Kingdom of Afghanistan
Kingdom of Afghanistan
| |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1926–1973 | |||||||||
| Anthem: شاهي سلام Shahi Salami "Royal Salute" (1926–1943) لوی سلام Loya Salami " King | | ||||||||
• 1926–1929 | Amanullah Khan | ||||||||
• 1929–1933 | Mohammad Nadir Shah | ||||||||
• 1933–1973 | Mohammad Zahir Shah | ||||||||
| Prime Minister | |||||||||
• 1929–1946 (first) | Mohammad Khan | ||||||||
• 1972–1973 (last) | Mohammad Shafiq | ||||||||
| Legislature | Interwar Period · World War II · Cold War | ||||||||
• Succeeds Afghan emirate | 9 June 1926 | ||||||||
| 1928–1929 | |||||||||
| 1 October 1964 | |||||||||
| 17 July 1973 | |||||||||
| Area | |||||||||
| 1973 | 652,864 km2 (252,072 sq mi) | ||||||||
| Population | |||||||||
• 1973 | 12,108,963[2] | ||||||||
| Currency | Afghan afghani | ||||||||
| Calling code | 93 | ||||||||
| ISO 3166 code | AF | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Today part of | Afghanistan | ||||||||
.svg)
.svg)
| History of Afghanistan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Timeline | |
| 410–557 | |
| Nezak Huns | 484–711 |
The Kingdom of Afghanistan (
History
Emir Amanullah Khan was keen on modernizing Afghanistan, provoking several uprisings led by his conservative opponents. One such rebellion broke out while he was visiting Europe in 1927. He abdicated in favour of his brother Inayatullah Khan, who only ruled for three days before the leader of the rebellion Habibullāh Kalakāni took power and reinstated the Emirate.[3]
After 10 months, Amanullah Khan's Minister of War, Mohammad Nadir, returned from exile in India. His armies ousted the
On 27 September 1934, during the reign of Zahir Shah, the Kingdom of Afghanistan joined the League of Nations. During World War II, Afghanistan remained neutral and pursued a diplomatic policy of non-alignment. Though being neutral in World War II, Afghanistan had relations with Nazi Germany, but that was severed after the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran.[5]
Afghanistan was admitted into the
Geography
The Kingdom of Afghanistan bordered Iran on the west, the Soviet Union in the north, China on the east, and Pakistan and India on the south. The mountainous and mostly dry country was 652,200 square kilometres (251,830 sq mi). The strange shape and borders of the country, most notably the Wakhan Corridor, were a result of its former role as a buffer state between Russia and the United Kingdom. Snow was common in most areas during winter and rainfall was small.[7]
Demographics
The country was made up of various ethnic groups such as the Pashtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras, Uzbeks and many others.
The majority of Afghans were Muslim, approximate 99% of the population. Around 90% of the Muslim population were Sunni, the rest were Shia.
Dari and Pashto were the official languages, and many Afghans were bilingual.[8]
Economy
Like the past and present-day Afghanistan, the economy relied greatly on agriculture and mining.
The United States and the Soviet Union both invested in neutral Afghanistan's economy to try to gain influence during the Cold War. This included the Four Point Program in 1951, when Afghanistan and the United States signed an agreement in Kabul to help assist the economic development in the economy, and the construction of a 100 km pipeline from Termez to Mazar-i-Sharif that was built by Soviet technicians and began in 1954. Afghanistan received $18,500,000 from the Export–Import Bank of the United States to help them purchase U.S. material, equipment, and services for the Helmand River valley developmental project.
In August 1961, Pakistan closed the border with Afghanistan, due to Prime Minister, Daoud Khan's strong stance on Pashtunistan, but it re-opened in May after Khan's resignation.[9]
The country had deposits of talc, mica, silver, lead, beryl, chromite, copper, lapis lazuli, and iron ore.
Military
King Zahir Shah's cousin, Daoud Khan, signed a $3 million arms deal with the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic and a 32.5 million arms deal with the Soviet Union in 1956. The deal gave the Afghan military imported T-34 tanks and MiG-17 jet fighters. A quarter to third of all Afghan officers had trained in the Soviet Union by 1973.[5] It was also under the Kingdom of Afghanistan where the first Afghan commando battalions were formed, notably the 242nd Commando Battalion in 1965 and later, the 444th and the 455th in 1966 and 1967. All these battalions had airborne capabilities.[10]
For these new commando formations, Captain Habibullah led the 242nd after returning from
See also
- Barakzai dynasty
- European influence in Afghanistan
- List of Sunni dynasties
- Afghan Civil War (1928–1929)
References
- Encyclopedia Iranica. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
- ^ "Afghanistan Population 1950–2021: MacroTrends". macrotrends.net. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
- ISBN 978-1849047074.
- ^ Rubin, Barnett. "DĀWŪD KHAN". In Ehsan Yarshater (ed.). Encyclopædia Iranica (Online ed.). United States: Columbia University. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 20 March 2009.
- ^ a b c d "CHAPTER ONE THE AFGHAN COMMUNISTS" (PDF).
- ^ United Nations member states
- ^ Tate, George. The kingdom of Afghanistan: a historical sketch.
- ^ Farangis Najibullah. "Afghanistan: Status Of Dari, Pashto Languages A Sensitive Topic". Radio Free Europe. Retrieved 3 November 2003.
- ^ "Modern Afghanistan". Encyclopædia Britannica. 2 March 2020. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
- ^ "«Пожарная команда» Кабула | Warspot.ru". 30 November 2022. Archived from the original on 30 November 2022. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
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