HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF AFGHANISTAN

July

August

September

No.3

1962 July--Septennber, 1962 VOL, XVII - No. 3

Revue trimestrielle

\ P u b I i e e p a r Ia Societe des etudes historiques d'Afghanistan

ABONNEMENT ANNUEL Kabul...... 60 Afghanis Province ...... 62 Afghanis Etranger ...... 4 Dollars

DIRECTURE: MOHAMMAD NABI KOHZAD ADRESSE: Societe d'Histoire d' Afghanistan KABOUL, Ghyasuddin Wat, Tel. 20374

.. Erratum Ala derniere ligne de la page 48 eta la premiere ligne dela page 49 du numer,o pr'ec2dent le lecteur doit lire: ~ ...... ,oil l'Islam militant s'·etait heurte au bouddhisme et au chamanisme, oil il avait subi pour uncertain temps une menace non negligeable de la part de la religion nationale iranienne.

Contents

\ Page

Khushhal Khan Kha ttak M.Ali 1

The Modernisation of Afghanistan F. R. Farid 7

Panjwayee-Fanjuvai M. Husain Shah 23

Rapport Sur les Progr,ess De L'Educa tion 28

The Early Islamic History of Ghur C. E. Bosworth 46

Cover: Pharos vase discovered in Bagram related to Ist and lind centuries A.D. (Kabul Museum). ·.•.

KHUSHHAL KHAN KHATTAK

THE SOLDIER-POET

by

PROF. M. ALI

The Mughals, who had destroyed the Afghan rule in Afgha­ nistan and India, were making every effort to reconcile the Afghans to their rule, and to make them forget their glorious past. Great care was taken in the appointment of viceroys in Kabul. The tribes were practically left free to look after their own domestic affairs, and they were regularly subsidized to guarantee the free passage of the imperial troops through their country. But all these measures ip. the long run proved futile, and the freedom-loving Afghans were never content with their lot, nor did they forget that before the -Mughals they were mas­ ters of India as well. From the days of Babar right up to the death of Aurangzeb, they allowed the Mughals no rest and car­ ried on the struggle of liberation in Afghanistan as well as in India with ever-increasing zeal, inflicting many a crushing and humiliating defeat on the imperial forces.

When Aurangzeb, the last of the Great Mughals, came to power (1658), he soon found that he could not cope successfully with the Afghan question by force, so0 changing his policy he thought it advisable to subsidize the tribes, who in return would guarantee the safety of the roads that passed through their territories. The annual subsidy during his reign amounted to 600,000 rupees. Even the expenditure of this huge sum could not make the Afghans give up their national struggle. In 1667, the Yusufzais took up arms against him, and under the leader-; ship of Bhagu, who had assumed kingship, crossed the river I:ndus abov~ AttQCk. They were soon followed by other Afgha:tl -2- bands, who spread over Peshawar and the adjacent districts. The Mughal army met defeat after defeat and could only achieve their object by sowing treason among the Afghan ranks. In 1672, the Afridees came to the forefront. They r.ose under their leader, Akmal Khan, a born general, who crowded himself king, struck coins in his own name and proclaimed a religious war against the Mughals. He invited all the Afghan tribes to join this national movement and the war of liberation. Thousands came to his help from all parts of the country. Clos­ ing the Khyber, they attacked the Mughal garrison at Ali Masjid. Amin Khan, son of Mir J umla, the Mughal governor of Kabul went out with all forces at his command to rescue the besieged. After a whole day's fighting, the imperial forces were defeated with immense slaughter, everything being lost, tr,aops, treasures (amounting to 20,000,000 rupees), elephants, and fami­ lies including Amin's own wife and daughters, and those of the nobles serving under him. Amin himself only escaped and reached Peshawar by a se~ret route over the shoulder of the Tahtana mountain. Later some of the captives were ransomed, but the Governor's wife-the reason is clear-refused to return, and became a recluse.

But the most formidable opponent of the Mughals was the famous Afghan poet, Khushhal Khan Kha ttak, who inspired the Afghans with his pen no less than with his sword. Khushhal was the son of Shah Baz, chief of the Khattaks, a powerful and warlike tribe living around Peshawar. He was born in the early part of the 17th century and died at a ripe age towards its close (1689). It was Shah Jahan who in 1641 conferred Khushhal as Chief of the Khattaks and guardian of the King's high~ay, linking Delhi with Kabul. Later on he went to Delhi, where he was treated with every mark of consideration by the Emperor and his courtiers. There at the Mughal court the soldier-poet got attached to Amanat Khan and Arsala Khan, two of the leading nobles,, and in their train took parts in var~0'4S campaigns in Kangra, Balkh and Badakhshan, where by his valour he won considerable distinction.

When Aurangzeb came to power he reversed the temporiz­ ing policy of his father in relation with the Afghan tribes and thus made a bitter enemy of Khushhal Khan. In 1661, Muha­ bat Khan, the Govei·nor, was transferred to the Deccan andre­ placed by Sayid Amin. In 1664 Khushhal was summoned to Peshawar by the newly-appointed governor and despatched in chains and under a strong escort to Delhi, whence he was sent forward to spend over two years in the Gwalior fortress. And even on release he remained under house-ar,rest and was not permitted to return to his na ti veland.

A few years later when Mahabat Khan arrived in the north, Khushhal Khan was set at liberty and allowed to return to his homeland. But in 1670 Mahabat Khan once again retired and was repalced by Amin Khan, who had been governor of Laho,re. Amin was the son of a diamond merchant from Golcanda. Being arrogant and dissolute, he wanted to crush the national move­ ment of the Afghans by force of arms, and it was not long before he met his fall, as related above. Khushhal had been present at the battle of Ali Masjid in the Governor's train in the capacity of a hostage.

After this humiliating defeat, Muhabat Khan came up for the third time, and sought to pr~vail on Khushhal to return to his allegiance but the latter wrote that he had enough of the Mughals and their ways, and went into active opposition. His attitude was further stiffened when in 1674 Aurangzeb himself came north as far as Hassanabdal to pacify the Afghans by force or the Khyber disaster had been followed by further and serious reverses to the Mughal arms in Mohmand country. In all these action, and in a later successful assault on the fort of Nowshera, Khushhal took an active part, aided by the Afridi chiefs, Amal Khan and Darya Khan. He also in protest resigned the chieftain. ship of his tribe, and the rest of his life was devoted to the natio­ nal cause in forays against the Mughals, journeys into various areas to seek assistance, quarrels with his own men, who had turned against him and had taken the Mughal side. In his poems he gives vent to his indignation against these traitors, who had been, seduced by the prospect of advancement to give up the caus~ of their country and join the rank of enemies. He bewails the failure of the most of the Afghan tribes to join the national rising he had led against the Mughal Emperor-Aurangzeb. With the Yusufzais he had a-personal feud and he is inclined to dismiss them as hopeless; his own tribe, the Khattaks, and even some of his own sons, had deserted him. It is to these whom he reminds of the call of 'nang' or national honour.

Khushhal's poems are full of expressions of patriotic feel· ings, description of his contest with the Mughals and of refer­ ences to his hatred for the Emperor Aurangzeb. He takes pride in what he calls the nang-the honour of the Afghan nation. His poems are the true expression of the national spirit and the circumstances of his adventurous life.

Khushhal was a warrior poet whose words still kindle fire in the hearts of his patriots. He laments bitterly the mutual jealousies of the tribes, their lack of discipline and, their un· readiness to work together. In one of his poems he gives vent to his feelings in these words:

"I, only I, care for my nation's honour, The Yusufzais are at ease tilling their fields; Afridis, Mohmands, Shinwaris, what are they about? See, the Mughal host lies in Nangarhar, And, the true Pushtuns, everyone from Kandahar to Attock, Should stand onely or in secret to the cause of honour.. , Like a true and patriotic Afghan, during his imprisonment in the Gwaliar fort, he pines to be in his native-land:

"0 gentle morning br.eeze, shouldst thous pass by Khairabad, Or should the way lead thee beside Serai's stream, Whisper to them my greetings again and yet again, Salute them and say that I love them so dearly. To the mighty Abasind cry out with a loud voice, But whisper softly to the Landai stream, It may hap that I shall again drink from thee, Nor ever will I dwell beside Ganga and Jamuna: In Hind are no cool waters for refr:eshment, God's curse upon it, though it be full of luxury; God grant that I may be united again with my beloved, Nor for ev-ery will Khushhal remain in Hind."

In one of his poems he refers to his forays against the Mughals in these words:

"Like the hawk has been my flight upon the mountains And many a plump partridgehas been my prey; The hawk, young or old, seeks its quarry, But the swoop of the old hawkers not."

Khushhal also wrote many love-lyrics. One of his poems runs thus:

"Two things do I love most in myself and in the world, In myself, mine eyes, and in the world fair women. When I behold the beauty of the fair one, I feel I have found god, Love's affairs are like fire, 0 Khushhal; What though the flames be hidden, the smoke is seen." In another of his poems he describes the physical charms . _... of the Airldi girls in these wo.r,ds:

"Fair and rosy are the Adamkhel maidens, Large eyes they have, long ashes, and arched eye-borws; Sugar lips, flowered cheeks, a face like the moon, Tiny are the mouths like pouting rose-buds, Their skin so soft, and glossy like an egg:.shell, In stature straight as the letter Ali£ and fair of colour."

