AFGHANISTAN: Afghan Rulers

Mir Wais Hotak

Hajji Mir Wais Khan Hotak, also known as Mir Vais Ghilzai (1673 – November 1715), was an influential tribal chief of the Ghilzai Pashtuns[1][2] from Kandahar, Afghanistan, who founded the Hotaki dynasty that ruled a wide area in Persia and Afghanistan from 1709 to 1738.[3] After revolting and killing Gurgin Khan in April 1709, he then twice defeated the powerful Safavid Persian armies in southern Afghanistan.[4] He is widely known as Mirwais Neeka ("Mirwais the grandfather" in the Pashto language).[5][6]

Contents

1 Early life

2 Rise to power

3 Death and legacy

Early life

Mirwais Hotak was born in a well-known, rich and political family in the Kandahar area. His family had long been involved in social and community services. He was the son of Salim Khan and Nazo Tokhi (also known as "Nazo Anaa"), grandson of Karum Khan, and great-grandson of Ismail Khan, a descendant of Malikyar, the ancient head of Hottaki or Hotaks. The Hottaki is a strong branch of Ghilzai, one of the main tribes among the Pashtun people. Hajji Amanullah Hottak reports in his book that the Ghilzai tribe is the original residents of Ghor or Gherj. This tribe migrated later to obtain lands in southeastern Afghanistan and multiplied in these areas.[5] Mirwais was married to Khanzada Sadozai, who belonged to the rival Abdali tribe of Pashtuns.

Rise to power

In 1707, Kandahar was in a state of chaos, fought over by the Shi'a Persian Safavids and the Sunni Moghuls of India. Mirwais Khan, a Sunni tribal chief whose influence with his fellow-countrymen made him an object of suspicion, was held as a political prisoner by Gurgin Khan and sent to the Safavid court at Isfahan. He was later freed and even allowed to meet with the Shah, Sultan Husayn, on a regular basis. Having ingratiated himself with the Persian Court, Mirwais sought and obtained permission to perform the pilgrimage to Mecca in Ottoman empire (after which he was known as Hajji). He has studied carefully all the military weaknesses of the Safavids while he spent time there in their court.[2][4]

The Greater Kandahar region (Candahar) during the Safavid dynasty and Mughal period

While in Mecca, he sought from the leading authorities a fatwa against the Shia foreign rulers who were persecuting his people in his homeland. The Pashtun tribes rankled under the ruling Safavids because of their continued attempts to forcefully convert them from Sunni to Shia Islam.[2] The fatwa was granted and he carried it with him to Iṣfahan and subsequently to Kandahar, with permission to return and strong recommendations to Gurgin Khan. In 1709 he began organizing his countrymen for a major uprising, and in April 1709, when a large part of the Persian garrison was on an expedition outside the city, he and his followers fell on the remainder and killed the greater number of them, including Gurgin Khan.[4] After Gurgin Khan and his escort were killed, the Hotaki soldiers took control of the city and then the province.[6] Mirwais entered Kandahar and made an important speech to its dwellers.

"If there are any amongst you, who have not the courage to enjoy this precious gift of liberty now dropped down to you from Heaven, let him declare himself; no harm shall be done to him: he shall be permitted to go in search of some new tyrant beyond the frontier of this happy state."[7]

—Mirwais Hotak, April 1709

Mirwais and his forces then defeated a large Persian army that was sent to regain control over the area.

Several half-hearted attempts to subdue the rebellious city having failed, the Persian Government despatched Khusraw Khán, nephew of the late Gurgín Khán, with an army of 30,000 men to effect its subjugation, but in spite of an initial success, which led the Afgháns to offer to surrender on terms, his uncompromising attitude impelled them to make a fresh desperate effort, resulting in the complete defeat of the Persian army (of whom only some 700 escaped) and the death of their general. Two years later, in A.D. 1713, another Persian army commanded by Rustam Khán was also defeated by the rebels, who thus secured possession of the whole province of Qandahár.[4]

—Edward G. Browne, 1924

Mirwais Khan became the Governor of the Greater Kandahar region, which covered most of present-day southwestern Afghanistan and part of Balochistan, Pakistan.[8] To the northwest was the Abdali Pashtuns and to the east began the Moghul Empire. Refusing the title of a king, Mirwais was referred to as "Prince of Qandahár and General of the national troops" by his Afghan countrymen.[9]

Death and legacy

The mausoleum of Mirwais Hotak in the Kokaran section of Kandahar, Afghanistan.

Mirwais remained in power until his death in November 1715 and was succeeded by his brother Abdul Aziz, who was later killed by Mirwais' son Mahmud, allegedly for planning to give Kandahar's sovereignty back to Persia.[8] In 1717, Mahmud took advantage of the political weakness of the Persian Shah (Sultan Husayn) and conquered Persia.

Mirwais is buried at his mausoleum in the Kokaran section of Kandahar, which is in the western end of the city.[10] He is regarded as one of Afghanistan's greatest national heroes and admired by many Afghans, especially the Pashtuns. Steven Otfinoski referred to him as Afghanistan's George Washington in his 2004 book Afghanistan.[6]

There is a neighborhood called Mirwais Mina as well as a hospital called Mirwais Hospital, a high school and a business center named after him in Kandahar. Not only in Kandahar but there are also schools and other institutions or places across Afghanistan built to honor him. A few direct descendants of Mirwais are living today among the Hotak tribe.

Abdul Aziz Hotak

Abdul Aziz Hotak (died 1717) was the second ruler of the Ghilzai Hotaki dynasty of Kandahar, in what is now the modern state of Afghanistan. He was crowned in 1715 after the death of his brother, Mirwais Hotak. He is the father of Ashraf Hotaki, the fourth ruler of the Hotaki dynasty. Abdul Aziz was killed in 1717 by his nephew Mahmud Hotaki.

Abdul Aziz was born in a well known, rich and political family in the Kandahar area. His family was involved in social and community services since long ago. He was the son of Salim Khan and Nazo Tokhi (also known as "Nazo Anaa"), grandson of Karum Khan and great grandson of Ismail Khan, a descendant of Malikyar, the ancient head of Hottaki or Hotaks. The Hottaki is a strong branch of Ghilzai, one of the main tribes among the Pashtun people. Hajji Amanullah Hottak reports in his book that the Ghilzai tribe is the original residents of Ghor or Gherj. This tribe migrated later to obtain lands in southeastern Afghanistan and multiplied in these areas.[1]

Greater Kandahar (Candahar) during the Safavid dynasty and Mughal period.

In 1707, Kandahar was in a state of chaos due to it being fought for control by the Shi'a Persian Safavids and the Sunni Moghuls of India. Mirwais Khan, a Sunni tribal chief whose influence with his fellow-countrymen made him an object of suspicion, was held as a political prisoner by Gurgin Khan and sent to the Safavids court at Isfahan (now Iran). He was later freed there and even allowed to meet with the Shah, Sultan Husayn, on a regular bases. Having sown this seed of false trust and having completely ingratiated himself with the Persian Court, Mirwais sought and obtained permission to perform the pilgrimage to Mecca in Ottoman empire. He has studied carefully all the military weaknesses of the Safavids while he spent time there in their court.[2][3]

It was in 1709 when Mirwais and Abdul Aziz began organizing his countrymen for a major uprising, and when a large part of the Persian garrison was on an expedition outside the city, followers of Mirwais and Abdul Aziz fell on the remainder and killed the greater number of them, including Gurgin Khan.[3]

The Pashtun tribes rankled under the ruling Safavids because of their continued attempts to forcefully convert them from Sunni to Shia Islam.[2] After Gurgin Khan and his escort were killed during a picnic in April 1709, the Hotaki tribe took control of the city and the province.[4] The Pashtun rebels then defeated a large Qizilbash and Persian army, sent to regain control over the area.

Several half-hearted attempts to subdue the rebellious city having failed, the Persian Government despatched Khusraw Khán, nephew of the late Gurgín Khán, with an army of 30,000 men to effect its subjugation, but in spite of an initial success, which led the Afgháns to offer to surrender on terms, his uncompromising attitude impelled them to make a fresh desperate effort, resulting in the complete defeat of the Persian army (of whom only some 700 escaped) and the death of their general. Two years later, in. 1713, another Persian army commanded by Rustam Khán was also defeated by the rebels, who thus secured possession of the whole province of Qandahár.[3]

—Edward G. Browne, 1924

Abdul Aziz wanted to make a peace treaty with the Persians but his country men were opposed to this idea so they forced Mahmud Hotaki to murder him in 1717. In the same year, Mahmud took advantage of the political weakness of the Persian Shah Husayn and invaded Persia.

Abdul Aziz is buried at a mausoleum next to his brother in the Kokaran section of Kandahar City in Afghanistan.

Mahmud Hotaki

Greater Kandahar (Candahar) during the Safavid dynasty and Mughal period.

Several half-hearted attempts to subdue the rebellious city having failed, the Persian Government despatched Khusraw Khán, nephew of the late Gurgín Khán, with an army of 30,000 men to effect its subjugation, but in spite of an initial success, which led the Afgháns to offer to surrender on terms, his uncompromising attitude impelled them to make a fresh desperate effort, resulting in the complete defeat of the Persian army (of whom only some 700 escaped) and the death of their general. Two years later, in. 1713, another Persian army commanded by Rustam Khán was also defeated by the rebels, who thus secured possession of the whole province of Qandahár.[3]

—Edward G. Browne, 1924

Abdul Aziz is buried at a mausoleum next to his brother in the Kokaran section of Kandahar City in Afghanistan.

muiihammod hotaki

Shah Mahmud Hotaki,(also known as Mahmud Ghilzai (1697? — April 22, 1725), was an Afghan ruler of the Hotaki dynasty who defeated and overthrew the Safavid dynasty to become the king of Persia from 1722 until his death in 1725.[1]

He was the eldest son of Mirwais Hotak, the chief of the Ghilzai-Pashtun tribe of Afghanistan, who had made the Kandahar region independent from Persian rule in 1709.[2] When Mirwais died in 1715, he was succeeded by his brother, Abdul Aziz, but the Ghilzai Afghans persuaded Mahmud to seize power for himself and in 1717 he overthrew and killed his uncle.[3]

The Abdali Pashtuns inhabited the region of Khorasan while the Ghilzais controlled the Kandahar region (Candahar) to the southeast.

In 1720, Mahmud and the Ghilzais defeated the rival ethnic Afghan tribe of the Abdalis. However, Mahmud had designs on the Persian empire itself. He had already launched an expedition against Kerman in 1719 and in 1721 he besieged the city again. Failing in this attempt and in another siege on Yazd, in early 1722, Mahmud turned his attention to the shah's capital Isfahan, after first defeating the Persians at the Battle of Gulnabad. Rather than biding his time within the city and resisting a siege in which the small Afghan army was unlikely to succeed, Sultan Husayn marched out to meet Mahmud's force at Golnabad. Here, on March 8, the Persian royal army was thoroughly routed and fled back to Isfahan in disarray. The shah was urged to escape to the provinces to raise more troops but he decided to remain in the capital which was now encircled by the Afghans. Mahmud's siege of Isfahan lasted from March to October, 1722. Lacking artillery, he was forced to resort to a long blockade in the hope of starving the Persians into submission. Sultan Husayn's command during the siege displayed his customary lack of decisiveness and the loyalty of his provincial governors wavered in the face of such incompetence. Starvation and disease finally forced Isfahan into submission (it is estimated that 80,000 of its inhabitants died during the siege). On October 23, Sultan Husayn abdicated and acknowledged Mahmud as the new shah of Persia.[4]

In the early days of his rule, Mahmud displayed benevolence, treating the captured royal family well and bringing in food supplies to the starving capital. But he was confronted with a rival claimant to the throne when Hosein's son, Tahmasp declared himself shah in November. Mahmud sent an army against Tahmasp's base, Qazvin. Tahmasp escaped and the Afghans took the city but, shocked at the treatment they received at the hands of the conquering army, the population rose up against them in January 1723. The revolt was a success and Mahmud was worried about the reaction when the surviving Afghans returned to Isfahan to bring news of the defeat. Fearing a revolt by his subjects, Mahmud invited his Persian ministers and nobles to a meeting under false pretences and had them slaughtered. He also executed up to 3,000 of the Persian royal guards. At the same time, the Ottomans and the Russians took advantage of the chaos in Persia to seize land for themselves, limiting the amount of territory under Mahmud's control.[5]

His failure to impose his rule across Persia made Mahmud depressed and suspicious. He was also concerned about the loyalty of his own men, since many Afghans preferred his cousin Ashraf Khan. In February 1725, believing a rumour that one of Sultan Husayn's sons, Safi Mirza, had escaped, Mahmud ordered the execution of all the other Safavid princes who were in his hands, with the exception of Sultan Husayn himself. When Sultan Husayn tried to stop the massacre, he was wounded, but his action led to Mahmud sparing the lives of two of his young children.[6]

Mahmud began to succumb to insanity as well as physical deterioration. On April 22, 1725, a group of Afghan officers freed Ashraf Khan from the prison where he had been confined by Mahmud and launched a palace revolution which placed Ashraf on the throne. Mahmud died three days later, either from his illness – at it was claimed at the time – or murder by suffocation.

...Thereafter his disorder rapidly increased, until he himself was murdered on April 22 by his cousin Ashraf, who was thereupon proclaimed king. Mír Maḥmúd was at the time of his death only twenty-seven years of age, and is described as "middle-sized and clumsy; his neck was so short that his head seemed to grow to his shoulders; he had a broad face and flat nose, and his beard was thin and of a red colour; his looks were wild and his countenance austere and disagreeable; his eyes, which were blue and a little squinting, were generally downcast, like a man absorbed in deep thought."[7]

Ashraf Hotaki

Shah Ashraf Hotaki,(also known as Ashraf Ghilzai (died 1730), son of Abdul Aziz Hotak, was the fourth ruler of the Hotaki dynasty. An Afghan from the Ghilzai Pashtuns, he served as a commander in the army of Shah Mahmud during their conquest of the Persia Empire. Ashraf participated in the Battle of Gulnabad against the Persians and became victorious. In 1725, he succeeded to the throne (Shah of Persia) after the death of his cousin Mahmud.

The nephew of Mirwais Hotak, his reign was noted for the sudden decline in the Hotaki Afghan Empire under increasing pressure from Turkish, Russian, and Persian forces.[3]

Ashraf Khan halted both the Russian and Turkish onslaughts. He defeated the Ottoman Empire in a battle near Kermanshah, after the enemy had come close to Isfahan. This led to peace negotiations with the Sublime Porte, which were briefly disrupted after Ashraf's ambassador insisted his master should be Caliph of the East and the Ottoman Sultan Caliph of the West. This caused great umbrage to the Ottomans, but a peace agreement was finally signed at Hamadan in the autumn of 1727.

Ultimately, though it was a little-known Afsharid Turkmen rebel, Nader Shah, who defeated Ashraf's Ghilzai forces at the Battle of Damghan in October 1729, driving them back to what is now Afghanistan.

During the retreat, Ashraf is believed to have been captured and murdered by Baloch bandits in 1730.[5] This was probably a retaliation for killing Mahmud, and was ordered by Hussain Hotaki who was ruling from Kandahar at the time.

Ashraf, having taken Yazd and Kirmán, marched into Khurásán with an army of thirty thousand men to give battle to Ṭahmásp, but he was completely defeated by Nádir on October 2 at Dámghán. Another decisive battle was fought in the following year at Múrchakhúr near Iṣfahán. The Afgháns were again defeated and evacuated Iṣfahán to the number of twelve thousand men, but, before quitting the city he had ruined, Ashraf murdered the unfortunate ex-Shah Husayn, and carried off most of the ladies of the royal family and the King's treasure. When Ṭahmásp II entered Iṣfahán on December 9 he found only his old mother, who had escaped deportation by disguising herself as a servant, and was moved to tears at the desolation and desecration which met his eyes at every turn. Nádir, having finally induced Ṭahmásp to empower him to levy taxes on his own authority, marched southwards in pursuit of the retiring Afgháns, whom he overtook and again defeated near Persepolis. Ashraf fled from Shíráz towards his own country, but cold, hunger and the unrelenting hostility of the inhabitants of the regions which he had to traverse dissipated his forces and compelled him to abandon his captives and his treasure, and he was finally killed by a party of Balúch tribesmen.[3]

Hussain Hotaki

Shah Hussain Hotaki son of Mirwais Hotak, was the fifth and final ruler of the Hotaki dynasty. An ethnic Pashtun (Afghan) from the Ghilzai tribe, he succeeded to the throne after the death of his brother Mahmud Hotaki in 1725. While his cousin Ashraf ruled Greater Persia from Isfahan, Hussain ruled the Afghanistan region from Kandahar.[3]

Ashraf Khan's death marked the end of the Hotaki rule in Persia (Iran), but the country of Afghanistan was still under Hussain' control until 1738 when Nader Shah conquered it. It was only a short pause before the establishment of the last Afghan Empire[4] (the modern state of Afghanistan) in 1747

Short Biography of Ahmed Shah Abdali

Ahmed Shah Durrani was the leader of tribe of Afghan country. He became the General of Nadir Shah's Army due to his skill and ability. He came India with Nadir Shah. In 1747 A.D., Nadir Shah was killed. After him, Ahmed Shah Durrani became the Emperor of the State of Nadir Shah and he established his sovereignty on Western Punjab. Attacks of Ahmed Shah Durrani on India-Ahmed Shah Durrani attacked on India first time in 1747 A.D. But Royal Army under Mughal Prince and his Leader Meer Mannu defeated Ahmed Shah Durrani and he returned from India. In 1752 A.D., Ahmed Shah Durrani attacked on India third time and included all the provinces till Sarhind into his state. He appointed Meer Mannu, The Governor of Lahore and returned to his country. In 1752 A.D. Meer Munna died and Mughal army attacked on Punjab and controlled Lahore. Being annoyed by this, in 1757 A.D. Ahmed attacked on India forth time. He defeated the Royal Army. Plundering in Delhi, Agra, Mathura, Vrandavan etc., he returned to his country and included Punjab, Kashmir, Sindh and Sarhind into his state. He gave the Title of Nazib-ud-daula to Nazib Khan and appointed him the Governor of his Indian State.

