| Amanullah Khan | |
|---|---|
| King of Afghanistan Ghazi | |
 | |
| King of Afghanistan | |
| Reign | 9 June 1926 – 14 January 1929 |
| Predecessor | Himself (asEmir) |
| Successor | Inayatullah Khan |
| Emir of Afghanistan | |
| Reign | 28 February 1919 – 9 June 1926 |
| Predecessor | Nasrullah Khan |
| Successor | Himself (asKing) |
| Born | (1892-06-01)1 June 1892 Paghman,Emirate of Afghanistan |
| Died | 26 April 1960(1960-04-26) (aged 67) Zurich,Switzerland |
| Burial | |
| Spouse | Soraya Tarzi |
| Issue | See
|
| House | Barakzai |
| Father | Prince Habibullah I, Prince of Afghanistan |
| Mother | Sarwar Sultana Begum |
| Tughra |  |
| Military career | |
| Battles / wars | 1919 Afghan coup d'état Alizai rebellion of 1923 Khost rebellion (1924–1925) Urtatagai conflict (1925–1926) |
Amanullah Khan[a] (1 June 1892 – 26 April 1960) wasEmir of Afghanistan from 1919 to 1926, and thenKing of Afghanistan from 1926 until his abdication in 1929. After the end of theThird Anglo-Afghan War in August 1919, Afghanistan was able to relinquish itsprotected state status to proclaim independence and pursue an independentforeign policy free from the influence of the United Kingdom.
His rule was marked by dramatic political and social change, including attempts to moderniseAfghanistan along Western lines.[2][3] He did not fully succeed in achieving this objective due to an uprising byHabibullah Kalakani and his followers. On 14 January 1929, Amanullah abdicated and fled to neighbouringBritish India as theAfghan Civil War began to escalate. FromBritish India, he went to Europe, where after 30 years in exile, he died inZürich, Switzerland[4][5] on 26 April 1960. His body was brought toAfghanistan and buried inJalalabad[6] near his fatherHabibullah Khan's tomb.[7]
Amanullah Khan was born on 1 June 1892, inPaghman nearKabul, Afghanistan to aPashtun family. He was the favoured and the third son of the EmirHabibullah Khan from his second wife. Amanullah was installed as the governor ofKabul, and was in control of the army and the treasury. He gained the allegiance of most of the tribal leaders.[8]
In February 1919, EmirHabibullah Khan went on a hunting trip to Afghanistan'sLaghman Province. Among those in his retinue were his brotherNasrullah Khan, Habibullah's first son from his first wifeInayatullah, and Habibullah's commander-in-chiefNadir Khan. On the evening of 20 February 1919, Habibullah was shot in the head by an unknown assassin while sleeping in his tent.[9] Amanullah Khan would later become king in March 1919, leaving Nasrullah as successor to the Afghan throne. Nasrullah at first refused to take the throne and declared his allegiance to his nephew Inayatullah, Habibullah's first-born son from his first wife. Inayatullah refused and said that his father had made his uncle Nasrullah the rightful heir and wanted him to become Emir. All the local tribespeople gave their allegiance to Nasrullah, who was a pious and religious man.[10]
The remainder of Habibullah's party journeyed southeast toJalalabad, and on 21 February 1919 reached the city, where Nasrullah was declared Emir, supported by Habibullah's first sonInayatullah.[11]
Amanullah Khan, third son of Habibullah by Habibullah's second wife, had remained in Kabul as the king's representative. Upon receiving the news of his father's death, Amanullah immediately seized control of the treasury atKabul andstaged a coup against his uncle.[12] He took control of Kabul and the central government, declaring war against Nasrullah. Nasrullah did not want any bloodshed in order for him to be king. He told Amanullah that he could have the kingdom, and he would go into exile in Saudi Arabia. Amanullah Khan swore upon the Quran that no harm would come to Nasrullah if he returned to Kabul and then he could do as he pleased. On 28 February 1919, Amanullah proclaimed himself Emir.[11] On 3 March 1919, fearing that Nasrullah's supporters would rise against Amanullah, he subsequently went against his word. Nasrullah was arrested and imprisoned by Amanullah's forces.[13]
On 13 April 1919, Amanullah held aDurbar (a royal court under the supervision of Amanullah) in Kabul which inquired into the death of Habibullah. It found a colonel in the Afghanistan military guilty of the crime, and had him executed. On manufactured evidence, it found Nasrullah complicit in the assassination.[11] Nasrullah was sentenced to life imprisonment[14] but Amanullah had him assassinated approximately one year later while being held in the royal jail.[13]
