Military Wiki
Mohammed Zahir Shah
محمد ظاهر شاه
King Zahir Shah of Afghanistan in 1963
Portrait of Zahir Shah, 1963
King of the God granted Kingdom of Afghanistan and its dependencies[citation needed]
Preceded by Mohammed Nadir Shah
Succeeded by Monarchy abolished (Daoud Khan as President of Afghanistan)
Preceded by Mohammed Nadir Shah
Succeeded by Ahmad Shah Khan
Personal details
Born (1914-10-15)October 15, 1914[1]
Kabul, Afghanistan
Died 23 July 2007(2007-07-23) (aged 92)
Kabul, Afghanistan
Spouse(s) Humaira Begum
Religion Sunni Islam

Mohammed Zahir Shah (Pashto language: محمد ظاهرشاه, Persian: محمد ظاهر شاه‎; 15 October 1914 – 23 July 2007) was the last King of Afghanistan, reigning from 8 November 1933 until he was deposed on 17 July 1973. He established friendly relations with many countries, including with both Cold War sides, and modernized the country from the 1950s. His long reign was marked by peace and stability that was lost afterwards.

While staying in Italy for medical treatment, Zahir Shah was overthrown in a surprise coup in 1973 by his cousin and former prime minister, Mohammed Daoud Khan, who established a republic. He remained in exile near Rome until 2002, returning to Afghanistan after the end of the Taliban regime. He was given the title Father of the Nation, which he held until his death in 2007.[1]

Family background and early life[]

Zahir Shah was born on 15 October 1914, in Kabul, Afghanistan.[1] He was the son of Mohammed Nadir Shah, a senior member of the Muhamadzai Royal family and commander in chief of the Afghan army for former king Amanullah Khan. Nadir Shah assumed the throne after the execution of Habibullah Kalakani on 10 October 1929.[2] Mohammed Zahir's father, son of Sardar Mohammad Yusuf Khan, was born in Dehradun, British India, his family having been exiled after the Second Anglo-Afghan War. Nadir Shah was a descendant of Sardar Sultan Mohammed Khan Telai, half-brother of Amir Dost Mohammad Khan. His grandfather Mohammad Yahya Khan (father in law of Amir Yaqub Khan) was in charge of the negotiations with the British resulting in the Treaty of Gandamak. After the British invasion after the killing of Sir Louis Cavagnari during 1879, Yaqub Khan, Yahya Khan and his sons, Princes Mohammad Yusuf Khan and Mohammad Asef Khan, were seized by the British and transferred to the British Raj, where they remained forcibly until the two princes were invited back to Afghanistan by Emir Abdur Rahman Khan during the last year of his reign (1901). During the reign of Amir Habibullah they received the title of Companions of the King (Musahiban).

Zahir Shah was educated in a special class for princes at Habibia High School in Kabul.[3] He continued his education in France where his father had served as a diplomatic envoy, studying at the Pasteur Institute and the University of Montpellier.[4] When he returned to Afghanistan he helped his father and uncles restore order and reassert government control during a period of lawlessness in the country.[5] He was later enrolled at an Infantry School and appointed a privy counsellor. Zahir Shah served in the government positions of deputy war minister and minister of education.[3] Zahir Shah was fluent in Pashto, Persian, and French.[6]

The last king of Afghanistan[]

Zahir Shah of Afghanistan in 1930s-cropped

Studio photograph of Zahir Shah in military uniform, seated in a heavy, carved armchair. (1930s)

Zahir Khan was proclaimed King (Shah) on 8 November 1933 at the age of 19, after the assassination of his father Mohammed Nadir Shah. After his ascension to the throne he was given the regnal title "He who puts his trust in God, follower of the firm religion of Islam".[3] For the first thirty years he did not effectively rule, ceding power to his paternal uncles, Mohammad Hashim Khan and Shah Mahmud Khan.[7] This period fostered a growth in Afghanistan's relations with the international community as during 1934, Afghanistan joined the League of Nations while also receiving formal recognition from the United States.[8] By the end of the 1930s, agreements on foreign assistance and trade had been reached with many countries, most notably with the 'Axis powers'; Germany, Italy, and Japan.[9]

Zahir Shah provided aid, weapons and Afghan fighters to the Uighur and Kirghiz Muslim rebels who had established the First East Turkestan Republic. The aid was not capable of saving the First East Turkestan Republic, as the Afghan, Uighur and Kirghiz forces were defeated during 1934 by the Chinese Muslim 36th Division (National Revolutionary Army) commanded by General Ma Zhancang at the Battle of Kashgar and Battle of Yarkand. All the Afghan volunteers were killed by the Chinese Muslim troops, who then abolished the First East Turkestan Republic, and reestablished Chinese government control over the area.[10]