The fifth attack of Ahmed Shah Durrani was happened in 1761 A.D. This attack was especially against Marathas. Maratha Sardar, Raghunathrao expanded attack and frontier of Maratha Empire. Being annoyed at this, Ahmed attacked on India and defeated Marathas on the third Battle of Panipat in 1761 A.D.

Invasions of Ahmad Shah Abdali

After the assassination of Nadir in 1747, one of his officers named Ahmad Shah, an Afghan chief of the Abdali clan, rose to power and succeeded in establishing himself as the independent ruler of Afghanistan. He styled himself Durr-i-Durran, "the pearl of the age", and his clan was henceforth known as the Durrani. Ahmad Shah Abdali, while accompanying Nadir to India, had seen with his own eyes "the weakness of the Empire, the imbecility of the Emperor, the inattentiveness of the ministers, the spirit of independence which had crept among the grandees". So after establishing his power at home he led several expeditions into India from AD 1748 till AD 1767. These were something more than mere predatory raids. They indicated the revival of the Afghans, outside and within India, making a fresh bid for supremacy on the ruins of the Mughul Empire. As a matter of fact, the Afghan bid for supremacy was an important factor in the history of India during a considerable part of the eighteenth century. Ahmad Shah Abdali must have entertained the desire of establishing political authority over at least a part of India, though there were other motives, as Elphinstone points out, which led him to undertake these expeditions. He sought to consolidate his authority at home by increasing his reputation through successful foreign adventures, and he also hoped to utilize the booty derived from his Indian campaigns in defraying the expenses of his army and in showering favours and rewards on the Afghan chiefs.

After having conquered Qandahar, Kabul, and Peshawar, Ahmad Shah Abdali invaded India for the first time, in Jan. 1748, with 12,000 veteran troops. But he was defeated at the battle of Manpur by Ahmad Shah, the Mughul heir-apparent, and Mir Mannu, son of the deceased Wazir Qamar-ud-din, and was put to flight. Mir Mannu was appointed governor of the Punjab. But before he could settle down, Ahmad Shah Abdali invaded Punjab for the second time in AD 1750 and conquered it after defeating him. Unsupported by the Delhi court, the Punjab governor found all resistance futile and admitted to the invader.

The Abdali invaded India for the third time in Dec. 1751, when he again defeated Mir mannu, conquered Kashmir, and forced the Mughul Emperor, Ahmad Shah, to cede to him the country as far east as Sirhind. Thus the Mughul Empire was further reduced in extent. Mir Mannu was now left as the Abdali governor in Lahore. He promised to send to the victor the surplus revenue of the Punjab and not to transact important matters without final orders from him. But the Abdali led another expedition in the time of Emperor 'Alamgir II (1754-1759). After the death of Mir Mannu in Nov., 11753, and that of his infant son and successor in May 1754, the province of Punjab fell into disorder and anarchy due largely to the willfulness and caprice of the regent-mother, Mughlani Begam. In response to an appeal from her for help, Imad-ul-mulk, the all powerful Wazir at Delhi, marched to the Punjab, which he himself coveted, in 1756, brought it under his authority, and appointed Mir Mun'im, "the leading nobleman of Lahore", governor of the province. Enraged at this, Ahmad Abdali invaded India for the fourth time in Nov. 1756, with greater determination, and arrived before Delhi on 23rd Jan. 1757. The imperial city was "plundered and its unhappy people again subjected to pillage". Imad-ul-mulk surrendered and was pardoned by the invader, who obtained from the Mughul Emperor the formal cession of the Punjab, Kashmir, Sind, and the Sirhind district. After plundering the Jat country, south of Delhi, the Abdali retired from India in April, 1757, with immense booty and many captives, leaving his son, Timur Shah, as his viceroy at Lahore with Jahan Khan, the able Afghan general, as the latter's Wazir.

The administration of Timur Shah for one year, from May 1757 to April 1758, was a period of utter lawlessness and disorder. The Sikh community, infuriated by the maltreatment of one of its leaders, rose in rebellion on all sides. Adina Beg Khan, governor of the Julundur Doab, revolting against the Afghans, called in the marathas to help him. A large army of the Marathas under the command of Raghunath Rao invaded the Punjab in April 1758, occupied Lahore and expelled the Afghans. They retired from the Punjab leaving Adina Beg Khan as their governor there. But the occupation of Lahore by the Marathas did not last for more than six months. To avenge their expulsion of Timur Shah, Ahmad Shah Abdali invaded India for the fifth time in Oct. 1759, and finally conquered Punjab. A more severe collision of the Afghans with the Marathas was inevitable, because both had been, more or less, contending for political supremacy in Hindustan. This took place on the 14th Jan. 1761, in the decisive battle of Panipat. The strength of the Afghan army was 60,000, half of which were the Abdali's own subjects (23,000 horse and 7,000 foot) and the other half his Indian allies (7,000 horse and 23,000 foot). The Maratha army consisted of 45,000 soldiers in cavalry and infantry. Besides having superior horses, the Abdali had artillery more efficient and mobile than that of the Marathas, and his officers were clad in armour, which the Marathas hardly wore. In respect of their manner of campaigning, marching and discipline, the Afghan army was superior to the Maratha host. "The strict enforcement of order in camp and battlefield, the rigid punishment of the least disobedience in any subordinate, the control of every officer's movements according to the plan of the supreme chief, the proper gradation of officers forming an unbroken chain between the genralissmo and the common soldier, the regular transmission of his orders by an efficient staff organization, and above all the fine control of the troops - which distinguished Ahmad Shah's army-were unapproached by any other Asiatic force of that age. Above all, there was the transcendent genius for war and diplomacy and the towering personality of the master - who had risen like Nadir from nothing and attained to almost the same preeminence of fortune and invincibility in war. The final result was the disastrous defeat of the Maratha army and as a consequence the Marathas lost 50,000 horses, 200,000 draught cattle, some thousands of camels, 500 elephants, besides cash and jewelry. The battle of Panipat produced disastrous consequences for the Marathas and seriously deflected the course of Maratha imperialism. Besides immense losses in men and money, the moral effect of the defeat at Panipat was even greater. After this victory, Ahmad Shah Abdali departed from India towards the close of AD 1762. He ordered the Indian chiefs to recognize Shah 'Alam II as Emperor. Naji-ud-daulah and Munir-ud-daulah agreed to pay to the Abdali, on behalf of the Indian Government, an annual tribute of forty lacs (100,000).

The Sikhs, who had revived by this time, slew Khwaja abid, the Durrani governor of Lahore, and occupied the city. This brought back the Abdali to Lahore in March 1764. He had, however, to return to his own country, after a fortnight's stay at Lahore, owing to the outbreak of a civil war there and a mutiny among his troops. Ahmad Shah Abdali invaded India again in 1767. He could not succeed ineffectively thwarting the Sikhs and had to retreat soon "with a consciousness of his ultimate failure", owing to some internal troubles, chiefly the mutiny of his troops clamoring for pay which they had not received regularly. No sooner had he turned back than the Sikhs reoccupied Lahore and the entire open country. Ahmad Shah Abdali "retained hold of Peshawar and the country west of Attock, while he abandoned the Manjha districts and central Punjab including Lahore to the Sikhs; but the Sind-Sagar and Jech Doab in the western Punjab remained a debatable land which finally came into their possession in the days of his unworthy successors".

Though Ahmad Shah Abdali had to return hurriedly from India, his invasions affected the history of India in several ways. Firstly, it accelerated the dismemberment of the tottering Mughul Empire. Secondly, it offered a serious check to the rapidly spreading Maratha imperialism. Thirdly, it indirectly helped the rise of the Sikh power. "His career in India," observes a modern writer, " is very intimately a part of the Sikh struggle for independence." Lastly, the menace of Afghan invasion kept the English East India Company in great anxiety, both during the lifetime of Ahmad Shah Abdali and for some time after his death

Timur Shah Durrani

Timur Shah Durrani, (; 1748 – May 18, 1793) was the second ruler of the Durrani Empire, from October 16, 1772 until his death in 1793.[1] An ethnic Pashtun, he was the second and eldest son of Ahmad Shah Durrani.

Contents [hide]

1 Early life

2 Succession

3 Changes in rule

4 Death

5 References

6 External links

[edit]Early life

Timur Shah was born in Mashhad[2] in 1748 and had a quick rise to power by marrying the daughter of the Mughal Emperor Alamgir II. He received the city of Sirhind as a wedding gift and was later made the Governor of Punjab, Kashmir and the Sirhind district in 1757 (when he was only 9 years old), by his father Ahmad Shah Durrani. He ruled from Lahore under the regency of his Wazir, General Jahan Khan, who administered these territories for approximately one year, from May 1757 until April 1758.

Adina Beg Khan, Governor of the Julundur Doab, along with Raghunath Rao who was leading the Maratha Empire, forced Timur Shah and Jahan from Punjab and put in place their own government under Adina.

Succession

When Timur Shah succeeded his father in 1772, the regional chieftains only reluctantly accepted him, and most of his reign was spent reasserting his rule over the Durrani Empire. He was noted for his use of the Bala Hisar Fort in Peshawar, as the winter capital of his Empire.[2]

In 1776, Timur Shah compelled his uncle Abdul Qadir Khan Durrani to leave Afghanistan. Abdul left Afghanistan and sent his family including his: wife Zarnaab Bibi, sisters Azer Khela and Unaar Khela, brother Saifullah Khan Durrani, nephews Mohammad Umer Durrani, Basheer Ahmad Khan Durrani and Shams ur Rehman Durrani and two sons, Faizullah Khan Durrani and Abdullah Khan Durrani to Akora Khattak, in present day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He himself went to Damascus (Syria), where he (Abdul Qadir Khan Durrani) died in 1781.

Changes in rule

During his reign, the Durrani Empire began to shrink. In an attempt to move away from disaffected Pashtun tribes, he shifted the capital from Kandahar to Kabul and chose Peshawar as the winter capital in 1776. His court was heavily influenced by Persian culture and he became reliant on the Qizilbash bodyguard for his personal protection.

Death

Timur Shah died in 1793, and was then succeeded by his fifth son Zaman Shah Durrani

Short Biography of Zaman Shah Durrani

Zaman Shah Durrani, (c. 1770 – 1844) was ruler of the Durrani Empire from 1793 until 1800. He was the grandson of Ahmad Shah Durrani and the fifth son of Timur Shah Durrani. An ethnic Pashtun like the rest of his family and Durrani rulers, Zaman Shah became the third King of Afghanistan. Zaman Shah Durrani was the grandson of Alamgir II and a nephew of Shah Alam II.

He seized the throne of the Durrani Empire on the death of his father, Timur Shah. He defeated his rivals, his brothers, with the help of Sardar Payenda Khan, chief of the Barakzais. He extracted an oath of allegiance from the final challenger, Mahmud, and in return relinquished the governorship of Herat. In so doing, he divided the power base between Herat and his own government in Kabul, a division which was to remain in place for a century. Kabul was the primary base of power, while Herat maintained a state of quasi-independence. Kandahar was fought over for the spoils.

During his reign he tried to combine his dispersed relatives together who were deported by his father Timur Shah. His uncle Saifullah Khan Durrani, his sons Mohammad Umar, Bashir Ahmad Khan and Shams Ur Rehman, his cousins Faizullah Khan and Abdullah Khan lived in Akora Khattak[citation needed] in present day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. They were contacted to come back to Afghanistan but without success. Saifullah Khan died in 1779 and after that the family was led by Faizullah Khan but he disliked the bad habits of Abdullah Khan and Bashir Ahmad Khan and left Akora Khattak and went to Bannu without informing his relatives.[citation needed] Later on, after the death of his wife, Abdullah Khan Durrani migrated to Kohat in 1791 where he married a widow, Pashmina.

Zaman Shah tried his best to recombine his family members and relatives so as to gain power but many of them were living an unknown life. Some of them have even been forgotten their identity.

He attempted to repeat his father's success in India, but his attempts at expansion brought him into conflict with the British. The British induced the Shah of Persia to invade Durrani, thwarting his plans by forcing him to protect his own lands.

In his own lands things went well for Zaman, at least initially. He was able to force Mahmud from Herat and into a Persian exile. However, Mahmud established an alliance with Fateh Khan, with whose support he was able to strike back in 1800, and Zaman had to flee toward Peshawar. But he never made it; on the way, he was captured, blinded and imprisoned in Kabul, in the Bala Hissar. Little information about the rest of his life is available, but he was probably imprisoned for nearly 40 years, until his death, during which time Afghanistan continued to experience much political turmoil.

Mahmud Shah Durrani

Mahmud Shah Durrani (1769 – April 18, 1829; ) was born Prince and ruler of the Durrani Empire (Afghanistan) between 1801 and 1803, and again between 1809 and 1818. An ethnic Pashtun, he was the son of Timur Shah Durrani and grandson of Ahmad Shah Durrani.

Mahmud Shah Durrani was the half-brother of his predecessor, Zaman Shah.On July 25, 1801, Zaman Shah was deposed, and Mahmud Shah ascended to ruler-ship. He then had a chequered career; he was deposed in 1803, restored in 1809, and finally deposed again in 1818.

His son Shahzada Kamran Durrani was always in trouble with Amir Fateh Khan Barakzai, the brother of Dost Muhammad Khan. After the assassination of Fateh Khan Barakzai the fall of the Durrani Empires begun. King Mahmud Shah Durrani died in 1829. The country was then ruled by Shuja Shah Durrani; another of his half-brothers.

Shah Shujah Durrani

huja Shah Durrani (also known as Shah Shujah, Shoja Shah, Shujah al-Mulk) (c. November 4, 1785 – April 5, 1842) was ruler of the Durrani Empire from 1803 to 1809. He then ruled from 1839 until his death in 1842. Shuja Shah was of the Sadozai line of the Abdali group of Pashtuns. He became the fifth Emir of Afghanistan.1803-1809 and 1839-1842 H.M. Inayat-i-Ilahi Padshah Sultan Shah Shuja ul-Mulk Muhammad Bahadur, Dur-i-Durran, Padshah of Afghanistan. b. before 4th November 1785, thirteenth son of son of H.M. Inayat-i-Ilahi Sultan Timur Shah Bahadur, Padshah-i-Ghazi, Dur-i-Durran, Padshah of Afghanistan, by his fourth wife, a lady of the Sadozai clan, educ. privately. Governor of Herat and Peshawar 1798-1801. Proclaimed himself King in October 1801, after the deposition of Zaman, but was defeated and expelled by Mahmud Shah. Fled to the Khyber country where he continued to press his claims. Proclaimed on the deposition of his younger half-brother, 13th July 1803. Deposed 3rd May 1809 and retired to India. Captured by Jahandad Khan Bamizai and imprisoned at Attock 1811-1812 and in Kashmir 1812-1813, and handed over to Ranjit Singh in 1813. Imprisoned at Lahore 1813-1814. Forced to surrender the famous Koh-i-Nor diamond to Ranjit Singh at Lahore, 1813. Returned to Afghanistan with British and Sikh help in 1839. Enthroned at Kandahar, 25th April 1839. Entered Kabul 7th August 1839. Founded the Order of the Durrani Empire in three classes in 1839. Author of the "Divan-i-Shuja" (1825) and "Memoirs of Shuja ul-Mulk Shah, King of Afghanistan, written by himself" (1826). m. (first) a daughter of Fath Khan Tokhi. m. (second) at Kabul, 1803, Wafa Begum, Binti Asif-i-Dauran [Shah Begum] (d. 1812), eldest daughter of Amir ul-Umara, Sardar Payinda Khan Muhammadzai, Sarafraz Khan, Chief of the Barakzai, by his fourth wife, Zainab Begum, daughter of Musa Khan wakh Javanshir Qizilbashi. m. (third) at Khulm, 1806, a daughter of Sayyid Amir Haidar Khan, Amir of Bokhara. m. (fourth) a daughter of Khan Bahadur Khan Malikdin Khul. m. (fifth) a daughter of Sardar Haji Rahmatu'llah Khan Sardozai, Vafadar Khan, of the Popalzai clan, sometime Wazir. m. (sixth) Sarwar Begum (d. after 1844) (one of the above?). m. (a) Bibi Mastan, an Indian lady (d. after 1856). He was k. at Kabul, by Shuja ud-Daula, 5th April 1842, having had issue, fourteen sons:

1) H.R.H. Shahzada Sultan Muhammad Timur Shah. b. 1802 (s/o Fath Khan Tokhi's daughter). Appointed as Heir Apparent with the title of Wali Ahad 1839. m. (first) 1817 (div. 1830), Bunni Begum. m. (second) Nawab Mukhadara Begum (d. after 1855). m. (third) Nawab Malabat Khanum (d. after 1855). m. (fourth) Nawab Kammu Khanum (d. after 1855). m. (fifth) Nawab Sahib Jan Khanum. He d. in India, 31st October 1854, having had issue, two sons:

a) Shahzada Sultan Sikander. b. 1818 (s/o Buni Begum). Received a khilat for saving the lives of Indian Christians during the Indian Mutiny of 1857. He d. 21st July 1885, having had issue, two sons:

i) Shahzada Muhammad Tahir. b. 1848. He d. 1924, having had issue, six sons:

(1) Shahzada Muhammad Jahangir. b. 1866. He d. 1927, having had issue, two sons:

(a) Shahzada Zahir ud-din. He d. 1917.

