The historical dictionaries present essential information on a broad range of subjects, including American and world history, art, business, cities, countries, cultures, customs, film, global conflicts, international relations, literature, music, philosophy, religion, sports, and theater. Written by experts, all contain highly informative introductory essays of the topic and detailed chronologies that, in some cases, cover vast historical time periods but still manage to heavily feature more recent events. Brief A–Z entries describe the main people, events, politics, social issues, institutions, and policies that make the topic unique, and entries are cross-referenced for ease of browsing. Extensive bibliographies are divided into several general subject areas, providing excellent access points for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more. Additionally, maps, photographs, and appendixes of supplemental information aid high school and college students doing term papers or introductory research projects. In short, the historical dictionaries are the perfect starting point for anyone looking to research in these fields. HISTORICAL DICTIONARIES OF ASIA, OCEANIA, AND THE MIDDLE EAST Jon Woronoff, Series Editor Guam and Micronesia, by William Wuerch and Dirk Ballendorf. 1994. Palestine, by Nafez Y. Nazzal and Laila A. Nazzal. 1997. Lebanon, by As’ad AbuKhalil. 1998. Azerbaijan, by Tadeusz Swietochowski and Brian C. Collins. 1999. Papua New Guinea, Second Edition, by Ann Turner. 2001. North Korea, by Ilpyong J. Kim. 2003. Cambodia, by Justin Corfield and Laura Summers. 2003. Iraq, by Edmund A. Ghareeb with the assistance of Beth K. Dougherty. 2004. Saudi Arabia, Second Edition, by J. E. Peterson. 2003. Nepal, by Nanda R. Shrestha and Keshav Bhattarai. 2003. Kyrgyzstan, by Rafis Abazov. 2004. Syria, Second Edition, by David Commins. 2004. Indonesia, Second Edition, by Robert Cribb and Audrey Kahin. 2004. Republic of Korea, Second Edition, by Andrew C. Nahm and James E. Hoare. 2004. Turkmenistan, by Rafis Abazov. 2005. Philippines, Second Edition, by Artemio Guillermo. 2005. Thailand, Second Edition, by Harold E. Smith, Gayla S. Nieminen, and May Kyi Win. 2005. New Zealand, Second Edition, by Keith Jackson and Alan McRobie. 2005. Vietnam, Third Edition, by Bruce Lockhart and William J. Duiker. 2006. India, Second Edition, by Surjit Mansingh. 2006. Burma (Myanmar), by Donald M. Seekins. 2006. Hong Kong SAR and the Macao SAR, by Ming K. Chan and Shiu-hing Lo. 2006. Pakistan, Third Edition, by Shahid Javed Burki. 2006. Iran, Second Edition, by John H. Lorentz. 2007. People’s Republic of China, Second Edition, by Lawrence R. Sullivan. 2007. Taiwan (Republic of China), Third Edition, by John F. Copper. 2007. Australia, Third Edition, by James C. Docherty. 2007. Gulf Arab States, Second Edition, by Malcolm C. Peck. 2008. Laos, Third Edition, by Martin Stuart-Fox. 2008. Israel, Second Edition, by Bernard Reich and David H. Goldberg. 2008. Brunei Darussalam, Second Edition, by Jatswan S. Sidhu. 2010. Malaysia, by Ooi Keat Gin. 2009. Yemen, Second Edition, by Robert D. Burrowes. 2010. Tajikistan, Second Edition, by Kamoludin Abdullaev and Shahram Akbarzadeh. 2010. Mongolia, Third Edition, by Alan J. K. Sanders. 2010. Bangladesh, Fourth Edition, by Syedur Rahman. 2010. Polynesia, Third Edition, by Robert D. Craig. 2011. Singapore, New Edition, by Justin Corfield. 2011. East Timor, by Geoffrey C. Gunn. 2011. Postwar Japan, by William D. Hoover. 2011. Afghanistan, Fourth Edition, by Ludwig W. Adamec. 2012. Philippines, Third Edition, by Artemio R. Guillermo. 2012. Historical Dictionary of Afghanistan Fourth Edition Ludwig W. Adamec The Scarecrow Press, Inc. Lanham • Toronto • Plymouth, UK 2012 Published by Scarecrow Press, Inc. A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706 http://www.scarecrowpress.com Estover Road, Plymouth PL6 7PY, United Kingdom Copyright © 2012 by Ludwig W. Adamec All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Adamec, Ludwig W. Historical dictionary of Afghanistan / Ludwig W. Adamec. — 4th ed. p. cm. — (Historical dictionaries of Asia, Oceania, and the Middle East) Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978-0-8108-7815-0 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-8108-7957-7 (ebook) 1. Afghanistan—History—Dictionaries. I. Title. DS356.A27 2012 958.1003—dc23 2011020528 ™ The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992. Printed in the United States of America To Rahella Editor’s Foreword Few countries have as much history to both boast of and regret as Afghanistan. Part of this is due to repeated conflicts and quarrels between the various peoples making up a rather heterogeneous state. But much has been imposed from the outside, as the country was conquered by neighboring kingdoms and also attacked them over the vast span of 3,500 years. More recently, Afghanistan has been drawn into the imperial rivalry between Great Britain and Russia, with the Soviet Union taking over from the latter and then the United States and United Nations taking over from the former—liberating or dominating it yet again, depending on your point of view. Of course the Afghanis have not been quiescent during these periods, fighting back against their oppressors or allying with the latest great power as they see fit, even if it pits one segment of the population against another. The most recent examples of this are the Taliban and Hamid Karzai’s