Habibullāh Kalakāni

Habibullah Kalakani Habībullāh Khādem-e Dīn-e Rasūlallāh حبیب الله کلکانی
King of Afghanistan
King of Afghanistan
Reign	17 January 1929 – 16 October 1929
Coronation	17 January 1929
Predecessor	Inayatullah Khan
Successor	Mohammed Nadir Shah
Born	19 January 1891 Kalakan, Kabul Province
Died	1 November 1929 (aged 39) Kabul, Kabul Province
Full name Habibullah Kalakani
Religion	Sunni Islam

King Habibullah Kalakani (Dari: حبیب‌الله کلکانی‎; 19 January 1891 – 1 November 1929, was King of Afghanistan from January to October 1929 after deposing Amanullah Khan ^[1] After gaining power in Kabul, people named him Habībullāh Khādem-e Dīn-e Rasūlallāh ("The servant of Allah and of the messenger of Allah"). He was murdered nine months later by Nadir Khan.^[2][3] Khalilullah Khalili, a Kohistani poet laureate, depicts King Habibullah Kalakani as a mujahid "as warrior of God"^[2]

Early years

King Kalakani was born in 1891 in the village of Kalakan, north of Kabul. An ethnic Tajik, his father Aminullah was head of water suppliers to the army during the British-Afghan war.

During his adolescence, King Kalakani ventured out of his village and travelled to the city of Kabul where he joined the Afghan National Army.

Revolt

Amanullah had returned from Europe in 1928 and brought with him many Western ideas, including social and cultural changes. His aim was to rapidly modernize the country.

While the Afghan National Army was engulfed in battle in Laghman and Nangarhar, King Kalakani and his forces began to attack Kabul from the north. The revolt caught steam and the country was thrown into a civil war. Tribes from Waziristan had the southern areas of Kabul surrounded, and King Kalakani's rebels were moving into the heart of Kabul from the north. At first he was repelled but after taking refuge in Paghman for several days he and his forces managed to take over Kabul.^[4]

In the middle of the night, on 14 January 1929, Amanullah Khan handed over his kingdom to his brother Inayatullah Khan and escaped from Kabul towards Kandahar in the south. Two days later, on 16 January 1929, King Kalakani wrote a letter to King Inayatullah Khan to either surrender or prepare to fight. Inayatullah Khan responded by explaining that he never wished to become king, writing in his diary, "I was no Amanullah Khan, nor a Mohammadzai Sardar, I didn't know how to act royal, I was a thief who became king." He agreed to abdicate and proclaim Habibullah Kalakani as the King on 17 January.^[5]

Kingship and overthrow

After he took over of the Arg (Presidential Palace) in Kabul, he discovered 750,000 British pounds and began to use that to pay the salaries of his soldiers.^[2] King Habibullah Kalakani's first order was to remove all the flowers from the presidential grounds and plant vegetables instead.

By September 1929, Amanullah attempted to organize a new army and recalled his top general, Nadir Khan, from Europe. Nadir Khan's army quickly passed through the west and southern Afghanistan. They had better weapons and the support of the People and British.^[5]

Death

King Habibullah Kalakani was tried and given the death penalty.

References

1. "Habibullah Kalakani". Afghanistan Online. Retrieved 3 September 2006.
2. Adamec, Ludwig W. (2011). Historical Dictionary of Afghanistan. Scarecrow Press. p. 183. ISBN 0-8108-7957-3. Retrieved 2012-08-28.
3. Dupree, Louis: "Afghanistan", page 459. Princeton University Press, 1973
4. Clements, Frank (2003). Conflict in Afghanistan: A Historical Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. p. 99. ISBN 1-8510-9402-4. Retrieved 2012-08-28.
5. "Habibullah Kalakani". Afghanland.com. Retrieved 3 September 2006.

External links