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58-534: In 1924, Ebner succeeded K. Wagner as chief local representative of DACOM. In February 1925, DACOM was reported as doing a "fair amount" of business, acting as brokers for silvers for a new currency, and to have placed orders in Germany for wireless sets, machinery, and electrical materials. At this time, Ebner found himself in conflict with the Afghan government which only permitted him to trade with persons selected by

116-550: A decisive addition of strength through his recruitment of thousands of armed Wazīr and Masʿūd frontier tribesmen. Also helpful was their decision to lift a restriction order, imposing residence at a fixed address in India, on Fażl ʿOmar Mojaddedī, who was to play an apparently decisive role in persuading the Naqšbandī mollā s of Afghanistan to change sides and later was to become Nāder Shah's first minister of justice. In short, while all

174-464: A decree in Kabul which forbade citizens of Kabul from moving out of the city without permission, even into the government-controlled Bandar-i Arghandah, Charasya, Bini Hisar, Butkhak, Kutal-i Pay Manar, Kutal-i Khayr Khanah, Maydan, Jalriz, Logar, Khurd Kabul, Tangi Gharu or Dih Sabz. On 31 May, Kalakani paid a visit to the shrine at Mazar-i Khwajah Musafir, which lies near the village of Chihil Tan above

232-464: A drastic turn on 25 December, when Kalakani was wounded in the shoulder from an aerial bomb, causing him to retreat 20 kilometers north, to Murad Beg Fort, in the Kuhdaman region. Kalakani's retreat gave Amanullah a chance to regroup. In late December, he began shelling Murad Beg Fort, and this shelling lasted until 13 January. However, the shelling failed to provide any results, and this disheartened

290-430: A joint message to the field marshal that said: We, the peoples of the region of Wardak, consider ourselves subjects of Amir Habib Allah. However, since we have yet to send him our oaths of allegiance, we fear that if his army should come it might be to attack us and plunder our property. But if he shows forgiveness and agrees to these four conditions, we will not stand in the way of your victorious army. Our conditions are

348-475: A large reward if they did so. The unraveling began when Shinwari Pashtun tribesmen revolted and besieged Jalalabad on 14 November 1928, cutting telegraph wires and cutting the road to the capital, after which they drew a manifesto of ten grievances, five of which related to what they saw as Amanullah's unsupportable meddling with the status of women. However, during the Shinwari rebellion two years later,

406-592: The Arg . The capture of the Arg on 13 October 1929 marked the end of the civil war, although Saqqawist activity continued until 1931, with the fall of their final holdout, Herat . The civil war was fought concurrently with a Soviet operation in northern Afghanistan to fight the Basmachi movement . Both sides suffered around 7500 combat deaths during the civil war. During the anti-Saqqawist capture of Kabul, Nadir's forces sacked

464-751: The British Empire shortly afterwards. Before the Treaty of Rawalpindi was concluded in 1921, Afghanistan had already begun to establish its own foreign policy, including diplomatic relations with the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic in 1919. During the 1920s, Afghanistan established diplomatic relations with most major countries. The second round of Anglo–Afghan negotiations for final peace were inconclusive. Both sides were prepared to agree on Afghan independence in foreign affairs, as provided for in

522-618: The great powers in the region might have remained subdued had it not been for the dramatic change in government in Moscow brought about by the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. In their efforts to placate Muslims within their borders, the new Soviet leaders were eager to establish cordial relations with neighboring Muslim states. In the case of Afghanistan, the Soviets could achieve a dual purpose: by strengthening relations with

580-464: The 17th of January, Inayatullah, unnerved by the lack of support from the Kabulis, surrendered to Kalakani and abdicated the throne. Kalakani allowed him to peacefully leave Kabul with his family and 3000 rupees. My brother, Habib Allah! It is known to all that i have no wish to be padishah . After the death of my father, I never harbored any desire for the throne. I was compelled to accept it only at

