afghanistanal-Rahman Khan ordered them to be forcibly removed and proceeded to
slay them with his own sword on the threshold of the shrine.
The fall of Kandahar and Herat may have reunited Afghanistan but it
did not end subsequent challenges to the Amir’s rule. Over the next two
decades ‘Abd al-Rahman Khan faced more than forty major rebellions,
encompassing every region and ethnic group. 20 Indeed the reign of ‘Abd
al-Rahman Khan was one of almost perpetual conflict, the result not so
much of what he claimed was reducing a ‘disorderly people to a state of
new order’, 21 but rather the inevitable outcome of his autocratic style of
government, which was unlike anything Afghanistan had experienced
under the Durrani monarchy.
During his decade of exile in Russian Turkistan, ‘Abd al-Rahman Khan
had come to admire the autocratic rule of the Tsars in general and Peter
the Great in particular. Russia’s imperial system, with its highly central-
ized administration and rigid feudalism, was the antithesis of the tribal
federalism that was, and still is, the hallmark of Afghanistan’s political
life. ‘Abd al-Rahman Khan’s ambition was to remodel Afghanistan along
Tsarist lines by concentrating all power in his own hands, which meant
destroying and dismantling all competitive power structures. Instead of
just being head of state, ‘Abd al-Rahman Khan wanted to be its body, mind
and soul as well. 22 As one author aptly put it, ‘the seat of government was
the bed-room of [the Amir]’. 23
One of the inevitable consequences of this centralizing policy was
rebellion, for powerful individuals were not prepared to surrender their
political autonomy, social position or hereditary privileges without a
fight. As each power broker was broken, the Amir stripped them of their
wealth, land or control of religious endowments, which were the basis
of their power. Many were executed, often in a variety of novel ways,
rival Muhammadzais were exiled and thousands were left to rot in the
country’s disease-infested prisons. By the end of ‘Abd al-Rahman Khan’s
reign it was estimated that as many as 100,000 people had been executed.
‘Abd al-Rahman Khan backed up his repressions with an all-pervading
intelligence -gathering network. Fear reigned in every household and no
one dared utter the slightest criticism of the Amir lest they were betrayed
by members of their own family and ended up in prison, or were handed
over to the Amir’s torturers and executioners.
Following the defeat of ‘Ayub Khan the Amir’s first round of repression
was aimed at Muhammadzais, former officials of Sher ‘Ali Khan’s govern-
ment and supporters of ‘Ayub Khan and Ya‘qub Khan. One particular focus
of the Amir’s attention was the families of the Kandahar sardars and a