The man who seized Kabul from Amanullah is usually described
by historians as a Tajik bandit. A native of Kala Khan, a village
thirty kilometers north of Kabul, the new Afghan ruler dubbed
himself Habibullah Khan, but others called him Bacha-i Saqqao
(Son of the Water Carrier). His attack on Kabul was shrewdly timed
to follow the Shinwari rebellion and the defection of much of
the army. Habibullah was probably the first Tajik to rule this
region since before the Greeks arrived (although some historians
believe the Ghorids of the twelfth century to have been Tajiks).
Little is written of Habibullah Khan's nine-month reign, but
most historians agree that he could not have held onto power for
very long under any conditions. The powerful Pashtun tribes, including
the Ghilzai, who had initially supported him against Amanullah,
chafed under rule by a non-Pashtun. When Amanullah's last feeble
attempt to regain his throne failed, those next in line were the
Musahiban brothers, who were also Muhammadzai Barakzai and whose
great-grandfather was an older brother of Dost Mohammad.
The five prominent Musahiban brothers included Nadir Khan, the
eldest, who had been Amanullah's former minister of war. They
were permitted to cross through the North-West Frontier Province
(NWFP) to enter Afghanistan and take up arms. Once on the other
side, however, they were not allowed back and forth across the
border to use British territory as a sanctuary, nor were they
allowed to gather together a tribal army on the British side of
the Durand Line. However, the Musahiban brothers and the tribes
successfully ignored these restrictions.
After several unsuccessful attempts, Nadir and his brothers finally
raised a sufficiently large force--mostly from the British side
of the Durand Line--to take Kabul on October 10, 1929. Six days
later, Nadir Shah, the eldest of the Musahiban brothers, was proclaimed
monarch. Habibullah fled Kabul, was captured in Kohistan, and
executed on November 3, 1929.
Country
name Afghanistan conventional long form Islamic State of
Afghanistan conventional short form Afghanistan local long
form Dowlat-e Eslami-ye Afghanestan local short form Afghanestan former Republic of Afghanistan
Area
- total: 647,500 sq km land: 647,500 sq km water: 0 sq km
Terrain
- mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest
Climate
- arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers
Geography
- landlocked; the Hindu Kush mountains that run northeast to southwest divide
the northern provinces from the rest of the country; the highest peaks are in
the northern Vakhan (Wakhan Corridor)
Waterways
- 1,200 km note: chiefly Amu Darya, which handles vessels up to 500 DWT (2001)
Natural hazards - damaging earthquakes
occur in Hindu Kush mountains; flooding; droughts
Information
Courtesy: The Library of Congress - Country Studies
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