| 1823–1926 | |||||||||||||||||
 Map of the Emirate of Afghanistan after theDurand Line Agreement Afghanistan before the 1893 Durand Line AgreementMap of the Emirate of Afghanistan in 1914 (green) Afghanistan before the 1893 Durand Line Agreement (yellow) | |||||||||||||||||
| Status | IndependentEmirate (1823–1879, 1919–1926) De-facto IndependentEmirate;De-jureBritish protected state (1879–1919)[a][1][2] | ||||||||||||||||
| Capital | Kabul | ||||||||||||||||
| Official languages | Persian | ||||||||||||||||
| Spoken languages | |||||||||||||||||
| Ethnic groups | Pashtun,Tajik,Uzbek,Hazara,Persian,Aimaq,Turkmen,Baloch,Pashai,Nuristani,Gurjar,Arab,Brahui,Qizilbash,Pamiri,Kyrgyz,others | ||||||||||||||||
| Religion | Majority:Sunni Islam Minorities:Twelver Shia Islam,Ismailism,Hinduism,Sikhism,Judaism,Christianity | ||||||||||||||||
| Demonym | Afghan(from 1923) | ||||||||||||||||
| Government | Unitaryabsoluteemirate | ||||||||||||||||
| Emir | |||||||||||||||||
• 1823–1826(first) | Sultan Mohammad Khan | ||||||||||||||||
• 1919–1926(last) | Amanullah Khan | ||||||||||||||||
| Legislature | Loya Jirga | ||||||||||||||||
| Historical era | 19th century | ||||||||||||||||
• Established | 1823 | ||||||||||||||||
| 27 May 1863 | |||||||||||||||||
| 24 May 1879 | |||||||||||||||||
• Durand Line Agreement | 12 November 1893 | ||||||||||||||||
| 19 August 1919 | |||||||||||||||||
• Transformed into akingdom | 9 June 1926 | ||||||||||||||||
| Currency | Afghan rupee (1823–1923) Afghan afghani (from 1923) | ||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| Today part of | Afghanistan Pakistan Tajikistan Turkmenistan Iran | ||||||||||||||||
TheEmirate of Afghanistan,[b] known internationally as theEmirate of Kabul[c] until 1855,[3] was anemirate inCentral Asia that encompassed present-dayAfghanistan, parts of present-dayIran,Pakistan,[4]Turkmenistan andTajikistan. The emirate emerged from its predecessorDurrani Empire, when theBarakzai dynasty prevailed inKabul.
The history of the Emirate was dominated by the 'Great Game' between theRussian Empire and theBritish Empire for supremacy in Central Asia. This period was characterized byEuropean influence in Afghanistan. The Emirate of Afghanistancontinued the Durrani Empire's war with theSikh Empire, losing control of the former Afghan stronghold of theValley of Peshawar at theBattle of Nowshera on 14 March 1823. This was followed in 1838 by theFirst Anglo-Afghan War withBritish forces. The war eventually resulted in victory for Afghans, with theBritish withdrawal in 1842,[5] and Dost Mohammad being reinstalled to the throne.[5] However, during theSecond Anglo-Afghan War (1878–1880), the British and Afghans signed theTreaty of Gandamak, which allowed the British to assume control of the Afghan territories within modern-day Pakistan as well as of Afghanistan's foreign affairs, on the condition that a subsidy be paid to the Afghans and the British military fully withdraw.EmirAmanullah Khan signed theAnglo-Afghan Treaty of 1919 following theThird Anglo-Afghan War, gaining full Afghan autonomy, and the removal ofAfghanistan's status of being ade-jureBritish protectorate. In 1926, Amanullah Khan reformed the country as theKingdom of Afghanistan, becoming its first King.
