- Timeline of Afghanistan
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This is a timeline of Afghanistan. To read about the background to these events, see History of Afghanistan. See also the list of leaders of Afghanistan and the list of years in Afghanistan.
This timeline is incomplete; some important events may be missing. Please help add to it.
Tribal Discontent and Uprising: Early and Middle of 18th century
Year Date Event 1709 April 21 Mirwais Khan Hotak, an influential tribal chief, gains independence at Kandahar after the Afghan revolution against the Safavid rule of Persia. 1713 Persian army invades Ghilzai Pashtun tribal areas between Kandahar and Ghazni but is defeated by the Afghans. 1715 November Mirwais Khan dies of natural causes. His brother, Abdul Aziz Hotak, took the throne until he was killed by Mahmud Hotaki for having ties with the Safavid Persians. 1722 The Afghan army captures the Persian capital, Isfahan, after the Battle of Gulnabad and destroys it. Mahmud Hotaki declares himself Shah of Persia (King of Persia) lasting only three years with a bloody hand. 1725 April 22 Mahmud Hotaki is murdered by his own cousin Ashraf Hotaki who now succeeds him to the throne in [[Isfahan[[. 1729 September 29 Battle of Damghan: A soldier of fortune in hire of the last Safavid king Tahmasp II, who later became Nader Shah of Persia, defeats the forces of Ashraf Hotaki and make them retreat back to Kandahar. Asharf is killed on during his flight. 1738 The Persian imperial forces under Nadir Shah invade Kandahar, defeat Hussain Hotaki. They destroyed the city by artillery fire in revenge for the depredations of the Hotakis at Isfahan. A new city, Nadirabad is built nearby by order of the Persian king to replace the old Kandahar. The future King of Afghanistan, Ahmad Khan, and his brother are freed from Hotaki captivity by Nadir Shah. The Abdali Pashtuns are restored to primacy over the city and the province of Kandahar, replacing the 50-year dominance of the Ghilzai/Hotaki confederacy over the area--a change that lasts to the present day. Imperial Afghanistan: Late 18th and 19th Century
Year Date Event 1747 June 19 Ahmad Shah Durrani, of the Abdali Pashtun confederacy declares Afghanistan independent from Kandahar which he chooses as the capital of his ever expanding real. He becomes the founder of the Durrani Empire and Afghanistan Year Date Event 1809 Shuja Shah Durrani signs a treaty of alliance with the United Kingdom. 1826 Dost Mohammad Khan takes the throne in Kabul, where he proclaimed himself amir. 1839 March First Anglo-Afghan War: A British expeditionary force captures Quetta. August First Anglo-Afghan War: Shuja Shah Durrani is reinstated to the throne. 1841 November First Anglo-Afghan War: A mob killed the British envoy to Afghanistan. 1842 January Massacre of Elphinstone's army: A retreating British force of sixteen thousand is massacred by the Afghans. 1857 Afghanistan declares war on Persia. Afghan forces re-captures Herat. 1878 January Second Anglo-Afghan War: Afghanistan refuses a British diplomatic mission, provoking a second Anglo-Afghan war. 1879 May Second Anglo-Afghan War: To prevent British occupation of a large part of the country, the Afghan government ceded much power to the United Kingdom in the Treaty of Grandamak. 1880 July 22 Abdur Rahman Khan is officially recognized as Amir of Afghanistan. 1893 November 12 Abdur Rahman Khan and Mortimer Durand sign the Durand Line Agreement. 20th century
Year Date Event 1901 October 1 Habibullah Khan, son of Abdur Rahman Khan, becomes Amir of Afghanistan. He was a secular leader, brought western medicine, brought back political exiles like the Tarzi family and others, and repealed many of the harshest criminal penalties. February 20 Habibullah Khan is assassinated. His son Amanullah Khan declares himself King of Afghanistan. 1919 May Amanullah Khan led a surprise attack against the British, beginning the Third Anglo-Afghan War. August 19 Afghan Foreign Minister Mahmud Tarzi negotiates the Treaty of Rawalpindi with the British at Rawalpindi. 1929 Amanullah Khan is forced to abdicate in the face of a popular uprising. Habibullah Kalakani take power. Kalakani was the Amir of Afghanistan for nine months in 1929 after leading a successful revolt against King Amanullah with the help of various Pashtun tribes, who were against the King's rapid modernization plans. After his defeat and execution by Nader Khan, Kalakani was given the name: Bacha-i-Saqao, son of a water carrier. Kalakani was a Tajik from the Kalakan village in Kabul Province, and was probably born in 1890. He was the first Tajik to take power from Pashtuns in 350 years of Pashtun rule. The reactionary and former Afghan National Army General under Amanullah Khan, Nader Khan, take control of Afghanistan. 1933 November 8 Nader Khan is assassinated. His son, Mohammed Zahir Shah, is proclaimed king at the age of nineteen. 1964 A new constitution is ratified which instituted a democratic legislature. 1965 January 1 The Marxist People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) held its first congress. 