Editing Abdur Rahman Khan (section)

==Reign==

A central political issue in Afghanistan during Khan's reign was the difficulties in establishing a relationship between nationalism, Islam, and claims to political legitimacy by traditional tribal structures.<ref>{{cite book |first=Ralph|last=Magnus|chapter=The PDPA Regime in Afghanistan|pages=274|title=Ideology and Power in the Middle East |editor1-first=Peter J. |editor1-last=Chelkowski |editor2-first=Robert J. |editor2-last=Pranger |year=1988 |publisher=[[Duke University Press]] |doi=10.1515/9780822381501-014 |isbn=978-0-8223-8150-1 |s2cid=242204076 |url=https://doi.org/10.1515/9780822381501-014}}</ref> At the ''[[Durbar (court)|durbar]]'' on 22 July 1880, Abdur Rahman was officially recognized as Amir, granted assistance in arms and money, and promised, in case of unprovoked foreign aggression, such further aid as might be necessary to repel it, provided that he align his foreign policy with the British. The British evacuation of Afghanistan was settled on the terms proposed, and in 1881, the [[British Army|British troops]] also handed over Kandahar to the new ''Amir''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Alikuzai |first=Hamid Wahed |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/861259978 |title=Concise history of afghanistan in 25 volumes : volume 1. |date=2013 |publisher=Trafford Publishing |isbn=978-1-4907-1446-2 |location=[Place of publication not identified] |oclc=861259978}}</ref>{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=37}}

[[File:The guest house and its gardens Wellcome L0025010.jpg|thumb|left|One of Abdur Rahman's guest houses and its gardens, Kabul]]
However, [[Mohammad Ayub Khan (Emir of Afghanistan)|Ayub Khan]], one of Sher Ali Khan's sons, marched upon that city from Herat, defeated Abdur Rahman's troops, and occupied the place in July 1880. This serious reverse roused the ''Amir'', who had not displayed much activity. Instead, Ayub Khan was defeated in Kandahar by the British General Frederick Roberts on 1 September 1880. Ayub Khan was forced to flee into Persia. From that time Abdur Rahman was fairly seated firm on the throne at Kabul, thanks to the unwavering British protections in terms of giving large supplies of arms and money. In the course of the next few years, Abdul Rahman consolidated his grip over all Afghanistan, suppressing [[insurrection]] by a relentless and brutal use of his [[Despotism|despotic]] authority. The powerful [[Ghilzai]] revolted against the severity of his measures several times.

In 1885, at the moment when the ''Amir'' was in conference with the British [[viceroy]], [[Frederick Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 1st Marquess of Dufferin and Ava|Lord Dufferin]], in India, the news came of a skirmish between Russian and Afghan troops at [[Panjdeh]], over a disputed point in the demarcation of the northwestern frontier of Afghanistan. Abdur Rahman's attitude at this critical juncture is a good example of his political sagacity. To one who had been a man of war from his youth, who had won and lost many fights, the rout of a detachment and the forcible seizure of some debatable frontier lands was an untoward incident; but it was not a [[Principle of sufficient reason|sufficient reason]] for calling upon the British, although they had guaranteed his territory's integrity, to vindicate his rights by hostilities which would certainly bring upon him a Russian invasion from the north, and would compel his British allies to throw an army into Afghanistan from the southeast.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|pages=37–38}} He also published his [[autobiography]] in 1885, which served more as an advice guide for [[prince]]s than anything else.<ref name="WDL">{{cite web |url= http://www.wdl.org/en/item/11308/ |title= Worthy Advice in the Affairs of the World and Religion: The Autobiography of Emir Abdur Rahman Khan |website= [[World Digital Library]] |year= 1885 |access-date = 30 September 2013 }}</ref>

His interest lay in keeping powerful neighbours, whether friends or foes, outside his kingdom. He knew this to be the only policy that would be supported by the Afghan nation; and although for some time a rupture with Russia seemed imminent, while the [[India Office|Government of India]] made ready for that contingency, the Amir's reserved and circumspect tone in the consultations with him helped to turn the balance between peace and war, and substantially conduced towards a pacific solution. Abdur Rahman left on those who met him in India the impression of a clear-headed man of action, with great self-reliance and hardihood, not without indications of the implacable severity that too often marked his administration. His investment with the insignia of the highest grade of the [[Order of the Star of India]] appeared to give him much pleasure.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=38}}

[[File:194 - 19th Century Palace, Tashkurgan, Afghanistan 2013 - cropped.jpg|thumb|Jahan Nama Palace in [[Kholm, Afghanistan|Tashkurgan]], built for the Amir]]
His adventurous life, his forcible character, the position of his state as a barrier between the Indian and the Russian empires, and the skill with which he held the balance in dealing with them, combined to make him a prominent figure in contemporary Asian politics and will mark his reign as an epoch in the history of Afghanistan. The Amir received an annual [[subsidy]] from the British government of 1,850,000 [[rupee]]s. He was allowed to import munitions of war.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=38}} He succeeded in imposing an organised government one of the most the fiercest and unruly population in [[Asia]]; he availed himself of [[Europe]]an inventions for strengthening his armament, while he sternly set his face against all innovations which, like [[railway]]s and [[Telegraphy|telegraph]]s, might give Europeans a foothold within his country.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=38}}

He also built himself several summer and guest houses, including the [[Bagh-e Bala Palace]] and [[Chihil Sutun|Chihil Sutun Palace]] in Kabul, and the [[Kholm, Afghanistan|Jahan Nama Palace]] in Kholm.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lee |first=Jonathan L. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/33665005 |title=The "ancient supremacy" : Bukhara, Afghanistan, and the battle for Balkh, 1731–1901 |date=1996 |publisher=E.J. Brill |isbn=90-04-10399-6 |location=New York |oclc=33665005}}</ref>

The Amir found himself unable, by reason of [[Illness|ill-health]], to accept an invitation from [[Queen Victoria]] to visit England; but his second son [[Nasrullah Khan (Afghanistan)|Nasrullah Khan]], the crown prince, went instead.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=38}}