Emir of Afghanistan from 1901 to 1919This article is about the Amir of Afghanistan. For the pre-1947 Indian freedom fighter and post-1947 Pakistani political leader, see Amir Habibullah Khan Saadi.

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Habibullah Khan (Pashto/Dari: حبيب الله خان:; 3 June 1872 – 20 February 1919) was the Emir of Afghanistan from 1901 until his death in 1919. He was the eldest son of the Emir Abdur Rahman Khan, whom he succeeded by right of primogeniture in October 1901. His grandfather was Mohammad Afzal Khan.

Contents

• 1 Early life
• 2 Reign
  • 2.1 Khost rebellion
  • 2.2 World War I
• 3 Death
• 4 Honours
• 5 References
• 6 Bibliography
• 7 External links

Early life

Habibullah was the eldest son of Emir Abdur Rahman, born in Samarkand, Uzbekistan in 1871. He had a younger brother, born on December 7, 1874. He was named as Nasrullah Khan.

Reign

King Habibullah Khan with Afghan soldiers

Habibullah was a relatively reform-minded ruler who attempted to modernize his country. During his reign he worked to bring modern medicine and other technology to Afghanistan. Many people who were forced into exile by his father were returned to Afghanistan by a general amnesty decreed by Habibullah. In 1903, Habibullah founded the Habibia school as well as a military academy. He also worked to put in place progressive reforms in his country. He ins*uted various legal reforms and repealed many of the harshest criminal penalties. But one of his chief advisers Abdul Lateef was sentenced to death in 1903 for apostasy. He was stoned to death in Kabul. Other reforms included the dismantling of the repressive internal intelligence organization that had been put in place by his father. Qala-e-Seraj in Mihtarlam was built by the Amir c. 1912–13 to spend his winters there.

Khost rebellion

Main article: Khost rebellion (1912)

In May 1912, Habibullah faced the only crisis in his career when a rebellion erupted in Khost led by Jehandad Khan, a rival claimant to the Afghan throne, known as the Khost rebellion. This rebellion ended in August that same year, when the rebels were given concessions by the Afghan government.

World War I

Habibullah maintained the country's neutrality in World War I, despite strenuous efforts by the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and a German military mission (Niedermayer–Hentig Expedition) to enlist Afghanistan on its side. He also greatly reduced tensions with British India, signing a treaty of friendship in 1905 and paying an official state visit in 1907. While in India, he was initiated into Freemasonry, at Lodge Concordia, No. 3102.

Death

Habibullah was **inated whilst hunting at Kalagosh, Laghman Province on 20 February 1919. Habibullah's brother Nasrullah Khan briefly succeeded him as Emir and held power for a week between 21 and 28 February 1919. During this period he completely emptied the state treasury and brought the administration to a complete standstill. He was ousted and imprisoned by Amanullah Khan, Habibullah's third son. This occurred a few months before the Third Anglo-Afghan War.

Honours

• Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG) – 1896
• Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB) – 1907

References

Bibliography

• Vogelsang, Willem (2001), The Afghans, Wiley, ISBN:978-0-631-19841-3

External links

• Nölle-Karimi, Christine (2017). "Ḥabīballāh Khān". In Fleet, Kate; Krämer, Gudrun; Matringe, Denis; Nawas, John; Rowson, Everett (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE. Brill Online. ISSN:1873-9830.
• Ancestry.com: Afghan royalty