THE LAST KING OF AFGHANISTANBy Adam Stinson

PROLOGUE “The former king of Afghanistan whose 40-year

reign, which ended in 1973, was esteemed enough to earn him the ceremonial title "father of the nation" in the current Constitution, died Monday in Kabul.” (Bearak)

This is said of a man named Muhammad Zahir Shah in his published obituary from 2007 when he died at 92 years of age.

He had been increasing ill for several years, ever since he returned to Afghanistan from exile in 2002.

ZAHIR’S RULE: THE BEGINNING Zahir Shah was not only the last king of Afghanistan,

he was the final monarch in a 226 year running dynasty, coming from the Pashtun tribe, known as the Durani Dynasty (which has its origins in the mid 18th century to king Ahmad Shah.

Zahir received a typical education in Afghanistan as well as a westernized education in the country of France.

He was young when he first came to power. At nineteen years of age, he was inducted as king only hours after the assassination of his father, King Nadir Shah.

(Afghan.net)

ZAHIR’S RULE: FOREIGN POLICIES The Pashtun tribe was the center of much conflict between the

country of Afghanistan and Pakistan, Afghanistan’s neighboring country separated by the Durand line.

Due to the Pashtunian beef between the two countries, Afghanistan was cut off from Pakistan’s petroleum supply. This caused ties between the Afghan government and the Soviet Union to strengthen.

Afghanistan had began ties with the Soviet Union in 1919, not long after their declaration of independence and managed to maintain those ties throughout their neutrality in World War II.

(NationsOnline) A period of Bilateral trade began between The Soviets and

Afghans; “a barter agreement to exchange Soviet oil, textiles, and manufactured goods for Afghan wool and cotton” (Griffin).

THE ROYAL FAMILY: THE UNCLES Nadir’s three brothers, Zahir’s uncles, were still alive and making

decisions in the government for long after Nadir’s assassination. Sardar Mohammad Hashim Khan was the eldest of the three

brothers and was the Prime Minister of Nadir’s rule up until 1946. Hashim didn’t trust in the Soviets as allies. Unlike Zahir, he put more emphasis on internal affairs such as the Afghan military and economy.

In 1946, Zahir replaced Hashim with the youngest, Sardar Shah Mahmud Khan, as the new prime minister.

Sardar Shah Wali Khan was Prime Minister for only one year during Hashim’s term. Wali was more often placed with military concerns. He was anything from Minister of Defense to Commander of the Royal Bodyguards.

(Griffin)

THE ROYAL FAMILY: DAOUD King Zahir’s cousin and brother-in-law, Mohammad Daoud Khan,

was named Prime Minister of Afghanistan in the early 1950’s. He was inclined to ties with The Soviet Russia and was more than

averse to the Pakistani policies. “cautiously reformist, modernizing and centralizing the

government while strengthening ties with the Soviet Union” “Shah dismissed Daoud because his anti-Pakistani policy had damaged Afghanistan’s economy” (NationsOnline).

Daoud had a relentless rivalry with the prime minister of Pakistan and one of them would have to resign for the conflict to finally rest.

“some Afghans attributed Daoud's fall to covert American intervention (because of Daoud's friendship with the Soviets)”

(Griffin)

DAOUD’S COUP In The decade of 1960’s, the economic

and political conditions of Afghanistan grew more and more amiss.

Daoud decided it was time for him to return to power.

He overthrew King Zahir in 1973 and established a republic.

DAOUD’S REPUBLIC: PARCHAM Parcham, coming from the persian word

for flag or banner, was a group in Afghanistan who believed that the country should adopt some form of Socialism because Afghan people couldn’t maintain a lower middle class.

It is believed that Daoud was chosen by the Parcham to overthrow the Monarchy due to his high position in the royal family.

FALL OF THE REPUBLIC No, not Rome. The economy did not approve under Daoud’s new

rule and he lost much of his political support. He was overthrown by several communist

factions residing in Afghanistan. There was a rising threat of the Afghan people,

especially those of the Pashtun, rising up in a “tribal insurgency” against the communist governments. This lead to the Soviet Intervention.

SOVIET INVASION The Soviet Union sent 80,000 troops into Afghanistan in

1979 to counteract the guerilla tactics of the Mujahideen Afghan people.

The mujahideen received support in the war from Pakistan, The United States, and Saudi Arabia.

The mujahideen used both Guerilla warfare and elusive tactics to evade the USSR’s superior weapons and air attacks.

The war resulted in approximately 103,000 deaths total. “In 1988 the Soviet Union agreed to create a neutral Afghan

state, and the last Soviet troops left Afghanistan in 1989. The agreement ended a war that killed thousands, devastated industry and agriculture” (NationsOnline)

WORKS CITED PAGE: TEXT "History of Afghanistan." History of Afghanistan.

Afghan.Net, n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2012. "___ History of Afghanistan." History of

Afghanistan. Library of Congress, n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2012.

Bearak, Barry. "Obituary: Muhammad Zahir Shah, Last King of Afghanistan." The New York Times. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2012.

Griffin, Luke. "Afghanistan Country Study." Afghanistan Country Study. N.p., 14 Jan. 2002. Web. 17 Oct. 2012.

WORKS CITED PAGE: PHOTOS http://media.kval.com/images/070723_

Zahir_Shah.jpg http://www.royalark.net/Afghanistan/ba

rak-Zahir%20Shah.jpg http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/

member/d54f5ff0968c.jpg http://dancingczars.files.wordpress.com

/2012/07/coup-d-etat.jpg?w=186&h=300

http://www.alizanjani.dk/Parcham_Iran_99.jpg