Russia had recently undergone itsCommunist revolution leading to strained relations between the country and the United Kingdom. Amanullah Khan recognized the opportunity to use the situation to gain Afghanistan's independence over its foreign affairs. He led a surprise attack against theBritish inIndia on 3 May 1919, beginning theThird Anglo-Afghan war.[15] After initial successes, the war quickly became a stalemate as the United Kingdom was still dealing with the costs of World War I. Anarmistice was reached towards the end of 1919, which led to Afghanistan being freed of British diplomatic influence.[16]
Amanullah conceptualized a modernistconstitution that incorporatedequal rights and individual freedoms, with the guidance of his father-in-law and Foreign MinisterMahmud Tarzi.[17] To ensure national unity based on equal rights for all people before the law, and their participation in the political development of the country, he drafted the country's first constitution, the "Statute of the Supreme Government of Afghanistan", which was officially approved and ratified by 872 tribal elders and government officials gathered in aLoya Jirga in Jalalabad on 11 April 1922. Under Sharia law and government-enacted legislation, all citizens were entitled to equal rights and freedoms, according to Article 16 of the constitution.[citation needed]
Amanullah enjoyed early popularity within Afghanistan and he used his influence to modernise the country. Amanullah created new more cosmopolitan schools for both boys and girls in the regions and overturned centuries-old traditions such as strictdress codes for women.[18] Various educational facilities, such as the Telegraph School, the Arabic Learning Academy or Daruloloom, Mastoorat School, Rashidya School in Jalalabad, Kandahar, and Mazar-e-sharif, Qataghan School, and the Academy of Basic Medical Sciences, as well as more than 320 schools, were established across all provinces. These schools initially had Indian instructors who were then replaced by French teachers. Primary education became obligatory, and literacy courses were developed to foster and improve reading abilities. Later, courses for teaching religious subjects and modern sciences were developed, with Amanullah Khan himself teaching some of them.[citation needed]
DespiteDari being the official language, thePashto language was promoted as an important aspect of Afghan identity by Amanullah Khan. By the 1930s, a campaign had begun with the intention of making Pashto the Afghan government's official language. Pashto was declared an official language in 1936, and this was reaffirmed in 1964.
Amanullah's wife, QueenSoraya Tarzi played a significant role regarding his policy towards women. This rapid modernisation created a backlash and a reactionary uprising known as theKhost rebellion which was suppressed in 1925. Amanullah met with many followers of theBaháʼí Faith in India and Europe, from where he brought back books that are still to be found in theKabul Library.[19] This association later served as one of the accusations against him when he was overthrown.[20]
The failure of Amanullah Khan's reforms, like that of any other major political phenomena, was the result of a complex set of internal and external variables, some of which were objective in origin and others of which were linked to secret service organisations operating outside the country's borders. On the one hand, objective reasons arose from existing tensions between the changes being implemented and the interests of society's ruling class.[citation needed] At the time, Afghanistan's foreign policy was primarily concerned with the rivalry between the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom, the so-calledGreat Game. Each attempted to gain influence in Afghanistan and foil attempts by the other power to gain influence in the region. This effect was inconsistent, but generally favourable for Afghanistan; Amanullah established a limitedAfghan Air Force consisting of donated Soviet planes.[21]
Amanullah's government also accepted a close relationship with Turkestan. This included leaders like the King of Bukhara (Amir Seyyid Alem), to whom he provided military assistance.[22] Amanullah's government also established a relationship withEnver Pasha.[22] This relationship angered the Soviet Union despite both of the former mentioned subjects being defeated.[22]
Amanullah travelled to Europe in late 1927.[23] The Afghan King and Queen set out from the port ofKarachi and en-route they met withKing Fuad of Egypt in Cairo. They undertook a whirlwind European visit: Italy (arrived 8 January 1928), where they met with KingVictor-Emanuel III of Italy along with his Prime Minister,Benito Mussolini and thenPope Pius XI in the Vatican City; France, (arrived in Nice on 22 January 1928 and then Paris on 25 January), meeting withPresident Doumergue; Belgium, (arrived in Brussels on 8 February), meeting withKing Albert I andQueen Elisabeth of Belgium. The next stop was Germany. Thegermanophile king arrived in Berlin on 22 February and met with PresidentPaul von Hindenburg the same day.