638-523: The Asmai Hill in the center of Kabul, and fired on the Emir's troops. Ghulam Ghaws, Whose father, Malik Jahandad Ahmadzai, had been executed following a rebellion, headed towards his hometown costs, carrying with him more than 300 rifles, armed the people there, and rose up against the government. Other tribes acted similarly because there was no control over the distribution of weapons. The battle took

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696-674: The Hazarahjat, the Southern province, and elsewhere, and called on people to join him. Malik Qays of the Khugyani tribe, who had initially allied himself with Ali, defected to Kalakani, captured Ali and brought Ali to Kalakani in exchange for 17,000 rupees and the rank of lieutenant general, ending Ali's reign on 9 February. Sometime before 13 March, the Battle of Shaykhabad took place, 46 miles (74 km) from Kabul and halfway across

754-495: The Islamic month of Sha'ban . Rejoiced, Kalakani and 28 armed men, accompanied by a group of unarmed Kuhdamanis passed through the village of Dih-i Afghanan and attacked the capital, shouting "ya chahar yar" slogans and firing guns at the air. On the very first day of his reign, Inayatullah was forced to barricade himself in the Arg with several of his ministers. On the 16th of January, while 80 Hazaras from Bihsud were defending

812-655: The Kabul-Ghazni road. It was here where Karim Khan Wardak , who refused to pledge allegiance to Kalakani, had made defensive preparations. Around this time, Abd al-Wakil Khan , who had earlier been appointed field marshal by Kalakani, was dispatched to Ghazni and Qandahar with a force of 3,000 men. When Abd al-Wakil reached the village of Bini Badam and Qalah-i Durrani, 30 miles (48 kilometres) from Kabul, he halted there to deal with Karim Khan Wardak's forces, only then to proceed. But Karim Khan, along with Wazir and Hazara leaders who had gathered in support of Aman Allah, sent

870-571: The Qalah-i Buland Fortress, as well as the arsenal at Kulula Pasha, some officials declared their allegiance to Kalakani. These included Shayr Ahmad, head of the national council, Fayz Muhammad Khan, former minister of trade, Abd al-Hadi Khan, the minister of finance, and the sons of Abdur Rahman Khan : Mir Hashim, Sardar Amin Allah Khan, Muhammad Umar Khan, as well as a number of deputy ministers and heads of state bureaus. On

928-677: The Saqqawists managed to extend their control to Kandahar in June after a short siege. However, they were unable to defeat Nadir Khan in the Logar valley, who had entered the area together with Amanullah in March, although the latter left the country on 23 May. After a months-long stalemate, Nadir Khan eventually managed to force the Saqqawists to retreat into Kabul in October 1929, and subsequently into

986-467: The Shinwari claimed that this revolt was "not so much anti-Amanullah as against the local tax-collectors at Jelalabad". The initial response of the government was to send a small contingent to relieve Jalalabad, which was halted at Nimla, 20 miles (32 km) west of Jalalabad, before that force found itself surrounded and destroyed shortly after. Thereafter, Amanullah sent two representatives to suppress

1044-462: The Shinwari uprising, and armed tribesmen from the east, south and west, which included Waziri, Wardak, Ghilzai and Tajik tribesmen, but also more recently the Mangal tribesmen (who recently were at war with Amanullah's government) trickled into the capital to help. These men had no particular loyalty to the government and saw the situation simply as an opportunity for enrichment. As it turned out, there

1102-725: The Soviet leadership at a given time; Afghanistan was either viewed as a tool for dealing with Soviet Muslim minorities or for threatening the British. Whereas the Soviets sought Amanullah's assistance in suppressing anti- Bolshevik elements in Central Asia in return for help against the British, the Afghans were more interested in regaining lands across the Amu Darya lost to Russia in the nineteenth century. Afghan attempts to regain

1160-458: The adoption of a military draft, which had earlier led to the unsuccessful Alizai rebellion and Khost rebellion . Kalakani denounced his opponents as kuffar , while his forces committed acts of rape and looting. After capturing Kabul, the Saqqawists defeated a rival government in Jalalabad led by Ali Ahmad Khan on 9 February. Despite a setback in the Battle of Shaykhabad in early March,

