Editing Afghanistan (section)

===Barakzai dynasty and British wars===
{{Further|Dost Mohammad Khan|Herat (1793–1863)|Maimana Khanate|Principality of Kandahar|European influence in Afghanistan|Anglo-Afghan Wars|Durand Line|Afghan Civil War (1928–1929)}}
[[File:Map of Afghanistan March 1839.png|thumb|300px|Map of Afghanistan ([[Emirate of Afghanistan|Emirate]]) and surrounding nations in 1839, during the [[First Anglo-Afghan War]]. [[Dost Mohammad Khan]]'s realm can be seen as the Emirate of Kabul, with the [[Principality of Qandahar]] and the [[Emirate of Herat]] seen as well.]]

By the early 19th century, the Afghan empire was under threat from the [[Qajar dynasty|Persians]] in the west and the [[Sikh Empire]] in the east. [[Fateh Khan Barakzai|Fateh Khan]], leader of the [[Barakzai dynasty|Barakzai tribe]], installed many of his brothers in positions of power throughout the empire. Fateh Khan was [[Torture and Execution of Fateh Khan Barakzai|brutally murdered]] in 1818 by [[Mahmud Shah Durrani|Mahmud Shah]]. As a result, the brothers of Fateh Khan and the [[Barakzai]] tribe rebelled, and a civil war brewed. During this turbulent period, Afghanistan fractured into many states, including the [[Principality of Qandahar]], [[Herat (1793–1863)|Emirate of Herat]], [[Kunduz Khanate|Khanate of Qunduz]], [[Maimana Khanate]], and numerous other warring polities. The most prominent state was the [[Emirate of Afghanistan|Emirate of Kabul]], ruled by [[Dost Mohammad Khan]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Afghanistan: A Military History from Alexander the Great to the War against the Taliban |last=Tanner |first=Stephen |year=2009 |publisher=Da Capo Press |isbn=978-0-306-81826-4 |url={{Google books |plainurl=yes |id=J3pUS_-uD-oC |page=126}} |page=126}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Lee|first=Jonathan L.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kSWDDwAAQBAJ|title=Afghanistan: A History from 1260 to the Present|date=15 January 2019|publisher=Reaktion Books|isbn=978-1-78914-010-1}}</ref>

With the collapse of the Durrani Empire, and the exile of the [[Durrani dynasty|Sadozai Dynasty]] to be left to rule in [[Herat (1793–1863)|Herat]], Punjab and Kashmir were lost to [[Ranjit Singh]], ruler of the [[Sikh Empire]], who invaded [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]] in March 1823 and captured the city of [[Peshawar]] following the [[Battle of Nowshera]]. In 1834, Dost Mohammad Khan led numerous campaigns, firstly [[Dost Mohammad's Campaign to Jalalabad (1834)|campaigning to Jalalabad]], and then allying with his rival brothers in [[Principality of Qandahar|Kandahar]] to defeat [[Shah Shuja Durrani]] and the British in the [[Expedition of Shuja ul-Mulk]].{{sfn|Lee|2019|p=205}} In 1837, Dost Mohammad Khan attempted to conquer Peshawar and sent a large force under his son [[Wazir Akbar Khan]], leading to the [[Battle of Jamrud]]. [[Wazir Akbar Khan|Akbar Khan]] and the Afghan army failed to capture the [[Jamrud Fort]] from the [[Sikh Khalsa Army]], but killed Sikh Commander [[Hari Singh Nalwa]], thus ending the [[Afghan-Sikh Wars]]. By this time the British were advancing from the east, capitalizing on the decline of the Sikh Empire after it had its own period of turbulence following the death of [[Ranjit Singh]], which engaged the [[Emirate of Afghanistan|Emirate of Kabul]] in the [[First Anglo-Afghan War|first major conflict]] during "[[The Great Game]]".<ref>{{cite book |title=History of Civilizations of Central Asia: Development in contrast: from the sixteenth to the mid-nineteenth century |last=Chahryar |first=Adle |year=2003 |publisher=UNESCO |isbn=978-92-3-103876-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AzG5llo3YCMC&pg=PA296|page=296}}</ref>