(b) Shahzada Ibrahim. He d. 1932, having had issue, a son:

(i) Shahzada Muhammad Ashraf. b. 1931.

(2) Shahzada Sultan 'Ali. b. 1871. Clerk of the Punjab Chief Court. He had issue, a son:

(a) Shahzada Sultan Ahmad. b. 1908.

(4) Shahzada Kaiser. b. 1878. He d. 1916.

(5) Shahzada Faghfur. b. 1882. He d. 1918.

(6) Shahzada Muhammad Zafar. b. 1886. He d. at Ludhiana, 6th December 1938.

ii) Shahzada Muhammad Waris.

b) Shahzada Sultan Jalal ud-din. b. 1823 (s/o Buni Begum). Received a khilat for saving the lives of some members of the American Christian Mission at Ludhiana in 1857. He d. 1892, having had issue five sons:

i) Shahzada Sultan Shuja ud-din.

ii) Shahzada 'Abdu'l Aziz. b. 1848. He d. 1877.

iii) Shahzada Zia ud-din. b. 1865. He d. 1895.

iv) Shahzada Bahar ud-din. b. 1865. Sub-Inspector Punjab Police. He d. 1918, having had issue, two sons:

(1) Shahzada Shah Alam. b. 1903. He had issue, a son:

(a) Shahzada Jan Alam. b. 1927.

(2) Shahzada Sultan Alam. b. 1914.

v) Shahzada Zaman ud-din. b. 1869. He d. 1913, having had issue, two sons:

(1) Shahzada Fakhr uz-Zaman. He d. 1925.

(2) Shahzada Sher uz-Zaman. b. 1899. He had issue, two sons:

(a) Shahzada Sultan uz-Zaman. b. 1922.

(b) Shahzada Sultan Husain. b. 1931.

a) H.R.H. Shahzadi Jahan Tab Begum (eldest dau.). She d. after 1855.

2) H.M. Inayat-i-Ilahi Padshah Sultan Fath Jang Bahadur, Dur-i-Durran, Padshah of Afghanistan (s/o Wafa Begum) - see below.

3) H.R.H. Shahzada Muhammad Akbar Mirza. b. before 1828 (s/o Wafa Begum), educ. privately. He d. at Kabul, 31st January 1840.

4) H.M. Inayat-i-Ilahi Padshah Sultan Shahpur Bahadur, Dur-i-Durran, Padshah of Afghanistan (s/o Wafa Begum) - see below.

5) H.R.H. Shahzada Safdar Jang Bahadur. b. 1829, educ. privately. A pensioner of the HEIC. m. (first) Qandbhar Begum. m. (second) "Bi Sahiba". m. (third) Swaleh Begum (d. 1903). m. (fourth) Nur Bakhsh Begum (d. 1903). He d. at Ludhiana, 12th December 1899, having had issue, five sons and five daughters, including:

a) Shahzada Haidar Jang. Extra Asst. Cmsnr. Punjab. He d. 1900, having had issue, three sons and one daughter:

ii) Shahzada Saulat Jang. b. 1872. He had issue, one son:

(1) Shahzada Turab Jang. b. 1899. He had issue, three sons:

(a) Shahzada Sultan Haidar. b. 1923.

(b) Shahzada Sultan Azad. b. 1927.

iii) Shahzada Sarwar Jang. b. 1885. He d. before 1940.

i) Shahzadi Hazrat Sultan Begum [Hajarat].

b) Shahzada Bahadur Jang. b. 1853. Tahsildar, Kohat District, Punjab. m. Maryam Begum, younger daughter of Sardar Nur Muhammad Khan, by his second wife, a lady from Khurrum. He d. at Kohat, Punjab, 1909, having had issue, two sons and two daughters, including:

i) Shahzada 'Abdu'l Rahman, Firuz Jang. b. 1873. He had issue, four sons and a daughter:

(1) Shahzada Zahir Jang. b. 1898.

(2) Shahzada Akhtar Jang. b. 1902.

(3) Shahzada Mahfuz Jang. b. 1906.

(4) Shahzada Afruz Jang. b. 1918.

(1) Shahzadi Ruqiya Begum. m. Shahzada Munawar Jang (b. at Ludhiana, Punjab, 1931; d. at Dera Ghazi Khan, 1990), elder son of her father’s first cousin, Shahzada Zafar Jang. She had issue, one son and two daughters – see below.

ii) Shahzada 'Abdu'l Kadir, Salar Jang. b. 1882. He had issue, three sons:

(1) Shahzada Kaiser Jang. b. 1904. He had issue, a son:

(a) Shahzada Jamshir Jang. b. 1926.

(2) Shahzada Sa'adat Jang. b. 1906.

(3) Shahzada Bahar Jang. b. 1920.

ii) Shahzadi Durrani Begum. m. as his second wife, General H.E. Sardar Muhammad Husain Khan, youngest son of Sardar Gul Muhammad Khan, by his third wife, Sangen Bibi, a Pathan lady. She d.s.p. - see Afghanistan (Barakzai).

c) Shahzada Muhammad Rafiq Jang. b. 1857. Record Keeper at Ludhiana. He had issue, a son:

i) Shahzada Zafar Jang. b. 1895. He had issue, two sons and one daughter:

(1) Shahzada Munawar Jang. b. at Ludhiana, Punjab, 1931. m. Shahzadi Ruqiya Begum, daughter of his father’s first cousin, Shahzada ‘Abdu’l Rahman, Firuz Jang. He d. at Dera Ghazi Khan, 1990, having had issue, one son and two daughters, including:

(a) Shahzada Musharraf Jang. b. 1961. m. Shahzadi Nargis Malika Begum, daughter of Shahzada Qaiser. He has issue, one son and four daughters:

(i) Shahzada Agha Muhammad Shahrukh. b. 1988, educ. (M.Com).

(ii) Shahzadi Dr.Guljana Begum. b. 1983. m. Shahzad Ashraf Lodhi.

(iii) Shahzadi Zarmina Begum. b. 1984, educ. (MSc). m. Sayed Najam ul Hassan Shah Bukhari.

(iv) Shahzadi Farina Begum. b. 1986, educ. (MBA). m. Waqas Nasir Jamal Mulak.

(v) Shahzadi Amna Begum. b. 1991, educ. (Pharm-D).

(2) Shahzada Muzafar Jang.

(1) Shahzadi Fakhara Begum.

d) Shahzada Babar Jang. He d. 1880, having had issue one son:

i) Shahzada 'Abdu'l Wahab. b. 1887. He d. 1917, having had issue, a son:

(1) Shahzada Tawab Jang. b. 1912.

e) Shahzada Salabat Jang. b. 1868. He had issue, two sons:

i) Shahzada Dalawar Jang. b. 1908. He had issue, two sons:

(1) Shahzada Sarab Jang. b. 1926.

(2) Shahzada Anwar Jang. b. 1928.

ii) Shahzada Sakhawat Jang. b. 1912.

a) Shahzadi Qanab Sultan Begum.

b) Shahzadi Jaria Sultan Begum (d/o Qandbhar).

c) Shahzadi Sharf Sultan Begum.

6) H.R.H. Shahzada Asadu'llah Mirza. He d. 1884, having had issue, two sons:

a) Shahzada 'Abdu'l Aziz.

b) Shahzada Muhammad Zaman. He d. 1912, having had issue, two sons:

i) Shahzada Ghulam Sabir. b. 1905. He had issue, two sons:

(1) Shahzada Hakim ul-Mulk. b. 1930.

ii) Shahzada Wala Gauhar. b. 1908. He had issue, a son:

(1) Shahzada Muhammad Khalid. b. 1932.

7) H.R.H. Shahzada Humayun Mirza. He d. 1869, having had issue, one son:

a) Shahzada Kamran. He d. 1901, having had issue:

i) Shahzada 'Abdu'r Razzaq. b. 1877. He had issue, two sons:

(1) Shahzada Mahmud. b. 1895. He had issue, four sons:

(a) Shahzada Muhammad Irfan. b. 1924. He d. July 2007, having had issue, one son:

(i) Shahzada Farhan Mehmood Durrani. b. 1968. Chief Mngr Bank Al Habib, Islamabad, He had issue, one son and one daughter:

1. Shahzada Hashim Khan Durrani. b. 2005.

1. Shahzadi Zainub Durrani. b. 2003.

(b) Shahzada Ikram Mahmud. b. 1926.

(d) Shahzada Muhammad Hayat. b. 1935.

(e) Shahzada Mansur Mahmud. m. Saida Begum, a “grand daughter” of Mahmud Bakhtiyar Khan, a minister under Ahmad Shah Abdali. He had issue, two sons:

(i) Shahzada Haris Saad Mahmud.

(ii) Shahzada ‘Abdu’l Ghani Navid Mahmud.

(2) Shahzada Masud. b. 1908. He had issue, a son:

(a) Shahzada Muhammad Khalid Masud. b. 1933.

8) H.R.H. Shahzada Muhammad Nadir Mirza, CIE (1.1.1888). b. 1806, educ. privately. Presdt Ludhiana Municipal Cttee. Hon Magistrate. Served in the Indian Mutiny 1857. Granted land in the Montgomery district of the Punjab 1877. He d. 1895, having had issue, five sons:

a) Shahzada Muhammad Hamdam. b. 1859. He had issue, four sons and one daughter:

i) Shahzada Muzaffar Jang. b. 1877. He had issue, five sons:

(1) Shahzada Akhtar Jan. b. 1904.

(2) Shahzada Asad Jan. b. 1906. He d. before 1934.

(3) Shahzada Mumtaz Jan. He d. before 1934.

(4) Shahzada Imtiaz Jan. b. 1910.

ii) Shahzada Fakhr ud-din, Fath Jang. b. 1881. He d. 1935.

iii) Shahzada Ghulam Murtaza. b. 1885. He d. 1916.

iv) Shahzada Muhammad Ashraf, Hayat Jang. b. 1915.

i) Shahzadi Agor Sultan Begum [Musammat Begum]. m. …

b) Shahzada Muhammad Muazzam. b. 1865. m. Bilqis Begum. He had issue, two sons:

i) Shahzada Muhammad Aslam.

ii) Shahzada Azam Jan. m. Mastura Begum, third daughter of Sardar Nur ud-din Khan, sometime Judge at Kandahar. He d. 1925, having had issue, one son and three daughters:

(1) Shahzada Sultan Ahmad. b. 1924.

c) Shahzada Muhammad 'Umar. b. 1873. He had issue, four sons:

i) Shahzada Ismail. b. 1897.

ii) Shahzada 'Usman. b. 1900. He d. 1927.

iii) Shahzada Ayub. b. 1907. He d. 1931.

iv) Shahzada Yakub. b. 1923.

d) Shahzada Muhammad Akbar. b. 1887. Sub-Inspector Alwar State Police. He had issue, three sons:

i) Shahzada Taifur. He d. 1932.

ii) Shahzada Kaisar. b. 1911.

e) Shahzada Muhammad Mukhtar. b. 1892. Sub-Inspector Burma Police.

9) H.R.H. Shahzada Badr-i-Munir. m. Sahib Jan Begum (d. after 1874). He d. at Ludhiana, Punjab, 17th August 1894.

10) H.R.H. Shahzada Wamaq [Warna Khan]. He d. 1885, having had issue, one son:

a) Shahzada Sultan Asad. He d.s.p. 1893.

11) H.R.H. Shahzada Suban Baksh. He d. 23rd May 1868, having had issue, four sons:

a) Shahzada Saif ul-Mulk. He d. 1903 (or 15th May 1905), having had issue, two sons:

i) Shahzada Muhammad Shah. b. 1897.

ii) Shahzada Muhammad 'Ala.

b) Shahzada Saif ul-Rahman.

c) Shahzada Sa'adat ul-Mulk. m. Hayat Begum. He d. 15th April 1904, having had issue, one son:

i) Shahzada Mubarak Sultan.

d) Shahzada Kaisar ul-Mulk. He d. 1932.

12) H.R.H. Shahzada Farukh Siyar Mirza. m. Shahzadi Sharf Sultan Begum. He d. after 1st January 1873, having had issue, five sons and one daughter:

a) Shahzada Sultan Adham. b. 1860. He had issue, son:

i) Shahzada Muhammad Alam. b. 1904.

b) Shahzada Sultan Taimus. b. 1862. He had issue, one son:

i) Shahzada Sultan Taifu. b. 1897. He had issue, a son:

(1) Shahzada Sultan Ahmad Said. b. 1926.

c) Shahzada Muhammad Zafar ud-din. b. 1875. He had issue, one son:

e) Shahzada Muhammad Siyar. b. 1897. He had issue, a son:

i) Shahzada Akhtar Siyar. b. 1924.

a) Shahzadi Mah Rukh Begum. She d. 1903.

13) H.R.H. Shahzada Gauhar ul-Mulk. m. (first) Shaukat Begum (d. after 1st January 1874). m. (second) Khurshid Begum. m. (third) Rahdi Begum. He d. before 31st January 1868, having had issue, two sons and one daughter:

a) Shahzada Fazil ul-Mulk. He d. after 1st January 1873.

b) Shahzada Taj ul-Mulk.

a) Shahzadi Saifat ul-Mulk (s/o Shaukat Begum?). He d. after 1st January 1874.

14) H.R.H. Shahzada Khushru Mirza [Khuara or Khisrau?].

1) H.R.H. Shahzadi …(d/o Wafa Begum).

2) H.R.H. Shahzadi …(d/o Wafa Begum).

3) H.R.H. Shahzadi …(d/o Wafa Begum).

4) H.R.H. Shahzadi Kaniz Fatima Begum. She d. after 1823.

5) H.R.H. Shahzadi Nadira Sultan Begum, Akhtar-i-Burj-i-Sharaf. She d. after 1843.

6) H.R.H. Shahzadi Khawar Sultan Begum. She d. after 1848.

7) H.R.H. Shahzadi Umda Sultan Begum. She d. 1902.

8) H.R.H. Shahzadi Taj Jahan Begum. She d. after 1855.

9) H.R.H. Shahzadi Mihr Pawar Begum. She d. after 1855.

Dost Mohammad Khan

Dost Mohammad Khan ( December 23, 1793 – June 9, 1863) was the founder of the Barakzai dynasty and one of the prominent rulers of Afghanistan during the First Anglo-Afghan War.[2] With the decline of the Durrani dynasty, he became Emir of Afghanistan from 1826 to 1839 and then from 1845 to 1863. An ethnic Pashtun, he was the 11th son of Sardar Payendah Khan (chief of the Barakzai tribe) who was killed in 1799 by Zaman Shah Durrani.[1] Dost Mohammad's grandfather was Hajji Jamal Khan.

Contents

1> Background and rise to power

2> Problems with British India

3> Captivity

4> Second reign

Background and rise to power

Dost Mohammad Khan was born to an influential family on December 23, 1793. His father, Payandah Khan, was chief of the Barakzai tribe and a civil servant in the Durrani dynasty. They trace their family tree to Abdal (the first and founder of the Abdali tribe), through Hajji Jamal Khan, Yousef, Yaru, Mohammad, Omar Khan, Khisar Khan, Ismail, Nek, Daru, Saifal, and Barak. Abdal had Four sons, Popal, Barak, Achak, and Alako.[3] Dost Mohmmad Khan's mother is believed to have been a Shia from the Persian Qizilbash group.[1]

His elder brother, the chief of the Barakzai, Fatteh Khan, took an important part in raising Mahmud Shah Durrani to the sovereignty of Afghanistan in 1800 and in restoring him to the throne in 1809. In 1813 he accompanied his elder brother and then Prime Minister of Kabul Wazir Fateh Khan to the Battle of Attock, Maharaja Ranjit Singh of Sikh Empire sent his general Diwan Mohkam Chand to lead the Sikh armies.[4] Mahmud Shah repaid Fatteh Khan's services by having him assassinated in 1818, thus incurring the enmity of his tribe. After a bloody conflict, Mahmud Shah was deprived of all his possessions but Herat, the rest of his dominions being divided among Fatteh Khan's brothers. Of these, Dost Mohammad received Ghazni, to which in 1826 he added Kabul, the richest of the Afghan provinces.

From the commencement of his reign he found himself involved in disputes with Ranjit Singh, the Sikh ruler of the Punjab region, who used the dethroned Sadozai prince, Shah Shujah Durrani, as his instrument. In 1834 Shah Shujah made a last attempt to recover his kingdom. He was defeated by Dost Mohammad Khan under the walls of Kandahar, but Ranjit Singh seized the opportunity to annex Peshawar. The recovery of this fortress became the Afghan amir's great concern.

Problems with British India

Rejecting overtures from Russia, he endeavoured to form an alliance with Great Britain, and welcomed Alexander Burnes to Kabul in 1837. Burnes, however, was unable to prevail on the governor-general, Lord Auckland, to respond to the amir's advances. Dost Mohammad was enjoined to abandon the attempt to recover Peshawar, and to place his foreign policy under British guidance. He replied by renewing his relations with Russia, and in 1838 Lord Auckland set the British troops in motion against him.

Captivity

Pedigree of Dost Mohammad Khan.

