1.
Kokand
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Kokand is a city in Fergana Region in eastern Uzbekistan, at the southwestern edge of the Fergana Valley. The population of Kokand on April 24,2014 was approximately 187,477, the city lies 228 km southeast of Tashkent,115 km west of Andijan, and 88 km west of Fergana. It is nicknamed City of Winds, or sometimes Town of the Boar, kokands name derives from the well-known tribal family group of Kokan who belong to the Kongrat tribe of Uzbeks. Kokand is at the crossroads of the two ancient trade routes into the Fergana Valley, one leading northwest over the mountains to Tashkent. As a result, Kokand is the transportation junction in the Fergana Valley. Kokand has existed since at least the 10th century, under the name of Khavakend, the Han Dynasty of China conquered the entire city in the 1st Century B. C. Later, the Arabs reconquered the region from Tang Empire, the Mongols destroyed Kokand in the 13th century. The present city began as a fort in 1732 on the site of another older fortress called Eski-Kurgan, in 1740, it became the capital of an Uzbek kingdom, the Khanate of Kokand, which reached as far as Kyzylorda to the west and Bishkek to the northeast. Kokand was also the religious center of the Fergana Valley. Russian imperial forces under Mikhail Skobelev captured the city in 1883 which then became part of Russian Turkistan and it was the capital of the short-lived anti-Bolshevik Provisional Government of Autonomous Turkistan. They sought co-operation from Ataman Dutov and Alash Orda, however, their emissary to the Amir of Bukhara achieved little. The Palace of Khudayar Khan was built between 1863 and 1874 by Muhammad Khudayar Khan, upon completion, it was one of the largest and most opulent palaces in Central Asia. Nineteen of its one hundred and thirteen rooms survive and now host a museum. Jummi Mosque, a Friday mosque built in 1800-1812, and reopened in 1989, amin Beg Madrassah, built in 1813. Dakhma-I-Shokhon, a necropolis of the Kokand Khans from the 1830s, khamza Museum, dedicated to Kokand’s Soviet hero Hamza Hakimzade Niyazi. Islam a plays large role in the life of Kokand. A number of madrasah can be found with the city and it is also home to a number of notable hanafi scholars, such as Abdulhafiz Al-Quqoniy and Yorqinjon Qori Al-Quqoniy. There are 2 institutes,9 colleges and lyceums,40 secondary schools,5 musical schools, a theater, there are 7 historical and house museums located in Kokand
2.
Emir of Afghanistan
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The following is a list of heads of state of Afghanistan since the establishment of the first Afghan state, the Hotak Empire, in 1709. The Hotak Empire was formed after an uprising led by Mirwais Hotak and other Afghan tribal chiefs from Kandahar against Mughal. After a long series of wars, the Hotak Empire was eventually replaced by the Durrani Afghan Empire that was founded by Ahmad Shah Durrani in 1747, daoud then established the Republic of Afghanistan, which lasted until the Saur Revolution in 1978. Since 1978, Afghanistan has been in a state of internal warfare. The former president Hamid Karzai became the first ever democratically elected head of state of Afghanistan on 7 December 2004, the current president is Ashraf Ghani, since 29 September 2014. President of Afghanistan Prime Minister of Afghanistan Chief Executive Officer Name of Afghanistan History of Afghanistan List of Pashtun empires and dynasties Presidency of Afghanistan
3.
Dost Mohammad Khan (Emir of Afghanistan)
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Dost Mohammad Khan was the founder of the Barakzai dynasty and one of the prominent rulers of Afghanistan during the First Anglo-Afghan War. With the decline of the Durrani dynasty, he became Emir of Afghanistan from 1826 to 1839, an ethnic Pashtun, he was the 11th son of Sardar Payendah Khan who was killed in 1799 by Zaman Shah Durrani. Dost Mohammads grandfather was Hajji Jamal Khan, the Musahiban family started with his older brother, Sultan Muhammad Khan, nicknamed Telai, meaning golden, a nickname he was given because of his love of fine clothing. This brother was the ruler of Peshawar, Dost Mohammad Khan was born to an influential family on 23 December 1793 in Kandahar, Durrani Empire. His father, Payindah Khan, was chief of the Barakzai tribe and their family can be traced back to Abdal, through Hajji Jamal Khan, Yousef, Yaru, Mohammad, Omar Khan, Khisar Khan, Ismail, Nek, Daru, Saifal, and Barak. Abdal had Four sons, Popal, Barak, Achak, Dost Mohmmad Khans mother is believed to have been a Shia from the Persian Qizilbash group. 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. Dost Mohammad accompanied his brother and then Prime Minister of Kabul Wazir Fateh Khan to the Battle of Attock against the invading Sikhs. Mahmud Shah repaid Fatteh Khans services by having him assassinated in 1818, after a bloody conflict, Mahmud Shah was deprived of all his possessions but Herat, the rest of his dominions being divided among Fatteh Khans brothers. Of these, Dost Mohammad received Ghazni, to which in 1826 he added Kabul, in 1834 Shah Shujah made a last attempt to recover his kingdom. He was defeated by Dost Mohammad Khan under the walls of Kandahar, Dost Mohammad sent his son Akbar Khan to defeat the Sikhs at the Battle of Jamrud in 1837. The non- recovery of the Jamrud Fort became the Afghan Amirs worst concern, at the intersection of British, Russian and, to a lesser degree, French imperial interests, political maneuvering was necessary. Rejecting overtures from Russia, he endeavoured to form an alliance with Great Britain, Burnes, however, was unable to prevail on the governor-general, Lord Auckland, to respond to the emirs advances. Dost Mohammad was enjoined to abandon the attempt to recover Peshawar and he replied by renewing his relations with Russia, and in 1838 Lord Auckland set the British troops in motion against him. To enable such an action, the British manufactured the evidence needed to justify the overthrow of the Afghan ruler, Dost Muhammad erected a fort at Ali Masjid at the other end. In the beginning of 1837, as Prince Nau Nihal Singh returned to Lahore to get married, Dost Muhammad Khan sent a 25,000 strong force, including a large number of local irregulars and equipped with 18 heavy guns, to invest Jam rud. The Sikh garrison there had only 600 men and a few artillery pieces. The Afghans besieged the fort and cut off its water supply, mahan Singh Mirpuri, the garrison commander of Jamrud, kept the invaders at bay for four days and managed meanwhile to send a desperate appeal for help to Hari Singh Nalva at Peshawar
4.
Mohammad Afzal Khan
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Mohammad Afzal Khan was the Emir of Afghanistan from 1865 to 1867. The oldest son of Dost Mohammed Khan, Afzal Khan seized power from his brother Sher Ali Khan three years after their fathers death, following Afzal Khans death the following year, Mohammad Azam Khan was reinstated as Amir of Afghanistan. He was an ethnic Pashtun and belong to the Barakzai tribe, Khans third son Abdur Rahman Khan was Emir from 1880 to 1901. List of leaders of Afghanistan Template, Afghani-leader
5.
Kabul
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Kabul is the capital of Afghanistan as well as its largest city, located in the eastern section of the country. According to a 2015 estimate, the population of the city was around 3,678,033 which includes all the ethnic groups. Rapid urbanization had made Kabul the worlds 64th largest city and the fifth fastest-growing city in the world, Kabul is said to be over 3,500 years old, mentioned since at least the time of the Achaemenid Empire. The city is at a location along the trade routes of South and Central Asia. It has been part of the Achaemenids, Seleucids, Mauryans, Kushans, Kabul Shahis, Saffarids, Ghaznavids, Later, it was controlled by the Mughal Empire until finally becoming part of the Durrani Empire in 1747. The city is located high up in a valley between the Hindu Kush mountains. Kabul became the capital of Afghanistan during the reign of Timur Shah Durrani, in the early 19th century, the British occupied the city but were compelled to abandon it. Relations between Afghanistan and Great Britain were later established, the city was occupied by the Soviets in 1979 but they too abandoned it after the 1988 Geneva Accords were signed. A civil war in the 1990s between various rebel groups destroyed much of the city, resulting in many casualties, since the removal of the Taliban from power in late 2001, the city gradually began rebuilding itself with assistance by the international community. Despite the many terrorist attacks by elements, the city is growing and developing. The city is divided into about 18 districts, the Kabul International Airport is located in the Wazir Akbar Khan district a few miles from the foreign embassies. The Parliament of Afghanistan, built by India, is located in the Kārte Seh district, Kabul, also spelled Cabool, Caubul, Kabol, or Cabul. The word Kubhā is mentioned in the Rigveda, one of the four sacred texts of Hinduism, and the Avesta. The Rigveda praises it as a city, a vision of paradise set in the mountains. The area in which the Kabul valley sits was ruled by the Medes before falling to the Achaemenids, there is a reference to a settlement called Kabura by the rulers of the Achaemenid Empire, It became a center of Zoroastrianism followed by Buddhism and Hinduism. The region became part of the Seleucid Empire but was given to the Indian Maurya Empire. The Greco-Bactrians captured Kabul from the Mauryans in the early 2nd century BC, indo-Scythians expelled the Indo-Greeks by the mid 1st century BC, but lost the city to the Kushan Empire about 100 years later. Some historians ascribe Kabul the Sanskrit name of Kamboja and it is mentioned as Kophes or Kophene in some classical writings
6.