The poet desired to be bu~ried in a lonely spot. He loved the countryside and flowers of his native village, Acora, and above all he wished that in his resting place he should not be disturbed by the clatter of the hoofs' of the imperial cavalry, p_assing the highway. ·

His tomb is covered with a marble slab which bears the following inscription in Pashto:. "Da Afghan pa nang me utrala tura, Nangyalai da zamane Khushhal Khattak yem."

''I have taken up the sword for the pride of the Afghan name, I am Khushhal Khattak, the proud man of this age." TilE MODERNISATION OF AFGHANISTAN

By

li', R. FARID

The theme of the.discussion is the modernisation of Afgha~ nistan. ·

It is not an easy task to deal with a subject which means :a thor.ough analysis of a great evolution still in process. It makes the task only more difficult if the subject is dwelt upon in one single talk. However, the subject is one which has been dis~ cussed and is being discussed on all levels in the countrie-s of the east. ··

Modern Afghanistan is a landlocked country forming the northeastern portion of the Great Iranian Plateau in the heart of Asia. Afghanistan, or the "Land of the Afghans" is compos~ ed of the most rugged terrain in the wodd. Of this, four-fifths is given over to treacherous but startingly beautiful mountains ranging to the height of 25,000 feet in the Hindukush range to the dry arid plains of Helmand Valley. It covers an area of 270,000 square miles.

The geographical term Afghanistan is not the or~ginal name of the country. This term was applied for the first tim.e during the reign of Ahmad Shah Durrani (1747-1773 A.D.)" Previously it had been known as Aryana, Kurassan, Pukhtun­ khwa, etc. Most of the classical writers call it by the name of Aryana which signified the racial strain which inhabited the regi.on. Khur~ssan, or the Land of the Rising Sun, was the following title used by early Muslim writers referring to the country lying east of Persia. At the same time as "Afghanis~ tan" came into use Ahmad Shah in his poems referred to thft -8- country as Pukhtunkhwa, that is, the Land of the Pukhtuns.

Afghanistan's unique geographic position is the key to her importance. In the past she has not only been the cardle and a crossroad for some of the gn~at civilizations of the world, but she has also served as the highway of travellers and the land­ bridge between Europe and the riches ·of China and India. The famous "Silk Road'' passed through Afghanistan and cities of this country provided conv~nient market places for the Chinese and Mediterranean markets. This geographically prominent position bringing out as it did the mingling of men and ideas of East and West, Afghanistan became the nest of religious philosophies as well; it became the stronghold of Zoroastrism and Budhism and it was from here that these reli· gions were carried to China and the Far East. ( 1)

The Afghan land has been visited by such famous travel­ lers as the seventh century Chinese Huan Tszang, and the thirteenth century Venetian, Marco Polo. She was over-run by the iron phalanges of Alexander of Macedon, by the barba­ rian Scythians, by the free-booting Turanian Knights, by the Arab armies advancing the fa~th of Islam, by the hordes of Genghis Khan, by troops of Timur the Lame, and by many others. In fact "Everybody who was ever anybody came this way," (2) and passed through the land of the Afghans to reach the fabulous wealth of the Indian Peninsula, leaving behind them death and destruction.

The Afghans on their part have had to resist strongly. incursion on their independence and territorial integrity. As a result of bloody wars, Afghan cities have been burned, their riches looted, and their cultural institutions held in check or --r-i.Viohant~nad-.A!C Aryana or Ancient-Afgil.ai'iistail,' (Kabul: Government Printing House, January, 195~). p. 5. f.. James B. Michner, "Afghani~an, Domain of the .Fierce and the Free", R~aders Digest, (Vol. 67. No. 403. November, 1955), p. 161, -9-

destroyed. Sir Fraser-Tytler, in his book Afghanistan gives the following clear picture relative to past catastrophies stating that: " ... before the last day of the Abbassides, the valleys in the extreme north and southwest were green and beautiful, properly irrigated and fertile. There were many prospe~ous cities, some of high culture and civili­ zation. Mongul raids in the 13th and 14th centuries des­ troyed the irrigation works and decimated the inhabi­ tants. The green valleys became Arid and desolate." (1)

On the other hand, waves of popular migration swept ac­ ross Afghanistan from West to East and from North to South and Afghanistan became the "cross road of Asia" and a "mixing bowl" for a great variety of Central Asian, Middle Eastern, South Asian, and European invaders and settlers. But despite of some medley of races and languages Afghanistan remained a nation with distinct qualities and culture of her own. The forces that created this unity, to the witness of some foreign writers, were: "Islam, a tribal tradition of leadership and love of liberty, a turbulant but stirring history, the rivalry between great neighbouring empires, and a glorious past." (2)

The following passage by a well known American writer James A. Michner, picturesque but not inaccurate, sums up the character of the Afghan man-

"It is great to be an Afghan man. You are tall, spare, and tough. You wear, a beard and carry a gun ... and you are one of the most hospitable men on the earth. The minute a stranger crosses your threshold you order a sheep killed for celebration, and between fights you 1. w:-K. Fraser-Tytler, Afihanistan: A Study of Political Development in Central Asia. (London: Oxford University Press, 2nd ed., 1953), p. 271 .. 2. Donald N. Wilber (Ed.); Afghanistan, (New Haven: Human Relations Area Files, 1956), p. 3. -10~ sing and dance, and travel the high mountain passes. It is a rare free life."(1)

Modern Afghanistan has been founded as an independent state in 1747 by Ahmad Shah Durrani, who may safely be called the creator of modern Afghanistan and the Father of the Af­ ghan nation. Upon the assassination of Nadir Shah Afshar in 1747, the Afghan soldiers, under the leadership of Ahmad Khan, returned to their homes around Kandahar. Amad Khan, pro­ claimed the independence of Afghanistan. The chief question at that time was as to who should be elected king. The Afghan chiefs, according to their tradition, assembled to decide upon the formation of a regular government fo.~ an independent Afghanistan. After eight agitated meetings the chiefs chose Ahmad Khan as their ruler. Ahmad Khan was crowned with a wheat and that is why there is a circle of wheat on the Afghan flag today. By this ceremony, signifying the democratic in­ clination of the Afghan people, Ahmad Khan assumed the royal title.

By that time Afghanistan was a dismembered country. Some parts of the Afghan lands were ruled by the foreigners, and the other by the tyrannical Afghan chieftains. The people were-divided into clans and tribal groups. The relationship of the protector and the protected was carefully observed. The local chief was respected and obeyed. He settled disputes and looked after the welfare of his people. In return the members of his tribe helped him meet his obligation and bear arms with him in common defence. Whenever the chief was faced with a major decision he consulted with other members of the tribe. In the Jirga, a tribal council, every man had a chance to be heard. On the whole the tribal community was democratic, but the chiefs, who were frequently at war with one another, were generally proud, independent, courageous, and fearless. 1. James A. Michm~r, Domain of the Fierce and the Free, p. 162. -11-

The first act of Ahmad Shah was to organize a force, and his first great achievement was to consolidate various chieftain­ ships, petty principalities, and provinces into one country-Af­ ghanistan-after which he began to build his empire. Ahmad Shah's reputation for liberty and whose high descent and war­ like qualities, firmly established his position. The historians of his time unanimously considered him one of the greatest military generals and political administrators of Asia.

Ahmad Shah's system of government was pure and simple feudalism. He appointed a council of chiefs with whom he con­ sulted on all matters of importance. But aside from centraliz­ ing power for the solution of important problems in his council, each chief ruled his own tribe, provided contingents and receiv­ ed payments of money in respect of such services. They have looked upon taxation as interference to be resisted by force. The country had depended on a primitive agricultural economy as the principal means of livelihood. There were no schools at all; the village mullah or priest taught the boys reading and writing and religion through the Koran, the Holy Book of Muslims. Ahmad Shah during his 26 years of reign could hard­ ly devote his time to the economic and social welfare of his subjects, except conquest.

Ahmad Shah died in 1773 and was succeeded by his son Timur Shah. Although Timur organized his government well, and transferred his capital from Kandahar to Kabul, there were civil wars in Afghanistan. Timur lacked the energy of his father. The result was chaos and anarchy again. The better part of Timur's twenty year reign was spent in quelling these uprisings and did not find a single chance to the diffusion of knowledge, or the pursuit of fine arts.

Timur Shah's son Zaman Shah, (1793-1804) considering consultation to be the negation of his power and prestige, -12- neglect the council of chiefs, which was founded by his grand­ father, Ahmad Shah. Administration policy of Zaman Shah had been to keep the chiefs at his court without consulting them in all affairs relating to the state. This failure resulted in revolts and wars between Timur Shah's sons and later bet­ ween the Sadozais and the Barakzais and revaged the country for a quarter of a century, reducing Afghanistan from a vast empire to a small kingdom. It was also in this period that Af­ ghanistan was treated as a pawn in the international game played by Russia and Great Britain in Central Asia.

While pretenders to Durrani succession had been poisoning and blinding and killing each other in Afghanistan, Dost Mo­ hammad Barakzai established himself as a leader of the Afghans. Dost Mohammad was a man of undoubted ability. He was urged to declare himself king, but being a realist he refused to do so. But finally the chieftains of Kabul proclaimed him Amir-ul-Muminin or ''Commander of the Faithful." (1826- 1863).

