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Amanollah Khan
(b. June 1, 1892, Paghman, Afg.--d. April 25, 1960, Zürich, Switz.),
ruler of Afghanistan (1919-29) who led his country to full independence
from British influence.
A favoured son of the Afghan ruler Habibollah Khan, Amanollah took
possession of the throne immediately after his father's assassination
in 1919, at a time when Great Britain exercised an important influence
on Afghan affairs. In his coronation address Amanollah declared
total independence from Great Britain. This led to war with the
British, but fighting was confined to a series of skirmishes between
an ineffective Afghan army and a British Indian army exhausted from
the heavy demands of World War I. A peace treaty recognizing the
independence of Afghanistan was signed at Rawalpindi (now in Pakistan)
in August 1919.
Although a charming man and a sincere patriot and reformer, Amanollah
was also impulsive and tactless and tended to surround himself with
poor advisers. Shortly after ascending the throne, he pushed for
reforms, including an education program and road-building projects,
but was opposed by reactionaries. In 1928 he returned from a trip
to Europe with plans for legislative reform and emancipation of
women, proposals that caused his popular support to drop and enraged
the mullahs (Muslim religious leaders). In 1928 a tribal revolt
resulted in a chaotic situation during which a notorious bandit
leader, Bachcheh Saqow, seized Kabul, the capital city, and
declared himself ruler. Amanollah attempted to regain the throne
but, for reasons that are unclear, failed to do so. He abdicated
in January 1929 and left Afghanistan for permanent exile that May. |
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