1218-633: The army; in 1924 Nadir Khan left the government to become ambassador to France. If fully enacted, Amānullāh's reforms would have totally transformed Afghanistan. Most of his proposals, however, died with his abdication. His transforming social and educational reforms included: adopting the solar calendar, requiring Western dress in parts of Kabul and elsewhere, discouraging the veiling and seclusion of women, abolishing slavery and forced labor, introducing secular education (for girls as well as boys); adult-education classes and educating nomads. His economic reforms included restructuring, reorganizing and rationalizing

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1276-402: The border. The British responded by refusing to address Amanullah as "Your Majesty," and imposing restrictions on the transit of goods through India. Amānullāh's domestic reforms were no less dramatic than his foreign policy initiatives, but those reforms could not match his achievement of complete, lasting independence. Mahmud Tarzi , Amanullah's father-in-law and Foreign Minister , encouraged

1334-432: 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. The war began when the Shinwari tribe revolted in Jalalabad and drew a manifesto of 10 grievances, 5 of which related to Amanullah's meddling with the status of women. Although this revolt

1392-615: The city against his orders. After the civil war, Nadir did not cede control of the Afghan throne back to Amanullah, and this led to several rebellions, including the Shinwari rebellion , the Kuhistan rebellion , the Ghilzai rebellion , and Mazrak's revolt . During World War II , Amanullah would unsuccessfully try to regain the throne with Axis help. Amānullāh Khān reigned in Afghanistan from 1919, achieving full independence from

1450-472: The employees of the embassy that they were guests of the nation and as such no harm would come to them. The rebels also managed to enter the house and fortress tower of Shahr Ara, which was defended by Shawkat Beg, a Turkish officer who was the son of Muhammad Akbar Khan. His small force, as well as a group of cavalry officers, managed to prevent the Rebels from entering the old city. As the battle continued,

1508-515: The entire tax structure, anti-smuggling and anti-corruption campaigns, a livestock census for taxation purposes, the first budget (in 1922), implementing the metric system (which did not take hold), establishing the Bank-i-Melli (National Bank) in 1928, and introducing the Afghani as the new unit of currency in 1923. The political and judicial reforms Amānullāh proposed were equally radical for

1566-608: The evidence indicates that Bačča-ye Saqqā [Kalakani]'s rise was due solely to the internal disintegration of King Amān-Allāh's régime, there can be no doubt that British policy, tacit rather than explicit, helped to bring about Bačča-ye Saqqā's fall". After coming to power in Afghanistan, the Saqqawists allowed Basmachi insurgents to operate in northern Afghanistan, who then had established themselves in parts of Kunduz, Takhar and Badakshshan provinces by March 1929. Repeated Basmachi incursions into Soviet territory eventually prompted

1624-453: The face of Amanullah Khan's reforms in regard to women. Amānullāh's reforms touched on many areas of Afghan life. In 1921 he established an air force, albeit with only a few Soviet planes and pilots; Afghan personnel later received training in France , Italy and Turkey. Although he came to power with army support, Amanullah alienated many army personnel by reducing both their pay and size of

1682-607: The forces and by altering recruiting patterns to prevent tribal leaders from controlling who joined the service. Amanullah's Turkish advisers suggested the king retire the older officers, men who were set in their ways and might resist the formation of a more professional army. Amanullah's minister of war, General Muhammad Nadir Khan , a member of the Musahiban branch of the royal family, opposed these changes, preferring instead to recognize tribal sensitivities. The king rejected Nadir Khan's advice and an anti-Turkish faction took root in

1740-462: The game." Numerous commentators, in Afghanistan and elsewhere, claimed that British intelligence played a part in the fall of Amanullah; a theory which was prominent amongst Soviet historiography. According to Encyclopædia Iranica , While it can not be dismissed out of hand, the fact remains that no evidence to support it can be found in the copious British Indian archives pertaining to this period. There can be no doubt, however, that behind

