1.
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
Afghanistan
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History of Afghanistan
Afghanistan
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Flag
Afghanistan
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Bilingual (
Greek and
Aramaic)
edict by Emperor
Ashoka from the 3rd century BCE discovered in the southern city of
Kandahar
Afghanistan
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One of the
Buddhas of Bamiyan.
Buddhism was widespread in the region before the
Islamic conquest of Afghanistan.
2.
History of Afghanistan
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The Indus Valley Civilisation stretched up to large parts of Afghanistan in the north, with several sites being known. Alexander the Great and his Macedonian army arrived at what is now Afghanistan in 330 BCE after conquering Persia during the Battle of Gaugamela, Afghanistan has been a strategically important location throughout history. The land served as a gateway to India, impinging on the ancient Silk Road, the archaeological manifestation of the Indo-Iranians before their split into separate language groups is generally seen as the Andronovo culture to the north of present-day Afghanistan. The Iranian languages were developed by one branch of these people, elena E. Kuzmina argues that the tents of Iranian-speaking nomads of Afghanistan developed from the light surface houses of the Eurasian steppe belt in the Bronze Age. The Arab invasions influenced the culture of Afghanistan, and its period of Zoroastrian, Macedonian, Buddhist. Turkic empire-builders such as the Ghaznavids and Timurids made the now called Afghanistan of major importance. Mirwais Hotak followed by Ahmad Shah Durrani unified Afghan tribes and founded the last Afghan Empire in the early 18th century CE, a cave called Kara Kamar contained Upper Paleolithic blades Carbon-14 dated at 34,000 years old. Farming communities in Afghanistan were among the earliest in the world, archaeologists have found evidence of human habitation in Afghanistan from as far back as 50,000 BC. The artifacts indicate that the people were small farmers and herdsmen, very probably grouped into tribes. Urbanization may have begun as early as 3000 BCE, Zoroastrianism predominated as the religion in the area, even the modern Afghan solar calendar shows the influence of Zoroastrianism in the names of the months. Other religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism flourished later, leaving a mark in the region. Early inhabitants, around 3000 BCE were likely to have been connected through culture and trade to neighboring civilizations like Jiroft and Tappeh Sialk and the Indus Valley Civilization. Urban civilization may have begun as early as 3000 BCE and it is possible that the city of Mundigak was a colony of the nearby Indus Valley Civilization. The first known people were Indo-Iranians, but their date of arrival has been estimated widely from as early as about 3000 BCE to 1500 BCE, the Indus Valley Civilization was a Bronze Age civilization extending 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. Apart from Shortughai is Mundigak another notable site, there are several other smaller IVC colonies to be found in Afghanistan as well. The Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex became prominent in the southwest region between 2200 and 1700 BCE, the city of Balkh was founded about this time. It is possible that the BMAC may have been an Indo-European culture, but the standard model holds the arrival of Indo-Aryans to have been in the Late Harappan which gave rise to the Vedic civilization of the Early Iron Age
History of Afghanistan
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History of Afghanistan
History of Afghanistan
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Tents of
Afghan nomads in the northern
Badghis province of Afghanistan. Early peasant farming villages came into existence in Afghanistan about 7,000 years ago.
History of Afghanistan
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Arachosia,
Aria and
Bactria were the ancient
satraps of the
Achaemenid Empire that made up most of what is now Afghanistan during 500 BCE. Some of the inhabitants of Arachosia were known as Pactyans, whose name possibly survives in today's
Pakhtuns (Pashtuns).
History of Afghanistan
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Approximate maximum extent of the
Greco-Bactrian kingdom circa 180 BCE, including the regions of
Tapuria and
Traxiane to the West,
Sogdiana and
Ferghana to the north,
Bactria and
Arachosia to the south.
3.
List of leaders 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
List of leaders of Afghanistan
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Mohammed Zahir Shah
List of leaders of Afghanistan
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State Emblem
List of leaders of Afghanistan
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Shah Mirwais Ghilji
List of leaders of Afghanistan
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Shah Mahmud Ghilji
4.
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
Mirwais Hotak
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Sketch work of Mirwais Khan Hotak
Mirwais Hotak
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The Greater Kandahar region (Candahar) during the
Safavid dynasty and
Mughal period
Mirwais Hotak
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The mausoleum of Mirwais Hotak in the Kokaran section of
Kandahar,
Afghanistan.
5.
Kandahar
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Kandahar or Qandahar is the second-largest city in Afghanistan, with a population of about 491,500 as of 2012. Formerly called Alexandria Arachosia, the city is named after Alexander the Great, Kandahar is the capital of Kandahar Province, located in the south of the country at an altitude of 1,010 m above sea level. The Arghandab River runs along the west of the city, the city of Kandahar has a population of 557,118. It has 15 districts and a land area of 27,337 hectares. The total number of dwellings in Kandahar is 61,902, Kandahar is one of the most culturally significant cities of the Pashtuns and has been their traditional seat of power for more than 200 years. It is a trading center for sheep, wool, cotton, silk, felt, food grains, fresh and dried fruit. The region produces fine fruits, especially pomegranates and grapes, and the city has plants for canning, drying, and packing fruit, the area is believed to be the birthplace of cannabis indica. The region around Kandahar is one of the oldest known human settlements, Alexander the Great had laid-out the foundation of what is now Old Kandahar in the 4th century BC and gave it the Ancient Greek name Αλεξάνδρεια Aραχωσίας. Many empires have long fought over the city due to its location along the trade routes of southern, central. In 1709, Mirwais Hotak made the region an independent kingdom, in 1747, Ahmad Shah Durrani, founder of the last Afghan empire, made it the capital of modern Afghanistan. A temple to the deified Alexander as well as an inscription in Greek and Aramaic by Emperor Ashoka, Ibn Batutta mentions Kandahar in the 14th century by describing it as a large and prosperous town three nights journey from Ghazni. It has been then mentioned extensively by Mughal Emperor Babur and others, an alternative story describes Khandahar as Gandhara in Mahabharata ruled by Suvala and later by Shakuni. The princess of Hastinapur, Gandhari was born in Gandhara, a folk etymology offered is that the word kand or qand in Persian and Pashto means candy. The name Candahar or Kandahar in this form probably translates to candy area and this probably has to do with the location being fertile and historically known for producing fine grapes, pomegranates, apricots, melons and other sweet fruits. Ernst Herzfeld claimed Kandahar perpetuated the name of the Indo-Parthian king Gondophares, excavations of prehistoric sites by archaeologists such as Louis Dupree and others suggest that the region around Kandahar is one of the oldest human settlements known so far. Early peasant farming villages came into existence in Afghanistan ca.5000 B. C. or 7000 years ago, deh Morasi Ghundai, the first prehistoric site to be excavated in Afghanistan, lies 27 km southwest of Kandahar. Another Bronze Age village mound site with multiroomed mud-brick buildings dating from the same period sits nearby at Said Qala, Bronze Age pottery, copper and bronze horse trappings and stone seals were found in the lowermost levels in the nearby cave called Shamshir Ghar. In the Seistan, southwest of these Kandahar sites, two teams of American archaeologists discovered sites relating to the 2nd millennium B. C, while the Diadochi were warring amongst themselves, the Mauryan Empire was developing in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent
Kandahar
Kandahar
Kandahar
Kandahar
6.
