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Amanullah loyalism was a series of early-20th-century movements in the
Kingdom of Afghanistan
The Kingdom of Afghanistan ( ps, , Dǝ Afġānistān wākmanān; prs, پادشاهی افغانستان, Pādešāhī-ye Afġānistān) was a constitutional monarchy in Central Asia established in 1926 as a successor state to the Emirate of Af ...
to restore
Amanullah Khan
Ghazi Amanullah Khan (Pashto and Dari: ; 1 June 1892 – 25 April 1960) was the sovereign of Afghanistan from 1919, first as Emir and after 1926 as King, until his abdication in 1929. After the end of the Third Anglo-Afghan War in August 1919, ...
as king of Afghanistan after he was deposed in January 1929 during the
Afghan Civil War. Loyalists were sometimes referred to as Amanite. Loyalists tried to achieve this in various ways, including armed rebellions, political parties, colluding with foreign powers and assassinations. These movements petered out by the late 1940s. Amanullah died in exile in 1960 in
Zürich
Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...
,
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
, without ever regaining control, except a brief period of control in southern Afghanistan in the 1929 Afghan Civil War.
Rebellions
1929 Afghan Civil War
In March 1929, during the 1929 Afghan Civil War, Amanullah assembled an army in Kandahar made up of Durrani, Khattak, Ghilzai and Hazarah fighters. However, his attempt to march on Kabul was unsuccessful, and he retreated to
Qalat, where he fell under a
Saqqawist
The Saqqawists (Pashto:سقاویان prs, سقاویها ''Saqāwīhā'') were an armed group in the Kingdom of Afghanistan who were active from 1924 to 1931. They were led by Habibullāh Kalakāni, and in January 1929, they managed to take c ...
siege on 19 May.
On 23 May, Qalat fell to the Saqqawists and Amanullah fled to the British Raj.
Kuhistan rebellion
The Kuhistan rebellion was a rebellion in modern-day
Kohistan District, Kapisa
Kohistan, also transliterated Kuhistan, Kuhiston ( fa, کوہستان 'mountainous land'), is the northern district of Kapisa province, Afghanistan. In productive agricultural seasons the area has an abundance of sweet mulberries, grapes, apricots ...
which took place in 1930 in the
Kingdom of Afghanistan
The Kingdom of Afghanistan ( ps, , Dǝ Afġānistān wākmanān; prs, پادشاهی افغانستان, Pādešāhī-ye Afġānistān) was a constitutional monarchy in Central Asia established in 1926 as a successor state to the Emirate of Af ...
. It began in February 1930, when rebels seeking to restore
Amanullah Khan
Ghazi Amanullah Khan (Pashto and Dari: ; 1 June 1892 – 25 April 1960) was the sovereign of Afghanistan from 1919, first as Emir and after 1926 as King, until his abdication in 1929. After the end of the Third Anglo-Afghan War in August 1919, ...
as King of Afghanistan broke out in open rebellion against
Mohammed Nadir Shah
Mohammed Nadir Shah (Persian and ps, محمد نادر شاه – born Mohammed Nadir Khan; 9 April 1883 – 8 November 1933) was King of Afghanistan from 15 October 1929 until his assassination in November 1933. Previously, he served as Minist ...
. After killing many, the rebellion was crushed in mid-April 1930.
Shinwari rebellion
The Shinwari rebellion
was a rebellion by the
Shinwari that took place in February
or May
1930 in the
Kingdom of Afghanistan
The Kingdom of Afghanistan ( ps, , Dǝ Afġānistān wākmanān; prs, پادشاهی افغانستان, Pādešāhī-ye Afġānistān) was a constitutional monarchy in Central Asia established in 1926 as a successor state to the Emirate of Af ...
. The Shinwari sought to depose
Mohammed Nadir Shah
Mohammed Nadir Shah (Persian and ps, محمد نادر شاه – born Mohammed Nadir Khan; 9 April 1883 – 8 November 1933) was King of Afghanistan from 15 October 1929 until his assassination in November 1933. Previously, he served as Minist ...
and restore
Amanullah Khan
Ghazi Amanullah Khan (Pashto and Dari: ; 1 June 1892 – 25 April 1960) was the sovereign of Afghanistan from 1919, first as Emir and after 1926 as King, until his abdication in 1929. After the end of the Third Anglo-Afghan War in August 1919, ...
as king of Afghanistan.
Due to lack of support by Shinwari elders (who had been bribed by Nadir
), the rebellion was promptly suppressed.
The Shinwari's support for Amanullah in 1930 apparently contradicted their
earlier revolt against Amanullah in 1928. During this rebellion, the Shinwari claimed that the earlier revolt was "not so much anti-Amanullah as against the local tax-collectors at Jelalabad".
Crazy Fakir's rebellion
Towards the end of February 1933, a "Crazy
Fakir
Fakir ( ar, فقیر, translit=faḳīr or ''faqīr'') is an Islamic term traditionally used for Sufi Muslim ascetics who renounce their worldly possessions and dedicate their lives to the worship of God. They do not necessarily renounce al ...