His justice and administration was highly praised by his subjects. Dost Mohammad had a heart of high opinions for the advancement of his country, but as soon as he reunited all the provinces of Afghanistan he was dead. Upon his death there was chaos again which lasted about a decade.

Amir Dost Mohammad's son, Amir Shir Ali, (1869-1879), then ruler of Afghanistan after the consolidation of his king­ dom, threw himself with much zeal into reforms. He establish­ ed a council composed of thirteen members to advise the Amir on all administrative questions. He decided to collect the land revenue wholly in cash, while before it was collected half in kind and half in cash. Shir Ali, for the first time, organized the Afghan army on modern lines. In order to secure the re­ gular payment of his 50,000 troops, he gave order that the money -13- should be earmarked from the principal provinces. The army were paid in cash instead of orders on villages. Uniforms were too, being gradually supplied. English books on the military field w~re translated in Pukhtu and the manuals of instruction were prepared for the army. Armstrong guns were being manufactured at Kabul. A military school was opened. The postal system was established and the stamps were struck. A monthly paper "Shmus-ul-Nahar," came into circulation for the first time. The construction of a new city in Kabul and the im­ orovement of the roads was started. But unfortunately that enlightened king was not able to continue his programme of reforms, mainly because of the British second invasion of Af­ ghanistan. (1878).

The events ended by placing Amir Abdur Rahman on the throne of Afghanistan in 1880. Amir Abdur Rahman besides his occupations in diplomatic war against his powerful neigh­ bors gradually reunited all the provinces of Afghlinistan.' ·He broke out the feudal power of the local chiefs and the fanatical leadership of the· mullas, every one of whom considered him­ self an independent ruler. Consequently he welded the loose heaps of turbulent tribes into a strong nation and ruled "the iron people with a rod of iron." (1) Abdur Rahman not only ordered the tribes to pay taxes but also he abolished the pen­ sions paid to religious leaders; an act which was almost con­ sidered an insult to them. He improved the public revenues not only by increasing the burden of taxation, but by ensuring the collection of all assessed taxes. This he achieved by organiz­ ing a standing army, well trained, well armed, and regularly paid; owing allegiance to none but himself. He introduced a semi-compulsory service and recruited his army under a system termed "Hasht Nafari", or one man 'in eight. In this way Amir Abdur Rahman was able to e·stablish an efficient central ad­ ministration, retaining all powers in his· own hands. Abdur 1. Amir Abdur Rahman: "Autobiography". -14---

Rahman's justice was very cruel and grim, but it was the only way to quiet the wide-spread unrest prevailing in Afghanistan and to secure law and order. In the meantime, Abdur Rahman introduced factories for making guns, rifles, and power mills. He also imported machines of various types for making boots, soaps, candles, etc. About 100,000 men were employed in road­ making, building construction and some other industries. A press was established and the first hospital on modern lines came into being. Mines were successfully opened, trade was encouraged and loans wer.e lent without interest.

Amir Abdur Rahman died in 1901 and was succeeded by his son Habibullah. Habibullah had been accepted, peacefully by the army and nation as the lawful King of Afghanistan. Amir Habibullah, though as suspicious as his father, easily affected by modern influence. He found a high school in Kabul, the Habibia College, on European lines and a military academy. Habibullah introduced western medical and surgical methods on a larger schale. He established a council of state for tribal affiairs, provincial governors for the adjudication of tribal cases. He had also introduced motor cars, telephones, newspapers, hydro-electric schemes, water-pipes and European games. Finally roads were constructed to link the different parts of the country with one another and to facilitate trade with for­ eign countries. Amir Habibullah was assassinated in 1919 and succeeded by his son Amanullah.

King Amanullah gave voice to the long suppressed desire of his people for the independence of their land. The people's demand for freedom resulted in the war of independnce, known also as the third Anglo-Afghan war. Having achieved this goal, after the victory scored by the Afghan forces at Thai under Ieade,rship of General Nadir (the late Nadir Shah), he embarked upon reforms inside the country aimed at preparing his people to play their part in the international affairs. -15-

In this period which almost coincides with the so called period of "awakening of Asia after centuries of somnolence" Afghanistan was among the first countries in Asia to undergo a process of adaptation of the Western Way of Life in revolu­ tionary manner and invaded the religion by secularism.

Amanullah introduced a number of reforms in the fields of education, administration, finance, national economy and codi­ fication of penal and civil laws. After Amanullah's seven­ month tour of Europe, 1927 the pace of reforms accelerated. In a series of public speeches he outlined his program of reform making frequent refer,ence to secular education and a new status for women. A Loie Jirga, or the Grand National Assem­ bly, under the construction of Amanullah, decreed the estab­ lishment of the First Afghan Parliament to be elected by the votes of all literate Afghans. It constituted a legislative assem­ bly of 150 members, selected from the Loie Jirga to sit at Kabul for eight months every year. The length of compulsory se.r,vice in the army was also increased from two to three years and all exemptions were abolished. Amanullah, inspite of fierce opposition from the clergy and the conservative circles, started to send the Afghan girls abroad for higher education, opened the girls schools and abolished the veil. Several high schools and many primary schools were established in different parts of the country. The teaching of French and German, besides English, was also added to the curriculum. A large number of students of both sexes were sent abroad for higher education. Furthermore, the inhabitants of Kabul and Afghans visiting the capital were ordered to wear the European dress and hats.

Amanullah's reforms, especially in the educational field en­ countered considerable opposition on the part of some conser­ vative elements and resulted in civil wars only to leave the people with their, modern buildings burnt, their modern schools closed and their European hats found every where except oa -16- their heads.

The fierce civil wars which broke out in the country and later resulted in the abdication of King Amanullah and his exile to Italy, had their cause not in the part of the Afghan nation to see Afghanistan develop along modern lines, but rather in the political intrigues of foreign elements.

After the UP,rising, a ruthless highwayman called Habibul­ lah, came to the power for nine months. Habibullah began a reign of terror, and most of Mghanistan's political leaders were killed. He issued a proclamation cancelling all Amanullah's reforms, but his dictatorship was soon removed by Mohammad Nadir Khan, the Martyre-King. Mohammad Nadir Khan's im­ pact of his selfless service to the nation was so great and his achievements so exalted him in the eyes of the Afghans that he was elected King. (October, 1929).

King Mohammad Nadir published a declaration of policy in ten points. The declaration included the foundation of the Government upon principles of the law of Islam; the prohibi­ tion of alcoholic beverage; the establishment of a military school and of an arsenal for the manufacturing of modern wea­ pons; the maintenance of the diplomatic relations with foreign powers; the repair of telegraphs and telephones and the recon­ ditioning of roads; the collection of arrears of public revenue; the development of commercial relations with foreign powers; the advancement of public instruction; and finally, the recon­ struction of the old Council of State and the appointment of a Prime Minister who would form a cabinet, subject to the royal approval.

As soon as King Mohammad Nadir set to work the schools had to be reopened. More s.chools and useful institutions were established. A military college was founded. A literary -17-

academy and a stock company came into being. A medical col­ Lege was started and a modern hospital was built. Some stu­ dents were sent abroad for higher education. About six dams were constructed to store water for irrigation. A few small industrial establishments were opened. A great road was con­ structed to connect the capital with the northern provinces. One of his most important deeds was the drawing-up of a new con­ stitution for Afghanistan which he accomplished with the help of an elected parliament. Nadir Shah was a statesman of ex­ perience and thoroughly realistic. Within four years Nadir Shah did an impressive job of consolidation and reconstruction; but unfortunately his able rule was cut short by assassination in November, 1933. The policy of modernization, education, and economic development upon which he embarked is now being carried on by his only son, Mohammad Zahir Shah, the present King of Afghanistan.

Afghanistan of today is a sovereign, democratic constitu­ tional monarchy. The present constitution of Afghanistan was promulgated in 1921 and revised in 1931. It provides for an Islamic state, governed by a modified constitutional monarchy. The King of Afghanistan is the head of the state and like other constitutional monarchs, possesses certain prerogative as defin­ ed by law-in this case by Article 7 of the constitution.

Afghanistan's parliament consists of two chambers; the National Assembly, and the Senate. The members (171 in num­ ber) of the National Assembly ar,e elected for three years terms by secret ballot and through universal sufferage all male citi­ zens over the age of twenty years have the right to vote. The Senators, 45 in number, are appointed by the King. Each is required to be a man of vision and be an " ... experienced and farsighted person ... ". (1) The immunity of individuals from unwar;ranted interfer- 1. Constitution of Mghanistan, Art. 67. -18- ence by state officials is assured by the constitution. The right to participate in the Government is extended to all subjects without discrimination. No type of class discrimination is tolerated. All persons residing in Afghanistan as citizens of the country are recognized as Afghan subjects without differen­ tiation as to race, creed, and equally enjoy all rights conferred by the constitution and laws of the country.

The National Assembly has power to check the activities of the various Ministers, to approve or disapprove the Govern­ ment's budget, and to ratify all bills presented to it with or without amendment. All bills must pass the two HouseR in order to become law.

Other than the Senate and House there is anothe,r body known as the "Loya Jirgah", literally, the Great· National As­ sembly. This body is unique in Afghanistan and is convened on certain extraordinary important occasions, i.e., the declara­ tion of war or acceptance of peace terms. It is composed of re­ presentatives of all the people in all walks of life and its num­ ber is unlimited. During World War II this assembly was gathered for the declaration of neutrality. Recently it conven­ ed (November, 1955) and five hundred members passed three resolutions concerning the position of Afghanistan in the Cold War and the issue of Pakhtunistan.

