The Taq-e Zafar ( Persian: طاق ظفر, English: Arch of Victory) is a memorial arch located at the front of the gardens in Paghman,

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

. The famous victory arch commemorates Afghan independence after the

Third Anglo-Afghan War The Third Anglo-Afghan War was a short war which began on 3 May and ended on 8 August 1919. The new Amir of the Emirate of Afghanistan Amanullah Khan declared a Jihad against the British in the hope to proclaim full independence, as well as ...

in 1919.

History

20th Century

Construction

The monument was constructed after King

Amanullah Khan Ghazi (warrior), Ghazi Amanullah Khan (Pashto/Dari: ; 1 June 1892 – 26 April 1960) was the head of state, sovereign of Afghanistan from 1919, first as Emirate of Afghanistan, Emir and after 1926 as Kingdom of Afghanistan, King, until his abdic ...

and Queen

Soraya Tarzi Soraya Tarzi (Pashto/Dari: ثريا طرزی) (24 November 1899 – 20 April 1968) was Queen of Afghanistan as the wife of King Amanullah Khan. As Queen, she became one of the most influential women in the world at the time. She played a majo ...

's return from Europe in 1928. Amanullah brought in foreign experts to redesign

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

. A Turkish architect designed the victory arch. At that time, at the entrance of Paghman, they created a

triumphal arch A triumphal arch is a free-standing monumental structure in the shape of an archway with one or more arched passageways, often designed to span a road, and usually standing alone, unconnected to other buildings. In its simplest form, a triumphal ...

or monumental gate in the style of Greco-Roman

classical architecture Classical architecture typically refers to architecture consciously derived from the principles of Ancient Greek architecture, Greek and Ancient Roman architecture, Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or more specifically, from ''De archit ...

, similar to but smaller than the

Arc de Triomphe The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile, often called simply the Arc de Triomphe, is one of the most famous monuments in Paris, France, standing at the western end of the Champs-Élysées at the centre of Place Charles de Gaulle, formerly named Plac ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, France. Paghman turned into a holiday retreat as well as the summer capital. Its wide avenues contained

fir Firs are evergreen coniferous trees belonging to the genus ''Abies'' () in the family Pinaceae. There are approximately 48–65 extant species, found on mountains throughout much of North and Central America, Eurasia, and North Africa. The genu ...

, poplar and nut trees which flew past the arch, villas and a golf course. It was a popular place for the wealthy and the

aristocrats Aristocracy (; ) is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. Across Europe, the aristocracy exercised immense economic, political, and social influence. In Western Christian co ...

to visit. The gardens eventually became a popular place for local and foreign tourists.

Destruction

During the

Soviet–Afghan War The Soviet–Afghan War took place in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from December 1979 to February 1989. Marking the beginning of the 46-year-long Afghan conflict, it saw the Soviet Union and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic o ...

in the 1980s, Paghman was a major battleground and suffered from bombardment from both the Soviet-backed government and the

mujahideen ''Mujahideen'', or ''Mujahidin'' (), is the plural form of ''mujahid'' (), an Arabic term that broadly refers to people who engage in ''jihad'' (), interpreted in a jurisprudence of Islam as the fight on behalf of God, religion or the commun ...

rebels. Most buildings were destroyed and residents had fled. Little remained of the prosperous Gardens, save for the remains of the Arc de Triomphe style arch, which had its top blown off.

Restoration and 21st century

Following the formation of the Karzai administration, the Arch was restored by May 2005. Other damaged parts of the former Gardens were also rebuilt. It once again became a popular touristic site, and is popular with residents of Kabul. There was further development in the 2010s. The park is also used for dog-fighting contests.

Design

The Victory Arch is made of white

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

. Afghan calligrapher Sayed Mohammad Daud al-Hossaini designed the calligraphic inscriptions on the ceiling and walls of the arch.

Gallery

File:Taq-e-Zafar.JPG, Victory Arch in 2014 File:Arc of Paghman.jpg File:Arc paghman.jpg File:Arch of Paghman stone scripture.jpg File:Arch-de-Triumph-Paghman.jpg File:Da-Khpalwakai-Taaq.jpg File:Emblem of Amanullah khan.jpg, Emblem of King Amanullah Khan File:Garden of Paghman.jpg File:Paghman garden fountain.jpg, Lion Gate File:Paghman monument-stone.jpg, Inscriptions File:Paghman victory arch.jpg File:Paghman arch stone.jpg File:Paghman gardens.jpg File:Paghman monument stone.jpg File:Taq e Zafar Paghman reconstruction stone.jpg, Stone marking its 2005 reconstruction

References

{{Kabul Province Buildings and structures in Kabul Province Landmarks in Afghanistan Triumphal arches