In spite of the Amir’s inclination towards modern influences, he was

distrustful of any progressive political or educational institutions. There

were definite limits beyond which he would not go, for suspicion and

lack of faith in his own people made reform impossible. He has remained

the absolute Amir.

a. c. jewett1

Two watermelons cannot be held in one hand.

afghan proverb

I

n early October 1901 Habib Allah Khan, ‘Abd al-Rahman Khan’s

eldest son, was declared Amir. At 29 years of age, he was a relatively

young head of state, but following Ishaq Khan’s rebellion his father

had groomed him for the succession and ensured he contracted appro-

priate marriage alliances with powerful tribal and religious leaders. Habib

Allah Khan, however, despite being heir apparent, had not been exempt

from the fear instilled by his father’s reign. He had on occasion fallen foul

of his father’s temper and mood swings, and for a while had been under

house arrest for refusing to obey his father’s orders. He also suffered from

a speech impediment, said to be the result of an attempt to poison him

when he was a child, was prematurely obese and had inherited his father’s

chronic, degenerative illness, which court officials euphemistically referred

to as gout.

Amir Habib Allah Khan’s administration

The relatively peaceful transition of power was due primarily to a

power-sharing agreement with his younger, full brother Nasr Allah Khan,

who commanded the loyalty of many of the tribes of Nangahar and the

Kunar. Furthermore, as head of the conservative Sunni party at court,

Nasr Allah Khan was allied to influential pirs such as Fazl Muhammad

nine

Reform and Repression, 1901–19