Emirate of Afghanistan
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The Emirate of Afghanistan was an emirate between Central Asia and South Asia, which is todays Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The emirate emerged from the Durrani Empire, when Dost Mohammed Khan, the history of the Emirate was dominated by the Great Game between the Russian Empire and the United Kingdom for supremacy in Central Asia. This period was characterized by the expansion of European colonial interests in South Asia, during the war, Britain occupied the country, in an effort to prevent Afghanistan from coming under Russian control and curb Russian expansion. The war ended with a victory for the United Kingdom. Upon the death of Dost Muhammad in 1863, he was succeeded by his son, however, three years later, his older brother Mohammad Afzal Khan overthrew him. In 1868, Mohammad Afzal Khan was himself overthrown and replaced as Emir by Sher Ali, Sher Ali had spent his few short years in exile in Russia. His return as Emir led to new conflicts with Britain, subsequently, the British marched on 21 November 1878 into Afghanistan and Emir Sher Ali was forced to flee again to Russia, but he died in 1879 in Mazar-i-Sharif. His successor, Mohammad Yaqub Khan, sought solutions for peace with Russia, however, when the British envoy Sir Louis Cavagnari was killed in Kabul on the 3 September 1879, the British offered to accept Abdur Rahman Khan as Emir. The British concluded a treaty with the Afghans in 1880. After the war, Emir Abdur Rahman Khan, who struck down the country reformed and repressed numerous uprisings, after his death in 1901 his son Habibullah Khan succeeded as emir and continued reforms. Habibullah Khan sought reconciliation with Great Britain, where he graduated in 1905 with a treaty with Russia. In the First World War, Afghanistan remained, despite German and Ottoman efforts, Habibullah Khans son Amanullah Khan was in 1919 against the rightful heir apparent Nasrullah Khan, the then Emir of Afghanistan. Shortly afterwards another war broke which lasted for three months and this war was ended with the Treaty of Rawalpindi after which, the Afghans were able to resume the right to conduct their own foreign affairs as a fully independent state. Amanullah Khan began the reformation of the country and was crowned 1926 Padshah of Afghanistan, European influence in Afghanistan List of monarchs of Afghanistan Clements, Frank. Conflict in Afghanistan, A Historical Encyclopedia
7.
Shrine of Ali
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The Blue Mosque is a mosque located in the center of Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan. The Seljuq dynasty sultan Ahmed Sanjar built the first known shrine at this location and it was destroyed or hidden under earthen embankment during the invasion of Genghis Khan in around 1220. In the 15th century, Sultan Husayn Mirza Bayqarah built the current Blue Mosque here and it is by far the most important landmark in Mazar-i-Sharif and it is believed that the name of city originates from this shrine. Tombs of varying dimensions were added for a number of Afghan political and religious leaders over the years and these include the square domed tomb of Amir Dost Muhammad, Wazir Akbar Khan and a similar structure for Amir Sher Ali and his family. According to a legend here has been buried Ali who reportedly was brought here by a white camel in order to save his remains from the desecration by his enemies. Most Muslims though consider that Ali is buried in Imam Ali Mosque, Najaf in Iraq
8.
Mazar-i-Sharif
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Mazar-i-Sharif or Mazar-e-Sharif is the third-largest city of Afghanistan, with a 2015 UN—Habitat population estimate between 577,500 to 693,000. It is the capital of Balkh province and is linked by highways with Kunduz in the east, Kabul in the southeast, Herat in the west and Uzbekistan in the north. Mazar-e Sharif, along with Herat, Jalalabad in the east and Kandahar in the south, the city also serves as one of the many tourist attractions because of its famous shrines as well as the Muslim and Hellenistic archeological sites. In 2006, the discovery of new Hellenistic remains was announced, Mazar-i-Sharif is the Regional Hub located in the northern region in close proximity to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. The Mazari Sharif Airport in the city has been used during the 1980s Soviet war. The name Mazar-e Sharif means Noble Shrine, a reference to the large, blue-tiled sanctuary, according to tradition, the city of Mazari Sharif owes its existence to a dream. The famous Jalal al-Din Rumi was born in area but like many historical figures his exact location of birth cannot be confirmed. His father Baha Walad was descended from the first caliph Abu Bakr and was influenced by the ideas of Ahmad Ghazali, Baha Walads sermons were published and still exist as Divine Sciences. Rumi completed six books of poetry and tales called Masnavi before he died in 1273. Although later rebuilt, Mazar stood in the shadow of its neighbor Balkh, thus the ruler of North Central Afghanistan decided to shift the capital of the city of Mazar-e-Sharif. The Mazar-i-Sharif means the noble shrine and this name represents the Blue Mosque which is widely known to be the grave of Hazrat Ali. In the late 1870s, Emir Sher Ali Khan ruled the area from his Tashkurgan Palace in Mazar-i Sharif and this northern part of Afghanistan was un-visited by the British-led Indian forces during the Anglo-Afghan wars of the 19th century. During the 1980s Soviet war, Mazar-i-Sharif was a base for the Soviet Army as they used its airport to launch air strikes on Afghan mujahideen. As a garrison for the Soviet-backed Afghan army, the city was under the command of Dostum, under Dostums 5 year rule from the early 1990s to early 1997, the city was relatively peaceful. The rest of the nation disintegrated and was taken over by the Taliban forces. He printed his own currency and established his own airline and he is widely believed to have been responsible for the brutal massacre of up to 3,000 Taliban prisoners after inviting them into Mazar-i-Sharif. Several of the Taliban escaped the slaughtering and reported what had happened, the Taliban retaliated in 1998 attacking the city and killing an estimated 8,000. More than 8000 noncombatants were reported killed in Mazar-i-Sharif and later in Bamiyan, in addition, the Taliban were criticized for forbidding anyone from burying the corpses for the first six days while the remains rotted in the summer heat and were eaten by dogs
9.
Afghanistan
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Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located within South Asia and Central Asia. It has a population of approximately 32 million, making it the 42nd most populous country in the world. It is bordered by Pakistan in the south and east, Iran in the west, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan in the north and its territory covers 652,000 km2, making it the 41st largest country in the world. The land also served as the source from which the Kushans, Hephthalites, Samanids, Saffarids, Ghaznavids, Ghorids, Khiljis, Mughals, Hotaks, Durranis, the political history of the modern state of Afghanistan began with the Hotak and Durrani dynasties in the 18th century. In the late 19th century, Afghanistan became a state in the Great Game between British India and the Russian Empire. Following the Third Anglo-Afghan War in 1919, King Amanullah unsuccessfully attempted to modernize the country and it remained peaceful during Zahir Shahs forty years of monarchy. A series of coups in the 1970s was followed by a series of wars that devastated much of Afghanistan. The name Afghānistān is believed to be as old as the ethnonym Afghan, the root name Afghan was used historically in reference to a member of the ethnic Pashtuns, and the suffix -stan means place of in Persian. Therefore, Afghanistan translates to land of the Afghans or, more specifically in a historical sense, however, the modern Constitution of Afghanistan states that he word Afghan shall apply to every citizen of Afghanistan. An important site of historical activities, many believe that Afghanistan compares to Egypt in terms of the historical value of its archaeological sites. The country sits at a unique nexus point where numerous civilizations have interacted and it has been home to various peoples through the ages, among them the ancient Iranian peoples who established the dominant role of Indo-Iranian languages in the region. At multiple points, the land has been incorporated within large regional empires, among them the Achaemenid Empire, the Macedonian Empire, the Indian Maurya Empire, and the Islamic Empire. Archaeological exploration done in the 20th century suggests that the area of Afghanistan has been closely connected by culture and trade with its neighbors to the east, west. Artifacts typical of the Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze, urban civilization is believed to have begun as early as 3000 BCE, and the early city of Mundigak may have been a colony of the nearby Indus Valley Civilization. More recent findings established that the Indus Valley Civilisation stretched up towards modern-day Afghanistan, making the ancient civilisation today part of Pakistan, Afghanistan, in more detail, it extended from what today is northwest Pakistan to northwest India and northeast Afghanistan. An Indus Valley site has found on the Oxus River at Shortugai in northern Afghanistan. There are several smaller IVC colonies to be found in Afghanistan as well, after 2000 BCE, successive waves of semi-nomadic people from Central Asia began moving south into Afghanistan, among them were many Indo-European-speaking Indo-Iranians. These tribes later migrated further into South Asia, Western Asia, the region at the time was referred to as Ariana
10.
Dynasty
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A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a feudal or monarchical system but sometimes also appearing in elective republics. The dynastic family or lineage may be known as a house, historians periodize the histories of many sovereign states, such as Ancient Egypt, the Carolingian Empire and Imperial China, using a framework of successive dynasties. As such, the dynasty may be used to delimit the era during which the family reigned and to describe events, trends. The word dynasty itself is often dropped from such adjectival references, until the 19th century, it was taken for granted that a legitimate function of a monarch was to aggrandize his dynasty, that is, to increase the territory, wealth, and power of his family members. The longest-surviving dynasty in the world is the Imperial House of Japan, dynasties throughout the world have traditionally been reckoned patrilineally, such as under the Frankish Salic law. Succession through a daughter when permitted was considered to establish a new dynasty in her husbands ruling house, however, some states in Africa, determined descent matrilineally, while rulers have at other times adopted the name of their mothers dynasty when coming into her inheritance. It is also extended to unrelated people such as poets of the same school or various rosters of a single sports team. The word dynasty derives via Latin dynastia from Greek dynastéia, where it referred to power, dominion and it was the abstract noun of dynástēs, the agent noun of dynamis, power or ability, from dýnamai, to be able. A ruler in a dynasty is referred to as a dynast. For example, following his abdication, Edward VIII of the United Kingdom ceased to be a member of the House of Windsor. A dynastic marriage is one that complies with monarchical house law restrictions, the marriage of Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange, to Máxima Zorreguieta in 2002 was dynastic, for example, and their eldest child is expected to inherit the Dutch crown eventually. But the marriage of his younger brother Prince Friso to Mabel Wisse Smit in 2003 lacked government support, thus Friso forfeited his place in the order of succession, lost his title as a Prince of the Netherlands, and left his children without dynastic rights. In historical and monarchist references to formerly reigning families, a dynast is a member who would have had succession rights, were the monarchys rules still in force. Even since abolition of the Austrian monarchy, Max and his descendants have not been considered the rightful pretenders by Austrian monarchists, nor have they claimed that position. The term dynast is sometimes used only to refer to descendants of a realms monarchs. The term can therefore describe overlapping but distinct sets of people, yet he is not a male-line member of the royal family, and is therefore not a dynast of the House of Windsor. Thus, in 1999 he requested and obtained permission from Elizabeth II to marry the Roman Catholic Princess Caroline of Monaco. Yet a clause of the English Act of Settlement 1701 remained in effect at that time and that exclusion, too, ceased to apply on 26 March 2015, with retroactive effect for those who had been dynasts prior to triggering it by marriage to a Catholic
11.
