nadir shah and the afghans, 1732–47Bibi Halima, while the Amir’s sons, Habib Allah Khan and Nasr Allah
Khan, built private residences in Deh Afghanan. Other major building
projects included Kabul’s vast ‘Idgah Mosque and the palaces of Shah
Ara, Bagh-i Bala and Chehel Situn. The Amir also built a haram sarai
for Bibi Halima in Babur’s Gardens and the Kot-i Shah winter palace in
Jalalabad. The Amir employed Indian architects for most of these build-
ings, which were designed mostly in a neo-Mughal style. However, a
Bukhara architect was responsible for the Gulistan Sarai, while some of
the architectural features in the arg drew their inspiration from Russian
Orthodox architecture.
The Amir was convinced that Afghanistan had vast and unexploited
mineral wealth, a view based on a very liberal interpretation of Griesbach’s
geological survey. This vision of potential riches and wealth was passed on
down to successive governments until it became embedded in the national
consciousness. Yet neither the Amir nor his successors did anything to
exploit these resources, which would have at least made the country more
financially viable. The reason for this was again due to the Amir’s testa-
ment, in which he urged his heirs never to grant extraction rights to any
Kabul, the
mausoleum of Amir
‘Abd al-Rahman
Khan. Originally
this building was the
Bastan Sarai where
the Amir entertained
foreign dignitaries.
However, shortly after
his death it was almost
burnt to the ground,
probably by an
arsonist. Amir Habib
Allah Khan restored
the building and
transformed it into
a grandiose tomb
with its own mosque.