1798-567: The government. By 1926, the German trading company had become one of the most successful in the country, second only to the Russian enterprises, and later on, it surpassed even them. On 15 April 1929, during the Afghan civil war of 1928-29 , Habibullāh Kalakāni contacted Muhammad Musa Khan Qandahari, a director of DACOM, and 7 other Qandaharis, requesting them to assassinate Amanullah Khan (who

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1856-416: The ground. On 3 December 1928, Amanullah then decided to send his brother-in-law, Ali Ahmad Khan Luynab, to deal with the problem, and sent him off with regular troops, militia levies, and a sizable treasury with which to conciliate the tribal leaders. Ghulam Siddiq and Shayr Ahmad were ordered back to Kabul. In the meantime, calls had gone out for tribal levies to assist the regular army in dealing with

1914-505: The insistence of the leaders who linked my accession to the throne with the prosperity of the people and the strengthening of Islam. But now, as I see the blood of Muslims being shed, I have decided to relinquish my claim to the Afghan Emirate and give you my oath of allegiance like other true-believing Muslims. Having become King of Afghanistan, Kalakani appointed a number of people into office, including: On 9 May, Kalakani passed

1972-670: The king. In the early morning of 14 January, Amanullah abdicated the throne to his oldest brother, Inayatullah Khan , who ruled for only three days before escaping into exile in British-India. Amanullah's efforts to recover power by leading a small, ill-equipped force toward Kabul failed. The deposed king crossed the border into British-India and went into exile in Italy and remained in Europe until his 1960 death in Zürich , Switzerland . At

2030-669: The leadership in Kabul , they could also threaten Britain, which was one of the Western states supporting counter-revolution in the Soviet Union. In his attempts to end British control of Afghan foreign policy, Amanullah sent an emissary to Moscow in 1919; Vladimir Lenin received the envoy warmly and responded by sending a Soviet representative to Kabul to offer aid to Amānullāh's government. Throughout Amānullāh's reign, Soviet-Afghan relations fluctuated according to Afghanistan's value to

2088-458: The locals proclaimed Ali as the new Emir upon receiving the news of Kalakani's accession. Ali then marched his troops on Samucha-i Mulla Omar, Tangi Khurd Kabul, and Chanri, and took up positions there. At the head of a 2,000 men strong army and a tribal militia, he marched to Jagdalak, where he waited for a force of Mohmands who had promised to join him. Over the course of 23 to 29 January, Ali sent out proclamations of his new emirate to Kabul, Logar,

2146-620: The monarch's interest in social and political reform but urged that it be gradually built upon the basis of a strong central government, as had occurred in Turkey under Kemal Atatürk . Socially, Amanullah enjoyed many of Mahmud Tarzi 's thoughts at the time, such as giving women more rights and allowing freedom of press through publishing. Tarzi, being heavily influenced by the West, brought this influence to Afghanistan – Amanullah enjoyed Western dress and etiquette. His wife, Queen Soraya Tarzi , became

2204-399: The north. Kalakani was a native of Kalakan , a village thirty kilometers north of Kabul. In late November, they besieged Jabal al-Siraj , north of Kabul, and on either 11 or 12 December, after 18 days of siege, Ahmad Ali Lodi peacefully surrendered the citadel, handing over all government funds as well as 18 machine guns, and an unspecified number of heavy weapons and rifles. Emboldened by

2262-499: The oases of Merv and Panjdeh were easily subdued by the Soviet Red Army . In May 1921, the Afghans and the Soviets signed a Treaty of Friendship, Afghanistan's first international agreement since gaining full independence in 1919. The Soviets provided Amanullah with aid in the form of cash, technology and military equipment. Despite this, Amanullah grew increasingly disillusioned with the Soviets, especially as he witnessed

