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Mohammad Zahir Shah
Mohammad Zahir Shah (15 October 1914 – 23 July 2007) was the last King of Afghanistan, reigning from 8 November 1933 until he was deposed on 17 July 1973. Ruling for 40 years, Zahir Shah was the longest-serving ruler of Afghanistan since the foundation of the Durrani Empire in the 18th century.
He expanded Afghanistan's diplomatic relations with many countries, including with both sides of the Cold War. In the 1950s, Zahir Shah began modernizing the country, culminating in the creation of a new constitution and a constitutional monarchy system. Demonstrating nonpartisanism, his long reign was marked by peace in the country which was lost afterwards with the onset of the Afghan conflict.
In 1973, while Zahir Shah was undergoing medical treatment in Italy, his regime was overthrown in a coup d'état by his cousin and former prime minister, Mohammad Daoud Khan, who established a single-party republic, ending more than 225 years of continuous monarchical government. He remained in exile near Rome until 2002, returning to Afghanistan after the end of the Taliban government. He was given the title Father of the Nation, which he held until his death in 2007.
Prince Mohammad Zahir Khan was born on 15 October 1914, in a city quarter called Deh Afghanan in Kabul in the Emirate of Afghanistan, into the royal Musahiban family, who belonged to the Mohammadzai clan of the Barakzai tribe of Pashtuns. He was the son of Mohammad Nadir Shah (1883–1933) and Mah Parwar Begum (d. 1941). Nadir was a senior member of the Mohammadzai clan and Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Afghan Army under King Amanullah Khan.
Zahir Khan was educated in a special class for princes at Elementary Primary, built in 1904 by the United Kingdom, and Habibia High School, where many subjects were taught in English. For his secondary education, he went to the Amaniya High School (built during the reign of King Amanullah by France, where many subjects were taught in French. This school was renamed by Nadir Shah as Esteqlal High School) after the fall of King Amanullah. Zahir Khan studied at the Infanterie Military School in the winter (school year in Kabul, 21 March to November). He was then sent to France for further training. He continued his education in France where his father had served as a diplomatic envoy, studying at the Pasteur Institute and the University of Montpellier. When he returned to Afghanistan, he helped his father and uncles restore order and reassert government control during a period of lawlessness in the country. He was later enrolled at an Infantry School and appointed a privy counsellor, later serving in the government positions of deputy war minister and minister of education.
Zahir's father, Mohammad Nadir Shah, was the son of Sardar Mohammad Yusuf Khan. Born in Dehradun, British India, Nadir's family had been exiled after the Second Anglo-Afghan War. Nadir Shah was a descendant of Sardar Sultan Mohammad Khan Telai, half-brother of Emir Dost Mohammad Khan. His grandfather Mohammad Yahya Khan (father in law of Emir Yaqub Khan) was in charge of the negotiations with the British resulting in the Treaty of Gandamak. After the British invasion after the killing of Sir Louis Cavagnari during 1879, Yaqub Khan, Yahya Khan and his sons Princes Mohammad Yusuf Khan and Mohammad Asef Khan were taken captive by the British and transferred to the British Raj, where they remained forcibly until the two princes were invited back to Afghanistan by Emir Abdur Rahman Khan during the last year of his reign (1901). During the reign of Amir Habibullah they received the title of Companions of the King (Musahiban). Nadir assumed the throne after the execution of the self-proclaimed ruler of Afghanistan Habibullah Kalakani on 1 November 1929.
Zahir Khan was proclaimed king (shah) on 8 November 1933 at the age of 19, after the assassination of his father Mohammad Nadir Shah. After his ascension to the throne he was given the regnal title, "He who puts his trust in God, follower of the firm religion of Islam". For the first 20 years, he did not effectively rule, instead ceding power to his paternal uncles, Mohammad Hashim Khan and Shah Mahmud Khan, who both served as Prime Ministers. This period fostered a growth in Afghanistan's relations with the international community as during 1934, Afghanistan joined the League of Nations while also receiving formal recognition from the United States. By the end of the 1930s, agreements on foreign assistance and trade had been reached with many countries, most notably with the Axis powers of Germany, Italy, and Japan.
Zahir Shah provided aid, weapons, and Afghan fighters to the Uighur and Kirghiz Muslim rebels who had established the breakaway Turkic Islamic Republic of East Turkestan. The aid was not capable of saving the East Turkestan republic, as the combined forces were defeated in 1934 by the Kuomintang Chinese Muslim New 36th Division of the National Revolutionary Army, commanded by General Ma Zhancang at the Battle of Kashgar and Battle of Yarkand. All Afghan volunteers were killed by Chinese Muslim troops, who then abolished the East Turkestan republic, and reestablished Chinese government control over the area.
