Afghanistan timeline 1911-1920

Timeline of Afghan history

1911-18

An Afghan nationalist, Mahmud Beg Tarzi, publishes the periodical Seraj ol-Akbar ("Torch of the News"). It is the country's first medium for the intellectual exchange of ideas and its political influence extends beyond the boundaries of Afghanistan.

1911

Again Afghanistan is "happy in having no history." The amir is loyal in carrying out the agreement for the removal of outlaws to beyond fifty miles of the Indian frontier, but this has not wholly stopped the raids. In Afghanistan itself the road between Kabul and Jalalabad is for a considerable time unsafe for traders, but matters improve towards the end of the year. The amir directs much attention to the improvement of the main roads throughout the country, more especially in the direction of Jalalabad and Kandahar.

1912

The disturbances in the Khost country, which at one time threatened to expand into a general rising, are quieted by the removal of the governor, whose exactions and oppressions are believed to have been the real cause of the trouble, and the tribesmen who fled into British territory are induced to return to their homes. The amir continues his improvement of the main roads and strengthens the outposts on the Perso-Afghan border, and to the north of Herat as well as in Afghan Turkestan.

Early 1913

In the Khost Valley the Mangals and Jadrans are again giving trouble, and the leading chief of the Jadrans has to return several hundred rifles to the governor as his tribesmen refuse to fulfil their agreement to render military service. In fact these tribes were never really subdued, and in the nominal pacification of the valley which ended the operations of the Afghan expedition in 1912 it was rather they than the amir who dictated terms. The result of this abrogation of the amir's authority causes much trouble to the British districts adjoining the valley, for the outlaws who carry out their raids are practically safe when they make good their escape into Khost. On other parts of the frontier the amir has carried out his agreement to remove all outlaws to a distance of fifty miles from the frontier, but in Khost his orders are a dead letter.

October 1913

A new conspiracy against the amir is discovered at Kabul. Its leader is Sardar Mohammad Yunus Khan, a grandson of Sardar Shah Khan, who had rebelled against the amir Abdor Rahman Khan in the later 1880s. He was allowed by the present amir to return and take up his residence in Kabul. On the discovery of the conspiracy the amir holds a family durbar at which he reproaches Yunus for his ingratitude and condemns him to death. The amir then retires and Yunus is at once set upon, being first stoned and then stabbed to death. Several of his accomplices are executed afterwards.

1914

The relations between the government of India and the amir continue to be cordial. Representations are made regarding serious outrages on the frontier by residents of Afghanistan and by outlaws from British territory who have taken refuge in Khost. These representations are met by the amir in the most friendly spirit, and he issues stringent orders to his officers on the frontier to deal severely with all offenders. It is reported that the Khost outlaws implicated have been arrested and sent to Kabul for trial. In his reply to the viceroy's letter, announcing the outbreak of hostilities between Great Britain and Turkey, the amir expresses his deep regret at the step taken by the Turkish government, and declares his firm intention to maintain a strict neutrality, and adds that he has issued a proclamation enjoining the same on all his subjects. He thus resists pressures from Mahmud Beg Tarzi, Amanullah (Habibullah's third son, who has married Soraya, a daughter of Tarzi), and others to enter World War I on the side of the Central Powers.

1915

Afghanistan passes through the year peaceably and the relations of the country with the Indian government are most cordial. Afghanistan presents in these respects a marked contrast to its neighbour, Persia. Both Persia and Afghanistan are nominally sovereign states, but in practice the British Raj is the supreme protecting power in Afghanistan, whereas in Persia, the paramount power is Russia rather than Great Britain. The difference between the conditions prevailing in the two countries indicates the success of the British in gaining the confidence of a weak nation.

1916

The amir maintains his neutrality in World War I, and the state does not become involved in the troubles of Persia. At the end of the year information is published concerning a German mission sent to Afghanistan in the previous year. It appears that Emperor Wilhelm has sent a German officer, Lieut. Werner Otto von Hentig, accompanied by certain Indian revolutionaries who resided in Berlin, on a mission to the amir, with the object of inducing him to attack India. The members of the mission succeeded in making their way through Persia, by breaking up into small parties, and they remained in Afghanistan nearly a year. Nevertheless, the amir refused the Turco-German proposals, and after the mission left Afghanistan in May 1916, some of the members were captured by the Russians and British as they were trying to get back to Turkey.

May 1917

It is reported that Turco-German agents are fomenting unrest in Afghanistan, and are instigating the chiefs to make incursions into Russian Turkestan. These intrigues appear to have no success, however, and there are no indications that the loyalty of the amir to the Indian government has been in the least shaken.

1918

Little news emerges from Afghanistan during the year. It is reported from India that the amir continues to maintain his neutrality in the war in a most scrupulous and loyal manner.

February 20, 1919

The amir Habibullah Khan, who has always been a loyal friend to Great Britain, is murdered whilst camping in the Laghman Valley. Thereupon ensues a competition for the throne. At Jalalabad a proclamation is issued that Nasrullah Khan has assumed the throne, but in Kabul power is seized by Amanullah Khan, the third son of the late amir. Amanullah's mother was Habibullah's chief wife; but the late amir's eldest son is Inayatullah who appears to have supported the claims of Nasrullah. Amanullah soon shows, however, that he has control of the situation and the rival claimant withdraws. There is more than a suspicion that Nasrullah (a brother of the late sovereign) was not unduly disturbed at Habibullah's assassination. The new amir, Amanullah, begins his reign by announcing that he will punish those who are guilty of the assassination of his father, that he will institute reforms in the country, including the abolition of the virtual slavery, which exists in a disguised form, and that he will preserve the tradition of friendship with India. On April 13 a durbar is held at Kabul, at which the assassination of the late amir is investigated. A certain colonel is found guilty of committing the murder and executed, and the new amir's uncle, Nasrullah, is found guilty of complicity in the crime, and is sentenced to imprisonment for life.

Early May 1919

Amanullah launches what becomes known as the Third Anglo-Afghan War. A large Afghan army comes pouring across the Indian frontier and proceeds to pillage far and wide in the northwest provinces. Within a few days, and before the Afghans have suffered any serious defeats, the amir enters into tentative negotiations with the Indian government. The fighting continues, however, the British forces on the frontier being commanded by Gen. Sir Arthur Barrett. The aeroplanes attached to the Anglo-Indian forces bomb both Jalalabad and Kabul. After much procrastination a peace conference is opened at Rawalpindi on July 26, Sir Hamilton Grant representing the Indian government and Sardar Ali Ahmad Khan representing the amir. A preliminary peace is signed on August 8. By the terms of the agreement the arrears of the late amir's subsidy are confiscated, and no subsidy is to be paid at present to the new amir. The Afghan privilege of importing arms and ammunition from India is also withdrawn. The frontier in the region of the Khyber is to be definitely demarcated by the Indian government, and the Afghans are to accept this demarcation. The Indian government expresses its willingness, however, to receive another Afghan mission six months later. Moreover, there is another item in the agreement which is subsequently made known and which evokes considerable criticism in England. In the past there was an agreement between Great Britain and Afghanistan that Afghanistan should have no relations with any foreign government except Great Britain. According to the new treaty this stipulation is withdrawn, the amir's government thus obtaining full liberty to enter into relations with any foreign government. It is regarded by many as a sinister comment on this agreement that during the year the amir sends a mission to Moscow.

Spring 1920

As relations with Britain have remained strained, a conference between British and Afghan representatives takes place at Mussoorie, which results in steps being taken to reestablish more normal relations and to settle outstanding questions. No further hostilities occur, though there is some fear on the British side that Russian influence is penetrating the country to some extent.