1826
Controls Kabul
Dost Mohammad takes effective control of Kabul after defeating rival brothers and nephews.
From the article: Dost Mohammad Khan: the amir who rebuilt Afghanistan
1826–1919
Barakzai rule and the Anglo-Afghan wars
بارکزي واکمني او د انګرېز-افغان جګړې
Dost Mohammad Khan made himself master of Kabul in 1826. Britain invaded Afghanistan in 1839 and 1878, Abdur Rahman ruled from 1880 to 1901, and the Durand Line was agreed in 1893.
What happened
1800–1899
May 1834
Sikhs take Peshawar
Ranjit Singh's army annexes Peshawar, the former Afghan winter capital.
From the article: Dost Mohammad Khan: the amir who rebuilt Afghanistan
1836
Jamrud fort built
The Sikh general Hari Singh builds the fort of Jamrud at the eastern end of the Khyber Pass.
From the article: The Afridi: Pashtun tribe of the Khyber and Tirah
1837
Burnes and Vitkevich arrive in Kabul
British and Russian missions reach Kabul within three months of each other.
From the article: Dost Mohammad Khan: the amir who rebuilt Afghanistan
October 1838
Simla Manifesto
Lord Auckland announces the restoration of Shah Shuja, in effect a declaration of war on the Barakzai rulers of Kabul and Kandahar.
From the article: The three Anglo-Afghan wars, 1839–1919
1839
Resistance in the First Anglo-Afghan War
The British and Sikh forces meet heavy resistance from the Khyber tribes.
From the article: The Afridi: Pashtun tribe of the Khyber and Tirah
Late April 1839
Army of the Indus reaches Kandahar
The British army marches through Kandahar and Ghazni to Kabul and restores Shah Shuja.
From the article: The three Anglo-Afghan wars, 1839–1919
April 1839
First British occupation begins
The Army of the Indus reaches Kandahar in late April 1839; the British leave in August 1842.
From the article: Kandahar: an oasis city and its long history
1839
Ousted by the British
British forces enter Kabul and install Shah Shuja; Dost Mohammad later surrenders (1840) and is deported to Calcutta.
From the article: Dost Mohammad Khan: the amir who rebuilt Afghanistan
1840
Dost Mohammad surrenders
The deposed amir surrenders to the British and is deported to Calcutta.
From the article: The three Anglo-Afghan wars, 1839–1919
November 1841
Uprising in Kabul
Burnes and others are killed; Macnaghten is later killed and the British begin an evacuation march.
From the article: The three Anglo-Afghan wars, 1839–1919
Winter 1842
First Anglo-Afghan War: the retreat from Kabul
The Jabar Khel Ghilzai inflict the heaviest casualties on the retreating British army between Kabul and Jalalabad.
From the article: The Ghilzai: a major Pashtun confederation
January 1842
Retreat from Kabul
Only a handful of the Kabul garrison survive the march to Jalalabad.
From the article: The three Anglo-Afghan wars, 1839–1919
13 January 1842
Last stand at Gandamak; Brydon reaches Jalalabad
The remnants of the British army make their last stand near Gandamak; Dr William Brydon reaches Jalalabad that evening.
From the article: Jalalabad: the valley between Kabul and the Khyber
13 January 1842
End of the retreat from Kabul
The last of the British army that left Kabul on 6 January is destroyed near Gandamak.
From the article: Pashtun history: from the first records to the present
April 1842
Pollock relieves Jalalabad
General Pollock's army relieves General Sale's force besieged in the city.
From the article: Jalalabad: the valley between Kabul and the Khyber
1843
Returns to Kabul
After the British withdrawal, Dost Mohammad returns as amir.
From the article: Dost Mohammad Khan: the amir who rebuilt Afghanistan
1844
Born
Abdur Rahman Khan is born, the son of Mohammad Afzal and grandson of Dost Mohammad.
From the article: Abdur Rahman Khan: the amir who unified Afghanistan, 1880–1901
1849
Conquest of Bamiyan and the Hazarajat
Dost Mohammad's forces take central Afghanistan.
From the article: Dost Mohammad Khan: the amir who rebuilt Afghanistan
26 January 1857
Treaty of Peshawar
Britain and Dost Mohammad sign a treaty restoring good relations.
From the article: The three Anglo-Afghan wars, 1839–1919
1863
Ambela campaign
The Akhund of Swat takes part in the holy war of the Ambela (Umbeyla) campaign against the British.
From the article: The Yusufzai: the Pashtun tribe of Swat, Buner and the Mardan plain
9 June 1863
Death at Herat
Dost Mohammad Khan dies of natural causes in Herat after recapturing the city.
From the article: Dost Mohammad Khan: the amir who rebuilt Afghanistan
1877
Death of the Akhund of Swat
The holy man whose followers led many Swat chiefs dies; his tomb at Saidu Sharif is a major shrine.
