Timeline of Afghan history
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 Abdur 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.
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 the
United Kingdom 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.
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 United Kingdom. The difference between the conditions prevailing in the two countries indicates the success of the British in gaining the confidence of a weak nation.
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
Kaiser 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.
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.
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.
The
amir Habibullah Khan, who has always been a loyal friend to 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 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.
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 (the
Treaty of Rawalpindi) 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 Britain and Afghanistan that Afghanistan should have no relations with any foreign government except 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.
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.
