  As a result of the one-sided British boycott during Amanullah Khan’s attack on Ghazni the military plane sent to attack him unexpectedly changed its course and joined Amanullah Khan’s forces.  The pilot and its mechanic, Mohammad Omar and Mir Saifullah had both been sent abroad for training and they had nationalist feelings toward Amanullah Khan.               Mir Hashim Khan, Finance Minister, persuaded them to go directly to Kandahar.  They did not have enough fuel to reach Kandahar and were shot down by Habibullah’s forces.   Mohammad Omar, the pilot, reached Amanullah Khan and then in his company left the country for Italy.  He later returned to Afghanistan and was imprisoned by Nadir’s men.               In Fire in Afghanistan, there is mention of Ghulam Sidiq Khan, the Foreign Minister, handing a note through the British Consulate in Kandahar to the British government objecting to their one-sided position.  First of all, Ghulam Sidiq Khan challenged the words of Sir Austin Chamberlain concerning the recognition of Amanullah Khan.  He said that the British according to the agreement of 1921 had already recognized the government of Amanullah Khan and then they did not take it back.  Therefore, a few days of internal disturbances cannot bring the cause of the non-recognition by the British government.  Then Ghulam Sidiq Khan expressed his amazement on the transit ban of commodities through India.  He considered it again the agreement of 1921.  He added why Indian authorities at the Indian borders held the arms and other equipment bought by or donated to Amanullah Khan during his European visit?  Ghulam Sidiq Khan pointed to the long time relations, which existed between Afghanistan and British and said that it was the first time that the British relied on her one-sided policy.               For in the past under such conditions and circumstances the British did not follow such one-sided policy toward other rulers of Afghanistan.  Moreover, she recognized each ruler in their certain area and held relations and communications with them.  For instance, between 1866-1868 when Amir Shir Ali Khan was defeated in Kabul and fled to Herat the British government recognized him as the Head of government even though in Herat and considered Amir Mohammad Afzal Khan as the Governor of Kabul.               Now, they refused to recognize the government of Amanullah Khan as the legal government of Afghanistan because he had transferred the capital from Kabul to Kandahar and communicated with the usurper of the throne in Kabul.  Ghulam Sidiq Khan finally stated this British policy was against the people of Afghanistan.  The British government should revise her policy toward the Afghans; otherwise, it will make deeper the hostility of the Afghans. Unfortunately, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Britain did not accept the note and returned it in kind through her consulate in Kandahar.                The failure of Amanullah Khan was not only due to the negative position of the British government but also due to the implementation of the plan.  He transferred the capital from Kandahar to Herat.  This decision was a sad one for the people of Kandahar.  They compelled the king to change his mind, which he finally did.  This was probably a great mistake an caused his future activities to fail.               When Amanullah Khan saw how happy the people of Kandahar were at this change of mind, he became hopeful.  In spite of the lack of financial resources and arms he started to raise a new army.  In three months he prepared a force of 8,000 men from Kandahar, Farah, and Girishk.  The volunteer groups from Kandahar city as well as from its surrounding areas were put under the leadership of Amanullah Khan and in the company of his brother, Enayatullah Khan, they started toward Kabul in the month of April.  Abdul Ahad Khan, Minister of Interior, with a reconnoitring division was sent ahead to ask help of the people who were on the way to Kabul.               Without any great difficulty, the forces of Amanullah Khan reach Ghazni in late April.  There they met a small opposing force that was easily taken by Amanullah Khan.  An argument arose between the young educated soldiers and the old experienced soldiers about whether the army should stop at Ghazni or go to Kabul.  The young soldiers wanted to continue to Kabul and the other ones wanted to stay and capture Ghazni.  The old soldiers won and thus began the siege of Ghazni.                Habibullah used this opportunity to send a fresh army through Logar to Ghazni.  Moreover, when a number of the Sulaimankhels who were in India at the time, received the news that Amanullah Khan had left Kabul returned to Afghanistan by way of Uruzgan.  They were ordered to attack Amanullah Khan from the rear flank.               The people who themselves were present at that war believed that beside the above-mentioned reasons; a trick was used to neutralize the decisions, especially these concerning the capture of Ghazni.  However, during the siege of Ghazni two unknown men were caught inside the army camp.  One of them was a foreigner and the other was an Afghan.  After investigations it was proved that the former had entered the country with a forged passport and some Indian rupees, the later who carried a big dagger confessed that he wanted to kill Amanullah Khan.  Both spies were sentenced to death.  Thus, Amanullah Khan was shadowed everywhere by British espionage operatives and his plans were neutralized.               As said earlier, Herat was of particular significances in comparison to other provinces especially during wartime.  Its location was conducive to the rescuing of those who were defeated and used it as a retreat where they could muster their forces.  From this point of view, the first attack to be made on the part of Amanullah Khan from Herat followed a classic pattern.               However, the British began to play the Shiite-Sunni divide.  As a result, a battle ensued inside the town with a large number killed from both sides.  Finally, few elders from both sects tried to end the fighting.  However, the situation was so fluid that it led to a mutiny augmenting the grave dangers.               Apparently, the mutiny was caused by the despatch of troops to Kandahar.  Unusually, there were two military commanders simultaneously in Herat.  One of them was Mohammad Ghaus Khan, professional officer, and the other was Abdur Rahman Khan, son-in-law of local Governor Mohammad Ibrahim.  The later tried to dispose Mohammad Ibrahim Ghaus Khan in favour of his son-in-law.  So, he availed himself of the opportunity and sent Mohammad Ghaus Khan as the head of troops in Kandahar.  His conduct led to the mutiny as this gross nepotism had disenchanted all the soldiers and officers.  As a result, the undercover operatives did what they wanted.               On the other hand, Abdur Rahman Khan the new commander acted rashly against he mutinous troops.  So, a soldier shot him on the spot.  When Mohammad Ibrahim Khan received the news accompanied by his other son-in-law Mohammad Sidiq Amir, local Foreign Affairs Director, rushed to the barracks.  Consequently, both of them were cut into pieces and Habibullah appointed General Abdur Rahim Khan of Kohistan garrison commander.  He was sent to Herat via Mazar-i-Sharif.                 On reaching Maimana, he had received the news of the mutiny in Herat.  Therefore, utilizing the golden opportunity he started to head towards Herat.  During the same time, Shujal Dawla had returned from London and had hardly the time to strengthen his position.  Moreover, Mohammad Ghaus was not able to muster and reorganize the mutinous soldiers.  So, Abdur Rahman Kohistani reached the town periphery sending him an ultimatum to leave Herat within 24 hours.                    When Amanullah Khan was fighting in two battles in Ghazni, Herat fell into the hands of the enemy.  So, he last his final retreat where the former kings could halt to reorganize their forces and launch counter-attacks against their opponents.  And it was so easily taken over by the other side.               However, on the northern front, Amanullah Khan’s loyal supporters scored a measure of success.  Ghulam Nabi Khan Charkhi, a former general, and a number of young officers who had received training in Turkey, Russia, and other European countries.  They led a small but well organized contingent and entered Afghanistan via Khamyak early in April.  With a swift attack, he conquered Mazar-i-Sharif.               Mohammad Qasim, Habibullah’s local governor with his assistant, Khalilullah and their defeated force retreated to Maimana. Ghulam Nabi Khan entered Mazar-i-Sharif and sent a group of his men to Kabul.  Since most of his troops consisted of mounted soldiers, they conquered Tashqurghan within a few days defeating Habibullah’s forces led by Sayed Hussain that marched to face the contingent via Abdane Mir Alam.               Passing through Aibak via Dandan Shikan Pass, it advanced toward Bamyan Valley.  This advance coincided with the arrival in Ghazni of Amanullah Khan.  Habibullah was greatly upset by the news about the setback suffered by his forces.  They thought if the two forces faced each other at the mouth of Maidan Valley, Ghulam Nabi’s contingent would as mobile professional troops make a short work of Habibullah’s foolhardy warriors.  Afterwards then it would be child’s play for the old pro to capture Kabul.  He was briefed in details by some of his loyal officers who had rushed back to Kabul from Tashqurghan after the whole army was routed these at the hands of Ghulam Nabi Khan and his young officers.               A mentioned in British declassified documents Habibullah’s Foreign Minister alarmed by the changed of fortunes asked Sir Francis Humphreys, The British Ambassador in Kabul now in Simla, India for help.  The British who anticipated this eventuality in their plan were ready to tackle it.  A number of people were considered to play this role, one of them being Sayed Alim Khan, a friend and Ibrahim Beg Laqai, a colleague of former king Anwar Pasha of Bokhara, now living in exile in Kabul.                        Ibrahim Beg and his followers with help of the Khalifa of Qizil Ayaq lived along Balkh’s frontiers.  When Habibullah came to power, Ibrahim Beg and Sayed Alim established close relations with Habibullah cooperating with the latter to capture the then Qaterghan and Mazar-i-Sharif.  Without missing the chance, Ibrahim Beg’s men became active along a vast battlefield stretching from Mazar-i-Sharif to the mouth of the Ghorband Valley.  Their guerrilla attacks began to threaten Ghulam Nabi’s communication route.  Since the latter had to keep this open at any cost, the division stationed at Mazar-i-Sharif was immediately despatched to meet those guerrillas.  Thus, Mazar-i-Sharif was left without a military force to speak of.               According to his master’s plan, Habibullah’s defeated troops who were dispersed around Dehdadi waiting for an opportunity launched a surprise attack on Mazar-i-Sharif and captured it from Ghulam Nabi Khan.  Early in the morning, a messenger hurried to convey to him the news about the impending invasion of Habibullah’s forces.  He also was informed about the arrival of a large group of mullahs marching toward the town holding up a copy of the Holy Koran bearing a pledge written on its margin that they would hand over the town to Amanullah Khan.               Ghulam Nabi Khan thought something was suspicious about all this and therefore he ordered a detachment to be ready for any event.  He himself went out to welcome the mullahs.  It was a big gathering in which all men had put on white clothes covered their shoulders with shawls and raised white flags.  They marched via Azizabad toward the government house.  When they reached the entrance they put aside their shawls and took their rifles out to shoot but Ghulam Nabi’s detachment was ready to chase the deceitful raiders. Ghulam Nabi not upset by this unexpected turn of the events grabbed the rifle from his guard and fired a shot into the air.  By hearing this signal, the detachment fired at the gathering and dispersed and chased down the attackers.               Although this incident was not so significant, it attracted Ghulam Nabi’s attention to the swift attack on Kabul, which was planned earlier by him.  He realized that this attack was not an easy one because of the covert hands obstructing his decisions.  However, he waited to hear the hopeful news from the front where his forces were divided into two groups: one proceeding via the Ghorband Valley towards Charikar and the other via Bamyan along the Hajigak Pass to join the Hazara forces led by Shahnur’s son along with Ghulam Nabi Khan who was looking after Mazar-i-Sharif.  Meanwhile, he received a telegram from his brother, Ghulam Sidiq Khan, about Amanullah Khan’s departure from Afghanistan advising him to muster his forces and leave as soon as possible.               Ghulam Nabi Khan who was on the verge of victory and did not await such news consulted his advisors.  Most of who advised him to leave but Ghulam Nabi Khan hesitated to listen to them.  He wanted to stay and execute his plan.  Then he was called by Ghulam Haider, the military division commander at Tashqurghan, who informed him about the advance of large reinforcements headed by Sayed Hussain toward Tashqurghan.  For Ghulam Nabi Khan, this parcel of new was the last straw.               In spite of this, Ghulam Nabi Khan kept this news secret for three days so he could muster his forces.  Although he was fired on from all sides, he was successful in evacuating his forces unscathed.  Ghulam Nabi Khan, a very brave general, was the last man who crossed the Oxus River.               When Amanullah Khan’s forces were pressured from both sides, he could hardly return to Moqur.  However, once there Ghulam Jilanli Khan Charkhi with the young officers trained in Turkey and two units of reinforcements arrived from Kandahar.  They brought the good news of the capture of Mazar-i-Sharif by Ghulam Nabi Khan and the arrival of Shujal Dawla in Herat, which pepped Amanullah Khan’s morale.                The dispirited monarch held a military conference in which Ghulam Jilani Khan was appointed commander of the defence forces.  At that meeting, it was also decided that Amanullah Khan should go back to Kandahar to muster reinforcements to strengthen his position on the battlefield.  These decisions were made when the king himself resided at the Moqur Hotel.                Now, he was convinced that the only way to solve the problem was to follow the original instructions of his father-in-law, Mahmud Tarzi, to go directly to Herat.  One there, he should prepare a new plan away from distractions caused by his enemy.  He was quite confident that Ghulam Nabi Khan Charkhi was at Mazar-i-Sharif expecting him to capture Kabul before coming to Herat.  His optimistic attitude had hardly manifested itself when the telephone rang with Abdul Aziz Khan informing him about the fall of Herat.               After a moment’s silence, Amanullah Khan asked his War Minister where the division had left Herat was.  Abdul Aziz Khan replied that after receiving the news of the fall of Herat near Farah, the troops had taken prisoner Mohammad Amin Tata and other officers who were planning to return to Herat.  However, General Mohammad Anwar Khan Nurzayi, the Governor and Military Commander of Farah disarmed them diplomatically.               Amanullah Khan put the receiver down and asked his servant, Lala Sayed Mir, to call Hasanjan his secretary and let him know about his immediately departure for Kandahar.  He also instructed him not to let anyone except Ghulam Jilani Khan and his company is informed about this news.  At the time, he made the decision that he did not realize fully well that it was not only important to himself but also to the future of Afghanistan as a whole.               Two men insistently asked him to change his mind about his decision.  One was Abdul Hadi Dawi who had just arrived from Kabul to join Amanullah Khan and the other was Abdul Aziz Khan who was the War Minister.  Dawi proposed that he appeal to the Durrani tribe forces and ask for their help and cooperation.  He assured him that those tribal forces would undoubtedly support him and in worst-case scenario they would safely escort him to the border.  However, Amanullah Khan did not accept this for was quite taken aback.               Amanullah Khan reached Qalat early in the morning and by telephone asked Ali Ahmad Khan, the Governor, to join him.  Amanullah Khan met the latter at Robat Maiwand and appointed him as his deputy as well as Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.  He ordered him to start immediately toward Qalat and command the division there.  However, without entering Kandahar, he directly went toward the border.  As his family and few of his ministers had joined him along the way, they crossed the border on May 25, 1929.  There he introduced himself to the British frontier officer who took them to Dock Bangla.  Meanwhile, the local officer at Chaman was informed about the news.  The latter despatched an urgent telegram to the Indian Viceroy at Simla.               Lord Irvin who was at that time called Lord Halifax was appointed as the Foreign Minister of British during World War Two.  Before the start of the crisis in Afghanistan, he received the mentioned telegram after 30 minutes.  According to the declassified documents of the British government, the India regent upon getting the news for which he was waiting impatiently should that, “finally … we get rid of him.”  Then he dictated a letter to his secretary: “Now you do not withhold any favour for as a refugee.  And under no circumstances he could stay here and should leave India as soon as possible.”               The India government consulted with the authoritative sources in London concerning the announcement of the news of Amanullah Khan’s departure from his county.  After 24 hours, in the morning of May 27, 1929 (Jauza 6, 1303), this news was reported by the news agencies and newspapers of the world.  Now, we see the government’s celebration of the 6th of Jauza which corresponded with the departure day of Amanullah Khan was not an accidental matter or without an historical reason.               As later incidents showed the ecstasy and delight of the India regent was a little bit ahead time.  Although Amanullah Khan left the country, Afghans remained with their arms ready to face the enemy of their homeland.  The Afghans continued with their struggles on both sides of the border.  As Rose Kepal, a British officer, predicted that they would not be able to extinguish the fire, which was lit by Amanullah Khan for a long time.  Thus, for 20 years until they left India the British did not live in peace because of the Afghans even for a very short time.               With Amanullah Khan leaving Kandahar and through the cooperation of the internal backward-looking, the third part of the British imperialist’s master plan was successfully launched.  Then it was the turn of the British imperial hero, Nadir, to appear on the scene.               While Nadir and his brother who were in the south of France gave careful thought to the internal crisis built up in Afghanistan.  Apparently they were away from the scene but actually they held communication with the designer of the master plan regarding the fall of the progressive regime of Afghanistan.  The plan, which was prepared by Nadir’s cooperation, was adhered to in all its details both inside and outside of Afghanistan.  So, they had to report the occurrence of and predict the incidents and foresee the events.               After the failure of the “Patyala Plot” when Shah Mahmud, High Commissioner in the Mashriqi Province, was dismissed and Abdul Washed Shinwari, known as Mr. Weed, an Australian citizen was appointed to serve as liaison between the exiled brothers in the south of France and the British sources.  Mr. Weed was a frontier Afghan by birth who travelled with a camel caravan to Australia at the end of the 19th century.  He worked there on the vast plain using his camels as a means of transportation and earned enough money.  Later he came back to the frontier.    According to the declassified documents of the British government, Mr. Weed came to Afghanistan in 1923-1924 concurrently with the event of Mullah Lang.  He acted like a sensitive Afghan interested in using his money and experience for the benefit of his homeland.  He proposed to have the concession for working the gold mines in Kandahar and trade of wood in Kunar.  For this purpose, he proposed to give the amount of 10,000 English pounds of gold for obtaining this concession.   Though his proposal was very lucrative, it soon became clear that behind all this there were the real British masters involved.  Their main goal was to penetrate into the sensitive part of Afghanistan.  According to the declassified documents of the British government and also the book Fire in Afghanistan when his proposal was rejected by the government of Afghanistan in 1925 he wrote to the Military Attaché of Britain in Kabul that he still hoped and desired to serve for the benefit of the British government.  Thus, Nadir met him a year later in Paris to help coordinate with him their plans.   Another comrade of Mr. Weed was M.A. Hakim, the agent with the German Commercial agency Anbar in Kabul.  Mr. Hakim used to travel between Kabul and Peshawar.  Mr. Hakim who was called Hakimjan became a trustworthy communicator of Nadir in covert matters with high ranking authorities of the British government in India.  When Nadir acceded to the throne he transferred the centre of his activity to Kabul and all the government purchasing was brought within his monopoly.  It was seen that the opposing elements to the regime of Amanullah Khan were in contact with the British imperialists and were very well organized.  But seemingly, they looked scattered and unorganised.   Mr. Weed resumed his activity on Aqrab 1307 and went to the High Commissioner of Peshawar and proposed to him that because of his close relationship with the chief of the rebellious tribes of Mashriqi and with the help of the people of Kabul, he could guarantee the security of British transportation and safety of the British Embassy in Kabul.   