| Abdur Rahman Khan | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amir Ziya'al-Milat wa al-Din | |||||
 Abdur Rahman Khan in 1897 | |||||
| Amir of Afghanistan | |||||
| Reign | 31 May 1880 – 1 October 1901 | ||||
| Predecessor | Ayub Khan | ||||
| Successor | Habibullah Khan | ||||
| Born | 1840–1844 Kabul,Afghanistan | ||||
| Died | 1 October 1901 (agedc. 56–61) Kabul,Afghanistan | ||||
| Burial | 1901 Palace atZarnegar Park, Kabul, Afghanistan | ||||
| Spouse | Babo Jan | ||||
| |||||
| Dynasty | Barakzai dynasty | ||||
| Father | Mohammad Afzal Khan | ||||
Abdur Rahman KhanGCSI (Pashto: عبدالرحمن خان) (between 1840 and 1844 – 1 October 1901) also known by hisepithet,The Iron Amir,[1][2] wasAmir of Afghanistan from 1880 to his death in 1901.[3] He is known for perpetrating theHazara Genocide, but also uniting the country after years of internal fighting and negotiation of theDurand Line Agreement withBritish India.[4]
Abdur Rahman Khan was the only son ofMohammad Afzal Khan, and grandson ofDost Mohammad Khan, founder of theBarakzai dynasty. Abdur Rahman Khan re-established the writ of theAfghan government after the disarray that followed thesecond Anglo-Afghan war.[5] He became known asThe Iron Amir because his government was a militarydespotism. This despotism rested upon a well-appointed army and was administered through officials subservient to an inflexible will and controlled by a widespread system ofespionage.[2]
The nickname,The Iron Amir, is also associated due to his victory over a number of rebellions by various tribes who were led by his relatives.[6] One source says that during his reign there were over 40 rebellions against his rule.[7] Abdur Rahman Khan's rule was termed by one British official as a "reign of terror", as he was considered despotic and had up to 100,000 people judicially executed during his 21 years as Emir.[8] Thousands more starved to death, caught deadly diseases and died, were massacred by his army, or were killed during his forceful migrations of tribes.[8] However, scholars such as Jonathan Lee note that he was perhaps one of the most skilled military leaders from Afghanistan.[8]
Abdur Rahman Khan was aPashtun, born inKabul in 1844. He spent most of his youth inBalkh with his father, Mohammad Afzal Khan. Abdul Rahman learned conventional warfare tactics from the British soldier William Campbell.[9]
Before his death inHerat, on 9 June 1863, Abdur Rahman's grandfather,Dost Mohammad Khan, nominated his third son,Sher Ali Khan, as his successor, passing over the two elder half brothers of Sher Ali,Afzal Khan andAzam Khan. At first, the new Amir was quietly recognized. But after a few months, Afzal Khan raised aninsurrection 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 Mohammad's sons, which lasted for nearly five years.[10] TheMusahiban are descendants ofDost Mohammad Khan's older brother,Sultan Mohammad Khan.[11]
Described by the American scholar and explorerEugene Schuyler as "a tall well-built man, with a large head, and a marked Afghan, almostJewish, face",[12] Abdur Rahman distinguished himself for his ability and energetic daring. Although his father, Afzal Khan came to terms with Amir Sher Ali, Abdur's behavior in the northern province soon excited Amir's suspicion and, when he was summoned to Kabul, fled across theOxus intoBukhara. Sher Ali threw Afzal Khan into prison, and a revolt followed in southern Afghanistan.[10]
The Amir had scarcely suppressed it by winning a desperate battle when Abdur Rahman's reappearance in the north was a signal for a mutiny by troops stationed in those parts and a gathering of armed bands to his standard. After some delay and desultory fighting, he and his uncle, Azam Khan, occupied Kabul in March 1866. The Amir Sher Ali marched up against them fromKandahar, but in the battle that ensued at Sheikhabad on 10 May, he was deserted by a large body of his troops, and after his signal defeat Abdur Rahman released his father, Afzal Khan, from prison inGhazni, and installed him upon the throne as Amir of Afghanistan. Notwithstanding the new Amir's incapacity, and some jealousy between the real leaders, Abdur Rahman and his uncle, they again routed Sher Ali's forces and occupied Kandahar in 1867. 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 Ali's return and a general rising in his favour resulted in Abdur Rahman and Azam Khan's defeat atTinah Khan on 3 January 1869. Both sought refuge to the east in Central Asia, where Abdur Rahman placed himself under Russian protection atSamarkand.[13] Azam died in Kabul in October 1869.[10]
Upon the death of Sher Ali Khan, Abdur Rahman Khan, serving exile in Turkestan, requested from the Russians to enter Afghanistan as a claimant of the throne. This request was denied. However, followingYaqub Khan's abdication, as well as the British occupation of Kabul, the Russians allowed Abdur Rahman Khan to re-enter Afghanistan. Abdur Rahman made way forBadakhshan, whose ruler he had marriage ties with. While on route, he did a pilgrimage to the shrine ofKhwaja Ahrar, taking his banner after claiming he had a vision that ensured victory. The ruler of Badakhshan did not permit Abdur Rahman to ford the Amu Darya, to which Abdur Rahman did so further downstream. He then crossed a mountain pass while it snowed, arriving atRostaq, where its garrison defected. With the fall of Rostaq, Abdur Rahman met the Mir of Badakhshan in battle, forcing him to flee toChitral while Abdur Rahman annexed Badakhshan.[14]
