Emirate of Afghanistan
Afghanistan, 1823–1926. Draft, not yet reviewed
The Emirate of Afghanistan was an emirate in Central Asia that encompassed present-day Afghanistan, as well as parts of present-day Iran, Pakistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. The emirate emerged from its predecessor, the Durrani Empire, after the Barakzai dynasty prevailed in Kabul. The history of the Emirate was dominated by the 'Great Game' between the Russian Empire and the British Empire for supremacy in Central Asia. Emir Amanullah Khan signed the Anglo-Afghan Treaty of 1919 following the Third Anglo-Afghan War, gaining full Afghan autonomy, and the removal of Afghanistan's status of being a de-jure British protectorate.
Seat of power: Kabul
Rulers
Dost Mohammad Khan
Emir of Afghanistan, 1823–1839
Dost Mohammad Khan was the founder of the Barakzai dynasty and one of the prominent rulers of Afghanistan during the First Anglo-Afghan War. By the end of his reign, he had reunited the principalities of Kandahar and Herat with Kabul.
Portrait of Dost Mohammad Khan: British Company artist, Public domain, file
Shah Shujah Durrani
Emir of Afghanistan, 1839–1842
Shuja Shah Durrani was Shah of the Durrani Empire from 1803 until his deposition in 1809, and again from 1839 until his assassination in 1842. A son of Timur Shah Durrani, Shuja was of the Sadozai lineage of the Durrani clan of Pashtuns.
Portrait of Shah Shujah Durrani: Print made by: Lowes Cato Dickinson After: Sir Vincent Eyre, Public domain, file
Akbar Khan
Emir of Afghanistan, 1842–1845
Wazir Akbar Khan was a Barakzai prince and military commander who served as Emir of Afghanistan. He also served as vizier and heir apparent to his father, Emir Dost Mohammad Khan, until his death in 1847. He is prominent for his leadership of the national party in Kabul from 1841 to 1842.
Portrait of Akbar Khan: Vincent Eyre, Public domain, file
Dost Mohammad Khan
Emir of Afghanistan, 1843–1863
A skilled military commander and strategist, he successfully unified the regions of Kabul, Kandahar, and Herat into a single state. Dost had ruled for a lengthy 36 years, a span exceeded only by Mohammad Zahir Shah more than a century later.
Portrait of Dost Mohammad Khan: British Company artist, Public domain, file
Sher Ali Khan
Emir of Afghanistan, 1863–1866
Sher Ali Khan was Emir of Afghanistan after the death of his father Dost Mohammad Khan on 9 June 1863, until his overthrow during the Battle of Sheikhabad on 10 May 1866.
Portrait of Sher Ali Khan: John Burke (1843-1900), Public domain, file
Mohammad Afzal Khan
Emir of Afghanistan, 1865–1867
Mohammad Afzal Khan was the governor of Afghan Turkestan from 1849 to 1863. He seized power from his brother Sher Ali Khan and captured Kabul. A year later he contracted cholera and died on 7 October 1867.
Portrait of Mohammad Afzal Khan: Maulvi Abdurab Ahadi, Public domain, file
Mohammad Azam Khan
Emir of Afghanistan, 1867–1868
Mohammad Azam Khan was briefly the Emir of Afghanistan from 7 October 1867 to 21 August 1868. Azam Khan succeeded his brother Mohammad Afzal Khan after the latter's death from cholera on 7 October 1867. Sher Ali Khan was reinstated as Emir of Afghanistan and his forces captured Kabul on 21 August 1868.
Portrait of Mohammad Azam Khan: Maulvi Abdurab Ahadi, Public domain, file
Sher Ali Khan
Emir of Afghanistan, 1868–1879
Sher Ali Khan was restored to the throne on 8 September 1868, ruling until his death on 21 February 1879. He was one of the sons of Dost Mohammad Khan.