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Mohammad Zahir Shah
Mohammad Zahir Shah (15 October 1914 – 23 July 2007) was the last King of Afghanistan, reigning from 8 November 1933 until he was deposed on 17 July 1973. Ruling for 40 years, Zahir Shah was the longest-serving ruler of Afghanistan since the foundation of the Durrani Empire in the 18th century.
He expanded Afghanistan's diplomatic relations with many countries, including with both sides of the Cold War. In the 1950s, Zahir Shah began modernizing the country, culminating in the creation of a new constitution and a constitutional monarchy system. Demonstrating nonpartisanism, his long reign was marked by peace in the country which was lost afterwards with the onset of the Afghan conflict.
In 1973, while Zahir Shah was undergoing medical treatment in Italy, his regime was overthrown in a coup d'état by his cousin and former prime minister, Mohammad Daoud Khan, who established a single-party republic, ending more than 225 years of continuous monarchical government. He remained in exile near Rome until 2002, returning to Afghanistan after the end of the Taliban government. He was given the title Father of the Nation, which he held until his death in 2007.
Prince Mohammad Zahir Khan was born on 15 October 1914, in a city quarter called Deh Afghanan in Kabul in the Emirate of Afghanistan, into the royal Musahiban family, who belonged to the Mohammadzai clan of the Barakzai tribe of Pashtuns. He was the son of Mohammad Nadir Shah (1883–1933) and Mah Parwar Begum (d. 1941). Nadir was a senior member of the Mohammadzai clan and Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Afghan Army under King Amanullah Khan.
Zahir Khan was educated in a special class for princes at Elementary Primary, built in 1904 by the United Kingdom, and Habibia High School, where many subjects were taught in English. For his secondary education, he went to the Amaniya High School (built during the reign of King Amanullah by France, where many subjects were taught in French. This school was renamed by Nadir Shah as Esteqlal High School) after the fall of King Amanullah. Zahir Khan studied at the Infanterie Military School in the winter (school year in Kabul, 21 March to November). He was then sent to France for further training. He continued his education in France where his father had served as a diplomatic envoy, studying at the Pasteur Institute and the University of Montpellier. When he returned to Afghanistan, he helped his father and uncles restore order and reassert government control during a period of lawlessness in the country. He was later enrolled at an Infantry School and appointed a privy counsellor, later serving in the government positions of deputy war minister and minister of education.
Zahir's father, Mohammad Nadir Shah, was the son of Sardar Mohammad Yusuf Khan. Born in Dehradun, British India, Nadir's family had been exiled after the Second Anglo-Afghan War. Nadir Shah was a descendant of Sardar Sultan Mohammad Khan Telai, half-brother of Emir Dost Mohammad Khan. His grandfather Mohammad Yahya Khan (father in law of Emir Yaqub Khan) was in charge of the negotiations with the British resulting in the Treaty of Gandamak. After the British invasion after the killing of Sir Louis Cavagnari during 1879, Yaqub Khan, Yahya Khan and his sons Princes Mohammad Yusuf Khan and Mohammad Asef Khan were taken captive by the British and transferred to the British Raj, where they remained forcibly until the two princes were invited back to Afghanistan by Emir Abdur Rahman Khan during the last year of his reign (1901). During the reign of Amir Habibullah they received the title of Companions of the King (Musahiban). Nadir assumed the throne after the execution of the self-proclaimed ruler of Afghanistan Habibullah Kalakani on 1 November 1929.
Zahir Khan was proclaimed king (shah) on 8 November 1933 at the age of 19, after the assassination of his father Mohammad Nadir Shah. After his ascension to the throne he was given the regnal title, "He who puts his trust in God, follower of the firm religion of Islam". For the first 20 years, he did not effectively rule, instead ceding power to his paternal uncles, Mohammad Hashim Khan and Shah Mahmud Khan, who both served as Prime Ministers. This period fostered a growth in Afghanistan's relations with the international community as during 1934, Afghanistan joined the League of Nations while also receiving formal recognition from the United States. By the end of the 1930s, agreements on foreign assistance and trade had been reached with many countries, most notably with the Axis powers of Germany, Italy, and Japan.
Zahir Shah provided aid, weapons, and Afghan fighters to the Uighur and Kirghiz Muslim rebels who had established the breakaway Turkic Islamic Republic of East Turkestan. The aid was not capable of saving the East Turkestan republic, as the combined forces were defeated in 1934 by the Kuomintang Chinese Muslim New 36th Division of the National Revolutionary Army, commanded by General Ma Zhancang at the Battle of Kashgar and Battle of Yarkand. All Afghan volunteers were killed by Chinese Muslim troops, who then abolished the East Turkestan republic, and reestablished Chinese government control over the area.
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