Afghanistan timeline
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Ahmed Shah Durrani Consolidates Power at Kandahar
Ahmed Shah Durrani, the founder of the Durrani Empire and the modern state of Afghanistan, established his rule in 1747 at Kandahar. Ahmad Shah, a... Read more
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The First Anglo-Afghan War
The First Anglo–Afghan War lasted from 1839 to 1842. It was one of the first major conflicts during the Great Game, the 19th century competition... Read more
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The Battle of Ghuznee
The Battle of Ghuznee took place in city of Ghazni in central Afghanistan on July 23, 1839 during the First Anglo-Afghan War. By the 1830s the... Read more
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The Second Anglo-Afghan War
The Second Anglo-Afghan War refers to a war between the United Kingdom and Afghanistan that lasted from 1878 to 1880. After tension between... Read more
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The Battle of Maiwand
The Battle of Maiwand was one of the principal battles of the Second Anglo-Afghan War. The battle ended in defeat for the British Army and victory... Read more
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Reign of Amanullah Khan over the Emirate of Afghanistan
Amanullah Khan (June 1, 1892 – April 25, 1960) was the ruler of the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1919 to 1929, first as Amir and after 1926 as Shah.... Read more
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The Third Anglo-Afghan War
The Third Anglo-Afghan War (also referred to as the Third Afghan War) began on 6 May 1919 and ended with an armistice on 8 August 1919. Whilst it... Read more
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Afghanistan Gains Independence from the United Kingdom
Afghan Independence Day is celebrated in Afghanistan on 19 August to commemorate the Treaty of Rawalpindi in 1919. The treaty granted independence... Read more
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Conservative Afghan Elements Deopse Amanullah Khan, Habibullah Ghazi Installed as King
By 1928, Amanullah Khan had returned from Europe and brought with him vast social and cultural changes. This act, as well as pictures of the Queen... Read more
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Habibullah Ghazi Overthrown as Emir of Afghanistan, Executed
After overthrowing Amanullah Khan, Habibullah Ghazi's first order was to change the newly allowed western attire back to traditional clothing and... Read more
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Mohammed Nadir Khan Assumes the Title of King of Afghanistan
Shortly after a rebellion by Pashtun tribesmen and forces of Habibullah Kalakani began against the monarchy, Mohammad Nadir was exiled due to... Read more
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Mohammad Nadir Shah Assassinated, Mohammad Zahir Shah Ascends to the Throne
On November 8, 1933 while distributing awards to high school graduates at Bala-e-sar, the King was shot dead by a teenager named Abdul Khaliq... Read more
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Reign of Mohammad Zahir Shah over the Kingdom of Afghanistan
Zahir Khan was proclaimed King (Shah) on 8 November 1933, after the assassination of his father Mohammed Nadir Shah. Following his ascension to the... Read more
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Mohammed Daoud Khan Seizes Power in a Bloodless Coup, Declares Himself President
On July 17, 1973, Mohammed Daoud Khan seized power from his cousin (and brother-in-law) King Zahir with the assistance of the People's Democratic... Read more
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Mir Akbar Khyber Is Assassinated
In 1978 a prominent member of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA), Mir Akbar Khyber (or “Kaibar”), was killed by the government.... Read more
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The Saur Revolution: The People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan Siezes Power
The Saur Revolution is the name given to the Communist People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan takeover of political power in Afghanistan on 27... Read more
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National Guard Bombing
On November 13, 1995 in downtown Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Telateen Street a car-bomb exploded. It was close to where the U.S. Army and the Vinnell... Read more
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Afghanistan Earthquake of May 1998
The magnitude of the earthquake was 6.9 on the Richter scale. This was the second large earthquake in the area in 1998 after another earthquake on... Read more
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United States Invades Afghanistan
President George Bush and Tony Blair yesterday warned the Taliban regime in Afghanistan in the starkest terms that preparations for the war against... Read more
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United States Soldier Pfc. Bowe R. Bergdahl Captured by the Taliban
(CNN) -- A United States soldier captured by the Taliban says in a video posted on the Internet he is "scared I won't be able to go home." The... Read more
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Hamid Karzai is Declared Winner of Afghan Presidential Election Without Run-off Vote
We regret the decision by Afghanistan’s opposition leader, Abdullah Abdullah, to withdraw from this week’s runoff election for the presidency.... Read more
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President Obama Announces 30,000-Troop Surge in Afghanistan After Months of Deliberation
President Obama has made a necessary, mature national security decision on Afghanistan – a state of affairs that he seems embarrassed... Read more
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Pamir Airways Flight 112 Crash
Wails of sadness echoed across a snowcapped mountaintop Tuesday as relatives grieved over 44 people aboard a passenger plane that crashed into a... Read more
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WikiLeaks Publishes the Afghan War Diary
The Afghanistan war logs series of reports on the war in Afghanistan published by the Guardian is based on the US military's internal logs of the... Read more
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Richard Holbrooke Dies
Richard C. Holbrooke, the high-octane diplomat who spearheaded the end of the Bosnian war and most recently served as the Obama administration's... Read more