He travelled to Great Britain as guests of KingGeorge V andQueen Mary. The steam shipSS Maid of Orleans arrived in Dover on 13 March 1928. The royal couple left England on 5 April and made their way to Poland. On their way, they had a longer stopover in Berlin where the Amanullah underwent an emergencytonsillectomy. The royal train with the Emir back on board arrived in the Polish border town ofZbąszyń on 28 April. The next day it pulled intoWarsaw to be met by Polish ministers, the speaker of theSejm and the country's presidentIgnacy Mościcki. At his request Amanullah was granted an audience with the First Marshal of PolandJózef Piłsudski. The Afghan party departed from Warsaw travelling east across the country to the border with the Soviet Union on 2 May 1928.[24]
Finally Amanullah Khan visited the first Turkish presidentMustafa Kemal Atatürk on 20 May 1928 which at the time was the first state visit by a foreign Head of State to Turkey. During this visit, Turkey signed its first technical assistant agreement with Afghanistan.[25]
During and after Amanullah's visit to Europe, opposition to his rule increased to the point where an uprising inJalalabad culminated in a march to the capital, and much of the army deserted instead of resisting. This was caused by Amanullah's new policies of rapid modernisation after returning from his tour of Europe in a still very conservative society. Some of his new policies (inspired byMustafa Kemal Atatürk's revolution who however had advised him to be moderate and careful in his reforms during his visit to Turkey in 1928[26]) included the abolishment of the veil, changing Friday which is a weekend and sacred day of worship in Islamic countries to a working day and making Thursday a non-working day instead. He also ordered people to replace their traditional Afghan attire with new western clothes (at a time when majority of the people could only afford with difficulty the basic necessities like food) and to tip their hats when greeting others like in Western countries. As a result, Islamic conservatives and opponents led byHabibullāh Kalakāni rose up against his rule and new western inspired modernisation policies.
On 14 December 1928 Kalakāni, a leader of the "Saqqawists" opposition movement accompanied by groups of Kohistanis, led an attack on Kabul, which was repelled after nine days of fighting and retreated toPaghman. He launched another attack on 7 January 1929 and successfully took Kabul. On 14 January 1929 Amanullah abdicated and went into temporary exile in thenBritish India passing the monarchy to his half brotherInayatullah Khan who became the next king of Afghanistan until surrendering theArg four days later on 18 January 1929 to Kalakani who proclaimed himself asAmir of Afghanistan.
Much of the resistance in support of Amanullah was confined to just one of the five "culture zones." The impacted area was a small "tribal zone" that encompassed theEastern andSouthern provinces (Mashreqi and Jonub) in 1929, as well as the modern provinces ofNangarhar,Laghman,Kunar,Paktiya, andPaktika. The Shinwari, Mohmand, Kakar, Mangal, Jaji, Ahmadzai, Safi, Ghilzai, along with other Pashtun tribes populate most of this area. Hazarajat's Shi'a Hazarahs were strong supporters of Amanullah's reforms and hence resisted the Kalakāni's rule. Large portions of the country were not involved in either of the violent conflicts.[27]
While Amanullah was in India, Kalakani battled anti-Saqqawist tribes. Around 22 March 1929, Amanullah returned to Afghanistan assembling forces inKandahar to reach Kabul and to dispose of Kalakāni. In April 1929 he attempted to advance to Kabul but his forces were defeated inMuqur,Ghazni and on 23 May 1929 he fled to India again. He never returned to his country.[28]
Kalakāni's rule lasted only nine months and he was replaced byMohammad Nadir Shah on 13 October 1929. Amanullah Khan attempted to return to Afghanistan, but he had little support from the people. FromBritish India, the ex-king travelled to Europe and settled inItaly, buying a villa in Rome'sPrati neighbourhood. Meanwhile, Nadir Shah made sure Amanullah's return to Afghanistan was made impossible by engaging in propaganda. Most of Amanullah's reforms were reversed, although later kingMohammad Zahir Shah made a more gradual program of reform.[29]