Barakzai dynasty
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The two branches of the Barakzai dynasty ruled modern day Afghanistan from 1826 to 1973 when the monarchy ended under Musahiban Mohammad Zahir Shah. The Barakzai dynasty was established by Dost Mohammad Khan after the Durrani dynasty of Ahmad Shah Durrani was removed from power. During this era, Afghanistan saw much of its territory lost to the British in the south and east, Persia in the west, there were also many conflicts within Afghanistan, including the three major Anglo-Afghan Wars and the 1929 civil war. The Barakzai dynasty was the line of rulers in Afghanistan in the 19th and 20th centuries, following the fall of the Durrani Empire in 1826, chaos reigned in the domains of Ahmed Shah Durranis Afghan Empire as various sons of Timur Shah struggled for supremacy. The Afghan Empire ceased to exist as a nation state. Dost Mohammad Khan gained preeminence in 1826 and founded the Barakzai dynasty in about 1837, thereafter, his descendants ruled in direct succession until 1929, when King Amanullah Khan abdicated and his cousin Mohammed Nadir Shah was elected king. The most prominent & powerful sub-clan of the Barakzai Pashtun tribe is the Mohamedzai clan, currently, Gul Agha Sherzai is the Khan of the Barakzai tribe. He is Senior Advisor to the President of Afghanistan and also Governor of Nangarhar Province, a family of Barakzai Tribe is residing in village Tordher of District Swabi of Khyber PukhtoonKhwa. Mohammadzai are the most prominent & powerful sub-tribe of Barakzai, they belong to the branch of the Durrani confederacy and they can also be found in other provinces throughout Afghanistan as well across the border in the Pakistans Balochistan Province. Musahiban are the descendants of Sultan Muhammed Khan, ruler of Peshawar, Mohammadzai Barakzai are closely related to Amanullah Khan. The family of Nadir and Zahir Shah, the Tarzi family is a branch of the Mohammadzai of Afghanistan. Although a smaller branch of the Barakzai ruling dynasty, the Tarzi family has produced some of the most famous, formerly, Dari Persian was used as the language for records and correspondence, until the late nineteenth century tombstones were also inscribed in Dari. The language of the Barakzai tribes in Pishin, Quetta, Gulistan and those who have settled away from Pishin speak local languages, such as Multani or Saraiki in Multan, Hindko in Hazara, Urdu in Bhopal and Sindhi in Sindh. Barakzai, a dialect of Pashto, is the language spoken by Harnai Barakzai
12.
Sunni Islam
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Sunni Islam is the largest group of Islam. Its name comes from the word Sunnah, referring to the behavior of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. According to Sunni tradition, Muhammad did not clearly designate a successor and this contrasts with the Shia view, which holds that Muhammad intended his son-in-law and cousin Ali ibn Abi Talib to succeed him. Political tensions between Sunnis and Shias continued with varying intensity throughout Islamic history and they have been exacerbated in recent times by ethnic conflicts, as of 2009, Sunni Muslims constituted between 87–90% of the worlds Muslim population. Sunni Islam is the worlds largest religious denomination, followed by Catholicism and its adherents are referred to in Arabic as ahl as-sunnah wa l-jamāʻah or ahl as-sunnah for short. In English, its doctrines and practices are sometimes called Sunnism, while adherents are known as Sunni Muslims, Sunnis, Sunnites, Sunni Islam is sometimes referred to as orthodox Islam. The Quran, together with hadith and binding juristic consensus form the basis of all traditional jurisprudence within Sunni Islam, sunnī, also commonly referred to as Sunnīism, is a term derived from sunnah meaning habit, usual practice, custom, tradition. The Muslim use of this term refers to the sayings and living habits of the prophet Muhammad, in Arabic, this branch of Islam is referred to as ahl as-sunnah wa l-jamāʻah, the people of the sunnah and the community, which is commonly shortened to ahl as-sunnah. One common mistake is to assume that Sunni Islam represents a normative Islam that emerged during the period after Muhammads death, and that Sufism and Shiism developed out of Sunni Islam. This perception is due to the reliance on highly ideological sources that have been accepted as reliable historical works. Both Sunnism and Shiaism are the end products of centuries of competition between ideologies. Both sects used each other to further cement their own identities and doctrines, the first four caliphs are known among Sunnis as the Rashidun or Rightly-Guided Ones. Sunni recognition includes the aforementioned Abu Bakr as the first, Umar who established the Islamic calendar as the second, Uthman as the third, Sunnis believe that the companions of Muhammad were the best of Muslims. Support for this view is found in the Quran, according to Sunnis. Sunnis also believe that the companions were true believers since it was the companions who were given the task of compiling the Quran, furthermore, narrations that were narrated by the companions are considered by Sunnis to be a second source of knowledge of the Muslim faith. A study conducted by the Pew Research Center in 2010 and released January 2011 found that there are 1.62 billion Muslims around the world, Islam does not have a formal hierarchy or clergy. Leaders are informal, and gain influence through study to become a scholar of Islamic law, according to the Islamic Center of Columbia, South Carolina, anyone with the intelligence and the will can become an Islamic scholar. During Midday Mosque services on Fridays, the congregation will choose a person to lead the service
13.
Pashto
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Pashto, known in Persian literature as Afghānistani and in Urdu and Hindi literature as Paṭhānī, is the South-Central Asian language of the Pashtuns. Its speakers are called Pashtuns or Pukhtuns and sometimes Afghans or Pathans and it is an Eastern Iranian language, belonging to the Indo-European family. Pashto is one of the two languages of Afghanistan, and it is the second-largest regional language of Pakistan, mainly spoken in the west and northwest of the country. Pakistans Federally Administered Tribal Areas are almost 100% Pashto-speaking, while it is the majority language of the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pashto is the main language among the Pashtun diaspora around the world. The total number of Pashto-speakers is estimated to be 45–60 million people worldwide, Pashto belongs to the Northeastern Iranian group of the Indo-Iranian branch, but Ethnologue lists it as Southeastern Iranian. Pashto has two main groups, “soft” and “hard”, the latter known as Pakhto. As a national language of Afghanistan, Pashto is primarily spoken in the east, south, and southwest, the exact numbers of speakers are unavailable, but different estimates show that Pashto is the mother tongue of 45–60% of the total population of Afghanistan. In Pakistan Pashto is spoken as a first language by about 15. 42% of Pakistans 170 million people and it is the main language of the Pashtun-majority regions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Federally Administered Tribal Areas and northern Balochistan. It is also spoken in parts of Mianwali and Attock districts of the Punjab province and in Islamabad, modern Pashto-speaking communities are found in the cities of Karachi and Hyderabad in Sindh. Other communities of Pashto speakers are found in Tajikistan, and further in the Pashtun diaspora, there are also communities of Pashtun descent in the southwestern part of Jammu and Kashmir. Pashto is one of the two languages of Afghanistan, along with Dari. Since the early 18th century, all the kings of Afghanistan were ethnic Pashtuns except for Habibullah Kalakani, Persian as the literary language of the royal court was more widely used in government institutions while Pashto was spoken by the Pashtun tribes as their native tongue. Although officially strengthening the use of Pashto, the Afghan elite regarded Persian as a “sophisticated language, king Zahir Shah thus followed suit after his father Nadir Khan had decreed in 1933, that both Persian and Pashto were to be studied and utilized by officials. Thus Pashto became a language, a symbol for Afghan nationalism. The status of language was reaffirmed in 1964 by the constitutional assembly when Afghan Persian was officially renamed to Dari. The lyrics of the anthem of Afghanistan are in Pashto. In Pakistan, Urdu and English are the two official languages, Pashto has no official status at the federal level. On a provincial level, Pashto is the language of Khyber Pukhtunkhwa, Federally Administered Tribal Areas
14.
Emir
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An Emir, sometimes transliterated Amir, Amier, or Ameer, is an aristocratic or noble title of high office used in a variety of places in the Arab countries and Afghanistan. It means commander, general, or prince, when translated as prince, the word emirate is analogous to a sovereign principality. Amir, meaning Lord or commander-in-chief, is derived from the Arabic root a-m-r, the word entered English in 1593, from the French émir. It was one of the titles or names of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, the monarchs of UAE, Qatar and Kuwait are currently titled Emirs. All members of the House of Saud have the title of Emir, the caliphs first used the title Amir al-Muminin or Commander of the Faithful, stressing their leadership over the Islamic Empire, especially over the militia. The title has been assumed by various other Muslim rulers, including Sultans, for Shia Muslims, they still give this title to the Caliph Ali as Amir al Muminin. Note that the title was held by Christians as well, the word Emir is also used less formally for leaders in certain contexts. For example, the leader of a group of pilgrims to Mecca is called an Emir hadji, where an adjectival form is necessary, Emiral suffices. Amirzade, the son of a prince, hence the Persian princely title Mirza, the temporal leader of the Yazidi people is known as an Emir or Prince. From the start, Emir has been a military title, in certain decimally-organized Muslim armies, Amir was an officer rank. For example, in Mughal India Amirs commanded 1000 horsemen, ten of them under one Malik, Muhammad Amin Bughra, Nur Ahmad Jan Bughra, and Abdullah Bughra declared themselves Emirs of the First East Turkestan Republic. Amir is a name in the Persian language and a prefix name for many masculine names such as Amir Ali. Amir-i-Iel designates the head of an Il in imperial Persia, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the female name Emira, often interpreted as princess, is a derivative of the male name Emir. Abdul Abulbul Amir, both character and song, wat Tambor in Star Wars, Episode II – Attack of the Clones took the title of Emir. In the Star Wars universe the title may relate to Tambors military command, Emir Karim, a character in Wild At Heart, a Latin American drama. Specific emirates of note List of emirs of Harar List of emirs of Kuwait List of emirs of Qatar List of Emirs of Mosul Emirate of Afghanistan
15.
United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
16.
