History
Emir Amanullah Khan was keen on modernizing Afghanistan, provoking several uprisings led by his conservative opponents. One such rebellion broke out while he was visiting Europe in 1927. He abdicated in favour of his brother Inayatullah Khan, who only ruled for three days before the leader of the rebellion Habibullāh Kalakāni took power and Emirate of Afghanistan (1929), reinstated the Emirate. After 10 months, Amanullah Khan's Minister of War, Mohammed Nadir, returned from exile in India. His British-supported armies sacked Kabul, forcing Kalakāni to discuss a truce. Instead, Mohammed Nadir's forces apprehended and subsequently executed Kalakāni. Mohammed Nadir reinstated the kingdom, was proclaimed King of Afghanistan as Mohammed Nadir Shah in October 1929, and went on to revert the reformist path of the last king, Amanullah Khan. He was succeeded by his son, Mohammed Zahir Shah, whose rule started in 1933 and lasted for 39 years. Zahir Shah, the last King of Afghanistan, was eventually overthrown by his own cousin Mohammed Daoud Khan who successfully Abolition of monarchy, ended the centuries-old monarchy and List of countries by date of transition to republican system of government, established a Republic of Afghanistan (1973–1978), republic. It was under the leadership of Zahir Shah that the Afghan government sought relationships with the outside world, most notably with the Soviet Union, France, Great Britain, and the United States. On 27 September 1934, during the reign of Zahir Shah, the Kingdom of Afghanistan joined the League of Nations. During Diplomatic history of World War II, World War II, Afghanistan remained neutral and pursued a diplomatic policy of non-alignment. Though being neutral in World War II, Afghanistan had relations with Nazi Germany, but that was severed after the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran. Afghanistan was admitted into the United Nations on 29 August 1946. In 1947, Afghanistan was the only United Nations member to vote against admitting Pakistan into the United Nations. This was mostly done because of Kingdom's call for Pashtunistan. Nikita Khrushchev visited the capital of Kabul and endorsed the Afghan claims to Pashtunistan in 1955. Afghanistan also became a member of the Non-Aligned Movement in 1961. Daoud Khan, Prime Minister of Afghanistan at the time, worked hard for the development of industrialization, modern industries, and Education in Afghanistan, education in the country. In July 1973, Daoud Khan staged a bloodless ''1973 Afghan coup d'état, coup d'état'' while Zahir Shah was not in the country. The next month, Zahir Shah abdicated, hoping to avoid a civil war, which officially marked the end of the Kingdom of Afghanistan and the beginning of the Republic.Geography
The Kingdom of Afghanistan bordered Pahlavi Iran, Iran on the west, the Soviet Union in the north, China on the east, and Pakistan and India on the south. The mountainous and mostly dry country was . The strange shape and borders of the country, most notably the Wakhan Corridor, were a result of its former role as a buffer state between Russia and the United Kingdom. Snow was common in most areas during winter and rainfall was small.Demographics
The country was made up of various ethnic groups such as the Pashtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras, Uzbeks and many others. The majority of Afghans were Muslims, Muslim, approximate 99% of the population. Around 90% of the Muslim population were Sunni Islam, Sunni, the rest were Shia Islam, Shia. Dari, Dari (Persian) and Pashto were the official languages of the nation. Many Afghans were bilingual and could speak both languages between each other.Economy
Like the past and present-day Afghanistan, the economy relied greatly on agriculture and mining. The United States and the Soviet Union both invested in neutral Afghanistan's economy to try to gain influence during the Cold War. This included the Four Point Program in 1951, when Afghanistan and the United States signed an agreement in Kabul to help assist the economic development in the economy, and the construction of a 100 km pipeline from Termez to Mazar-i-Sharif that was built by Soviet technicians and began in 1954. Afghanistan received $18,500,000 from the Export–Import Bank of the United States to help them purchase U.S. material, equipment, and services for the Helmand River valley developmental project. In August 1961, Pakistan closed the border with Afghanistan, due to Prime Minister, Daoud Khan's strong stance on Pashtunistan, but it re-opened in May after Khan's resignation. The country had deposits of talc, mica, silver, lead, beryl, chromite, copper, lapis lazuli, and iron ore.Military
King Zahir Shah's cousin, Daoud Khan, signed a $3 million arms deal with the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic and a 32.5 million arms deal with the Soviet Union in 1956. The deal gave the Afghan military imported T-34 tanks and Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17, MiG-17 jet fighters. A quarter to third of all Afghan officers had trained in the Soviet Union by 1973.See also
* Barakzai dynasty * European influence in Afghanistan * List of Sunni dynasties * Afghan Civil War (1928–1929)References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Afghanistan, Kingdom of Kingdom of Afghanistan, Former political entities in Afghanistan, Kingdom of Afghanistan Modern history of Afghanistan, Kingdom of Afghanistan Former countries in Central Asia, Kingdom of Afghanistan Former countries in South Asia, Kingdom of Afghanistan Former monarchies of South Asia Former monarchies of Central Asia Former kingdoms 1920s in Afghanistan, Kingdom of Afghanistan 1930s in Afghanistan, Kingdom of Afghanistan 1940s in Afghanistan, Kingdom of Afghanistan 1950s in Afghanistan, Kingdom of Afghanistan 1960s in Afghanistan, Kingdom of Afghanistan 1970s in Afghanistan, Kingdom of Afghanistan Neutral states in World War II States and territories established in 1926, Kingdom of Afghanistan States and territories disestablished in 1973, Kingdom of Afghanistan 1926 establishments in Afghanistan, Kingdom of Afghanistan 1973 disestablishments in Afghanistan, Kingdom of Afghanistan 1926 establishments in Asia, Kingdom of Afghanistan 1973 disestablishments in Asia, Kingdom of Afghanistan 20th century in Afghanistan, Kingdom of Afghanistan