List of monarchs of Afghanistan

King of Afghanistan
Former Monarchy
Emblem of the God-granted Kingdom of Afghanistan and all its dependencies
Zahir Shah, the last King of Afghanistan
First monarch Mirwais Hotak
Last monarch Mohammed Zahir Shah
Official residence Kandahar and Kabul
Monarchy started April 1709
Monarchy ended July 17, 1973
Current pretender Ahmad Shah, Crown Prince of Afghanistan

Prior to the 18th century, the modern state of Afghanistan was divided and mostly ruled by the Delhi Sultanate of India. Its Herat region in the west was ruled by the Safavids of Persia and the Mazar-i-Sharif area in the north by the Khanate of Bukhara. The southern Kandahar region occasionally switched sides between the Mughal Empire and the Safavids.[1] The native Afghans (Pashtun people) had been oppressed by both sides, and were pushing for independence but many attempts had been crushed and those accused of starting revolution being executed.[2]

In 1709, Mirwais Hotak and his Afghan tribal chiefs from Kandahar organized themselves and successfully freed their land from Persian rule.[3] Mirwais built a large fortress for himself and turned the town of Kandahar to serve as the capital of the Hotaki Empire.[2][4] After a long series of wars, this empire was eventually replaced by the Durrani Afghan Empire that was founded by Ahmad Shah Durrani in 1747.[5][6] Ahmad Shah Durrani is regarded as the "Father of the Nation",[7][8][9] Mirwais Hotak as the "Grand father" and Mohammed Zahir Shah as the last King of Afghanistan.

Contents

Hotaki Afghan Empire (1709-1738)

Hotaki dynasty (1709-1738)

Name Picture Reign started Reign ended
Mirwais Hotak
Wali
April 1709 October 1715
Abdul Aziz Hotak
Wali
October 1715 1717
Mahmud Hotaki
Shah
1717 1725
Ashraf Hotaki
Shah
1725 1730
Hussain Hotaki
Shah
1725 1738

Last Afghan Empire (1747-1973)

Durrani dynasty (1747-1842)

Name Picture Reign started Reign ended
Ahmad Shah Durrani
Shah
July 1747 16 October 1772
Timur Shah Durrani
Shah
16 October 1772 18 May 1793
Zaman Shah Durrani
Shah
18 May 1793 25 July 1801
Mahmud Shah Durrani
Shah
25 July 1801 13 July 1803
Shuja Shah Durrani
Shah
13 July 1803 3 May 1809
Mahmud Shah Durrani
Shah
3 May 1809 1818
Ali Shah Durrani
Shah
1818 1819
Ayub Shah Durrani
Shah
1819 1823
Shuja Shah Durrani
Shah
7 August 1839 5 April 1842

Barakzai dynasty (1826-1973)

Name Picture Reign started Reign ended
Dost Mohammad Khan
Amir
1826 2 August 1839
Dost Mohammad Khan
Amir
1842 9 June 1863
Sher Ali Khan
Amir
9 June 1863 May 1866
Mohammad Afzal Khan
Amir
May 1866 7 October 1867
Muhammad Azam Khan
Amir
7 October 1867 21 February 1868
Sher Ali Khan
Amir
7 October 1868 21 February 1879
Mohammad Yaqub Khan
Amir
21 February 1879 12 October 1879
Abdur Rahman Khan
Amir
31 May 1880 1 October 1901
Habibullah Khan
King
1 October 1901 20 February 1919
Nasrullah Khan
King
20 February 1919 28 February 1919
Amanullah Khan
King
28 February 1919 14 January 1929
Inayatullah Khan
King
14 January 1929 17 January 1929
Habibullāh Kalakāni
Exception: Non-Barakzai (Tajik) King
17 January 1929 13 October 1929
Mohammed Nadir Shah
King
13 October 1929 8 November 1933
Mohammed Zahir Shah
King
8 November 1933 17 July 1973

See also

References

  1. ^ Romano, Amy (2003). A Historical Atlas of Afghanistan. The Rosen Publishing Group. p. 28. ISBN 0823938638. http://books.google.com/books?id=TKUxyVCrYn0C&lpg=PP1&pg=PA28#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved 2010-10-17. 
  2. ^ a b Otfinoski, Steven (2004). Afghanistan. Infobase Publishing. p. 7. ISBN 0816050562. http://books.google.com/books?id=fbXmk-EauHIC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA7#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved 2010-09-27. 
  3. ^ "An Outline Of The History Of Persia During The Last Two Centuries (A.D. 1722-1922)". Edward Granville Browne. London: Packard Humanities Institute. p. 29. http://persian.packhum.org/persian/pf?file=90001014&ct=29. Retrieved 2010-09-24. 
  4. ^ Malleson, George Bruce (1878). History of Afghanistan, from the Earliest Period to the Outbreak of the War of 1878. London: Elibron.com. p. 227. ISBN 1402172788. http://books.google.com/books?id=pqNGBEmHUd4C&lpg=PP1&pg=PA227#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved 2010-09-27. 
  5. ^ "Afghanistan". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2028.html?countryName=Afghanistan&countryCode=af&regionCode=sas&#af. Retrieved 2010-10-23. "Ahmad Shah DURRANI unified the Pashtun tribes and founded Afghanistan in 1747." 
  6. ^ "Last Afghan empire". Louis Dupree, Nancy Hatch Dupree and others. Encyclopædia Britannica Online Version. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/7798/Afghanistan/21392/Last-Afghan-empire. Retrieved 2010-09-24. 
  7. ^ Ganḍā, Singh (1959). Ahmad Shah Durrani: Father of Modern Afghanistan. Asia Pub. House. pp. 457. ISBN 1402172788. http://books.google.com/?id=F_A8AAAAMAAJ. Retrieved 2010-08-25. 
  8. ^ "Ahmad Shah and the Durrani Empire". Library of Congress Country Studies on Afghanistan. 1997. http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+af0010). Retrieved 2010-08-25. 
  9. ^ "Aḥmad Shah Durrānī". Encyclopædia Britannica Online Version. 2010. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/10162/Ahmad-Shah-Durrani. Retrieved 2010-08-25.