In March 1839 the British force under Willoughby Cotton advanced through the Bolan Pass, and on April 26 it reached Kandahar. Shah Shujah was proclaimed amir, and entered Kabul on 07 August, 1839, while Dost Mohammad sought refuge in the wilds of the Hindu Kush. For some time he sought refuge with an influential local resistance leader, Mir Masjidi Khan. Closely followed by the British, Dost Mohammad was driven to extremities, and on 4 November 1840, surrendered as a prisoner. He remained in captivity during the British occupation, during the disastrous retreat of the army of occupation in January 1842, and until the recapture of Kabul in the autumn of 1842.

Second reign

Dost Mohammad Khan sitting with one of his sons.

He was then set at liberty, in consequence of the resolve of the British government to abandon the attempt to intervene in the internal politics of Afghanistan. On his return from Hindustan, Dost Mohammad was received in triumph at Kabul, and set himself to re-establish his authority on a firm basis. From 1846 he renewed his policy of hostility to the British and allied himself with the Sikhs. However, after the defeat of his allies at Gujrat on February 21, 1849, he abandoned his designs and led his troops back into Afghanistan. In 1850 he conquered Balkh, and in 1854 he acquired control over the southern Afghan tribes by the capture of Kandahar.

On March 30, 1855 Dost Mohammad reversed his former policy by concluding an offensive and defensive alliance with the British government, signed by Sir Henry Lawrence, Chief Commissioner of the Punjab, first proposed by Herbert Edwardes.[5] In 1857 he declared war on Persia in conjunction with the British, and in July a treaty was concluded by which the province of Herat was placed under a Barakzai prince. During the Indian Mutiny, Dost Mohammad refrained from assisting the insurgents. His later years were disturbed by troubles at Herat and in Bukhara. These he composed for a time, but in 1862 a Persian army, acting in concert with Ahmad Khan, advanced against Herat. The old amir called the British to his aid, and, putting himself at the head of his warriors, drove the enemy from his frontiers. On May 26, 1863 he re-captured Herat, but on the 9th of June he died suddenly in the midst of victory, after playing a great role in the history of Central Asia for forty years. He named as his successor his son, Sher Ali Kha

Sher Ali Khan

Sher Ali Khan (1825–Feb. 21, 1879) was the Emir (Ruler) of Afghanistan from 1863 to 1866 and again from 1868 until his death in 1879. He was the third son of Dost Mohammed Khan, founder of the Barakzai Dynasty in Afghanistan. His older brother, Mohammad Afzal Khan seized control of Afganistan from 1863-66. His eldest brother Akbar Khan Muhammad led the attack in which the Sikh General Hari Singh Nalwa was martyred.

Sher Ali Khan with Cd Charles Chamberlain and Sir Richard F.Pollock, 1869

The Great Game, the Russian Bear and the British Lion

In an earlier version of recent history Russia had designs on Afghanistan while Britain hoped to keep them out of the one country that would put their great adversary on the 'doorstep' to their richest colony, India. Sher Ali Khan tried to play each against the other and remain neutral in their conflict. In 1878, the neutrality failed and the Second Anglo-Afghan War erupted. As British forces marched on Kabul, Sher Ali Khan left Kabul seeking polical asylum in Russia. He, like his father, had hoped to return the former Afgani provinces of the Durranis to Afgan and Muslim control. But Britain had already awarded Jammu and Kashmir to Gulab Maharaj and siezed the rest shortly after the death of the Lion of the Punjab, Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

Sher Ali Khan(?) with Cd Charles Chamberlain and Sir Richard F.Pollock, 1869. Scanned from a newspaper the photo looks older.

Rather than taking control as a victor he used the tried and true method of winning a toehold in India again by arranging a marriage between one of his daughters and a prominent Tribal Chief of the Gakhars, Khan Bahadur Raja Jahandad Khan. Today the lands the Gakhars held are now part of Pakistan.

Sher Ali Khan died in Mazar-e Sharif, Afganistan leaving the throne to his son Mohammad Yaqub Khan.

Mazar-e Sharif refers to the widely held belief that the Mazar (tomb) of Hazrat Ali ibn Abi Talib, the Prophet Muhammad's son-in-law and cousin lies in the city.

A Lighter, younger Sher Ali Khan mistaken as Maharaja Ranjit Singh

In the photo with numbered captions - 1. is Sher Ali as mistaken for Ranjit Singh. 2. is the Afgan Sardar mistaken for Gen. Hari Singh Nalwa. 3. Is the Same man in turban in both photos. Sher Ali seems fond of posing with the - same sword?

The old photo in bad condition (scanned out of a newspaper— print in reverse can clearly be seen between the men's heads) Sher Ali Khan appears with the same British Soldiers, notice the high forehead and tied armband of one and the same plumed hat and two medals of the other. Sher Ali Khan wears the same tall karakul (black lamb's wool hat) in all three photos. The hats with a high peak to repel snow are the earlier version of the modern hats worn by Soviet Generals and a modern version popularized by Hamid Karzai the President of Afganistan.

The wool of the karakul (black lake in Uzbeck) sheep can resist extremely cold temperatures. The version worn by Mr. Karzai is the Qayche Na-khordah (not cut version) which is surrounded in controversy. It has even being declared Haram (forbidden) by Islamic religious scholars. It is made from the skin of unborn baby Karakul sheep.

The third photo has caused some controversy as some have claimed the photo to be one made of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Hari Singh Nalwa and the British Viceroy Lord Govenor-General Wm. Bentink taken in 1809. Neither British officer has any resemblence to Govenor-General Bentinck (whose term was from (1830–1835) when the Maharaja was an older man. Their meeting (Bentinck and the Maharaja) took place at Ropar on the bank of the Sutluj on 26 October 1831. The Maharaja died in 1839 at the age of fifty nine.

The meeting of 1809 was between Charles T. Metcalfe and the Maharaja in Amritsar.

Cd Charles Chamberlain and Sir Richard F.Pollock are clearly recognizeable in both photos. They would have been infants or children at the time of the Maharaja's meeting if it occured in 1809.

Contents

1 Early life

2 Rise to power

3 Death and legacy

Early life

Rise to power

The Greater Kandahar region (Candahar) during the Safavid dynasty and Mughal period

—Mirwais Hotak, April 1709

Mirwais and his forces then defeated a large Persian army that was sent to regain control over the area.

—Edward G. Browne, 1924

Death and legacy

The mausoleum of Mirwais Hotak in the Kokaran section of Kandahar, Afghanistan.

Mohammad Afzal Khan

Mohammad Afzal Khan (1811 – October 7, 1867; ) was the Emir of Afghanistan from 1865 to 1867.[1] The oldest son of Dost Mohammed Khan, Afzal Khan seized power from his

brother Sher Ali Khan three years after their father's death. Following Afzal Khan's death the following year, Mohammad Azam Khan was reinstated as Amir of Afghanistan. He was an ethnic Pashtun and belong to the Barakzai tribe.

Khan's third son Abdur Rahman Khan was to himself become Emir from 1880 to 1901.

Mohammad Yaqub Khan

Mohammad Yaqub Khan (1849 - November 15, 1923) was Emir of Afghanistan from February to October 1879. He

was the son of the previous ruler, Sher Ali Khan. Mohammad Yaqub Khan was the governor of Herat province in

Afghanistan and decided to rebel against his father in 1870 but was imprisoned in 1874. The Second Anglo-Afghan

War erupted in 1878, leading to Sher Ali to flee, and eventually die in February 1879. As Sher Ali\s successor, Yaqub

signed the Treaty of Gandamak with the British in May, relinquishing control of Afghanistan foreign affairs to the

British Empire. An uprising against this agreement failed in October, and Yaqub abdicated. He was succeeded by

Amir Abdur Rahman.

1879 H.H. Amir al-Mumenin, Amir Muhammad Yaqub Khan, Amir of Afghanistan and its dependencies. b. 1849, third son of H.H. Amir al-Mumenin, Amir Sher 'Ali Khan, Amir of Afghanistan, by his wife, Maryam Begum, educ. privately. Governor of Herat 1863-1866 and 1871-1874, and of Kabul 1878-1879. Regent at Kabul March 1869. Rebelled and fled to Persia, February 1871. Proclaimed ruler 21^st February 1879. Installed April 1879, but compelled to abdicate 28^th October 1879. Placed under confinement by the British 24^th December 1879. m. (first) Ruqaiya Begum, daughter of H.E. Sardar Yahya Khan, sometime Governor of Kabul. m. (second) Fatima Begum, daughter of Sardar Muhammad Amin Khan Alakozai. m. (third) a daughter of Sardar Nur Muhammad Khan, by his Muhammadzai wife. m. (fourth) Bibi Gul Badan (d. at Lucknow, 26^th July 1937), a Nuristani lady. m. (fifth) a daughter of Haji Muhammad Yusuf. m. (a) a Herati consort. m. (b) an Afghan consort. m. (c) a Hazara consort. m. (d) a second Hazara consort. He d. at Kabul House, Dehra Dun, India, 15^th November 1923 (bur. Sirhind, Punjab), having had issue, fourteen sons and eleven daughters:

· 1) Crown Prince Muhammad Musa Jan. b. 1868 (s/o Ruqaiya Begum). Amir of Ghuzni 24^th December 1879-21^st April 1880. Lived in exile in India 1880-1947. m. (first) Masuma Begum, eldest daughter of Sardar Sher Muhammad Khan. m. (second) a daughter of Sardar 'Abdu'l Salam Khan, sometime Chief Justice of Afghanistan. He d. at Kabul, 1951, having had issue, one son and four daughters:

· a) Sardar Muhammad 'Ali Khan Sherzai (s/o Masuma), educ. Cambridge Univ. Chief of Protocol in the MFA 1953-1964. m. Benazir Begum, second daughter of General H.H. Sardar Muhammad Sulaiman Khan, sometime Governor of Herat and Badakhshan, by his wife, Taj Sultana Begum, daughter of Colonel Sardar Muhammad Yusuf Khan. He d. 1971, having had issue, a daughter:

Mohammad Ayub Khan

Ghazi Mohammad Ayub Khan (1857 – April 7, 1914) was also known as The Victor of Maiwand or The Afghan Prince Charlie and was, for a while, the governor of Herat Province in Afghanistan. He was Emir of Afghanistan from October 12, 1879 to May 31, 1880^[1][2] and was also the leader of Afghans in the Second Anglo-Afghan War. He is today remembered as National Hero of Afghanistan and is buried in Peshawar.^[3]

His father was Sher Ali Khan and his mother was the daughter of an influential Mohmand chief of Lalpura, Saadat Khan.^[4]

On July 27, 1880, with the help of Malalai of Maiwand he defeated the British Army of George Burrows at the Battle of Maiwand. This was the biggest defeat for the Anglo-Indian army in the second Anglo-Afghan war. He went on to besiege the British forces at Kandahar but did not succeed. On September 1, 1880, he was defeated and routed by General Frederick Roberts at the Battle of Kandahar, which saw the end of the Second Anglo-Afghan War

A year later Ayub again tried to take Kandahar, this time from Amir Abdur Rahman Khan but again failed.

"Ayub Khan had an opportunity of realizing his strength as an independent ruler in Afghanistan [sic]. Certain tribes in Kushk district having revolted, he desired to send a force from Herat to punish them; but when he asked his men to march they refused, because he had not paid them for a long time." From The Twillingate Sun, Thursday, February 3, 1881.

In 1888 Ayub Khan left Persia (now Iran), where he had escaped to, and became a pensioner in British India until his death in 1914.

He is today remembered as National Hero of Afghanistan and his body was interred near the shrine of Sheikh Habib at Durrani graveyard inPeshawar. His mausoleum was unfortunately vandalized and his tomb tablet stolen. Efforts are being made by one of his family members, Asim Khan Effendi to reconstruct and restore the monument in consultation with cultural conservationalist of International repute Hameed Haroon and leading Architect Mujeeb Khan

Amir Abdul Rahman Khan

Abdur Rahman Khan (‎) (between 1830^[1] to 1844 – October 1, 1901) was Emir of Afghanistan from 1880 to 1901. He was the third son of Mohammad Afzal Khan, and grandson of Dost Mohammad Khan.^[2] Abdur Rahman Khan was considered a strong ruler who re-established the writ of the Afghan government after the disarray that followed the second Anglo-Afghan war. He became known as The Iron Amir.

Before his death in Herat, on June 9, 1863, Dost Mohammad Khan had nominated as his successor Sher Ali Khan, his third son, passing over the two elder brothers, Afzal Khan and Azam Khan. At first, the new Amir was quietly recognized. But after a few months Afzal Khan raised an insurrection in the north of the country, where he had been governing when his father died. This began a fierce contest for power between Dost Mohammad's sons, which lasted for nearly five years.

In this war, Abdur Rahman became distinguished for ability and daring energy. Although his father, Afzal Khan, who had none of these qualities, came to terms with the Amir Sher Ali, the son's behavior in the northern province soon excited the Amir's suspicion, and Abdur Rahman, when he was summoned to Kabul, fled across the Oxus into Bukhara. Sher Ali threw Afzal Khan into prison, and a serious revolt followed in southern Afghanistan.

The Amir had scarcely suppressed it by winning a desperate battle when Abdur Rahman's reappearance in the north was a signal for a mutiny of the troops stationed in those parts and a gathering of armed bands to his standard. After some delay and desultory fighting, he and his uncle, Azam Khan, occupied Kabul (March 1866). The Amir Sher Ali marched up against them from Kandahar; but in the battle that ensued at Sheikhabad on May 10, he was deserted by a large body of his troops, and after his signal defeat Abdur Rahman released his father, Afzul Khan, from prison in Ghazni, and installed him upon the throne as Amir of Afghanistan.

Notwithstanding the new Amir 's incapacity, and some jealousy between the real leaders, Abdur Rahman and his uncle, they again routed Sher Ali's forces, and occupied Kandahar in 1867. When Afzal Khan died at the end of the year, Azam Khan became the new ruler, with Abdur Rahman as his governor in the northern province. But towards the end of 1868 Sher Ali's return, and a general rising in his favour, resulted in Abdur Rahman and Azam Khan's defeat at Tinah Khan on January 3, 1869. Both sought refuge in Persia, whence Abdur Rahman placed himself under Russian protection atSamarkand. Azam died in Persia in October 1869.

Abdur Rahman lived in exile in Tashkent, then part of Russian Turkestan, for eleven years, until the 1879 death of Sher Ali, who had retired from Kabul when the British armies entered Afghanistan. The Russian governor-general at Tashkent sent for Abdur Rahman, and pressed him to try his fortunes once more across the Oxus. In March 1880, a report reached India that Abdur Rahman was in northern Afghanistan; and the governor-general, Lord Lytton, opened communications with him to the effect that the British government were prepared to withdraw their troops, and to recognize Abdur Rahman as Amir of Afghanistan, with the exception of Kandahar and some districts adjacent to it. After some negotiations, an interview took place between him and Lepel Griffin, the diplomatic representative at Kabul of the Indian government. Griffin described Abdur Rahman as a man of middle height, with an exceedingly intelligent face and frank and courteous manners, shrewd and able in conversation on the business in hand.

At the durbar on July 22, 1880, Abdur Rahman was officially recognized as Amir, granted assistance in arms and money, and promised, in case of unprovoked foreign aggression, such further aid as might be necessary to repel it, provided that he align his foreign policy with the British. The British evacuation of Afghanistan was settled on the terms proposed, and in 1881, the British troopsalso handed over Kandahar to the new Amir.

However, Ayub Khan, one of Sher Ali Khan's sons, marched upon that city from Herat, defeated Abdur Rahman's troops, and occupied the place in July 1880. This serious reverse roused the Amir, who had not at first displayed much activity. He led a force from Kabul, met Ayub's army close to Kandahar, and the complete victory which he there won forced Ayub Khan to fly into Persia. From that time Abdur Rahman was fairly seated on the throne at Kabul, and in the course of the next few years he consolidated his dominion over all Afghanistan, suppressing insurrections by a sharp and relentless use of his despoticauthority. The powerful Ghilzai tribe revolted against the severity of his measures several times. In that same year, Ayub Khan made a fruitless inroad from Persia. In 1888, the Amir's cousin, Ishak Khan, rebelled against him in the north; but these two enterprises came to nothing.

In 1885, at the moment when the Amir was in conference with the British viceroy, Lord Dufferin, in India, the news came of a skirmish between Russian and Afghan troops at Panjdeh, over a disputed point in the demarcation of the northwestern frontier of Afghanistan. Abdur Rahman's attitude at this critical juncture is a good example of his political sagacity. To one who had been a man of war from his youth, who had won and lost many fights, the rout of a detachment and the forcible seizure of some debatable frontier lands was an untoward incident; but it was not a sufficient reason for calling upon the British, although they had guaranteed his territory's integrity, to vindicate his rights by hostilities which would certainly bring upon him a Russian invasion from the north, and would compel his British allies to throw an army into Afghanistan from the southeast.

His interest lay in keeping powerful neighbours, whether friends or foes, outside his kingdom. He knew this to be the only policy that would be supported by the Afghan nation; and although for some time a rupture with Russia seemed imminent, while the Government of India made ready for that contingency, the Amir's reserved and circumspect tone in the consultations with him helped to turn the balance between peace and war, and substantially conduced towards a pacific solution. Abdur Rahman left on those who met him in India the impression of a clear-headed man of action, with great self-reliance and hardihood, not without indications of the implacable severity that too often marked his administration. His investment with the insignia of the highest grade of the Order of the Star of India appeared to give him much pleasure.

In the 1880s, he perpetrated a population transfer against the rebellious Ghilzai Pashtuns from their homes in the southern Afghanistan to the North. ^[3][4]

From the end of 1888, the Amir spent eighteen months in his northern provinces bordering upon the Oxus, where he was engaged in pacifying the country that had been disturbed by revolts, and in punishing with a heavy hand all who were known or suspected to have taken any part in rebellion.