[[File:Afghan foot soldiers in 1841.jpg|thumb|[[Pashtun tribes|Afghan tribesmen]] in 1841, painted by British officer [[James Rattray]]]]

In 1839 a [[British Army|British]] expeditionary force marched into Afghanistan, invading the [[Principality of Qandahar]], and in August 1839, seized [[Kabul]]. Dost Mohammad Khan defeated the British in the [[Parwan Campaign (1840)|Parwan campaign]], but surrendered following his victory. He was replaced with the former Durrani ruler [[Shah Shuja Durrani]] as the new [[List of heads of state of Afghanistan|ruler]] of [[Kabul]], a de facto puppet of the British.<ref>{{cite journal|jstor=40105749 |url=http://pahar.in/wpfb-file/1980-great-britains-great-game-an-introduction-by-ingram-from-intl-hist-rev-v2-s-pdf/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160816181410/http://pahar.in/wpfb-file/1980-great-britains-great-game-an-introduction-by-ingram-from-intl-hist-rev-v2-s-pdf/ |archive-date=16 August 2016 |title=Great Britain's Great Game: An Introduction |last1=Ingram |first1=Edward |journal=The International History Review |volume=2 |issue=2 |pages=160–171 |year=1980 |doi=10.1080/07075332.1980.9640210}}</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=Fr9cAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA11 In Defence of British India: Great Britain in the Middle East, 1775–1842] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170106130452/https://books.google.com/books?id=Fr9cAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA11 |date=6 January 2017}} By Edward Ingram. Frank Cass & Co, London, 1984. {{ISBN|0714632465}}. p7-19</ref> Following an uprising that saw the assassination of [[Shah Shuja Durrani|Shah Shuja]], the [[1842 retreat from Kabul]] of British-Indian forces and the [[1842 retreat from Kabul|annihilation]] of [[William George Keith Elphinstone|Elphinstone]]'s army, and the punitive expedition of [[Battle of Kabul (1842)|The Battle of Kabul]] that led to its sacking, the British gave up on their attempts to try to subjugate Afghanistan, allowing Dost Mohammad Khan to return as ruler. Following this, Dost Mohammad pursued a myriad of campaigns to unite most of Afghanistan in his reign, launching numerous incursions including against the surrounding states such as the [[Hazarajat Campaign of 1843|Hazarajat campaign]], [[Afghan Conquest of Balkh|conquest of Balkh]], [[Afghan Conquest of Kunduz|conquest of Kunduz]], and the [[conquest of Kandahar]]. Dost Mohammad led his final campaign against [[Herat (1793–1863)|Herat]], conquering it and re-uniting Afghanistan. During his campaigns of re-unification, he held friendly relations with the British despite the First Anglo-Afghan War, and affirmed their status in the [[Second Anglo-Afghan Treaty (1857)|Second Anglo-Afghan treaty]] of 1857, while [[Emirate of Bukhara|Bukhara]] and internal religious leaders pressured Dost Mohammad to invade India during the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Lee|first=Jonathan L.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nYaamE_3kD4C|title=The "Ancient Supremacy": Bukhara, Afghanistan and the Battle for Balkh, 1731–1901|date=1 January 1996|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-04-10399-3|page=257}}</ref>