Safavid dynasty
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The Safavid dynasty was one of the most significant ruling dynasties of Iran, often considered the beginning of modern Iranian history. The Safavid shahs ruled over one of the so-called gunpowder empires, the Safavid dynasty had its origin in the Safaviyya Sufi order, which was established in the city of Ardabil in the Azerbaijan region. The Safavids have also left their mark down to the present era by spreading Shia Islam in Iran, as well as parts of the Caucasus, Anatolia. The Safavid Kings themselves claimed to be Seyyeds, family descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, There seems now to be a consensus among scholars that the Safavid family hailed from Persian Kurdistan, and later moved to Azerbaijan, finally settling in the 11th century CE at Ardabil. Traditional pre-1501 Safavid manuscripts trace the lineage of the Safavids to the Kurdish dignitary, a massive migration of Oghuz Turks in the 11th and 12th centuries not only Turkified Azerbaijan but also Anatolia. The Azeri Turks are Shiʿites and were founders of the Safavid dynasty, by the time of the establishment of the Safavid empire, the members of the family were native Turkish-speaking and Turkicized, and some of the Shahs composed poems in their native Turkish language. Furthermore, the dynasty was from the very start thoroughly intermarried with both Pontic Greek as well as Georgian lines, Safavid history begins with the establishment of the Safaviyya by its eponymous founder Safi-ad-din Ardabili. In 700/1301, Safi al-Din assumed the leadership of the Zahediyeh, due to the great spiritual charisma of Safi al-Din, the order was later known as the Safaviyya. The Safavid order soon gained great influence in the city of Ardabil, after Safī al-Dīn, the leadership of the Safaviyya passed to Sadr al-Dīn Mūsā. The leadership of the order passed from Sadr ud-Dīn Mūsā to his son Khwādja Ali, when Shaykh Junayd, the son of Ibrāhim, assumed the leadership of the Safaviyya in 1447, the history of the Safavid movement was radically changed. Savory, Sheikh Junayd was not content with spiritual authority and he sought material power, Junayd sought refuge with the rival of Kara Koyunlu Jahan Shah, the Aq Qoyunlu Khan Uzun Hassan, and cemented his relationship by marrying Uzun Hassans sister, Khadija Begum. Junayd was killed during an incursion into the territories of the Shirvanshah and was succeeded by his son Haydar Safavi, Haydar married Martha Alamshah Begom, Uzun Hassans daughter, who gave birth to Ismail I, founder of the Safavid dynasty. Marthas mother Theodora—better known as Despina Khatun—was a Pontic Greek princess and she had been married to Uzun Hassan in exchange for protection of the Grand Komnenos from the Ottomans. After Uzun Hassans death, his son Yaqub felt threatened by the growing Safavid religious influence, Yaqub allied himself with the Shirvanshah and killed Haydar in 1488. By this time, the bulk of the Safaviyya were nomadic Oghuz Turkic-speaking clans from Asia Minor, the Qizilbash were warriors, spiritual followers of Haydar, and a source of the Safavid military and political power. After the death of Haydar, the Safaviyya gathered around his son Ali Mirza Safavi, according to official Safavid history, before passing away, Ali had designated his young brother Ismail as the spiritual leader of the Safaviyya. After the decline of the Timurid Empire, Persia was politically splintered, the demise of Tamerlanes political authority created a space in which several religious communities, particularly Shi’i ones, could come to the fore and gain prominence. Among these were a number of Sufi brotherhoods, the Hurufis, Nuqtawis, of these various movements, the Safavid Qizilbash was the most politically resilient, and due to its success Shah Isma’il I gained political prominence in 1501
Safavid dynasty
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Flag [1]
Safavid dynasty
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Manikin of a safavid
Qizilbash soldier, showing characteristic red cap (
Sa'dabad Palace, Teheran).
7.
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
Abdul Aziz Hotak
–
Greater Kandahar (Candahar) during the
Safavid dynasty and
Mughal period.
8.
Mahmud Hotaki
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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
Mahmud Hotaki
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Sketch work of Mir Mahmud Shah
Mahmud Hotaki
–
The
Abdali Pashtuns inhabited the region of
Khorasan while the
Ghiljis controlled the
Kandahar region (Candahar) to the southeast.
9.
Battle of Gulnabad
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The Battle of Gulnabad was fought between the military forces from Hotaki Dynasty and the army of the Safavid Empire. It further cemented the eventual fall of the Safavid dynasty, which had been declining for decades, after the war was won, the Hotakis began slowly but sure to march on deeper into Persia, and eventually towards Isfahan, the Safavid Persian capital. Numbers and casualty figures of the Gulnabad battle are believed to be between 5,000 and 15,000 dead Safavid soldiers, the Sword of Persia, Nader Shah, from Tribal Warrior to Conquering Tyrant. History of Afghanistan, from the Earliest Period to the Outbreak of the War of 1878, world Timelines - Battle of Gulnabad, Afghans defeat Safavids and take control of most of Persia Conflicts, some details on the battle Battle of Gulnabad, brief
Battle of Gulnabad
–
Modern-day sketch work of
Mahmud Hotaki
10.
