Editing Mohammad Zahir Shah (section)

==Reign==
[[File:Zahir Shah of Afghanistan in 1930s-cropped.jpg|thumb|left|Studio photograph of Zahir Shah in military uniform, seated in a heavy, carved armchair (1930s)|170px]]
Zahir [[Khan (title)|Khan]] was proclaimed king (shah) on 8 November 1933 at the age of 19, after the assassination of his father [[Mohammad Nadir Shah]]. After his ascension to the throne he was given the regnal title, ''"He who puts his trust in God, follower of the firm religion of Islam"''.<ref name=DTking>{{cite news |title=The King of Afghanistan |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=24 July 2007 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/07/24/db2401.xml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080330172333/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fnews%2F2007%2F07%2F24%2Fdb2401.xml |archive-date=30 March 2008 |access-date=18 March 2008}}</ref> For the first 20 years, he did not effectively rule, instead ceding power to his paternal uncles, [[Mohammad Hashim Khan]] and [[Shah Mahmud Khan]], who both served as [[Prime Minister of Afghanistan|Prime Ministers]].<ref name=Chesterman>{{cite book |title=Making States Work: State Failure and the Crisis of Governance |last=Chesterman |first=Simon |author-link=Simon Chesterman |author2=Michael Ignatieff |author3=Ramesh Chandra Thakur |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V7EibJ74C-UC |year=2005 |publisher=United Nations University Press |isbn=92-808-1107-X |page=400}}</ref> This period fostered a growth in Afghanistan's relations with the international community as during 1934, Afghanistan joined the [[League of Nations]] while also receiving formal recognition from the United States.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Encyclopedia of U.S. foreign relations |journal=The American Journal of International Law |last=Jentleson |first=Bruce W. |author2=Paterson, Thomas G. |year=1997 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-511055-2 |page=24}}</ref> By the end of the 1930s, agreements on foreign assistance and trade had been reached with many countries, most notably with the [[Axis powers]] of [[Nazi Germany|Germany]], [[Kingdom of Italy|Italy]], and [[Empire of Japan|Japan]].<ref>Dupree, Louis: ''Afghanistan'', pp. 477–478. Princeton University Press, 1980 {{ISBN?}}</ref>