Despite close relations to the Axis powers, Zahir Shah refused to take sides during World War II and Afghanistan remained one of the few countries in the world to remain neutral. After the end of the Second World War, Zahir Shah recognised the need for the modernisation of Afghanistan and recruited a number of foreign advisers to assist with the process.[11] During this period Afghanistan's first modern university was founded.[11] During his reign a number of potential advances and reforms were derailed as a result of factionalism and political infighting.[12] He also requested financial aid from both the United States and the Soviet Union.

Zahir Shah was able to govern on his own during 1963[7] and despite the factionalism and political infighting a new constitution was introduced during 1964 which made Afghanistan a modern democratic state by introducing free elections, a parliament, civil rights, women's rights and universal suffrage.[11]

At least 5 of Afghani little Pul coins during his reign bore the Arabic title: المتوكل على الله محمد ظاهر شاه,[13] "AlMutawakkil 'ala Allah Muhammad Zhahir Shah" which means "The leaner on Allah, Muhammad Zhahir Shah". The title "AlMutawakkil 'ala Allah", "The leaner on Allah" is taken from the Quran, Sura 8, verse 61.

By the time he returned to Afghanistan in 2002, his rule was characterized by a lengthy span of peace.[14]

Exile[]

In 1973, while Zahir Shah was in Italy, undergoing eye surgery and therapy for lumbago, his cousin and former Prime Minister Mohammed Daoud Khan staged a coup d'état and established a republican government. As a former prime minister, Daoud Khan had been forced to resign by Zahir Shah a decade earlier.[14] During August 1973,[15] Zahir Shah abdicated rather than risk a civil war,[14] ending over 200 years of royal rule in Afghanistan.

Zahir Shah lived in exile in Italy for twenty-nine years in a villa in the affluent community of Olgiata on Via Cassia, north of Rome where he spent his time playing golf and chess, as well as tending to his garden.[5][6][16] He was prohibited from returning to Afghanistan during the late 1970s by the Soviet-assisted Communist government. In 1983 during the Soviet–Afghan War, Zahir Shah was cautiously involved with plans to develop a government in exile. Ultimately these plans failed because he could not reach a consensus with the powerful Islamist factions.[3] It has also been reported that Afghanistan, the Soviet Union and India had all tried to persuade Zahir Shah to return as chief of a neutral, possibly interim, administration in Kabul.[17]

In 1991, Zahir Shah survived an attempt on his life by a knife-wielding assassin masquerading as a Portuguese journalist.[14] After the fall of the pro-Soviet government, Zahir Shah was favored by many to return and restore the monarchy to unify the country and as he was acceptable to most factions. However these efforts were blocked mostly by Pakistan's ISI, who feared his stance on the Durand Line issue.[18] In June 1995, Zahir Shah's former envoy Sardar Wali announced at talks in Islamabad, Pakistan that Zahir Shah was willing to participate in peace talks to end the Afghan Civil War,[19] but no consensus was ever reached.

Return to Afghanistan[]

Inauguration of President Hamid Karzai in December 2004

Zahir Shah is seated at the far right during the oath ceremony of Hamid Karzai on 7 December 2004.

In April 2002, four months after the end of Taliban rule, Zahir Shah returned to Afghanistan to initiate the Loya Jirga, which met during June 2002.[20] After the end of the Taliban, there were proposals for a return to the monarchy.[14] Zahir Shah himself let it be known that he would accept whatever responsibility was given him by the Loya Jirga.[20] However he was obliged to publicly renounce monarchical leadership at the behest of the United States as many of the delegates to the Loya Jirga were prepared to vote for Zahir Shah and block the U.S.-backed Hamid Karzai.[20] While he was prepared to become chief of state he made it known that it would not necessarily be as monarch: "I will accept the responsibility of head of state if that is what the Loya Jirga demands of me, but I have no intention to restore the monarchy. I do not care about the title of king. The people call me Baba and I prefer this title."[14] Hamid Karzai, who was favored by Zahir Shah, became president of Afghanistan after the Loya Jirga.[21] Karzai, from the Pashtun Popalzai clan, provided Zahir Shah's relatives with major jobs in the transitional government.[22] Following the Loya Jirga he was given the title "Father of the Nation" by Karzai,[23] symbolizing his role in Afghanistan's history as a symbol of national unity. This title ended with his death.[24] In August 2002 he relocated back to his old palace after 29 years.[21]

In an October 2002 visit to France, he slipped in a bathroom, bruising his ribs, and on 21 June 2003, while in France for a medical check-up, he broke his femur.

