Habibullah Khan

Infobox Monarch
name =Habibu'llah Khan
title =Amir of Afghanistan


reign = October 1, 1901 - February 20, 1919
coronation =
predecessor =Abdur Rahman Khan
successor =Amanullah Khan
consort =
father =Abdur Rahman Khan
mother =Asal Begum, Uzbek consort
date of birth =1872
place of birth =Tashkent, Turkistan
date of death =death date and age|1919|02|20|1872|01|1
place of death =Kalagosh, Afghanistan
place of burial=

Habibullah Khan (1872 – February 20, 1919) was the Emir of Afghanistan from 1901 until 1919. He was born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, the eldest son of the Emir Abdur Rahman Khan, whom he succeeded by right of primogeniture in October 1901.

Habibullah was a relatively secular, reform-minded ruler who attempted to modernize his country. During his reign he worked to bring Western medicine and other technology to Afghanistan. In 1904, Habibullah founded the Habibia school as well as a military academy. He also worked to put in place progressive reforms in his country. He instituted various legal reforms and repealed many of the harshest criminal penalties. But one of his chief advisors Abdul Lateef was sentenced to death in 1902 for apostacy. He was stoned to death in Kabul. Other reforms included the dismantling of the repressive internal intelligence organization that had been put in place by his father.

He strictly maintained the country's neutrality in World War I, despite strenuous efforts by the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, spiritual ruler of Islam, to enlist Afghanistan on its side. He also greatly reduced tensions with India, signing a treaty of friendship in 1905 and paying an official state visit in 1907.

Habibullah was assassinated while on a hunting trip at Laghman on February 20, 1919. [Islam and Politics in Afghanistan, Olesen, page 101]

References