Judicial power rests with three Islamic courts-the Primary Court, Appeals Court, and the Supreme Court. Cases are tried openly in th Court of Justice with exception of those which the Hanifi legal school directs to be heard in cammera. To protect his rights, every person may plead in court and provision of Shariat law. C6urts of Justice may not delay the hearing and decisions of cases except as provided by Shariat law. No one may set a special tribunal to settle particular cases out of court; further, all courts are free from interference. -19-

The administration of the country is conducted by the Prime Minister and his Cabinet. The following Ministers are entrusted with pa,rticular government. duties: National Defence, Foreign Affairs, Interior, Justice, Finance, Education, Health, Communication, Commerce, Public Works, Agricul­ ture, Mines and Industries, Press and Information, Tribal Affairs, and Planning. Offences committed by Ministers and administrative officials in the execution of government duties are adjudicated by special courts. The country is administra­ tively divided into seventeen provinces, each headed by an offi­ cial appointed by the Prime Minister and approved by the King.

It is only in the reign of His Majesty the present King of Afghanistan that the people of Afghanistan have had a chance to think of how to meet their needs and to make an effort for bringing about better economic and social conditions. In no other period the Afghans have realized their long persisting and ever-inc,reasing needs more than in these years. This is the greatest awakening of which we can surely speak. Between the period 1953-1958 major steps toward economic, educational and social growth occurred. For example from 1936 to 1953 there were 51 private corporations. But suddenly from 1953 to 1958 this number increased £,rom 51 private corporations to 149 corporations both privately and publicly owned. The growth of education has somewhat the same trend as the econo­ mic growth. However, from 1953 to 1958 the number of schools increased to 90/100. The Kabul University which was estab­ lished in 1946 and had only one faculty, namely the college of medicine, in 1958 the number of its faculties reached to nine. The Kabul University has a staff of 168 p,rofessors, of which 48 have been engaged from abroad. During the time since it has been established, 1,595 students have graduated. The students of the Kabul University are generally able to read, write, and speak at least one of the modern European languages. There -20- were sixteen newspapers and magazines in 1936, but in 1958 there were more than fifty newspapers and magazines for broadening the social and cui tural unde,rstanding of the people.

But the most laudable step that will surely affect the future happiness and prosperity of the country is the launching of the Five Year Plans. These plans, first in their kind in Afghanis­ tan, were initiated in September, 1956.

Activities undertaken in these plans cover the areas of agri­ culture, transportation, and .roads, air and river ports, commu­ nication, education, health and community development, mines and industries.

The plans for economic development places main emphasis on Agriculture based on the principle that equipment, know­ ledge and financial assistances should be made available to the farmers. The establishment of Agricultural Banks, research stations, more farming schools, high schools and colleges for agriculture, agricultural mechanization and increase of land are the main features of the plan. New irrigation projects in addition to those undertaken on the Helmand and the Kabul rivers in Sarobi are planned on the rivers Kunduz, Kokcha, Sardeh (Ghazni), Palto (Katawaz), Kharwar (Kabul), Naghlu and the Kabul River near Jalalabad which would increase the fresh arable land about 625,000 acres. The next important item of the plan is transportation. It is estimated that about 1,000 kilometres of main roads would have been improved and asp halted. On the other hand industrialization is also showing itself. As a number of textile mills, cement works, glass plants, leather crafts are examples, while cottage industdes are financed, assi~ted, encouraged and promoted.

The Community Development programmes are well under way and the plans are expected to cover thousands of villages. -21-

The activities in this field complement those undertaken by the Government through the departments of public education, health, and agriculture in promotion of education, health, sanitation, crops and farm life in general. What should be particularly emphasized is education of boys and girls and in­ creasing the schools for girls and special courses for adult edu­ cation of men and women.

I do not expect to be abl6' to go into details of all activities in various fields. I have mentioned a few features which are the continuation of a series of foundations laid in the post-war period and is recognized as the beginning of a new era in the life of the Mghan people.

The impact of these changes on the life of the people still remains to be our concern as to the traditional way of life of our people. The societies of the East as a whole have begun to derive the material benefits which the western civilization has offered them, but the ultimate effect is still uncertain.

We cannot ignore the fact that we are confronted with a situation in which we a.re compelled to remain engaged in a process of adaptation of what has been a self-evolved civiliza­ tion for the West. It is matter of concern for us that in this process we have to be hasty as we can afford to be, but at the same time we should realize the fact that we might be hasty in the adaptation of something which the West has achieved by relatively gradual stages.

In the promotion of our economic conditions we feel free from hesitation, because the material comfort is easier to accept and faster to be adopted, but the most important thing, in which we a;re confronted with uncertainty, contradiction and confu­ sion is our earnest desire for attaining better social conditions, is the acceptance of new ideas and using them for the purpose -22-

of bringing about the required changes desired by better con­ _?itions. This is what does not seem to be either easy or to be expected soon. However, in the achievement of our economic · and social progress we, like every other country, depend on in­ ternati.onal understanding and cooperation which is possible only in an atmosphere of international peace and security and which is the basis of our international policy. PANJWAYEE-FANJUVAI

by

Mir Husain Shah

Between Balad-ud Dawar (Zamindawar) and Balis '(1) (Baluchistan in the south of Quetta) there lay, in the early Islamic periods and mediaeval Afghanistan, a tract of land variously called by moslem geog_raphers as al-Rukhaz, Rukhaj, and Rukhudh. This is our ancient Arachosia which appears in old-Persian and Pahlavi as Arakhozia and Rakhwat respective­ Iy(2). The country according to Ptolemy is bordered on the north with the Parapamesus ranges on the east of it lies India; to the west Drangiana the province of Neemroz in the south western part of Afghanistan; while on the southern side it reaches to Gedrosia (Baluchistan)(3).

Al-Rukhaj, being watered by river Arghandab and one of its tributaries (Tarnak) has always been a prosperous place in medeaval periods. Ibni-i-Hauqal the fourth century Arab geographer thus tells us: "And Rukhaj is the name of a clime between Balad-ud-Dawa,r and Balis. (And its township is Panj­ wayee and for it out of the towns is Kohak.) Its ~nhabitants are weavers. It yield ample wealth to the treasury. The peo­ ple are rich in victuals and this bears witness to the prosperity of the place."(4) Hudud-ul-Alam a Gozgani geographer (Be­ longing to Gozgan-roughly modern Sar-i-pul) defines the place in the following words (5); "Rukhudh (Rukhuhudh) a very pros- 1. Surat-ul-Arz, Ibn-i-Hauqal p. 418. 2. Mali.li:-ush-Shaara Bahar, Sabk-Shinasi, Teheran, 1937, p. 15. 3. H. H. Wilson, Ariana Antiqua p. 157. 4. Surat-ul-Arz, Ibn-i-Hauqal, p. 418. 5. V. Minsorsky: Hudud-ul-Alam, Luzac & Co., 1937, London, p. 111. -24- perous and pleasant dist_rict (nahiyat) to which belongs a special district which forms a separate unit. The chief place of Rukh­ khudh is Panjwayee (Panjwai)". The province having its seat of government at Panjwayee and had several other boroughs the chief being, Kuhak, Rudhan, Talkan and Takeen-Abad. Mustawfi gives us a few unidentified towns in Kandahar (Al­ Rukhaj)-as Qara Khaluk, Walishaluk, Zayiddandan and Aghanab.(l) The township (Qasaba) of this province, as we see, was Panjwayee-variently spelled by Moslem geographers as Panjwai, Fanjwai, Finjuwai.

Panjwayee is often ;referred by the Arab geographers of mediaeval ages none of them, however, gives details about the town its cetedal, market, mosques, and main buildings. Let us take, for instance, Hudud-ul-Alam. On the description of Rukhudh the unknown author of this celebrated work says: "Its township is Panjwai." Gardizi the author of Zain-ul­ Akhbar refers to the place in the following words. When Seistan fell into his (Yaqub son of Layths) lot, he did not and said, "If I give-up my campaign they will hot leave me." He therefore advanced on Bust and captured it, and from the,re he came to Panjwai and Takeen-Abad he fought Ratbil and killed him and occupied Panjwayee." (2) Istakhri gives name among the borrows of Sajistan.(3)

Panjwayee is a Persian word the Arabicized form of which is Banjwayee meaning five rivers or five waters.(4) Panj is our Persian five; but does 'wa' mean water, stream or 1. Qandahar (at Rukhaj): A great kingdom of the Third and Fourth climes. Its greatest cities are Qara-Khaluk and W alishluk which is the capi­ tal· also Zayidundan and Aghanab there are further numerous other towns district and plains all of which produces corn with some little fruit crop. Nuzhaat-al-qulub, Hamid-Allah Mustawafi (GoLe Strange's translation). Luzac 1919, p. 254. 2. Gardizi, Zain-ul-Akhbar, Qazvini's edition, Teheran p. 6. 3. Al-Masalik-wal-Mumalik, Lyden, p. 244: and also see Surat-ulArz, Ibn,. 1-Hauqal p. 413. 4. Le Strange: The Lands of the Eastern Caliphate London, 1905, p. 343. -25-

river? Has the word any root in the old Arian languages. Very difficult to say apparently there is no stream or river in the area except Arghandab and its tributary Tarna~. Then why the area was called Panjwayee or the place of five rivers. The place of five waters is an interpretation given to the area by the name from an other place. In the western parts of modern Kandahar there passes a stream watered by Arghan­ dab. Nothing is known about the origin of this canal. It seems that it had been in existence from the very old times. The stream is called Panjab or iri slang Persian Panjwayee. Pun­ jab supplies water to some of the villages in modern Panjwayee especially Zaleykhan or Zulakhan (the mediaeval Zalikan) a village ten miles to the south west of Kandahar.

