بررسی سیاستهای داخلی امیر عبدالرحمن خان در تثبیت اقتدار مرکزی افغانستان

Abstract

In the mid-eighteenth century, Ahmad Shah Abdali (Durrani), who had

established an independent state in Kandahar, bequeathed to his successors,

after twenty-five years of rule, a vast territory and a powerful polity. This state

extended from the Indus River in the south to the Amu Darya in the north, from

Khorasan in the west to the Pamir Plateau in the east. However, in the early

nineteenth century, the rivalry between the colonial powers of Russia and

Britain for dominance over Turkestan and India transformed Afghanistan into

a “buffer state,” and both sought to seize parts of the extensive territories that

Ahmad Shah Durrani had incorporated into his realm. Afghanistan was

occupied twice by the British, in 1838 and 1878, leading to the complete

collapse of central authority in the country. During this period, in each province

local tribal leaders and members of the royal family, known as sardars,

competed for power. After the first British occupation, Amir Dost Mohammad

Khan succeeded in restoring central authority and reunifying Afghanistan.

Following the second occupation, this task fell to his grandson, Amir Abd alRahman Khan.