2320-514: The previous agreement. The two nations disagreed, however, on the issue that had plagued Anglo-Afghan relations for decades and would continue to cause friction for many more — authority over Pashtun tribes on both sides of the Durand Line . The British refused to concede Afghan control over the tribes on the British side of the line while the Afghans insisted on it. The Afghans regarded the 1921 agreement as only an informal one. The rivalry of

2378-577: The royal family. Although sharia (Islamic law) was to be the residual source of law, it regained prominence after the Khost rebellion of 1924–25. Religious leaders, who had gained influence under Habibullah Khan , were unhappy with Amānullāh's extensive religious reforms. Conventional wisdom holds that the tribal revolt that overthrew Amanullah grew out of opposition to his reform program, although those people most affected by his reforms were urban dwellers not universally opposed to his policies, rather than

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2436-581: The soldiers simply fired their weapons in the air. Tumult and confusion were now widespread. The emir was furious when he heard of the mutiny, and ordered all the weapons to be distributed to the residents of Kabul and to the tribesmen who had come into the city but had not yet left for Jalalabad to fight the Shinwari. However, the near-universal loathing of the Afghans for Amanullah led to the majority of them refusing to take up arms against Kalakani. To make matters worse for Amanullah, Some Waziri, Mangal and Ahmadzai tribesmen defected to Kalakani, took up positions on

2494-491: The stance of official neutrality which the British maintained throughout the crisis of 1929 lay an unwillingness to help Amān-Allāh to reconquer his throne and a benevolence toward the moves of Nāder Khan. While the Soviet authorities favored Amān-Allāh (though reluctantly) and aided a foray on his behalf by Ḡolām Nabī Čarḵī in the Balḵ region, the British authorities allowed Nāder Khan to reenter Afghanistan through India and to obtain

2552-586: The start of a Soviet operation in Afghanistan . The Iranian military attache, Colonel Ali Khan, was under instruction by Reza Shah to protect the Shiite community of Afghanistan to the greatest possible extent that would not invite a Saqqawist attack on Iran. While Germany itself was uninvolved in the war, the Afghan-German Trading Company was requested by Kalakani to assassinate Amanullah Khan on 15 April 1929, and were promised

2610-427: The time and included the creation of Afghanistan's first constitution (in 1923), the guarantee of civil rights (first by decree and later constitutionally), national registration and identity cards for the citizenry, the establishment of a legislative assembly, a court system to enforce new secular penal, civil and commercial codes, prohibition of blood money, and abolition of subsidies and privileges for tribal chiefs and

2668-519: The time of his abdication, Amanullah's troops were fighting in the Khayr Khanah (Khirskhanah) pass, seven miles (11 km) north of Kabul. After ascending to the Afghan throne, Inayatullah Khan sent a peace envoy to Kalakani. The envoy informed Kalakani that Inayatullah's accession had been illegal in accordance to the shariah , since Kalakani had ascended the throne in the Islamic month of Rajab , and Inayatullah's accession had taken place in

2726-478: The tribes. Nevertheless, the king had managed to alienate religious leaders and army members. According to a later British ambassador in Afghanistan, William Kerr Fraser-Tytler , the British Empire, though officially neutral, was very concerned about the situation in Afghanistan and they "made up a set of rules to govern the situation. It was unneutral to refuse an Afghan entry into Afghanistan, but once he

2784-501: The uprising – his foreign minister, Ghulam Siddiq Khan , and the head of the National Council, Shayr Ahmad Khan . However, In late November, they had a falling out, and according to Fayz Muhammad , were negotiating separately with the tribes. Ghulam Siddiq is said to have incited some of the Shinwari to attack Shayr Ahmad Khan, the main consequence of which was that the Shinwari burned the Emir's winter palace in Jalalabad to

2842-555: The victory, Kalakani attacked Kabul with 2000 men (only 200 of which were armed with rifles, and the rest armed with sticks and axes) on 14 December 1928. He and his forces entered the Murad Beg Fort on the northern slopes of the Kuh-i Kutal, nearby the village of Khayr Khanah. The rebels, feeling that deposing an emir would be against the shariah, performed a ritual and declared Kalakani the new emir, and then passed through

