__NOTOC__ The following lists events that happened during

1899 Events January 1899 * January 1 ** Spanish rule ends in Cuba, concluding 400 years of the Spanish Empire in the Americas. ** Queens and Staten Island become administratively part of New York City. * January 2 – **Bolivia sets up a c ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

. Not for many years has Afghanistan been less disturbed than this year. Few tribal risings occur and the ''amir'' Abdor Rahman continues to express friendly relations with Britain. Yet there is a disquieting rumour that Russia is preparing to advance on Herat in certain eventualities, and that an experimental mobilization of Russian troops from

Tiflis Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million pe ...

to Kushk (some sixty miles from Herat) was made at the close of the year. The ''amir'' keeps up a friendly correspondence with the

viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning " ...

Lord Curzon George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, (11 January 1859 – 20 March 1925), styled Lord Curzon of Kedleston between 1898 and 1911 and then Earl Curzon of Kedleston between 1911 and 1921, was a British Conservative statesman ...

, during the year, and the relations between Afghanistan and the Indian government were never more cordial.

Incumbents

Monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority and power i ...

–

Abdur Rahman Khan Abdur Rahman Khan GCSI (Pashto/Dari: ) (between 1840 and 1844 – 1 October 1901) was Emir of Afghanistan from 1880 to his death in 1901. He is known for uniting the country after years of internal fighting and negotiation of the Durand Line Ag ...

Events

February 1899

Several small disturbances are created along the frontier by marauding bands of Waziris and

Mahsud The Mahsud or Mehsood ( ps, محسود), also spelled Maseed ( ps, ماسيد), is a Karlani Pashtun tribe inhabiting mostly the South Waziristan Agency in the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan, now merged within Khy ...

s, which are easily suppressed by the local

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

without aid from regular troops.

March 1, 1899

Capt. George Roos-Keppel makes a sudden attack on a predatory band of

Chamkanni The Chamkani ( ps, څمکني ''tsamkanī''), also transliterated as Tsamkani or Samkani. In Paktia or Tribal dialect Chamkani is transliterated as Tsekmani or Sekmani, is a Pashtun tribe 4th son of Ghoryakhel confederation. They are mainly based i ...

s that have been raiding in the

Kurram Valley Kurram District ( ps, کرم ولسوالۍ, ur, ) is a district in Kohat Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan.The name Kurram comes from the river Kuramá ( ps, کورمه) in Pashto which itself derives from the Sanskrit name Kr ...

and captures 100 prisoners with 3,000 head of cattle. These raids, though tiresome, are, however, of no political importance.

May 1899

In consequence of repeated outrages committed by the Waziris, and especially because of the murder of Col. E.H. le Marchant of the

Hampshire Regiment The Hampshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 37th (North Hampshire) Regiment of Foot and the 67th (South Hampshire) Regiment of Foot. The regim ...

, the Indian government orders the partial disarmament of the

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

division, and of all trans-border

Pashtun Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...

s at the frontier, and the disarmament of all persons without licenses in all municipalities and cantonments within the division.

July 1899

In spite of punitive measures, the Waziri robbers continue their lawless attacks, chiefly with a view to cattle raiding.

December 1899

In accordance with the frontier policy of the viceroy, all regular troops are withdrawn from the Khyber Pass to Peshawar, leaving the forts and posts in the pass to be guarded by the

Khyber Rifles The Khyber Rifles are a paramilitary regiment, forming part of the Pakistani Frontier Corps Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (North). The Rifles are tasked with defending the border with Afghanistan and assisting with law enforcement in the districts adjac ...

. Complete tranquillity prevails in consequence, and the Afridis and other local tribes are thereby convinced that the government has no idea of annexing their territory or of placing British garrisons over the border.

References

{{Year in Asia, 1899

Years of the 19th century in Afghanistan

1890s in Afghanistan