Shortly afterwards (in 1892) he succeeded in finally beating down the resistance of the Hazara people, who vainly attempted to defend their independence, within their highlands, of the central authority at Kabul. In the late 1880s many of the Hazara tribes revolted against Abdur Rahman, the first ruler to bring the country of Afghanistan under a centralized Afghan government. Consequent on this unsuccessful revolt, numbers of Hazaras fled to Quetta in Balochistan,to the area aroundMashhed in northeastern Iran, Russia, Iraq, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan,China and India. Most active in the revolt were the Uruzgani, the southernmost of the Hazara tribes. Following their defeat, a considerable number of Uruzgani left the country, as did many Jaghori, their nearest neighbors to the northeast.

In the Shikhali district an estimated 7,000 head of cattle were taken away from Hazaras and 350 men and women of the Jaghori district had been sold at Kabul markets each at the price of 20–21 Afs. Abdur Rahman's brutal suppression compelled a large number of Hazaras to seek refuge in Iran, India, and Russia. Abdur Rahman could only succeed in subjugating Hazaras and conquering their land when he effectively utilized internal differences within the Hazara community, co-opting sold-out Hazara chiefs into his bureaucratic sales of the enslaved Hazara men, women and children in 1897, the Hazaras remained de facto slaves until KingAmanullah Khan declared Afghanistan's independence in 1919. ^[5]

In 1895, the Amir found himself unable, by reason of ill-health, to accept an invitation from Queen Victoria to visit England; but his second son Nasrullah Khan went instead.

Abdur Rahman died on October 1, 1901, being succeeded by his son Habibullah Khan. He had defeated all enterprises by rivals against his throne; he had broken down the power of local chiefs, and tamed the refractory tribes; so that his orders were irresistible throughout the whole dominion. His government was a military despotism resting upon a well-appointed army; it was administered through officials absolutely subservient to an inflexible will and controlled by a widespread system of espionage; while the exercise of his personal authority was too often stained by acts of unnecessary cruelty.

He held open courts for the receipt of petitioners and the dispensation of justice; and in the disposal of business he was indefatigable. He succeeded in imposing an organized government upon the fiercest and most unruly population in Asia; he availed himself of European inventions for strengthening his armament, while he sternly set his face against all innovations which, like Railways and Telegraphs, might give Europeans a foothold within his country.

His adventurous life, his forcible character, the position of his state as a barrier between the Indian and the Russian empires, and the skill with which he held the balance in dealing with them, combined to make him a prominent figure in contemporary Asian politics and will mark his reign as an epoch in the history of Afghanistan. The Amir received an annual Subsidy from the British government of 1,850,000 rupees. He was allowed to import munitions of war.

In 1896, he adopted the title of Zia-ul-Millat-Wa-ud Din ("Light of the nation and religion"); and his zeal for the cause of Islam induced him to publish treatises onjihad. Today, his descendants can be found in many places outside of Afghanistan, such as in America, France, Germany,and even in Scandinavian countries such as Denmark and carry the surname of Ziyaee, which is itself a derivative of the King's title. His two eldest sons, Habibullah Khan and Nasrullah Khan, were born at Samarkand. His youngest son, Mahomed Omar Jan, was born in 1889 of an Afghan mother, connected by descent with the Barakzai family.

Persecution of Hazara people refers to systematic discrimination, ethnic cleansing and genocide of Hazara people, who are primarily from the central highland region of Hazarajat in Afghanistan. The persecution of Hazara people dates back to the late 19th century during the notorious reign of Emir Abdur Rahman (1880-1901), who killed, expelled and enslaved many thousands.[1] It is believed that at least half of the population of Hazarajat were killed by Abdur Rahman's forces, which also resulted in mass exodus of these people to neighbouring Balochistan of British India[2] and Khorasan in Eastern Iran. The persecution continued throughout the 20th century in various forms. Many Hazara were coerced into hiding their identities and surrendering their lands to Pashtun tribes.[1] Hazara people have also been the victims of massacres by Taliban in Afghanistan since 1995.

In 1893 Mortimer Durand negotiated with Abdur Rahman Khan, the Durand Line Treaty for the demarcation of the frontier between Afghanistan, the FATA, North-West Frontier Province andBaluchistan Provinces of Pakistan the successor state of British India. This line, the Durand Line, is named after Mortimer Durand and which still remains as an unrecognized boundary by the Government of Afghanistan.

In 1893, Mortimer Durand was deputed to Kabul by the government of British India for this purpose of settling an exchange of territory required by the demarcation of the boundary between northeastern Afghanistan and the Russian possessions, and in order to discuss with Amir Abdur Rahman Khan other pending questions. Abdur Rahman Khan showed his usual ability in diplomatic argument, his tenacity where his own views or claims were in debate, with a sure underlying insight into the real situation.

In the agreement, the relations between the British Indian and Afghan governments, as previously arranged, were confirmed; and an understanding was reached upon the important and difficult subject of the border line of Afghanistan on the east, towards India.

In the year 1893, during rule of Amir Abdur Rahman Khan, a Royal Commission for setting up of Boundary between Afghanistan and British Governed India was set up to negotiate terms with the British, for the agreeing to the Durand line, and the two parties camped at Parachinar, now part of FATA Pakistan, which is near Khost, Afghanistan. From the British side the camp was attended by Mortimer Durand and Sahibzada Abdul Qayyum, Political Agent Khyber. Afghanistan was represented by Sahibzada Abdul Latif and the Governor Sardar Shireendil Khan representing Amir Abdur Rahman Khan.

Habibullah Khan

Habibullah Khan (1872 - 1919) was the Emir of Afghanistan from 1901 until 1919. He was born in Tashkent, the eldest son of the Emir Abdur Rahman Khan, whom he succeeded by right of primogeniture in October 1901.He was Abdul Rahman's eldest son but child of a diffrent mother, kept a close watch on the palace intrigues revolving around his father's more distinguished wife (a granddaughter of Dost Mohammad), who sought the throne for her own son. Although made secure in his position as ruler by virtue of support from the army which was created by his father, Habibullah was not as domineering as Abdur Rahman. Consequently, the influence of religious leaders as well as that of Mahmoud Beg Tarzi, a cousin of the king, increased during his reign. Tarzi, a highly educated, well-traveled poet and journalist, founded an Afghan nationalist newspaper with Abdur Rahman's agreement, and until 1919 he used the newspaper as a platform for rebutting clerical criticism of Western-influenced changes in government and society, for espousing full Afghan independence, and for other reforms. Tarzi's passionate Afghan nationalism influenced a future generation of Asian reformers.Habibullah was a relatively secular, reform-minded ruler who attempted to modernize his country. During his reign he worked to bring Western medicine and other technology to Afghanistan. In 1904, Habibullah founded the Habibia school as well as a military academy. He also published a weekly paper in Persian called Siraj-ul-Akhbar, which agitated for reform. He instituted various legal reforms and repealed many of the harshest criminal penalties. Other reforms included the dismantling of the repressive internal intelligence organization that had been put in place by his father.

He strictly maintained the country's neutrality in World War I, despite strenuous efforts by the Sultan of Turkey, spiritual ruler of Islam, to enlist Afghanistan on its side. He also greatly reduced tensions with India, signing a treaty of friendship in 1905 and paying an official state visit in 1907.During World War I, Afghanistan remained neutral despite pressure to support Turkey when its sultan proclaimed his nation's participation in what it considered a holy war. Habibullah did, however, entertain a Turco-German mission in Kabul in 1915. After much procrastination, he won an agreement from the Central Powers for a huge payment and arms provision in exchange for attacking British India. But the crafty Afghan ruler clearly viewed the war as an opportunity to play one side off against the other, for he also offered the British to resist a Central Powers from an attack on India in exchange for an end to British control of Afghan foreign policy.On February 20, 1919, Habibullah, the ruler of Afghanistan, was assassinated on a hunting trip. He had not declared a succession, but left his third son, Amanullah, in charge in Kabul. Because Amanullah controlled both the national treasury and the army, he was well situated to seize power. Army support allowed Amanullah to suppress other claims and imprison those relatives who would not swear loyalty to him. Within a few months, the new amir had gained the allegiance of most tribal leaders and established control over the cities.

Amir Amanullah Khan

On February 20, 1919, Habibullah was assassinated on a hunting trip. He had not declared a succession, but left his third son, Amanullah, in charge in Kabul. Because Amanullah controlled both the national treasury and the army, he was well situated to seize power. Army support allowed Amanullah to suppress other claims and imprison those relatives who would not swear loyalty to him. Within a few months, the new amir had gained the allegiance of most tribal leaders and established control over the cities.Amanullah's ten years of reign initiated a period of dramatic change in Afghanistan in both foreign and domestic politics. Starting in May 1919 when he won complete independence in the month-long Third Anglo-Afghan War with Britain, Amanullah altered foreign policy in his new relations with external powers and transformed domestic politics with his social, political, and economic reforms. Although his reign ended abruptly, he achieved some notable successes, and his efforts failed as much due to the centripetal forces of tribal Afghanistan and the machinations of Russia and Britain as to any political folly on his part.Amanullah came to power just as the entente between Russia and Britain broke down following the Russian Revolution of 1917. Once again Afghanistan provided a stage on which the great powers played out their schemes against one another. Amanullah attacked the British in May 1919 in two thrusts, taking them by surprise. Afghan forces achieved success in the early days of the war as Pashtun tribesmen on both sides of the border joined forces with them.He was crowned in Kabul over the prior claims of his uncle Nasrullah, whom he denounced as a usurper and an accomplice in the murder of his father. King Amanullah (he assumed the title of king in 1926) was an ardent reformer and contemporary of like-minded rulers, Muhammad Reza in Iran and Kemal Ataturk in Turkey. He demanded a revision of the Anglo-Afgha agreements concluded by Amir Abdur Rahman which left Britain in charge of Afghanistan's foreign relations in exchange for protection from unprovoked Russian aggression and a subsidy in money and military materiel. According to Afghanland.com sources, The military skirmishes soon ended in a stalemate as the British recovered from their initial surprise. Britain virtually dictated the terms of the 1919 Rawalpindi Agreement, a temporary armistice that provided, somewhat ambiguously, for Afghan self-determination in foreign affairs. Before final negotiations were concluded in 1921, however, Afghanistan had already begun to establish its own foreign policy, including diplomatic relations with the new government in the Soviet Union in 1919. During the 1920s, Afghanistan established diplomatic relations with most major countries.British reluctance to accept a change in the status quo led to Afghan armed attacks, culminating in the start of the third Anglo-Afghan war on May 3, 1919. Britain was war-weary and in no condition to wage war on the Indian frontier and, after lengthy negotiations in Rawalpindi, Mussoorie, and Kabul, peace was restored, leaving Afghanistan free and independent from British control .King Amanullah became a national hero and turned his attention to reforming and modernizing his country. He established diplomatic and commercial relations with major European and Asian states, founded schools in which French, German, and English were the major languages of education, and promulgated a constitution which guaranteed the personal freedom and equal rights of all Afghans. He built a new capital, named Darulaman (Dar al-Amen - Abode of Peace), which include a monumental parliament and other government buildings as well as villas of prominent Afghans. Social reforms included a new dress code which permitted women in Kabul to go unveiled and encouraged officials to wear Western dress. Modernization proved costly for Afghanistan and was resented by the traditional elements of Afghan society.In the 1920s, King Amanullah introduced new criminal and civil codes, including a 1921 family code that banned child marriage, required judicial permission before a man took more than one wife, and removed some family law questions from the jurisdiction of mullahs. His wife, Queen Soraya, opened the first girls’ school in Kabul.his policy was to convert Afghanistan into a stable and prosperous kingdom on modern railway lines, and highway system, adapting the best of western practice, but cautiously, to Afghan conditions.The second round of Anglo–Afghan negotiations for final peace were inconclusive. Both sides were prepared to agree on Afghan independence in foreign affairs, as provided for in the previous agreement. The two nations disagreed, however, on the issue that had plagued Anglo-Afghan relations for decades and would continue to cause friction for many more — authority over Pashtun tribes on both sides of the Durand Line. The British refused to concede Afghan control over the tribes on the British side of the line while the Afghans insisted on it. The Afghans regarded the 1921 agreement as only an informal one.The rivalry of the great powers in the region might have remained subdued had it not been for the dramatic change in government in Moscow brought about by the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. In their efforts to placate Muslims within their borders, the new Soviet leaders were eager to establish cordial relations with neighboring Muslim states. In the case of Afghanistan, the Soviets could achieve a dual purpose: by strengthening relations with the leadership in Kabul, they could also threaten Britain, which was one of the Western states supporting counterrevolution in the Soviet Union. In his attempts to unclench British control of Afghan foreign policy, Amanullah sent an emissary to Moscow in 1919; Lenin received the envoy warmly and responded by sending a Soviet representative to Kabul to offer aid to Amanullah's government.Throughout Amanullah's reign, Soviet-Afghan relations fluctuated according Afghanistan's value to the Soviet leadership at a given time; Afghanistan was either viewed as a tool for dealing with Soviet Muslim minorities or for threatening the British. Whereas the Soviets sought Amanullah's assistance in suppressing anti-Bolshevik elements in Central Asia in return for help against the British, the Afghans were more interested in regaining lands across the Amu Darya lost to Russia in the nineteenth century. Afghan attempts to regain the oases of Merv and Panjdeh were easily subdued by the Soviet Red Army.In May 1921, the Afghans and the Soviets signed a Treaty of Friendship, Afghanistan's first international agreement since gaining full independence in 1919. The Soviets provided Amanullah with aid in the form of cash, technology, and military equipment. Despite this, Amanullah grew increasingly disillusioned with the Soviets, especially as he witnessed the widening oppression of his fellow Muslims across the border.Anglo-Afghan relations soured over British fear of an Afghan-Soviet friendship, especially with the introduction of a few Soviet planes into Afghanistan. British unease increased when Amanullah maintained contacts with Indian nationalists and gave them asylum in Kabul, and also when he sought to stir up unrest among the Pashtun tribes across the border. The British responded by refusing to address Amanullah as "Your Majesty," and imposing restrictions on the transit of goods through India.Amanullah's domestic reforms were no less dramatic than his foreign policy initiatives, but those reforms could not match his achievement of complete, lasting independence. Mahmoud Beg Tarzi, Amanullah's father-in-law, encouraged the monarch's interest in social and political reform but urged that it be gradually built upon the basis of a strong army and central government, as had occurred in Turkey under Kemal Atatürk. Amanullah, however, was unwilling to put off implementing his changes.Amanullah's reforms touched on many areas of Afghan life. In 1921 he established an air force, albeit with only a few Soviet planes and pilots; Afghan personnel later received training in France, Italy, and Turkey. Although he came to power with army support, Amanullah alienated many army personnel by reducing both their pay and size of the forces and by altering recruiting patterns to prevent tribal leaders from controlling who joined the service. Amanullah's Turkish advisers suggested the king retire the older officers, men who were set in their ways and might resist the formation of a more professional army. Amanullah's minister of war, General Muhammad Nadir Khan, a member of the Musahiban branch of the royal family, opposed these changes, preferring instead to recognize tribal sensitivities. The king rejected Nadir Khan's advice and an anti-Turkish faction took root in the army; in 1924 Nadir Khan left the government to become ambassador to France.If fully enacted, Amanullah's reforms would have totally transformed Afghanistan. Most of his proposals, however, died with his abdication. His transforming social and educational reforms included: adopting the solar calendar, requiring Western dress in parts of Kabul and elsewhere, discouraging the veiling and seclusion of women, abolishing slavery and forced labor, introducing secular education (for girls as well as boys); adult education classes and educating nomads. His economic reforms included restructuring, reorganizing, and rationalizing the entire tax structure, antismuggling and anticorruption campaigns, a livestock census for taxation purposes, the first budget (in 1922), implementing the metric system (which did not take hold), establishing the Bank-i-Melli (National Bank) in 1928, and introducing the afghani as the new unit of currency in 1923.The political and judicial reforms Amanuallah proposed were equally radical for the time and included the creation of Afghanistan's first constitution (in 1923), the guarantee of civil rights (first by decree and later constitutionally), national registration and identity cards for the citizenry, the establishment of a legislative assembly, a court system to enforce new secular penal, civil, and commercial codes, prohibition of blood money, and abolition of subsidies and privileges for tribal chiefs and the royal family.Although sharia (Islamic law) was to be the residual source of law, it regained prominence after the Khost rebellion of 1923-24. Religious leaders, who had gained influence under Habibullah Khan, were unhappy with Amanullah's extensive religious reforms.Conventional wisdom holds that the tribal revolt that overthrew Amanullah grew out of opposition to his reform program, although those people most affected by his reforms were urban dwellers not universally opposed to his policies, rather than the tribes. Nevertheless, the king had managed to alienate religious leaders and army members.The unraveling began, however, when Shinwari Pashtun tribesmen revolted in Jalalabad in November 1928. When tribal forces advanced on the capital, many of the king's troops deserted. Amanullah faced another threat as well: in addition to the Pashtun tribes, forces led by a Tajik tribesman were moving toward Kabul from the north. In January 1929, Amanullah abdicated the throne to his oldest brother, Inayatullah, who ruled for only three days before escaping into exile in India. Amanullah's efforts to recover power by leading a small, ill-equipped force toward Kabul failed. The deposed king crossed the border into India and went into exile in Italy.He remained in exile in Switzerland until his death. He died in 1960, and was buried in Jalalabad, near his father's tomb.