Though his proposal was reliable, the Indian government got in touch with Humphreys.  He did not advise him to go back to Kabul because the government of Afghanistan prohibited him from entering the country.  In Fire in Afghanistan, it refers to the declassified documents of the British government stating that the High Commissioner of Peshawar authorized to substitute for money all the necessary services required from him.  Thus, Mr. Weed got the permission to carry on his activity at the frontier area and Mashriqi Province.   The main ally was Lawrence, top officer in the British Intelligence Service.  He cooperated to run the plan against the Government of Afghanistan.  Once of his important works was to outline a proclamation in 18 articles against Amanullah Khan.  His proclamation was published at Iqbal Press in Peshawar and distributed among the tribal areas.  His other work was obtaining freedom for the British pilot and the return of the airplane, which landed in Jagdalak.   The exiled brothers in the southern of France became impatient with the news of the Shinwar Revolt.  Without the permission of their master to wait for the conditions to improve they decided to leave for Afghanistan.  According to the declassified documents of the British government, Hashim went to the British Consulate in Nice on December 10th.  He asked for transit visas through India for his two brothers, Nadir and Shah Wali, and himself.  The request was made before Habibullah Kalakani attacked Kabul.   According to the administrative regulations, the British Consulate asked for an entry visa to Afghanistan first.  So, Hashim returned to Paris where he repeated his demand.  He received the same reply there.  Hashim insisted they were well known people and close friends of the British government.  Therefore, it was not necessary for them to have an Afghan visa.  He was advised to go to London to make his case.   The negative attitude of the British Embassy made him irresolute.  On the other hand, Hashim was not sure what would be the result of his trip to London and did not want to let the Afghan Embassy know about their decision.  Finally, he was compelled to go to the Afghan Embassy for permission to return.  So, Hashim returned very nervously to Nice.   The newspapers reported Habibullah Kalakani’s attack of Kabul and it was another factor that aggravated their nervousness.  Again, Hashim went to the British Consulate in Nice.  He, on behalf of Nadir, asked to communicate his personal message to London via telegram.  In Fire in Afghanistan, his message contained their request from the British government to send a high ranking officer who would be able to communicate in Persian and help them in their covert conversations.   The related British sources informed the British Embassy in Kabul about the matter.  Humphreys became anxious of Nadir and his brothers' hasty decision.  It was against his required plan and he was especially worried about the divulgence of the original plan.  In reply, he instructed that visas should be issued yet.  Thus, the British Counsellor in Nice informed Hashim after two days the visas could not be issued nor could the British Embassy send them a Persian speaking Englishman.    Nadir could not imagine such a cold and negative treatment of the British government, he though there must be some misunderstanding.  So, Hashim wanted to go in person to London to make clear the situation.  For that purpose, he had to go first to the Afghan Embassy.  He was informed that instructions had been received from Kabul to issue them visas for Afghanistan.  Hashim became so happy that he immediately left Paris and returned to Nice to bring his brother’s passports.  In spite of that they did not dare to make any decisions by themselves without the agreement and permission of their British contacts.    Amanullah Khan was not aware of the underground activities of Nadir and his brothers.  That is why, the government of Afghanistan issued the visas in good faith.  He considered the brothers request to come home as an indication of cooperation and goodwill to the government of Afghanistan.   Amanullah Khan’s weak position made him reply to everyone.  Thus, he appointed Ali Ahmad Khan, his arch enemy as Commander of the Armed Forces in Mashriqi and sent him to Jalalabad.  Then he considered he would finish off the guerrilla forces of Habibullah with the support of Nadir and his brothers.   In spite of the fact, he appreciated the return of Nadir he did not forget the importance of security and instructed the Afghan Embassy in Paris that they should return only via Moscow and Tashkent and by Russian airplane.  TO show his trust in Nadir, Amanullah Khan told his son who was studying in Paris to accompany the brothers.  Also, the younger brother of Nadir, Shah Mahmud, who did not hold any position, was appointed as Commander of Armed Forces in Dehsabz and Khwaja Rawash.  Both Dehsabz and Khwaja Rawash were defensive positions during the attacks of Habibullah Kalakani.  However, the location of the Shirpur airport as well as Kabul prison situated at the historical fort of Shirpur gave them special importance.   By the second attack of Habibullah Kalakani and the defeat of the government forces, Amanullah Khan was deposed and left for Kandahar.  Humphreys, the British Ambassador in Kabul, watched the events very carefully.  He contacted his government to issue transit visas for Nadir and his brothers, so they could be able to start immediately for India.   Humphreys explained in his telegram that even if it made Habibullah unhappy, the being of Nadir and his brothers in Afghanistan is now very important and necessary.  So, the British Embassy in Paris called Nadir on January 21, 1929 to invited to come to Paris for their visas.  There the British Ambassador in person met them and offered his excuses for what had happened in connection with the issuance of their visas.  They got a diplomatic visa an started for India with a special recommendation letter.  They left the port of Marseilles on the Indian ship, Kaiser.                    The three years of seclusion and expectation of Nadir and his brothers in the south of France reached its end.  Nadir was so happy he neglected the instructions of his government concerning his return via Moscow.  Moreover, he forgot the guardianship of the young prince on the way.  Nadir was so happy that while singing a song to himself with Indian rhythm, he departed from the port of Marseilles the next morning.               Nadir was considered by Habibullah Kalakani as his probable competitor.  He was aware of their existing opposition between Nadir and Amanullah Khan.  Therefore, he wanted to bring him inside the circle of his activity or to keep him under his authority.  With that thought in mind, he acceded to the throne on the first week and appointed Shah Mahmud his private advisor.  He also appointed Ahmad Shah, Nadir’s cousin, and Abdul Aziz, Hashim’s cousin, to go to Europe to escort Nadir to Kabul.  There were instructed to get their travel expenses from the Commercial Agency in Peshawar.               Since Abdul Hakim, Commercial agent, was on Amanullah Khan’s side, he refused to accept the instructions of Habibullah.  He did not play their travel expenses from Kabul to Peshawar, so they flew by a British plane.  Therefore, the expenses were paid by the British government and they left by boat from an Indian port.  According to the declassified documents of the British government, the British were aware of Habibullah’s decision to invite Nadir.                Since the British plan was formulated earlier and then it ran parallel with Habibullah’s decision and they did not want to disclose the latter stages of the plan, they took it easy in a time that Amanullah was still on the scene.  In spite of that fact, the British knew this and refused to send Habibullah’s agent.  They also prepared the required facilities for them.               The British political agencies and consulates in Europe hesitated and were surprised about the matter but the political departments in London and Delhi did not show even a small hesitation in connection with what had happened.  Their arrival on the scene of activity in India was impatiently awaited.  Due to various cases and reasons, they were worried the plan might be made public and neutralized ahead of time.                The anxiety of the Indian government from t disclosure of the plan could be judged from the covert message of the Indian Viceroy to Vice Count Phil in London, which the Indian Minister dated February 3, 1929.  It corresponded with the departure of the Indian Kaiser from Marseilles heading for Bombay.  In Fire in Afghanistan, reference is made to the declassified documents:    “Fortunately, in spite f the seditious publicity the conditions are developing in our favour.   I hope to succeed in bringing Nadir here quietly and without causing disturbance.  Under the existing circumstances, there is no doubt that he would play the part of a winner bead on the confused board of politics in Afghanistan.  It would be a God given chance.”   On February 23, three days before the arrival of the ship into the port of Bombay, following earlier messages another message was sent to the Governor of Bombay.  Again, in   In Fire in Afghanistan, contained the following instructions:   In a very friendly was apologise to Nadir.  IT should be expressed that for the existence of certain political considerations the Indian government could not arrange an elaborate welcome for such a distinguished guest such as Nadir and we hope you will understand.  Accordingly, he should be kept away from all political activities and should be sent to Afghanistan.  Their baggage should not go through the custom regulation.  Moreover, necessary steps should be taken for their safety.   Nadir and his brothers arrived at the port of Bombay on February 3, 1929.  The representative of the Indian Viceroy, C.J. Freek, met Nadir on the deck of the ship.  He communicated the crucial matters with him before Nadir saw the Afghan officials who were there to bid him welcome.               According to declassified documents of the British government, the special representative of the Indian Viceroy was assured by Nadir he would not meet Amanullah Khan and would not support him.  On the contrary, he would do what the British government desired.  After this conversation was over, Nadir landed and was received by the Afghan Consul and the Afghan citizens in Bombay.  Nadir resided at the Taj Mahal Hotel.  At the hotel the letter of Amanullah Khan was presented to him by the Afghan Consul.               It request that Nadir should come directly to Kandahar and meet Amanullah Khan.  Nadir answered his letter on the same day and sent it back via the Afghan Consul.  Amanullah Khan had accused Nadir for being unreliable.  Then Nadir assured Amanullah Khan and took oath he would remain loyal to Amanullah Khan.  He said that since their goal is the same, therefore, let me begin the struggle in another part of the country instead of coming to Kandahar.               After sending the letter, Nadir pretended to be sick and severed relations with the Afghan officials and citizens.  He continued his contact with the British officials.  It was continued until he received the preliminary plan for his activity.  Afterwards, Nadir and his brothers secretly left for Peshawar by train on a dark night.  In spite of all the secrecy, the news of their arrival in India was reported in newspapers.  The newspaper representatives and men of political parties were looking for them everywhere.  His incantations were questioned by them.               In reply, Nadir claimed he struggled in support of Amanullah Khan and had no claim for himself.  When he acceded to the throne, his past promises became a sharp weapon in the hands of the patriotic elements in India who were against the British and favoured Amanullah Khan.  They encouraged public opinion in India and the frontier against his illegitimate regime.               Humphreys waited for the arrival of Nadir and his brothers.  He convinced his government that the British Embassy should close their office and leave Kabul.  So, with this action, the other embassies in Kabul would also feel unsafe and might follow suit.  When the conditions became favourable then could come back and open the embassy again.  However, the acquired government would not give permission to the other diplomatic representative to open their offices again.  The matter can be clearly seen in the famous declaration of Shinwars outlined by Humphreys’ agents.                Contrary to his prediction, with the exception of a few western embassies in Kabul the other remained open.  According to the declassified documents of the British government, the USSR Embassy adopted a free policy and the embassies of Turkey and Iran followed suit and remained active with all their delegation members until the reign of Habibullah.  The British apparently closed the embassy after a month of rule of Habibullah Kalakani and the British officials left the country one after another.               A frontier servant, Rahmat Khan, who was an Indian citizen, took the responsibility of looking after the embassy building and the British property in Kabul.  Yet, Rahmat Khan was an expert and experienced comrade of Humphreys.  At the time of Habibullah Kalakani, all the government correspondence with the Indian government was carried out by him.  Actually the British Embassy was transferred to Peshawar and all its members including Sheikh Mahbub Ali, the secretary for the eastern desk were busy there.               Humphreys went on talking about closing the embassy with a view to attract the attention of other embassies especially that of the USSR embassy.  He pretended the diplomatic members were leaving by English plan he postponed his departure until he was convinced of the failure of his plan.  He then took the British flag and left Kabul for Peshawar on an English airplane on February 7, 1929 just after 34v days of the rule of Habibullah.    Before leaving he met with Shah Mahmud, the younger brother of Nadir, for six hours.  In Wings over Kabul, Baker and Chapman give the summary of their negotiations.  The purpose of their negotiations was to guide Shah Mahmud who was appointed by Habibullah to talk with the Eastern and Southern Provinces as to how he can deceive Habibullah.    Humphreys desired to meet in person with Nadir and discuss the matter.  Through a few telegrams sent to the Indian and British governments he pointed out the necessity of such a meeting.  In a telegram, he said,   “Fortunately Nadir, his brothers, and I were once very close friends.  If I would be able to see them, it would surely create a misunderstanding.  Since the Indian and Russian presses continue with their propaganda, therefore, from my point of view the disaffection of such an influential family of Afghanistan might not be proper.”   So, they met in Peshawar when the brothers arrived on April 27, 1929.  They met at the residence of Humphreys covertly.  As far as it could be deduced from Humphreys’ reports, Nadir showered him the latest letter of Amanullah Khan, which was written in a leading tone and instructed hi to come immediately to Kandahar.                Nadir assured him he will neglect Amanullah Khan’s instructions as he did before about his return via Russia.  Meanwhile, Nadir said he and his brothers would start the struggle for power in the eastern and southern provinces. However, he will also arrange the details of their work after his meeting with Shah Mahmud who was in Khost.               As Humphreys advised Nadir, he held a number of meetings with Mr. Wilton, Chief Commissioner of Peshawar.  He discussed the work of Nadir and his comrades.  Meanwhile, a few persons were introduced as messengers and communicators.  On the British side, Mohammad Sadiq Mujadidi and M.A. Hakim and on Nadir’s side were Haji Mohammad Akbar Khan and Alanawaz Khan.  The purpose of the meeting was to let Nadir understand not to introduce himself as the representative of Amanullah Khan as he did since he left France.               Meanwhile, Nadir delivered a speech at the Friday prayer in Peshawar without knowing that Ali Ahmad Khan was also present there and vice-versa.  Nadir shed light on their struggle to assume power and deliver the country from thieves and robbers.    He asked for help and cooperation of the frontier men.               From that moment, he avoided newspaper journalists and members of the political structure.  Nadir made sure he keep away from the Hisb-i-Khilafat headed by Khan Abdul Ghafar Khan who was active along the frontier area and stood shoulder to shoulder with Amanullah Khan.               When Abdul Ghafar Khan heard about Nadir’s speech, he advised his followers to hold the oath of support because he was sure Nadir was acting in hypocrisy, dissimulation, and betrayal to Amanullah Khan.  He said Nadir was working for himself with the cooperation of foreigners against Amanullah Khan and the Afghan people.  Still, Habibullah was disturbed but the activity among the eastern and southern tribes.               He became suspicious of the British intentions and tried to bring Nadir under control as soon as possible.  So, he despatched a telegram to Peshawar for Humphreys.  He noted in the telegram that the road of Mashriqi is not safe yet, so the Indian government could cooperate and let an airplane to transfer Nadir and his brothers to Kabul immediately.                It was clear that both, Humphreys and the Indian government would not be ready to grant his request.  On the other hand, as it was usual with them he assured Habibullah that whenever Nadir and his brothers were ready to go to Kabul, the plane will carry them.  Meanwhile, Nadir, Shah Wali, and Hashim started for Kabul via Tal and Khost.  Then, they journeyed through the Momand district of Jalalabad.                An American writer, Louis Dupree, writes in his book Afghanistan that it was the British who devised the rules for the game in which Nadir and his brothers only had the responsibility for playing it step by step according to the plan of the master.  Thus, Hashim entered Afghanistan through the eastern province and Nadir and Shah Wali through the Southern Province on March 8, 1929.               According to declassified documents of the British government, the first condition laid down by the people of Momand at the Lalpur Meeting was that Hashim and his brothers should only fight to regain the throne for Amanullah Khan; otherwise, they would not cooperate with and help them.  The condition was accepted by the tribes of Byazi and Khawji.               Naturally, it weakened the chance of accession for Hashim.  When Hashim met the Shinwar people; contrary to his expectations, the people laid down the same conditions at the Achin Meeting.  The report prepared by the Chief Commissioner of Frontier addressed to the Central Government of India and reflecting clearly the change of opinion of the related tribes is part of the documents in the National Archives in India.               Apparently, the immediate change of mind among the tribal people was something strange and unnatural.  However, in reality it was because of being naive and easily impressed by dishonest Maliks, Khans, and Sardars who conspired with foreign imperialist led by Lawrence (also know as Pir Karam), Abdul Wahid Shinwari (known as Mr.  Weed), Sardar Mohammad Omar who was son of Sardar Mohammad Ayub Khan, and others.               When the impression of the dark missionaries was neutralized, the tribesmen knew the result of their action by the coming of Habibullah Kalakani and his band into power.  Then their reaction to get to the side of Amanullah Khan was a natural act.  When they saw Nadir and his brothers emerge on the scene without any approvals from Amanullah Khan, the tribesmen became suspicious.               Malik Mohammad Alam Khan and Malik Mohammad Afzal Khan, leaders of the Shinwar Rebellion four months earlier, drove Hashim out from their region despaired and disappointed.  Hashim’s chances of success among the Khogyanis were comparable with the Shinwar people.  Since Khogyani was near Kabul, the gathering and organization of forces in the area was easier for Hashim.               This gave Hashim the idea he was not far away from his goals.  Meanwhile, the forces of Habibullah marched from Kabul and the Khogyani Maliks left Hashim and joined the approaching forces.  Thus, Hashim’s forces like those of Ali Ahmad Khan’s forces became scattered.  He left Afghanistan and after a month returned to India.  Although he wanted to go to the southern province to join his brothers, the British sent him to Quetta for their future plans.                 When Nadir attacked Kabul, the Achikzais rose against Habibullah Kalakani’s forces.  After a few days, they captured Kandahar from Abdul Qadir Kohistani, the governor appointed by Habibullah.  The flag of Amanullah Khan was hoisted over the town hall.               Immediately, the British brought Hashim back to the frontier.  With the collaboration of a number of elders and merchants from Kandahar, Hashim as the agent of Nadir was able to reach Kandahar.  By spreading the news of the conquest of Kabul and bating Mehrdil Khan whom he had promised a ministry position.                At least he could take part in achieving the freedom of the country from the thieves and actually handing it over to the treasonous elements of the homeland.  However, before entering Afghanistan Nadir met wit his old friend Richard Mechaniki, former British Ambassador in Kabul, who had the crucial duty of being the political agent in Kurm.                After the kingship of Nadir, Mechaniki replaced Humphreys as the British Ambassador in Kabul.  Mechaniki briefed him about the latest occurrences and the condition of the tribesmen.  Moreover, he outlined to Hashim the procedure of the work he should follow.  Mechaniki confirmed the view of Humphreys and said Nadir should hold a tribal meeting and explain his policy before any other activity.  He elicited the cooperation of the tribal people.               Shah Mahmud with the invitation message of Habibullah Kalakani and four hundred gold pounds as gift was sent earlier toward the southern provinces.  