Now, in what circumstances has this town come into exist­ ence? Still we are in want of written sources to answer this very simple question. But there are certain allusions from which something can be implicated about the origin of the town and its prosperity. The fame of the town as a center of culture was made with the dawn of Islam and continued till the down­ fall of Ghorids. No mention of it has been made as an import­ ant place in pre-islamic Archosia or neighbouring 'Satrapi' of Drangiana. After the Ghorids, too, the town gives its place to the neighbouring Kandahar in prosperity and fame. This was the affect of a commercial or economic cause. Panjwai was ly­ ing on the trade route from Bust to Ghazna. In 545 A.H./1150 A.D. Ala-ud-Din J ehan Suz {The world Burner) advanced on Bust and ruined it. After the destruction of this town the trade route was disturbed and Panjwayee lost its eminence. Then· Kandahar rose to importance. The prosperity and dignity of Panjwayee can, therefo.I~e, be placed at a period between the dawn of Islam and the reign of Ala-ud-Din J ehan Suz.

The position of the town can be traced on the analogy of the other cities in ar-Rukhaj, Sajistan (Siestan) and a study of the ruins in present day Panjwayee. The cities in mediaeval Af- -26-

ghanistan, especially Sajistan had three portions: '1' Kohan­ dazh (The Ara bicised form which is Quhandez). This was the innermost citadel of a town surrounded by a moat. '2' The township (Shahristan) which stood round the citadel. Famous edifices of the place were built in this area. This portion had a wall and a fosse of its own. '3' Outside the wall there was situated the out skirt of the town; its 'Rabad' or the environs­ called, in Persian, 'Beiroon'. The ruins in the present day Panjwayee shows that the town was consisted of all this three. According to Le-Strange Panjwayee was a strong and fortified town with a very nice congregational mosque. The people took water from the river.

So for the Muslem geographers are the people in al-Rukhaj and Panjwayee lived in prosperity and tranquility. Hudud-ul­ Alam thus tells us about Chalkan (varient Talakan, Salaqan­ now Zalakhan one of the villages in modern Panjwayee): "A borough with turning water, the majority of the inhabitants are weavers.(l) Even now Panjwayee stands first in agricul­ tural products among the towns in the country.

Let us now locate this famous town, of the mediaeval Af­ ghanistan. It is very difficult, says Le Strange, "to locate Panj­ wayee". But to the left of the road leading from Kandahar to Panjwayee there is a mound surrounded by a moat. Round the moat and the mound there lie the ruins of old forts and public­ buildings. This can easily taken as the Kohendazh or the inner­ most citadel of the town the moat of which still exists. Noth·· ing is remained of the township or the suburb. But sometimes on digging the neighbouring fields for cultivation the remains of fallen rooms and buildings are excavated. This clearly bears witness to the existence of certain structures and residences. These ruins are never excavated by experts. But if it is done so there may come out valuable evidence of Islamic culture and civilization. (1) V. Minorsky: Hudud-ul-Alam p.llO -27-

The main road leading to Panjwayee was the same tradi­ tional trade route which was coming from Zaranj to Bust and thence to Panjwayee. Here it was bifarcated into two branches. The first was running to the north and afte.r twelve stages reached Ghazni. The second went eastward to Sibi. At a distance of one stage stood the fortress of Kohak. ( l)

(1) Hudud-ul-Alam describes it in the following words: K~-~RUCI: han are two pleasant boroughs with cultivation; salt also comes from them." (V. Minorsky, Hudud-ul-Alam, p.lll.) Kuhak still survives in a village at the neighbouring of Kandahar. RAPPORT SUR LES PROGRES DE L'EDUCATION AU COURS DE L'ANNEE SCOLAIRE 1961-1962 (1)

1. ADMINISTRATION

A. Le principal changement survenu l'annee derniere dans la st~ucture du lVIinistere de !'Education Nationale fut la creation d'un "Departement du Plan" pour le lVIinistere et l'Universite de Kaboul, qui a surgi, si l'on peut di.~e, de la transformation d'une Commission Consultative deja exis­ tante en un Departement Central pourvu d'un Bureau de Statistique. Ce departement comporte aussi des Sections secondaires pour l'Enseignement superieur, l'enseigne­ ment professionnel, l'enseignement primaire et second­ aire.

La Commission du Plan depend directement du Mi­ nistere de !'Education Nationale; elle est chargee des taches suivantes:

· (a) L'elaboration des plans d'organisation generale pour l'enseignement, avec l'aide des departments corres­ pondants. La centralisation et !'application de ces plans en meme temps que la supervision des plans deja en cours.

(b) La coordination de l'assistance-materielle et morale-pretee par les organisations internationales et les pays etrangers, et son adaptation aux buts du Plan.

(c) L'etablissement d'une liaison entre les differents

(l) Presente a la xxv· · Conference Internationale sur l'enseignement public. -29-

Departements du Ministere de !'Education Nationale et les autres Ministeres, en particulier les Ministeres du Plan et des Finances; l'etude du budget en ce qui concerne les biens d'investissement et les frais de fonctionement pour l'enseignement.

(d) La recherche et l'etude des aspects qualitatifs et des aspects quantitatifs de l'enseignement, de maniere a mainteni:r: un juste equilibre entre eux.

Les directives generales sont formulees pa:r: un Con­ seil, ayant pour President le Ministre de !'Education Na­ tionale et, pour members des Chefs de Departements ainsi que les deux Vice-Ministres de !'Education Nationale et le Secretaire General de la Commission du Plan. Des bure­ aux repartis dans les differents services m~intiennent un contact direct avec la Commission du Plan. Chacun d'eux surveille son propre champ de planification. Afin de permettre a la Commission du Plan de fonctionner d'une maniere effciente et effective, des arrangement~ ont ete f:lits pour utiliser !'experience de conseillers envoyes au Ministere de !'Education Nationale par l'UNESCO, sou~ le prog­ ramme de l'A~:i!stance teehniq4e de~ Nations 11 ai$ et par !'Association Internationale de Developpement.

Une autre modification envisages et realisee durant l'annee fut l'etablissement de sous-departements speci­ aux pour l'e:pseignement technique, l'admiqistratton com­ merciale et l'enseignement de !'agriculture au Departe­ m.ent de !':Education f'r,o.fessio:qnelle. :O'une maniere an­ alogue, un Bureau pour la formation des professeurs a ete adjoint au Departement d'Edl,.lCation Professionnelle et Technique. Un autre changement important pendant l'annee fut l'etablisse:m-ent de Dtreetio~ de l'E,nseigne- -30-

ment dans les departement nouvellement creees. Les ~utorites provinciales prirent egalement une part plus 1mportante dans l'etablissement des plans de l'enseigne­ ment, dans leur application et leurs progres. B. INSPECTIONS

Douze nouveaux inspecteurs ont et'e nommes en rap­ port avec !'augmentation du nombre des ecoles pendant le premier Plan Quinquennal.

C. FINANCES DE L'ENSEIGNEMENT

Le budget du Ministere de !'Education Nationale et de l'Universite de Kaboul, au course de l'annee 1961-1962, se monte a 498 millions d' Afghanis. Cette somme comporte 60 millions d' Afghanis obtenus en tant qu'aide etrangere de la part des organisations internationales et des pays .e'tr_angers. Si l'on compare cette somme au budget etabli pour la seconde moitie de la derniere annee du plan (Ple 11 Quinquennal) ajoute a !'extension du budget faite pour les six mois suivants, nous notons une augmentation de 73 millions d'Afghanis, soit une augmentation de 17%. De meme, l'aide apportee par la population au Ministere de !'Education Nationale pour la construction et l'equipe­ ment des ecoles peut etre ewaluee a 10 million d'Afghanis.

Les depenses pour "l'enseignement prive" faites au course de l'annee derniere ont ete estimees, comme il y a. deux ans, a 40 millions d' Afghanis et celles des autres ecoles des ministeres a 6.275 .. 000 Afghanis, ce qui repr,e­ sente une augmentation de 42 % sur les depenses de l'annee precooente.

D. CONSTRUCTIONS SCOLAIRES -31-

Les fonds destines aux quatre categories de construc­ tions scolaires pendant les deux dernieres annees se sont montes a 110 millions d' Afghanis par an. Ces fonds cepen­ dant ne sont pas repartis de maniere egale entre les differ­ entes categories d'ecoles; par exemple, l'annee derniere, une somme de 4.844.300 Afghanis a ete depensee pour la construction d'ecoles primaires et une somme de 45.096.539 Afghanis pour la construction d'ecoles second­ aires et professionnelles, bien que le montant destine a la premiere categorie ait ete de 6.385.820 Afghanis et que celui destine aux deux autres categories se soit 'eleve a 68.260.765 Afghanis. Ceci montre une augmentation de 31% dans les depenses pour les constructions d'ecoles se­ condaires et techniques.