On 3 February 2004, Zahir was flown from Kabul to New Delhi, India, for medical treatment after complaining of an intestinal problem. He was hospitalized for two weeks and remained in New Delhi under observation. On 18 May 2004, he was brought to a hospital in the United Arab Emirates because of nose bleeding caused by heat.

Zahir Shah attended the 7 December 2004 swearing-in of Hamid Karzai as President of Afghanistan. During his final years, he was frail and required a microphone pinned to his collar so that his faint voice could be heard.[14] During January 2007, Zahir was reported to be seriously ill and bedridden.

Death[]

Tomb of former King Zahir Shah - panoramio

Tomb of Zahir Shah

On 23 July 2007, Zahir Shah passed away in the compound of the presidential palace in Kabul after prolonged illness. His death was announced on national television by President Karzai,[14][25] who said "He was the servant of his people, the friend of his people, he was a very kind person, kind hearted. He believed in the rule of the people and in human rights."[26] His funeral was held on 24 July. It began on the premises of the presidential palace, where politicians and dignitaries paid their respects; his coffin was then taken to a mosque before being moved to the royal mausoleum on Maranjan Hill in eastern Kabul.[27]

Family[]

He married his first cousin Humaira Begum (1918–2002) on 7 November 1931 in Kabul. They had six sons and two daughters:

Name Birth Death Marriage Their children
Date Spouse
Princess Bilqis Begum 17 April 1932(1932-04-17) (age 92) 1951 'Abdu'l Wali Khan HH Princess Humaira Begum
HH Princess Wana Begum
HH Princess Mayana Khanum
Crown Prince Muhammed Akbar Khan 4 August 1933 26 November 1942(1942-11-26) (aged 9)
Crown Prince Ahmad Shah Khan 23 September 1934(1934-09-23) (age 90)
Princess Maryam Begum 2 November 1936(1936-11-02) (age 88)
Prince Muhammed Nadir Khan 21 May 1941(1941-05-21) (age 83) 6 February 1964 Lailuma Begum HRH Prince Mustapha Zahir Khan
HRH Prince Muhammad Daud Jan
Prince Shah Mahmoud Khan 15 November 1946 7 December 2002(2002-12-07) (aged 56) 18 April 1966 Safura Begum HRH Princess Bilqis Khanum
HRH Princess Ariane Khanum
Prince Muhammed Daoud Pashtunyar Khan 14 April 1949(1949-04-14) (age 75) 2 February 1973 Fatima Begum HRH Prince Duran Daud Khan
HRH Princess Noal Khanum
married Muhammad Ali, Prince of the Sa'id
Prince Mir Wais Khan 7 January 1957(1957-01-07) (age 67)

In January 2009 an article by Ahmad Majidyar of the American Enterprise Institute included one of his grandsons, Mustafa Zahir, on a list of fifteen possible candidates in the 2009 Afghan Presidential election.[28] However Mostafa Zaher did not become a candidate.

