Emirate of Afghanistan | |||||||||||||
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1823–1926 | |||||||||||||
Map of the Emirate of Afghanistan in 1921 (green) Afghanistan before the 1893 Durand Line Agreement (yellow) | |||||||||||||
Status | British protected state (1879–1919)[1] | ||||||||||||
Capital | Kabul | ||||||||||||
Official languages | Persian | ||||||||||||
Spoken languages | |||||||||||||
Ethnic groups | Pashtun, Tajik, Uzbek, Hazara, Persian, Aimaq, Turkmen, Baloch, Pashai, Nuristani, Gujjar, Arab, Brahui, Qizilbash, Pamiri, Kyrgyz, Sadat, others | ||||||||||||
Religion | Majority Sunni Islam (minorities Twelver Shia Islam, Ismailism, Hindusim, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Baháʼí Faith, Christianity, others) | ||||||||||||
Demonym(s) | Afghan | ||||||||||||
Government | Unitary absolute emirate | ||||||||||||
Emir | |||||||||||||
• 1823–1826 (first) | Sultan Mohammad Khan | ||||||||||||
• 1919–1926 (last) | Amanullah Khan | ||||||||||||
Legislature | Loya Jirga | ||||||||||||
Historical era | 19th century | ||||||||||||
• Established | 14 March 1823 | ||||||||||||
• Disestablished | 9 June 1926 | ||||||||||||
Currency | Afghan rupee | ||||||||||||
ISO 3166 code | AF | ||||||||||||
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Today part of | Afghanistan Pakistan |
History of Afghanistan |
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Timeline |
The Emirate of Afghanistan also referred to as the Emirate of Kabul (Persian: امارت افغانستان, romanized: Amārat-i Afghānistān)[2] was an emirate between Central Asia and South Asia that is now today's Afghanistan and some parts of today's Pakistan (before 1893). The emirate emerged from the Durrani Empire, when Dost Mohammad Khan, the founder of the Barakzai dynasty in Kabul, prevailed.
The history of the Emirate was dominated by the 'Great Game' between the Russian Empire and the United Kingdom for supremacy in Central Asia. This period was characterized by the European influence in Afghanistan. The Emirate of Afghanistan continued the Durrani Empire's war with the Sikh Empire, losing control of the former Afghan stronghold of the Valley of Peshawar at the Battle of Nowshera on 14 March 1823. This was followed in 1839 by the First Anglo-Afghan War with British forces. The war eventually resulted in victory for Afghans, with the British withdrawal[3] and Dost Mohammad being reinstalled to the throne.[3] However, during the Second Anglo-Afghan War (1880), the British and Afghans signed the Treaty of Gandamak, which allowed the British to take the Afghan territories within modern day Pakistan and took control of Afghanistan's foreign affairs on the condition of a subsidy paid to the Afghans and a full British military withdrawal. Emir Amanullah Khan signed the Anglo-Afghan Treaty of 1919 following the Third Anglo-Afghan War, gaining full Afghan independence. In 1926, Amanullah Khan reformed the country as the Kingdom of Afghanistan, becoming its first King.