A History of Afghanistan (2 Vols-Set)

Contents: Vol. I.1. Afghanistan—the land and the people. 2. Prehistory and early history in Egypt and the near east. 3. The Medes and Persians conquer the Iranian plateau. 4. Cyrus the Great founds the Persian Empire. 5. Alexander the Great conquers the Persian Empire. 6. The Seleucid Dynasty and the rise of Parthia. 7. The Kingdom of Bactria. 8. Rome, Parthia and the Kushan dynasty. 9. The Sasanian dynasty, Rome and the White Huns. 10. The reign of Noshirwan, followed by the decline of the Persian Empire. 11. Arab conquests in Central Asia and Afghanistan. 12. The golden age of the Abbasid Dynasty and its decay. 13. The Dynasty of Ghazni. 14. The Seljuk and the Ghurid dynasties. 15. The Mongol cataclysm. 16. The Il-Khans. 17. Tamerlane. 18. The renaissance of art under the Timurid Princes. 19. Baber founds the Moghul Empire of India. 20. Afghanistan and the Emperors Humayun and Akbar. 21. Afghanistan under the later Moghul Emperors. 22. Nadir Shah recovers the lost provinces of Persia. 23. Nadir Shah—his conquests and death. 24. Ahmad Shah founds the Kingdom of Afghanistan. 25. Timur Shah and Zaman Shah. 26. The downfall of the Sadozai Dynasty. 27. Dost Muhammad becomes Amir of Kabul. 28. The mission of burnes and the siege of Herat.

Vol. II. 29. The first Afghan War : the occupation of Kabul. 30. The surrender of Amir Dost Muhammad. 31. The retreat from Kabul. 32. Retribution. 33. The second reign of Amir Dost Muhammad. 34. Shir Ali establishes himself as Amir. 35. The advance of Russia across Central Asia. 36. The first Seistan Mission, 1872. 37. The Genesis of the second Afghan War. 38. The second Afghan War. 39. Abdur Rahman is proclaimed Amir of Kabul. 40. The battles of Maiwand and Kandahar. 41. Abdur Rahman is acknowledged Amir of Afghanistan and its dependencies. 42. The Panjdeh crisis and the Russo-Afghan Boundary Commission. 43. The Durand Mission to Kabul. 44. The Pamir and other boundary commissions. 45. Abdur Rahman tames his rebellious subjects. 46. The McMahon Missions. 47. Amir Habibulla Khan negotiates a new treaty. 48. His Majesty Habibulla Khan visits India. 49. The Anglo-Russian convention. 50. The Turko-German Mission to the Amir during the Great War. 51. The assassination of king Habibulla and the accession of Amanulla Khan. 52. The third Afghan War. 53. Afghanistan acknowledged to be an independent state. 54. King Amanulla institutes reforms. 55. King Amanulla visits Europe. 56. The tragedy of King Amanulla. 57. Nadir Khan overthrows the Brigand Habibulla and is elected king of Afghanistan. 58. The assassination of King Nadir Shah and the accession of King Zahir Shah, 1933. Epilogue. Appendices. Index.

“Afghanistan on account of its geographical and strategic positions had served as a centre of power struggle in Asia. In the north its boundary touches with Central Asia, towards the west it is neighbour of Iran and in the east it is bounded by the low-lying plains of Pakistan, drained by the Indus and other rivers.

The present book entitled, A History of Afghanistan in two volumes is already known to academic world. Its author, who was a diplomat held different appointments in Seistan, Khurasan, Heart and Chinese Turkistan, had extensively travelled the area which enabled him to gather valuable first-hand information on the subject.

He has mainly relied on the original sources for the reconstruction of authentic history which has enhanced the value of the text and its utility for the students and the research scholars as well.

Volume I deals with the history of the region right from Prehistoric times to the siege of Herat in AD 1833. The volume has been divided into 28 chapters besides inclusion of a few illustrations and three maps.

In the second volume the author has discussed the history of Afghanistan from the first Afghan War in Ad 1839 resulting the occupation of Kabul to the assassination of King Nadirshah and accession of King Zahir Shah in AD 1933 with a brief epilogue at the end. This volume comprises 30 chapters, eight appendices relating to different treaties and agreements besides an exhaustive list of authorities on the subject.

The author of the volumes on the whole has succeeded in presenting the varied historical data methodically and would be very much useful to serious workers of history for reference purposes.”  (jacket)