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Encyclopædia Britannica, "Mohammad Zahir Shah"
  2. Encyclopædia Britannica, "Afghanistan Mohammad Nader Shah (1929–33)"
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "The King of Afghanistan". Daily Telegraph. 2007-07-24. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/07/24/db2401.xml. Retrieved 2008-03-18. 
  4. "Mohammad Zahir Shah, 92, Last King of Afghanistan". http://www.nysun.com/article/59025. 
  5. 5.0 5.1 Judah, Tim (2001-09-23). "Profile: Mohamed Zahir Shah". The Observer. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/sep/23/terrorism.afghanistan1. Retrieved 2008-03-18. 
  6. 6.0 6.1 McCarthy, Michael (2001-09-24). "War On Terrorism: Opposition – Exiled king declares himself ready to return". The Independent. London: Look Smart: Find Articles. Archived from the original on 2007-11-09. https://web.archive.org/web/20071109230032/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20010924/ai_n14407892. Retrieved 2007-07-23. 
  7. 7.0 7.1 Chesterman, Simon; Michael Ignatieff; Ramesh Chandra Thakur (2005). Making States Work: State Failure And The Crisis Of Governance. United Nations University Press. pp. 400. ISBN 92-808-1107-X. https://books.google.com/books?id=V7EibJ74C-UC. 
  8. Jentleson, Bruce W.; Paterson, Thomas G. (1997). "Error: no |title= specified when using {{Cite web}}". Oxford University Press. pp. 24. ISBN 0-19-511055-2. 
  9. Dupree, Louis: Afghanistan, pages 477–478. Princeton University Press, 1980
  10. Andrew D. W. Forbes (1986). Warlords and Muslims in Chinese Central Asia: a political history of Republican Sinkiang 1911–1949. Cambridge, England: CUP Archive. pp. 123, 303. ISBN 0-521-25514-7. https://books.google.com/books?id=IAs9AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA134&dq=Charkhlik+ma+hu-shan&hl=en&ei=9C0YTPaRI8aAlAfJs8CUDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAA#v=snippet&q=abdullah%20afghans%20killed&f=false. Retrieved 2010-06-28. 
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 "Profile: Ex-king Zahir Shah". BBC. 2001-10-01. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/1573181.stm. Retrieved 2008-02-01. 
  12. Judah, Tim (2001-09-23). "Profile: Mohamed Zahir Shah". The Observer. http://observer.guardian.co.uk/waronterrorism/story/0,,556614,00.html. Retrieved 2008-02-01. 
  13. Mercuguinness
  14. 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 14.5 14.6 14.7 Barry Bearak, "Former King of Afghanistan Dies at 92", The New York Times, 23 July 2007.
  15. "Mohammed Zahir Shah". https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mohammad-Zahir-Shah. Retrieved 2 June 2018. 
  16. Gall, Sandy (2007-07-23). "Mohammad Zahir Shah". The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/news/2007/jul/23/guardianobituaries.afghanistan. Retrieved 2008-03-18. 
  17. https://www.nytimes.com/1989/03/07/world/india-to-provide-aid-to-government-in-afghanistan.html
  18. US-Pakistan Relations: Pakistan’s Strategic Choices in the 1990s by Nasra Talat Farooq
  19. https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/eoir/legacy/2014/01/16/Af_chronology_1995-.pdf
  20. 20.0 20.1 20.2 Dorronsoro, Gilles. "The Return to Political Fragmentation". Afghanistan: Revolution Unending, 1979–2002. C. Hurst & Co. pp. 330. ISBN 1-85065-683-5. 
  21. 21.0 21.1 "Former Afghan king returns to palace". BBC. 4 August 2002. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2172387.stm. Retrieved 31 March 2018. 
  22. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2005/06/06/the-man-in-the-palace
  23. https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20020805/local/former-afghan-king-moves-into-his-old-palace.169602
  24. "The late King was always fondly referred to by all Afghans, cutting across ethnic boundaries, as "Baba-e-Millat" or 'Father of the Nation', a position given to him in the country's Constitution promulgated in January 2004, about two years after the collapse of Taliban rule. The title of the 'Father of the Nation' dissolves with his death." "Last King of Afghanistan dies at 92". Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20070930210732/http://www.zeenews.com/articles.asp?aid=384525&archisec=WOR&archisubsec=. 
  25. "Mohammad Zahir Shah, Last Afghan King, Dies at 92"
  26. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHbb6ju5tv8
  27. "Afghanistan's King Mohammad Zahir Shah Laid to Rest", Associated Press (Fox News), 24 July 2007.
  28. Ahmad Majidyar (January 2009). "Afghanistan's Presidential Election". American Enterprise Institute. Archived from the original on 2009-09-18. https://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aei.org%2FdocLib%2F20090129-No1MEO23850g.pdf&date=2009-09-18. "Zaher is the grandson of the late King Muhammad Zaher Shah. He is currently head of Afghanistan’s environment preservation department and a member of the UNF. There has been speculation that the UNF will nominate Zaher as its candidate for the upcoming election. Despite being an heir to the royal family, he lacks a popular base." 

External links[]

Mohammed Zahir Shah
House of Barakzai
Born: 16 October 1914 Died: 23 July 2007
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Mohammed Nadir Shah
King of Afghanistan
8 November 1933 – 17 July 1973
Succeeded by
Republic declared
Titles in pretence
Loss of title
Republic declared
— TITULAR —
King of Afghanistan
17 July 1973 – 23 July 2007
Succeeded by
Crown Prince Ahmad Shah
All or a portion of this article consists of text from Wikipedia, and is therefore Creative Commons Licensed under GFDL.
The original article can be found at Mohammed Zahir Shah and the edit history here.