Zahir Shah provided aid, weapons, and Afghan fighters to the Uighur and Kirghiz Muslim rebels who had established the [[First East Turkestan Republic]]. The aid was not capable of saving the First East Turkestan Republic, as the Afghan, Uighur, and Kirghiz forces were defeated in 1934 by the [[Kuomintang]] [[Hui people|Chinese Muslim]] [[New 36th Division]] of the [[National Revolutionary Army]], commanded by General [[Ma Zhancang]] at the [[Battle of Kashgar (1934)|Battle of Kashgar]] and [[Battle of Yarkand]]. All the Afghan volunteers were killed by the Chinese Muslim troops, who then abolished the First East Turkestan Republic, and reestablished Chinese government control over the area.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IAs9AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA134|title=Warlords and Muslims in Chinese Central Asia: a political history of Republican Sinkiang 1911–1949|author=Andrew D. W. Forbes|year=1986|publisher=CUP Archive|location=Cambridge, England|isbn=0-521-25514-7|pages=123, 303|access-date=28 June 2010}}</ref>[[File:President John F. Kennedy Greets King of Afghanistan, Mohammad Ẓāhir Shāh (02).jpg|thumb|Dinner in honour of King Mohammad Zahir Shah of Afghanistan hosted by [[President John F. Kennedy]] (1963)|253x253px]]Despite close relations to the Axis powers, Zahir Shah and his governments refused to take sides during [[World War II]] and Afghanistan remained one of the few countries in the world to remain neutral. From 1944 to 1947, Afghanistan experienced [[Afghan tribal revolts of 1944–1947|a series of revolts by various tribes]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite periodical |last=Giustozzi |first=Antonio |title=Afghanistan: transition without end |periodical=Crisis States Working Papers |date=November 2008 |page=13 |url=https://www.lse.ac.uk/international-development/Assets/Documents/PDFs/csrc-working-papers-phase-two/wp40.2-afghanistan-transition-without-end.pdf |s2cid=54592886}}</ref> After the end of World War II, Zahir Shah recognised the need for the [[modernisation]] of Afghanistan and recruited a number of foreign advisers to assist with the process.<ref name="10/01"/> During this period Afghanistan's first modern university was founded.<ref name="10/01">{{cite news |title=Profile: Ex-king Zahir Shah |publisher=[[BBC]] |date=1 October 2001 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/1573181.stm |access-date=1 February 2008}}</ref> During his reign a number of potential advances and reforms were derailed as a result of [[Political faction|factionalism]] and political infighting.<ref>{{cite news |last=Judah |first=Tim |title=Profile: Mohamed Zahir Shah |work=[[The Observer]] |date=23 September 2001 |url=http://observer.guardian.co.uk/waronterrorism/story/0,,556614,00.html |access-date=1 February 2008}}</ref> He also requested financial aid from both the [[United States]] and the [[Soviet Union]], and Afghanistan was one of few countries in the world to receive aid from both Cold War adversaries.<ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/4266169/The-man-who-would-be-king-if-you-dont-mind.html|title=The man who would be king, if you don't mind|first=Mark|last=Steyn|date=6 October 2001|access-date=8 March 2019|work=The Daily Telegraph}}</ref> In a 1969 interview, Zahir Shah said that he is "not a capitalist. But I also don't want socialism. I don't want socialism that would bring about the kind of situation [that exists] in Czechoslovakia. I don't want us to become the servants of Russia or China or the servant of any other place."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft3p30056w&chunk.id=d0e2218&toc.depth=1&toc.id=d0e1870&brand=ucpress|title=Before Taliban|website=publishing.cdlib.org|access-date=12 March 2019}}</ref>
[[File:Predsednik Tito sa kraljem Mohamedom Zahirom.jpg|left|thumb|225x225px|Mohammad Zahir Shah and [[Josip Broz Tito|Marshal Tito]] in 1968]]
He was considered a relatively lenient leader compared to previous kings; Zahir Shah had never signed a warrant for the execution of anyone for political reasons during his reign. He also used his power several times to commute capital punishment sentences given to some convicted criminals.<ref name="cdlib"/> At Zahir Shah's behest the new [[1964 Constitution of Afghanistan]] was introduced which made Afghanistan a modern democratic state by introducing [[Election|free elections]], a parliament, [[civil and political rights]], [[women's rights]], and [[universal suffrage]].<ref name="10/01"/>
[[File:PAFWorldRecordLoop1958.webm|thumb|right|225x225px|Chief guest King Zahir Shah arrives at [[PAF Station Mauripur]], followed by [[President Iskandar Ali Mirza]] and [[Nahid Mirza]]. They are greeted by [[C-in-C of the PAF]] [[Asghar Khan]] and [[Nur Khan]]. Others in attendance are chiefs of the Iraqi, Turkish, and Iranian Air Forces, and [[General Ayub Khan]]. The [[World record loop]], performed in his honor, is showcased at the end. (1958)]]
At least five Afghani [[Pul (coin)|Pul]] coins during his reign bore the Arabic title:
المتوكل على الله محمد ظاهر شاه,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://giladzuckerman.webs.com/mercuguinness.html|title=Gilad Zuckerman Coins Collection – Kimpulan Mata-Mata Uang – مسكوكات – אוסף מטבעות גלעד צוקרמן|website=giladzuckerman.webs.com|access-date=8 March 2019}}</ref> "AlMutawakkil 'ala Allah Muhammad Zhahir Shah" which means "The leaner on God, Muhammad Zhahir Shah". The title "AlMutawakkil 'ala Allah", "The leaner on God" is taken from [[Al-Anfal#Exergesis|Quran 8:61]].

By the time he returned to Afghanistan in 2002, Zahir Shah's rule was characterized as a lengthy era of peace.<ref name=NYTobit/>