He joined Nadir and informed him about the outcome of his contact with the tribal people. He assured Nadir with the exception of a small number of Ahmadzais, some other Logaris, and the Shiites; the remaining tribes of the southern provinces were on their side.               After receiving the information and guidance from and consulting with his brothers, Nadir prepared the plan of his action.  His first activity was sending Shah Mahmud to gather the representatives of the tribes for the tribal meeting in Gardiz.  Nadir and Shah Wali stayed at Alikhel of Jaji and started to communicate with the chiefs, elders, and maliks of the tribes.               Another person who met with Nadir was Mirza Abdul Hakim who earlier was introduced as liaison between him and the British authorities.  According to the declassified documents of the British government, Hakim received a considerable amount of money transferred to Peshawar during Amanullah Khan’s time.  It was to buy government supplies through Anbdar, a German businessman, residing in Kabul.                According to the guidance of Welton who was Chief Commissioner of Peshawar, Nadir was assured of the existence of such a considerable sum.  First, Nadir ordered the purchase of British guns and ammunitions, which were available at Lowarguy and other part of the Khyber Pass.  They are available at cheap prices and in considerable quantity and transferred them immediately.               Nadir also requested Mirza Abdul Hakim, Commercial agent of Afghanistan in Peshawar,  to buy weapons with the Afghan government funds and to send the consignments to him.  However, Mirza Abdul Hakim who was aware of his intentions refused to do so.               Disappointed Nadir sent Humphreys a letter who was in Peshawar where he had asked for him to send money.  The letter was sent through Mohammad Sadiq Mojadidi who was a man introduced to Nadir as a messenger and confidante.  This letter is now part of the declassified documents of the British government.  It contains a detailed request for the amount of two hundred thousand Indian Rupees for the time being.  He added in the letter that if made no difference whether they gave the amount in his name or in the name of the government of Afghanistan.  It meant that Nadir considered himself at that time the leader of Afghanistan and on that basis had asked for the money from the British government.  Ironically, a few months earlier when Amanullah Khan was in Kandahar he objected to the one-sided interference of the British to which the British replied they felt he was not accepted throughout the country.  Now, that Nadir is in similar stance and was never a government minister let alone a leader his requested is being considered.               After a few days, the preliminary steps toward the tribal meeting were taken, Nadir and Shah Wali started towards Gardiz to participate in the meeting.  There they were welcomed by Ghausuddin, son of Jandad Ahmadzai, who was also a seasoned British conspirator and adventurer.  According to a source who was at the meeting, two days after the meeting started which was contrary to Nadir’s expectation.  The Khost tribes who earlier had promised to stand behind Nadir as well as some of the Ghilzais proclaimed they would cooperate with Amanullah Khan, which is documented in the report of March 14 of the Tribal Commissioner of the Frontier addressed to the Indian government.                The same people proposed to the meeting since Amanullah Khan is now in Ghazni, a delegation consisting of the representatives of the different tribes should be sent to him.  The unexpected proposal of the Khost people upset Nadir.  As a result, he announcement his opposition to Amanullah Khan in that same meeting.                Nadir reminded the meeting of the Mullah Lang Rebellion, the slaughter of the Mangal chiefs, and other southern tribes by Amanullah Khan. However, this announcement instead of changing the view of the meeting in his favour had a negative effect and a large number of the participants as a sign of protest left the meeting without taking any decision.  Thus, the meeting ended in confusion.               Consequently, the opposing elements together with Ghausuddin attacked the Balahissar of Gardiz, the residence of Nadir and his followers.  They all ran out in confusion with the help of Abdul Ghani Gardizi through a side exit and reach Alikhel again.               The main reason why Ghausuddin changed sides was he received the decrees of Amanullah Khan through Mirza Faqir Ahmad Khan, Director of Forestry, who addressed to him and the other tribal head in the Southern Province.  However, the actual cause of the incident was General Mohammad Sidiq Khan who was Military Commander of the Southern Province (and the brother of Shirjan, Minister of Court for Habibullah Kalakani).  He for the time being remained loyal to Amanullah Khan.               Since he assured that Nadir is trying to benefit for himself under the name of Amanullah Khan and advised to stand against this treachery.  Shirjan’s brother soon left for Kabul and joined his brothers against Nadir until he lost a leg one of the battles.               Shah Mahmud and Janbaz of Charkh were sent to Logar to prevent the advances of Habibullah Kalakani’s forces.  They were also defeated.  Nadir saw the support of the tribesmen gave him much less than he had hoped for.  He understood without the effective help of the British government, he alone would not be able to stand up to dangerous opponents such as Habibullah.               Accordingly, he sent Shah Wali to Fazel Omar Mojadidi who had recently arrived from India and resided in Orgoon.  There he was busy gathering forces, Nadir’s agents asked for his help and cooperation.  He was asked to prevent the Ghilzais from joining Amanullah Khan’s forces.  This matter is described in detail in Shah Wali’s book My Memoirs.                Meanwhile, Haji Mohammad Akbar Yousofi, Former Consul in Bombay, was sent to Simla with a letter to Deans Barry, Secretary of Foreign Affairs for the India government, along with a personal letter to Humphreys would help to deliver the letter and fulfil his requests.               Thus, Nadir expressed in this secret letter dated September 18, 1929, which is filed document number F.40 in the National Archives of India:               “If the Indian Government does not allow the tribesmen on the other side of the frontier to help him, he would not succeed at all.  Therefore, Afghanistan would face an anarchy.  The current situation would be explained to you in detail by Haji Mohammad Akbar himself.  The coming of a powering Government in Afghanistan is entirely in the interest of the British government.  Moreover, the following privileges would be given to the British government:        1.      Establishment of closer relations between Afghanistan and Britain. 2.      Reduction of Russian influence. 3.      Refraining from inimical and inflammatory publicity against India. 4.      Construction of Chaman, Kandahar, and Herat railways. 5.      Establishing relations among the frontier tribes so as to suit the British Government. 6.      In spite of being independent, Afghanistan would accept financial aid from the British Government as before.”   Nadir obtained the agreement of the British government to use the tribesmen beyond the frontier.  By their cooperation, Nadir succeeded to conquer Kabul.  Nadir clearly confessed in his letter to the Indian government that without the effective and direct cooperation of the British government in the use of the competent forces of Wazir and Mashud Provinces.  Otherwise, he was quite sure it would be impossible for him to succeed against Habibullah Kalakani.               As it is understood from the text of his letter and proposals, Nadir received those privileges at the cost of the independence of Afghanistan. From this point, he like those before him could not free themselves from the British influence and authority.  The prior 20 year term was freed by Amanullah Khan.    After the aforementioned agreement, the British government officially continued with her so called policy of non-interference in the internal affairs of Afghanistan.  To deceive local and foreign people, the British agents apparently forbade the tribesmen from entering Afghan soil.   However, in practice the Wazir and Mahsud forces numbering over ten thousand people were sent inside Afghanistan under the supervision of British personnel and Nadir’s agent, Mawlawi Alanawaz Multani, with large sums of money and weapons to gather and mobilize forces.   It is worth considering that during the revolt of Shinwar when the people of Momand wanted to enter Afghanistan in favour of Amanullah Khan, it was the British government that forbad their entering and resorted to air bombardment.  However, then contented with overall protestations and the official personnel that “because of the sensitiveness of the time tribal forces should be strictly prevented from any practical actions.”  This was the meaning of the non-interference policy of the British government six months earlier announced by the British Foreign Secretary in the parliament of that country.   At Alikhel, Nadir watched for the arrival of the tribesmen.  At the same time, he prepared the plan of attack on Kabul.  During this time, he prepared the plan of attack on Kabul.  On the other side, Shah Wali and Shah Mahmud at the entrance of the Logar Pass took their defensive positions.  They were also warding off the attacks of the forces of Habibullah Kalakani.   It was at this moment that Aminjan, brother of Amanullah Khan, accompanied by Hazaras and using a detour arrived at Alikhel and ran into Nadir.  Nadir tricked him by advising him to save his life and that it would be better for him to leave Afghanistan without delay.  Nadir could ask the Indian government to assign him a suitable residence and salary until conditions to better in Afghanistan.  Instead, Nadir sent different messages to the British personnel.  For example, he asked that Abdul Hakim Khan, Commercial Agent in Peshawar, who openly criticized Nadir’s intentions to be exiled in Rangun.   Meanwhile, as the plan for preparation and organization of attack on Kabul was completed the tribesmen with zeal and excitement of bringing back Amanullah Khan finally appeared on the battle scene.  With a few days they defeated the forced of Habibullah on several fronts.   At that time, first of all Shah Wali leading one of those forces through Charasyb reached Kabul and declared himself the “Conqueror of Kabul.  One the other side, Shah Mahmud, leading another force chased the surrendered forces of Habibullah arriving the next day through Rishkhor and Daralaman in Kabul.   When Nadir was assured that Kabul was occupied  and Habibullah took refuge toward Kohistan, he then came to Chilsitoon.  One the next day, Nadir victoriously entered Kabul and Bagh Alimardan, the quarter of his grandfather Sardar Sultan Mohammad Khan Telai. There he consulted with the near relations some of whom were the near dependents of the imperialist organization. Such as Shir Ahmad Zikria and Faiz Mohammad Zikria.   There, at that meeting preparations for the election of the future king were made and the plot revealed that they all betrayed their oath to bring back Amanullah Khan and used the tribesmen.  Finally, the crowing ceremony took place at the Public Hall of Salamkhana on October 16, 1929 in the presence of a small number of his comrades.  That desired and chosen candidate of the British government who earlier received the tile of “Winner Bead” by the Indian government finally reached his imperial destiny.   His clear promises contained in his speeches and published declarations distributed among the people were quite contrary to what he practiced.  For instance, in a meeting collusively and without the knowledge and agreement of the people he proclaimed himself king of Afghanistan.               According to a previous and agreement, the British, soon offered to Nadir the amount of one Kror Rupees as a contribution for what he had committed himself.  According to the declassified documents of the British government, Nadir requested them that this amount be changed to Sterling Pounds and transferred to the Bank of England to his personal account.                Humphreys, his old friend and colleague, who got for his activities the position of High Commissioner of England in Iraq, tried to raise the mentioned amount from one Kror to six Kror for the sake of friendship.               But, according to documents of the time which existed in the National Archives of India, the total expenses of England for the fall of the progressive government of Amanullah until the succession of the reactionary and anti-nationalist regime of Nadir was estimated to be over 600,000 Kror.  Although during that reactionary movement the Afghans bore great losses and thousands of youth were sacrificed, millions of money and wealth were spent uselessly.  But the main disadvantage was the loss of precious time and opportunity that could have been used for the progress of the country.               In spite of the fact that the people of Afghanistan were put out of patience due to the cruelty, oppression, and tyranny of Habibullah the kingship of Nadir which started wit deceit, and dishonesty was not welcomed by them.  From the very early days the people did not trust Nadir.  Thus, when he announced his cabinet and declared his policy their doubt changed into opposition and antagonism.  Especially the voice of criticism and adducting rose from the intellectual circles all over the country.               Especially his weak foreign policy that took the British side strongly shocked the Afghans and made them to rise and begin their struggle.  Soon, the national uprising took shape and an all-sided struggle was started in the country.  Nadir and his protectors knew that the Afghans would never give up their freedom and independence for any price as they had shown in the time of Shah Shuja and Yaqub Khan.  Under such circumstances and conditions they not only rise against the foreign influence, they also fight against the internal reactionary until their last dying breath.               Thus, during the four years of Nadir’s kingship, the courageous people of Afghanistan continued their struggles against him.  It was a strange struggle between life and death, therefore, Nadir resorted to all kinds of savagely and fierce acts against the compatriots.  The people of Afghanistan fro mall classes and circles individually and in groups, and with empty hands but high morals rose and struggled against Nadir.    The imposing and uncompassionate Nadir using every handy facility tried to annihilate them but in spite of all this, the people’s struggle did not stop.  When the people received a single stroke in reply they dealt several heavy blows to him.  If he killed a compatriot, for avenging his death another compatriot killed his brother. outside the country.  Whenever he hanged a group of intellectual people, another youth killed a number of the British personnel who protected Nadir.                 Briefly, in that bloody war in which equipment and forces of the two sides were not comparable hundreds of Afghan intellectuals lost their lives.  But, finally the success was with the Afghan nation.  Although that irreconcilable work took four years at the end Nadir was shot and killed by a bulled of an ardent youth.  Thus, the shameful stain was washed out from the skirt of the homeland.  After that incident this nation spent forty-five years under the descendents of that bloody and tyrant dynasty.  It was the Afghan Nation's Saur Uprising that ended the fifty years of illegal sovereignty of a despotic dynasty.   Amanullah Khan was crowned the Amir of Afghanistan after his father, Amir Habibullah was assassinated in February 1919. Amanullah Khan was fiercely anti-British and wanted to destroy an old agreement which gave the British control over Afghanistan’s foreign policy. The British resisted this move, and so began the Third Anglo-Afghan War (1919). After a brief struggle, the British were forced to negotiate and in the end surrendered their control over Afghanistan’s foreign policy. Afterwards, Amanullah became a national hero, and was given the tile Ghazi. He then turned his attention to modernizing Afghanistan. He changed his title from Amir to Padshah (King) in 1926. King Amanullah’s modernization plans were not greeted so warmly by everyone in Afghanistan, and as result, many tribes revolted. In the end, the revolt caused Amanullah Khan the throne. He left Afghanistan and lived in exile in Italy and Switzerland. He died in 1960, and was buried in Jalalabad, near his father’s tomb. Amānullāh Khan, (born June 1, 1892, Paghmān, Afghanistan—died April 25, 1960, Zürich, Switzerland), ruler of Afghanistan (1919–29) who led his country to full independence from British influence. Who founded Constantinople? A favoured son of the Afghan ruler Ḥabībullāh Khan, Amānullāh took possession of the throne immediately after his father’s assassination in 1919, at a time when Great Britain exercised an important influence on Afghan affairs. In his coronation address Amānullāh declared total independence from Great Britain. This led to war with the British (see Anglo-Afghan Wars), but fighting was confined to a series of skirmishes between an ineffective Afghan army and a British Indian army exhausted from the heavy demands of World War I (1914–18). A peace treaty recognizing the independence of Afghanistan was signed at Rawalpindi (now in Pakistan) in August 1919. Although a charming man and a sincere patriot and reformer, Amānullāh was also impulsive and tactless and tended to surround himself with poor advisers. Shortly after ascending the throne, he pushed for a series of Western-style reforms, including an education program and road-building projects, but was opposed by reactionaries. In 1928 he returned from a trip to Europe with plans for legislative reform and emancipation of women, proposals that caused his popular support to drop and enraged the mullahs (Muslim religious leaders). In 1928 a tribal revolt resulted in a chaotic situation during which a notorious bandit leader, Bacheh Saqqāw (Bacheh-ye Saqqā; “Child of a Water Carrier”), seized Kabul, the capital city, and declared himself ruler. Amānullāh attempted to regain the throne but, for reasons that are unclear, failed to do so. He abdicated in January 1929 and left Afghanistan for permanent exile that May. Amānullāh Khān (Pashto: امان الله خان‎) was the sovereign of the Kingdom of Afghanistan from 1919 to 1929, first as Emir and after 1926 as King.[1] After the Third Anglo-Afghan War, Afghanistan was able to relinquish from a protected state status to proclaim independence and pursue an independent foreign policy free from the influence of the British Raj. His rule was marked by dramatic political and social change, attempting to modernize Afghanistan on Western designs, which he did not fully succeed in, due to an uprising by Habibullah Kalakani and his followers. On 14 January 1929, Amanullah abdicated and fled to neighbouring British India as the Afghan Civil War began to escalate. From British India he went to Europe where after 30 years in exile, he died in Zürich, Switzerland, in 1960. His body was brought to Afghanistan and buried in Jalalabad. Contents 1 Early years 2 Reforms 3 Visit to Europe 4 Civil War 5 Exile 6 Death 7 Foreign honours 8 See also 9 References 10 External links Early years Amanullah Khan was born on 1 June 1892, in Paghman near Kabul, Afghanistan. He was the third son of the Emir Habibullah Khan. Amanullah was installed as the governor of Kabul and was in control of the army and the treasury, and gained the allegiance of most of the tribal leaders. Russia had recently undergone its Communist revolution, leading to strained relations between the country and the United Kingdom. Amanullah Khan recognized the opportunity to use the situation to gain Afghanistan's independence over its foreign affairs. He led a surprise attack against the British in India on 3 May 1919, beginning the Third Anglo-Afghan war. After initial successes, the war quickly became a stalemate as the United Kingdom was still dealing with the costs of World War I. An armistice was reached towards end of 1919, and Afghanistan was completely free of British diplomatic influence. King Amanullah Khan Royal Portrait Reforms By 1921, banditry was dramatically curtailed in Afghanistan by harsh punishment, such as being imprisoned in suspended cages and left to die. Amanullah enjoyed early popularity within Afghanistan and he used his influence to modernise the country. Amanullah created new cosmopolitan schools for both boys and girls in the region and overturned centuries-old traditions such as strict dress codes for women. He increased trade with Europe and Asia. He also advanced a modernist constitution that incorporated equal rights and individual freedoms with the guidance of his father-in-law and Foreign Minister Mahmud Tarzi. His wife, Queen Soraya Tarzi played a huge role in regard to his policy towards women. This rapid modernisation created a backlash and a reactionary uprising known as the Khost rebellion which was suppressed in 1925. He also met with many Bahá'ís in India and Europe where he brought back books that are still to be found in the Kabul Library. This association later served as one of the accusations when he was overthrown. At the time, Afghanistan's foreign policy was primarily concerned with the rivalry between the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom, the so-called Great Game. Each attempted to gain the favor of Afghanistan and foil attempts by the other power to gain influence in the region. This effect was inconsistent, but generally favourable for Afghanistan; Amanullah established a limited Afghan Air Force consisting of donated Soviet planes. Visit to Europe Amānullāh Khān with first Turkish President, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in Ankara, (1928). The king on a visit to Berlin with President von Hindenburg, 1928 Amanullah travelled to Europe in late 1927. The Afghan King and Queen set out from Karachi and en route they met with King Fawad of Egypt in Cairo. They undertook a whirlwind European visit: Italy, arrival on 8 January 1928, where they met with King Victor-Emanuel III of Italy along with his Prime Minister, Benito Mussolini and Pope Pius XI in the Vatican City; France, arrival in Nice on 22 January 1928, in Paris on 25 January, meeting with President Doumergue; Belgium, arrival on Brussels on 8 February, meeting with King Albert I and Queen Elisabeth of Belgium. The next stop was Germany. The germanophile king arrived via Germany in Berlin on 22 February to meet President Paul von Hindenburg the same day. Next he travelled to Great Britain as guests of King George V and Queen Mary. The SS steam ship Maid of Orleans arrived in Dover on 13 March. The royal couple left England on 5 April to Poland. On their way, they had a longer stopover in Berlin where the Amir underwent an emergency tonsillectomy. The royal train with the Amir back on board arrived in the Polish border town of Zbąszyń on April, 28. The next day it pulled into Warsaw to be met by Polish ministers, the speaker of the Sejm and the country's president Ignacy Mościcki. At his request Amanullah was granted a possible audience with the First Marshal of Poland Józef Piłsudski. The Afghan party departed from Warsaw travelling east across the country to the border with the Soviet Union on 2 May 1928.