From the article: The Yusufzai: the Pashtun tribe of Swat, Buner and the Mardan plain
21 November 1878
Second Anglo-Afghan War begins
Britain declares war on Afghanistan after the amir refuses a British mission.
From the article: The three Anglo-Afghan wars, 1839–1919
8 January 1879
Second British occupation begins
British forces occupy Kandahar until 21 April 1881.
From the article: Kandahar: an oasis city and its long history
26 May 1879
Treaty of Gandomak
Control of the Khyber and Michni passes passes to British India.
From the article: The Afridi: Pashtun tribe of the Khyber and Tirah
3 September 1879
Cavagnari killed
The British envoy Sir Louis Cavagnari and his staff are killed in Kabul.
From the article: The three Anglo-Afghan wars, 1839–1919
February 1880
Returns from Samarkand
After ten years in exile on a Russian pension, Abdur Rahman returns to Afghanistan and gathers the troops in Bactria.
From the article: Abdur Rahman Khan: the amir who unified Afghanistan, 1880–1901
22 July 1880
Declared amir
General Roberts declares Abdur Rahman amir after he accepts the clauses of the Treaty of Gandomak.
From the article: Abdur Rahman Khan: the amir who unified Afghanistan, 1880–1901
27 July 1880
Battle of Maiwand
Ayub Khan's army defeats a British-Indian brigade near Maiwand. Tradition holds that Malalai rallied the Afghans and was killed.
From the article: Malalai of Maiwand: heroine of the Battle of Maiwand
1 September 1880
Battle of Kandahar
Roberts's relief force defeats Ayub Khan outside Kandahar and ends the siege of the city.
From the article: Malalai of Maiwand: heroine of the Battle of Maiwand
22 September – 2 October 1881
Fall of Kandahar and Herat to Abdur Rahman
The amir ends the claim of his cousin Ayub Khan.
From the article: Abdur Rahman Khan: the amir who unified Afghanistan, 1880–1901
1886–1887
Ghilzai insurrection against Abdur Rahman Khan
The last major Ghilzai rising; many Ghilzai were afterwards resettled in northern Afghanistan.
From the article: The Ghilzai: a major Pashtun confederation
1887
Ghilzai insurrection ends
The Ghilzai rising against Abdur Rahman is put down; thousands of families are moved to northern Afghanistan.
From the article: Abdur Rahman Khan: the amir who unified Afghanistan, 1880–1901
6 February 1890
Birth of Abdul Ghaffar Khan
Born at Utmanzai in the Peshawar Valley.
From the article: Bacha Khan and the Khudai Khidmatgar movement
1891–1893
Conquest of the Hazarajat
The amir's forces conquer the Hazarajat with severe repression.
From the article: Abdur Rahman Khan: the amir who unified Afghanistan, 1880–1901
12 November 1893
Durand agreement
Abdur Rahman and Sir Mortimer Durand agree the frontier between Afghanistan and British India.
From the article: Abdur Rahman Khan: the amir who unified Afghanistan, 1880–1901
12 November 1893
The Durand Line agreed
Sir Mortimer Durand and Amir Abdur Rahman agree the frontier between Afghanistan and British India.
From the article: The three Anglo-Afghan wars, 1839–1919
1896
Conquest of Kafiristan
Kafiristan is conquered and renamed Nuristan.
From the article: Abdur Rahman Khan: the amir who unified Afghanistan, 1880–1901
1900–1999
3 October 1901
Death at Bagh-e Bala
Abdur Rahman dies and is succeeded by his son Habibullah.
From the article: Abdur Rahman Khan: the amir who unified Afghanistan, 1880–1901
1914
Marries Soraya Tarzi
Amanullah marries Soraya, daughter of the reformer Mahmud Tarzi.
From the article: Amanullah Khan: independence, reform and the crisis of 1929
February 1919
Succession crisis after Habibullah's death
Habibullah is assassinated; at Jalalabad Nasrullah declares himself amir, while Amanullah also claims the throne.
From the article: Jalalabad: the valley between Kabul and the Khyber
February 1919
Habibullah assassinated
Amir Habibullah is assassinated and Amanullah secures the throne against his uncle Nasrullah.
From the article: Amanullah Khan: independence, reform and the crisis of 1929
3 May – 3 June 1919
Third Anglo-Afghan War
Afghanistan fights Britain in a short war that ends in a ceasefire on 3 June.
From the article: Amanullah Khan: independence, reform and the crisis of 1929
4 May – 3 June 1919
Third Anglo-Afghan War
A short, undeclared war ends in a ceasefire on 3 June.
From the article: The three Anglo-Afghan wars, 1839–1919
8 August 1919
Treaty of Rawalpindi
Britain accepts Afghanistan's right to conduct its own foreign affairs.
From the article: Amanullah Khan: independence, reform and the crisis of 1929