Russia
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Russia, also officially the Russian Federation, is a country in Eurasia. The European western part of the country is more populated and urbanised than the eastern. Russias capital Moscow is one of the largest cities in the world, other urban centers include Saint Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod. Extending across the entirety of Northern Asia and much of Eastern Europe, Russia spans eleven time zones and incorporates a range of environments. It shares maritime borders with Japan by the Sea of Okhotsk, the East Slavs emerged as a recognizable group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries AD. Founded and ruled by a Varangian warrior elite and their descendants, in 988 it adopted Orthodox Christianity from the Byzantine Empire, beginning the synthesis of Byzantine and Slavic cultures that defined Russian culture for the next millennium. Rus ultimately disintegrated into a number of states, most of the Rus lands were overrun by the Mongol invasion. The Soviet Union played a role in the Allied victory in World War II. The Soviet era saw some of the most significant technological achievements of the 20th century, including the worlds first human-made satellite and the launching of the first humans in space. By the end of 1990, the Soviet Union had the second largest economy, largest standing military in the world. It is governed as a federal semi-presidential republic, the Russian economy ranks as the twelfth largest by nominal GDP and sixth largest by purchasing power parity in 2015. Russias extensive mineral and energy resources are the largest such reserves in the world, making it one of the producers of oil. The country is one of the five recognized nuclear weapons states and possesses the largest stockpile of weapons of mass destruction, Russia is a great power as well as a regional power and has been characterised as a potential superpower. The name Russia is derived from Rus, a state populated mostly by the East Slavs. However, this name became more prominent in the later history, and the country typically was called by its inhabitants Русская Земля. In order to distinguish this state from other states derived from it, it is denoted as Kievan Rus by modern historiography, an old Latin version of the name Rus was Ruthenia, mostly applied to the western and southern regions of Rus that were adjacent to Catholic Europe. The current name of the country, Россия, comes from the Byzantine Greek designation of the Kievan Rus, the standard way to refer to citizens of Russia is Russians in English and rossiyane in Russian. There are two Russian words which are translated into English as Russians
17.
Second Anglo-Afghan War
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This was the second time British India invaded Afghanistan. The war ended after the British emerged victorious against the Afghan rebels, most of the British and Indian soldiers withdrew from Afghanistan. This was aimed to thwart expansion by the Russian Empire into India, after tension between Russia and Britain in Europe ended with the June 1878 Congress of Berlin, Russia turned its attention to Central Asia. That same summer, Russia sent a diplomatic mission to Kabul. Sher Ali Khan, the Amir of Afghanistan, tried unsuccessfully to keep them out, Russian envoys arrived in Kabul on 22 July 1878, and on 14 August, the British demanded that Sher Ali accept a British mission too. The Amir not only refused to receive a British mission under Neville Bowles Chamberlain, a British force of about 50,000 fighting men, mostly Indians, was distributed into military columns which penetrated Afghanistan at three different points. An alarmed Sher Ali attempted to appeal in person to the Russian Tsar for assistance, but unable to do so, he returned to Mazar-i-Sharif, where he died on 21 February 1879. According to this agreement and in return for a subsidy and vague assurances of assistance in case of foreign aggression. Ghazi Mohammad Jan Khan Wardak, and a force of 10,000 Afghans, staged an uprising, despite besieging the British garrison there, he failed to maintain the Siege of Sherpur, instead shifting focus to Roberts force, and this resulted in the collapse of this rebellion. Yaqub Khan, suspected of complicity in the massacre of Cavagnari, Ayub Khan, who had been serving as governor of Herat, rose in revolt, defeated a British detachment at the Battle of Maiwand in July 1880 and besieged Kandahar. Roberts then led the main British force from Kabul and decisively defeated Ayub Khan on 1 September at the Battle of Kandahar, abandoning the provocative policy of maintaining a British resident in Kabul, but having achieved all their other objectives, the British withdrew. They also used a method involving urine, Pathan women urinated into prisoners mouths. Captured British soldiers were out and fastened with restraints to the ground, then a stick. Pathan women then squatted and urinated directly into the mouth of the man until he drowned in the urine, there were several decisive actions in the Second Anglo–Afghan War, from 1878 to 1880. Here are the battles and actions in chronological order, an asterisk indicates a clasp was awarded for that particular battle with the Afghanistan Medal. Afghan Wars and the North-West Frontier 1839–1947, westminster, National Union of Conservative and Constitutional Associations. Afghanistan, A Short Account of Afghanistan, Its History, and Our Dealings with It
18.
Mohammad Yaqub Khan
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Mohammad Yaqub Khan was Emir of Afghanistan from February 21 to October 12,1879. He was the son of the ruler, Sher Ali Khan. Mohammad Yaqub Khan was the governor of Herat province in Afghanistan, the Second Anglo-Afghan War erupted in 1878, leading Sher Ali Khan to flee the capital of Afghanistan, and eventually die in February 1879 in the north of the country. As Sher Alis successor, Yaqub signed the Treaty of Gandamak with the British in May 1879, an uprising against this agreement led by Ayub Khan in October of the same year led to the abdication of Yaqub Khan. He was succeeded by the new ruler, Amir Ayub Khan, during the Second Anglo-Afghan War, the British defeated the Amir Sher Alis forces, wintered in Jalalabad, waiting for the new Amir Yakub Khan to accept their terms and conditions. This refusal was one of a series of events led to the Second Afghan War. Cavagnari took up the post of British Resident in Kabul in July 1879 and he was known to be reckless and arrogant rather than discreet and his role as envoy was viewed as injudicious even by some of the British. The situation in Kabul was tense and eventually some Afghan troops who had not been paid by the Amir rebelled and attacked the Residency, killing Cavagnari and his mission in September 1879. The war was far from over despite the treaty and British troops were recalled over the mountains to occupy Kabul, secure it, Yakub Khan abdicated, taking refuge in the British camp and was subsequently sent to India in December
19.
Pothohar Plateau
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The Pothohar Plateau is a plateau in north-eastern Pakistan, forming the northern part of Punjab. It borders the western parts of Azad Kashmir and the parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The region was once the home of the ancient Soanian culture, which is evidenced by the discovery of fossils, tools, coins, the Potohari dialect of Punjabi language dominate the region, while the standard Majhi dialect and Hindko are also spoken. Other dialects include Dhani diaelect, Shahpuri and Chacchi, Potohar Plateau is bounded in the east by the Jhelum River, in the west by the Indus River, in the north by the Kala Chitta Range and the Margalla Hills, and in the south by the Salt Range. The Kāla Chitta Range thrusts eastward across the plateau toward Rawalpindi, the land of Pothohar was attributed as Golden Sparrow by East India Company. The ramparts of the Salt Range stretching from east to west in the south separate Potohar from the Punjab Plain, the Pothohar Plateau includes the current four districts of Jhelum, Chakwal, Rawalpindi, Attock. The Kala Chitta Range rises to an height of 450-900 metres. The Swaan River starts from nearby Murree and ends near Kalabagh in the Indus river, sakesar is the highest mountain of this region. Most of the hills and rivers are bordered by dissected ravine belts, the streams, due to constant rejuvenation, are deep set and of little use for irrigation. Agriculture is dependent largely on rainfall, which averages 15 to 20 in, annually, rainfall is greatest in the northwest and declines to arid conditions in the southwest. The chief crops are wheat, barley, sorghum, and legumes, onions, melons, the diverse wildlife includes urial, chinkara, chukar, hare, mongoose, wild boar, and yellow-throated marten. Due to low rain fall, extensive deforestation, coal mining, oil and gas exploration, the under water areas of lakes have been reduced to much smaller areas than in the past. The oil fields are connected by pipeline to the Attock Refinery in Rawalpindi, a major oil reserve has been discovered near Jhelum in Punjab, opening up a new area for exploitation of hydrocarbon potential. The major cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, and the cities of Chakwal, Jhelum. Existence of the Soanian culture finds its home on the plateau, the Indus Valley civilization is known to have flourished in the same region between the 23rd and 18th centuries BC. Some of the earliest Stone Age artifacts in the world have found on the plateau. The crude stone recovered from the terraces of the Soan carry the account of human grind, the Stone Age people produced their equipment in a sufficiently homogenous way to justify their grouping. Around 3000 BC, small communities developed in the area
20.
Pakistan
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Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a federal parliamentary republic in South Asia on the crossroads of Central Asia and Western Asia. It is the sixth-most populous country with a population exceeding 200 million people, in terms of area, it is the 33rd-largest country in the world with an area covering 881,913 square kilometres. It is separated from Tajikistan by Afghanistans narrow Wakhan Corridor in the north, Pakistan is unique among Muslim countries in that it is the only country to have been created in the name of Islam. As a result of the Pakistan Movement led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah and it is an ethnically and linguistically diverse country, with a similarly diverse geography and wildlife. Initially a dominion, Pakistan adopted a constitution in 1956, becoming an Islamic republic, an ethnic civil war in 1971 resulted in the secession of East Pakistan as the new country of Bangladesh. The new constitution stipulated that all laws were to conform to the injunctions of Islam as laid down in the Quran. Pakistan has an economy with a well-integrated agriculture sector. The Pakistani economy is the 24th-largest in the world in terms of purchasing power and it is ranked among the emerging and growth-leading economies of the world, and is backed by one of the worlds largest and fastest-growing middle classes. The post-independence history of Pakistan has been characterised by periods of military rule, the country continues to face challenging problems such as illiteracy, healthcare, and corruption, but has substantially reduced poverty and terrorism and expanded per capita income. It is also a member of CERN. Pakistan is a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol, the Paris Agreement, the name Pakistan literally means land of the pure in Urdu and Persian. It is a play on the word pāk meaning pure in Persian and Pashto, the letter i was incorporated to ease pronunciation and form the linguistically correct and meaningful name. Some of the earliest ancient human civilisations in South Asia originated from areas encompassing present-day Pakistan, the earliest known inhabitants in the region were Soanian during the Lower Paleolithic, of whom stone tools have been found in the Soan Valley of Punjab. The Vedic Civilization, characterised by Indo-Aryan culture, laid the foundations of Hinduism, Multan was an important Hindu pilgrimage centre. The Vedic civilisation flourished in the ancient Gandhāran city of Takṣaśilā, the Indo-Greek Kingdom founded by Demetrius of Bactria included Gandhara and Punjab and reached its greatest extent under Menander, prospering the Greco-Buddhist culture in the region. Taxila had one of the earliest universities and centres of education in the world. At its zenith, the Rai Dynasty of Sindh ruled this region, the Pala Dynasty was the last Buddhist empire, which, under Dharampala and Devapala, stretched across South Asia from what is now Bangladesh through Northern India to Pakistan. The Arab conqueror Muhammad bin Qasim conquered the Indus valley from Sindh to Multan in southern Punjab in 711 AD, the Pakistan governments official chronology identifies this as the time when the foundation of Pakistan was laid
21.