[2] Civil War Main article: Afghan Civil War (1928–1929) During Amanullah's visit to Europe, opposition to his rule increased to the point that an uprising in Jalalabad culminated in a march to the capital, and much of the army deserted rather than resist. In January 1929, Amanullah abdicated and went into temporary exile in then British India. His brother Inayatullah Khan became the next king of Afghanistan for a few days until Habibullah Kalakani, a leader of the "Saqqawists" opposition movement, took over. While in India, Kalakani battled anti-Saqqawist tribes. Around 22 March, Amanullah returned to Afghanistan assembling forces in Kandahar to reach Kabul and dispose of Kalakani. However his forces failed to advance and on 23 May 1929 he fled to India again, this time never to return back to his country.[3] Exile See also: Amanullah loyalism However, Kalakani's nine months rule was soon replaced by Nadir Khan on 13 October 1929. Amanullah Khan attempted to return to Afghanistan, but he had little support from the people. From British India, the ex-king traveled to Europe and settled in Italy, buying a villa in Rome's Prati neighborhood. Meanwhile, Nadir Khan made sure his return to Afghanistan was impossible by engaging in propaganda. Most of his reforms had been reversed, but the later King, Mohammad Zahir Shah, made a more gradual program of reform.[4] In 1941, some press in the west reported that Amanullah was now working as an agent for Nazi Germany in Berlin.[5] It is believed he was involved in plans to regain his throne with Axis help,[6] despite Afghanistan's neutrality. However following the Axis loss in Stalingrad in 1943, the plans cooled off and were never executed.[7] Death Mausoleum of Amanullah Khan in Jalalabad A poster of Amanullah Khan in Jalalabad Amanullah Khan died in Zürich, Switzerland, in 1960. His body was brought to Afghanistan and buried in the eastern city of Jalalabad. He left behind his widowed wife and four sons and five daughters, including Princess India of Afghanistan.[8] Foreign honours  Belgium: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown Egypt Egyptian Royal Family: Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Royal Order of Muhammad Ali[9]  France: Grand Cross of the Order of the Legion of Honour  France: Commander of the Order of the Academic Palms, 1st Class Iran Iran: Knight Grand Cordon of the Order of Aqdas[10]   Vatican   Holy See: Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of the Golden Spur[11]  Portugal: Grand Cross of the Order of Christ[12]  United Kingdom: Knight of the Royal Victorian Chain[13]  United Kingdom: Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Afghanistan,[c] officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,[d] is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia,[22] it is bordered by Pakistan to the east and south,[e] Iran to the west, Turkmenistan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, Tajikistan to the northeast, and China to the northeast and east. Occupying 652,864 square kilometers (252,072 sq mi) of land, the country is predominately mountainous with plains in the north and the southwest, which are separated by the Hindu Kush mountain range. As of 2021, its population is 40.2 million,[7] composed mostly of ethnic Pashtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras, and Uzbeks. Kabul is the country's largest city and serves as its capital. Human habitation in Afghanistan dates back to the Middle Paleolithic era, and the country's strategic location along the historic Silk Road has led it to being described, picturesquely, as the ‘roundabout of the ancient world’.[23] Known as the Graveyard of Empires,[24] the land has historically been home to various peoples and has witnessed numerous military campaigns, including those by Alexander the Great, the Maurya Empire, Arab Muslims, the Mongols, the British, the Soviet Union, and most recently by an American-led coalition. Afghanistan also served as the source from which the Greco-Bactrians and the Mughals, among others, rose to form major empires.[25] The various conquests and periods in both the Iranian and Indian cultural spheres[26][27] made the area a center for Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and later Islam throughout history.[28] The modern state of Afghanistan began with the Durrani dynasty in the 18th century, with the Durrani Afghan Empire being formed by Ahmad Shah Durrani. The Durrani Empire led conquests in which, at its peak, encompassed land that spanned from eastern Iran to northern India.[29][30] Following its decline and the death of Ahmad Shah Durrani, and Timur Shah, it was divided into multiple smaller independent kingdoms, including but not limited to: Herat, Kandahar and Kabul. Afghanistan would be reunited in the 19th century after wars of unification led by Dost Mohammad Khan, where he conquered the independent principalities in Afghanistan. Dost Mohammad died in 1863, weeks after his last campaign to unite Afghanistan, and as a result, threw Afghanistan back into civil war with his successors. During this time, Afghanistan became a buffer state in the Great Game between the British Empire (in British-ruled India) and the Russian Empire; from India, the British attempted to subjugate Afghanistan but were repelled in the First Anglo-Afghan War; however, the Second Anglo-Afghan War saw a British victory and the successful establishment of British political influence over Afghanistan. Following the Third Anglo-Afghan War in 1919, Afghanistan became free of foreign dominance, and eventually emerged as the independent Kingdom of Afghanistan in June 1926 under Amanullah Khan. This monarchy lasted almost 50 years, until Zahir Shah was overthrown in 1973, following which the Republic of Afghanistan was established. Since the late 1970s, Afghanistan's history has been dominated by extensive warfare, including coups, revolutions, invasions, insurgencies, and civil wars. The country is currently under the control of the Taliban, an Islamist political movement that returned to power in 2021 after a 20-year-long war with the United States and its allies.[31] Due to the effects of war, the country has dealt with high levels of terrorism, poverty, and child malnutrition. Afghanistan's economy is the world's 96th-largest, with a gross domestic product (GDP) of $72.9 billion by purchasing power parity; the country fares much worse in terms of per-capita GDP (PPP), ranking 169th out of 186 countries as of 2018. Afghanistan is prominently rich in natural resources. Those resources include lithium, iron, zinc, and copper, amongst many others. It is also the largest producer of opium.[32] The country is a founding member of the United Nations, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and the World Trade Organisation. Contents 1 Etymology 2 History 2.1 Prehistory and antiquity 2.1.1 Ancient era 2.2 Medieval history 2.2.1 Islamic conquest 2.2.2 Mongols and Babur with the Lodi Dynasty 2.3 Modern history 2.3.1 Hotak Dynasty 2.3.2 Fall of the Hotak Dynasty 2.3.3 Rise of the Durrani Empire 2.3.4 Objectives and Invasions of India 2.4 Death of Ahmad Shah and his Successors 2.4.1 Barakzai dynasty and British wars 2.5 Contemporary history 2.5.1 Democratic Republic and Soviet war 2.5.2 Post–Cold War conflict 2.5.3 21st century 3 Geography 3.1 Climate 3.2 Biodiversity 4 Demographics 4.1 Ethnicity and languages 4.2 Religion 4.3 Urbanization 4.4 Education 4.5 Health 5 Governance 5.1 Development of Taliban government 5.2 Administrative divisions 5.3 Foreign relations 5.4 Military 5.5 Human rights 6 Economy 6.1 Agriculture 6.2 Mining 7 Infrastructure 7.1 Energy 7.2 Tourism 7.3 Communication 7.4 Transportation 8 Culture 8.1 Architecture 8.2 Art and ceramics 8.3 Media and entertainment 8.4 Music 8.5 Cuisine 8.6 Literature 8.7 Holidays and festivals 8.8 Sports 9 See also 10 Notes 11 References 11.1 Sources 12 Bibliography 13 External links Etymology Main article: Name of Afghanistan The root name "Afghān" is, according to some scholars, derived from the Sanskrit name of the Aśvakan or Assakan, ancient inhabitants of the Hindu Kush region.[33][34][35][36][37][excessive citations] Aśvakan literally means "horsemen", "horse breeders", or "cavalrymen" (from aśva or aspa, the Sanskrit and Avestan words for "horse").[38] However, others like Ibrahim Khan and Johnny Cheug, have contended that the word Afghan comes from Bactrian. [39] Historically, the ethnonym Afghān was used to refer to ethnic Pashtuns.[40] The Arabic and Persian form of the name, Afġān, was first attested in the 10th-century geography book Hudud al-'Alam.[41] The last part of the name, "-stan" is a Persian suffix for "place of". Therefore, "Afghanistan" translates to "land of the Afghans", or "land of the Pashtuns" in a historical sense. According to the third edition of the Encyclopedia of Islam:[42] The name Afghanistan (Afghānistān, land of the Afghans/Pashtuns, afāghina, sing. afghān) can be traced to the early eighth/fourteenth century, when it designated the easternmost part of the Kartid realm. This name was later used for certain regions in the Ṣafavid and Mughal empires that were inhabited by Afghans. While based on a state-supporting elite of Abdālī/Durrānī Afghans, the Sadūzāʾī Durrānī polity that came into being in 1160/1747 was not called Afghanistan in its own day. The name became a state designation only during the colonial intervention of the nineteenth century. History Main article: History of Afghanistan Tents of Afghan nomads in the northern Badghis province of Afghanistan. Early peasant farming villages came into existence in Afghanistan about 7,000 years ago. Many empires and kingdoms have also risen to power in Afghanistan, such as the Greco-Bactrians, Indo-Scythians, Kushans, Kidarites, Hephthalites, Alkhons, Nezaks, Zunbils, Turk Shahis, Hindu Shahis, Lawiks, Saffarids, Samanids, Ghaznavids, Ghurids, Khaljis, Kartids, Lodis, Surs, Mughals, and finally, the Hotak and Durrani dynasties, which marked the political origins of the modern state.[43] Throughout millennia several cities within the modern day Afghanistan served as capitals of various empires, namely, Bactra (Balkh), Alexandria on the Oxus (Ai-Khanoum), Kapisi, Sigal, Kabul, Kunduz, Zaranj, Firozkoh, Herat, Ghazna (Ghazni), Binban (Bamyan), and Kandahar. The country has been home to various peoples through the ages, among them the ancient Iranian peoples who established the dominant role of Indo-Iranian languages in the region. At multiple points, the land has been incorporated within vast regional empires; among them the Achaemenid Empire, the Macedonian Empire, the Maurya Empire, and the Islamic Empire.[44] For its success in resisting foreign occupation during the 19th and 20th centuries, Afghanistan has been called the "graveyard of empires",[45] though it is unknown who coined the phrase.[46] Prehistory and antiquity Main article: Ancient history of Afghanistan Excavations of prehistoric sites suggest that humans were living in what is now Afghanistan at least 50,000 years ago, and that farming communities in the area were among the earliest in the world. An important site of early historical activities, many believe that Afghanistan compares to Egypt in terms of the historical value of its archaeological sites.[47][48] The extent of the Indus Valley Civilization during its mature phase Ancient era See also: Hindu and Buddhist heritage of Afghanistan Archaeological exploration done in the 20th century suggests that the geographical area of Afghanistan has been closely connected by culture and trade with its neighbors to the east, west, and north. Artifacts typical of the Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze, and Iron Ages have been found in Afghanistan. Urban civilization is believed to have begun as early as 3000 BCE, and the early city of Mundigak (near Kandahar in the south of the country) was a center of the Helmand culture. More recent findings established that the Indus Valley Civilization stretched up towards modern-day Afghanistan, making the ancient civilization today part of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and India. In more detail, it extended from what today is northwest Pakistan to northwest India and northeast Afghanistan. An Indus Valley site has been found on the Oxus River at Shortugai in northern Afghanistan.[49][50] There are several smaller IVC colonies to be found in Afghanistan as well. An Indus Valley site has been found on the Oxus River at Shortugai in northern Afghanistan, shows Afghanistan to have been a part of Indus Valley Civilization.[51] After 2000 BCE, successive waves of semi-nomadic people from Central Asia began moving south into Afghanistan; among them were many Indo-European-speaking Indo-Iranians. These tribes later migrated further into South Asia, Western Asia, and toward Europe via the area north of the Caspian Sea. The region at the time was referred to as Ariana.[47][52] A "Bactrian gold" Scythian belt depicting Dionysus, from Tillya Tepe in the ancient region of Bactria By the middle of the 6th century BCE, the Achaemenids overthrew the Medes and incorporated Arachosia, Aria, and Bactria within its eastern boundaries. An inscription on the tombstone of Darius I of Persia mentions the Kabul Valley in a list of the 29 countries that he had conquered.[53] The region of Arachosia, around Kandahar in modern-day southern Afghanistan, used to be primarily Zoroastrian and played a key role in the transfer of the Avesta to Persia and is thus considered by some to be the "second homeland of Zoroastrianism".[54][55][56] Alexander the Great and his Macedonian forces arrived in Afghanistan in 330 BCE after defeating Darius III of Persia a year earlier in the Battle of Gaugamela. Following Alexander's brief occupation, the successor state of the Seleucid Empire controlled the region until 305 BCE when they gave much of it to the Maurya Empire as part of an alliance treaty. The Mauryans controlled the area south of the Hindu Kush until they were overthrown in about 185 BCE. Their decline began 60 years after Ashoka's rule ended, leading to the Hellenistic reconquest by the Greco-Bactrians. Much of it soon broke away from them and became part of the Indo-Greek Kingdom. They were defeated and expelled by the Indo-Scythians in the late 2nd century BCE.[57][58] Approximate maximum extent of the Greco-Bactrian kingdom, formed by the fragmentation of Alexander the Great's Empire, circa 180 BCE SASANIAN EMPIRE BYZANTINE EMPIRE NORTHERN WEI LIANG Alchon Huns GUPTA EMPIRE JUAN-JUAN KHAGANATEGaoju Turks The Imperial Hephthalites c. 500 CE The Silk Road appeared during the first century BCE, and Afghanistan flourished with trade, with routes to China, India, Persia and north to the cities of Bukhara, Samarkand and Khiva in present-day Uzbekistan.[59] Goods and ideas were exchanged at this center point, such as Chinese silk, Persian silver and Roman gold, while the region of present Afghanistan was mining and trading lapis lazuli stones[60] mainly from the Badakhshan region. During the first century BCE, the Parthian Empire subjugated the region but lost it to their Indo-Parthian vassals. In the mid-to-late first century CE the vast Kushan Empire, centered in Afghanistan, became great patrons of Buddhist culture, making Buddhism flourish throughout the region. The Kushans were overthrown by the Sassanids in the 3rd century CE, though the Indo-Sassanids continued to rule at least parts of the region. They were followed by the Kidarites who, in turn, was replaced by the Hephthalites. They were replaced by the Turk Shahi in the 7th century. The Buddhist Turk Shahi of Kabul was replaced by a Hindu dynasty before the Saffarids conquered the area in 870, this Hindu dynasty was called Hindu Shahi.[61] Much of the northeastern and southern areas of the country remained dominated by Buddhist culture.[62][63] Medieval history Main articles: Muslim conquests of Afghanistan and Mongol conquest of Central Asia Islamic conquest Saffarid rule at its greatest extent under Ya'qub ibn al-Layth al-Saffar Arab Muslims brought Islam to Herat and Zaranj in 642 CE and began spreading eastward; some of the native inhabitants they encountered accepted it while others revolted. Before the arrival of Islam, the region used to be home to various beliefs and cults, often resulting in Syncretism between the dominant religions[64][65] such as Zoroastrianism,[54][55][56] Buddhism or Greco-Buddhism, Ancient Iranian religions,[66] Hinduism, Christianity[67][68] and Judaism.[69][70] An exemplification of the syncretism in the region would be that people were patrons of Buddhism but still worshipped local Iranian gods such as Ahura Mazda, Lady Nana, Anahita or Mihr(Mithra) and portrayed Greek Gods like Heracles or Tyche as protectors of Buddha.[71][66][72] The Zunbils and Kabul Shahi were first conquered in 870 CE by the Saffarid Muslims of Zaranj. Later, the Samanids extended their Islamic influence south of the Hindu Kush. It is reported that Muslims and non-Muslims still lived side by side in Kabul before the Ghaznavids rose to power in the 10th century.[73][74][75] By the 11th century, Mahmud of Ghazni defeated the remaining Hindu rulers and effectively Islamized the wider region,[76] with the exception of Kafiristan.[77] Mahmud made Ghazni into an important city and patronized intellectuals such as the historian Al-Biruni and the poet Ferdowsi.[78] The Ghaznavid dynasty was overthrown by the Ghurids, whose architectural achievements included the remote Minaret of Jam. The Ghurids controlled Afghanistan for less than a century before being conquered by the Khwarazmian dynasty in 1215.[79] Mongols and Babur with the Lodi Dynasty Mongol invasions and conquests depopulated large areas of Afghanistan In 1219 CE, Genghis Khan and his Mongol army overran the region. His troops are said to have annihilated the Khwarazmian cities of Herat and Balkh as well as Bamyan.[80] The destruction caused by the Mongols forced many locals to return to an agrarian rural society.[81] Mongol rule continued with the Ilkhanate in the northwest while the Khalji dynasty administered the Afghan tribal areas south of the Hindu Kush until the invasion of Timur (aka Tamerlane), who established the Timurid Empire in 1370. Under the rule of Shah Rukh the city[which?] served as the focal point of the Timurid Renaissance, whose glory matched Florence of the Italian Renaissance as the center of a cultural rebirth.[82][83] In the early 16th century, Babur arrived from Ferghana and captured Kabul from the Arghun dynasty.[84] Babur would go on to conquer the Afghan Lodi dynasty who had ruled the Delhi Sultanate in the First Battle of Panipat.[85] Between the 16th and 18th century, the Uzbek Khanate of Bukhara, Iranian Safavids, and Indian Mughals ruled parts of the territory.[86] During the Medieval Period, the northwestern area of Afghanistan was referred to by the regional name Khorasan. Two of the four capitals of Khorasan (Herat and Balkh) are now located in Afghanistan, while the regions of Kandahar, Zabulistan, Ghazni, Kabulistan, and Afghanistan formed the frontier between Khorasan and Hindustan. However, up to the 19th century the term Khorasan was commonly used among natives to describe their country; Sir George Elphinstone wrote with amazement that the country known to outsiders as "Afghanistan" was referred to by its own inhabitants as "Khorasan" and that the first Afghan official whom he met at the border welcomed him to Khorasan.[87][88][89][90] Modern history Hotak Dynasty Map of the Hotak Empire during the Reign of Mirwais Hotak, 1715. Main article: Hotak dynasty In 1709, Mirwais Hotak, a local Ghilzai tribal leader, successfully rebelled against the Safavids. He defeated Gurgin Khan and established his own kingdom.[91] Mirwais died of natural causes in 1715 and was succeeded by his brother Abdul Aziz, who was soon killed by Mirwais' son Mahmud for possibly planning to concede territories back to the Safavids. Mahmud led the Afghan army in 1722 to the Persian capital of Isfahan, captured the city after the Battle of Gulnabad and proclaimed himself King of Persia.[91] The Afghan dynasty was ousted from Persia by Nader Shah after the 1729 Battle of Damghan. Fall of the Hotak Dynasty Map of the Hotak Empire at its height in 1728. Disputed between Hussain Hotak (Centered in Kandahar) and Ashraf Hotak (centered in Isfahan) In 1738, Nader Shah and his forces captured Kandahar in the Siege of Kandahar, the last Hotak stronghold, from Shah Hussain Hotak. Soon after, the Persian and Afghan forces invaded India, Nader Shah had plundered Delhi, alongside his 16 year old commander, Ahmad Shah Durrani who had assisted him on these campaigns. Nader Shah was assassinated in 1747.[92][93] Rise of the Durrani Empire Main articles: Durrani Empire and Ahmad Shah Durrani After the death of Nader Shah in 1747, Ahmad Shah Durrani had returned to Kandahar with a contingent of 4,000 Pashtuns. The Abdalis had "unanimously accepted" Ahmad Shah as their new leader. With his acension in 1747, Ahmad Shah had led multiple campaigns against the Mughal Empire, Maratha Empire, and then receding, Afsharid Empire. Ahmad Shah had captured Kabul and Peshawar from the Mughal appointed governor, Nasir Khan. Ahmad Shah had then conquered Herat in 1750, and had also captured Kashmir in 1752.