Abdur Rahman requested from Sultan Murad ofKunduz for military access so he could advance onKabul. This request was denied. However, Ghulam Haidar Khan, Yaqub's governor ofBalkh, attacked Kunduz, occupying it, and forcing Sultan Murad to flee toFayzabad. Sultan Murad then aligned with Abdur Rahman, and encouraged rebellion against Ghulam Haidar, with the commander ofTakhtapul declaring for Abdur Rahman. Ghulam Haidar fled across the Amu Darya, leaving the entirety ofAfghan Turkestan under Abdur Rahman's control.[15]
The British, eyeing for a suitable candidate to be the ruler ofAfghanistan, scouted Abdur Rahman Khan, and began negotiating with him. Abdur Rahman was reluctant to accept such a proposal, as he considered himself an opponent of the British, with his own men wishing for Jihad against them. While negotiations continued, the British considered numerous political solutions, including dividing Afghanistan into numerous kingdoms.[16][17] The British were seeking to a quick conclusion to the war due to the resignation ofLytton, with his successor, theMarquis of Ripon, wishing to withdraw all British troops from Afghanistan as quickly as possible. With this, the British no longer wished to uphold a British envoy in Afghanistan. However, both sides continued to differ, with the British wishing to keepKandahar under their control with Sardar Sher Ali as governor, while Abdur Rahman saw it imperative as a part of Afghanistan.[18]
Believing that the British might withdraw, Abdur Rahman Khan arrived inCharikar sometime in July 1880, where religious leaders from regions such asPanjshir,Kohistan, andTagab welcomed his arrival. On 19 July, the British informed Abdur Rahman that they were prepared to recognize him as the ruler of Afghanistan, inviting him to Kabul for a ceremony. Abdur Rahman called aJirga, with many tribal leaders declaring for him, while Abdur Rahman was declared the Amir ofKabul.[18]
Griffin described Abdur Rahman as a man of middle height, with an exceedingly intelligent face and frank and courteous manners, shrewd and able in conversation on the business in hand.[10]
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.[19] At thedurbar 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, theBritish troops also handed over Kandahar to the newAmir.[20][10]
However,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 theAmir, 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, suppressinginsurrection by a relentless and brutal use of hisdespotic authority. The powerfulGhilzai revolted against the severity of his measures several times.
In 1885, at the moment when theAmir was in conference with the Britishviceroy,Lord Dufferin, in India, the news came of a skirmish between Russian and Afghan troops atPanjdeh, 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 asufficient 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.[21] He also published hisautobiography in 1885, which served more as an advice guide forprinces than anything else.[22]
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 theGovernment 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 theOrder of the Star of India appeared to give him much pleasure.[2]
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 annualsubsidy from the British government of 1,850,000rupees. He was allowed to import munitions of war.[2] He succeeded in imposing an organised government one of the most the fiercest and unruly population inAsia; he availed himself ofEuropean inventions for strengthening his armament, while he sternly set his face against all innovations which, likerailways andtelegraphs, might give Europeans a foothold within his country.[2]
He also built himself several summer and guest houses, including theBagh-e Bala Palace andChihil Sutun Palace in Kabul, and theJahan Nama Palace in Kholm.[23]
The Amir found himself unable, by reason ofill-health, to accept an invitation fromQueen Victoria to visit England; but his second sonNasrullah Khan, the crown prince, went instead.[2]
In 1893, Mortimer Durand was deputed to Kabul by the government of British India for this purpose of settling an exchange of territory required by the demarcation of the boundary between northeastern Afghanistan and the Russian possessions, and in order to discuss with Amir Abdur Rahman Khan other pending questions. Abdur Rahman Khan showed his usual ability in diplomatic argument, his tenacity where his own views or claims were in debate, with a sure underlying insight into the real situation.
In the agreement that followed relations between the British Indian and Afghan governments, as previously arranged, were confirmed; and an understanding was reached upon the important and difficult subject of the border line of Afghanistan on the east, towards India. A Royal Commission was set up to determine the boundary between Afghanistan and British-governed India, and was tasked to negotiate terms for agreeing to theDurand Line, between the two parties camped atParachinar, now part of FATA Pakistan, which is nearKhost, Afghanistan. From the British side the camp was attended byMortimer Durand andSahibzada Abdul Qayyum, BritishPolitical Agent in Khyber. Afghanistan was represented bySahibzada Abdul Latif and the GovernorSardar Shireendil Khan representing Amir Abdur Rahman Khan.