J [ DEVELOPMENTS QUANTITATIFS

Nombre de professeurs et d'eleves

Le nombre des eleves et des professeurs du Minis­ tered·: l'l{·::;lcation Nationale fut le suivant, en date du 8 avril1962.

Eleves Augmentation Professeurs Aug. Ensugnement primaire 251.456 18% 5.283 12% Enseignement Secondaire et M0yen 19.940 41% 611 20% Enseignement professionnel 7.362 24% 548 16% Enseignement Sup'erieur 2.165 9% 319 2,5% -32-

Le pourcentage de !'augmentation est superieur a celui de l'annee deTniere.

Le nombre des eleves recevant un enseignement dans d'autres Departements du Gouvernement et dans des ecoles Privees fut aussi estime pour la premiere fois l'annee derniere avec la cooperation des Ministere de !'Education Nationale et du Plan; il fut le suivant:

Nombre d'eleves un enseignement dans d'autres D'epartements 11.377 Nembres d'eleves dans les ecoles priv'ees 250.000

HI. ETABLISSEMENTS ET INSTITUTIONS

D'ENSEIGNEMENT

Des etudes faites au cours de l'annee derniere ont mis en lumiere la n-ecessite de creer les ecoles et les sections suivantes dans les differentes categories d'enseignement:

(a) On a separ:e l'ecole des Beaux-Arts de l'Ecole des Arts et Metiers. Cette 'ecole nouvellement separee recevra des eleves diplomes du premier cycle des ecoles second­ aires. La duree des etudes dans cette ecole couvre une pe­ riode de trois ans; elle recrutera. des eleves des deux sexes. El!e comporte une section de peinture, une section de sculpture et une section de musique.

(b) La separation de l'ecole d'Education Physique de l'Ecole Normale.

(c) L'etablissement de l'Institut de legisl~tion in­ dustrieUe. La duree de l'enseignement y est de deu~ ans; on y recrutera des eleves diplomes du baccalaureat, spe- -33-

cialement ceux qui sortent de !'Ecole de Commerce.

NOUVEAUX ETABLISSEMENTS IMPORTANTS D'ENSEIGNEMENT SUPERIEUR

1.- Creation d'une Faculte de Pedagogie. Les elE~ves de cette faculte, jeunes filles et jeunes gens, sont des elE~ves munis du baccalaureat. La duree de l'enseigne­ ment est de quatre ans pour obtenir le diplome correspon­ dant.

2.- Faculte d'enseignement menager. Seules y sont ~dmises les jeunes filles munies du baccalaureat pour une periode d'enseignement de quatre ans.

3.- Creation d'une section de chirurgie dentaire ad­ jointe ala Faculte de Medecine et ou l'enseignement s'etendra sur quatre ans. Sont admis a cette section jeunes gens et jeunes filles munis du baccalaureat.

JV. CHANGEMENTS ET DEVELOPMENTS DANS LES PROGRAMMES, LES METHODS ET LES MATERIAUX D'ENSEIGNEMENT

1.- Ecoles de communaute

Afin de favouriser des relations plus etroites entre .~'ecole et la communaute et afin de faciliter aussi !'ame­ lioration des conditions sociales et de l'enseignement, 7 ecoles d'enseignement primaire et moyen ont et'e choisies comme ecoles pilotes de communaute dans differents en­ droits du pays. Dans ces ecoles.des efforts ont 'ete faits pour renforcer le role de l'ecole dans la vie sociale de la communaute. On a pu fournir aces 'ecoles l'equipement necessaire comme, par exemple, des outils et instruments agricoles, du mat'eriel pour l'elevage de la volaille, pour -34-

la menuiseri~ et la confectiqn de vetements, ainsi. que le mat'&-iel necessaire a l'artisanat local. On envisage d'etab­ lir; des ateliers ou les eleves pourraient recevoir un en­ seignement concernant l'agriculture et l'artisanat local et ou les habitants, eux aussi, pourraient apprendre a reparer les machines et outils agricoles. On se propose ·egalement de renforcer les liens entre l'ecole et la com­ munaute en prevoyant un local dans chaque ·~ole de com­ munaut'e ou les habitants pour~aient se reunir pendant leurs heures de loisir et profiter des livres, des periodiques et d'autres maferaux de lecture qui pourraient etre four­ nis dans ce but. Ce serait la que les villageois se reuni­ raient une fois par semaine pour discuter et r'esoudre leurs gr,oblemes. Il est encourageant de remarquer que la population locale a fourni une aide morale et materielle a de telle ecoles

2.- Programme d'enseignement scientifique dans les ecoles primaires

Jusqu'a present, l'enseignement scientifique ne figu­ rai t pas aux programmes des classes de lere, 2eme et 3eme. On a estime par la suite qu'il ·~ait essentiel que l'enseignement ·scientifique soit introduit d'une maniere systematique dans le programme de toutes les classes pri­ maires. Des programmes d'enseignement scientifique ont et'e maintenant etablis pour les classes allant de la lere a la 6eme.

3.- Enseignement artistique Primitivement, le dessin et les travaux manuels etaient enseign'es dans les ecoles primaires d'Af.ghanistan Mais, r.ecemment, sur le conseil et avec l'aide des experts de !'UNESCO, un nouveau programme d'en$eignement --35-

artistique a ete 'elabore pour stimuler !'initiative et la . _faculte d'imf;lgination.chez Jes jepnes Afghans. Ce.-prog­ •· ' .. ~ .. ~,. r ramme est main tenant mis al'essai dans nombre d'eco!es et il sera graciuellement introd~it dans toutle pays.

4.- Revision des livres declasse

L'experience acquise par des professeurs experi­ ment'es et ayant de longues annees de service a montr,e qu~certains chapitres des livres classiques utilises dans les 'ecoles primaires devaient etre revus et corriges. Dans ce but, une Commission composee de maitres primaires, remarquables et comp'etents, a ete nommee sous la super­ vision du Departement de l'Enseignement primair. Elle doit s'occuper de ce sujet et conseiller les changements qui devront etre apportes aux manuels classiques p:ri­ maires.

5.- L'introduction de l'Education Physique dans le programme des ecoles primaires et moyehnes de jeunes filles et !'introduction de sports dans le second cycle de ces ecoles.

6.- Modification et augmentation du nombre des matieres ~nseignees a, l'Institut afghan de Technologie

Afin. de sui vre le d'eve.i~ppement de la technologie · et de I'expansion industrielle ,e~ afin ~ussi de repondre au besion toujour.s plus grand de personnel technique, l'hor­ aire hebdomadaire d'enseignement dans cet Institut a et'~ augmente de 4 heures. D'autres changements sont aussi survenus dans le. programme et les heures d'enseig­ ~ernent~ a savoir: ' -36-

Classe Augmentation d'heures Diminution d'heures 10eme 7 hew:es ( dessin de meca­ 3 heures ( anglais nique, 3,5 h. Mathema­ 2 h, Bibliotheque tiques 1,5 h. Etude du ma­ 1 h.) teriel et de son fonction­ nement, 1/2 h. Chimie 1,5h)

lleme 5,5 heures (Mathematiques 1,5 heures 2 h. (Physique) Anglais 2 h. Electronique elementai,r.e 1 h. Etude du rna teriel et de son fonc- tionnement 1/2 h.)

12eme A 2:3 heures (Code de na viga- (El'ements de trafic tion aerienne 10 h. Dactylo- a'erien, 13 h. Com­ graphie 5 h. Radio 4 h. Sports munications 2 h. 1 h. Bibliotheque 1 h. Met'eorologie 3 h. Audio-visuel 1 h. Anglais Trafic internation- lh.) allh). Total : 19 heures

12eme B 5 heures (Anglais 1 h. Des- 1 heure (Construe- sin 1 h. Audio-visuel 1 h. tion) Sports 1 h. Bibliotheque 1 h.) 12eme C 10 heures (Mathematiques 6 heures (Electricit'e 1 h. Dessin de plans 2 h. 2 h., Electronique Physique 3 h. Audio-visuel 4 h.) 1 h. Sports 1 h. Bibliotheque 1 h.) 12eme D 7 heures (Anglais 1 h. 3 heures (Principes Audio-visuel 1 h. Travaux des machines 2 h. partiques de physique 3 h. Mecanique 1 h.) Sports 1 h. Bibliotheque 1 h.) -37-

ENSEIGNEMENT SUPERIEUR Afin d'elver le niveau de l'enseignement super­ ieur et afin aussi de favoriser la sp'eciaHsation et la recherche dans les differents domaines de la science, des pourparlers ont eu lieu pendant l'annee pour affilier certaines facult'es de l'Universite de Kaboul a des facul tes europ'eennes.

- La Facul te de Medecine et de Pharmacie de l'Universit'e de Kaboul avec la Faculte de Medecine et de Pharmacie de l'Universite de Lyon.

-La Faculte de Droit de l'Universite de Kaboul avec la Facul te de Droit de Paris.

-La Faculte des Sciences de l'Universite de Kaboul avec son correspondant de l'Universite de Bonn.

-La Faculte des Sciences Economiques de l'Univer­ site de Kaboul avec son correspondant de l'Universite de Cologne.

