ABSTRACT
Muhammad Nadir's ascent to the throne of Afghanistan, and his domestic and foreign politics, which marked a new era in the modern history of Afghanistan, are in many ways similar to those of Amir Abdur Rahman. This era was marked by the defragmentation of power and political authority, and reconstruction of a centralized state, after nine months of political turmoil and civil war had fragmented the political authority and the achievements of the previous decades. Nadir defeated Habibullah Kalakani in October 1929, and became the new king of the country. He laid a dynasty that ruled for almost half a century until April 1978. Although Nadir himself ruled for four years only until November 1933, the political legacy he left behind shaped the overall political framework of this period. In his foreign politics, Nadir favoured a warm, friendly and loyal relationship with Britain and the British authorities in India. In his national politics, he followed the example of Abdur Rahman, identified by an exclusivist approach, which favoured only one ethnic group, i.e. the Pashtuns, at the expense of the rest of the country's populations. He was murdered in November 1933, but left behind a peaceful country and a centralized state to his son Muhamamd Zahir (r. 1933–73), whose era was mainly influenced by his two uncles, Muhammad Hashim and Shah Mahmud, and his cousin Muhammad Daoud. The latter deposed Muhammad Zahir from the throne through a bloodless military coup in 1973. Muhammad Daoud renounced the monarchy and declared the country ‘The Republic of Afghanistan’, and adopted the title ‘President’ instead of king. Daoud ruled for five years until April 1978, when he was overthrown and killed during a military coup orchestrated by the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA).
