Afghanistan • أفغانستان

Nadir Shah Assassinated

1747

Persian ruler Nadir Shah is assassinated at Khabushan.

Durrani Elected

1747

Ahmed Khan was elected shah, more or less democratically, by a tribal council assembly of Pashtun men. Taking the name Ahmed Shah Durrani, he founded what is known today as Afghanistan and established the Durrani dynasty that was to last, with one brief interruption, until the communist revolution of 1978 . Consolidates chieftainships, petty principalities, and fragmented provinces into one country. His rule extended from Mashad in the west to Kashmir and Delhi in the east, and from the Amu Darya (Oxys) river in the north to the Arabian Sea in the south. Except for nine months in 1929 , all of Afghanistan's rulers until the 1978 coup were from Durrani's Pashtun tribal confederation, and all were members of that tribe's Mohammadzai clan after 1818 .

1st Anglo-Afghan War

1839 - 1842

Resulted in the destruction of a British army and is remembered today as an example of the ferocity of Afghan resistance to foreign rule.

2nd Anglo-Afghan War

1878 - 1880

Sparked by Amir Sher Ali's refusal to accept a British mission in Kabul. This conflict brought Amir Abdur Rahman to the Afghan throne. During his reign from 1880 - 1901 , the British and Russians officially established the boundaries of what would become modern Afghanistan. The British retained effective control of Kabul's foreign affairs

Amir Abdur Rahman Khan

1880 - 1901

Habibullah

1901 - 1919

British Rule Ends

1919 Aug

The war-weary British relinquished their control over Afghan foreign affairs by signing the Treaty of Rawalpindi in August 1919. In commemoration of this event, Afghans celebrate August 19 as their Independence Day.

Habibullah Assasinated

1919

Habibullah assassinated, possibly by family members opposed to British influence. His third son, Amanullah, regained control of Afghanistan's foreign policy after launching the Third Anglo-Afghan war with an attack on India in the same year.

Kingdom

1929 - 1933

King Mohammed Nadir Shah

Avuncular Era

1933 - 1954

Daoud's Republic

1953 - 1963

Coup d'etat

1973 Jul 17

While King Zahir Shah was overseas, his cousin and former Prime Minister Mohammed Daoud Khan (with help from Kabuli communist parties) proclaimed a new Republic of Afghanistan and took the role of head of state.

Islamist Arrests

- 1996

Islamic Emirate

1996 - 2001

US-Led NATO Occupation

NATO Invasion

2001

باميان Bamiyan

Even with a good road, news of violence in other parts of Afghanistan may scare visitors away from Bamiyan, where international forces have yet to fire a bullet in eight years. CS Monitor, 2009 Jun 14

بند امير Band-e Amir

Located in the safest part of افغانستان Afghanistan, the Baba mountains.

Exactly how many tourists visit Band-e-Amir is unknown, with the governor of Bamiyan Province saying 500 last year and aid agencies saying it was thousands. The discrepancy might relate to who is counted as a tourist – many Afghans visit the site, as well as expatriates like Dennis and Lukas, who work in Kabul. The one guesthouse in the park hosts 500 to 800 guests each year. CS Monitor, 2009 Jun 14

On 2009 Jun 18, Band-e-Amir will be officially inaugurated as Afghanistan's first national park. International organizations, the Afghan government, and local villagers are all hoping that the designation will inspire more tourists to come to this war-ravaged nation. CS Monitor, 2009 Jun 14