Military of Afghanistan
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The Afghan Armed Forces are the military forces of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. They consist of the Afghan National Army and the Afghan Air Force, being a landlocked country, Afghanistan is without a navy. The President of Afghanistan is Commander-in-Chief of the military acts through the Ministry of Defense, the National Military Command Center in Kabul serves as the headquarters of the Afghan armed forces. Afghanistans military currently has approximately 200,000 active duty soldiers, the current Afghan military originates in 1709 when the Hotaki dynasty was established in Kandahar followed by the Durrani Empire. The Afghan armed forces fought many wars with the Safavid dynasty and it was re-organized by the British in 1880, when the country was ruled by Amir Abdur Rahman Khan. It was modernized during King Amanullah Khans rule in the early 20th century, from 1978 to 1992, the Soviet-backed Afghan army fought with multi-national mujahideen groups who were being funded by the United States and Saudi Arabia while trained by the Pakistani Armed Forces. This era was followed by the rise of the Pakistan-backed Taliban regime, after the removal of the Taliban and the formation of the Karzai administration in late 2001, the military of Afghanistan was gradually rebuilt by NATO, mainly by the United States Armed Forces. Despite early problems with recruitment and training, it is becoming effective in fighting against the Taliban insurgency, as of 2014, it is becoming able to operate independently from the US-led International Security Assistance Force. As a major ally, Afghanistan continues to receive billions of dollars in military assistance from NATO. Afghans have served in the militaries of the Ghaznavids, Ghurids, Delhi Sultanate, Mughals, the current Afghan military traces its origin to the early 18th century when the Hotaki dynasty rose to power in Kandahar and defeated the Persian Safavid Empire at the Battle of Gulnabad in 1722. The sun had just appeared on the horizon when the armies began to observe each other with that curiosity so natural on these dreadful occasions. When Ahmad Shah Durrani formed the Durrani Empire in 1747, his Afghan army fought a number of wars in the Punjab region of Hindustan during the 18th to the 19th century. One of the battles was the 1761 Battle of Panipat in which the Afghans invaded. The Afghans then engaged in wars with the Punjabi Sikh Empire of Ranjit Singh, during the First Anglo-Afghan War, British India invaded Afghanistan in 1838 but withdraw in 1842. During the three years a number of battles took place in different parts of Afghanistan, the first organized army of Afghanistan was established after the Second Anglo-Afghan War in 1880 when the nation was ruled by Emir Abdur Rahman Khan. Traditionally, Afghan governments relied on three institutions, the regular army, tribal levies, and community militias. The regular army was sustained by the state and commanded by government leaders, the tribal or regional levies - irregular forces - had part-time soldiers provided by tribal or regional chieftains. The chiefs received tax breaks, land ownership, cash payments, the community militia included all available able-bodied members of the community, mobilized to fight, probably only in exceptional circumstances, for common causes under community leaders
Military of Afghanistan
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Afghan royal soldiers of the
Durrani Empire.
Military of Afghanistan
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Afghan Armed Forces
Military of Afghanistan
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King Habibullah Khan with the military men of
Afghanistan in the early 1900s.
Military of Afghanistan
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MiG-15 fighters and
Il-28 bombers of the
Afghan Air Force in 1959.
11.
Shah
–
Shah is a title given to the emperors, kings, princes and lords of Iran. In Iran the title was used, rather than King in the European sense. The full, Old Persian title of the Achaemenid rulers of the First Persian Empire was Xšāyathiya Xšāyathiyānām or Šāhe Šāhān and this word is commonly confused with the unrelated and distinct Indian surname Shah, which is derived from the Sanskrit Sadhu or Sahu, meaning gentleman. Šāh, or Šāhanšāh to use the term, was the title of the Persian emperors. While the Ottoman Sultans never styled themselves as Shah, but rather Sultan, their male offspring received the title of Şehzade, or prince. The full title of the Achaemenid rulers was Xšāyaθiya Xšāyaθiyānām, literally King of Kings in Old Persian, corresponding to Middle Persian Šāhān Šāh, in Greek, this phrase was translated as βασιλεὺς τῶν βασιλέων, King of Kings, equivalent to Emperor. Both terms were often shortened to their roots shah and basileus, in Western languages, Shah is often used as an imprecise rendering of Šāhanšāh. The term was first recorded in English in 1564 as a title for the King of Persia, for a long time, Europeans thought of Shah as a particular royal title rather than an imperial one, although the monarchs of Persia regarded themselves as emperors of the Persian Empire. In the twentieth century, the Shah of Persia, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, officially adopted the title شاهنشاه Šāhanšāh and, in western languages and he also styled his wife شهبانو Shahbānu. Iran no longer had a shah after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, from the reign of Ashot III, the Bagratid kings of Armenia used the title shahanshah, meaning king of kings. The title padishah was adopted from the Iranians by the Ottomans and by other monarchs claiming imperial rank. Another subsidiary style of the Ottoman and Mughal rulers was Shah-i-Alam Panah, meaning King, the Shah-Armens, used the title Shāh-i Arman. Georgian title mepetmepe was also inspired by the shahanshah title, however the precise full styles can differ in the court traditions of each shahs kingdom. This title was given to the princes of the Ottoman Empire and was used by the princes of the Mughal Empire in India. Thus, in Oudh, only sons of the sovereign shah bahadur were by birth-right styled Shahzada Mirza Bahadur, though this style could also be extended to individual grandsons, other male descendants of the sovereign in the male line were merely styled Mirza or Mirza. This could even apply to non-Muslim dynasties, for example, the younger sons of the ruling Sikh maharaja of Punjab were styled Shahzada Singh Bahadur. Shahbanu, Persian term using the word shah and the Persian suffix -banu, Empress, in modern times, shahdokht is also another term derived from shah using the Persian patronymic suffix -dokht daughter, female descendant, to address the Princess of the imperial households. Shahpur also been derived from using the archaic Persian suffix -pur son, male descendant
Shah
–
Royal and noble ranks in Iran, Turkey, Caucasus, Pakistan and Afghanistan
12.
Ashraf Hotaki
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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
Ashraf Hotaki
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Shah Ashraf Hotak
13.
