Habibullah Khan

Habibullah Khan ( Pashtun حبيب الله خان; persian حبیباللهخان, DMG Habibu - llāh - Han, born June 3, 1872 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, † February 20, 1919 in Kalagosh ) was October 3, 1901 to February 20 1919, the 15th Emir of Afghanistan. He was the son of the Emir Abdur Rahman Khan and performed as the first-born succeeded his father as ruler of Afghanistan.

Life

Habibullah was a relatively open-minded, reformist ruler who attempted to modernize his country. He was a Mason and a member of Concordia Lodge No. 3102 in Calcutta, India. During his reign, he brought Western medicine and technology to Afghanistan. In 1904 he founded the madrasa -ye -ye Harbi military school in order to improve the training of its officers. He brought a weekly newspaper with the name Siraj -ul- Akhbar out in the Persian language, which promoted the reforms. His reforms of the legal system did away with many of the most cruel punishments. The secret police also founded by his father for control of the people he dissolved again. Still, he had his chief adviser Abdul Latif stone her to death on July 14, 1903 for apostasy.

The tensions between his country and India he was able to reduce significantly by 1905 a peace treaty signed in 1907 and officially made ​​a state visit to India. In 1905 he allowed the British to open a diplomatic representation. The Russians, who were among Afghanistan to their spheres of influence, were forced by their defeat by Japan to exert any influence over domestic policy. The UK signed the relevant contract. In World War I he held strictly to the firm neutrality - despite strong efforts of the Ottoman Caliph (who also saw as a spiritual leader of Islam ) to Afghanistan on his side.

On February 20, 1919 Habibullah was assassinated in Kalagosh of opponents of his foreign policy.