V. FORMATION DES PROFESSEURS La tres rapide augmentation du nombre des eleves compar'ee avec !'augmentation du nombre des profes­ seurs pose maintenant d'une maniere aigue le probleme cre'e par le manque de professeurs. Afin de lutter contre ce probleme, le Minister de !'Education Nationale a essaye d'employer des professeurs et d'autre personnel qualifie a temps double ou a temps spartiel. Dans les aires rurales, on remedie au manque de professeurs en recrutant des personnes qualifiees sur la base d'un contrat; le nombre total de tels professeurs a temps par,tiel depasse le milier. En outre, le Ministere a com­ menc'e des demarches pendant l'annee pour etablir 29 Centres d'enseignement pr'eliminaire et fondamental -38-

pour professeurs. Ceux-ci comprennent des Centres gratuits pour externes et internes. Les 'elE~ves externes re<;oivent une solde de la part du Minister.

CHANGMENTS DANS LES PROGRAMMES La forte 'elevation du niveau dans l'enseignement et la course du temps ont rendu imeratifs certains ch­ angements dans le programme des Ecoles Normales. En tant qu'essai, et titre experimental, les changements suivants ont done et'e appartes progressivement au pro­ gramme de la classe de lOeme (c'est a dire la lere classe de l'Ecole Normale de Kaboul):

Les hereus d'enseignement consacrees a l'anglais, ala phy sique, aux mathematiques, a l'art, ala calligraphie ont et'e reduites de 2, 6, 2, 1/2 et 1 heure respectivement, tandis que 9 heures ont et'e ajoutees pour l'enseignement de la biologie et de la pedologie. 1/2 heure et 2 heure ont ete ajoutees respectivement pour l'enseignement de la theologie et de l'ag;riculture.

MODIFICATIONS DANS LA FORMATION DES PROFESSEURS EN SERVICE Afin de faire face aux progres recents, on a ere~ des course d'hiver ou d'ete pour professeurs; on y a introduit l'enseignement des matieres .des ecoles de communaut'e, l'enseignement des methodes d'examen pedagogique des 'eleves et le scoutisme. Des seminaires et des course de mise au point pour l'enseignement, pour la biologie et pour la geographie ont et'e aussi crees a l'intention des profes­ seurs des ·ecoles secondaires. Un grand nombre de professeurs, hommes ou femmes, tirerent profit de ces s'eminaires. SALAIRES DES PROFESSEURS Le Ministere de l'Education Nationale a essay·e, -39-

durant l'annee, de lever les obstacles qui s'opposaient a une promotion substantielle du corps enseignant; c'est ainsi que tousles professeurs, hommes et femmes, qui m'eritaient une promotion ou une augmentation de salaire, ont pu recevoir leur du. Des m·ooailles vinrent rl§compen­ ser plus de 60 professeurs pour leurs longs et impeccables '~§tats de service.

VI. DIVERS Le developpement le plus important, a cet egard, est l'expansion des services m~dicaux du Ministere de l'Education Nationale. On envisage d'etendre ces servi­ ces aux provinces pendant le second Plan Quinquennal. Ces project comportent les traitements, les soins preventifs, l'hygiene, etc ...

Certains changements sont aussi survenus dans le scoutisme : ce mouvement s'est etendu maintenant dans les provinces et il comporte la formation d''edaireuses.

VII. CONSTRUCTION SCOLAIRE RESPONSABILITE LEGISLATIVE ET ADMINISTRATIVE Le Ministere de l'Education Nationale est responsa­ ble de l"etablissement des plans des ecoles et de la super.­ vision de la construction scolaire. La responsabili te du travail est assumee par:

a) la Direction des Construction pour les construc­ tions de n1oindre importance et les reparations. b) le Ministere des Travaux Publics qui a a sa charge les constructions de plus d'importance. c) le Department provincial des Travaux Publics,sous Ia supervision des Gouverneurs, dans le cas ou les batiments projetes sont a l'usage de centres d'enseigne­ ment de province. -40-

Dans tous les cas, le travail de construction est fait par des entrepreneurs sous contrat.

RESPONSABILITE FINANCIERE La responsabilite financiere pour l'achat du ter,rain, la construction des batiments, ainsi que pour les repara­ tions et la conservation de tous les batiments scolaires repose sur le Ministere de !'Education N ationale. La Direction des Constructions du Ministere de l'Eudcation Nationaie allow~ les fonds necessaires a la construction en les pr'elevant sur son budget annuel destine aux cons­ tructions. Aucun pret, aucun emploi extraordinaire du budget n'est permis pour les constructions de batiments, non plus qu'aucune aide monetaire n'est acceptee des groupements priv'es.

POSITION PRESENT Les depenses pour les construction d'ecoles primai­ res et secondaires pendant les cinq dernieres annees repr'esentent approximativement 33% des depenses globales pour l'enseignement.

Quand le premier Plan Quinquennal fut etabli en 1956, !'accent fut mis tres fortement sur l'enseignement professionnel et l'enseignement sup'erieur. Cependant, !'attention adequate fut aussi portee sur le developpe­ ment de l'enseignement primaire et secondaire.

Lorsque le premier Plan Quinquennal de construc­ tions scolaires prit fin en septembre 1961, une somme de 296.000.000 Afghanis avait 'ete d~ensee pour la cons­ truction. Compris dans cette depense, pres de 23.500.000 Afghanis furen t depenses, uniquements pour les batim­ ents des ·ecoles primaires et rurales. Ceci eut pour resul­ tat une augmentation de 20% dans le nombre de bati­ ments scolaires mis en utilisation pour les ecoles pri- -41-

maires. On doit remarquer ici que dans la construction des ecoles rurales, la pl[lrticip4tion locale des villages s'est montee a environ 10.000.000 Afghanis par an, soit a !"equivalent d'un nombre de classes pour 4.000 eJeves.

De plus, compris dans cette depenses totale, 70.000 000 Afghanis ont ete destines a la construction des 'ecoles seconda:h'€s. Ceci eut pour r'esultat une augmentation de 70% du nombre de batiments mis en utilisation pour les ecoles secondaires.

Les 202.500.000 Afghanis restant furent utilises pour: 1.- les Ecoles professionnelles 2.- les batiments de l'Universite (Centre universi­ tair de Ka boul) 3.- les bureaux de !'Administration, les entrepots et d'autres batiments utilitaires pour le Ministere de !'Education Nationale. ·

Les differents types d'ecoles dans le pays s'elevent en 1961 a:

Ecoles primaires 788 Ecoles rurales 481 Ecoles d'enseignement moyen 52 Ecoles secondaires 22 Ecoles professionnelles 31 ~~~~ 1 Total 1375 Parmi les ecoles figurant sur la liste ci-dessus, 156 ecoles se trouvent dans des batiments prives lou'es par le Ministere de !'Education Nationale. Dans beaucoup d'ecoles primaires et profession­ nelles, des facilites d'hebergement sont fournies aux -42-

elE~ves qui habitenta une grande distance de leur ecole.

Deux facteurs ont ete d'une grande aide dans l"etablissement des projets ci-dessus exposes, soit :

a) l'interet et l'aide mat'erielle de la population en vue du developpement des facilites d'instruction pour les enfants.

b) !'emancipation des fernmes pour l''etude et l'auto­ developpement. Ce dernier facteur est mis en evidence par la cr'eation d'un grand nombre d'ecoles de jeunes filles ala requete de la population.

ESTIMATION DES BESOINS FUTURS. Le deuxieme Plan Quinquennal· (qui commence en mars 1962) envisage un developpement plus important de l'enseignement et il vise a construire les batiments suivants.

1.- Approximativement 250 nouvelles ecoles pri­ maires (de la cJ a sse de lere a la classe de 6eme).

2.- Approximativement 250 nouvelles '€coles rurales (de la classe de lere a la classe de 3eme).

3.- Approximativement 65 ecoles . d'enseignement moyen (de la classe de 7eme ala classe de 9eme).

4.- Approximativement 5 nouvelles ecoles secondai­ res ( de la classe de lOeme a la classe de 12eme).

Pourle developpement de ce second Plan Quinquen­ nal, deux facterurs ont determine les constructions sco­ laires: • f, -43-

a) une demande de la population, augmentant con­ stamment, de creation d'ecoles primaires, en meme temps que !'institution, suivant la constitution, de l'en­ seignement obligatoire.

b) le besoin, chaque jour plus grand, pour les ecoles secondaires et professionnelles d'avoir un recrutement adequat d'eleves bien pr'epares.

Dans ce plan Quinquennal, les sommes suivantes ont ete sp'ecifiquement designees :

1. Ecoles primaires et de vHage 216.393:750 Afghanis

2. Ecoles d'enseignement mo- yen et 'e'coles secondaires 254.459.400 Afghanis

3. Ecoles professionnelles 663.411.250 Afghanis

4. B

5. Minitere de !'Education Nationale Projets 154.862.100 Afghanis

6. Mus'ee de Kaboul 18.209.000 Afghanis

Total 1.572.429.250 Afghanis

En addition au second Plan Quinquennal, des etu­ des preliminaires ont 'ete faites maintenant par le Minis­ tere en ce qui concerne les demandes de constructions scolaires a longue ech'eance jusqu'en 1990. C'est en juin 1965 que cette etudedoit etre finie. 44

MESURES PRISES OU ENVISAGEES Ori envisage en ce moment d~amplifier les services admiilistratifs charges, au · Ministere de !'Education Nationale, de la construction: Jusqu'a present, comme il a deja 'ete mentionne, le Ministere des Tr,avaux Pub­ lics a assur·e une partie importante des construction. Maintenant, cependant, les services administratifs de la Director de la construction au Ministere de !'Educa­ tion Nationale seront renforc'es et pourront prendre ainsi de plus grandes responsabilites en ~e qui concerne les proj€ts de constructions scoh.tires ·nouvelles et l'in­ spE>"'tion de la construction scolaire en cours.