Battle of Damghan (1729)
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The Battle of Damghan or Battle of Mihmandoost was fought on September 29 to October 5,1729, near the city of Damghan. The battle was followed by one in Murcheh-Khort, a village near Isfahan. Naders forces were victorious in battles, which led him to remove the Ghilzai Afghan dynasty from their short stay on the Persian throne. The Hotakis were forced back to their territory in what is now southern Afghanistan, the battle of Damghan proved the supremacy of Naders military system in comparison to the old exclusively cavalry based system utilised by the Afghans. Although Ashraf sought to remedy this in the subsequent engagement at Murcheh-Khort, meanwhile, Nader & Tahmasp had been campaigning in the north-east building up a base from which to challenge Ashrafs claim on his newly acquired dominion. Unfortunately for Ashraf, Nader subjugated Herat and returned to Mashad before Ashraf could invade Khorasan, upon hearing of Ashrafs approach Nader gathered his fighting men to set out via Sabzevar on September 12,1729. By the time Ashraf reached and besieged Semnan his force had grown to 40,000 compared to Naders estimated strength of 25,000. Leaving a token force behind to resume the siege of Semnan Ashraf marched east towards Shahroud sending a fraction of his command ahead to seek out, Nader continued to press forward until dusk, whence he began to make camp east of an obscure village by the name of Mihmandoost. That night Tahmasp promised him his sisters hand in marriage if Nader gained victory in battle on the following day, Ashraf was so confident of victory that he set aside two to three thousand of his horsemen to hunt down and capture Tahmasp and Nader after his victory. A rearguard of a few thousand mounted troops covered Naders ongoing deployment to the left, the Afghan left which had come into contact with the Persian rearguard and instead of pursuing them fell back in line with the rest of Ashrafs army when the rearguard was withdrawn. Ashraf gave the order for an all out charge driving his army of 40,000 riders towards the Persians whom were now awaiting at the foot of the Tal hills. The terrifying horde of Afghan riders charged forward with incredible speed and this particular measure which had been perfected over the course of many years and battles by Naders veteran Jazāyerchi proved devastatingly effective. A Persian counter-attack materialised in the form of a grouping of Jazāyerchi pressing forward with sabres drawn into the centre of Ashrafs army where the remains of his artillery were positioned. Leaving behind 12,000 dead, Ashraf marched hastily westward in a bid to make good his losses in time for a subsequent confrontation. He wagered on an ambush which he set up around Khwar pass, meanwhile, Nader and Tahmasp fell out over what course of action to take in the aftermath of Mihmandoost, as Nader advocated a return to Mashad to re-consolidate, to Tahmasps extreme chagrin. Military of the Afsharid dynasty of Persia Battle of Gulnabad Battle of Murche-Khort Battle of Khwar Pass
Battle of Damghan (1729)
Battle of Damghan (1729)
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Ashraf Shah Hotaki 1725-1729
14.
Afsharid dynasty
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The Afsharids were members of an Iranian dynasty which originated from the Turkic Afshar tribe in Irans north-eastern province of Khorasan, ruling Persia in the mid-eighteenth century. The dynasty was founded in 1736 by the brilliant military commander Nader Shah, after his death, most of his empire was divided between the Zands, Durranis, Georgians, and the Caucasian khanates, while Afsharid rule was confined to a small local state in Khorasan. Finally, the Afsharid dynasty was overthrown by Mohammad Khan Qajar in 1796, the dynasty was named after the Turcoman Afshar tribe from Khorasan in north-east Iran to which Nader belonged. The Afshars had originally migrated from Turkestan to Azerbaijan in the 13th century, Nader belonged to the Qereqlu branch of the Afshars. Nader Shah was born into a humble family from the Afshar tribe of Khorasan. His path to power began when the Ghilzai Mir Mahmud Hotaki overthrew the weakened and disintegrated Safavid shah Sultan Husayn in 1722, at the same time, Ottoman and Russian forces seized Iranian land. By the 1724 Constantinople Treaty, they agreed to divide the areas between themselves. Nader fought to regain the lands lost to the Ottomans and Russians, while he was away in the east fighting the Ghilzais, Tahmasp allowed the Ottomans to retake territory in the west. Nader, disgusted, had Tahmasp deposed in favour of his baby son Abbas III in 1732. Four years later, after he had recaptured most of the lost Persian lands and he subsequently made the Russians cede the taken territories taken in 1722–23 through the Treaty of Resht of 1732 and the Treaty of Ganja of 1735. He agreed and thus became a figure of national importance, when Nader discovered that Fath Ali Khan was in treacherous correspondence with Malek Mahmud and revealed this to the shah, Tahmasp executed him and made Nader the chief of his army instead. Nader subsequently took on the title Tahmasp Qoli, in late 1726, Nader recaptured Mashhad. Nader chose not to directly on Isfahan. First, in May 1729, he defeated the Abdali Afghans near Herat, many of the Abdali Afghans subsequently joined his army. Ashraf fled and Nader finally entered Isfahan, handing it over to Tahmasp in December, the citizens rejoicing was cut short when Nader plundered them to pay his army. Tahmasp made Nader governor over many eastern provinces, including his native Khorasan, Nader pursued and defeated Ashraf, who was murdered by his own followers. In 1738 Nader Shah besieged and destroyed the last Hotaki seat of power at Kandahar and he built a new city near Kandahar, which he named Naderabad. At the same time, the Abdali Afghans rebelled and besieged Mashhad, forcing Nader to suspend his campaign and save his brother and it took Nader fourteen months to crush this uprising
Afsharid dynasty
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Flag
Afsharid dynasty
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Painting of Nader Shah
Afsharid dynasty
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The
Battle of Yeghevārd was one of Nader's most tactically impressive triumphs in his military career.
15.
Nader Shah
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Nader Shah was one of the most powerful Iranian rulers in the history of that nation, ruling as Shah of Persia from 1736 to 1747 when he was assassinated during a rebellion. Nader Shah was an Iranian who belonged to the Turcoman Afshar tribe of Greater Khorasan in northeastern Iran, Nader reunited the Persian realm and removed the invaders. He became so powerful that he decided to depose the last members of the Safavid dynasty, which had ruled Iran for over 200 years, Nader idolized Genghis Khan and Timur, the previous conquerors from Central Asia. He imitated their military prowess and — especially later in his reign — their cruelty, Nader Shah has been described as the last great Asiatic military conqueror. His father, Emam Qoli, was a herdsman who may also have been a coatmaker, at the age of 13, his father died and Nader had to find a way to support himself and his mother. He had no source of other than the sticks he gathered for firewood. Many years later, when he was returning in triumph from his conquest of Delhi, he led the army to his birthplace and made a speech to his generals about his early life of deprivation. He said, You now see to what height it has pleased the Almighty to exalt me, from hence, Naders early experiences did not, however, make him particularly compassionate toward the poor. Throughout his career, he was interested in his own advancement. Legend has it that in 1704, when he was about 17, a band of marauding Uzbek Tartars invaded the province of Khorasan, Nader and his mother were among those who were carried off into slavery. Somehow, Nader managed to escape and returned to the province of Khorasan in 1708, living under the most desperate circumstances, he and his friends stole a flock of sheep and sold them in the market. With the money they made, they fled into the mountains, tiring of life as a fugitive, Nader presented himself to a Persian nobleman. He was employed as a courier, to deliver important messages to the court at Isfahan in 1712. A second courier accompanied Nader on these missions, however, upon his return he saw that his master was quite upset. By the look on his face, Nader assumed that the nobleman planned to kill him and he had also fallen in love with the noblemans daughter, but his master flatly refused to consider letting them marry. Because of his disappointment and in order to defend himself, Nader killed the nobleman and fled into the mountains with the daughter, other servants of the dead nobleman joined Nader and they formed a gang of robbers operating in the province of Mazanderan. Nader grew up during the years of the Safavid dynasty which had ruled Iran since 1502. When Sultan Husayn attempted to quell a rebellion by the Ghilzai Afghans in Kandahar, under their leader Mahmud Hotaki, the rebellious Afghans moved westwards against the shah himself and in 1722 they defeated a force at the Battle of Gulnabad and then besieged the capital, Isfahan
Nader Shah
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Painting of Nader Shah
Nader Shah
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Portrait of Nader Shah
Nader Shah
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The
Battle of Yeghevārd was one of Nader's most tactically impressive triumphs in his military career.