Gakhars
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The Gakhars are a clan found predominantly in Pakistan. The Gakhars had engaged in a battle for sovereignty over the Salt Range. The history of region from the thirteenth century onward had been a sickening record of wars between the Janjuhas and the Gakkhars for political ascendancy. S Bazmee Ansari, in Encyclopedia of Islam, 2nd ed. Edited by J. H. Kramers et al
22.
The Great Game
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This resulted in an atmosphere of distrust and the constant threat of war between the two empires. This would protect India and also key British sea trade routes by stopping Russia from gaining a port on the Persian Gulf or the Indian Ocean, Russia proposed Afghanistan as the neutral zone. Historians consider that the Great Game ended on 10 September 1895 with the signing of the Pamir Boundary Commission protocols, the 1901 novel Kim by Rudyard Kipling, made the term popular and introduced the new implication of great power rivalry. It became even more popular after 1979, the term the Great Game was used well before the 19th century and was associated with games of risk, such as cards and dice. The French equivalent Le grand jeu dates back to at least 1585 and is associated with meanings of risk, chance, the term The Great Game is attributed to Captain Arthur Conolly who had been appointed as a political officer. In July 1840, in correspondence to Major Henry Rawlinson who had recently appointed as the new political agent in Kandahar, Conolly wrote, Youve a great game. The expediency, nay the necessity of them will be seen, One common popular use of the term is related to spies and their military value or political influence on the peoples of a region. It was introduced into mainstream consciousness by the British novelist Rudyard Kipling in his novel Kim and it was first used academically by Professor H. W. C. The use of the term The Great Game to describe Anglo-Russian rivalry in Central Asia became common only after the Second World War and it was rarely used before that period. The start of the 19th Century saw the Indian subcontinent ruled in part by independent princely states, during the 19th Century a political and diplomatic confrontation existed between Britain and Russia over Afghanistan. It later became known as The Great Game and this resulted in an atmosphere of distrust and the constant threat of war between the two empires. If Russia were to control of the Emirate of Afghanistan. Napoleon had proposed a joint Franco-Russian invasion of India to his Imperial Majesty Paul I of Russia. In 1801 Paul, fearing a future action by the British against Russia and her allies in Europe, decided to make the first move towards where he believed the British Empire was weakest. He wrote to the Ataman of the Don Cossacks Troops, Cavalry General Vasily Petrovich Orlov, directing him to march to Orenburg, conquer the Central Asian Khanates, Paul was assassinated in the same year and the invasion was terminated. Napoleon tried to persuade Pauls son, Tsar Alexander I of Russia, to invade India, in 1807, Napoleon dispatched General Claude Matthieu, Count Gardane on a French military mission to Persia, with the intention of persuading Russia to invade India. However, Britain was left with concerns about being able to defend India, in 1810, Lieutenant Henry Pottinger and Captain Charles Christie undertook an expedition from Nushki to Isfahan disguised as Muslims. After the disastrous French invasion of Russia in 1812 and the collapse of the French army, following the Treaty of Turkmenchay 1828 and the Treaty of Adrianople, Britain feared that Persia and Turkey would become protectorates of Russia
23.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
24.
Mohammad Azam Khan
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Mohammad Azam Khan was the Emir of Afghanistan from October 7,1867 to February 21,1868. Was the second sons of Dost Mohammed Khan, Azam Khan heir power from his brother Mohammad Afzal Khan after his death on October 7,1867, following Azam Khans death the following year, Sher Ali Khan was reinstated as Amir of Afghanistan. He was an ethnic Pashtun and belonged to the Barakzai tribe
25.
Hotak dynasty
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At its peak, the Hotak dynasty ruled very briefly over an area which is now Afghanistan, western Pakistan, and large parts of Iran. In 1715, Mirwais died of a cause and his brother Abdul Aziz succeeded the monarchy. He was quickly followed by Mahmud who ruled the empire at its largest extent for a three years. Following the 1729 Battle of Damghan, where Ashraf Hotak was roundly defeated by Nader Shah, Hussain Hotak became the last ruler until he was also defeated in 1738. Immediately to the east began the Sunni Mughul Empire, who occasionally fought wars with the powerful Safavids over the territory of southern Afghanistan, the area to the north, was controlled by the Khanate of Bukhara at the same time. By the late 17th century, the Iranian Safavids, like their arch rival the Ottoman Turks, had been starting to decline due to misrule, sectarian strife. His first task was to quell the uprisings in the region, Gurgin began imprisoning and executing Afghans, especially those suspected of organizing rebellions, successfully crushing the rebellions. One of those arrested and imprisoned was Mirwais who belonged to an influential Hotak family in Kandahar. Mirwais was sent as a prisoner to the Persian court in Isfahan but the charges against him were dismissed by Shah Husayn, in April 1709, Mirwais, protected by the Ghaznavid Nasher Khans, and along with his followers revolted against the Safavid rule at Kandahar. The uprising began when Gurgīn Khān and his escort were killed during a feast that was organized by Mirwais at his farmhouse outside the city and it is reported that drinking of wine was involved. Next, Mirwais ordered the killings of the remaining Persian military officials in the region, the Afghans then defeated a twice as large Persian army that had been dispatched from Isfahan, one which included Qizilbash and Georgian/Circassian troops. Two years later, in A. D.1713, another Persian army commanded by Rustam Khán was also defeated by the rebels, refusing the title of king, Mirwais was called Prince of Qandahár and General of the national troops by his Afghan countrymen. He died peacefully in November 1715 from natural causes and was succeeded by his brother Abdul Aziz, in 1720, Mahmuds Afghan forces crossed the deserts of Sistan and captured Kerman. His plan was to conquer the Persian capital, Isfahan, after defeating the Persian army at the Battle of Gulnabad on March 8,1722, he proceeded to and besieged Isfahan for 6 months, after which it fell. On October 23,1722, Sultan Husayn abdicated and acknowledged Mahmud as the new Shah of Persia, the majority of the Persian people, however, rejected the Afghan regime as usurpers from the start. For the next seven years until 1729, the Hotaks were the de facto rulers of most of Persia, the Hotak dynasty was a troubled and violent one from the very start as internecine conflict made it difficult to establish permanent control. On the other hand, the Afghans had also suppressed by the Iranian Safavid government represented by its governor Gurgin Khan before their uprising in 1709. Nader Shah had driven out and banished the remaining Ghilji forces from Persia and began enlisting some the Abdali Afghans of Farah, Nader Shahs forces conquered Kandahar in 1738
26.
Mirwais Hotak
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Mīrwais Khān Hotak, also known as Shāh Mirwais Ghiljī, was an influential tribal chief of the Ghilji Pashtuns from Kandahar, Afghanistan, who founded the Hotak dynasty that existed from 1709 to 1738. After revolting and killing the Safavid Persian governor over the region, Gurgin Khan in April 1709 and he is widely known as Mīrwais Nīkə or Mīrwais Bābā in the Pashto language. In 1707, Kandahar was in a state of chaos, fought over by the Shia Safavid state of Persia and 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 the Ottoman Empire. At that time the once powerful Safavids were declining politically and militarily, riven by strife, royal intrigues, and endless wars against their arch rivals. During his time in Persia, Mirwais tried to learn all the weaknesses of the Safavids. While in Mecca, he sought a fatwa from the religious authorities against the foreign rulers who were persecuting his people in his homeland. The Pashtun tribes rankled under the ruling Safavids because of their attempts to forcefully convert them from Sunni to Shia Islam. The fatwa was granted and he carried it with him to Iṣfahan and subsequently to Kandahar, with permission to return, with the death of Gurgin Khan, the Hotaki soldiers took control of the city and then the province. Mirwais and his forces defeated a large Persian army that was sent to regain control over the area. Two years later, in A. D.1713, another Persian army commanded by Rustam Khán was also defeated by the rebels, Mirwais Khan became the governor of the Greater Kandahar region, which covered most of present-day Afghanistan and part of pashtun areas of Balochistan, Pakistan. To the northwest were the Abdali Pashtuns and to the east lay the Moghul Empire, refusing the title of king, Mirwais was referred to as Prince of Qandahár and General of the national troops by his Afghan countrymen. In 1717, Mahmud took advantage of the weakness of the Persian Shah. Mirwais is buried in his mausoleum in the Kokaran section of Kandahar and he is regarded as one of Afghanistans greatest national heroes and admired by many Afghans, especially the Pashtuns. Steven Otfinoski referred to him as Afghanistans George Washington in his 2004 book Afghanistan, 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. There are also schools and a number of institutions or places across Afghanistan built to honor him, a few direct descendants of Mirwais are living today among the Hotak tribe. Hotak dynasty History of Afghanistan Safavid conversion of Iran from Sunnism to Shiism Encyclopædia Britannica Online – Last Afghan empire
27.