Dost Mohammad died in June 1863, a few weeks after his successful [[Herat campaign of 1862–1863|campaign]] to Herat. Following his death, a civil war ensued among his sons, prominently [[Mohammad Afzal Khan]], [[Mohammad Azam Khan]], and [[Sher Ali Khan]]. Sher Ali won the resulting [[Afghan Civil War (1863–1869)]] and ruled Afghanistan until his death in 1879. In his final years, the British returned to Afghanistan in the [[Second Anglo-Afghan War]] to fight perceived Russian influence in the region. Sher Ali retreated to northern Afghanistan, intending to create a resistance there similar to his predecessors, Dost Mohammad Khan, and Wazir Akbar Khan. His untimely death however, saw [[Mohammad Yaqub Khan|Yaqub Khan]] declared the new Amir, leading to Britain gaining control of Afghanistan's foreign relations as part of the [[Treaty of Gandamak]] of 1879, making it an official [[British Protectorate|British Protected State]].{{sfn|Lee|2019|p=359-366}}<ref>{{cite web |last1=Onley |first1=James |title=The Raj Reconsidered: British India's Informal Empire and Spheres of Influence in Asia and Africa |date=March 2009 |volume=XL |publisher=Routledge |id=Page 9 of URL/Page 52 |url=https://socialsciences.exeter.ac.uk/iais/downloads/Onley_Raj_Reconsidered.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://socialsciences.exeter.ac.uk/iais/downloads/Onley_Raj_Reconsidered.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022 |url-status=live |access-date=18 September 2021}}</ref> [[Siege of the British Residency in Kabul|An uprising]] however, re-started the conflict, and Yaqub Khan was deposed. During this tumultuous period, [[Abdur Rahman Khan]] began his rise to power, becoming an eligible candidate to become Amir after he seized [[Second Anglo-Afghan War#Exploits of Abdur Rahman Khan|much of Northern Afghanistan]]. Abdur Rahman marched on [[Kabul]], and was declared Amir, being recognized by the British as well. Another uprising by [[Ayub Khan (Emir of Afghanistan)|Ayub Khan]] threatened the British, where rebels confronted and defeated British forces in the [[Battle of Maiwand]]. Following up on his victory, Ayub Khan unsuccessfully [[Battle of Kandahar (1880)|besieged Kandahar]], and his decisive defeat saw the end of the Second Anglo-Afghan War, with Abdur Rahman secured firmly as Amir.{{sfn|Lee|2019|p=376-383}} In 1893, Abdur Rahman signed an agreement in which the ethnic [[Pashtun]] and [[Baloch people|Baloch]] territories were divided by the [[Durand Line]], which forms the modern-day border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. [[Shia Islam in Afghanistan|Shia]]-dominated [[Hazarajat]] and pagan [[Kafiristan]] remained politically independent until being [[Muslim conquests of Afghanistan|conquered]] by Abdur Rahman Khan in 1891–1896. He was known as the "Iron Amir" for his features and his ruthless methods against tribes.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://reliefweb.int/report/afghanistan/afghan-women-hope-more-gains-under-new-administration|title=Afghan Women Hope for More Gains Under New Administration – Afghanistan|website=ReliefWeb|date=22 October 2014|access-date=14 June 2020|archive-date=22 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210822163517/https://reliefweb.int/report/afghanistan/afghan-women-hope-more-gains-under-new-administration|url-status=live}}</ref> He died in 1901, succeeded by his son, [[Habibullah Khan]].{{blockquote|How can a small power like Afghanistan, which is like a goat between these lions [Britain and Russia] or a grain of wheat between two strong millstones of the grinding mill, stand in the midway of the stones without being ground to dust?|author=[[Abdur Rahman Khan]], the "Iron Amir", in 1900<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://countrystudies.us/afghanistan/2.htm |title=Afghanistan – HISTORY|website=Country Studies US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=REwmr2bFYfkC&pg=PA2 |title=Afghanistan: The Soviet Invasion in Perspective |isbn=9780817982133 |last1=Arnold |first1=Anthony |date=June 1985 |publisher=Hoover Press}}</ref>}}

