The Emirate of Afghanistan, known as the Principality of Kabul before 1834, and as the Emirate of Kabul until 1855, and also referred to as the Guarded Domains of Afghanistan, the Sublime State of Afghanistan, and the God-Given State of Afghanistan, was an emirate in Central Asia that encompassed present-day Afghanistan, as well as parts of present-day Iran, Pakistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. The emirate emerged from its predecessor, the Durrani Empire, after the Barakzai dynasty prevailed in Kabul.
The history of the Emirate was dominated by the 'Great Game' between the Russian Empire and the British Empire for supremacy in Central Asia. This period was characterized by European influence in Afghanistan. The Emirate of Afghanistan continued the Durrani Empire's war with the Sikh Empire, losing control of the former Afghan stronghold of the Valley of Peshawar at the Battle of Nowshera on 14 March 1823. This was followed in 1838 by the First Anglo-Afghan War with British forces. The war eventually resulted in victory for Afghans, with the British withdrawal in 1842, and Dost Mohammad being reinstalled to the throne. However, during the Second Anglo-Afghan War (1878–1880), the British and Afghans signed the Treaty of Gandamak, which allowed the British to assume control of the Afghan territories within modern-day Pakistan as well as of Afghanistan's foreign affairs, on the condition that a subsidy be paid to the Afghans and the British military fully withdraw. Emir Amanullah Khan signed the Anglo-Afghan Treaty of 1919 following the Third Anglo-Afghan War, gaining full Afghan autonomy, and the removal of Afghanistan's status of being a de-jure British protectorate. In 1926, Amanullah Khan reformed the country as the Kingdom of Afghanistan, becoming its first King.
History
Escalated a few years after the establishment of the emirate, the Russian and British interests were in conflict between Muhammad Shah of Iran and Dost Mohammad Khan, which led to the First Anglo-Afghan War, fought between 1838 and 1842. During the war, Britain occupied the capital, Kabul, of the then called Emirate of Kabul, in an effort to prevent Afghanistan from coming under Russian control and curb Russian expansion in the region, while also keeping Afghanistan in the British fold under a puppet leader, Shah Shujah Durrani. The war ended with Dost Mohammad returning to the throne, with the British withdrawing; unable to subjugate the country, they forged greater ties instead, allowing Dost Mohammad to move toward uniting the dis-united state of Afghanistan, which split from the Durrani Civil wars brought on by the sons of Timur Shah.
Upon the death of Dost Mohammad in 1863, he was succeeded by his son, Sher Ali Khan. However, three years later, his older brother Mohammad Afzal Khan overthrew him. Upon the death of Mohammad Afzal Khan in 1867 due to cholera, his brother, Mohammad Azam Khan took the throne. However, with people's support for Sher Ali Khan, in 1868, Mohammad Azam Khan was overthrown and replaced as Emir by Sher Ali, who returned to the throne after spending few short years in exile in Russia. His return as Emir led to new conflicts with Britain. Subsequently, the British marched on 21 November 1878 into Afghanistan and Emir Sher Ali was forced to flee again to Russia, but he died in 1879 in Mazar-i-Sharif. His successor, Mohammad Yaqub Khan, sought solutions for peace with Russia and gave them a greater say in Afghanistan's foreign policy. Meanwhile, he signed the Treaty of Gandamak with the British on 26 May 1879, relinquishing solely the control of Afghanistan foreign affairs to the British Empire. However, when the British envoy Sir Louis Cavagnari was killed in Kabul on 3 September 1879, the British offered to accept Abdur Rahman Khan as Emir. The British concluded a peace treaty with the Afghans in 1880, and withdrew again in 1881 from Afghanistan. In 1893, Emir Abdur Rahman and the British Foreign Secretary, Sir Mortimer Durand, agreed to demarcate the border between British and Afghan territories, termed the Durand Line, which today cuts through the Pashtun tribal region.
After the war, Emir Abdur Rahman Khan, who struck down the country reformed and repressed numerous uprisings. After his death in 1901 his son Habibullah Khan II succeeded as emir and continued reforms. Habibullah Khan sought reconciliation with the UK, where he graduated in 1905 with a peace treaty with Russia, stretching for defeat in the Russo-Japanese War had to withdraw from Afghanistan. In the First World War, Afghanistan remained neutral, despite German and Ottoman efforts (Niedermayer–Hentig Expedition). In 1919 Habibullah Khan was assassinated by political opponents.
Habibullah Khan's son Amanullah Khan was in 1919 against the rightful heir apparent Nasrullah Khan, the then Emir of Afghanistan. Shortly afterwards another war broke which lasted for three months. This war was ended with the Anglo-Afghan Treaty of 1919 after which, the Afghans were able to resume the right to conduct their own foreign affairs as a fully independent state. Amanullah Khan began the reformation of the country and was crowned 1926 Padshah (king) of Afghanistan and founded the Kingdom of Afghanistan.
Flags
The flags used by the Emirate of Afghanistan underwent numerous changes as Afghan emirs introduced a series of distinct banners ranging from monochrome standards to complex designs incorporating Islamic motifs, royal emblems, and modern state insignia due to administrative reforms. The first use of a coat of arms on a flag was during the reign of Emir Abdur Rahman Khan, which was a solid black banner featuring a white emblem in the center, to which the succeeding Afghan emblems trace their origins to.
The earliest records of the flag of the Emirate of Afghanistan traces to the reigns of Dost Mohammad Khan:
"In the reign of Amir Dōst Moḥammad and Šēr ʿAlī Khan there existed triangular, red and green military flags bearing the words of the Islamic confession of faith (šahāda) as well as the names of the four caliphs and verses from the Koran relating to jehād "holy war," all in white color."
After Ghulam Haidar Khan was captured during the Battle of Ghazni on 23 July 1839, two banners were seized by John Smith, which showed a triangular dark-red flag with a centered green circle featuring the names of the four Islamic caliphs in Ghulam Haidar's room, as well as another blue standard with designs in red and white, as well as words in red, mainly repeating the first part of the Islamic declaration of faith 15 times, implying the declaration of belief in the oneness of God.
Another standard hoisted by the followers of Mohammad Akbar Khan was captured by Armourer Sergeant Henry Ulyett during the Battle of Jalalabad on 7 April 1842, following the death of an Afghan standard-bearer in action. It was a red triangular flag with dark green outer layers, having a centered light blue traditional Islamic prayer niche with a dark yellow text featuring the Basmala with Quranic verses from the Chapter of As-Saff:
"In the name of God, the Most Gracious and Most Merciful, Help from Allah, and a victory near at hand"
This flag was also shown depicted by Afghan tribesmen during the Battle of Asmai Heights in the Second Anglo-Afghan War, and could possibly match with historical records that document the national standard under the reign of Sher Ali Khan:
"Amir Sher Ali's standard was triangular in shape, red and green, with Koranic inscriptions."