[94] Ahmad Shah had launched two campaigns into Khorasan, (1750–1751) and (1754–1755).[95] His first campaign had seen the siege of Mashhad, however he was forced to retreat after 4 months. In November 1750, he moved to siege Nishapur, however he was unable to capture the city and was forced to retreat in early 1751. Ahmad Shah returned in 1754, he captured Tun, and on 23 July, he sieged Mashhad once again. Mashhad had fallen on 2 December, however Shah rokh was reappointed in 1755. He was forced to give up Torshiz, Bakharz, Jam, Khaf, and Turbat-e Haidari to the Afghans. Following this, Ahmad Shah had sieged Nishapur once again, and captured it. Objectives and Invasions of India Main article: Indian campaign of Ahmad Shah Durrani Portrait of Ahmad Shah Durrani c. 1757. Ahmad Shah invaded India 8 times during his reign. With the capture of Peshawar, Ahmad Shah had used this as a convenient striking point to lead his military campaigns into Punjab and India. Ahmad Shah had sought out multiple reasons for his invasions, Ahmad Shah saw Afghanistan in a dire state, and one that needed to expand and exploit a weak but rich neighboring country, which Ahmad Shah had capitalized on in multiple opportunities during his Invasions of India, he sought the reasons needed to fill his treasury in a war-plunder conquest based economy.[96] Ahmad Shah had launched his first invasion in 1748, crossing the indus river, his armies sacked and absorbed Lahore into the Durrani Realm. Ahmad Shah had met Mughal armies at the Battle of Manupur (1748), where he was defeated and forced to retreat to back to Afghanistan.[97] Ahmad Shah had returned the next year in 1749, where he had captured the area around Lahore and Punjab, presenting it as an Afghan victory for this campaign.[citation needed] From 1749 to 1767, Ahmad Shah would lead 6 more invasions, the most important being his sixth invasion, with the Third Battle of Panipat, which created a power vacumn in northern India, halting Maratha expansion. Death of Ahmad Shah and his Successors Main articles: Timur Shah Durrani, Zaman Shah Durrani, Mahmud Shah Durrani, and Shah Shuja Durrani Ahmad Shah Durrani had died in October 1772, what followed would be a civil war in succession, with his named successor, Timur Shah Durrani succeeding him after the defeat of his brother, Suleiman Mirza.[98] Timur Shah Durrani ascended to the throne in November 1772, having defeated a coalition under Shah Wali Khan, the influential prime minister of the Durrani Empire, and Humayun Mirza. Timur Shah began his reign by consolidating power toward himself and people loyal to him, purging Durrani Sardars and influential tribal leaders in Kabul and Kandahar to bring support toward himself. Timur Shah's reforms also saw the capital of the Durrani Empire being shifted from Kandahar to Kabul, being able to cover the empire better as a base of ordination since it was essentially the heartland of the empire. This reform saw Kabul as the modern capital of Afghanistan today. Having consolidated power to himself, Timur Shah would fight multiple series of rebellions to consolidate and hold the empire apart, Timur Shah would also lead campaigns into Punjab against the Sikhs like his father did, however being more successful. Most prominent example of his battles during this campaign would be where Timur Shah led his forces under Zangi Khan Durrani, with over 18,000 men total of Afghan, Qizilbash, and Mongol cavalrymen. Against over 60,000 Sikh men. The Sikhs would lose over 30,000 in this battle and would stage a Durrani resurgence in Punjab.[99] The Durranis lost Multan in 1772 after Ahmad Shah's death, following this victory by Timur Shah, Timur Shah was able to lay siege to Multan and recapture it,[100] incorporating it into the Durrani empire once again, reintegrating it as a province until the Siege of Multan (1818). Timur Shah would be succeeded by his son, Zaman Shah Durrani after his death on 18 or 20 May 1793. Timur Shah's reign oversaw the attempted stabilization and consolidation of the empire. However, Timur Shah had over 24 sons, a mistake that would plunge the empire in civil war over succession crises.[101] Zaman Shah Durrani would succeed to the Durrani Throne following the death of his father, Timur Shah Durrani. This instigated civil war with his brothers, Mahmud Shah Durrani, and Humayun Mirza revolting against him. With Humayun centered in Kandahar, and Mahmud Shah centered in Herat.[102] Zaman Shah would defeat Humayun and also force the loyalty of Mahmud Shah Durrani.[102] Securing his position on the throne, Zaman Shah had led 3 campaigns into Punjab, with the first two campaigns capturing Lahore, but being forced to retreat due to issues from a possible Qajar invasion, or his brother, Mahmud Shah Durrani revolting. Zaman Shah embarked on his third campaign for Punjab in 1800 to deal with a rebellious Ranjit Singh.[103] However, he was forced to withdraw, with his brother, Mahmud Shah Durrani revolting, Zaman Shah would be toppled from his reign, replaced by his brother, Mahmud Shah Durrani.[103] However, just under 2 years in his reign, Mahmud Shah Durrani would be deposed by his brother, Shah Shuja Durrani, on 13 July 1803.[104] Shah Shuja would attempt to consolidate the Durrani Realm, which had been long striven by civil war. Shah Shuja would later be deposed by his brother at the Battle of Nimla (1809),[105] where Mahmud Shah Durrani would defeat and force Shah Shuja to flee, with Shah Mahmud usurping the throne again for his second reign beginning on 3 May 1809.[106] Barakzai dynasty and British wars Further information: Dost Mohammad Khan, Herat (1793–1863), European influence in Afghanistan, Anglo-Afghan Wars, Durand Line, and Afghan Civil War (1928–1929) Afghan tribesmen in 1841, painted by British officer James Rattray Map of Afghanistan (Emirate) and surrounding nations in 1860, following the conquest of Kandahar, and before the conquest of Herat. By the early 19th century, the Afghan empire was under threat from the Persians in the west and the Sikh Empire in the east. Afghanistan was divided, including the Emirate of Herat centered in the east. Fateh Khan, leader of the Barakzai tribe, installed many of his brothers in positions of power throughout the empire, mostly ruling as governors of major cities and provinces. After his murder for apparent treason against the Durrani king. Fateh Khan would be sentenced by Mahmud Shah Durrani, having him executed. His brothers rebelled and divided up the provinces of the empire between themselves. During this turbulent period, Afghanistan had many temporary rulers until Dost Mohammad Khan declared himself emir in 1826.[107] Punjab and Kashmir were lost to Ranjit Singh, who invaded Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in March 1823 and captured the city of Peshawar at the Battle of Nowshera.[108] In 1837, during the Battle of Jamrud near the Khyber Pass, Akbar Khan and the Afghan army failed to capture the Jamrud Fort from the Sikh Khalsa Army, but killed Sikh Commander Hari Singh Nalwa, thus ending the Afghan-Sikh Wars. By this time the British were advancing from the east and the first major conflict during "the Great Game" was initiated.[109] In 1838, a British expeditionary force marched into Afghanistan and arrested Dost Mohammad, sent him into exile in India and replaced him with Shah Shuja, the former Durrani king as a puppet on the throne.[110][111] Following an uprising that saw the assassination of Shah Shuja, the 1842 retreat from Kabul of British-Indian forces and the annihilation of Elphinstone's army, and the Battle of Kabul that led to its recapture, the British gave up on their attempts to try and subjugate Afghanistan, and allowed Dost Mohammad Khan as ruler and withdrew their military forces from Afghanistan. Dost Mohammad Khan would spend most of his reign consolidating the parts of Afghanistan that were lost in the Durrani civil wars. Dost Mohammad Khan would launch numerous campaigns, and also be able to reunite the Afghan realm in his reign, securing Herat in the Herat Campaign of 1862–63. Dost Mohammad died on 9 June 1863, a few months after his campaign to capture Herat. Dost Mohammad's successors would fight for the throne of Afghanistan, between Sher Ali Khan, Mohammad Afzal Khan, and Mohammad Azam Khan in the Afghan Civil War (1863–1869). Sher Ali would win this civil war and would go on to rule the realm until In 1878, the British had returned in the Second Anglo-Afghan War which was fought over perceived Russian influence in the region, Abdur Rahman Khan replaced Ayub Khan who had succeeded Sher Ali Khan after his death in 1879. Britain would gain control of Afghanistan's foreign relations as part of the Treaty of Gandamak of 1879, making it an official British Protected State.[112] In 1893, Amir Abdur Rahman signed an agreement in which the ethnic Pashtun and Baloch territories were divided by the Durand Line, which forms the modern-day border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Shia-dominated Hazarajat and pagan Kafiristan remained politically independent until being conquered by Abdur Rahman Khan in 1891–1896. He was known as the "Iron Amir" for his features and his ruthless methods against tribes.[113] The Iron Amir viewed railway and telegraph lines coming from the Russian and British as "trojan horses" and therefore prevented railway development in Afghanistan.[114] He died in 1901, succeeded by his son, Habibullah Khan. How can a small power like Afghanistan, which is like a goat between these lions [Britain and Russia] or a grain of wheat between two strong millstones of the grinding mill, [could] stand in the midway of the stones without being ground to dust? — Abdur Rahman Khan, the "Iron Amir", in 1900[115][116] During the First World War, when Afghanistan was neutral, Habibullah Khan was met by officials of the Central Powers in the Niedermayer–Hentig Expedition, to declare full independence from the United Kingdom, join them and attack British India, as part of the Hindu–German Conspiracy. Their efforts to bring Afghanistan into the Central Powers failed, but it caused discontent among the population for keeping neutrality against the British. Habibullah was assassinated during a hunting trip in February 1919, and Amanullah Khan eventually assumed power. A staunch supporter of the 1915–1916 expeditions, Amanullah Khan provoked the Third Anglo-Afghan War, entering British India via the Khyber Pass.[117] Emir Amanullah invaded British India in 1919 and proclaimed Afghanistan's full independence thereafter. He proclaimed himself King of Afghanistan in June 1926. After the end of the Third Anglo-Afghan War and the signing of the Treaty of Rawalpindi on 19 August 1919, Emir Amanullah Khan declared the Emirate of Afghanistan a sovereign and fully independent state. He moved to end his country's traditional isolation by establishing diplomatic relations with the international community, particularly with the Soviet Union and the Weimar Republic of Germany.[118][119] He proclaimed himself King of Afghanistan on 9 June 1926, when the Emirate of Afghanistan became the Kingdom of Afghanistan. Following a 1927–28 tour of Europe and Turkey, he introduced several reforms intended to modernize his nation. A key force behind these reforms was Mahmud Tarzi, an ardent supporter of the education of women. He fought for Article 68 of Afghanistan's 1923 constitution, which made elementary education compulsory. The institution of slavery was abolished in the Emirate of Afghanistan in 1923.[120] King Amanullah's wife, Queen Soraya, was an important figure during this period in the fight for woman's education and against their oppression.[121] Some of the reforms that were put in place, such as the abolition of the traditional burqa for women and the opening of several co-educational schools, quickly alienated many tribal and religious leaders, and this led to the Afghan Civil War (1928–1929). Faced with the overwhelming armed opposition, King Amanullah abdicated in January 1929, and soon after Kabul fell to Saqqawist forces led by Habibullah Kalakani.[122] Prince Mohammed Nadir Shah, Amanullah's cousin, in turn defeated and killed Kalakani in October 1929, and was declared King Nadir Shah.[123] He abandoned the reforms of King Amanullah in favor of a more gradual approach to modernization, but was assassinated in 1933 by Abdul Khaliq, a fifteen-year-old Hazara student who was an Amanullah loyalist.[124] Mohammed Zahir Shah, Nadir Shah's 19-year-old son, succeeded to the throne and reigned as King from 1933 to 1973. The tribal revolts of 1944–1947 saw King Zahir's reign challenged by Zadran, Safi, Mangal, and Wazir tribesmen led by Mazrak Zadran, Salemai, and Mirzali Khan, among others, many of whom were Amanullah loyalists. Close relations with the Muslim states Turkey, the Hashemite Kingdom of Iraq and Iran/Persia were also pursued, while further international relations were sought by joining the League of Nations in 1934. The 1930s saw the development of roads, infrastructure, the founding of a national bank, and increased education. Road links in the north played a large part in a growing cotton and textile industry.[125] The country built close relationships with the Axis powers, with Nazi Germany having the largest share in Afghan development at the time, along with the Kingdom of Italy and the Empire of Japan.[126] Contemporary history King Zahir, the last reigning monarch of Afghanistan, who reigned from 1933 until 1973. Until 1946, King Zahir ruled with the assistance of his uncle, who held the post of Prime Minister and continued the policies of Nadir Shah. Another of Zahir Shah's uncles, Shah Mahmud Khan, became Prime Minister in 1946 and began an experiment allowing greater political freedom, but reversed the policy when it went further than he expected. He was replaced in 1953 by Mohammed Daoud Khan, the king's cousin and brother-in-law, and a Pashtun nationalist who sought the creation of a Pashtunistan, leading to highly tense relations with Pakistan.[127] During his ten years at the post until 1963, Daoud Khan pressed for social modernization reforms and sought a closer relationship with the Soviet Union. Afterward, the 1964 constitution was formed, and the first non-royal Prime Minister was sworn in.[125] King Zahir Shah, like his father Nadir Shah, had a policy of maintaining national independence while pursuing gradual modernization, creating nationalist feeling, and improving relations with the United Kingdom. However, Afghanistan remained neutral and was neither a participant in World War II nor aligned with either power bloc in the Cold War thereafter. However, it was a beneficiary of the latter rivalry as both the Soviet Union and the United States vied for influence by building Afghanistan's main highways, airports, and other vital infrastructure in the post-war period. On a per capita basis, Afghanistan received more Soviet development aid than any other country. Afghanistan had, therefore, good relations with both Cold War enemies. In 1973, while the King was in Italy, Daoud Khan launched a bloodless coup and became the first President of Afghanistan, abolishing the monarchy. Democratic Republic and Soviet war Main articles: Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, Soviet–Afghan War, and Afghan Civil War (1989–1992) Further information: History of Afghanistan (1978–1992) Soviet troops in Gardez, Afghanistan in 1987 Hezb-i Islami Khalis fighters in the Sultan Valley of Kunar Province, 1987 In April 1978, the communist People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) seized power in a bloody coup d'état against then-President Mohammed Daoud Khan, in what is called the Saur Revolution. The PDPA declared the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, with its first leader named as People's Democratic Party general secretary Nur Muhammad Taraki.[128] This would trigger a series of events that would dramatically turn Afghanistan from a poor and secluded (albeit peaceful) country to a hotbed of international terrorism.[129] The PDPA initiated various social, symbolic and land distribution reforms that provoked strong opposition, while also brutally oppressing political dissidents. This caused unrest and quickly expanded into a state of civil war by 1979, waged by guerrilla mujahideen (and smaller Maoist guerrillas) against regime forces countrywide. It quickly turned into a proxy war as the Pakistani government provided these rebels with covert training centers, the United States supported them through Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI),[130] and the Soviet Union sent thousands of military advisers to support the PDPA regime.[131] Meanwhile, there was increasingly hostile friction between the competing factions of the PDPA – the dominant Khalq and the more moderate Parcham.[132] In September 1979, PDPA General Secretary Taraki was assassinated in an internal coup orchestrated by fellow Khalq member, then-prime minister Hafizullah Amin, who assumed the new general secretary of the People's Democratic Party. The situation in the country deteriorated under Amin and thousands of people went missing.[133] Displeased with Amin's government, the Soviet Army invaded the country in December 1979, heading for Kabul and killing Amin just three days later.[134] A Soviet-organized regime, led by Parcham's Babrak Karmal but inclusive of both factions (Parcham and Khalq), filled the vacuum. Soviet troops in more substantial numbers were deployed to stabilize Afghanistan under Karmal, marking the beginning of the Soviet–Afghan War.[135] The United States and Pakistan,[130] along with smaller actors like Saudi Arabia and China, continued supporting the rebels, delivering billions of dollars in cash and weapons including two thousand FIM-92 Stinger surface-to-air missiles.[136][137] Lasting nine years, the war caused the deaths of between 562,000[138] and 2 million Afghans,[139][140][141][142][143][144][145][excessive citations] and displaced about 6 million people who subsequently fled Afghanistan, mainly to Pakistan and Iran.[146] Heavy air bombardment destroyed many countryside villages, millions of landmines were planted,[147] and some cities such as Herat and Kandahar were also damaged from bombardment. Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province functioned as an organizational and networking base for the anti-Soviet Afghan resistance, with the province's influential Deobandi ulama playing a major supporting role in promoting the 'jihad'.[148] After the Soviet withdrawal, the civil war ensued until the communist regime under People's Democratic Party leader Mohammad Najibullah collapsed in 1992.[149][150][151] The Soviet-Afghan War had drastic social effects on Afghanistan. The militarization of society led to heavily armed police, private bodyguards, openly armed civil defense groups and other such things becoming the norm in Afghanistan for decades thereafter.[152] The traditional power structure had shifted from clergy, community elders, intelligentsia and military in favor of powerful warlords.[153] Post–Cold War conflict See also: Afghan Civil War (1992–1996), Afghan Civil War (1996–2001), Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (1996–2001), and Northern Alliance Development of the civil war from 1992 to late 2001 Another civil war broke out after the creation of a dysfunctional coalition government between leaders of various mujahideen factions. Amid a state of anarchy and factional infighting,[154][155][156] various mujahideen factions committed widespread rape, murder and extortion,[155][157][158] while Kabul was heavily bombarded and partially destroyed by the fighting.[158] Several failed reconciliations and alliances occurred between different leaders.[159] The Taliban emerged in September 1994 as a movement and militia of students (talib) from Islamic madrassas (schools) in Pakistan,[158][160] who soon had military support from Pakistan.[161] Taking control of Kandahar city that year,[158] they conquered more territories until finally driving out the government of Rabbani from Kabul in 1996,[162][163] where they established an emirate[164] that gained international recognition from 3 countries: Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.[165] The Taliban were condemned internationally for the harsh enforcement of their interpretation of Islamic sharia law, which resulted in the brutal treatment of many Afghans, especially women.[166][167] During their rule, the Taliban and their allies committed massacres against Afghan civilians, denied UN food supplies to starving civilians and conducted a policy of scorched earth, burning vast areas of fertile land and destroying tens of thousands of homes.[168][169][170][171][172][173][excessive citations] After the fall of Kabul to the Taliban, Ahmad Shah Massoud and Abdul Rashid Dostum formed the Northern Alliance, later joined by others, to resist the Taliban. Dostum's forces were defeated by the Taliban during the Battles of Mazar-i-Sharif in 1997 and 1998; Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff, Pervez Musharraf, began sending thousands of Pakistanis to help the Taliban defeat the Northern Alliance.[174][161][175][176][177][excessive citations] By 2000 the Northern Alliance only controlled 10% of territory, cornered in the north-east. On 9 September 2001, Massoud was assassinated by two Arab suicide attackers in Panjshir Valley. Around 400,000 Afghans died in internal conflicts between 1990 and 2001.[178] 21st century Further information: War in Afghanistan (2001–2021), Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Taliban insurgency, and Fall of Kabul (2021) This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. The specific problem is: Too overloaded, detailed content already covered by the War article. Please help improve this section if you can. (October 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) In October 2001, the United States invaded Afghanistan to remove the Taliban from power after they refused to hand over Osama Bin Laden, the prime suspect of the September 11 attacks, who was a "guest" of the Taliban and was operating his al-Qaeda network in Afghanistan.[179][180][181] The majority of Afghans supported the American invasion of their country.