Inayatullah Khan Seraj

Inayatullah Khan Seraj (October 20, 1888 – August 12, 1946) was the King of Afghanistan from 14 January

1929 to 17 January 1929. He was the son of former Afghan King, Habibullah Khan. Inayatullah\'s brief reign

ended with his abdication. In the middle of the night, on January 14, 1929, Amanullah Khan handed over

his kingship to his brother Inayatullah Khan Seraj and tried to secretly escape Kabul towards Kandahar.

However, Habibullāh Kalakāni and his followers chased Amanullah\'s Rolls Royce on horseback but

Amanullah managed to escape. With the King gone, Habibullah Kalakani wrote a letter to King Inayatullah

to either surrender or prepare for war. Inayatullah\'s response was that he had never sought nor wished

to be king and agreed to abdicate and proclaim Habibullah Kalakani as king on January 18, 1929.[2]

Inayatullah was airlifted out of Kabul by the Royal Air Force[3] and spent the remainder of his life in exile

Habibullah Kalakani

Habibullah Kalakani (The Bandit King) was born in 1890s in Kohistan area north of Kabul, Afghanistam.At a young age Habibullah was a rebel. His father, a water carrier had sent him to local madrassa to study and learn Quran, it was there were his rift with the Local Mullah caused him to burn his house and fled the scene. According to his own word, He sat on a hill watched his house burn down and it was satisfying" During his teens Habibullah ventures outside his village and travels to Kabul and later to Jalalabad and Peshawar where he finds odd jobs just to survive. It was in the south where he runs into an old sufi who tells young Habibullah that he would become king one day and hands him an amulet to keep for good luck. in 1919 He returns back to Kabul and joins Amanullah Khans army. The lack of good pay and His disobedience and unwilling to follow orders finds Habibullah back to his village in Kohistan. In Kohistan he earns money buy robbing the caravans that cross the silk road between china and middle east and Europe. It is here where Habibullah uses his army training and guerilla tactics to perfect his siege of highly protected caravans. With his new wealth, he accumulates new respect and is considered a Khan of his village. By 1928 Amanullah had returned from Europe and brought with his vast social and cultural changes. All citizens of Afghanistan were to wear western clothes. This and pictures of the Queen of Afghanistan in western attire, and without a headscarf had upset the ultra conservative shinwari tribe and they had called for the Banishment of the King and the Queen from Afghanistan. A full revolt broke in Laghman and Amanullah poured his troops to quell the unrest. Habibullah was beginning to resist the government officials in the north and thus $10,000 reward was placed on Habibullahs head, dead or alive. With Amanullah's army engulfed in severe battle in Laghman and Jalalabad, Habibullah began to attack Kabul from the north. His mission was to disgrace Amanullah and show him as a weak king full of bluff. The revolt catches steam and by now the whole country is standing up against the king. Kabul is surrounded by the Tribes in the south and Habibullah's gang to the north.In the Middle of the Night Amanullah hands over his kingdom to his brother Enayatullah Khan and escapes Kabul towards Kandahar in his Rolls Royce. Habibullah and his band chases amnullah Khan on horseback but they are no match for the royal car.With the King gone, in January of 1929, Habibullah writes a letter to King Enayatullah to either surrender or prepare to fight. Enayatullah's response was that he had never sought nor wishes to be king and agreed to abdicate and proclaim Habibullah king. Habibullah writes in his biography; " I was no Amanullah Khan, nor a Mohammadzai Sardar, i didn't know how to act royal, I was a thief who became king." Habibullah marries a Mohammadzai woman from the royal family which he had captured, in order to teach him how to act royal.His first order was to change all the western attire back to traditional clothing and to remove all the flowers from the presidential grounds and plant vegetables instead.Amanullah stops in Kandahar to regroup, he calls his top General Mohammad Nadir Khan from Europe. By September 1929 General Nadir Khan army has breezed through the west and southern Afghanistan and is fast approaching Kabul. The one man whom Habibullah feared is coming for him. By October 1929, Kabul is surrounded by forces of Nadir Khan and Habibullah escapes Kabul to return to his village in Kohistan as a fugitives.In Kohistan, Habibullah is manipulating his next move when the villagers surround him, and begin to stone him till he is unconscious. Jamal Gul, Habibullah's confidant and biographer tells the rest as follows:

Bacha i Saqao as he is referred to by his adversaries, finds himself in a chamber in Kabul. "what do you have to say Bachai Saqao? ..Guilty or not Guilty? " shouts an officer. Habibullah laughs at the officers and the people gathered who took their jobs too seriously. Habibullah spits on the ground and says "my answer is there for all to see" He is later taken to the execution ground. He was made to kneel and make his peace with God. Habibullah looks up and says " i have nothing to ask God, he is given me everything i have wanted, God has made me King" as he smiles before a firing squadq

Mohammad Nadir Shah

King of Afghanistan 1929-33.

Born in 1883.

Died 1933

Mohammad Nadir chose military as his carrier. He commanded the government forces against the Mangals in 1912. He was awarded the title General for his services. He was appointed Commander-in-chief in 1914. He commanded the Afghan troops in Paktia in third Anglo-Afghan War 1n 1919. He was appointed Minister of War in 1919. Due to policy differences with King Amanullah, Nadir Khan was appointed Afghan minister to Paris in 1924. After King Amanullah was overthrown by Bacha-e Saqao, Nadir Khan returned to Afghanistan via India with his brothers Shah Wali Khan and Shah Mahmud Khan. He amassed tribal troops and attacked Kabul. After initial setbacks, his brother Shah Wali Khan finally managed to capture Kabul in October of 1929. Two days later, Nadir Khan was proclaimed Afghanistan's King. He fought those who favored the return of King Amanullah. He executed Ghulam Nabi, a supporter of King Amanullah. .The new ruler quickly abolished most of Amanullah's reforms, but despite his efforts to rebuild an army that had just been engaged in suppressing a rebellion, the forces remained weak while the religious and tribal leaders grew strong. In 1930, there were uprisings by the Shinwari Pushtuns as well as by another Tajik leader. The same year, a Soviet force crossed the border in pursuit of an Uzbek leader whose forces had been harassing the Soviets from his sanctuary in Afghanistan. He was driven back to the Soviet side by the Afghan army in April 1930, and by the end of 1931 most uprisings had been subdued.Nadir Shah named a ten-member cabinet, consisting mostly of members of his family, and in September 1930 he called into session a loya jirga of 286 which confirmed his accession to the throne. In 1931 the king promulgated a new constitution. Despite its appearance as a constitutional monarchy, the document officially instituted a royal oligarchy, and popular participation was merely an illusion. Although Nadir Shah placated religious factions with a constitutional emphasis on orthodox denominational principles, he also took steps to modernize Afghanistan in material ways, although far less obtrusively than his cousin Amanullah. He improved road construction, especially the Great North Road through the Hindu Kush, and methods of communication. He forged commercial links with the same foreign powers that Amanullah had established diplomatic relations with in the 1920s, and, under the leadership of several prominent entrepreneurs, he initiated a banking system and long-range economic planning. Although his efforts to improve the army did not bear fruit immediately, by the time of his death in 1933 Nadir Shah had created a 40,000-strong force from almost no national army at all. It is notable that Afghanistan's regeneration was carried out with no external assistance whatsoever. During his reign, Nadir Khan reopened many schools. He established faculty of Medicine, which later became Kabul University with the addition of a few more faculties. Nadir Shah's brief four year reign ended violently, but he nevertheless accomplished a feat of which his great-great-uncle, Dost Mohammad, would have been proud: he reunited a fragmented Afghanistan. Nadir Shah was assassinated in 1933 by a young man whose family had been feuding with the king since his accession to power

Muhammad Zahir Shah

Muhammad Zahir, last in the 226-year dynasty of Pashtun monarchs to rule Afghanistan, emergedin the fall of 2001 as a symbol of unity for his country. In December 2001 Zahir Shah gave his blessing to Hamid Karzai, a fellow Pashtun selected as an interim leader for the troubled country. The son of King Nadir Shah of Afghanistan, Muhammad Zahir Shah was born on October 15, 1914, in the capital city of Kabul. Educated in both his native country and France, he was thrust suddenly into power at the age of 19, only hours after his father was assassinated. On November 8, 1933, he replaced his father on the throne of the Durani dynasty, first established in 1747 by Ahmad Shah. The young monarch adopted the title Mutawakkil Ala'llah, Pairaw-I Din-I Matin-I slam ("Confident in God, Follower of the Firm Religion of Islam").He instituted programs of political and economic modernization, ushering in a democratic legislature, education for women and other such changes. These reforms put him at odds with the religious militants who opposed him. Afghanistan joined the League of Nations in 1934, the same year the United States officially recognized Afghanistan. The conclusion of the Treaty of Saadabad with Iran, Iraq, and Turkey in 1937 reinforced Afghanistan's regional ties to neighboring Islamic States. After the outbreak of World War II, the king proclaimed Afghan neutrality on August 17, 1940, but the Allies were unhappy with the presence of a large group of German non-diplomatic personnel. In October British and Soviet governments demanded that Afghanistan expel all non-diplomatic personnel from the Axis nations. Although the Afghan government considered this demand insulting and illegitimate, it appeared to heed the example of Iran; Britain and the Soviet Union occupied Iran in August 1941 after the government ignored a similar demand. Afghanistan ordered non-diplomatic personnel from all belligerents to leave, and a loya jirga called by the king supported his policy of absolute neutrality. As the war progressed, it provided larger markets for Afghan agricultural produce especially in India.

He also oversaw the opening of relations with the newly created state of Pakistan, which inherited the Pashtuns from the formerly British-ruled side of the Durand Line. The Pashtuns sought an independent or semi-independent statehood, that would include the Pashto speakers within Pakistan, but Zahir Shah did nothing to support or reject this notion.

By mid-1953, the younger members of the royal family, which may have included the king himself, challenged domination by the king's uncles. The rift became public in September 1953 when the king's cousin and brother-in-law, Mohammad Daoud, became prime minister The single greatest achievement of the 1963-73 decade was the promulgation of the 1964 constitution. Zahir Shah was gaining a reputation of being lazy and letting everything pass him by. The Ambitious Daud Khan resigned in protest soon after.

On January 1, 1965, the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) was founded. The PDPA, a communist party in fact if not in name, was established for the primary purpose of gaining parliamentary seats. The PDPA was comprised of a small group of men, followers of Noor Mohammad Taraki and Babrak Karmal, both avowed Marxist-Leninists with a pro-Moscow orientation. There were daily demonstrations on the streets of Kabul by the students, dogs were dressed as Zahir shah and dragged towards the Kings Palace, and Zahir Shah ignored them.

The 1969 parliamentary elections, when voter turnout was not much greater than in 1965 produced a legislative assembly essentially consistent with the real population and distribution of power in the hinterland, in that conservative landowners and businessmen predominated and many more non-Pashtuns were elected than in the previous legislature. Most of the urban liberals and all of the female delegates lost their seats. Few leftists remained in the new parliament, although Karmal and Hafizullah Amin had been elected from districts in and near Kabul. Former prime minister Maiwandwal, a democratic socialist, lost his seat when the government selectively influenced the elections.

Between 1969 and 1973, instability ruled Afghan politics. The parliament was lethargic and deadlocked. Public dissatisfaction over the unstable government prompted growing political polarization as both the left and the right began to attract more members. Still personally popular, the king nevertheless came under increasing criticism for not supporting his own prime ministers.

It was in this atmosphere of internal discontent and polarization and external shakiness that Daoud implemented the coup d'état he had been planning for a year in response to the "anarchy and the anti-national attitude of the regime." While the king was out of the country for medical treatment, Daoud and a small military group seized power in an almost bloodless coup. There were dancing in the streets of Kabul and singers sang songs of the young repulic as Daud Khan proclaim Afghanistan a republic and himself as president.

After the 1973 coup, Zahir shah relinquished his claim to the thrown and spent life with his family in villa in Italy. On April 18, 2002 former Afghan king Zahir Shah returned to Kabul after 29 years in exile. Overjoyed at his return, delegations from all over Afghanistan flooded to the airport to greet him. Although the 87-year old former monarch returned as an ordinary citizen, his arrival was seen as a force for unification, as he is seen as symbol of better times in pre-war Afghanistan. The former king still commands considerable respect.

The Constitutional Loya Jirga declared Zahir Shah Father of the Nation and was to live in his palace thereafter.

Mohammad Daud Khan

born July 18, 1909, Kabul, Afghanistan

died April 27, 1978, Kabul

The welcome Daud Khan received on returning to power on July 17, 1973 reflected the citizenry's disappointment with the lackluster politics of the preceding decade. King Zahir's "New Democracy" had promised much but had delivered little. Daud Khan's comeback was a return to traditional strongman rule and he was a particularly appealing figure to military officers. As prime minister, Daud Khan had obtained large supplies of modern arms from the Soviet Union and he had been a former army officer himself. Also, his strong position on the Pashtunistan issue had not been forgotten by conservative Pashtun officers. Daud Khan discussed rebellion for more than a year with various opposition elements--both moderates and leftists, including military officers who were members of both the Khalqi and Parchami factions of the PDPA. Certainly the communists had worked vigorously to undermine Zahir Shah's experiment in constitutional democracy. Their inflammatory speeches in parliament and organized street riots were tactics which alarmed the king to the degree that he refused to sign the law legalizing political parties. Karmal's Parcham faction became integrally involved in planning the coup. There is general agreement that Daud Khan had been meeting with what he called various "friends" for more than a year. The coup itself was carried out by junior officers trained in the Soviet Union . Some Afghans suspected that Daud Khan and Karmal had been in touch for many years and that Daud Khan had used him as an informant on the leftist movement. No strong link can be cited to support this, however, other than the closeness between Karmal's father, an army general, and Daud Khan. At the time of the July 1973 coup, which took place when the king was in Italy receiving eye treatment at the medicinal mud baths at Ischia , Italy , it was sometimes difficult to assess the factional and party affiliation of the officers who took place. Despite a number of conversions of Parchamis to the Khalqi faction by the time of the communist coup of April 1978 which overthrew Daud Khan, both party and factional loyalties became obvious after the PDPA took power. Although leftists had played a central role in the coup, and despite the appointment of two leftists as ministers, evidence suggests that the coup was Daud Khan's alone. Officers personally loyal to him were placed in key positions while young Parchamis were sent to the provinces, probably to get them out of Kabul , until Daud Khan had purged the leftist officers by the end of 1975. The next year, Daud Khan established his own political party, the National Revolutionary Party, which became the focus of all political activity. In January 1977, a loyal jirgah approved Daud Khan's constitution establishing a presidential, one party system of government. Any resistance to the new regime was suppressed. A coup attempt by Maiwandwal, which may have been planned before Daud Khan took power, was subdued shortly after his coup. In October 1973, Maiwandwal, a former prime minister and a highly respected former diplomat, died in prison at a time when Parchamis controlled the Ministry of Interior under circumstances corroborating the widespread belief that he had been tortured to death.

While both of the PDPA's factions had attempted to collaborate with Daud Khan before the 1973 coup, Parcham used its advantage to recruit on an unprecedented scale immediately following the coup. Daud Khan, however, soon made it clear that he was no front man and that he had not adopted the claims of any ideological faction. He began in the first months of his regime to ease Parcharmis out of his cabinet. Perhaps not to alienate the Soviet Union , Daud Khan was careful to cite inefficiency and not ideological reasons for the dismissals. Khalq, seeing an opportunity to make some short-term gains at Parcham's expense, suggested to Daud Khan that "honest" Khalqis replace corrupt Parchamis. Daud Khan, wary of ideologues, ignored this offer.

Daud Khan's ties with the Soviet Union , like his relations with Afghan communists, deteriorated during his five year presidency. This loosening of ties with the Soviet Union was gradual. Daud Khan's shift to the right and realignment made the Soviets anxious but western observers noted that Daud Khan remained solicitous of Soviet interests and Afghanistan 's representative in the United Nations voted regularly with the Soviet Bloc or with the group of nonaligned countries. The Soviets remained by far Afghanistan 's largest aid donor and were influential enough to insist that no Western activity, economic or otherwise, be permitted in northern Afghanistan .

Daud Khan still favored a state-centered economy, and, three years after coming to power, he drew up an ambitious seven-year economic plan (1976-83) that included major projects and required a substantial influx of foreign aid. As early as 1974, Daud Khan began distancing himself from over-reliance on the Soviet Union for military and economic support. That same year, he formed a military training program with India , and opened talks with Iran on economic development aid. Daud Khan also turned to other oil-rich Muslim nations, such as Saudi Arabia , Iraq , and Kuwait , for financial assistance.

Pashtunistan zealots confidently expected the new president to raise this issue with Pakistan , and in the first few months of the new regime, bilateral relations were poor. Efforts by Iran and the United States to cool a tense situation succeeded after a time, and by 1977 relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan had notably improved. During Daud Khan's March 1978 visit to Islamabad , an agreement was reached whereby President Mohammad Zia ul-Haq of Pakistan released Pashtun and Baloch militants from prison in exchange for Daud Khan withdrawing support for these groups and expelling Pashtun and Baloch militants taking refuge in Afghanistan .

Daud Khan's initial visit to the Soviet Union in 1974 was friendly, despite disagreement on the Pashtunistan issue. By the time of Daud Khan's second visit in April 1977, the Soviets knew of his purge of the left begun in 1975, his removal of Soviet advisers from some Afghan military units, and his changes in military training whereby other nations, especially India and Egypt , trained Afghans with Soviet weapons. Despite official goodwill, unofficial reports circulated of sharp Soviet criticism of anticommunists in Daud Khan's new cabinet, of his failure to cooperate with the PDPA, and of his criticism of Cuba 's role in the nonaligned movement. Furthermore, Daud Khan was friendly with Iran and Saudi Arabia , and he had scheduled a visit to Washington for the spring of 1978.

