Emirate of Afghanistan

Kingdom Level 2
1823 – 1926

Barakzai emirate of Dost Mohammad and Abdur Rahman Khan; independent in foreign affairs from 1919.

🗺 See on map in 1875
Capital
Kabul
Region
Northwest
Duration
103 years
Main period
British Crown Rule (Raj)

Approximate extent.

At a glance

Move along the chart to read any year; click a ruler or event to open the map there.

Events
18231850187519001926

Rulers

Selected rulers; gaps in the list are not gaps in the dynasty.

Key events

YearEventPlace
1839 First Anglo-Afghan War begins
Shah Shuja was installed in Kabul, but British forces were destroyed in 1842.
Kabul
1842 British retreat from Kabul
Almost the entire retreating British column was annihilated.
Gandamak
1878 Second Anglo-Afghan War Kabul
1893 Durand Line agreed
Boundary between British India and Afghanistan.
The frontier between British India and Afghanistan was fixed.
Khyber Pass
1919 Third Anglo-Afghan War; Afghan independence
The Treaty of Rawalpindi recognised Afghanistan's control of its foreign affairs.
Kabul

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Source-based chapters on Harappa, Vijayanagara, the Mughal court and 1857 — essential for UPSC.

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Contemporaries

Powers that coexisted with the Emirate of Afghanistan for a significant part of its history. The bar shows when, within its own span.

Sultanate of the Maldives ★
Islands · c. 1153 – 1968
Overlap: 103 years
Mewar (Sisodia) ★
West · 1326 – 1949
Overlap: 103 years
Kingdom of Mysore ★
South · 1399 – 1950
Overlap: 103 years
Portuguese Estado da Índia ★
Coastal · 1505 – 1961
Overlap: 103 years
Mughal Empire ★
North · 1526 – 1857
Overlap: 34 years
British East India Company ★
Pan-Indian · 1600 – 1858
Overlap: 35 years
Hyderabad State (Nizams) ★
Deccan · 1724 – 1948
Overlap: 103 years
Sikh Empire ★
North · 1799 – 1849
Overlap: 26 years
Kingdom of Nepal ★
Himalaya · 1816 – 2008
Overlap: 103 years
British Raj (Crown Rule) ★
Pan-Indian · 1858 – 1947
Overlap: 68 years
Kachwahas of Amber (Jaipur)
West · c. 1128 – 1949
Overlap: 103 years
Marwar (Rathore)
West · c. 1226 – 1949
Overlap: 103 years
Koch Kingdom (Kamata / Cooch Behar)
Northeast · 1515 – 1949
Overlap: 103 years
Portuguese Diu
Coastal · 1535 – 1961
Overlap: 103 years
Portuguese Daman
Coastal · 1559 – 1961
Overlap: 103 years
Bhutan under the Zhabdrung (Druk Desi)
Himalaya · 1616 – 1907
Overlap: 84 years
Danish India
Coastal · 1620 – 1869
Overlap: 46 years
Fort St George, Madras
Coastal · 1639 – 1858
Overlap: 35 years
French India
Coastal · 1668 – 1954
Overlap: 103 years
Bombay (English East India Company)
Coastal · 1668 – 1858
Overlap: 35 years
Chandernagore
Coastal · 1673 – 1950
Overlap: 103 years
Pondichéry
Coastal · 1674 – 1954
Overlap: 103 years
Carnatic (Nawabs of Arcot)
South · 1692 – 1855
Overlap: 32 years
Gaekwad State (Baroda)
West · 1721 – 1949
Overlap: 103 years
Mahé
Coastal · 1721 – 1954
Overlap: 103 years
Jat Kingdom of Bharatpur
North · 1722 – 1947
Overlap: 103 years
Awadh (Nawabs of Oudh)
Gangetic Plain · 1722 – 1856
Overlap: 33 years
Travancore
South · 1729 – 1949
Overlap: 103 years
Holkar State (Indore)
Central · 1731 – 1948
Overlap: 103 years
Scindia State (Gwalior)
Central · 1731 – 1948
Overlap: 103 years
Yanam
Coastal · 1731 – 1954
Overlap: 103 years
Bhonsles of Nagpur
Central · 1739 – 1853
Overlap: 30 years
Karaikal
Coastal · 1739 – 1954
Overlap: 103 years
British Ceylon
Sri Lanka · 1796 – 1948
Overlap: 103 years