During the [[First World War]], when Afghanistan was neutral, Habibullah Khan was met by officials of the central powers in the [[Niedermayer–Hentig Expedition]]. They called on Afghanistan to declare full independence from the United Kingdom, join them and attack British India, as part of the [[Hindu–German Conspiracy]]. The effort to bring Afghanistan into the Central Powers failed, but it sparked discontent among the population about maintaining neutrality with the British. Habibullah was assassinated in February 1919, and [[Amanullah Khan]] eventually assumed power. A staunch supporter of the 1915–1916 expeditions, Amanullah Khan invaded British India, beginning the [[Third Anglo-Afghan War]], and entering British India via the [[Khyber Pass]].<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Afghanistan in the Great War|first=Christopher|last=Wyatt|date=2 September 2015|journal=Asian Affairs|volume=46|issue=3|pages=387–410|doi=10.1080/03068374.2015.1081001|s2cid = 159788830}}</ref>

[[File:King Amanullah standing.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Amanullah Khan]] proclaimed himself [[King of Afghanistan]] in June 1926.]]

After the end of the Third Anglo-Afghan War and the signing of the [[Anglo-Afghan Treaty of 1919|Treaty of Rawalpindi]] on 19 August 1919, [[Emir of Afghanistan|Emir]] Amanullah Khan declared the [[Emirate of Afghanistan]] a [[sovereign state|sovereign]] and fully [[independent state]]. He moved to end his country's traditional isolation by establishing diplomatic relations with the international community, particularly with the [[Soviet Union]] and the [[Weimar Republic]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pj8DIT_bva0C&pg=PA42|title=The Origins of Conflict in Afghanistan|first=Jeffery J.|last=Roberts|date=14 June 2003|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=9780275978785}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|title='Drang Nach Osten' Continued? Germany and Afghanistan during the Weimar Republic|last=Nicosia |first= Francis R.|year=1997|journal=Journal of Contemporary History|volume=32|issue=2|pages=235–257|doi = 10.1177/002200949703200207|jstor = 261243|s2cid = 160565967}}</ref> He proclaimed himself [[King of Afghanistan]] on 9 June 1926, forming the [[Kingdom of Afghanistan]]. He introduced several reforms intended to modernize his nation. A key force behind these reforms was [[Mahmud Tarzi]], an ardent supporter of the education of women. He fought for Article 68 of Afghanistan's 1923 [[constitution of Afghanistan|constitution]], which made elementary education compulsory. [[Slavery]] was abolished in 1923.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | year = 1976| volume = 25| encyclopedia = [[Encyclopedia Americana]]|publisher=Americana Corporation | page = 24 |title=Afghanistan }}</ref> King Amanullah's wife, [[Soraya Tarzi|Queen Soraya]], was an important figure during this period in the fight for woman's education and against their oppression.<ref>{{Cite news|date=10 September 2020|title=Queen Soraya of Afghanistan: A woman ahead of her time|url=https://arab.news/5hdva|access-date=3 July 2021|website=Arab News|archive-date=30 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210830214955/https://www.arabnews.com/node/1732666/world|url-status=live}}</ref>