Nader Shah
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Nader Shah and two of his sons
16.
Durrani
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Durrani or Abdali is the name of a prominent Sarbani Pashtun tribal confederation in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Originally known by their ancient name Abdali & Madhyaal, which may derive from the more ancient Ebodalo and they have been called Durrani since the beginning of the Durrani Empire in 1747. The number of Durrani is estimated to be roughly 16% of the population of Afghanistan or 5 million individuals. Durrani are found throughout Afghanistan and Pakistan, although large concentrations are found in southern Afghanistan, they are found to a lesser extent in east, west. Many Durranis are found in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab provinces of Pakistan, the Durrani Pashtuns of the Afghan capital Kabul are usually bilingual in Pashto and Dari Persian. The ruling Sadozai and Barakzai dynasties of Afghanistan were originally from the Durrani, the Pashtuns believe that they are descended from the common ancestor Qais Abdur Rashid. In the case of the Tareen, they believe they are descended from his first son, Sarban, his son Sharkhbun, and his son Tareen, Tareen had a number of sons, who correspond with the major divisions of the tribe. One was named Bor Tareen, later renamed Abdali, who is the founder of the Durrani tribe. Thus, the Abdali/Durrani are in effect descended from the elder Tareen lineage and they were known in the past as Abdalis, from approximately the 7th century until the mid-18th century when Ahmad Shah Durrani was chosen as the new Emir and the Durrani Empire was established. One of Ahmad Shahs first acts as Emir was to adopt the title padshah durr-i durran and he united the Pashtun tribes following a loya jirga in western Kandahar and changed his own name from Ahmad Shah Abdali to Ahmad Shah Durrani. Since that period, the kings of Afghanistan have been of Durrani extraction, the origin of the Abdali is probably the Hephthalites. The Zirak line begins with Sulaiman Zirak Khan, Zirak was father of Popalzai, Barakzai, and Alakozai. The Durranis were the most divided Pashtun tribe during the rule of the Ghilji, according to Hayat Khans history of Afghanistan from their progenitor Bor Tarin, otherwise known as Abdal, are descended their two main divisions the Zirak and the Panjpai. The term Abdal, however, gradually superseded that of Bor Tareen and came into prominence when Ahmad Shah Abdali Sadozai/Popalzai commonly known as Durrani. Since then, their organization has remained distinct and it is still used, though sparingly, for the Achakzai, who have become localised in Toba and are regarded as a separate political unit from the rest of the Tarin/Tareens. The Musahiban also branch from Durrani, Sadozai Abdali tribe is the tribe Ahmad Shah Abdali was from. The Durrani Tareen tribe is divided into two branches Panjpai and Zirak, Durrani tribes of the Zirak branch include Popalzai, Alikozai, Barakzai, Bamozai, Badozai, and Achakzai. The Panjpai branch are mainly found in the western Kandahar, Helmand and Farah area, and they include Alizai, Noorzai, Ishakzai or Sakzai, and Maku
Durrani
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Flag of the Durrani(Abdali) Tribe
Durrani
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Ahmad Shah Durrani established the
Durrani Empire in 1747 and the name Durrani originates from that period.
Durrani
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Durrani prince tomb in Kohat
17.
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
Ahmad Shah Durrani
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Ahmad Shah Durrani
Ahmad Shah Durrani
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An 1881 photo showing Shah
Hussain Hotak 's
fortress in
Old Kandahar, where Abdali and his brother Zulfikar were imprisoned. It was
destroyed in 1738 by the
Afsharid forces of Persia.
Ahmad Shah Durrani
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Coronation of Ahmad Shah Durrani in 1747 by
Abdul Ghafoor Breshna.
Ahmad Shah Durrani
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Afghan royal soldiers of the
Durrani Empire (also referred to as the Afghan Empire).
18.