1978 April 28 Saur Revolution: Military units loyal to the PDPA assaults the Afghan Presidential Palace, killing President Mohammed Daoud Khan and all of his family. May 1 Saur Revolution: The PDPA installs its leader, Nur Muhammad Taraki, as President of Afghanistan. July A rebellion against the new Afghan government begins with an uprising in Nuristan Province. December 5 A treaty is signed which permits deployment of the Soviet military at the Afghan government's request. 1979 September 14 Taraki is murdered by supporters of Prime Minister Hafizullah Amin. December 24 Soviet war in Afghanistan: Fearing the collapse of the Amin regime, the Soviet army invades Afghanistan. December 27 Operation Storm-333: Soviet troops occupies major governmental, military and media buildings in Kabul, including the Tajbeg Presidential Palace, and executes Prime Minister Amin. 1988 April 14 Soviet war in Afghanistan: The Soviet government signs the Geneva Accords, which included a timetable for withdrawing their armed forces. 1989 February 15 Soviet war in Afghanistan: The last Soviet troops left the country. 1992 April 24 Civil war in Afghanistan (1989-1992): After the fall of the communist Najibullah regime, Afghan political parties sign the Peshawar Accord which creates the Islamic State of Afghanistan. Sibghatullah Mojaddedi is proclaimed the first interim president. 1992 April 24 Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's Hezb-i Islami forces with the support of neighboring Pakistan start a massive bombardment campaign against the Islamic State in the capital Kabul. Hekmatyar who is repeatedly offered the post of prime minister strives for undisputed dictatorial power. 1992 June 28 As agreed upon in the Peshawar Accord, Jamiat leader Burhanuddin Rabbani takes over as president for a transitional period. 1994 August The Taliban movement began to form in a small village between Lashkar Gah and Kandahar. 1995 January The Taliban with the support of Pakistan initiates a bombardment campaign against the Islamic State of Afghanistan and the capital Kabul. 1996 September 26 Civil war in Afghanistan (1996-2001): Islamic State forces retreat to northern Afghanistan. 1996 September 27 Civil war in Afghanistan (1996-2001): The Taliban takes over Kabul and create the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Former DRA president Mohammad Najibullah, who had been living under UN protection in Kabul, is tortured, castrated and executed by Taliban forces. 1998 August Civil war in Afghanistan (1996-2001): The Taliban captures Mazar-e Sharif. Abdul Rashid Dostum goes into exile. 1998 August 20 Cruise missile strikes on Afghanistan and Sudan (August 1998): As part of the American Operation Infinite Reach, about 75 cruise missiles are fired by the United States Navy into the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan at four militant training camps around Khost and Jalalabad: three camps in the Jarawah area near Khost, one of which, El Farouq, trained primarily Afghans, and Al Badr camp 10 miles to the west which also trained Afghans and was directed by bin Laden. The Khost camp, Zawhar Kili, was a summit meeting place for senior Arab leaders of Islamic militant organizations labeled as terrorist groups by the United Nations and linked to bin Laden. 21st century
Year Date Event 2001 March The Buddhas of Bamiyan are blown up and destroyed by the Taliban. September 9 Assassination of anti-Taliban resistance leader Ahmad Shah Massoud: Two Arab suicide bombers posing as French journalists detonate explosives during an interview with the legendary 'Lion of Panjshir' in his northern Afghanistan headquarters of Khoja Bahauddin. September 20 In response to the September 11 attacks in the United States, U.S. President George W. Bush demands the Taliban to turn over Osama bin Laden and all the al-Qaeda members living in Afghanistan to the United States, and also to close all terrorist training camps in the country. September 21 The Taliban refuses Bush's ultimatum. The Taliban acted in accordance with the fact that it has no extradition treaty or agreement with United States. October 7 Operation Enduring Freedom: The United States begins an aerial bombing campaign against the Taliban. The 2001-present war in Afghanistan begins. 2003 December 14 2003 loya jirga: A 502-delegate loya jirga (grand council) is held to consider a new Afghan constitution. 2004 October 9 Afghanistan holds its first democratic presidential elections. Hamid Karzai is chosen the winner and the Karzai administration takes control. 2005 Taliban insurgency begins after Pakistan stations 80,000 Pakistani soldiers near the Durand Line. 2006 March 1 U.S. President George W. Bush visits Afghanistan to inaugurate the renovated U.S. Embassy in Kabul with Hamid Karzai 2007 May 13 Afghanistan–Pakistan Skirmishes begins and terrorist attacks inside Afghanistan grow. Chronological Chart for the historical periods of Afghanistan-2200 —–-2000 —–-1800 —–-1600 —–-1400 —–-1200 —–-1000 —–-800 —–-600 —–-400 —–-200 —–0 —–200 —–400 —–600 —–800 —–1000 —–1200 —–1400 —–1600 —–1800 —–2000 —–2200 —References
Categories:- National timelines
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