Abdul Aziz Hotak
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Shāh Abdul Azīz Hotak was the second ruler of the Ghilji Hotak dynasty of Kandahar, in what is now the modern state of Afghanistan. He was crowned in 1715 after the death of his brother and he is the father of Ashraf Hotak, the fourth ruler of the Hotak dynasty. Abdul Aziz was killed in 1717 by his nephew Mahmud Hotak, 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 and he was the son of Salim Khan and Nazo Tokhi, 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 branch of Ghilji, one of the main tribes among the Pashtun people. Hajji Amanullah Hottak reports in his book that the Ghilji tribe is the residents of Ghor or Gherj. This tribe migrated later to obtain lands in southeastern Afghanistan and multiplied in these areas, in 1707, Kandahar was in a state of chaos due to it being fought for control by the Shia Persian Safavids and the Sunni Moghuls of India. He was later released and even allowed to meet with the Shah, Sultan Husayn, 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 had studied all the military weaknesses of the by then heavily declined Safavids while he spent time there in their court. The Pashtun tribes rankled under the ruling Safavids because of their attempts to forcefully convert them from Sunni to Shia Islam. After Gurgin Khan and his escort were killed during a picnic in April 1709, the Hotak tribe took control of the city, the Pashtun rebels then defeated a large Qizilbash and Persian army, sent to gain control over the area. 1713, another Persian army commanded by Rustam Khán was also defeated by the rebels, Abdul Aziz wanted to make a peace treaty with the Persians but his country men were opposed to this idea so they forced Mahmud Hotak to murder him in 1717. In the same year he got succeeded by Mahmud Hotak, Abdul Aziz is buried at a mausoleum next to his brother in the Kokaran section of Kandahar City in Afghanistan. Hotak dynasty History of Afghanistan Encyclopædia Britannica Online – Last Afghan empire
28.
Mahmud Hotak
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He was the eldest son of Mirwais Hotak, the chief of the Ghilji Pashtun tribe of Afghanistan, who had made the Kandahar region independent from Persian rule in 1709. When Mirwais died in 1715, he was succeeded by his brother, Abdul Aziz, in 1720, Mahmud and the Ghiljis defeated the rival ethnic Afghan tribe of the Abdalis. However, Mahmud had designs on the Persian empire itself and 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 shahs 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, 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, Mahmuds siege of Isfahan lasted from March to October,1722. Lacking artillery, he was forced to resort to a blockade in the hope of starving the Persians into submission. Sultan Husayns command during the siege displayed his lack of decisiveness. Starvation and disease finally forced Isfahan into submission, on October 23, Sultan Husayn abdicated and acknowledged Mahmud as the new shah of Persia. In the very early days of his rule, Mahmud displayed benevolence, treating the royal family well. But he was confronted with a claimant to the throne when Hoseins son. Mahmud sent an army against Tahmasps 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. Suffering from mental illnesses and fearing a revolt by his subjects, Mahmud invited his Persian ministers and he also executed up to 3,000 of the Persian royal guards. At the same time the Persian arch rivals, Ottomans, and his failure to impose his rule across Persia made Mahmud depressed and suspicious. He was also concerned about the loyalty of his own men, 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. 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. Michael Axworthy, The Sword of Persia, Nader Shah, from Tribal Warrior to Conquering Tyrant Hardcover 348 pages Publisher, tauris Language, English ISBN 1-85043-706-8 An outline of the History of Persia during the last two centuries, The Afghan Invasion Encyclopædia Britannica Online – Last Afghan empire
29.
Ashraf Hotak
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Shāh Ashraf Hotak, also known as Shāh Ashraf Ghiljī, son of Abdul Aziz Hotak, was the fourth ruler of the Hotak dynasty. An Afghan from the Ghilji Pashtuns, he served as a commander in the army of Mahmud Hotak during his revolt against the heavily declining Safavid Persians, Ashraf also participated in the Battle of Gulnabad. In 1725, he succeeded to the throne after the death of his cousin Mahmud. The nephew of Mirwais Hotak, his reign was noted for the decline in the Hotak Empire under increasing pressure from Turkish, Russian. Ashraf Khan halted both the Russian and Turkish onslaughts and he defeated the Ottoman Empire, who wanted to reestablish their former arch rivals, the Safavids, back on the throne, in a battle near Kermanshah after the enemy had come close to Isfahan. This caused great umbrage to the Ottomans, but an agreement was finally signed at Hamadan due to superior Ottoman diplomacy in the autumn of 1727. During the retreat, Ashraf was captured and murdered by Khan of Kalat Mir Mohabbat Khan Baloch in 1730. Ashraf, having taken Yazd and Kirmán, marched into Khurásán with an army of thirty men to give battle to Ṭahmásp. Another decisive battle was fought in the year at Múrchakhúr near Iṣfahán. Nádir, having finally induced Ṭahmásp to empower him to levy taxes on his own authority, marched southwards in pursuit of the retiring Afgháns and it was only a short pause before the establishment of the last Afghan Empire by Ahmad Shah Durrani in 1747. Hotak dynasty History of Iran History of Afghanistan An Outline Of The History Of Persia During The Last Two Centuries Hotak Rule
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Hussain Hotak
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Shah Hussain Hotak, son of Mirwais Hotak, was the fifth and last ruler of the Hotak dynasty. An ethnic Pashtun from the Ghilji tribe, he succeeded to the throne after the death of his brother Mahmud Hotak in 1725 and he was also a Pashto language poet. While his cousin Ashraf ruled most of Persia from Isfahan, Hussain ruled what is now Afghanistan from Kandahar. Ashraf Khans death in 1729 marked the end of the short lived Hotak rule in Persia. It was only a pause before the establishment of the last Afghan Empire. Hotak dynasty History of Afghanistan An Outline Of The History Of Persia During The Last Two Centuries Hotak Rule
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Durrani dynasty
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The Durrani dynasty was founded in 1747 by Ahmad Shah Durrani at Kandahar, present Afghanistan. He united the different Pashtun tribes and created the Durrani Empire with his Baloch allies which included the most of present-day Pakistan, the Durrani dynasty was composed of ethnic Pashtuns and BalochDurranis were replaced by the Barakzai dynasty during the early half of the 19th century. Ahmad Shah and his descendants were from the Sadozai line of the Durranis, the Durranis were very notable in the second half of the 18th century mainly due to the leadership of Ahmad Shah Durrani. Nader Shahs rule ended in June 1747 after being murdered by his Persian soldiers, in October 1747, when the chiefs of the Afghans met at a loya jirga in Kandahar to select a new ruler for the Abdali confederation, the young 25-year-old Ahmad Khan was chosen. One of Ahmad Khans first acts as chief was to adopt the title Padshah durr-i durrān, the name may have been suggested, as some claim, from a dream, or as others claim, from the pearl earrings worn by the royal guard of Nadir Shah. The Abdali Pashtuns were known thereafter as the Durrani, and the name of the Abdali confederation was changed to Durrani, Ahmad Shah began his campaign by capturing Ghazni from the Ghilzai Pashtuns, and then wresting Kabul from the local ruler. In 1749, the Mughal ruler was induced to cede Sindh, the Punjab region, having thus gained substantial territories to the east without a fight, Ahmad Shah turned westward to take possession of Herat, which was ruled by Nader Shahs grandson, Shah Rukh of Persia. Herat fell to Ahmad after almost a year of siege and bloody conflict, Ahmad Shah next sent an army to subdue the areas north of the Hindu Kush mountains. In short order, the army brought under its control the Turkmen, Uzbek, Tajik. Ahmad Shah invaded the remnants of the Mughal Empire a third time, leaving his second son Timur Shah to safeguard his interests, Ahmad Shah left Hindustan to return to Afghanistan. Ahmad Shah halted trade with Qing China and dispatched troops to Kokand, through this treaty, the Marathas controlled virtually the whole of India from their capital at Pune and Mughal rule was restricted only to Delhi. Marathas were now straining to expand their area of control towards the northwest of India, Ahmad Shah sacked the Mughal capital and withdrew with the booty he coveted. To counter the Afghans, Peshwa Balaji Bajirao sent Raghunathrao, in 1757 the Afghans defeated the Marathas at Amritsar in which they decapitated Baba Deep Singh. By 1760, the Maratha groups had coalesced into a big enough army under the command of Sadashivrao Bhau, once again, Panipat was the scene of a confrontation between two warring contenders for control of northern India. The Third Battle of Panipat, fought between largely Muslim and largely Hindu armies was waged along a twelve-kilometer front, despite decisively defeating the Marathas, what might have been Ahmad Shahs peaceful control of his domains was disrupted by many challenges. As far as losses are concerned, Afghans too suffered heavily in the Third Battle of Panipat and this weakened his grasp over Punjab which fell to the rising Sikh misls. There were rebellions in the north in the region of Bukhara, the victory at Panipat was the high point of Ahmad Shah. The Durrani was the second largest Islamic empire in the world, however, even prior to his death, the empire began to unravel
32.
Ahmad Shah Durrani
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Ahmad Shāh Durrānī, also known as Ahmad Khān Abdālī, was the founder of the Durrani Empire and is regarded as the founder of the modern state of Afghanistan. After the death of Nader Shah Afshar in 1747, Ahmad Shah Durrani was chosen as King of Afghanistan. Within a few years, he extended his control from Khorasan in the west to Kashmir and North India in the east, Durranis mausoleum is located at Kandahar, Afghanistan, adjacent to the Shrine of the Cloak in the center of the city. Afghans often refer to him as Ahmad Shāh Bābā, Durrani was born in or about 1722 to Mohammad Zaman Khan, chief of the Abdali tribe and Governor of Herat, and Zarghuna Alakozai. There has been debate about Durranis exact place of birth. Most believe that he was born in Herat, Afghanistan and he was born as Ahmed Khan. Abdalis father suffered Persian captivity for years at Kirman before being released from prison in 1715. As a refugee, he made his way to India and joined his kinsmen at Multan, after he raised his family there, he was recognized as the scion of hereditary Sadozai chiefs. It is believed that Zaman Khan returned to Afghanistan to fight the Persians and his Afghan rivals, so other sources believe that, Abdali was born at Multan in 1722, after which she returned to Afghanistan to reunite with her husband. He lost his father during his infancy, Durranis forefathers were Sadozais but his mother was from the Alakozai tribe. In June 1729, the Abdali forces under Zulfiqar had surrendered to Nader Shah Afshar, however, they soon began a rebellion and took over Herat as well as Mashad. In July 1730, he defeated Ibrahim Khan, a commander and brother of Nader Shah. This prompted Nader Shah to retake Mashad and also intervene in the struggle of Harat. By July 1731, Zulfiqar returned to his capital Farah where he had been serving as the governor since 1726, a year later Nadirs brother Ibrahim Khan took control of Farah. During this time Zulfiqar and the young Durrani fled to Kandahar where they took refuge with the Ghiljis and they were later made political prisoners by Hussain Hotak, the Ghilji ruler of the Kandahar region. Nader Shah had been enlisting the Abdalis in his army since around 1729, after conquering Kandahar in 1738, Durrani and his brother Zulfiqar were freed and provided with leading careers in Nader Shahs administration. Zulfiqar was made Governor of Mazandaran while Durrani remained working as Nader Shahs personal attendant, the Ghiljis, who are originally from the territories east of the Kandahar region, were expelled from Kandahar in order to resettle the Abdalis along with some Qizilbash and other Persians. Durrani proved himself in Nader Shahs service and was promoted from an attendant to command the Abdali Regiment
33.