[182][183] During the initial invasion, US and UK forces bombed al-Qaeda training camps, and later working with the Northern Alliance, the Taliban regime came to an end.[184] U.S. troops and Chinooks in Afghanistan, 2008 In December 2001, after the Taliban government was overthrown, the Afghan Interim Administration under Hamid Karzai was formed. The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was established by the UN Security Council to help assist the Karzai administration and provide basic security.[185][186] By this time, after two decades of war as well as an acute famine at the time, Afghanistan had one of the highest infant and child mortality rates in the world, the lowest life expectancy, much of the population were hungry,[187][188][189] and infrastructure was in ruins.[190] Many foreign donors started providing aid and assistance to rebuild the war-torn country.[191][192] Taliban forces meanwhile began regrouping inside Pakistan, while more coalition troops entered Afghanistan to help the rebuilding process.[193][194] The Taliban began an insurgency to regain control of Afghanistan. Over the next decade, ISAF and Afghan troops led many offensives against the Taliban, but failed to fully defeat them. Afghanistan remained one of the poorest countries in the world because of a lack of foreign investment, government corruption, and the Taliban insurgency.[195][196] Meanwhile, Karzai attempted to unite the peoples of the country,[197] and the Afghan government was able to build some democratic structures, adopting a constitution in 2004 with the name Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Attempts were made, often with the support of foreign donor countries, to improve the country's economy, healthcare, education, transport, and agriculture. ISAF forces also began to train the Afghan National Security Forces. Following 2002, nearly five million Afghans were repatriated.[198] The number of NATO troops present in Afghanistan peaked at 140,000 in 2011,[199] dropping to about 16,000 in 2018.[200] In September 2014 Ashraf Ghani became president after the 2014 presidential election where for the first time in Afghanistan's history power was democratically transferred.[201][202][203][204][205][excessive citations] On 28 December 2014, NATO formally ended ISAF combat operations in Afghanistan and transferred full security responsibility to the Afghan government. The NATO-led Operation Resolute Support was formed the same day as a successor to ISAF.[206][207] Thousands of NATO troops remained in the country to train and advise Afghan government forces[208] and continue their fight against the Taliban.[209] It was estimated in 2015 that "about 147,000 people have been killed in the Afghanistan war since 2001. More than 38,000 of those killed have been civilians".[210] A report titled Body Count concluded that 106,000–170,000 civilians had been killed as a result of the fighting in Afghanistan at the hands of all parties to the conflict.[211] A map of Afghanistan showing the 2021 Taliban offensive On 14 April 2021, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance had agreed to start withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan by 1 May.[212] Soon after the withdrawal of NATO troops started, the Taliban launched an offensive against the Afghan government, quickly advancing in front of collapsing Afghan government forces.[213][214] On 15 August 2021, as the Taliban once again controlled a vast majority of Afghan territory, they re-captured the capital city of Kabul, and many civilians, government officials and foreign diplomats were evacuated.[215] President Ghani fled Afghanistan that day.[216] As of 16 August 2021, an unofficial Coordination Council led by senior statesmen was in the process of coordinating the transfer of the state institutions of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to the Taliban.[217] On 17 August, the First Vice President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Amrullah Saleh, proclaimed himself the caretaker President of Afghanistan and announced the formation of an anti-Taliban front with a reported 6,000+ troops[218][219] in the Panjshir Valley, along with Ahmad Massoud.[220][221] However, on 6 September, the Taliban took control of most of the Panjshir province, with resistance fighters retreating to the mountains to continue fighting within the province.[222] Fights in the valley ceased mid-September,[223] while resistances leaders Amrullah Saleh and Ahmad Massoud fled to neighboring Tajikistan.[224][225][222] Taliban fighters in Kabul on a captured Humvee following the 2021 fall of Kabul. The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan was swiftly restored as its opponents were defeated or left the country. It is apparently led by supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada[226] and acting Prime Minister Hasan Akhund, who took office on 7 September 2021.[227][228] Akhund is one of the four founders of the Taliban[229] and was a deputy Prime Minister in their previous Emirate; his appointment was seen as a compromise between moderates and hardliners.[230] A new, all-male cabinet was formed including Abdul Hakim Ishaqzai as Minister of Justice.[231][232] On 20 September 2021, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres received a letter from acting minister of Foreign Affairs Amir Khan Muttaqi to formally claim Afghanistan's seat as a member state for their official spokesman in Doha, Suhail Shaheen, and asked to address the General Assembly. During the previous Taliban rule from 1996 to 2001, the United Nations never recognized their representatives and chose to work with the then-government in exile instead.[233] Western nations have suspended most humanitarian aid to Afghanistan following the Taliban's takeover of the country in August 2021 and the World Bank and International Monetary Fund also halted payments.[234][235] In October 2021, more than half of Afghanistan's 39 million people faced an acute food shortage.[236] On 11 November 2021, the Human Rights Watch reported that Afghanistan was facing widespread famine due to an economic and banking crisis.[237] Geography Main article: Geography of Afghanistan Afghanistan regional locator map.png Flag of Iran.svgIranFlag of Turkmenistan.svgTurkmenistanFlag of Uzbekistan.svgUzbekistanFlag of Kyrgyzstan.svgKyrgyzstanFlag of Tajikistan.svgTajikistanFlag of China.svgChinaFlag of India.svgIndiaFlag of Pakistan.svgPakistanKabulRed pog.pngRed pog.pngKandaharRed pog.pngHeratMazar-i-SharifRed pog.pngRed pog.pngJalalabadRed pog.pngKunduzAmu DaryaIndusHelmandPamirsKarakoramSpin GharHindu KushSistanNoshaqBlackMountain.svg Afghanistan is located in Southern-Central Asia.[238][239][240][241][242] The region centered at Afghanistan is considered the "crossroads of Asia",[243] and the country has had the nickname Heart of Asia.[244] The renowned Urdu poet Allama Iqbal once wrote about the country: Asia is a body of water and earth, of which the Afghan nation is the heart. From its discord, the discord of Asia; and from its accord, the accord of Asia. At over 652,864 km2 (252,072 sq mi),[245] Afghanistan is the world's 41st largest country,[246] slightly bigger than France and smaller than Myanmar, and about the size of Texas in the United States. There is no coastline, as Afghanistan is landlocked. Afghanistan shares its longest land border (the Durand Line) with Pakistan to the east and south, followed by borders with Tajikistan to the north-east, Iran to the west, Turkmenistan to the north-west, Uzbekistan to the north and China to the north-east; India recognizes a border with Afghanistan through Pakistani-administered Kashmir.[247] Clockwise from south-west, Afghanistan shares borders with the Sistan and Baluchestan Province, South Khorasan Province and Razavi Khorasan Province of Iran; Ahal Region, Mary Region and Lebap Region of Turkmenistan; Surxondaryo Region of Uzbekistan; Khatlon Region and Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region of Tajikistan; Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China; and the Gilgit-Baltistan territory, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and Balochistan province of Pakistan.[248] The geography in Afghanistan is varied, but is mostly mountainous and rugged, with some unusual mountain ridges accompanied by plateaus and river basins.[249] It is dominated by the Hindu Kush range, the western extension of the Himalayas that stretches to eastern Tibet via the Pamir Mountains and Karakoram Mountains in Afghanistan's far north-east. Most of the highest points are in the east consisting of fertile mountain valleys, often considered part of the "Roof of the World". The Hindu Kush ends at the west-central highlands, creating plains in the north and southwest, namely the Turkestan Plains and the Sistan Basin; these two regions consist of rolling grasslands and semi-deserts, and hot windy deserts, respectively.[250] Forests exist in the corridor between Nuristan and Paktika provinces (see East Afghan montane conifer forests),[251] and tundra in the north-east. The country's highest point is Noshaq, at 7,492 m (24,580 ft) above sea level.[10] The lowest point lies in Jowzjan Province along the Amu River bank, at 258 m (846 ft) above sea level. The mountainous topography of Afghanistan Despite having numerous rivers and reservoirs, large parts of the country are dry. The endorheic Sistan Basin is one of the driest regions in the world.[252] The Amu Darya rises at the north of the Hindu Kush, while the nearby Hari Rud flows west towards Herat, and the Arghandab River from the central region southwards. To the south and west of the Hindu Kush flow a number of streams that are tributaries of the Indus River,[249] such as the Helmand River. One exception is the Kabul River which flows in an easternly direction to the Indus ending at the Indian Ocean.[253] Afghanistan receives heavy snow during the winter in the Hindu Kush and Pamir Mountains, and the melting snow in the spring season enters the rivers, lakes, and streams.[254][255] However, two-thirds of the country's water flows into the neighboring countries of Iran, Pakistan, and Turkmenistan. As reported in 2010, the state needs more than US$2 billion to rehabilitate its irrigation systems so that the water is properly managed.[256] The northeastern Hindu Kush mountain range, in and around the Badakhshan Province of Afghanistan, is in a geologically active area where earthquakes may occur almost every year.[257] They can be deadly and destructive, causing landslides in some parts or avalanches during the winter.[258] The last strong earthquakes were in 1998, which killed about 6,000 people in Badakhshan near Tajikistan.[259] This was followed by the 2002 Hindu Kush earthquakes in which over 150 people were killed and over 1,000 injured. A 2010 earthquake left 11 Afghans dead, over 70 injured, and more than 2,000 houses destroyed. Climate Köppen climate map of Afghanistan[260] Afghanistan has a continental climate with harsh winters in the central highlands, the glaciated northeast (around Nuristan), and the Wakhan Corridor, where the average temperature in January is below −15 °C (5 °F) and can reach −26 °C (−15 °F),[249] and hot summers in the low-lying areas of the Sistan Basin of the southwest, the Jalalabad basin in the east, and the Turkestan plains along the Amu River in the north, where temperatures average over 35 °C (95 °F) in July[10][261] and can go over 43 °C (109 °F).[249] The country is generally arid in the summers, with most rainfall falling between December and April. The lower areas of northern and western Afghanistan are the driest, with precipitation more common in the east. Although proximate to India, Afghanistan is mostly outside the monsoon zone,[249] except the Nuristan Province which occasionally receives summer monsoon rain.[262] Biodiversity Main article: Wildlife of Afghanistan The snow leopard was the official national animal of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Several types of mammals exist throughout Afghanistan. Snow leopards, Siberian tigers and brown bears live in the high elevation alpine tundra regions. The Marco Polo sheep exclusively live in the Wakhan Corridor region of north-east Afghanistan. Foxes, wolves, otters, deer, wild sheep, lynx and other big cats populate the mountain forest region of the east. In the semi-desert northern plains, wildlife include a variety of birds, hedgehogs, gophers, and large carnivores such as jackals and hyenas.[263] Gazelles, wild pigs and jackals populate the steppe plains of the south and west, while mongoose and cheetahs exist in the semi-desert south.[263] Marmots and ibex also live in the high mountains of Afghanistan, and pheasants exist in some parts of the country.[264] The Afghan hound is a native breed of dog known for its fast speed and its long hair; it is relatively known in the west.[265] Endemic fauna of Afghanistan includes the Afghan flying squirrel, Afghan snowfinch, Afghanodon (or the "Paghman mountain salamander"), Stigmella kasyi, Vulcaniella kabulensis, Afghan leopard gecko, Wheeleria parviflorellus, amongst others. Endemic flora include Iris afghanica. Afghanistan has a wide variety of birds despite its relatively arid climate – an estimated 460 species of which 235 breed within.[265] The forest region of Afghanistan has vegetation such as pine trees, spruce trees, fir trees and larches, whereas the steppe grassland regions consist of broadleaf trees, short grass, perennial plants and shrublands. The colder high elevation regions are composed of hardy grasses and small flowering plants.[263] Several regions are designated protected areas; there are three national parks: Band-e Amir, Wakhan and Nuristan. Afghanistan had a 2018 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 8.85/10, ranking it 15th globally out of 172 countries.[266] Demographics Main articles: Afghans, Demographics of Afghanistan, and Afghan diaspora A 2005 CIA map showing traditional Afghan tribal territories. Pashtun tribes form the world's largest tribal society.[267] The population of Afghanistan was estimated at 32.9 million as of 2019 by the Afghanistan Statistics and Information Authority,[268] whereas the UN estimates over 38.0 million.[269] In 1979 the total population was reported to be about 15.5 million.[270] About 23.9% of them are urbanite, 71.4% live in rural areas, and the remaining 4.7% are nomadic.[271] An additional 3 million or so Afghans are temporarily housed in neighboring Pakistan and Iran, most of whom were born and raised in those two countries. As of 2013, Afghanistan was the largest refugee-producing country in the world, a title held for 32 years. The current population growth rate is 2.37%,[10] one of the highest in the world outside of Africa. This population is expected to reach 82 million by 2050 if current population trends continue.[272] The population of Afghanistan increased steadily until the 1980s, when civil war caused millions to flee to other countries such as Pakistan.[273] Millions have since returned and the war conditions contribute to the country having the highest fertility rate outside Africa.[274] Afghanistan's healthcare has recovered since the turn of the century, causing falls in infant mortality and increases in life expectancy, although it has the lowest life expectance of any country outside Africa. This (along with other factors such as returning refugees) caused rapid population growth in the 2000s that has only recently started to slow down.[citation needed] The Gini coefficient in 2008 was 27.8.[275] Ethnicity and languages Main articles: Ethnic groups in Afghanistan and Languages of Afghanistan See also: Afghans Ethnolinguistic map of Afghanistan (2001) Afghans are divided into several ethnolinguistic groups. The Pashtuns are the largest ethnic group, comprising 39% (2019 sociological research data by The Asia Foundation), followed by Tajiks (or Farsiwans), comprising 37%.[276] of the country's population. Generally the other three major ethnic groups are the Tajiks, Hazaras and Uzbeks. A further 10 other ethnic groups are recognized and each are represented in the Afghan National Anthem.[277] Dari and Pashto are the official languages of Afghanistan; bilingualism is very common.[278] Dari, which is a variety of and mutually intelligible with Persian (and very often called 'Farsi' by some Afghans like in Iran) functions as the lingua franca in Kabul as well as in much of the northern and northwestern parts of the country.[279] Native speakers of Dari, of any ethnicity, are sometimes called Farsiwans.[280] Pashto is the native tongue of the Pashtuns, although many of them are also fluent in Dari while some non-Pashtuns are fluent in Pashto. Despite the Pashtuns having been dominant in Afghan politics for centuries, Dari remained the preferred language for government and bureaucracy.[281] According to CIA World Factbook, Dari Persian is spoken by 78% (L1 + L2) and functions as the lingua franca, while Pashto is spoken by 50%, Uzbek 10%, English 5%, Turkmen 2%, Urdu 2%, Pashayi 1%, Nuristani 1%, Arabic 1%, and Balochi 1% (2021 est). Data represent the most widely spoken languages; shares sum to more than 100% because there is much bilingualism in the country and because respondents were allowed to select more than one language.There are a number of smaller regional languages, including Uzbek, Turkmen, Balochi, Pashayi, and Nuristani.[282] When it comes to foreign languages among the populace, many are able to speak or understand Hindustani (Urdu-Hindi), partly due to returning Afghan refugees from Pakistan and the popularity of Bollywood films respectively.[283] English is also understood by some of the population,[284] and has been gaining popularity as of the 2000s.[285] Some Afghans retain some ability in Russian, which was taught in public schools during the 1980s.[283] Religion Main article: Religion in Afghanistan Blue Mosque in Mazar-i-Sharif is the largest mosque in Afghanistan The CIA estimated in 2009 that 99.7% of the Afghan population was Muslim[10] and most are thought to adhere to the Sunni Hanafi school.[286] According to Pew Research Center, as much as 90% are of the Sunni denomination, 7% Shia and 3% non-denominational.[287] The CIA Factbook variously estimates up to 89.7% Sunni or up to 15% Shia.[10] Michael Izady estimated 70% of the population to be followers of Sunni Islam, 25% Imami Shia Islam, 4.5% Ismaili Shia Islam, and 0.5% other religions.[288] Afghan Sikhs and Hindus are also found in certain major cities (namely Kabul, Jalalabad, Ghazni, Kandahar)[289][290] accompanied by gurdwaras and mandirs.[291] According to Deutsche Welle in September 2021, 250 remain in the country after 67 were evacuated to India.[292] There was a small Jewish community in Afghanistan, living mainly in Herat and Kabul. Over the years, this small community was forced leave due to decades of warfare and religious persecution. By the end of the twentieth century, the entire community had emigrated to Israel and the United States, with the exception of one person, Herat-born Zablon Simintov. He remained for years, being the caretaker of the only remaining Afghan synagogue.[293] After the second Taliban takeover, he left Afghanistan for the United States.[294] Afghan Christians, who number 500–8,000, practice their faith secretly due to intense societal opposition, and there are no public churches.[295][296] Urbanization As estimated by the CIA World Factbook, 26% of the population was urbanized as of 2020. This is one of the lowest figures in the world; in Asia it is only higher than Cambodia, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Urbanization has increased rapidly, particularly in the capital Kabul, due to returning refugees from Pakistan and Iran after 2001, internally displaced people, and rural migrants.[297] Urbanization in Afghanistan is different from typical urbanization in that it is centered on just a few cities.[298] The only city with over a million residents is its capital, Kabul, located in the east of the country. The other large cities are located generally in the "ring" around the Central Highlands, namely Kandahar in the south, Herat in the west, Mazar-i-Sharif and Kunduz in the north, and Jalalabad in the east.[271]  vte Largest cities or towns in Afghanistan 2019 estimate[299] Rank Name Province Pop. Kabul Kabul Kandahar Kandahar 1 Kabul Kabul Province 4,273,200 Herat Herat Mazar-i-Sharif Mazar-i-Sharif 2 Kandahar Kandahar Province 614,300 3 Herat Herat Province 556,200 4 Mazar-i-Sharif Balkh Province 469,200 5 Jalalabad Nangarhar Province 356,500 6 Kunduz Kunduz Province 263,200 7 Taloqan Takhar Province 253,700 8 Puli Khumri Baghlan Province 237,900 9 Ghazni Ghazni Province 183,000 10 Khost Khost Province 153,300 Education Main article: Education in Afghanistan UNESCO Institute of Statistics Afghanistan Literacy Rate population plus15 1980–2018 Education in Afghanistan includes K–12 and higher education, which is overseen by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Higher Education. There are over 16,000 schools in the country and roughly 9 million students. Of this, about 60% are males and 40% females. However, the new regime has thus far forbidden girls and female teachers from returning to secondary schools.[300][301] Over 174,000 students are enrolled in different universities around the country. About 21% of these are females.[302] Former Education Minister Ghulam Farooq Wardak had stated that construction of 8,000 schools is required for the remaining children who are deprived of formal learning.[303] As of 2018 the literacy rate of the population age 15 and older is 43.02% (males 55.48% and females 29.81%).[304] The top universities in Afghanistan are the American University of Afghanistan (AUAF) followed by Kabul University (KU), both of which are located in Kabul. The National Military Academy of Afghanistan, modeled after the United States Military Academy at West Point, was a four-year military development institution dedicated to graduating officers for the Afghan Armed Forces. The Afghan Defense University was constructed near Qargha in Kabul. Major universities outside of Kabul include Kandahar University in the south, Herat University in the northwest, Balkh University and Kunduz University in the north, Nangarhar University and Khost University in the east. Kabul University was founded in 1932 and is a respected institute that played a significant part in the country's education;[305] from the 1960s the Kabul University was also a hotbed of radical political ideologies such as Marxism and Islamism, which played major parts in society, politics and the war that began in 1978.