Portrait of Sher Ali Khan: John Burke (1843-1900), Public domain, file
Mohammad Ayub Khan
Emir of Afghanistan, 1879–1880
Ghazi Mohammad Ayub Khan was briefly the Emir of Afghanistan, from 12 October 1879 to 31 May 1880. He also led the Afghan troops during the Second Anglo-Afghan War and defeated the British Indian Army at the Battle of Maiwand. Following his defeat at the Battle of Kandahar, Ayub Khan was deposed and exiled to British India.
Portrait of Mohammad Ayub Khan: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file
Mohammad Yaqub Khan
Emir of Afghanistan, 1879–1879
Mohammad Yaqub Khan was Emir of Afghanistan from 21 February to 12 October 1879. As Sher Ali's successor, Yaqub signed the Treaty of Gandamak with Britain in May 1879, relinquishing sole control of Afghanistan foreign affairs to the British Empire. An uprising against this agreement led by Ayub Khan in October of the same year, led to the abdication of Yaqub Khan.
Portrait of Mohammad Yaqub Khan: John Burke, Public domain, file
Abdur Rahman Khan
Emir of Afghanistan, 1880–1901
Abdur Rahman Khan was Emir of Afghanistan from 11 August 1880 until his death on 1 October 1901. He is known for uniting the country after years of strong decentralization and internal fighting, and for the negotiation of the Durand Line agreement with British India. Abdur Rahman Khan re-established the writ of the Afghan government after the disarray that followed the Second Anglo-Afghan war.
Portrait of Abdur Rahman Khan: Frank A. Martin, Public domain, file
Habibullah Khan
Emir of Afghanistan, 1901–1919
Habibullah Khan was the Emir of Afghanistan from 1901 until his assassination in 1919 by Shuja al-Dawla Ghorbandi. He was the eldest son of the Emir Abdur Rahman Khan, whom he succeeded by right of primogeniture in October 1901.
Portrait of Habibullah Khan: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file
Amanullah Khan
Emir of Afghanistan, 1919–1926
Amanullah Khan was Emir of Afghanistan from 1919 to 1926, and then King of Afghanistan from 1926 until his abdication in 1929. After the end of the Third Anglo-Afghan War in August 1919, Afghanistan was able to relinquish its protected state status to proclaim independence and pursue an independent foreign policy free from the influence of the United Kingdom. Amanullah's rule was marked by dramatic political and social change, including attempts to modernize Afghanistan along Western lines.
Portrait of Amanullah Khan: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file
Nasrullah Khan
Emir of Afghanistan, 1919–1919
Nasrullah Khan was shahzada (crown prince) of Afghanistan and second son of Emir Abdur Rahman Khan. He held the throne of Afghanistan as Emir for one week, from 21 to 28 February 1919, until Habibullah's son Amanullah staged a coup against his uncle.
Portrait of Nasrullah Khan: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file
Abd-al Karim
Emir of Afghanistan, 1924–1925
Abd-al Karim was an Afghan emir who ruled only in the Southern Province from July 1924 to January 1925. He was the youngest son of Mohammad Yaqub Khan, an ex-monarch of Afghanistan who was forced into exile to the British Raj in 1879. After the defeat of the rebellion in January 1925 he evaded capture, and fled back into British India, where he was interned in Lahore and Benares.
Culture
- Bala Hissar was destroyed by the British in 1880 during the Second Anglo-Afghan War.
- In 1838 the First Anglo-Afghan War with British forces began, and it eventually resulted in victory for Afghans, with the British withdrawal in 1842, and Dost Mohammad being reinstalled to the throne.
- During the Second Anglo-Afghan War (1878–1880), the British and Afghans signed the Treaty of Gandamak, which allowed the British to assume control of the Afghan territories within modern-day Pakistan as well as of Afghanistan's foreign affairs, on the condition that a subsidy be paid to the Afghans and the British military fully withdraw.
- In 1926, Amanullah Khan reformed the country as the Kingdom of Afghanistan, becoming its first King.
Picture
Bala Hissar was an ancient fortress located in the south of the old city of Kabul, Afghanistan.
Image: John Burke, Public domain, file
Sources
Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.