In 1893, Mortimer Durand negotiated with Abdur Rahman Khan the Durand Line Treaty for the demarcation of the frontier between Afghanistan, theFATA,North-West Frontier Province andBaluchistan, now provinces of Pakistan as a successor state ofBritish India. In 1905, AmirHabibullah Khan signed a new agreement with theUnited Kingdom which confirmed the legality of the Durand Line.[4] Similarly, the legality of the Durand Line was once again confirmed by KingAmanullah Khan through theTreaty of Rawalpindi in 1919.[4][24]
The Durand Line was once again recognised as international border between Pakistan and Afghanistan bySardar Mohammed Daoud Khan (former prime minister and later president of Afghanistan) during his visit to Pakistan in August 1976.[25][26][27]
Abdur Rahman Khan's government was a military despotism resting upon a well-appointed army; it was administered through officials absolutely subservient to an inflexible will and controlled by a widespread system ofespionage; while the exercise of his personal authority was too often stained by acts of unnecessary cruelty.[2] He held open courts for the receipt of petitioners and the dispensation of justice; and in the disposal of business he was indefatigable.[28]
In the 1880s, the "Iron Emir" decided to strategically displace some members of different ethnic groups in order to bring better security. For example, he "uprooted troublesome Durrani and GhilzaiPashtun tribes andtransported them toUzbek andTajik populated areas in the north, where they could spy on local Dari-speaking, non-Pashtun ethnic groups and act as a screen against further Russian encroachments on Afghan territory."[1] From the end of 1888, the Amir spent eighteen months in his northern provinces bordering upon the Oxus, where he was engaged in pacifying the country that had been disturbed by revolts, and in punishing with a heavy hand all who were known or suspected to have taken any part in rebellion.[2]
In 1895–1896, Abdur Rahman directed the invasion ofKafiristan and the conversion of its indigenous peoples to Islam. The region was subsequently renamedNuristan. In 1896, he adopted the title ofZia-ul-Millat-Wa-ud Din ("Light of the nation and religion"), and his zeal for the cause ofIslam induced him to publishtreatises onjihad.[2][29]
Chitral, Yarkand and Ferghana became shelters for refugees in 1887 and 1883 from Badakhshan who fled from the campaigns of Abdur Rahman.[30]
In the early 1890sHazaras revolted against Abdur Rahman. As the Kabul Newsletters written by the British agents indicate, Abdur Rahman was an extremely ruthless man. He has been called 'The Dracula Amir' by some writers.[10][13] Due to Abdur Rahman's depredations, over 50–60 percent of the total Hazara population wasmassacred and numerous towers of Hazara heads were made from the defeated rebels. Upon each victory Abdur Rahman claimed, it unleashed a reign of terror. This resulted in Hazara women being forcibly married to Pashtuns, as well as Hazara territories, specifically in largely ethnic Hazara areas such asUrzugan,Ghazni, Maiden Shah, and Zawar being depopulated of Hazara populations. The territories of prominent Hazara chiefs in these areas were given toMohammadzai sardars, or other closely related government loyalists. Alongside this, theJizya tax was also enforced on Shias, which was only meant to be for non-Muslims.[31] It caused some Hazaras to migrate toQuetta inBalochistan, and toMashhad in northeasternIran.[32][33] In theBamyan region, Abdur Rahman ordered soldiers to destroy the faces of theBuddhas of Bamiyan during a military campaign against aHazara rebellion in the area.[34]
Abdur Rahman died on 1 October 1901, inside his summer palace, being succeeded by his sonHabibullah Khan who is the father ofAmanullah Khan.
Today, his descendants can be found in many places outside Afghanistan, such as in America,France,Germany, and even in Scandinavian countries such asDenmark. His two eldest sons, Habibullah Khan andNasrullah Khan, were born atSamarkand. His youngest son, Mahomed Omar Jan, was born in 1889 of an Afghan mother, connected by descent with theBarakzai family. One of the Amir's grandchildren,Azizullah Khan Ziai was the ambassador of Iran from 1930 to 1932, he was the son ofNasrullah Khan.[2]
Afghan society has mixed feelings about his rule. A majority ofPashtuns (his native ethnics) remember him as a ruler who initiated many programs for modernisation,[35] and effectively prevented the country from being occupied by Russia by using the "financial and advisory"[36] support ofBritish Empire duringthe Great Game. The Emir was effectively dependent on British arms and money to stay in power.[37]
To some historians he is called a tyrant, to other people he is a hero. But what did Abdul Rahman give us? He united Afghanistan under one king and one flag.
— Prince Abdul Ali Seraj (1945–2018), great-grandson of Abdur Rahman[38]
Born in Kabul in 1844, Abdur Rahman Khan spent most of his youth in Balkh with his father, Mohammad Afzal 5. Abdur Rahman learned conventional warfare tactics from the British soldier of fortune, William Campbell.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Abdur Rahman Khan".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 37–38.
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Barakzai dynasty Emir of Afghanistan 31 May 1880 – 1 October 1901 | Succeeded by |
 Hotak Empire | |
|---|---|
 Durrani Empire | |
 Barakzai Emirate | |
 Barakzai Kingdom | |
 Saqqawist Emirate(unrecognized) | |
| Barakzai Kingdom(restored) | |
| |