[306] After the Taliban regained power in 2021, it became unclear to what extent female education would continue in the country. In March 2022, after they had been closed for some time, it was announced that girl's schools after 6th grade would be reopened shortly. However, shortly before reopening, the order was rescinded and schools for older girls remained closed.[307] Health Main article: Health in Afghanistan The Daoud Khan Military Hospital in Kabul is one of the largest hospitals in Afghanistan According to the Human Development Index, Afghanistan is the 15th least developed country in the world. The average life expectancy is estimated to be around 60 years.[308][309] The country's maternal mortality rate is 396 deaths/100,000 live births and its infant mortality rate is 66[309] to 112.8 deaths in every 1,000 live births.[10] The Ministry of Public Health plans to cut the infant mortality rate to 400 for every 100,000 live births before 2020. The country has more than 3,000 midwives, with an additional 300 to 400 being trained each year.[310] There are over 100 hospitals in Afghanistan,[311] with the most advanced treatments being available in Kabul. The French Medical Institute for Children and Indira Gandhi Children's Hospital in Kabul are the leading children's hospitals in the country. Some of the other leading hospitals in Kabul include the Jamhuriat Hospital and Jinnah Hospital.[312] In spite of all this, many Afghans travel to Pakistan and India for advanced treatment. It was reported in 2006 that nearly 60% of the Afghan population lives within a two-hour walk of the nearest health facility.[313] Disability rate is also high in Afghanistan due to the decades of war.[314] It was reported recently that about 80,000 people are missing limbs.[315][316] Non-governmental charities such as Save the Children and Mahboba's Promise assist orphans in association with governmental structures.[317] Demographic and Health Surveys is working with the Indian Institute of Health Management Research and others to conduct a survey in Afghanistan focusing on maternal death, among other things.[318] Governance Main article: Politics of Afghanistan The Arg (the Presidential palace) in Kabul Following the effective collapse of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan during the 2021 Taliban offensive, the Taliban declared the country an Islamic Emirate. A new caretaker government was announced on 7 September.[319] As of 8 September 2021, no other country had formally recognized the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan as the de jure government of Afghanistan.[320] A traditional instrument of governance in Afghanistan is the loya jirga (grand assembly), a Pashtun consultative meeting that was mainly organized for choosing a new head of state, adopting a new constitution, or to settle national or regional issue such as war.[321] Loya jirgas have been held since at least 1747,[322] with the most recent one occurring in August 2020.[323][324] Development of Taliban government Main article: Government of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan See also: Cabinet of Afghanistan § Islamic Emirate (2021–present) Hasan Akhund Acting Prime Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani First Deputy Leader and Acting Interior Minister Mullah Yaqoob Second Deputy Leader and Acting Defense Minister Abdul Ghani Baradar Third Deputy Leader and Acting First Deputy Prime Minister On 17 August 2021, the leader of the Taliban-affiliated Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin party, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, met with both Hamid Karzai, the former President of Afghanistan, and Abdullah Abdullah, the former chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation and former Chief Executive, in Doha, Qatar, with the aim of forming a national unity government.[325][326] President Ashraf Ghani, having fled the country during the Taliban advance to either Tajikistan or Uzbekistan, emerged in the United Arab Emirates and said that he supported such negotiations and was in talks to return to Afghanistan.[327][328] Many figures within the Taliban generally agreed that continuation of the 2004 Constitution of Afghanistan may, potentially, be workable as the basis for the new state as their objections to the former government were religious, and not political, in nature.[329] Hours after the final flight of American troops left Kabul on 30 August, a Taliban official interviewed said that a new government would likely be announced as early as Friday 3 September after Jumu'ah. It was added that Hibatullah Akhundzada would be officially named Emir, with cabinet ministers being revealed at the Arg in an official ceremony. Abdul Ghani Baradar would be named head of government as Prime Minister, while other important positions would go to Sirajuddin Haqqani and Mullah Yaqoob. Beneath the supreme leader, day-to-day governance will be entrusted to the cabinet.[330] U.S. representative Zalmay Khalilzad (left) meeting with Taliban leaders, Abdul Ghani Baradar, Abdul Hakim Ishaqzai, Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, Suhail Shaheen, unidentified. Doha, Qatar on 21 November 2020. According to CNN, the new government is likely to be a unitary Deobandist Islamic republic. In a report by CNN-News18, sources said the new government was going to be governed similarly to Iran with Haibatullah Akhundzada as supreme leader similar to the role of Saayid Ali Khamenei, and would be based out of Kandahar. Baradar or Yaqoob would be head of government as Prime Minister. The government's ministries and agencies will be under a cabinet presided over by the Prime Minister. The Supreme Leader would preside over an executive body known Supreme Council with anywhere from 11 to 72 members. Abdul Hakim Ishaqzai is likely to be promoted to Chief Justice. According to the report, the new government will take place within the framework of an amended 1964 Constitution of Afghanistan.[331] However, later interviews disclosed to News18 that negotiations were not yet completed and that representatives were still in Kandahar, and that the announcement of the new government would not take place until 4 September or later.[332][333][334] Government formation was further delayed with the announcement postponed to some time during the week of 6 September, due to concerns about forming a broad-based government acceptable to the international community.[335] It was later added however that the Taliban's Rahbari Shura, the group's leadership council was divided between the hardline Haqqani Network and moderate Abdul Ghani Baradar over appointments needed to form an "inclusive" government. This culminated in a skirmish which led to Baradar being injured and treated in Pakistan.[336] It was speculated that the government would be announced on 11 September 2021, the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, with invitations possibly being extended to the governments of Turkey, China, Iran, Pakistan, and Qatar.[337] As of early September, the Taliban were planning the Cabinet to be men-only, stating that women would not be allowed to "work in high-ranking posts" in the government and that women were "ruled out" from the Cabinet. Journalists and other human rights activists, mostly women, protested in Herat and Kabul, calling for women to be included in the Cabinet.[338] The acting Cabinet announced on 7 September was men-only, and the Ministry of Women's Affairs appeared to have been abolished.[319] On March 23, 2022, there were reports a cabinet shakeup was underway as another meeting of the Leadership Council was held in Kandahar for the second time since the Taliban Islamic Movement came to power as a way to get international recognition. The last meeting of the Leadership Council was held from August 28, 2021, to August 30, 2021.[339][340] Administrative divisions Main articles: Provinces of Afghanistan and Districts of Afghanistan Afghanistan is administratively divided into 34 provinces (wilayat).[341] Each province has a governor and a capital. The country is further divided into nearly 400 provincial districts, each of which normally covers a city or several villages. Each district is represented by a district governor. The provincial governors are now appointed by the Prime Minister of Afghanistan, and the district governors are selected by the provincial governors.[342] The provincial governors are representatives of the central government in Kabul and are responsible for all administrative and formal issues within their provinces. There are also provincial councils that are elected through direct and general elections for four years.[343] The functions of provincial councils are to take part in provincial development planning and to participate in the monitoring and appraisal of other provincial governance institutions. According to article 140 of the constitution and the presidential decree on electoral law, mayors of cities should be elected through free and direct elections for a four-year term. In practice however, mayors are appointed by the government.[344] The following is a list of all the 34 provinces in alphabetical order: Afghanistan is divided into 34 provinces, which are further divided into a number of districts Badakhshan Badghis Baghlan Balkh Bamyan Daykundi Farah Faryab Ghazni Ghor Helmand Herat Jowzjan Kabul Kandahar Kapisa Khost Kunar Kunduz Laghman Logar Nangarhar Nimruz Nuristan Oruzgan Paktia Paktika Panjshir Parwan Samangan Sar-e Pol Takhar Wardak Zabul Foreign relations Main article: Foreign relations of Afghanistan See also: Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Afghanistan) Afghanistan became a member of the United Nations in 1946.[345] Historically, Afghanistan had strong relations with Germany, one of the first countries to recognize Afghanistan's independence in 1919; the Soviet Union, which provided much aid and military training for Afghanistan's forces and includes the signing of a Treaty of Friendship in 1921 and 1978; and India, with which a friendship treaty was signed in 1950.[346] Relations with Pakistan have often been tense for various reasons such as the Durand Line border issue and alleged Pakistani involvement in Afghan insurgent groups. The present Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is currently internationally unrecognized, but has had notable unofficial ties with China, Pakistan, and Qatar.[347][348] Under the previous Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, it enjoyed cordial relations with a number of NATO and allied nations, particularly the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, and Turkey. In 2012, the United States and the then-republic in Afghanistan signed their Strategic Partnership Agreement in which Afghanistan became a major non-NATO ally.[349] Military For broader coverage of this topic, see Armed Forces of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. The Armed Forces of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan captured a large amount of weapons, hardware, vehicles, aerocrafts, and equipment from the Afghan Armed Forces following the 2021 Taliban offensive and the Fall of Kabul. The total value of the captured equipment has been estimated at US$83 billion.[350][351] Human rights See also: Human rights in Afghanistan, Women in Afghanistan, LGBT rights in Afghanistan, Treatment of women by the Taliban, and Afghan refugees Homosexuality is taboo in Afghan society;[352] according to the Penal Code, homosexual intimacy is punished by up to a year in prison.[353] With implementing Sharia law offenders can be punished by death.[354][355] However an ancient tradition involving male homosexual acts between youngsters and older men (typically wealthy or elite people) called bacha bazi persists. Religious minorities such as Sikhs,[356] Hindus,[357] and Christians have reportedly faced persecution in the country.[358][359] Since May 2022, all women in Afghanistan have been required by law to wear full-body coverings when in public (either a burqa or an abaya paired with a niqāb, which leaves only the eyes uncovered).[360][361] In a May interview with Christiane Amanpour, First Deputy Leader Sirajuddin Haqqani claimed the decree is only advisory and no form of hijab is compulsory in Afghanistan,[362] though this contradicts the reality.[363] It has been speculated that there is a genuine internal policy division over women's rights between hardliners, including Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, and pragmatists, though they publicly present a united front.[364] Another decree was issued shortly after the first, requiring female TV presenters to cover their faces during broadcasts.[365] In May 2022, the Taliban dissolved Afghanistan's Human Rights Commission along with four other government departments, citing the country's budget deficit.[366] Economy Main article: Economy of Afghanistan Workers processing pomegranates (anaar), which Afghanistan is famous for in Asia Afghanistan's nominal GDP was $21.7 billion in 2018, or $72.9 billion by purchasing power parity (PPP).[20] Its GDP per capita is $2,024 (PPP).[20] Despite having $1 trillion or more in mineral deposits,[367] it remains one of the world's least developed countries. Afghanistan's rough physical geography and its landlocked status has been cited as reasons why the country has always been among the least developed in the modern era – a factor where progress is also slowed by contemporary conflict and political instability.[249] The country imports over $7 billion worth of goods but exports only $784 million, mainly fruits and nuts. It has $2.8 billion in external debt.[10] The service sector contributed the most to the GDP (55.9%) followed by agriculture (23%) and industry (21.1%).[368] While the nation's current account deficit is largely financed with donor money, only a small portion is provided directly to the government budget. The rest is provided to non-budgetary expenditure and donor-designated projects through the United Nations system and non-governmental organizations.[369] Da Afghanistan Bank serves as the central bank of the nation[370] and the Afghani (AFN) is the national currency, with an exchange rate of about 75 Afghanis to 1 US dollar.[371] A number of local and foreign banks operate in the country, including the Afghanistan International Bank, New Kabul Bank, Azizi Bank, Pashtany Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, and the First Micro Finance Bank. Afghan rugs are one of Afghanistan's main exports One of the main drivers for the current economic recovery is the return of over 5 million expatriates, who brought with them entrepreneurship and wealth-creating skills as well as much needed funds to start up businesses. Many Afghans are now involved in construction, which is one of the largest industries in the country.[372] Some of the major national construction projects include the $35 billion New Kabul City next to the capital, the Aino Mena project in Kandahar, and the Ghazi Amanullah Khan Town near Jalalabad.[373][374][375] Similar development projects have also begun in Herat, Mazar-e-Sharif, and other cities.[376] An estimated 400,000 people enter the labor market each year.[377] Several small companies and factories began operating in different parts of the country, which not only provide revenues to the government but also create new jobs. Improvements to the business environment have resulted in more than $1.5 billion in telecom investment and created more than 100,000 jobs since 2003.[378] Afghan rugs are becoming popular again, allowing many carpet dealers around the country to hire more workers; in 2016–17 it was the fourth most exported group of items.[379] Afghanistan is a member of WTO, SAARC, ECO, and OIC. It holds an observer status in SCO. In 2018, a majority of imports come from either Iran, China, Pakistan and Kazakhstan, while 84% of exports are to Pakistan and India.[380] Since the Taliban's takeover of the country in August 2021, the United States has frozen about $9 billion in assets belonging to the Afghan central bank,[381] blocking the Taliban from accessing billions of dollars held in U.S. bank accounts.[382][383] Agriculture Afghan saffron has been recognized as the world's best Agricultural production is the backbone of Afghanistan's economy[384] and has traditionally dominated the economy, employing about 40% of the workforce as of 2018.[385] The country is known for producing pomegranates, grapes, apricots, melons, and several other fresh and dry fruits. It is also known as the world's largest producer of opium – as much as 16% or more of the nation's economy is derived from the cultivation and sale of opium.[386] It is also one of the world's top producers of cannabis.[387] Saffron, the most expensive spice, grows in Afghanistan, particularly Herat Province. In recent years, there has been an uptick in saffron production, which authorities and farmers trying to replace poppy cultivation. Between 2012 and 2019, the saffron cultivated and produced in Afghanistan was consecutively ranked the world's best by the International Taste and Quality Institute.[388][389] Production hit record high in 2019 (19,469 kg of saffron), and one kilogram is sold domestically between $634 and $1147.[390] The availability of cheap diesel-powered water pumps imported from China and Pakistan, and in the 2010s, of cheap solar power to pump water, resulted in expansion of agriculture and population in the southwestern deserts of Afghanistan in Kandahar Province, Helmand Province and Nimruz Province in the 2010s. Wells have gradually been deepened, but water resources are limited. Opium is the major crop, but as of 2022, was under attack by the new Taliban government which, in order to suppress opium production, was systematically suppressing water pumping.[391][392] Mining Main article: Mining in Afghanistan Lapis lazuli stones The country's natural resources include: coal, copper, iron ore, lithium, uranium, rare earth elements, chromite, gold, zinc, talc, barite, sulfur, lead, marble, precious and semi-precious stones, natural gas, and petroleum.[393][394] In 2010, US and Afghan government officials estimated that untapped mineral deposits located in 2007 by the US Geological Survey are worth at least $1 trillion.[395] Michael E. O'Hanlon of the Brookings Institution estimated that if Afghanistan generates about $10 billion per year from its mineral deposits, its gross national product would double and provide long-term funding for Afghan security forces and other critical needs.[396] The United States Geological Survey (USGS) estimated in 2006 that northern Afghanistan has an average 460 million m3 (2.9 billion bbl) of crude oil, 440 billion m3 (15.7 trillion cu ft) of natural gas, and 67 billion L (562 million US bbl) of natural gas liquids.[397] In 2011, Afghanistan signed an oil exploration contract with China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) for the development of three oil fields along the Amu Darya river in the north.[398] The country has significant amounts of lithium, copper, gold, coal, iron ore, and other minerals.[393][394][399] The Khanashin carbonatite in Helmand Province contains 1,000,000 tonnes (980,000 long tons; 1,100,000 short tons) of rare earth elements.[400] In 2007, a 30-year lease was granted for the Aynak copper mine to the China Metallurgical Group for $3 billion,[401] making it the biggest foreign investment and private business venture in Afghanistan's history.[402] The state-run Steel Authority of India won the mining rights to develop the huge Hajigak iron ore deposit in central Afghanistan.[403] Government officials estimate that 30% of the country's untapped mineral deposits are worth at least $1 trillion.[395] One official asserted that "this will become the backbone of the Afghan economy" and a Pentagon memo stated that Afghanistan could become the "Saudi Arabia of lithium".[404] The lithium reserves of 21 Mio. tons could amount to the ones of Bolivia, which is currently viewed as the country with the largest lithium reserves.[405] Other larger deposits are the ones of Bauxit and Cobalt.[405] In a 2011 news story, the CSM reported, "The United States and other Western nations that have borne the brunt of the cost of the Afghan war have been conspicuously absent from the bidding process on Afghanistan's mineral deposits, leaving it mostly to regional powers."[406] Access to biocapacity in Afghanistan is lower than world average. In 2016, Afghanistan had 0.43 global hectares[407] of biocapacity per person within its territory, much less than the world average of 1.6 global hectares per person.[408] In 2016 Afghanistan used 0.73 global hectares of biocapacity per person - their ecological footprint of consumption. This means they use just under double as much biocapacity as Afghanistan contains. As a result, Afghanistan is running a biocapacity deficit.[407] Infrastructure Energy Main articles: Energy in Afghanistan and Renewable energy in Afghanistan Afghanistan electricity supply 1980–2019 According to the World Bank, 98% of the rural population have access to electricity in 2018, up from 28% in 2008.[409] Overall the figure stands at 98.7%.[410] As of 2016, Afghanistan produces 1,400 megawatts of power, but still imports the majority of electricity via transmission lines from Iran and the Central Asian states.[411] The majority of electricity production is via hydropower, helped by the amount of rivers and streams that flow from the mountains.[412] However electricity is not always reliable and blackouts happen, including in Kabul.[413] In recent years an increasing number of solar, biomass and wind power plants have been constructed.[414] Currently under development are the CASA-1000 project which will transmit electricity from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, and the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline.[413] Power is managed by the Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS, Afghanistan Electricity Company). Important dams include the Kajaki Dam, Dahla Dam, and the Sardeh Band Dam.