Timur Shah Durrani
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Timur Shah Durrani, was the second ruler of the Durrani Empire, from October 16,1772 until his death in 1793. An ethnic Pashtun, he was the second and eldest son of Ahmad Shah Durrani, Timur Shah was born in 1748 and had a quick rise to power by marrying the daughter of the Mughal Emperor Alamgir II. Timur Shah Durrani was defeated by the Sikhs in the Battle of Gohalwar, 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, 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 his court remained influenced by Persian culture and he became reliant on the Qizilbash bodyguard for his personal protection. In 1776, Timur Shah compelled his uncle Abdul Qadir Khan Durrani to leave Afghanistan and he himself went to Damascus, where he died in 1781. Timur Shah Durrani secured Multan from the Sikhs in 1780, his forces defeated the Sikhs at Rohtas, he then secured Bhawalpur. Timur Shah himself left twenty-four sons, and the struggle that followed his death began the process of undermining the authority of the Durrani authority. Under Timur Shahs eventual successor, Zaman Shah Durrani, the empire disintegrated, Timur Shah prided himself on being a man of taste. He revived the formal gardens of the Bala Hisar Fort in Kabul, in this endeavour, he was inspired by his senior wife, a Mughal princess who had grown up in the Delhi Red Fort with its remarkable courtyard. Furthermore, like his Mughal in-laws, he had a talent for dazzling display, the conflict between his sons Mahmud Shah Durrani, Zaman Shah Durrani, and Shah Shujah Durrani continued after his death. Timur Shah died in 1793 and was succeeded by his fifth son and his tomb is located in Kabul. An old portrait of Timur Shah Durrani Britannica – Timur Shah The British Library – Chronology, from the emergence of the Afghan Kingdom to the Mission of Mountstuart Elphistone, 1747–1809
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Zaman Shah Durrani
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Shah Zaman Durrani, was ruler of the Durrani Empire from 1793 until 1800. He was the grandson of Ahmad Shah Durrani and the son of Timur Shah Durrani. An ethnic Pashtun like the rest of his family and Durrani rulers and 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 and 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 they were contacted to come back to Afghanistan but without success. Later on, after the death of his wife, Abdullah Khan Durrani migrated to Kohat in 1791 where he married a widow, Shah Zaman 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 forgotten their identity. He attempted to repeat his fathers success in India, but his attempts at expansion attempts were failed by the Sikhs, 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 and 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 back in 1800. But he never made it, on the way, he was captured, blinded and imprisoned in Kabul, the British Library – Chronology, from the emergence of the Afghan Kingdom to the Mission of Mountstuart Elphistone, 1747–1809 Encyclopædia Britannica – Zaman Shah
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Mahmud Shah Durrani
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Mahmud Shah Durrani was born Prince and ruler of the Durrani Empire between 1801 and 1803, and again between 1809 and 1818. An ethnic Sadozai tribe section of the Popalzai sub clan of Durrani Abdali 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 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, 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. Durrani Empire The British Library – Chronology, from the emergence of the Afghan Kingdom to the Mission of Mountstuart Elphistone, 1747–1809 Detailed genealogy
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Shah Shujah Durrani
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Shuja Shah Durrani 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, according to Mountstuart Elphinstone, The King of Kabul was a handsome man. He also wrote of an olive complexion with a black beard. his voice clear. Shuja wore the Koh-i-Noor diamond in one of his bracelets when Elphinstone visited him, william Fraser, who accompanied Elphinstone was struck with the dignity of his appearance and the romantic Oriental awe. After coming to power in 1803, Shuja ended the feud with the Barakzais. To create an alliance with them, he married their sister Wafa Begum, Shuja Shah was the governor of Herat and Peshawar from 1798 to 1801. He proclaimed himself as King of Afghanistan in October 1801, Shuja allied Afghanistan with the United Kingdom in 1809, as a means of defending against an invasion of Afghanistan and India by Russia. When Mahmud Shahs vizier Fateh Khan invaded Kashmir alongside Maharaja Ranjit Singhs army and he stayed in Lahore from 1813 to 1814. Its a big lie that in return for his freedom, he handed the Koh-i-Nor diamond to Maharaja Ranjit Singh and he stayed with Ranjit singh so that later on he can struck a deal for their support to attack Dost Mohammad Khan. He stayed first in Punjab and later in Ludhiana with Shah Zaman, the place where he stayed in Ludhiana is presently occupied by Main Post Office near Mata Rani Chowk and a white marble stone inside the building marking his stay there can be seen. In a concerted campaign the year, Shuja marched on Kandahar while the Sikhs. In July, Shuja Shah was narrowly defeated at Kandahar by the Afghans under Dost Mohammad Khan, the Sikhs on their part reclaimed Peshawar. In 1838 he had gained the support of the British and the Sikh Maharaja Ranjit Singh for wresting power from Dost Mohammad Khan Barakzai. Shuja was restored to the throne by the British on August 7,1839,30 years after his deposition, but did not remain in power when the British left. He shut himself away in the Bala Hissar, Kabul, on leaving it he was assassinated by Shuja ud-Daula, at the insistence of Akbar Khan on April 5,1842
37.
Wazir Akbar Khan
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Wazīr Akbar Khān, born as Mohammad Akbar Khān and also known as Amīr Akbar Khān, was an Afghan prince, general, and finally emir for about three years until his death. His fame began with the 1837 Battle of Jamrud, while attempting to regain Afghanistans second capital Peshawar from the Sikh army, Wazir Akbar Khan was militarily active in the First Anglo-Afghan War, which lasted from 1839 to 1842. Wazir Akbar Khan became the emir of Afghanistan in May 1842, Akbar was born as Mohammad Akbar Khan in 1816 to Emir Dost Mohammad Barakzai of Afghanistan and Mermən Khadija Popalzai. Dost Mohammad Barakzai had 2 wives,8 sons and 2 daughters, in 1836 Dost Mohammad Barakzais Muslim forces, under the command of his son Wazir Akbar Khan, fought the Sikhs at the Battle of Jamrud, fifteen kilometers west of present-day Peshawar. Dost Mohammad Barakzai did not follow up this triumph by retaking Peshawar, however, but instead contacted Lord Auckland, with this letter, Dost Mohammad formally set the stage for British intervention in Afghanistan. At the heart of the Great Game lay the willingness of Britain and Russia to subdue, subvert, Akbar Khan led a revolt in Kabul against the British Indian mission of William McNaughten, Alexander Burnes and their garrison of 4,500 men. In November 1841, he besieged Major-General William Elphinstones force in Kabul, elphinstone accepted a safe-conduct for his British force and about 12,000 Indian camp followers to Peshawar, they were ambushed and annihilated in January 1842. Historians think it unlikely that Akbar Khan wished for the annihilation of the British-led Indian force. This was in fact what happened the following year, in May 1842, Akbar Khan captured Bala Hissar in Kabul and became the new emir of Afghanistan. He ruled until his death in 1845, some believe that Akbar Khan was poisoned by his father, Dost Mohammed Barakzai, who feared his ambitions. The historical figure Akbar Khan plays a role in George MacDonald Frasers novel Flashman
38.