Pashtun people
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The Pashtuns /ˈpʌʃˌtʊnz/ or /ˈpæʃˌtuːnz/, historically known by the exonyms Afghans, and Pathan, are an ethnic group native to Afghanistan and North-Western Pakistan. They are generally classified as Eastern Iranian ethno-linguistically, who use Pashto language and follow Pashtunwali, the origin of Pashtuns is unclear but historians have come across references to various ancient peoples called Pakthas between the 2nd and the 1st millennium BC, who may be their early ancestors. Their history is mostly spread amongst various countries of South and Central Asia, as the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan, Pashtuns have been the dominant ethno-linguistic group for over 300 years. The Barakzai dynasty played a role during the Great Game from the 19th century to the 20th century as they were caught between the imperialist designs of the British and Russian empires. There have been many notable Pashtun people throughout history, Ahmad Shah Durrani is regarded as the founder of the modern state of Afghanistan. Under Amanullah Khan, Afghanistan was able to pursue an independent foreign policy, some others include Malala Yousafzai, Shah Rukh Khan, Hamid Karzai, and Imran Khan. They are an important community in Pakistan, which has the largest Pashtun population, Pashtuns attained presidency there and high rankings in sports. They are the worlds largest segmentary lineage ethnic group, according to Ethnologue, the total population of the group is estimated to be around 50 million but an accurate count remains elusive due to the lack of an official census in Afghanistan since 1979. Estimates of the number of Pashtun tribes and clans range from about 350 to over 400, additional Pashtun communities are located in western and northern Afghanistan, the Gilgit–Baltistan and Kashmir regions and northwestern Punjab province of Pakistan. There are also sizeable Muslim communities in India, which are of largely Pashtun ancestry, throughout the Indian subcontinent, they are often referred to as Pathans. Smaller Pashtun communities are found in the countries of the Middle East, such as in the Khorasan Province of Iran, the Arabian Peninsula, Europe, important metropolitan centres of Pashtun culture include Peshawar, Quetta, Kandahar, Jalalabad, Kunduz, and Lashkar Gah. The cities of Kabul and Ghazni in Afghanistan are home to around 25% Pashtun population while Herat, with as high as 7 million by some estimates, the city of Karachi in Sindh, Pakistan has the largest concentration of urban Pashtuns in the world. In addition, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, and Lahore also have sizeable Pashtun populations, about 15% of Pakistans nearly 200 million population is Pashtun. In Afghanistan, they are the largest ethnic group and make up between 42-60% of the 32.5 million population. The exact figure remains uncertain in Afghanistan, which is affected by the 1.5 million or more Afghan refugees that remain in Pakistan. Another one million or more Afghans live in Iran, a cumulative population assessment suggests a total of around 49 million individuals all across the world. A prominent institution of the Pashtun people is the system of tribes. Despite this, many people identify themselves with various clans
Pashtun people
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Sher Shah Suri
Pashtun people
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Dost Mohammad of Bhopal
Pashtun people
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Ahmad Shah Durrani
Pashtun people
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Dost Mohammad Khan
19.
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was established as a sovereign state on 1 January 1801 by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland. The growing desire for an Irish Republic led to the Irish War of Independence, Northern Ireland remained part of the United Kingdom, and the state was consequently renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Britain financed the European coalition that defeated France in 1815 in the Napoleonic Wars, the British Empire thereby became the foremost world power for the next century. The Crimean War with Russia and the Boer wars were relatively small operations in a largely peaceful century, rapid industrialisation that began in the decades prior to the states formation continued up until the mid-19th century. A devastating famine, exacerbated by government inaction in the century, led to demographic collapse in much of Ireland. It was an era of economic modernization and growth of industry, trade and finance. Outward migration was heavy to the colonies and to the United States. Britain also built up a large British Empire in Africa and Asia, India, by far the most important possession, saw a short-lived revolt in 1857. In foreign policy Britain favoured free trade, which enabled its financiers and merchants to operate successfully in many otherwise independent countries, as in South America. Britain formed no permanent military alliances until the early 20th century, when it began to cooperate with Japan, France and Russia, and moved closer to the United States. A brief period of limited independence for Ireland came to an end following the Irish Rebellion of 1798, the British governments fear of an independent Ireland siding against them with the French resulted in the decision to unite the two countries. This was brought about by legislation in the parliaments of both kingdoms and came into effect on 1 January 1801, however, King George III was bitterly opposed to any such Emancipation and succeeded in defeating his governments attempts to introduce it. When the Treaty of Amiens ended the war, Britain agreed to return most of the territories it had seized, in May 1803, war was declared again. In 1806, Napoleon issued the series of Berlin Decrees, which brought into effect the Continental System and this policy aimed to eliminate the threat from the British by closing French-controlled territory to foreign trade. Frances population and agricultural capacity far outstripped that of the British Isles, Napoleon expected that cutting Britain off from the European mainland would end its economic hegemony. The Spanish uprising in 1808 at last permitted Britain to gain a foothold on the Continent, after Napoleons surrender and exile to the island of Elba, peace appeared to have returned. The Allies united and the armies of Wellington and Blucher defeated Napoleon once, simultaneous with the Napoleonic Wars, trade disputes, arming hostile Indians and British impressment of American sailors led to the War of 1812 with the United States. The war was little noticed in Britain, which could devote few resources to the conflict until the fall of Napoleon in 1814, American frigates inflicted a series of defeats on the Royal Navy, which was short on manpower due to the conflict in Europe
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
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The British
HMS Sandwich fires into the French
flagship Bucentaure (completely dismasted) during
Trafalgar. The Bucentaure also fights
HMS Victory (behind her) and
HMS Temeraire (left side of the picture). In fact, HMS Sandwich never fought at Trafalgar, it's a mistake by
Auguste Mayer, the painter.
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
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Flag
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
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Signing of the
Treaty of Ghent (1814), by A. Forestier c. 1915
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
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The Duke of Wellington
20.
Dost Mohammad Khan
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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
Dost Mohammad Khan
Dost Mohammad Khan
Dost Mohammad Khan
21.
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
Kabul
Kabul
Kabul
Kabul
22.
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
Emir
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The court of the
Durrani Emirate of
Afghanistan in 1839.
Emir
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Amir
Dost Mohammad Khan the first Amir of
Afghanistan reign started in 1823 with his youngest son Amir
Sher Ali Khan.
Emir
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HRH Crown Prince Farouk, Amir of
the Kingdom of Egypt and the Sudan, on ascension to the throne 1936 as HM King Farouk I.
23.