" appeared in the
Khost
Khōst ( ps, خوست) is the capital of Khost Province in Afghanistan. It is the largest city in the southeastern part of the country, and also the largest in the region of Loya Paktia. To the south and east of Khost lie Waziristan and Kurram in ...
district in the south of Afghanistan, proclaiming that the ex-king
Amanullah Amanullah or Amanallah is a male Muslim given name ( ar , أمان الله ) meaning the trust or protection of God. It may refer to:
*Amānullāh Khān (1892–1960), ruler of Afghanistan from 1919 to 1929
* Amanullah Khan (disambiguation), seve ...
would soon arrive. At his instigation a number of tribesmen took arms with the intention of marching on Kabul, and they received considerable reinforcements from the Wazir and Mahsud tribes across the Indian border. They met the government troops which were sent south to oppose them in the neighbourhood of
Matun, and some sharp fighting took place at the end of February and the beginning of March. The tribesmen from across the border then began to withdraw at the bidding of some of their elders who were sent by the British authorities to recall them, and the uprising soon came to an end. Later in the year one of the ringleaders, Tor Malang, was executed with some of his associates, but the "Crazy Fakir", who fled abroad, was allowed to return with the assurance of a free pardon, on account of his advanced age.
Ghilzai rebellion
The Ghilzai rebellion was an uprising in the
Kingdom of Afghanistan
The Kingdom of Afghanistan ( ps, , Dǝ Afġānistān wākmanān; prs, پادشاهی افغانستان, Pādešāhī-ye Afġānistān) was a constitutional monarchy in Central Asia established in 1926 as a successor state to the Emirate of Af ...
by the
Ghilzai tribe in 1938. Its causes laid in a desire to reinstate
Amanullah Khan
Ghazi Amanullah Khan (Pashto and Dari: ; 1 June 1892 – 25 April 1960) was the sovereign of Afghanistan from 1919, first as Emir and after 1926 as King, until his abdication in 1929. After the end of the Third Anglo-Afghan War in August 1919, ...
as king of Afghanistan.
A relative of Amanullah, Said al-Kailani, also known as the Shami Pir marched on Kabul with an unknown amount of Ghilzai warriors.
There are 2 accounts as to how the rebellion ended - according to British records, the rebellion was defeated in the summer of 1938 by the Afghan army using British-supplied rifles. According to Harvey Smith, the rebellion ended after the British bought off Shami Pir following frantic appeals by the Afghan government.
In either case, this rebellion prompted the Prime Minister,
Mohammad Hashim Khan
Sardar Mohammad Hashim Khan (1884 – 26 October 1953) was a political figure in Afghanistan.
Life
He was the younger brother of King Mohammed Nadir Shah and the elder brother of Sardar Shah Mahmud Khan and Sardar Shah Wali Khan. Hashim put in ...
, to increase subsidies for Pashtun tribes near the Durand line.
Mazrak's revolt
In February 1944,
Mazrak Zadran
Mazrak Khan Zadran (Pashto: زمرک خان ځدراڼ; 1900s – 1972) was a Zadran chieftain who fought against the Afghan government during the Afghan tribal revolts of 1944–1947 in order to support the restoration of King Amanullah Khan. S ...
, an Amanullah loyalist, led an ambush against government troops in the Southern province,
after which he was beaten back and forced to retreat into the hills.
He continued to fight the Afghan government for the following years. In late 1944, he invaded the British Raj, where he was joined by a Sultan Ahmed, a rebel chieftain from Balochistan.
They were later joined by another rebel leader nicknamed Pak.
However, Mazrak's fortunes were not to last. He was evicted from British territory due to British bombardment.
In October 1945, most Safi surrendered,
followed by the surrender of Sultan Ahmad in November.
Nonetheless, Mazrak and his brother Sher Muhd Khan continued to fight,
refusing to surrender until 11 January 1947.
Political parties
Anti-Yahya Khel Party
The Anti-Yahya Khel Party (Hizb-i-Zid-Yahya Khel) was a small loyalist political party which was briefly active in 1933.
Members of the movement opposed the
Musahiban
The Musahiban (mus-hi-been; the name derives from Persian ''Muṣāḥib'', meaning "courtier" or "aide de camp") are a Mohammadzai family who founded the Afghan Barakzai dynasty, and members of the royal lineage that ruled Afghanistan as emir, ki ...
dynasty for political reasons or out of personal spite.
In this case, Yahya Khel refers to an alternative name for the Musahiban.
Collusion with foreign powers
World War II
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, some western press reported that Amanullah was working as an agent for
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
. It is believed that, he was involved in plans to regain his throne with
Axis
An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to:
Mathematics
* Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis
*Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinate ...
help, despite Afghanistan's neutrality. However following the Axis loss in
Stalingrad
Volgograd ( rus, Волгогра́д, a=ru-Volgograd.ogg, p=vəɫɡɐˈɡrat), geographical renaming, formerly Tsaritsyn (russian: Цари́цын, Tsarítsyn, label=none; ) (1589–1925), and Stalingrad (russian: Сталингра́д, Stal ...
in 1943, the plans were given less importance and eventually never executed.
Assassinations
Assassination of Mohammed Nadir Shah
In November 1933,
Mohammed Nadir Shah
Mohammed Nadir Shah (Persian and ps, محمد نادر شاه – born Mohammed Nadir Khan; 9 April 1883 – 8 November 1933) was King of Afghanistan from 15 October 1929 until his assassination in November 1933. Previously, he served as Minist ...
was assassinated by
Abdul Khaliq Hazara Abdul Khaliq Hazara may refer to:
* Abdul Khaliq Hazara (assassin) (1916–1933), assassinated King Nadir Khan of Afghanistan on 8 November 1933
* Abdul Khaliq Hazara (politician), ethnic Hazara politician in Balochistan, Pakistan - active late ...
, a supporter of Amanullah.
References
{{reflist
Amanullah Khan
Political movements in Afghanistan
Afghan Civil War (1928–1929)