Ayub Khan (Emir of Afghanistan)
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Ghazi Mohammad Ayub Khan 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 and was also the leader of Afghans in the Second Anglo-Afghan War and he is today remembered as National Hero of Afghanistan and is buried in Peshawar. His father was Sher Ali Khan and his mother was the daughter of an influential Mohmand chief of Lalpura, Saadat Khan. On July 27,1880, inspired by the songs of Malalai of Maiwand in support of the freedom fighters. This was the biggest defeat for the Anglo-Indian army in the second Anglo-Afghan war and he went on to besiege the superiourly equipped British forces at Kandahar but did not succeed. On September 1,1880, he was defeated and routed by forces led by General Frederick Roberts at the Battle of Kandahar, 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. Certain tribes in Kushk district having revolted, he desired to send a force from Herat to punish them, from The Twillingate Sun, Thursday, February 3,1881. After negotiations in 1888 with Sir Mortimer Durand, the ambassador at Teheran, a political officer, William Evans-Gordon, took charge of him on his arrival in India and escorted him with his entourage from Karachi to Rawalpindi. He lived in India until his death in 1914 and he is today remembered as National Hero of Afghanistan and his body was interred near the shrine of Sheikh Habib at Durrani graveyard in Peshawar. His mausoleum was vandalized and his tomb tablet stolen, sources Skelton, Constance Oliver, Bulloch, John Malcolm. Gordons under Arms, A Biographical Muster Roll of Officers named Gordon in the Navies and Armies of Britain, Europe, America, attribution Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Ayub Khan. Relic hunters rob gravestone of Sardar Ayub Khan Relics stolen from graveyard still untraced Here lies the Victor of Maiwand by Dr. Ali Jan
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Abdur Rahman Khan
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Abdur Rahman Khan was Emir of Afghanistan from 1880 to 1901. He was the son of Mohammad Afzal Khan, and grandson of Dost Mohammad Khan. Abdur Rahman Khan re-established the writ of the Afghan government after the disarray that followed the second Anglo-Afghan war and he became known as The Iron Amir after defeating a number of rebellions by various tribes who were led by his relatives. 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 internecine conflict for power between Dost Mohammads sons, which lasted for five years. The Musahiban are descendants of Dost Mohammad Khans older brother, Sultan Mohammad Khan Telai, Abdur Rahman distinguished himself for his ability and energetic daring. Sher Ali threw Afzal Khan into prison, and a serious revolt followed in southern Afghanistan, after some delay and desultory fighting, he and his uncle, Azam Khan, occupied Kabul in March 1866. Notwithstanding the new Amirs incapacity, and some jealousy between the leaders, Abdur Rahman and his uncle, they again routed Sher Alis forces. When Afzal Khan died at the end of the year, Azam Khan became the new ruler, with Abdur Rahman installed as Governor in the northern province. But towards the end of 1868 Sher Alis return, and a rising in his favour, resulted in Abdur Rahman. Both sought refuge to the east in Central Asia, whence Abdur Rahman placed himself under Russian protection at Samarkand, Azam died eventually in Kabul in October 1869. Abdur Rahman lived in exile in Tashkent, the governor-general of Tashkent sent for Abdur Rahman and motivated him by bringing up the blessing of Jacob, Abdurs patriarch. He was being told to cross the Oxus and claim throne for Amir, after some negotiations, and an interview with 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, the British evacuation of Afghanistan was settled on the terms proposed, and in 1881, the British troops also handed over Kandahar to the new Amir. However, Ayub Khan, one of Sher Ali Khans sons, marched upon that city from Herat, defeated Abdur Rahmans troops and this serious reverse roused the Amir, who had not at first displayed much activity. He led a force from Kabul, met Ayubs army close to Kandahar, 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, Abdur Rahmans attitude at this critical juncture is a good example of his political sagacity. He also published his autobiography in 1885, which served more as a guide for princes than anything else
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Habibullah Khan
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Habibullah Khan was the Emir of Afghanistan from 1901 until 1919. He was born in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, the eldest son of the Emir Abdur Rahman Khan, Habibullah was a relatively reform-minded ruler who attempted to modernize his country. During his reign he worked to bring modern medicine and other technology to Afghanistan, in 1903, Habibullah founded the Habibia school as well as a military academy. He also worked to put in place progressive reforms in his country and he instituted various legal reforms and repealed many of the harshest criminal penalties. But one of his chief advisers Abdul Lateef was sentenced to death in 1903 for apostasy and he was stoned to death in Kabul. Other reforms included the dismantling of the internal intelligence organization that had been put in place by his father. He strictly maintained the countrys neutrality in World War I, despite efforts by the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. He also greatly reduced tensions with British India, signing a treaty of friendship in 1905, Habibullah was assassinated while on a hunting trip at Laghman Province on February 20,1919. Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George –1896 Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath –1907 Ancestry. com
41.
Nasrullah Khan (Afghanistan)
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Nasrullah Khan, sometimes spelt as Nasr Ullah Khan, was shahzada of Afghanistan and second son of Emir Abdur Rahman Khan. He held the throne of Afghanistan as Emir for one week, Nasrullah was born at Samarkand in 1874, the second of three sons of Abdur Rahman Khan. His brothers were Habibullah Khan and Mohammed Omar Khan, Nasrullahs birth occurred during a period in which his father Abdur Rahman Khan was living in exile in Russian Turkestan. On July 22,1880, Nasrullahs father was recognised as Emir following the end of British occupation of Afghanistan, as a consequence of his fathers ascension of the throne, Nasrullah became Shahzada of Afghanistan. In 1895 the Emir Abdur Rahman Khan had intended to undertake a visit to England to pay his respects to the ageing Queen Victoria. However, his health prevented him making the trip. On May 23 the Shahzada landed at Portsmouth in England, on 27 May 1895 the Shahzada was received by the Queen at Windsor. During his trip he visited the Liverpool Overhead Railway, and went to Ascot, Glasgow. He made a gift of £2,500 to Abdullah Quilliam to support the work of the Liverpool Muslim Institute, at the time of his visit, the Shahzada was 20 years of age. He reportedly did not speak English well, and did not make an impression on the local press. A reporter from the Cumberland Pacquet described him as a stolid, impassive, on 3 September 1895 he left England for Paris, and from Paris went on to Rome and Naples, and arrived in Karachi on October 16,1895. He returned to Kabul through Quetta, Chaman and Kandahar, the National Geographic Magazine believed this to be the longest journey ever undertaken by an Afghan. In 1895, Nasrullah and his brother Habibullah received the Knight Grand Cross of St Michael, on 3 October 1901 Nasrullahs father Abdur Rahman died, aged 57, and Nasrullahs brother Habibullah peacefully ascended the throne of Afghanistan by right of primogeniture. Prior to his death, Abdur Rahman had sought to subdue any sources of opposition to his reign. Among those affected by Abdur Rahmans restrictions was the religious establishment, upon Abdur Rahmans death, the religious establishment sought to regain its power, and saw in Nasrullah a potential ally. Nasrullah was by this stage deeply religious and had qualified as a Hafiz, or Memorizer of the Quran, throughout his adult life he advocated an Afghan policy strongly aligned with Islamic principles. Recognising his brother as a contender for the throne, Habibullah went to lengths to placate. Upon Habibullahs succession to the throne he named Nasrullah commander-in-chief of the Afghan army, later in his reign, Habibullah named Nasrullah his heir to the throne in preference to Habibullahs own sons
42.
Kingdom of Afghanistan
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The Kingdom of Afghanistan was a constitutional monarchy in southern and central Asia established in 1926 as a successor state to the Emirate of Afghanistan. It was proclaimed by its first king, Amanullah Khan, seven years after his accession to the throne, Amanullah Khan was keen on modernizing the country, resulting in conservative forces causing social upheaval on a number of occasions. When he was visiting Europe in 1927, rebellion broke out again and he abdicated in favour of his brother Inayatullah Khan who only ruled for three days before the leader of the tribal rebellion Habibullah Kalakani took power and reinstated the Emirate. After 10 months, Amanullah Khans Minister of War, Mohammed Nadir and his British-supported armies sacked Kabul, forcing Habibullah Kalakani to discuss a truce. Instead, Mohammed Nadirs forces apprehended and subsequently executed Kalakani, Mohammed Nadir reinstated the kingdom, was proclaimed King of Afghanistan in October 1929, and went on to revert the reformist path of the last king, Amanullah Khan. He was succeeded by his son, Mohammed Zahir Shah, whose rule started in 1933 and it was under the leadership of Zahir Shah that the Afghan government sought relationships with the outside world, most notably with the Soviet Union, United Kingdom and the United States. On 27 September 1934, during the reign of Zahir Shah, during World War II, Afghanistan remained neutral and pursued a diplomatic policy of non-alignment. Mohammed Daoud Khan, Prime Minister of Afghanistan at the time, worked hard for development of modern industries, barakzai Dynasty European influence in Afghanistan List of Sunni Muslim dynasties Reforms of Amanullah Khan and civil war
43.
Amanullah Khan
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Amanullah Khan was the Sovereign of the Kingdom of Afghanistan from 1919 to 1929, first as Emir and after 1926 as Malik. He was the first Afghan ruler who attempted to modernize Afghanistan on Western designs, however, he did not succeed in this because of a popular uprising by Habibullah Kalakani and his followers. On 14 January 1929, Amanullah abdicated and fled to neighbouring British India whilst the country went into a civil war. From British India he went to Europe where he died in Zürich, Switzerland, amānullāh Khān was born on 1 June 1892, in Paghman near Kabul, Afghanistan. He was the son of the Emir Habibullah Khan. Amanullah was installed as the governor of Kabul and was in control of the army and the treasury, russia had recently undergone its Communist revolution, leading to strained relations between the country and the United Kingdom. Amanullah Khan recognized the opportunity to use the situation to gain Afghanistans independence over its foreign affairs and he led a surprise attack against the British in India on 3 May 1919, beginning the third Anglo-Afghan war. After initial successes, the war became a stalemate as the United Kingdom was still dealing with the costs of World War I. An armistice was reached towards end of 1919, and Afghanistan was completely free of British influence, Amanullah enjoyed early popularity within Afghanistan and he used his influence to modernise the country. Amanullah created new schools for both boys and girls in the region and overturned centuries-old traditions such as strict dress codes for women. He increased trade with Europe and Asia and he also advanced a modernist constitution that incorporated equal rights and individual freedoms with the guidance of his father-in-law and Foreign Minister Mahmud Tarzi. His wife, Queen Soraya Tarzi played a role in regard to his policy towards women. This rapid modernisation created a backlash and an uprising known as the Khost rebellion was suppressed in 1924. He also met with many Baháís in India and Europe where he brought back books that are still to be found in the Kabul Library and this association later served as one of the accusations when he was overthrown. At the time, Afghanistans foreign policy was concerned with the rivalry between the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom, the so-called Great Game. Each attempted to gain the favor of Afghanistan and foil attempts by the power to gain influence in the region. This effect was inconsistent, but generally favourable for Afghanistan, Amanullah established a limited Afghan Air Force consisting of donated Soviet planes, amānullāh travelled to Europe in late 1927. The Afghan King and Queen set out from Karachi and en route they met with King Fawad of Egypt in Cairo, the germanophile king arrived via Germany in Berlin on 22 February to meet President Paul von Hindenburg the same day
44.
Inayatullah Khan
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Inayatullah Khan Seraj was the King of Afghanistan from 14 January 1929 to 17 January 1929. He was the son of former Afghan King, Habibullah Khan, inayatullahs brief reign ended with his abdication. He studied in university of Cambridge, 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 Amanullahs Rolls Royce on horseback, with the King gone, Habibullah Kalakani wrote a letter to King Inayatullah to either surrender or prepare for war. Inayatullahs response was that he had never sought nor wished to be king and agreed to abdicate, Inayatullah was airlifted out of Kabul by the Royal Air Force and spent the remainder of his life in exile, first in British India, until his death in Tehran in 1946