2900-482: The village of Dih-i Kupak at 3:00 PM. Around 3:15 PM, they reached the Bagh-i Bala park. They also occupied Bagh-i Bala palace, formerly the summer residence of Abdur Rahman Khan , which had now been turned into a military hospital for the Emir's personal guard and the residence of a Turkish physician, Bahjet Beg . After disarming and dismissing the guards and the embassy, they stationed their own guards, reassuring

2958-533: The village of Shaykh Muhammad Riza-yi Khurasani which lies in the Paghman District , 6 miles (9.7 km) west of Kabul Following his takeover, Kalakani, fearful of a counterattack by the Amanullah loyalists, swiftly moved the treasury to Kudhaman. The first concerted opposition to Kalakani came from Ali Ahmad Khan , who was still stationed in Jalalabad after suppressing the Shinwari revolt. There,

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3016-405: The whole city was filled the sounds of artillery and gunfire. However, only the cavalry of the Emir's personal guard and a few other loyal soldiers actually put up a fight against Kalakani's forces. The rest of the army was in a mutinous mood, as their officers had been appropriating the soldier's rations. Holding their commanders rather than the rebels to blame for the trouble, when ordered to shoot,

3074-467: The widening oppression of his fellow Muslims across the border. Anglo-Afghan relations soured over British fear of an Afghan-Soviet friendship, especially with the introduction of a few Soviet planes into Afghanistan. British unease increased when Amanullah maintained contacts with Indian nationalists and gave them asylum in Kabul, and also when he sought to stir up unrest among the Pashtun tribes across

3132-1099: Was contesting the Afghan throne), promising them a large reward if they did so. As of 2011, the Afghan-German Trading Company still exists and is operating in Germany. Afghan civil war of 1928-29 [REDACTED] Saqqawists (November 1928 – October 1929) Supported by: [REDACTED] Basmachi (1929) [REDACTED] Kingdom of Afghanistan [REDACTED] Habibullāh Kalakāni   [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Sayyid Husayn   [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Ibrahim Bek [REDACTED] Fayz Allah [REDACTED] Amānullāh Khān (Until 14 January 1929; and from 22 March – 23 May 1929) [REDACTED] Inayatullah Khan (14–17 January 1929) [REDACTED] Ali Ahmad Khan   [REDACTED] (17 January – 9 February 1929) [REDACTED] Malik Qays ( Defected ) [REDACTED] Mohammed Nādir Khān (March–October 1929) [REDACTED] Sardar Shah Wali Khan [REDACTED] 80 The Afghan Civil War

3190-476: Was fought from 14 November 1928 to 13 October 1929. Rebelling, and subsequently governing Saqqawist ( Saqāwīhā ) 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

3248-433: Was in he became a contestant, and it would be unneutral to allow him to recross the border, seeking a brief asylum before plunging again into the fray. And so in a mixture of the rules of cricket and football it was ordained that a player might go on the field once, and play for the crown. But if he was forced into touch, and recrossed the line, whether voluntarily or not, he was 'out' and the referee would not let him back into

3306-464: Was no need to send them to Jalalabad, Ali Ahmad managed to conciliate the Shinwari leaders and put an end to the uprising, but as it took a while for this news to spread through the countryside, the levy tribesmen continued to arrive in the capital. Amanullah presumably welcomed the news of the reconciliation. However, any feeling of relief would have been very temporary – forces led by a Tajik leader, Habibullah Kalakani , were moving toward Kabul from

3364-433: Was quelled by a force led by Ali Ahmad Khan , a concurrent Saqqawist uprising in the north managed to capture the besieged city of Jabal al-Siraj, before attacking Kabul on 14 December 1928. Although the first Saqqawist assault on Kabul was repulsed, the second Saqqawist assault succeeded at capturing Kabul on 17 January 1929. The government at that time was focused on social reforms, such as the expansion of women's rights and

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