1st Edition

History of Afghanistan

By Percy Sykes Copyright 2005

    First published in 2007. This title combines two volumes of work; fifty-eight chapters dissecting the history of Afghanistan with sketch maps and illustrations throughout. Sykes argues that few countries present problems of greater interest to the historian than landlocked Afghanistan, the counterpart in Asia of Switzerland in Europe. Their studies cover the prehistory in the Near East, going through the history of each dynasty up to the early 1900s. A key text for historians, students and those interested in the complex history of the country.

    Chapter I Afghanistan — The Land and the People; Chapter II Prehistory and Early History in Egypt and the Near East; Chapter III The Medes and Persians Conquer The Iranian Plateau; Chapter IV Cyrus the Great Founds the Persian Empire; Chapter V Alexander the Great Conquers the Persian Empire; chapter VI The Seleucid Dynasty and the Rise of Parthia; chapter VII The Kingdom of Bactria; chapter VIII Rome, Parthia and the Kushan Dynasty; Chapter IX The Sasanian Dynasty, Rome and the White Huns; Chapter X The Reign of Noshirwan Followed by the Decline of the Persian Empire; Chapter XI Arab Conquests in Central Asia and Afghanistan; Chapter XII The Golden Age of the Abbasid Dynasty and its Decay; Chapter XIII The Dynasty of Ghazni; Chapter XIV The Seljuk and the Ghurid Dynasties; Chapter XV The Mongol Cataclysm; Chapter XVI The Il-Khans; Chapter XVII Tamerlane; Chapter XVIII The Renaissance of art Under the Timurid Princes; Chapter XIX Baber Founds the Moghul Empire of India; Chapter XX Afghanistan and the Emperors Humayun and Akbar; Chapter XXI Afghanistan Under the Later Moghul Emperors; Chapter XXII Nadir Shah Recovers the Lost Provinces of Persia; Chapter XXIII Nadir Shah—His Conquests and Death; Chapter XXIV Ahmad Shah Founds the Kingdom of Afghanistan; Chapter XXV Timur Shah and Zaman Shah; Chapter XXVI The Downfall of the Sadozai Dynasty; Chapter XXVII Dost Muhammad Becomes Amir of Kabul; Chapter XXVIII The Mission of Burnes and the Siege of Herat; Chapter XXIX The First Afghan War: The Occupation of Kabul; Chapter XXX The Surrender of Amir Dost Muhammad; Chapter XXXI The Retreat from Kabul; Chapter XXXII Retribution; Chapter XXXIII The Second Reign of Amir Dost Muhammad; Chapter XXXIV Shir Ali Establishes himself as Amir; Chapter XXXV The Advance of Russia across Central Asia; Chapter XXXVI The First Seistan Mission, 1872; Chapter XXXVII The Genesis of the Second Afghan War; Chapter XXXVIII The Second Afghan war; Chapter XXXIX Abdur Rahman is Proclaimed Amir of Kabul; Chapter XL The Battles of Maiwand and Kandahar; Chapter XLI Abdur Rahman is Acknowledged Amir of Afghanistan and its Dependencies; Chapter XLII The Panjdeh Crisis and the Russo-Afghan Boundary Commission; Chapter XLIII The Durand Mission to Kabul; Chapter XLIV The Pamir and Other Boundary Commissions; Chapter XLV Abdur Rahman Tames His Rebellious Subjects; Chapter XLVI The McMahon Missions; Chapter XLVII Amir Habibulla Khan Negotiates a New Treaty; Chapter XLVIII His Majesty Habibulla Khan Visits India; Chapter XLIX The Anglo-Russian Convention; chapterL The Turko-German Mission to the Amir During the Great War; chapterLI The Assassination of King Habibulla and The Accession of Amanulla Khan; chapterLII The Third Afghan War; chapterLIII Afghanistan Acknowledged to be an Independent State; chapterLIV King Amanulla Institutes Reforms; chapterLV King Amanulla Visits Europe; chapterLVI The Tragedy of King Amanulla; chapterLVII Nadir Khan Overthrows the Brigand Habibulla and is Elected King of Afghanistan; chapterLVIII The Assassination of King Nadir Shah and the Accession of King Zahir Shah, 1933;

    Biography

    Percy Sykes was a distinguished British diplomat and scholar who served as Consul in Seistan, and as Consul-General in Khurasan and in Chinese Turkestan. For many years he was involved in the struggle for influence in Persia with Russia.www.keganpaul.com