First Anglo-Afghan War
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The First Anglo-Afghan War was fought between British imperial India and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1839 to 1842. Initially, the British successfully intervened in a dispute between emir Dost Mohammad and former emir Shah Shujah, whom they installed upon conquering Kabul in August 1839. The main British Indian and Sikh force occupying Kabul, having endured harsh winters as well, was almost completely annihilated while retreating in January 1842. It was one of the first major conflicts during the Great Game, the 19th century was a period of diplomatic competition between the British and Russian empires for spheres of influence in Asia known as the Great Game. The Russian Empire was slowly extending its domain into Central Asia, the Company sent an envoy to Kabul to form an alliance with Afghanistans Amir, Dost Mohammad Khan against Russia. Dost Mohammad had recently lost Afghanistans second capital of Peshawar to the Sikh Empire and wanted support to retake it, for this reason, Lord Auckland preferred an alliance with the Punjab over an alliance with Afghanistan, which had nothing equivalent to the Dal Khalsa. The British could have an alliance with the Punjab or Afghanistan, British fears of a Russian invasion of India took one step closer to becoming a reality when negotiations between the Afghans and Russians broke down in 1838. The Qajar dynasty of Persia, with Russian support, attempted the Siege of Herat, Lord Aucklands plan was to drive away the besiegers and replace Dost Mohammad with Shuja Shah Durrani, who had once ruled Afghanistan and was considered pro-British. Shuja Shah had been deposed in 1809 and been living in exile in British India since 1818, collecting a pension from the East India Company, the British denied that they were invading Afghanistan, claiming they were merely supporting its legitimate Shuja government against foreign interference and factious opposition. But this point, Auckland was committed to putting Afghanistan into the British sphere of influence, the Army of the Indus. which included 21,000 British and Indian troops under the command of John Keane, 1st Baron Keane set out from Punjab in December 1838. With them was William Hay Macnaghten, the chief secretary of the Calcutta government. It included a train of 38,000 camp followers and 30,000 camels. By late March 1839 the British forces had crossed the Bolan Pass, reached the Baloch city of Quetta and they advanced through rough terrain, across deserts and 4, 000-metre-high mountain passes, but made good progress and finally set up camps at Kandahar on 25 April 1839. After reaching Kandahar, Keane decided to wait for the crops to ripen before resuming his march, Keane left behind his siege engines in Kandahar, which turned out to be a mistake as he discovered that the walls of the Ghazni fortress were far more powerful than he expected. A deserter, Abdul Rashed Khan, a nephew of Dost Mohammad Khan, informed the British that one of the gates of the fortress was in bad state of repair and might be blasted open with a gunpowder charge. The British took fifty prisoners who were brought before Shuja, where one of them stabbed a minister to death with a hidden knife. On 22 July 1839, in an attack, the British-led forces captured the fortress of Ghazni. The British troops blew up one city gate and marched into the city in a euphoric mood, in taking this fortress, they suffered 200 men killed and wounded, while the Afghans lost nearly 500 men
First Anglo-Afghan War
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A British-Indian force attacks
Ghazni fort during the First Afghan War, c.1839.
First Anglo-Afghan War
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First Anglo-Afghan War
First Anglo-Afghan War
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History of Afghanistan
First Anglo-Afghan War
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Sir - I -Khajur in the Bolan Pass, 1839
24.
Quetta
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Quetta is the provincial capital of Balochistan, Pakistan and the ninth-largest city of the country. The city is known as the garden of Pakistan, due to the numerous fruit orchards in and around it. The city was known as Little London in the past because of its beauty. The immediate area has long been one of pastures and mountains, with varied plants, Quetta is at an average elevation of 1,680 meters above sea level, making it Pakistans only high-altitude major city. The population of the city is estimated to be approximately 1,140,000, located in north western Balochistan near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, Quetta is a trade and communication centre between the two countries. The city lies on the Bolan Pass route which was once the gateway from Central Asia to South Asia. Quetta played an important role militarily for the Pakistani Armed Forces in the intermittent Afghanistan conflict, Quetta is also spelled Kuwatah, which is a variation of Kot, a Pashto word meaning fortress. It is believed that it relates to the four imposing hills that surround the city, in 1876 Quetta was incorporated into British controlled territories of the subcontinent. British Troops constructed the infrastructure for their establishment as it was a strategic location, by the time of the earthquake on 31 May 1935 Quetta had developed into a bustling city with a number of multistory buildings and was known as Little Paris because of that. The epicenter of the earthquake was close to the city and destroyed most of the city’s infrastructure, during the independence movement of the Indian subcontinent, the predominantly Muslim population of the region supported the Muslim League and the Pakistan Movement. Quetta has an area of 2,653 km2 and consists of series of river valleys which act as a natural fort surrounded on all sides by hills. The closest city is Kandahar in Afghanistan, north-west at the end of the N25 road, three main roads gradually fan out to the south, the central route, the N25 leads via the city of Khuzdar to the coastal metropolis of Karachi. Quetta has a high semi-arid climate with a significant variation between summer and winter temperatures, summer starts about late May and goes on until early September with average temperatures ranging from 24–26 °C. The highest temperature in Quetta is 42 °C which was recorded on 10 July 1998, autumn starts in late September and continues until mid-November with average temperatures in the 12–18 °C range. Winter starts in late November and ends in late March, with temperatures near 4–5 °C. The lowest temperature in Quetta is −18.3 °C which was recorded on 8 January 1970, spring starts in early April and ends in late May, with average temperatures close to 15 °C. Unlike more easterly parts of Pakistan, Quetta does not have a season of heavy rainfall. In the winter, snowfall has become quite erratic, the city saw a severe drought from 1999 to 2001, during which the city did not receive snowfall and below normal rains
Quetta
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Quetta cantonment during the
British Raj era (c. 1889)
Quetta
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Quetta International Airport
Quetta
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Quetta Railway Station
25.
Herat
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Herat is the third-largest city of Afghanistan. It has a population of about 436,300, and serves as the capital of Herat Province and it is linked with Kandahar and Mazar-e-Sharif via highway 1 or the ring road. It is further linked to the city of Mashhad in neighboring Iran through the town of Islam Qala. Herat dates back to the Avestan times and was known for its wine. The city has a number of sites, including the Herat Citadel. During the Middle Ages Herat became one of the important cities of Khorasan and it has been governed by various Afghan rulers since the early 18th century. In 1717, the city was invaded by the Hotaki forces until they were expelled by the Afsharids in 1736, after Nader Shahs death and Ahmad Shah Durranis rise to power in 1747, Herat became part of Afghanistan. It witnessed some political disturbances and military invasions during the half of the 19th century. Herat suffered from destruction during the Soviet war in the 1980s. Herat lies on the ancient trade routes of the Middle East, Central, the roads from Herat to Iran, Turkmenistan, and other parts of Afghanistan are still strategically important. As the gateway to Iran, it collects high amount of revenue for Afghanistan. The city has an international airport, Herat is a regional hub in western Afghanistan in close proximity to Iran and Turkmenistan. The city has high residential density clustered around the core of the city, however, vacant plots account for a higher percentage of the city than residential land use and agricultural is the largest percentage of total land use. Herat dates back to ancient times, but its exact age remains unknown, during the period of the Achaemenid Empire, the surrounding district was known as Hariva, and in classical sources the region was correspondingly known as Aria. In the Zoroastrian Avesta, the district is mentioned as Haroiva, the name of the district and its main town is derived from that of the chief river of the region, the Herey River, which traverses the district and passes some 5 km south of modern Herāt. Herey is mentioned in Sanskrit as yellow or golden color equivalent to Persian Zard meaning Gold, the naming of a region and its principal town after the main river is a common feature in this part of the world—compare the adjoining districts/rivers/towns of Arachosia and Bactria. The district Aria of the Achaemenid Empire is mentioned in the lists that are included in various royal inscriptions, for instance. Representatives from the district are depicted in reliefs, e. g. at the royal Achaemenid tombs of Naqsh-e Rustam and they are wearing Scythian-style dress and a twisted Bashlyk that covers their head, chin and neck
Herat
Herat
Herat
Herat
26.
