Afghanistan chronology, updated

Edwards' book does not follow a strict chronological order, and even the second time through I've been finding it difficult. Here is my first attempt at a resource to help you keep track of things. It is a list of important dates and events since 1919, extracted from Wikipedia. Later I will be adding other dates from Edwards' book, the ones that were important to his subjects.

Afghanistan Chronology

1919-1929 -- King Amanullah

1929 -- Prince Mohammed Nadir Khan declared King Nadir Shah. He abandoned the reforms of Amanullah Khan in favour of a more gradual approach to modernisation.

1930s -- Taraki worked in Bombay.

1933 -- Nadir Khan was assassinated.

1933 to 1973 -- Mohammad Zahir Shah, Nadir Khan's son, succeeded to the throne

1946 -- Wakil (Sami'ullah Safi) and his family forced into internal exile.

1953 -- Mohammed Daoud Khan becomes Prime Minister; he was asked to resign in 1963.

1964 -- King Zahir Shah promulgated a liberal constitution

1965 -- PDPA (communist party) founded.

1967 -- The (communist) PDPA split into two major rival factions: the Khalq (Masses) faction headed by Nur Muhammad Taraki and Hafizullah Amin and supported by elements within the military, and the Parcham (Banner) faction led by Babrak Karmal.

1968 -- Wakil elected to Parliament.

1969 -- Muslim Youth Organization founded at University of Kabul

1972 -- Rabbani helps found Jamiati-i Islami (according to one story)

July 17, 1973 -- Former Prime Minister Mohammad Sardar Daoud Khan seized power in a military coup. Daoud abolished the monarchy, abrogated the 1964 constitution, and declared Afghanistan a republic with himself as its first President and Prime Minister.

1974 -- Qazi Amin, now a university graduate, began to teach outside of Kabul.

August 1975 -- After an unsuccessful revolt by the Islamic front, its unarrested leaders fled to Peshawar in Pakistan and started setting up party offices.

May 11, 1976 -- Qazi Amin elected amir of the united Islamic front, Hizb-i Islami Afghanistan. (This alliance, like others later, soon splits up.)

27 April 1978 -- The PDPA, led by Nur Mohammad Taraki, Babrak Karmal and Hafizullah Amin overthrew the regime of Mohammad Daoud. The PDPA invited the Soviet Union to assist in modernizing its economic infrastructure.

January 1979 -- Wakil left Kabul and joined the Pech valley tribal uprising.

March 1979 -- Hafizullah Amin took over as prime minister, retaining the position of field marshal and becoming vice-president of the Supreme Defence Council. Taraki remained President and in control of the Army.

April 1979 -- Kerala massacre leads to one of the earliest refugee movements to Pakistan.

September 14, 1979 -- Hafizullah Amin overthrew Taraki, who died or was killed.

December 25, 1979 -- the Soviet army entered Kabul.

Spring-summer 1980 -- Wakil and followers fled to Pakistan.

May 1980 -- A national jirga attempted to unify anti-Soviet forces.

1980 -- Sayyaf came to Peshawar, the first leader with a strong Arab connection.

February 11, 1988 -- editor Majrooh killed for his support of Zahir Khan as a national unity leader.

February 1989 -- The Soviet Union withdrew its troops in, but continued to aid the government, led by Mohammed Najibullah

1990 -- Wakil fled Peshawar to Norway

April 18, 1992 -- the Najibullah government was overthrown -- Islamic State of Afghanistan created.

The Taliban, a movement of religious scholars and former mujahideen, emerged from the southern province of Kandahar.

September, 1996 – Taliban took Kabul.

October 2001 -- US/coalition invasion

October 9, 2004 -- Karzai was elected as president of Afghanistan in the country's first ever presidential election.