President Daoud met Brezhnev on a state visit to Moscow from April 12 to 15, 1977.

Pres. Daoud had asked for a private meeting with Brezhnev, to discuss with him the increased pattern of Soviet subversive actions in Afghanistan. In particular the intensified Soviet attempt to unite the two Afghan communist parties, Parcham and Khalq.

Mr. Samad Ghaus, who at the time was the Afghan deputy foreign minister and was accompanying Pres. Daoud, recalls the story of the second meeting of the leaders of the two nations in his book "The Fall of Afghanistan". It is a telling tale of the nature of the relationship between the two nations. But more importantly it gives us a glimpse of the character and nature of the Afghan leader. President Daoud may have had many faults, but he was a true Afghan, and a true patriot, who give his life for his country. His disciplinary presence is missed dearly in today's chaotic Afghanistan.

The next day it was the host country's turn to make its presentation. Brezhnev, as the head of the Soviet delegation, took the floor. Although seemingly less tired than the previous day, he still spoke with difficulty and perspired profusely. Brezhnev repeated a few words of welcome to President Daoud. He expressed his happiness that the Helsinki Accords on security and cooperation in Europe had been signed. He characterized that as a great step in the process of detente, which, in his view, was making progress in spite of difficulties. He cited the "militarist circles" in the US and Europe and the "hegemonists" in the People's Republic of China as the main obstacles to the relaxation of international tensions and the consolidation of peace. He said that the Soviet Union wished to improve its relations with China, but it was the latter's fault if this had not yet been realized. He expressed his country's desire to see Afghanistan prosper and, to that end, promised increased economic and technical help. Brezhnev described Afghanistan's non-alignment as important to the Soviet Union and essential to the promotion of peace in Asia and hoped that the nonaligned movement would not fall victim to imperialist machinations and intrigue. At this point, Brezhnev looked straight at Daoud and said something that seemingly made Gavrilov, the interpreter, quite uncomfortable. But, after a brief pause, he hesitantly translated Brezhnev's words, and what we heard was both crude and unexpected: Brezhnev complained that the number of experts from NATO countries working in Afghanistan in bilateral ventures, as well as in the UN and other multilateral aid projects, had considerably increased. In the past, he said, the Afghan government at least did not allow experts from NATO countries to be stationed in the northern parts of the country, but this practice was no longer strictly followed. The Soviet Union, he continued, took a grim view of these developments and wanted the Afghan government to get rid of those experts, who were nothing more than spies bent on promoting the cause of imperialism.

A chill fell on the room. Some of the Russians seemed visibly embarrassed, and the Afghans appeared greatly displeased. I looked at Daoud, whose face had grown hard and dark. Brezhnev had stoppd talking, as if he were waiting for an answer from the Afghan president. In a cold, unemotional voice Daoud gave Brezhnev his reply, which apparantely was as unexpected to the Russians as Brezhnev's words had been to us. He told Brezhnev that what was just said by the Russians leader could never be accepted by the Afghans, who viewed his statement as a flagrant interference in the internal affairs of Afghanistan. He went on to say that Afghanistan greatly appreciated its ties with the Soviet Union, but this partnership must remain the partnership of equals. Daoud added, and I remember clearly his exact words, we will never allow you to dictate to us how to run our country and whom to employ in Afghanistan. How and where we employ the foreign experts will remain the exclusive prerogative of the Afghan state. Afghanistan shall remain poor, if necessary, but free in its acts and decisions. After saying this, Daoud abruptly stood up. All the Afghans did the same. Daoud nodded slightly to the Russians and staretd walking toward the exit of the huge conference room. At this point, Brezhnev, as if emrging from a state of shock, rose from his chair with some difficulty. Accompanied by his two colleagues, Podgorny and Kosygin, and followed by the Russian interpreter, he took hurried steps toward Daoud. it was clear that he intended to repair the damage done. Waheed Abdullah and I, who were walking close to the president, saw the Russians coming. Waheed Abdullah whispreed to Daoud that, for the sake of diplomatic niceties, it was advisable to take leave of the Russians properly, otherwise the visit to Moscow would be a total fiasco. He advanced towards the Russians and shook Brezhnev's extended hand. Sporting a big smile, Brezhnev said "I am told that Your Excellecy wishes to have a private meeting with me; I am at your disposal. We shall meet whenever it is convenient for you." Daoud replied in a clear, loud voice for all to hear, "I wish to inform Your Excellency that there is no longer any need for that meeting." Having said that, he shook Podgorny's and Kosygin's hands and quickly walked out of the room. That was the last time that Daoud met Brezhnev. The interruped meeting between the two delegations was never resumed, and the Russians' presentation remained unfinished. By 1978 Daud Khan had achieved little of what he had set out to accomplish. Despite good harvests in 1973 and subsequent years, no real economic progress had been made, and the Afghan standard of living had not improved. By the spring of 1978, he had alienated most key political groups by gathering power into his own hands and refusing to tolerate dissent. Although Muslim fundamentalists had been the object of repression as early as 1974, their numbers had nonetheless increased. Diehard Pashtunistan supporters were disillusioned with Daud Khan's rapprochement with Pakistan , especially by what they regarded as his commitment in the 1977 agreement not to aid Pashtun militants in Pakistan .

Most ominous for Daud Khan were developments among Afghan communists. In March 1977, despite reaching a fragile agreement on reunification, Parcham and Khalq remained mutually suspicious. The military arms of each faction were not coordinated because, by this time, Khalqi military officers vastly outnumbered Parchami officers and feared the latter might inform Daud Khan of this, raising his suspicion that a coup was imminent. Although plans for a coup had long been discussed, according to a statement by Hafizullah Amin, the April 1978 coup was implemented about two years ahead of time. The April 19, 1978, funeral for Mir Akbar Khyber, prominent Parchami ideologue who had been murdered, served as a rallying point for Afghan communists. An estimated 10,000 to 30,000 persons gathered to hear stirring speeches by Taraki and Karmal. Shocked by this demonstration of communist unity, Daud Khan ordered the arrest of PDPA leaders, but he reacted too slowly. It took him a week to arrest Taraki, and Amin was merely placed under house arrest. According to later PDPA writings, Amin sent complete orders for the coup from his home while it was under armed guard using his family as messengers. The army had been put on alert on April 26 because of a presumed "anti-Islamic" coup. Given Daud Khan's repressive and suspicious mood, officers known to have differed with Daud Khan, even those without PDPA ties or with only tenuous connections to the communists, moved hastily to prevent their own downfall. On April 27, 1978, a coup d'état beginning with troop movements at the military base at Kabul International Airport, gained ground slowly over the next twenty-four hours as rebels battled units loyal to Daud Khan in and around the capital. Daud Khan and most of his family were shot in the presidential palace the following day. Two hundred and thirty-one years of royal rule by Ahmad Shah and his descendants had ended, but it was less clear what kind of regime had succeeded them.

On June 28, 2008, the body of President Daud and those of his family were found in two separate mass graves in the Pul-e-Charkhi prison compound, District 12 of Kabul city. Initial reports indicate that sixteen corpses were in one grave and twelve others were in the second. On December 4, 2008, the Afghan Health Ministry announced that the body of Daud Khan had been identified on the basis of teeth moulds and a small golden Quran found near the body. The Quran was a present Daud had received from the king of Saudi Arabia. On March 17, 2009 Daud was given a state funeral.

Noor Mohammad Taraki

Taraki, Noor Mohammad born July 15, 1917, Ghazni province, Afghanistan

died October 9?, 1979, Kabul

Afghan politician who was president and prime minister of Afghanistan from 1978 to 1979. Born into a rural Pashtun family, Taraki attended night school while working as a clerk in Bombay, India, where he learned English. In the late 1940s he worked in the press department of the Afghan government and in 1953 was appointed attaché at the Afghan embassy in Washington, D.C. On returning to Kabul he opened a business that translated materials for foreign organizations, and his clientele included the U.S. embassy. When Mohammad Zahir Shah introduced a more flexible home and foreign policy in 1963, Taraki entered politics and helped found the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA), a Marxist party with close ties to the Soviet Union. Personal rivalries and disputes over policy caused a split in the PDPA in 1967, with the Banner (“Parcham”) faction following the party's deputy secretary, Babrak Karmal, and the People's (“Khalq”) faction following Taraki, the party's general secretary.

The Banner party supported the government of Mohammad Daud Khan following his coup in 1973, but in 1977 the two PDPA factions—possibly under Soviet pressure—reunited with Taraki resuming his post as general secretary. The following year, with the aid of Soviet-trained army units, Taraki helped overthrow Daud Khan to become president and prime minister. Once in power, however, Taraki faced numerous problems. His Marxist land and social reforms led to violent demonstrations. Unable to end the growing unrest, he turned to the Soviet Union for assistance. Taraki also found himself on the losing end of a power struggle with Hafizullah Amin, a deputy prime minister and fellow member of the People's faction of the PDPA. In March 1979 Taraki was forced to name Amin prime minister but retained his position as president and PDPA general secretary. At the beginning of September 1979 Taraki traveled to Havana for a summit conference of nonaligned nations. Returning via Moscow, he was believed to have been advised by Soviet President Leonid I. Brezhnev to eliminate Amin, whose anti-Islamic policy the Soviets felt was exacerbating the political situation in Afghanistan. Taraki's attempt to have Amin assassinated failed, and Amin seized power on September 14, 1979. Taraki was killed in the violence. Although his death was announced on October 9, there were conflicting reports on the actual date of his demise.

Hafizullah Amin

Hafizullah Amin born August 1, 1929, Paghman, Afghanistan died December 27, 1979, Kabul

Hafizullah Amin was the second President of Afghanistan during the period of the communist Democratic Republic of Afghanistan.

Born in Kabul, Afghanistan. He gained a BSc in Mathematics and Physics from the University of Kabul before leaving for Columbia University in New York where he received his Masters degree in 1957 (Pädagogik). Amin returned to Afghanistan in 1965 before completing his Ph.D to join the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA), he became a prominent member of the Marxist Khalq (People) faction.

The Soviet government and press repeatedly referred to Amin as a "CIA agent", a charge which was greeted with great skepticism in the United States and elsewhere. However, enough circumstantial evidence supporting the charge exists so that it perhaps should not be dismissed entirely out of hand.

During the late 1950s and early '60s, Amin had attended Columbia University Teachers College and the University of Wisconsin . This was a heyday period for the CIA-using impressive bribes and threats-to regularly try to recruit foreign students in the United States to act as agents for them when they returned home. During this period, at least one president of the Afghanistan Students Association (ASA), Zia H. Noorzay, was working with the CIA in the United States and later became president of the Afghanistan state treasury. One of the Afghan students whom Noorzay and the CIA tried in vain to recruit, Abdul Latif Hotaki, declared in 1967 that a good number of the key officials in the Afghanistan government who studied in the United States "are either CIA trained or indoctrinated. Some are cabinet level people." It has been reported that in 1963 Amin became head of the ASA, but this has not been corroborated. However, it is known that the ASA received part of its funding from the Asia Foundation, the CIA's principal front in Asia for many years, and that at one time Amin was associated with this organization.

In September 1979, the month that Amin took power, the American charge d'affaires in Kabul, Bruce Amstutz, began to hold friendly meetings with him to reassure him that he need not worry about his unhappy Soviet allies as long as the US maintained a strong presence in Afghanistan. The strategy may have worked, for later in the month, Amin made a special appeal to Amstutz for improved relations with the United States. Two days later in New York, the Afghan Foreign Minister quietly expressed the same sentiments to State Department officials. And at the end of October, the US Embassy in Kabul reported that Amin was "painfully aware of the exiled leadership the Soviets [were] keeping on the shelf" (a reference to Karmal who was living in Czechoslovakia). Under normal circumstances, the Amin-US meetings might be regarded as routine and innocent diplomatic contact, but these were hardly normal circumstances-the Afghan government was engaged in a civil war, and the United States was supporting the other side.

After the death of Mohammed Daoud Khan in 1978 the PDPA gained power with Noor Mohammad Taraki becoming President of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan and secretary general of the PDPA while Amin and Babrak Karmal became deputy prime ministers. An attempt to institute Marxist-Leninist reforms provoked widespread resistance and a number of violent revolts, in February 1979 the U.S. Ambassador Adolph Dubs was killed. the Khalq faction was gaining political power over the Parcham faction, with Karmal exiled to Europe Amin had gained considerable control by March 1979 and was named prime minister although Taraki retained his other posts. The unrest continued however and the regime was forced to seek more Soviet aid. On September 14, 1979 Taraki was killed in a confrontation between Taraki and Amin supporters and Amin then became the second President of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan.

Amin worked to broaden his base of support and purged the PDPA of his perceived enemies. His regime was still under pressure from the insurgency in the country and he tried to gain Pakistani or American support and refused to take Soviet advice. This display of independent nationalism meant that when in December 1979, the Soviets began their invasion of Afghanistan, Amin and many of his followers were killed on December 27. Babrak Karmal became the next President.

Babrak Karmal

Babrak Karmal born January 6, 1929, near Kabul, Afghanistan

died December 3, 1996, Moscow, Russia

Babrak Karmal (roughly translated "little tiger") was born into a wealthy Afghan family near Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, January 6, 1929. His father, Maj. Gen. Mohammad Hussain, was a friend of the royal family, especially of Gen. Mohammad Daoud (prime minister 1953-1963; 1973-1978), cousin and brother-in-law of King Mohammad Zahir.

Karmal's ethnic background is rather hazy, as was common among those born in or near Kabul, but most agree that he was Tajik or Qizilbash, Persian-speaking background.

After graduation from the Nejat High School, Karmal enrolled at the College of Law and Political Sciences in 1951. The nextyear he was arrested for holding rallies in support of Abdul Rahman Mahmudi, the well-known revolutionary figure of the 1950s. In prison Karmal was befriended by a fellow inmate, Mier Akbar Khybar. A third inmate, Mier Mohammad Siddiq Farhang, initiated both to pro-Moscow leftist views. Karmal then broke off relations with the imprisoned Mahmudi because the latter had turned pro-Beijing. Following his release in 1955, Karmal resumed his studies at the university.

Karmal became involved in Marxist political activities while a student at Kabul University, where he gained a law degree. After graduation he entered the Ministry of Planning, keeping in close touch with those who had special knowledge on communism, among them Mier Mohammad Siddiq Farhang and Ali Mohammad Zahma, a professor at Kabul University; in the 1960s Karmal addressed Farhang as ustad (master). Farhang then introduced him to the royal court. Both played a leading role in influencing the youth in adhering to communism.

Karmal was a founding member of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) and served in the National Assembly from 1965 until 1973.

When the party split (1967) into the Khalq (Taraki and Amin)and the Parcham factions, he became leader of the more moderate Parcham faction. The factions reunited in 1977, and in April 1978 seized control of Afghanistan. Karmal was initially deputy prime minister but following the rise of the rival Khalq faction he was soon 'exiled' as ambassador to Prague.

The PDPA was attempting to modernize the country in line with Marxist ideas, but there was major unrest. In December 1979 the Soviets invaded Afghanistan and called Karmal back to be President of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan.Listen to the Speech

Following the fighting with the mujahedin in the 1980s Moscow came to regard Karmal as a failure and blamed him for the problems. On May 4 1986 he was replaced as party leader by Mohammad Najibullah, and six months later he was relieved of the presidency. Karmal moved to Moscow, later returning to Afghanistan for several years, where he lived under protection of warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum. After several years, Karmal returned to Moscow, where he died ofliver disease on December 6 1996. His cause of death was caused by excess drinking.

Mohammad Najibullah Ahmadzai

Mohammad Najibullah Ahmadzai born 1947, Gardiz, Afghanistan

died September 27, 1996, Kabul

Dr. Mohammad Najibullah Ahmadzai was the fourth President of Afghanistan during the period of the communist Democratic Republic of Afghanistan.

Najibullah (meaning "Honored of God") was born in August 1947 to a moderately prosperous familybelonging to the Pushtun Ahmadzai sub-tribe of the Ghilzai. Though his ancestral village was located between the towns of Said Karam and Gardez, capital of Pakhtia Province, Najibullah was born in Afghanistan's capital city, Kabul.

Najibullah's father, Akhtar Mohammad Khan, who died in 1983, served during the 1960s as the Afghani trade commissioner and consul in Peshawar, Pakistan

He was educated at Habibia High School and Kabul University, where he graduated with a degree in Medicine in 1975.

He joined the Parcham faction of the communist People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) in 1965. and was jailed twice for his political activities and his stance on abolition of feudal power in the countryside relaxed form of religion. He was for equal rights for women and various ethnic minorities and the release of more than 13,000 political prisoners

Despite being regarded as an intelligent man, he was referred to as Najib-e Gaw (the Bull) by his opponents due to his physique. He preferred the name Najib, and dropping the trailing Allah. The PDPA staged a successful coup in 1978, but the Khalq faction of the PDPA gained supremacy, and after a brief stint as ambassador in Tehran, Najibullah was dismissed from government and went into exile in Europe.

He returned to Kabul after the Soviet invasion in 1979. In 1980, he was appointed the head of KHAD, the secret police. KhAD is an abbreviation for Khedamat-e Etelea'at-e Dawlati, the Afghanistan Marxist regime's secret police, also known as the State Information Agency. Set up in 1980, and controlled by the KGB, this was a brutal agency specifically created for the suppression of Afghanistan Marxist regime's internal opponents.

