The history of Afghanistan as a state began in 1880 with its establishment following the end of the Second Anglo-Afghan War. The written recorded history of the land presently constituting Afghanistan can be traced back to around 500 BCE when the area was under the Achaemenid Empire, although evidence indicates that an advanced degree of urbanized culture has existed in the land since between 3000 and 2000 BCE. Bactria dates back to 2500 BC. The Indus Valley Civilisation stretched up to large parts of Afghanistan in the north. Alexander the Great and his Macedonian army arrived at what is now Afghanistan in 330 BCE after the fall of the Achaemenid Empire during the Battle of Gaugamela. Since then, many empires have risen from Afghanistan, including the Greco-Bactrians, Kushans, Hephthalites, Saffarids, Samanids, Ghaznavids, Ghorids, Khaljis, Timurids, Mughals, Hotakis and Durranis.
Haji Mohammed Zahir Shah was the last King of Afghanistan, reigning from 8 November 1933 until he was deposed on 17 July 1973. He expanded Afghanistan's diplomatic relations with many countries, including with both Cold War sides. In the 1950s, Zahir Shah began modernizing the country, culminating in the creation of a new constitution and a constitutional monarchy system. His long reign was marked by peace in the country that was lost afterwards.
The Afghan Civil War was fought from 14 November 1928 to 13 October 1929. Rebelling, and subsequently governing Saqqawist forces under Habibullāh Kalakāni fought against various opposing tribes and rival monarchs in the Kingdom of Afghanistan, among whom Mohammed Nādir Khān eventually achieved a preponderant role. Despite early successes, such as the capture of Kabul and defeat of Amanullah Khan on 17 January 1929 or the capture of Kandahar on 3 June, the Saqqawists were eventually deposed by anti-Saqqawist forces led by Nadir on 13 October 1929, leading to Nadir's ascension as King of Afghanistan, who ruled until his assassination on 3 November 1933.
Sardar Mohammed Daoud Khan, also romanized as Daud Khan or Dawood Khan, was an Afghan statesman who served as the 5th Prime Minister of Afghanistan from 1953 to 1963 and as President of Afghanistan from 1973 to 1978. Born into the Musahiban royal family, Khan started as a provincial governor in the 1930s and later a commander before he was chosen as prime minister in the monarchy of his first cousin, Mohammed Zahir Shah. Ten years after his resignation as prime minister, Khan overthrew the monarchy with the backing of Afghan Army officers and declared himself as the first President of the Republic of Afghanistan in 1973, renouncing his royal title.
Badakhshan is a historic region comprising parts of what is now north-eastern Afghanistan, eastern Tajikistan, and the Tashkurgan county in China. The name is retained in Badakhshan Province, which is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan and is located in Northeastern Afghanistan. Much of historic Badakhshan lies within Tajikistan's Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region, located in the southeastern part of the country. The music of Badakhshan is an important part of the region's cultural heritage.
Sardar Mohammad Hashim Khan was a political figure in Afghanistan.
Ghazi Amanullah Khan was the sovereign of the Kingdom of Afghanistan from 1919 to 1929, first as Emir and after 1926 as King. After the August 1919 end of the Third Anglo-Afghan War, Afghanistan was able to relinquish its protected state status to proclaim independence and pursue an independent foreign policy free from the influence of the United Kingdom.
The Afsharid dynasty was an Iranian dynasty that originated from the Turkoman Afshar tribe in Iran's north-eastern province of Khorasan, ruling Iran (Persia) in the mid-eighteenth century. The dynasty was founded in 1736 by the brilliant military commander Nader Shah, who deposed the last member of the Safavid dynasty and proclaimed himself as the Shah of Iran.
The Hotak dynasty was an Afghan monarchy of the Ghilji Pashtuns. It was established in April 1709 by Mirwais Hotak, who led a successful revolution against the declining Persian Safavid overlords in the region of Loy Kandahar in what is now southern Afghanistan.
Habibullah Kalakani, also known by his nickname "Bacha-ye Saqao" was a ruler of Afghanistan from 17 January to 13 October 1929, as well as a leader of the Saqqawists. During the Afghan Civil War, he captured vast swathes of Afghanistan and ruled Kabul during what is known in historiography as the "Saqqawist period". He was an ethnic Tajik. No country recognized Kalakani as ruler of Afghanistan.
The Battle of Ghaghra, fought in 1529, was a major battle for the conquest of India by the Mughal Empire. It followed the first Battle of Panipat in 1526 and the Battle of Khanwa in 1527. The forces of now Emperor Zahir ud-Din Muhammad Babur of the emerging Mughal Empire were joined by Indian allies in battle against the Eastern Afghan Confederates under Sultan Mahmud Lodi and Sultanate of Bengal under Sultan Nusrat Shah.
The following lists events that happened during 1929 in Afghanistan. The Afghan Civil War continued from the previous year.
The following lists events that happened during 1932 in Afghanistan.
The following lists events that happened during 1933 in Afghanistan.
The following lists events that happened during 1935 in Afghanistan.
The two branches of the Barakzai dynasty ruled modern day Afghanistan from 1823 to 1973 when the monarchy ended under Musahiban Mohammed Zahir Shah. The Barakzai dynasty was established by Dost Mohammad Khan after the Durrani dynasty of Ahmad Shah Durrani was removed from power.
Nader Shah Afshar was one of the most powerful Iranian rulers in Iranian history, ruling as Shah of Iran (Persia) from 1736 to 1747 when he was assassinated during a rebellion. Because of his military genius as evidenced in his numerous campaigns throughout Middle East, Caucasus, Central and South Asia, such as the battles of Herat, Mihmandust, Murche-Khort, Kirkuk, Yeghevard, Khyber Pass, Karnal and Kars, some historians have described him as the Napoleon of Persia, Sword of Persia, or the Second Alexander. Nader belonged to the Turkoman Afshar tribe, a semi-nomadic tribe settled in Khorasan in northeastern Iran, which had supplied military power to the Safavid dynasty since the time of Shah Ismail I.
The Kingdom of Afghanistan was a constitutional monarchy in Southern and Central Asia established in 1926 as a successor state to the Emirate of Afghanistan. It was proclaimed by its first king, Amanullah Khan, seven years after his accession to the throne. The monarchy ended in the 1973 Afghan coup d'état.
Muhammad Nadir Shah was King of Afghanistan from 15 October 1929 until his assassination in November 1933. Previously, he served as Minister of War, Afghan Ambassador to France, and as a general in the military of Afghanistan. He and his son Muhammad Zahir Shah, who succeeded him, are part of the Musahiban.
Bārakzai is the name of a Pashtun tribe from present-day, Kandahar, Afghanistan. '"Barakzai" is a common name among the Pashtuns and it means "son of Barak" in Pashto. There are seven distinct Pashtun tribes named Barakzai, with the Zirak branch of the Durrani tribe being the most important and largest tribe with over 4 million people.