[253] Tourism Main article: Tourism in Afghanistan Band-e Amir National Park Tourism is a small industry in Afghanistan due to security issues. Nevertheless, some 20,000 foreign tourists visit the country annually as of 2016.[415] In particular an important region for domestic and international tourism is the picturesque Bamyan Valley, which includes lakes, canyons and historical sites, helped by the fact it is in a safe area away from insurgent activity.[416][417] Smaller numbers visit and trek in regions such as the Wakhan Valley, which is also one of the world's most remote communities.[418] From the late 1960s onwards, Afghanistan was a popular stop on the famous hippie trail, attracting many Europeans and Americans. Coming from Iran, the trail traveled through various Afghan provinces and cities including Herat, Kandahar and Kabul before crossing to northern Pakistan, northern India, and Nepal.[419][420] Tourism peaked in 1977, the year before the start of political instability and armed conflict.[421] The Minaret of Jam is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, currently under threat by erosion and flooding The city of Ghazni has significant history and historical sites, and together with Bamyan city have in recent years been voted Islamic Cultural Capital and South Asia Cultural Capital respectively.[422] The cities of Herat, Kandahar, Balkh, and Zaranj are also very historic. The Minaret of Jam in the Hari River valley is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A cloak reputedly worn by Islam's prophet Muhammad is kept inside the Shrine of the Cloak in Kandahar, a city founded by Alexander the Great and the first capital of Afghanistan. The citadel of Alexander in the western city of Herat has been renovated in recent years and is a popular attraction. In the north of the country is the Shrine of Ali, believed by many to be the location where Ali was buried.[423] The National Museum of Afghanistan is located in Kabul and hosts a large number of Buddhist, Bactrian Greek and early Islamic antiquities; the museum suffered greatly by civil war but has been slowly restoring since the early 2000s.[424] Communication Main article: Communications in Afghanistan Telecommunication services in Afghanistan are provided by Afghan Telecom, Afghan Wireless, Etisalat, MTN Group, and Roshan. The country uses its own space satellite called Afghansat 1, which provides services to millions of phone, internet, and television subscribers. By 2001 following years of civil war, telecommunications was virtually a non-existent sector, but by 2016 it had grown to a $2 billion industry, with 22 million mobile phone subscribers and 5 million internet users. The sector employs at least 120,000 people nationwide.[425] Transportation Main article: Transport in Afghanistan See also: List of airports in Afghanistan and Rail transport in Afghanistan The Salang Tunnel, once the highest tunnel in the world, provides a key connection between the north and south of the country Due to Afghanistan's geography, transport between various parts of the country has historically been difficult. The backbone of Afghanistan's road network is Highway 1, often called the "Ring Road", which extends for 2,210 kilometers (1,370 mi) and connects five major cities: Kabul, Ghazni, Kandahar, Herat and Mazar-i-Sharif,[426] with spurs to Kunduz and Jalalabad and various border crossings, while skirting around the mountains of the Hindu Kush.[427] The Ring Road is crucially important for domestic and international trade and the economy.[428] A key portion of the Ring Road is the Salang Tunnel, completed in 1964, which facilitates travel through the Hindu Kush mountain range and connects northern and southern Afghanistan.[429] It is the only land route that connects Central Asia to the Indian subcontinent.[430] Several mountain passes allow travel between the Hindu Kush in other areas. Serious traffic accidents are common on Afghan roads and highways, particularly on the Kabul–Kandahar and the Kabul–Jalalabad Road.[431] Traveling by bus in Afghanistan remains dangerous due to militant activities.[432] An Ariana Afghan Airlines Airbus A310 in 2006 Air transport in Afghanistan is provided by the national carrier, Ariana Afghan Airlines,[433] and by the private company Kam Air. Airlines from a number of countries also provide flights in and out of the country. These include Air India, Emirates, Gulf Air, Iran Aseman Airlines, Pakistan International Airlines, and Turkish Airlines. The country has four international airports: Hamid Karzai International Airport (formerly Kabul International Airport), Kandahar International Airport, Herat International Airport, and Mazar-e Sharif International Airport. Including domestic airports, there are 43.[10] Bagram Air Base is a major military airfield. The country has three rail links: one, a 75-kilometer (47 mi) line from Mazar-i-Sharif to the Uzbekistan border;[434] a 10-kilometer (6.2 mi) long line from Toraghundi to the Turkmenistan border (where it continues as part of Turkmen Railways); and a short link from Aqina across the Turkmen border to Kerki, which is planned to be extended further across Afghanistan.[435] These lines are used for freight only and there is no passenger service. A rail line between Khaf, Iran and Herat, western Afghanistan, intended for both freight and passengers, is under construction as of 2019.[436][437] About 125 kilometers (78 mi) of the line will lie on the Afghan side.[438][439] There are various proposals for the construction of additional rail lines in the country.[440] Private vehicle ownership has increased substantially since the early 2000s. Taxis are yellow in color and consist of both cars and auto rickshaws.[441] In rural Afghanistan, villagers often use donkeys, mules or horses to transport or carry goods. Camels are primarily used by the Kochi nomads.[265] Bicycles are popular throughout Afghanistan.[442] Culture Main article: Culture of Afghanistan An Afghan family near Kholm, 1939 – most Afghans are tribal Afghans have both common cultural features and those that differ between the regions of Afghanistan, each with distinctive cultures partly as a result of geographic obstacles that divide the country.[249] Family is the mainstay of Afghan society and families are often headed by a patriarch.[443] In the southern and eastern region, the people live according to the Pashtun culture by following Pashtunwali (the Pashtun way).[444] Key tenets of Pashtunwali include hospitality, the provision of sanctuary to those seeking refuge, and revenge for the shedding of blood.[445] The Pashtuns are largely connected to the culture of Central Asia and the Iranian Plateau. The remaining Afghans are culturally Persian and Turkic. Some non-Pashtuns who live in proximity with Pashtuns have adopted Pashtunwali in a process called Pashtunization, while some Pashtuns have been Persianized. Those who have lived in Pakistan and Iran over the last 30 years have been further influenced by the cultures of those neighboring nations. The Afghan people are known to be strongly religious.[286] Afghans, particularly Pashtuns, are noted for their tribal solidarity and high regard for personal honor.[446] One writer considers the tribal system to be the best way of organizing large groups of people in a country that is geographically difficult, and in a society that, from a materialistic point of view, has an uncomplicated lifestyle.[447] There are various Afghan tribes, and an estimated 2–3 million nomads.[448] Afghan culture is deeply Islamic,[449] but pre-Islamic practices persist.[450] One example is bacha bazi, a term for activities involving sexual relations between older men and younger adolescent men, or boys.[451] Child marriage is prevalent in Afghanistan;[452] the legal age for marriage is 16.[453] The most preferred marriage in Afghan society is to one's parallel cousin, and the groom is often expected to pay a bride price.[454] A house occupied by nomadic kochi people in Nangarhar Province In the villages, families typically occupy mudbrick houses, or compounds with mudbrick or stone walled houses. Villages typically have a headman (malik), a master for water distribution (mirab) and a religious teacher (mullah). Men would typically work on the fields, joined by women during harvest.[443] About 15% of the population are nomadic, locally called kochis.[249] When nomads pass villages they often buy supplies such as tea, wheat and kerosene from the villagers; villagers buy wool and milk from the nomads.[443] Afghan clothing for both men and women typically consists of various forms of shalwar kameez, especially perahan tunban and khet partug. Women would normally wear a chador for head covering; some women, typically from highly conservative communities, wear the burqa, a full body covering. These were worn by some women of the Pashtun community well before Islam came to the region, but the Taliban enforced this dress on women when they were in power.[455] Another popular dress is the chapan which acts as a coat. The karakul is a hat made from the fur of a specific regional breed of sheep. It was favored by former kings of Afghanistan and became known to much of the world in the 21st century when it was constantly worn by President Hamid Karzai.[456] The pakol is another traditional hat originating from the far east of the country; it was popularly worn by the guerrilla leader Ahmad Shah Massoud.[457] The Mazari hat originates from northern Afghanistan.[458] Architecture Main article: Architecture of Afghanistan Kabul skyline, displaying both historical and contemporary buildings The nation has a complex history that has survived either in its current cultures or in the form of various languages and monuments. Afghanistan contains many remnants from all ages, including Greek and Buddhist stupas, monasteries, monuments, temples and Islamic minarets. Among the most well known are the Great Mosque of Herat, the Blue Mosque, the Minaret of Jam, the Chil Zena, the Qala-i Bost in Lashkargah, the ancient Greek city of Ai-Khanoum.[459] However, many of its historic monuments have been damaged in modern times due to the civil wars.[460] The two famous Buddhas of Bamiyan were destroyed by the Taliban, who regarded them as idolatrous. Despite that, archaeologists are still finding Buddhist relics in different parts of the country, some of them dating back to the 2nd century.[461] As there was no colonialism in the modern era in Afghanistan, European-style architecture is rare but does exist: the Victory Arch at Paghman and the Darul Aman Palace in Kabul were built in this style in the 1920s by the Afghans themselves. Art and ceramics See also: Afghan art A traditional Afghan embroidery pattern Carpet weaving is an ancient practice in Afghanistan, and many of these are still handmade by tribal and nomadic people today.[298] Carpets have been produced in the region for thousands of years and traditionally done by women.[462] Some crafters express their feelings through the designs of rugs; for example after the outbreak of the Soviet–Afghan War, "war rugs", a variant of Afghan rugs, were created with designs representing pain and misery caused by the conflict.[463] Every province has its own specific characteristics in making rugs.[464] In some of the Turkic-populated areas in the north-west, bride and wedding ceremony prices are driven by the bride's weaving skills.[465] Pottery has been crafted in Afghanistan for millennia. The village of Istalif, north of Kabul, is in particular a major center, known for its unique turquoise and green pottery,[466] and their methods of crafting have remained the same for centuries.[467][468] Much of lapis lazuli stones were earthed in modern-day Afghanistan which were used in Chinese porcelain as cobalt blue, later used in ancient Mesopotamia and Turkey.[469] The lands of Afghanistan have a long history of art, with the world's earliest known usage of oil painting found in cave murals in the country.[470][471] A notable art style that developed in Afghanistan and eastern Pakistan is Gandhara Art, produced by a fusion of Greco-Roman art and Buddhist art between the 1st and 7th centuries CE.[472] Later eras saw increased use of the Persian miniature style, with Kamaleddin Behzad of Herat being one of the most notable miniature artists of the Timurid and early Safavid periods. Since the 1900s, the nation began to use Western techniques in art. Abdul Ghafoor Breshna was a prominent Afghan painter and sketch artist from Kabul during the 20th century. Media and entertainment Main article: Media of Afghanistan Afghanistan has around 350 radio stations and over 200 television stations.[473] Radio Television Afghanistan, originating from 1925, is the state public broadcaster. Television programs began airing in the 1970s and today there are many private television channels such as TOLO and Shamshad TV. The first Afghan newspaper was published in 1873,[474] and there are hundreds of print outlets today.[473] By the 1920s, Radio Kabul was broadcasting local radio services.[475] Voice of America, BBC, and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) broadcast in both of Afghanistan's official languages on radio.[476] Press restrictions have been gradually relaxed and private media diversified since 2002, after more than two decades of tight controls. Afghans have long been accustomed to watching Indian Bollywood films and listening to its filmi songs.[477] It has been claimed that Afghanistan is among the biggest markets for the Hindi film industry.[478] The stereotypes of Afghans in India (Kabuliwala or Pathani) have also been represented in some Bollywood films by actors.[479] Many Bollywood film stars have roots in Afghanistan, including Salman Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Aamir Khan, Feroz Khan, Kader Khan, Naseeruddin Shah, Zarine Khan, Celina Jaitly, and a number of others. Several Bollywood films have been shot inside Afghanistan, including Dharmatma, Khuda Gawah, Escape from Taliban, and Kabul Express. Music Main article: Music of Afghanistan The Afghan rubab Afghan classical music has close historical links with Indian classical music and use the same Hindustani terminology and theories like raga. Genres of this style of music include ghazal (poetic music) and instruments such as the Indian tabla, sitar and harmonium, and local instruments like zerbaghali, as well as dayereh and tanbur which are also known in Central Asia, the Caucusus and the Middle East. The rubab is the country's national instrument and precurses the Indian sarod instrument. Some of the famous artists of classical music include Ustad Sarahang and Sarban.[480] Pop music developed in the 1950s through Radio Kabul and was influential in social change. During this time female artists also started appearing, at first Mermon Parwin.[480] Perhaps the most famous artist of this genre was Ahmad Zahir, who synthesized many genres and continues to be renowned for his voice and rich lyrics long after his death in 1979.[481][480] Other notable masters of traditional or popular Afghan music include Nashenas, Ubaidullah Jan, Mahwash, Ahmad Wali, Farhad Darya, and Naghma.[482] Attan is the national dance of Afghanistan, a group dance popularly performed by Afghans of all backgrounds.[483] The dance is considered part of Afghan identity.[484] Cuisine Main article: Afghan cuisine Non (bread) from a local baker, the most widely consumed bread in Afghanistan Afghan cuisine is largely based upon the nation's chief crops, such as wheat, maize, barley and rice. Accompanying these staples are native fruits and vegetables as well as dairy products such as milk, yogurt and whey. Kabuli palaw is the national dish of Afghanistan.[485] The nation's culinary specialties reflect its ethnic and geographic diversity.[486] Afghanistan is known for its high quality pomegranates, grapes, and sweet melons.[487] Tea is a favorite drink among Afghans, and a typical diet consists of naan, yoghurts, rice and meat.[443] Literature Main article: Poetry of Afghanistan Classic Persian and Pashto poetry are a cherished part of Afghan culture. Poetry has always been one of the major educational pillars in the region, to the level that it has integrated itself into culture.[488] One of the poetic styles is called landay. A popular theme in Afghan folklore and mythology are Divs, monstrous creatures.[489] Thursdays are traditionally "poetry night" in the city of Herat when men, women and children gather and recite both ancient and modern poems.[490] The Afghan region has produced countless Persian-speaking poets and writers from the Middle Ages to the present day, among which three mystical authors are considered true national glories (although claimed with equal ardor by Iran), namely: Khwaja Abdullah Ansari of Herat, a great mystic and Sufi saint in the 11th century, Sanai of Ghazni, author of mystical poems in the 12th century, and, finally, Rumi of Balkh, in the 13th century, considered the persophonist throughout the world as the greatest mystical poet of the entire Muslim world. The Afghan Pashto literature, although quantitatively remarkable and in great growth in the last century, has always had an essentially local meaning and importance, feeling the influence of both Persian literature and the contiguous literatures of India. Both main literatures, from the second half of the nineteenth century, have shown themselves to be sensitive to genres (novel, theater), movements and stylistic features imported from Europe. Khushal Khan Khattak of the 17th century is considered the national poet. Other notable poets include Rabi'a Balkhi, Jami, Rahman Baba, Khalilullah Khalili, and Parween Pazhwak.[491] Holidays and festivals Haft Mewa (Seven Fruit Syrup) is popularly consumed during Nowruz in Afghanistan Afghanistan's official New Year starts with Nowruz, an ancient tradition that started as a Zoroastrian celebration in present-day Iran, and with which it shares the annual celebration along with several other countries. It occurs every year at the vernal equinox. In Afghanistan, Nowruz is typically celebrated with music and dance, as well as holding buzkashi tournaments.[492] Yaldā, another nationally celebrated ancient tradition,[493] commemorates the ancient goddess Mithra and marks the longest night of the year on the eve of the winter solstice (čelle ye zemestān; usually falling on 20 or 21 December),[494][495] during which families gather together to recite poetry and eat fruits—particularly the red fruits watermelon and pomegranate, as well as mixed nuts.[496][497] Religious festivals are also celebrated; as a predominantly Muslim country, Islamic events and festivals such as Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr and Ashura are widely celebrated annually in Afghanistan. The Sikh festival of Vaisakhi is celebrated by the Sikh community[498] and the Hindu festival Diwali by the Hindu community.[499] National Independence Day is celebrated on 19 August to mark the Anglo-Afghan Treaty of 1919 under King Amanullah Khan and the country's full independence.[500] Several international celebrations are also officially held in Afghanistan, such as International Workers' Day and International Women's Day. Some regional festivals include the Pamir Festival, which celebrates the culture of the Wakhi and Kyrgyz peoples, the Red Flower Festival (during Nowruz) in Mazar-i-Sharif and the Damboora Festival in Bamyan Province. Sports Main article: Sport in Afghanistan The ancient national sport of Afghanistan, Buzkashi Sport in Afghanistan is managed by the Afghan Sports Federation. Cricket and Association football are the two most popular sports in the country.[501][502] The Afghan Sports Federation promotes cricket, association football, basketball, volleyball, golf, handball, boxing, taekwondo, weightlifting, bodybuilding, track and field, skating, bowling, snooker, chess, and other sports. Afghanistan's sports teams are increasingly celebrating titles at international events. basketball team won the first team sports title at the 2010 South Asian Games.[503] Later that year, the country's cricket team followed it with the winning of 2009–10 ICC Intercontinental Cup.[504] In 2012, the country's 3x3 basketball team won the gold medal at the 2012 Asian Beach Games. In 2013, Afghanistan's football team followed as it won the SAFF Championship.[505] The Afghan national cricket team, which was formed in 2001, participated in the 2009 ICC World Cup Qualifier, 2010 ICC World Cricket League Division One and the 2010 ICC World Twenty20. It won the ACC Twenty20 Cup in 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2013. The team eventually made it and played in the 2015 Cricket World Cup.[506] The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) is the official governing body of the sport and is headquartered in Kabul. The Alokozay Kabul International Cricket Ground serves as the nation's main cricket stadium. There are several other stadiums throughout the country, including the Ghazi Amanullah Khan International Cricket Stadium near Jalalabad. Domestically, cricket is played between teams from different provinces. The Afghanistan national football team has been competing in international football since 1941.[507] The national team plays its home games at the Ghazi Stadium in Kabul, while football in Afghanistan is governed by the Afghanistan Football Federation. The national team has never competed or qualified for the FIFA World Cup but has recently won an international football trophy in 2013.[505] The country also has a national team in the sport of futsal, a 5-a-side variation of football. The traditional and the national sport of Afghanistan is buzkashi, mainly popular in the north, but also having a following in other parts of the country.[508] It is similar to polo, played by horsemen in two teams, each trying to grab and hold a goat carcass.[509] The Afghan Hound (a type of running dog) originated in Afghanistan and was formerly used in wolf hunting. In 2002, traveler Rory Stewart reported that dogs were still used for wolf hunting in remote areas.[510]
  • Country/Region of Manufacture: Afghanistan
  • Type: Photograph
  • Size Type/Largest Dimension: Medium (Up to 10")
  • Signed: No
  • Listed By: Dealer or Reseller
  • Original/Reprint: Original Print
  • Color: Black & White

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