government, which explains why of all the volumes in this series none has shown more change and needed more updates than the Historical Dictionary of Afghanistan. The new fourth edition has been substantially expanded because so much has taken place in such a short period of time. The introduction provides an overview, while numerous details are contained in the chronology. The most important changes, however, have been made to the dictionary section, with hundreds of added or substantially revised entries on important people, places, events, institutions, practices, ethnic and religious groups, political parties, and Islamist movements, as well as significant aspects of Afghanistan’s politics, economy, society, and culture. There are also more appendixes. As always, the bibliography is extremely important, since it directs readers to more specialized works on a variety of topics. The author of this fourth edition also wrote the first three, a definite plus in maintaining consistency and identifying the necessity for new additions. Professor Ludwig W. Adamec is one of the leading authorities on Afghanistan, which he visits periodically. Now professor emeritus, he taught Near Eastern studies at the University of Arizona in Tucson for more than 30 years and was director of its Near Eastern Center for 10 years. During his long career, he has commented extensively on Afghanistan politics, foreign relations, and society in his lectures and writings. He has written numerous articles and several books, including a historical gazetteer and biographical dictionaries. In related series he has also contributed the Historical Dictionary of Afghan Wars, Revolutions, and Insurgencies and the Historical Dictionary of Islam. Dr. Adamec’s abiding interest in one of the world’s most newsworthy countries is clearly revealed here and offers his latest take on the continuing and not always readily comprehensible history of Afghanistan. Jon Woronoff Series Editor Reader’s Notes ALPHABETIZATION AND SPELLINGS Names beginning with Abdul (A., abd-al, “servant” or “slave”) followed by one of the names of Allah (God), as for example Abdul Ahad (Servant of the One) or Abdul Hakim (Servant of the Wise), form a unit and should not be taken as first and last names. Abdul Hakim will therefore be found under A not H. Similarly, the name of Ghulam (A., “slave”) and its complement, as for example Ghulam Muhammad, is found under G not M. Compounds with Allah, like Fazlullah (Fazl Allah), Nurullah (Nur Allah), and Habibullah (Habib Allah), will be found in alphabetical order under their compound versions. Although not forming a construct, Afghan practice considers names beginning with Muhammad, as for example Muhammad Daud, Muhammad Afzal, etc., one unit; therefore the names will be found under M. The arrangement of entries in alphabetical order treats headings as if they were one word, disregarding punctuation marks; for example, Afghani is preceded by Afghan Hound and followed by Afghan Interim Government. Muhammadi is preceded by Muhammad Hashim and followed by Muhammad Ishaq, and Tanai, Lieutenant General Shah Nawaz is preceded by Tanai Coup. Names of individuals are spelled in a modified form of transliteration, even if the person described has his own idiosyncratic spelling; for example Cher Ali, or Scher Ali, is spelled Shir Ali; Kayeum and Kayum are spelled Qayyum; and Abaucy is Abbasi. Variant spellings of names are cross-listed. Titles and honorifics are not included in the entry headings, except in the case of medical doctors. STATISTICS Population statistics are estimates amounting to about 26 million people. No complete census has been taken in Afghanistan; therefore we depend on estimates by the United Nations and other sources. Measurements are mostly in the British rather than the metric system. The population of Afghan towns and cities has fluctuated as a result of war and movement of internal refugees, contributing to an increase in urbanization. NOMENCLATURE Afghan rulers of the Sadozai branch of the Durranis (1747–1818) held the title shah, “king,” but the succeeding Barakzai rulers were known as amirs, which means “chief, prince, commander,” as well as “king.” Amanullah assumed the title king in 1926; in order to avoid referring pedantically to Amanullah’s title at a particular time, I have employed the appellation of “King” throughout. REFERENCES Cross-references within each entry are indicated in bold or are appended to the end of the entry as See also. A straight reference to another entry (without any text) is indicated with a See cross-reference. SCOPE The purpose of this volume is to provide a concise reference work on Afghanistan, including entries on major historical events, including places, leading personalities—past and present— and significant aspects of culture, religion, and economy. The focus is on the political history of contemporary Afghanistan. The reader who desires more extensive biographical information may refer to this author’s Biographical Encyclopedia of Afghanistan (2008). Additional information on tribes, places, rivers, mountains, and other geographical features can be found in this author’s six-volume Historical and Political Gazetteers of Afghanistan (1975–1985). An updated bibliography lists recent publications about Afghanistan. The lack of security during decades of war has prevented extensive fieldwork in Afghanistan; therefore, many older publications are still indispensable.