Editing History of Afghanistan (section)

===Barakzai dynasty and British influence===
{{Further|European influence in Afghanistan|Barakzai dynasty}}
[[File:Afghanistan 1860.png|thumb|Map of Afghanistan ([[Emirate of Afghanistan|Emirate]]) and surrounding nations, dated 1860.]]
[[File:History of Afghanistan 1839-1863 Gif.gif|thumb|Map of Afghanistan 1839–1863, showing the First Anglo-Afghan war, and unification of Afghanistan by Dost Mohammad Khan]]
[[File:Mohammad Yaqub Khan with British officers in May of 1879.jpg|thumb|[[List of monarchs of Afghanistan|King]] [[Mohammad Yaqub Khan|Yaqub Khan]] with Britain's Sir [[Pierre Louis Napoleon Cavagnari]], 26 May 1879, on the occasion of the signing of the [[Treaty of Gandamak]]]]
The Emir [[Dost Mohammad Khan]] (1793–1863) gained control in Kabul in 1826 after toppling his brother, [[Sultan Mohammad Khan]], and founded ({{circa|1837}}) the [[Barakzai dynasty]]. In 1837, the Afghan army descended through the [[Khyber Pass]] on Sikh forces at [[Jamrud]] killed the Sikh general [[Hari Singh Nalwa]] but could not capture the fort.<ref>Nalwa, V. (2009), Hari Singh Nalwa – Champion of the Khalsaji, New Delhi: Manohar, p. 198, {{ISBN|81-7304-785-5}}.</ref> Rivalry between the expanding [[British Empire|British]] and [[Russian Empire]]s in what became known as the "[[Great Game]]" significantly influenced Afghanistan during the 19th century. British concern over Russian advances in Central Asia and over Russia's growing influence in West Asia and in Persia in particular culminated in two Anglo-Afghan wars and in the [[Siege of Herat (1837–1838)|Siege of Herat]] (1837–1838), in which the Persians, trying to retake Afghanistan and throw out the British, sent armies into the country and fought the British mostly around and in the city of [[Herat]]. The [[first Anglo-Afghan War]] (1839–1842) resulted in the [[1842 retreat from Kabul|destruction of a British army]]; causing great panic throughout [[Company rule in India|British India]] and the dispatch of a second British invasion army.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/salesbrigadeinaf00glei archive.org: "Sale's brigade in Afghanistan, with an account of the seizure and defence of Jellalabad"], by Gleig, G. R. (George Robert), 1796–1888.  London: John Murray, 1846</ref> Following the British defeat in the First Anglo-Afghan War, where they tried to re-establish the [[Durrani Empire|Durrani Kingdom]] as a de facto vassal, Dost Mohammad could focus on reuniting Afghanistan, which was divided following the Durrani-Barakzai civil wars. Dost Mohammad began his conquest while only ruling the major cities of [[Kabul]], [[Ghazni]], [[Jalalabad]], and [[Bamyan]]. By the time of his death in 1863, Dost Mohammad had reunited most of Afghanistan. Following Dost Mohammad's death, [[Afghan Civil War (1863–1869)|a civil war broke out]] amongst his sons, leading to [[Sher Ali Khan|Sher Ali]] succeeding and beginning his rule. The [[Second Anglo-Afghan War]] (1878–1880) resulted from the refusal by Emir Sher Ali (reigned 1863 to 1866 and from 1868 to 1879) to accept a British diplomatic mission in Kabul. In the wake of this conflict Shir Ali's nephew, Emir [[Abdur Rahman Khan|Abdur Rahman]], known as the "Iron Emir",<ref>
{{cite book
 | last1 = Tanner
 | first1 = Stephen
 | author-link1 = Stephen Tanner
 | title = Afghanistan: A Military History From Alexander The Great To The Fall Of The Taliban
 | year = 2002
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=gJLtAAAAMAAJ
 | edition = reprint
 | publisher = Da Capo Press
 | publication-date = 2003
 | page = 218
 | isbn = 9780306812330
 | access-date = 14 December 2020
| quote = Abdur Rahman had meanwhile become known as the 'Iron Emir' for his ruthless measures to break the tribal, or feudal, system in Afghanistan as well as the power of the mullahs. 
}}
</ref>
came to the Afghan throne. During his reign (1880–1901), the British and Russians officially established the boundaries of what would become modern Afghanistan. The British retained effective control over [[Kabul]]'s foreign affairs. Abdur Rahman's reforms of the army, legal system and structure of government gave Afghanistan a degree of unity and stability which it had not before known. This, however, came at the cost of strong centralisation, of harsh punishments for crime and corruption, and of a certain degree of international isolation.<ref name="bijanomrani.com">"[http://www.bijanomrani.com/?p=afgan_search_unit Afghanistan and the Search for Unity] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225034836/http://www.bijanomrani.com/?p=afgan_search_unit |date=2021-02-25 }}" [[Bijan Omrani|Omrani, Bijan]], published in ''Asian Affairs'', Volume 38, Issue 2, 2007, pp. 145–57.</ref>

[[Habibullah Khan]], Abdur Rahman's son, came to the throne in 1901 and kept Afghanistan neutral during World War I, despite [[Niedermayer–Hentig Expedition|encouragement by Central Powers]] of anti-British feelings and of Afghan rebellion along the borders of India. His policy of neutrality was not universally popular within the country, and Habibullah was assassinated in 1919, possibly by family members opposed to British influence. His third son, [[Amanullah Khan|Amanullah]] ({{reign | 1919 | 1929}}), regained control of Afghanistan's foreign policy after launching the [[Third Anglo-Afghan War]] (May to August 1919) with an attack on India. During the ensuing conflict the war-weary British relinquished their control over Afghan foreign affairs by signing the [[Treaty of Rawalpindi]] in August 1919. In commemoration of this event Afghans celebrate 19 August as their [[Afghan Independence Day|Independence Day]].