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
Second Anglo-Afghan War
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92nd Highlanders at Kandahar. Oil by
Richard Caton Woodville
Second Anglo-Afghan War
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History of Afghanistan
Second Anglo-Afghan War
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Mohammad Yaqub Khan with Britain's
Sir Pierre Cavagnari on May 26, 1879, when the
Treaty of Gandamak was signed, photograph by
John Burke.
Second Anglo-Afghan War
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British team at the site of the
Battle of Ali Masjid
27.
Treaty of Gandamak
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The Treaty of Gandamak officially ended the first phase of the Second Anglo-Afghan War. Afghanistan ceded various frontier areas to Britain to prevent invasion of further areas of the country, the treaty was ratified by Lord Edward Robert Bulwer Lytton, Viceroy of India, on 30 May 1879. Most historical writings consider the Treaty of Gandamak as the prelude to the phase of the Second Anglo-Afghan War. On 22 July 1878 a Russian delegation arrived in Kabul without the explicit invitation of Amir Sher Ali Khan, the mission was denied entry into Afghanistan at a military post commanded by Ali Masjid in the Khyber pass on 21 September. In retaliation, the British Government of India issued an ultimatum that by 20 November 1878 the Amir must apologize for the effrontery and provide a satisfactory explanation. Sher Alis response of 19 November 1878, delayed by his own son and heir apparents death on 17 August, did not reach the Viceroy until 30 November, and lacked an apology. Unable to offer effective resistance, on 23 December 1878. Sher Ali died on 21 February 1879 near Balkh and his son, Mohammad Yaqub Khan, under the provisions of the treaty the Amir surrendered control over Afghani foreign relations policy and allowed for a British Mission, with European members, to reside in Kabul. Jurisdiction over the Korram and Pishin valleys, the Sibi district, the treaty provided for increased commercial contacts and the establishment of a telegraph line between Kabul and British India. Muhammad Yaqub was to receive a subsidy of 600,000 rupees. The massacre set the stage for another British invasion of Afghanistan and it culminated in the British appointment of Abdur Rahman, a patrilateral cousin of Yaqub, as Amir of Afghanistan. Abdur Rahman accepted the provisions of the Treaty of Gandamak - with the modification that the British agent, Anglo-Afghan Treaty of 1919 European influence in Afghanistan Imperialism in Asia Aitchison, C. A Collection of Treaties, Engagements and Sanads Relating to India, the Emergence of Modern Afghanistan, Politics of Reform and Modernization, 1880-1946. The Second Afghan War, 1878-79-80, Its Causes, Its Conduct, India Army Intelligence Branch, The Second Afghan War, 1878-80. Kakar, M. H. Afghanistan, A Study in International Political Developments, singhal, D. P. India and Afghanistan, A Study in Diplomatic Relations, 1876-1907. Strategies of British India, Britain, Iran, and Afghanistan, Treaty of Gandomak by Muhammad Jamil Hanifi at Khyber. ORG
Treaty of Gandamak
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Mohammad Yaqub Khan of
Afghanistan (in the middle) with Britain's
Sir Louis Cavagnari 26 May 1879
Treaty of Gandamak
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The Durand Line (in red, above) forms the border between the two countries
Afghanistan and
British Raj.
28.
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
Abdur Rahman Khan
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Abdur Rahman Khan
Abdur Rahman Khan
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History of Afghanistan
Abdur Rahman Khan
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Abdur Rahman Khan during his younger years.
Abdur Rahman Khan
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Abdur Rahman Khan in 1897
29.
British Raj
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The British Raj was the rule by the British Crown in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947. The rule is also called Crown rule in India, or direct rule in India, the resulting political union was also called the Indian Empire and after 1876 issued passports under that name. It lasted until 1947, when the British Indian Empire was partitioned into two sovereign states, the Dominion of India and the Dominion of Pakistan. The British Raj extended over almost all present-day India, Pakistan and this area is very diverse, containing the Himalayan mountains, fertile floodplains, the Indo-Gangetic Plain, a long coastline, tropical dry forests, arid uplands, and the Thar desert. In addition, at times, it included Aden, Lower Burma, Upper Burma, British Somaliland. Burma was separated from India and directly administered by the British Crown from 1937 until its independence in 1948, among other countries in the region, Ceylon was ceded to Britain in 1802 under the Treaty of Amiens. Ceylon was part of Madras Presidency between 1793 and 1798, the kingdoms of Nepal and Bhutan, having fought wars with the British, subsequently signed treaties with them and were recognised by the British as independent states. The Kingdom of Sikkim was established as a state after the Anglo-Sikkimese Treaty of 1861, however. The Maldive Islands were a British protectorate from 1887 to 1965, India during the British Raj was made up of two types of territory, British India and the Native States. In general, the term British India had been used to also to the regions under the rule of the British East India Company in India from 1600 to 1858. The term has also used to refer to the British in India. The terms Indian Empire and Empire of India were not used in legislation, the monarch was known as Empress or Emperor of India and the term was often used in Queen Victorias Queens Speeches and Prorogation Speeches. The passports issued by the British Indian government had the words Indian Empire on the cover, in addition, an order of knighthood, the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire, was set up in 1878. At the turn of the 20th century, British India consisted of eight provinces that were administered either by a Governor or a Lieutenant-Governor, during the partition of Bengal the new provinces of Assam and East Bengal were created as a Lieutenant-Governorship. In 1911, East Bengal was reunited with Bengal, and the new provinces in the east became, Assam, Bengal, Bihar, there were 565 princely states when India and Pakistan became independent from Britain in August 1947. The princely states did not form a part of British India, the larger ones had treaties with Britain that specified which rights the princes had, in the smaller ones the princes had few rights. Within the princely states external affairs, defence and most communications were under British control, the British also exercised a general influence over the states internal politics, in part through the granting or withholding of recognition of individual rulers. Although there were nearly 600 princely states, the majority were very small
British Raj
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An 1909 map of the British Indian Empire
British Raj
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Flag
British Raj
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British Raj coins during
Edward VII and
George V,
Indian Museum
British Raj
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Imperial entities of India
