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 Mohammad Nadir was the king of Afghanistan from 1929 until he was assassinated in 1933.
Before seizing the throne, Mohammad Nadir played a major role in the third Anglo-Afghan
War (1919). Soon after that, because of disagreements with King Amanullah, Mohammad
Nadir left Afghanistan to live in exile in France. After Habibullah Kalakani's
rebellion and the abdication of King Amanullah (January 1929), Nadir left France
and headed for India to prepare for his war against Kalakani. With British and various
tribal support from India, Mohammad Nadir pushed back Kalakani and captured Kabul
in October 1929. He later tricked Kalakani into believing he would not be killed,
then captured him, and hanged him and many of his followers.
After becoming king, Mohammad Nadir fought hard against people who wanted to restore
King Amanullah to the throne. He also reversed many of the modernization plans set
forth by King Amanullah, and favored up to various religious extremists.
Mir Ghulam Mohammad Ghobar, one of Afghanistan's most respected historians, describes
Mohammad Nadir's rule as tyrannical. Nadir pinned ethnic groups against one another,
(Tajiks and Pashtuns), raped, destroyed, and pillaged the Shamali area to the north
of Kabul.
Mohammad Nadir Shah was born in 1883.
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