Some of the reforms, such as the abolition of the traditional [[burqa]] for women and the opening of co-educational schools, alienated many tribal and religious leaders, leading to the [[Afghan Civil War (1928–1929)]]. King Amanullah abdicated in January 1929, and soon after Kabul fell to [[Saqqawist]] forces led by [[Habibullah Kalakani]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A4_jAAAAMAAJ|title=Kabul under siege: Fayz Muhammad's account of the 1929 Uprising|last1=Muḥammad|first1=Fayz̤|last2=McChesney|first2=R. D.|date=1999|publisher=Markus Wiener Publishers|isbn=9781558761544|pages=39, 40|access-date=15 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190404143046/https://books.google.nl/books?id=A4_jAAAAMAAJ|archive-date=4 April 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Mohammed Nadir Shah]], Amanullah's cousin, defeated and killed Kalakani in October 1929, and was declared King Nadir Shah.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A4_jAAAAMAAJ|title=Kabul under siege: Fayz Muhammad's account of the 1929 Uprising|last1=Muḥammad|first1=Fayz̤|last2=McChesney|first2=R. D.|date=1999|publisher=Markus Wiener Publishers|isbn=9781558761544|pages=275, 276|access-date=15 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190404143046/https://books.google.nl/books?id=A4_jAAAAMAAJ|archive-date=4 April 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> He abandoned the reforms of King Amanullah in favor of a more gradual approach to modernization, but was assassinated in 1933 by [[Abdul Khaliq Hazara (assassin)|Abdul Khaliq]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Culture and customs of Afghanistan |last1=Hafizullah |first1=Emadi |year=2005 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=0-313-33089-1 |page=35 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bY8ck6iktikC&pg=PA35 |access-date=31 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170225052702/https://books.google.com/books?id=bY8ck6iktikC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA35 |archive-date=25 February 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Mohammed Zahir Shah succeeded to the throne and reigned as king from 1933 to 1973. During the [[Afghan tribal revolts of 1944–1947|tribal revolts of 1944–1947]], King Zahir's reign was challenged by [[Zadran (Pashtun tribe)|Zadran]], [[Safi (Pashtun tribe)|Safi]], [[Mangal (Pashtun tribe)|Mangal]], and [[Wazir (Pashtun tribe)|Wazir]] tribesmen led by [[Mazrak Zadran]], [[Salemai]], and [[Faqir Ipi|Mirzali Khan]], among others – many of whom were [[Amanullah loyalist]]s. Afghanistan joined the [[League of Nations]] in 1934. The 1930s saw the development of roads, infrastructure, the founding of a [[Da Afghanistan Bank|national bank]], and increased education. Road links in the north played a large part in a growing cotton and textile industry.<ref name="Eur2002"/> The country built close relationships with the [[Axis powers]], with [[Nazi Germany]] having the largest share in Afghan development at the time.<ref>{{cite book|author=Anthony Hyman|title=Afghanistan under Soviet Domination, 1964–91|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nvO-DAAAQBAJ&pg=PA46|date=27 July 2016|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-1-349-21948-3|page=46}}</ref>

[[File:Zahir Shah of Afghanistan in 1930s-cropped.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Mohammed Zahir Shah|King Zahir]], the last reigning monarch of Afghanistan, who reigned from 1933 until 1973]]

Until 1946 King Zahir ruled with the assistance of his uncle, who held the post of [[Prime Minister of Afghanistan|prime minister]] and continued the policies of Nadir Shah. Another uncle, [[Shah Mahmud Khan]], became prime minister in 1946 and experimented with allowing greater political freedom. He was replaced in 1953 by [[Mohammed Daoud Khan]], a [[Pashtun]] nationalist who sought the creation of a [[Pashtunistan]], leading to highly tense relations with Pakistan.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/1103837.html|title=Afghanistan: History Of 1973 Coup Sheds Light On Relations With Pakistan|access-date=6 July 2019|date=18 July 2003|publisher=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty|author=Ron Synovitz|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626230602/https://www.rferl.org/a/1103837.html|archive-date=26 June 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Daoud Khan pressed for social modernization reforms and sought a closer relationship with the [[Soviet Union]]. Afterward, the [[1964 Constitution of Afghanistan|1964 constitution]] was formed, and the first non-royal prime minister was sworn in.<ref name="Eur2002">{{cite book|author=Eur|title=The Far East and Australasia 2003|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LclscNCTz9oC&pg=PA62|year=2002|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=978-1-85743-133-9|page=62}}</ref>

Zahir Shah, like his father Nadir Shah, had a policy of maintaining national independence while pursuing gradual modernization, creating nationalist feeling, and improving relations with the United Kingdom. Afghanistan was neither a participant in [[World War II]] nor aligned with either power bloc in the [[Cold War]]. However, it was a beneficiary of the latter rivalry as both the Soviet Union and the United States vied for influence by building Afghanistan's main highways, airports, and other vital infrastructure. On a per capita basis, Afghanistan received more Soviet [[development aid]] than any other country. In 1973, while the King was in Italy, Daoud Khan launched a [[1973 Afghan coup|bloodless coup]] and became the first [[president of Afghanistan]], abolishing the monarchy.