Nevertheless, Amanullah still had a group of staunch supporters in Afghanistan. TheseAmanullah loyalists unsuccessfully attempted several times in the 1930s and 1940s to bring him back to power.[30]
During World War II,Germany had extensive plans to reinstall Amanullah to his throne. Khan, while aware and keen to regain his throne, knew little more about the plan; Nazi officials never invited him to participate in discussions. It was Khan's name and face that was needed to provide legitimacy to an uprising and, eventually, a puppet Nazi government in Afghanistan. The plan, however, did not come to fruition; for it to work, Germany needed the support of the Soviet Union, which it never fully received. WhileHitler cancelled the plan in the last days of December 1939, there was still hope in theGerman Foreign Office and theAbwehr that the Soviets would come forward with a proposal; it never happened.[31]
Discussions were revived in late 1942 but following theAxis loss inStalingrad in 1943, the plans were abandoned.[32]
Amidst all the negotiations, Khan remained in exile in Rome and never directly spoke to German or Soviet officials. While some war-time news articles suggest he was an activeNazi agent,[33] other sources suggest he never even succeeded in obtaining a visa to visit Berlin.[34] It was his brother-in-law, Ghulam Siddiq, to whom Khan had given full powers to negotiate on his behalf, that travelled between Germany, the Soviet Union, Italy and Switzerland to participate in talks surrounding the operation.[31]
Khan survived the war unharmed but appears to have lived a life of poverty in his exile, at least during and post World War II. One of the reasons Nazi officials hesitated from inviting him to Berlin was because they suspected he would ask for money.[31] Moreover, a British Intelligence Officer, who visited Khan after theAllies had captured Rome, described his household, 'His Majesty from time to time rubbing his hand from cold. Her Majesty huddled in a ghastly gilt arm-chair, gracefully draped in a mink coat. Pimp-like princelings and over-painted Royal Aunts from time to time taping the conversation towards kilowatts and the lack of scruples shown by black marketeers.'[31] Neverthelesss, people in Rome's Prati neighbourhood, where Khan lived, claimed that he arrived with "crates of jewels" which he slowly sold.[35]
After fleeing toBritish India, King Amanullah Khan sought asylum inItaly because he was given theOrder of the Annunciation by KingVictor Emmanuel III on his world tour. He died on 26 April 1960 inZürich, Switzerland.[4][5] His body was brought toAfghanistan and buried in the eastern city ofJalalabad near the tomb of his father Haibullah Khan. He left behind his widowed wife and four sons and five daughters, includingPrincess India of Afghanistan.[36]
Amanullah's first marriage occurred in 1908, when he was sixteen but ended in divorce shortly afterwards. One of his wives, Gul Pari, was a Chitrali and served as a lady-in-waiting to his mother. They married in 1910, when he was eighteen. She died in 1912 during childbirth while giving birth to their son, Hedayatullah. Another wife,Soraya Tarzi (1899–1968), was the daughter ofMahmud Tarzi, who served as Afghanistan's Foreign Minister, and his second wife,Asma Rasmiya Khanum. Together, Amanullah and Soraya had ten children—six sons and four daughters. He also married Vanda, with whom he had two sons. Another of his wives, Princess Aliah, was the daughter of his paternal uncle, EmirNasrullah Khan, and his wife Gulshan, a Shighnani. They married on 31 December 1928, but she did not accompany him into exile to Italy in 1929, and he eventually sent her a divorce. Aliah chose not to remarry.[37][38][39]
Amanullah and Soraya had ten children, six daughters and four sons:
Amanullah Khan Born: 01 June 1892 Died: 25 April 1960 | ||
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Emir of Afghanistan 1919–1926 | Succeeded by Himself King of Afghanistan |
| Preceded by Himself Emir of Afghanistan | King of Afghanistan 1926–1929 | Succeeded by |
 Hotak Empire | |
|---|---|
 Durrani Empire | |
 Barakzai Emirate | |
 Barakzai Kingdom | |
 Saqqawist Emirate(unrecognized) | |
| Barakzai Kingdom(restored) | |
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