Under Najibullah's control, it is claimed that KHAD arrested, tortured and executed tens of thousands of Afghans. He was known morst famously as "Najib e Gow" literaly meaning "Najib the Bull" Najibullah replaced Babrak Karmal as Afghanistan's President in 1986.

In 1986 Najibullah became general secretary of the PDPA and had a mild success against the mujahidin revolt. Afghanistan was undermined by the intrigues of the soviet government led by Gorbachov and his clique. Finally Gorbachov withdrew Soviet forces from Afghanistan in 1989.

Najibullah's government survived for another three years. Eventually divisions within his own ranks, including the defection of General Abdul Rashid Dostam fatally weakened the government's resolve. Najibullah had

been working on a compromise settlement to end the civil war with Ahmad Shah Masood, brokered by

the United Nations. But talks broke down and the government fell.

Mojahidin forces entered Kabul in 1992. Najibullah tried to flee Kabul, but his departure was blocked by Abdul Rashid Dostum. Najibullah sought sanctuary in the UN compound in Kabul.

President Rabbani, refused to let him leave the country, but made no attempt to arrest him. Najibullah spent the rest of his days in virtual detention.

On September 27 1996 Taliban militiamen burst into the compound and dragged Najibullah to the presidential palace, where he was beaten and shot. His mutilated body, together with that of his brother, was then hung on street lamp posts outside the palace

Sibghatullah Mojadded

Pir Sibghatullah Mojaddedi was born in 1925 in Herat province in western Afghanistan, Pashtun spiritual leader of the Naqshbandi Sufi order; designated after Bahauddin Naqshband, who died in1389.

Mujaddedi was the leading survivor of this extraordinarily influential family which had emigrated from India at the beginning of the century. It had played a major role in the revolt against King Amanullah in 1929 and later became affiliated with the more conservative dynasty of Nadir Shah and Zahir Shah.

Mujaddidi studied theology and Arabic at the Al Uminium-Azhar in Cairo in 1940 and return in 50's to study Islamic Law.

upon return to Kabul, he beings his tenure at Habibia High School. He appointed professor at Institute for higher Islamic studies Kabul, where he made his anti government and anti soviet feelings heard.

More than 100 of Sibghatullah Mujaddidi's relatives were massacred at Amin's command early in 1979. followers.

Few years later he is arrested because of his criticism of the pro-Soviet course of the government and spends 3 years in Kabul the prison. Upon release he moves out of Kabul and in 1979 creates "Jabha e the Najat e Mili Afghanistan" National Liberation Front of Afghanistan and starts his resistance fight against the invading Soviet Army. Without any assistance from nation, he builds a huge group of followers who join him by mere recognition of his name and the respected sufi order that he belongs to.

Mojaddedi is often referred to as Pir, meaning saint or elder, as he is the oldest member of the Naqshbandi sufi order. His family holds the rank of pir (saint) in the Sufi order which is the basis for its large religious following throughout Afghanistan. Sibghatullah Mojaddedi is a conservative Maulawi. His party, the essentially consists of Naqshbandi

In 1992 after the fall of the communist government in Kabul, all 7 mujahidin factions met in Peshawar and there It was decided that a 51 persons body, headed by Hazrat Sahib Sibghatullah Mojaddedi, would go inside Afghanistan so that they could take over power from the present rulers of Kabul, completely and without any terms and conditions during the two months period. The head of this body will also represent the Presidentship of the State during these two months. After this period, this body will remain as an interim Islamic Council, along with the Transitional State and its Chairmanship will be held by Mr. Mojaddedi.

Burhanuddin Rabbani

Burhanuddin Rabbani, son of Muhammed Yousuf, was born in 1940 in Badakhshan, a province of Afghanistan. After finishing school in his native province, he went to Darul-uloom-e-Sharia (Abu-Hanifa), a religious school in Kabul. When he graduated from Abu-Hanifa, he went to Kabul University to study Islamic Law and Theology. During his four years at Kabul University he became well known for his works on Islam. Soon after his graduation in 1963, he was hired as a Professor at Kabul University. Rabbani went to Egypt in 1966, and he entered the University of Al-Azhar in Cairo. In two years, he received his masters degree in Islamic Philosophy.

In 1968, Rabbani returned to Afghanistan, where the High Council of Jamiat-i-Islami of Afghanistan gave him the duty of organizing the University students. Due to his knowledge, reputation, and active support for the cause of Islam, in 1972, a 15-member council selected him as head of Jamiat-i-Islami of Afghanistan; the founder of Jamiat-i-Islami of Afghanistan.

In the spring of 1974, police cars came to Kabul University to arrest Rabbani for his pro-Islamic stance, but with the help of his students the police were unable to capture him, and he managed to escape to the country side.

In 1992 he became President of the Islamic Council of Afghanistan for a 4 month term until a selection of a new president was to take place, Rabbani along with a few of his supported held a meeting and declared himself president for another 5 year term. Other Factions controlling Afghanistan at that point were not invited.

In January 1994, Hekmatyar joined forces with Dostum to oust Rabbani and his defense minister, Masood, launching full-scale civil war in Kabul. In 1994 alone, an estimated 25,000 were killed in Kabul; most of them civilians in rocket and artillery attacks. One-third of the city was reduced to rubble, and much of the remainder sustained serious damage. In September 1994, fighting between the two major Shi'a parties, the Hizb-i Wahdat and the Harakat-i Islami, left hundreds dead, most of them civilians. Thousands of new refugees fled to Pashunistan that year.

by the end of 1994 the rest of the country was carved up among the various factions, with many mujahidin commanders establishing themselves as virtual warlords. The city of Kabul was divided in to neighborhoods controlled by a different faction. Residence could not cross the street to their local market because the opposite side belonged to a different faction and thus you needed documents to cross the street. Women were reduced to slaves and sex toys of the warlords and renegade soldiers. Afghan girls were kidnapped and sold to Arabs and Pakistanis. The economy was shattered; the people were reduced to collect bones in order to trade them for food. Women were not safe in their own homes, thieves ran the streets, the Kabul museum was ransacked and sold to western archeologists and museums, the man with the gun ruled while unarmed civilians were their slaves. The situation around the southern city of Kandahar was particularly precarious: the city was divided among different forces, and civilians had little security from murder, rape, looting, or extortion. Humanitarian agencies frequently found their offices stripped of all equipment, their vehicles hijacked, and their staff threatened.

Hekmatyar was awarded the post of prime minister, but still the Burhanuddin Rabbani government lost all authority in Afghanistan. and with popular support of the people, his government was ousted by then very popular Taliban movement.

Kabul was captured by the Taliban in 1996. Rabbani set up headquarters in the northern Afghan town of Faizabad and led, with support from Iran and Russia, one of the five anti-Taliban factions.

Stripped of power, he was still recognized as ruler of Afghanistan by the United Nations and most other countries until he formally handed over power to an interim government headed by Hamid Karzai on December 22, 2001.

Rabbani was assassinated on September 20 2011 by Pakistani ISI agents during a peace meeting between Afghan government and the Taliban movement. A man with a bomb hidden in his turban leaned over and pressed his head onto Rabbani's chest and detonated the bomb killing him and severely injuring Masoom Stanekzai, the former information minister of Afghanistan.

Mullah Mohammad Omar

Mullah Mohammad Omar was born in 1959 as the son of a peasant farmer, he grew up in mud huts around the village of Singesar, near Kandahar. In short, he's an unlikely leader in a country where pedigree and royalty have always been the path to power. he's tall (6 foot, 6 inches) bearded, reclusive, and a lover of war stories. A fierce commander, he was wounded four times in the jihad against the Soviets, leaving him with one eye. He is not a great speaker. To his followers, his strength is his piety, the force of his belief.

Omar, known for a pure devotion to Islam, was a mullah with a village madrassah near Kandahar. But he was horrified by the behavior of former mujahideen commanders that he had fought alongside from 1989 to 1992. They were kidnapping and raping boys and girls, stealing from Afghans at gunpoint on the road, and driving international aid workers out of Kandahar. So, Omar and 30 ethnic Pashtun followers picked up the gun at first to stop four notorious mujahideen who were raping women near Omar's village - and later to bring law and order to an entire country.

By 1995 Omar sounds like the man who will pave the way for the king's Zahir Shah's return. He talked about peace and security. at the same time Zahir Shah's representatives are invited to Pakistan and the streets are covered with supporters of former king with Black Red and Green tri color flags of the past.

Mullah omar and the Taliban repeatedly say that their mission is to create a Muslim state that would perfectly practice a strict interpretation of the Quran, one taught in the fundamentalist madrassahs of Pakistan, where Omar went to school. The Taliban do not seek power, they will restore peace to the nation and hand the power to politicians and experienced leaders of Afghanistan.

In 1996, as Taliban fervor increased, Omar accepted the title of "Amirul Momineen," or "commander of the faithful," in an emotional meeting in Kandahar where he appeared on a balcony above thousands of cheering Taliban, wrapping himself in a cloak said to belong to the Prophet Mohammad. The cloak had not been removed from its Kandahar shrine in 60 years, and had never been worn before. Omar is the first Muslim since the Fourth Caliph, a nephew of Prophet Mohammad, to publicly accept the Amirul title, a ranking in Islam nearly second to the Prophet.

By 1997 Arabs had moved in to powerful positions in the government and began to influence Omar. With Osama Bin Laden and ISI Pakistani secret service providing majority of weapons and soldiers, the Taliban movement begins to take an international shape. Many Afghans who supported the Taliban ideas at the beginning of the movement, now notice that the group is headed by Bin Laden and supplied by Pakistan begin to withdraw support. As afghans leave the movement, they are being replaced by Arabs, Pakistanis and Chechnians. By 1998 Al Qaeda is running Afghanistan with Osama Bin Laden as its leader while Mullah Omar is a symbolic leader.

The movement, backed by the Pakistani secret service, succeeded beyond anyone's imagination - capturing most of the country by 1998.

The Idea of blowing up the Buddah of Bamian was presented by a Chechnian rebel and adopted by Al Qaeda. Many of Taliban governing body rejected the idea, and so did Mullah Omar. Few months later the order was carried out and the Buddhas were destroyed.

On September 9 2001 two Al Qaeda suicide bombers disguised as Arab reporters seeking to interview Ahmad Shah Masood with hidden bomb in a video camera and around their waists. The Bomb blast killed Ahmad Shah Masood and a couple of aids. Ahmad Shah Masood died on September 10 2001. A day later New York City and Washington DC come under attack by suicide bombers who cashed passenger planes into the world trade center buildings and Pentagon. The United States blamed Osama Bin Laden’s Al Qaeda network for the attacks and started building a coalition to oust the Al Qaeda and Taliban from Afghanistan

Hamid Karzai

Hamid Karzai, the leader of Afghanistan’s interim government wasn’t even in Bonn when he was selected to head the post-Taliban administration. He was in southern Afghanistan, preparing for the final push on the city of Kandahar.

Karzai comes from the dominant Pashtun tribe, and from the same clan of the former Afghan king Zahir Shah. For a brief time in the early 1990s he supported the Taliban, which had taken over when the holy warriors of the mujahedeen ended the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. That was when he regarded the Taliban as Pashtun, like himself.

He quickly became suspicious of the Taliban, not pleased with how it had been infiltrated by foreign elements such as Pakistani, Arab, and Chechen extremists. Seven years later, in 1999, the Taliban assassinated Karzai’s father, Abdul Ahad Karzai, once a parliamentary deputy in the Afghan government. The young Karzai and his father had campaigned against the Taliban, operating from a base in Quetta, just across the border in Pakistan.

Karzai then devoted himself to the campaign against the Taliban, determined to follow his father’s wishes that a multi-ethnic, broad-based government rule Afghanistan, starting with the convening of a grand tribal assembly known as a loya jirga.

He is tall, bald, with a carefully trimmed beard and moustache. He comfortably wears well-tailored suits and ties and often displays a quick and clever sense of humor.

Karzai is good at keeping a cool head in extreme circumstances. He describes himself as "a politician, not a fighter." Educated partly in India, he speaks English fluently, as well as six other languages. Over his Afghan tunic he often wears a double-breasted blazer. After two sessions with the Taliban commanders, he secured the surrender of Kandahar, a city Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar once promised his fighters would defend to the death.

According to Afghanland.com sources, Karzai has six brothers and one sister have built successful careers in business or academia in the U.S. Two Maryland-based brothers own Afghan restaurants in Boston, San Francisco and Baltimore Maryland owned by Pat and Qayum Karzai. All three restaurants are named Helmand, after the province just west of Kandahar. Though he has visited the U.S. several times, on occasion meeting with high-ranking cia, State Department and other government officials, Karzai has remained mostly in Afghanistan or in exile in Pakistan, embroiled in the tortured politics of his homeland.

Unlike most Afghan men, who marry in their early 20s, Karzai remained a bachelor 1999. Having a wife was not a priority to him, He was only dedicated to Afghanistan.Family members say it was the final illness of his mother, who had expressed the wish to see him settled before she died, that led Karzai to marry at last, in January 1999. His wife Zinat is an obstetrician-gynecologist active in assisting refugees in Pakistan.

After the Soviets invaded Afghanistan in 1979, Karzai fled to Pakistan, where he built supply lines between anti-Soviet Afghan guerrillas and American backers. When the mujahedin took power in 1992, he returned to serve for two years as Deputy Foreign Minister in the government of President Burhanuddin Rabbani. Disillusionment with the infighting of that regime led him to switch over, briefly, to the Taliban, which once tried to make him its U.N. ambassador, a post he declined. But Karzai, an Islamic moderate, soon turned against the Taliban's stringencies, especially its brutal restrictions on women, and returned to Pakistan. Former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Karl Inderfurth, a friend of Karzai's, says that after the murder of his father, Karzai approached Washington with plans for leading resistance to the Taliban. "It did seem like a mission impossible," says Inderfurth, "because he'd be putting himself at great risk."

Karzai has never shied from risks. On Oct. 7 he slipped inside southern Afghanistan, heading first to his ancestral village of Karz, near Kandahar. From there he set off to the mountains of Oruzgan province, recruiting tribal elders to join an anti-Taliban coalition. It was not long before the Taliban got on his trail. He escaped ambush and certain death by calling in U.S. forces to rescue him by helicopter. The U.S. says it whisked him out of the country; he insists he never left--perhaps concerned about being seen as too close to the U.S. Since then, Karzai has been back in the mountains, while his Pashtun recruitment drive has picked up speed as one Taliban city after another has fallen to the Northern Alliance.

Having secured the peaceful fall of Kandahar, Karzai is headed up to the capital, Kabul. When he formally took charge on Dec. 22 2001 he will find his 30-member Cabinet assailed by regional warlords who were elbowed out in Bonn.

One notable element of Karzai's Cabinet is that it will include two women. Suhaila Seddiqi, a doctor in Kabul, will be the Minister of Public Health. Sima Samar, who works with a nongovernmental organization in Quetta, will be Minister of Women's Affairs, as well as one of Karzai's five deputies.

He is considered a moderate Muslim. In the campaign against the Taliban, he commanded 4,000 Northern Alliance fighters, mostly in southern Afghanistan, in the push on Kandahar.

Tom Ford designer of famed GUCCI line named Karzai ``The chicest man on the planet today (1/16/2002) is the new president of Afghanistan, whose look is very elegant and very proud,'' Ford said after showing his fall-winter 2002-03 collection for Gucci during Milan's men swear shows.

By the time a United Nations-sponsored conference met to set up an interim government for Afghanistan, he had strong American backing and was clearly being groomed for leadership.

At the end of that conference in December, he was elected leader of Afghanistan's six-month interim government.

Well educated, Westernized and stylish, Mr. Karzai has been feted by foreign governments on his frequent trips abroad and has proved a shrewd and charismatic statesman.

He has also managed to build up considerable support at home, partly a tribute to his diplomatic skills, but also because many ordinary Afghans are disillusioned with existing leaders and warlords.

As far as they are concerned, one of the major points in his favor is that he was not involved in the bloodletting in Afghanistan during the early 1990s. However, that also means he has no armed forces of his own in a country famous for fractious warlords.

But the political horse-trading ahead of the loya jirga may have tarnished his image with some Afghans. There is a perception that he has entered into political deals with Afghanistan's warlords. Thus far he is the best candidate to steer Afghanistan towards a better future and he means well and it truly a good man.

Mr Hamid Karzai, President of Transitional Islamic state of Afghanistan, revived the memories of the days he spent in the Queen of Hills as a student where he recieved the honorary degree of Doctor of Literature from Dr Suraj Bhan, the Chancellor of the Himachal Pradesh University.

“I know Shimla more than anyone of you. I am familiar with every street every building and had explored its every nook and corner”, he said. “It was drizzling when I landed at the local railway station alongwith my cousin we walked through the road passing through a thick forest. The landscape fascinated me so much that I decided to join the local S.D.B. degree college to pursue his gradation.”

He said it was in Shimla that he got into habit of walking. His long walks, initially from the guest house to the college, continued even after he shifted the YMCA in the heart of the city.

According to a PTI report Karzai arrived here by an IAF helicopter and was received at the Annandale Helipad by the Governor, Dr Suraj Bhan, the Chief Minister, V.B. Singh, Cabinet Ministers Vidya Stokes, Kaul Singh and Kuldeep Kumar and Chief Secretary Rajinder Bhattacharya.

In 2004 Elections Karzai was elected the first President of Afghanistan by a nation wide poll. He defeated his closest rival Yunos Qanooni by over 40%.

AFGHANISTAN

Afghan Rulers

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