Escalated a few years after the establishment of the emirate, the Russian and British interests were in conflict between Muhammad Shah of Iran andDost Mohammad Khan, which led to theFirst Anglo-Afghan War, fought between 1838 and 1842.[6] During the war, Britain occupied the capital, Kabul, of the then called Emirate of Kabul, in an effort to prevent Afghanistan from coming under Russian control and curbRussian expansion in the region, while also keeping Afghanistan in the British fold under a puppet leader,Shah Shujah Durrani. The war ended with Dost Mohammad returning to the throne, with theBritish withdrawing; unable to subjugate the country, they forged greater ties instead, allowing Dost Mohammad to move toward uniting the dis-united state of Afghanistan, which split from the Durrani Civil wars brought on by the sons ofTimur Shah.[7]
Upon the death of Dost Mohammad in 1863, he was succeeded by his son,Sher Ali Khan. However, three years later, his older brotherMohammad Afzal Khanoverthrew him. In 1868, Mohammad Afzal Khan was himself overthrown and replaced asEmir by Sher Ali, who returned to the throne after spending few short years in exile in Russia. His return as Emir led to new conflicts with Britain. Subsequently, the British marched on 21 November 1878 into Afghanistan and Emir Sher Ali was forced to flee again to Russia, but he died in 1879 inMazar-i-Sharif.[8] His successor,Mohammad Yaqub Khan, sought solutions for peace with Russia and gave them a greater say in Afghanistan's foreign policy. Meanwhile, he signed theTreaty of Gandamak with the British on 26 May 1879, relinquishing solely the control of Afghanistan foreign affairs to theBritish Empire. However, when the British envoySir Louis Cavagnari was killed in Kabul on 3 September 1879, the British offered to acceptAbdur Rahman Khan as Emir. The British concluded a peace treaty with the Afghans in 1880, and withdrew again in 1881 from Afghanistan. The British, in 1893, forced Afghanistan to consent to a new border, termed theDurand Line, which cuts right through the historicPashtun settlement region.[9]
After the war, Emir Abdur Rahman Khan, who struck down the country reformed and repressed numerous uprisings. After his death in 1901 his sonHabibullah Khan succeeded as emir and continued reforms. Habibullah Khan sought reconciliation with the UK, where he graduated in 1905 with a peace treaty with Russia, stretching for defeat in theRusso-Japanese War had to withdraw from Afghanistan. In the First World War, Afghanistan remained neutral, despite German and Ottoman efforts (Niedermayer–Hentig Expedition). In 1919 Habibullah Khan was assassinated by political opponents.[10]
Habibullah Khan's sonAmanullah Khan was in 1919 against the rightful heir apparentNasrullah Khan, the thenEmir of Afghanistan. Shortly afterwardsanother war broke which lasted for three months.[11][12][13][14] This war was ended with theAnglo-Afghan Treaty of 1919 after which, the Afghans were able to resume the right to conduct their own foreign affairs as a fully independent state.[15] Amanullah Khan began the reformation of the country and was crowned 1926 Padshah (king) of Afghanistan and founded theKingdom of Afghanistan.[16][deprecated source]
The flags used by the Emirate of Afghanistan underwent numerous changes as Afghanemirs introduced a series of distinct banners ranging from monochrome standards to complex designs incorporating Islamic motifs, royal emblems, and modern state insignia due to administrative reforms. The first use of acoat of arms on a flag was during the reign ofEmir Abdur Rahman Khan, which was a solid black banner featuring a white emblem in the center, to which the succeeding Afghan emblems trace their origins to.[17][18]
The earliest records of the flag of the Emirate of Afghanistan traces to the reigns ofDost Mohammad Khan:[19]
"In the reign of Amir Dōst Moḥammad and Šēr ʿAlī Khan there existed triangular, red and green military flags bearing the words of the Islamic confession of faith (šahāda) as well as the names of the four caliphs and verses from the Koran relating to jehād "holy war," all in white color."
After Mohammad Haidar Khan was captured in theBattle of Ghazni on 23 July 1839, a banner was seized byJohn Smith, which showed a triangular dark-red flag with a centered green circle featuring the names of thefour Islamic caliphs.
Another standard hoisted by the followers ofWazir Akbar Khan was captured byArmourerSergeant Henry Ulyett during theBattle of Jalalabad on 7 April 1842, following the death of an Afghan cavalry soldier in action. It was a red triangular flag with dark-green outer layers, having a centered light-blue emblem with yellow text featuring theBasmala withQuranicverses from the Chapter ofAs-Saff:
"In the name ofGod, the Most Gracious and Most Merciful, Help from Allah, and a victory near at hand"
Historical records also document several banners under the reign ofSher Ali Khan:[20]
"Amir Sher Ali's standard was triangular in shape, red and green, with Koranic inscriptions."
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In the late 19th century, Emir Abdur Rahman flew a black flag (a traditional Muslim military banner) with the royal arms in the center in white, a mosque surmounting crossed arms and surrounded by the Durrani symbol of wheat sheaves. This flag continued in use under Abdur Rahman's successors until 1919, but only over the palace and at military bases and customs offices.
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{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)Abdul Rahman preferred a black banner (Abu Muslim's Abbasid standard) on which was drawn in white a mihrab (prayer niche), minbar (pulpit), sword, and gun. Amir Habibullah's "national flag" (bayraq-i daulati) was similar, except that it omitted the sword and gun.