En rapport avec cette nouvelle politique et en con­ nexion avec le nouveau programme de cinq ans de con­ struction scolaires pour ce pays, la Direction des Con­ structions est en train d''t§ltudier deux plans types de construction scolaires (l'un pour climat froid, !'autre po­ ur climat chaud) qui utilisent autant que possible la standardisation. Ces plans seront adaptes aux differen- tes regions du payset permettororit une future expansion des ecoles. Une attention particuliere a 'ete apportee aux ecoles primaires dont la construction est projetee dans differentes provinces en dehors de Kaboul. On a pris des mesures pour que le plan de ces ecoles soit su:ffisamment souple pour pouvoir etre convenablement adapte aux diffe~ents endroits.

Les plans a l'etude concernent des batiments de 8 a 20 salles de class e. En raison de la tradition culturelle du pays, on envisage des ecoles s~parees pour les jeunes gens et pour les jeunes filles.

ASPECTS INTERNATIONAUX DU PROBLEME Ce pays a: requ de l'aide de l'Agence des Etats-Unis -45- pour le Developpement International et de la part de la Mission d'Assistance Technique de !'UNESCO sous forme d''equipement scolaire, ainsi qu'une aide venant de techniciens etrangers. Les Etats-Unis ont particip~, pour 50%, ala construction d'une Universite1 de grandes dimensions. Bien qu'on ne puisse trouver dans le pays qu'une quantite limit'ee de materiaux de construction, on croit que l'on pourrait accepter l'aide ultE!rieure d'au­ tres pays sous forme d'aide financiere pou~ les materiaux de construction importes, tels que feuilles de tole ondu­ lee, feuilles d'asbete, bois de construction, verre, ciment, peinture, objets manufactures de quincaillerie et equi­ pement des salles de classe.

Le 15 juin 1962. THE EARLY ISLAMIC IDSTORY OF GHUR by C.E.Bosworth

I

The pr:ovince of Ghur in Afghanistan has long been one of the least known regions of the eastern Islamic world, and our knowledge about its history, its rulers and its people still has many gaps in it. In the 12th and early 13th centuries a local family, the Shansabanis, spread their power beyond the con­ fines of Ghur and became an international force; but their flo­ rescence coincided with the appearance of two other dynasties, those of the Khwarj.zmshahs and the Mongols, who proved more powerful than the Ghurids. Although the Ghurids were to leave their mark on India, Ghur itself now lapsed into obscur,ity, while its originally Khurasani population became in­ creasingly diluted with Turkish and Mongol pastoralists. D In 661 the Chinese T'sang dynasty organised the ''Western Lands", which stretched beyond Khotan to the Persian frontier~ into sixteen provinces of their empire. The Emperors regard­ ed these lands as peripheral and as inhabited by barbarians; and although we have some Chinese material on Tukharistan and on the Kabul·and Gandhara areas, neither the Chinese administrative and geographical manuals nor the accounts of travellers like the Buddhist monk Huan-chuang throw any light on Ghur at this period. The Arab and Persian geogra­ phers showed little interest in Ghur. Until the 11th century, it was a pagan land. It had no important urban centres for trade and industry, and no commercial r.eoutes crossed it, thereby necessitating the enumeration of roads and staging­ posts characteristic of much early Muslim geographical litera­ ture. The anonymous author of the Hudud al-alam (completed 982-3) lived in the adjoining province of Guzgan and served its -47-- princes, the Ferighunids. He asserts that they exercised suze~­ ainty over Ghur; but he shows no special concern to elucidate its geography. (1) The biographers had no interest in Ghur because it produced no Muslim scholar or religious figure of even minor fame. The most Samani can do is to name three scholar.s of Baghdad with the laqab "al-Ghuri" and suggest that they were perhaps of Ghuri origin; since they flourished in the 4th and early 5th centuries A.H., their forefathers may have been of servile origin, for pagan Ghur long supplied Islam with slaves. (2) Without the hist9ry of the Shansabani dynasty by their eulogist Minhaj ad-Din Juzjani, the Tabaqat-i-Nasiri, written in 1260 for Sultan Nasil~ ad-Din Mahmud Shah of Delhi, our knowledge of Ghuri history in the early Islamic period would be meagre indeed. Even in the last century or so, travel­ lers in Afghanistan have shown far less interest in the topogra­ phy and antiquities of Ghur than in those of the more accessible Sistan, Kandahar and Kabul regions. These last have the mor.e obvious attractions of being historic corridors for the move­ ment of peoples and ideas and having connections with the clas­ sical Hellenistic, Buddhist and Indian worlds. Fortunately, the work of the French Archaeological Delegation in Afghanis­ tan is now remedying this neglect of Ghur. (3) 1- T;:-'Minorsky, G.M.S. (London, 1937), pp.l10,342. 2- Sarnani, Kitab al-ansab, G.M.S. facs. (London, 1912), f.413 a; Yaqut, Mu'jam al-buldan, ed. Wustenfeld, III, p.825. 3- It was not until the end of 1959, when this paper had been completed, that was able to see a copy of A. Maricq and G. Wiet, LeMinaret de Djam. La decouverte de la capitale des Sultans Ghorides (XIIe-XIIIe seicles) ( =Mems. de la del{~gat1on Archeologique Francaise en Afghanistan, XVI) (Paris, 1959), in which the discovery of Firuzkuh is ·described. M. Wi~t contributes (pp.31-54) an admirable historical survey of the dynasty m Ghur which will replace that part of M. Longworth Dames' article in E.I. 1 which deals with the main branch of the family in Ghur. M. Maricq's researches into the topography and political divisions of mediaeval Ghur, illumined by what most earlier European writers on the sub'ject have lacked, i.e. personal knowledge of the terrain, now satisfy many of the questions Minorsky had to leave unresolved in his survey of Ghur. H. al-'a., 333, 342. In so far as the authors are primarily concer~ed wi.th the political and military history of the Ghurid empire at the penod of 1ts greatest florescence, this present paper ~upplie~ a pr.ol~gomenon on the early history of the region and, m particular, 1ts rehg1ous and cult.ural development. -48~----

Ghur lies in the west-centre of what is now Afghanistan, and comprises the basins of the upper Her,i Rud, the Farah Rud, the Rud-i-Ghor and the Khash Rud, together with the interven­ ing mountain chains. ( 4) These rise to over 10,000 feet and become considerably higher as they run eastwards to the Hindu Kush. Ghur was difficult of access in mediaeval times and still is. The valley sides have deciduous woodlands and are often covered with mulberry and walnut trees, apricots and vines; they then rise steeply to the bar.e mountains. The valley bot­ toms are highly fertile, and already in the lOth century Istakhri stressed the region's fruitfulness, with its streams, meadows and tillage. When in 1845 the French officer: Ferrier penetrat­ ed into Ghur-the pioneer traveller. from western Europe in these parts-he recorded that "In the valley of the Heri Rood we found a succession of camps and villages and cultivation of all kinds, with cattle, horses and camels in vast numbers on the pastures". Today wheat and barely can be grown on the higher ground, while irrigation channels in the r,iver bottoms conserve the waters of the melting snows; here, semi-tropical crops like rice are grown. (5) After the Mongol invasions the pastoral element among the population increased; whereas in the Samanid, Ghaznevid and Ghurid periods the Tajik inhabi­ tants had possessed herds and had enjoyed some fame as horse rearers, they had been primarily agriculturists. It seems that the language of these Tajiks had considerable dialectical diver­ gencies from the Persian spoken in Khurasan and from that familiar to the Ghaznevid Sultans; for his campaign of 1020

4- The modern district of Ghuri on the upper Qunduz, to the south-west of Khanabad and north of the Ghorband (cf. G. Jarring, on the distribution of Turk tribes in Afghanistan, = Lunds Universitets Arsskrift, N.F., Lund-Leipzig 1939, p.16) is to be distinguished from the mediaeval pro­ vince of Ghur. ·5- Istakhri, ed. de Goeje, 281; Ibn Hauqal, 2nd edn. of Kramers, 444; F. Spiegel, Eranische Alterthumskunde (Leipzig, 1871-8), I, 25-8: J.P. Ferrier, Carav~ journeys and wanderings in Persia, Afghanistan, Turkistan and Balooch1s- -49-

~~to Ghur:, the Prince Mas'ud had to employ local intergreters, ~6). .·

' ~,. ' .. . .. The accounts of the Ghaznevid camp:::;i~'"'= :n the early 11th qmtury confirm Yaqut's information that Gzll_U !T~d no towns ~f note, but only agricultural settlements and-E:.ost typical feature of the landscape-fortified places and tovvers ( qasr,qal'a, hisar, kushk) k which a "bad-tempered, unruly and ignorant" people (Hudud al-alam, 110) could defend themselves. Under the Ghaznevids and Ghurids, the inaccessibility of these strongholds made them favoured for immuring political. pri­ ~oners. (7) The fortresses' commanding positions reflected the fragmentation of political power in Ghur during this early period, a process aided by geography. There was no obvious centre from which the region could be dominated by a single ruler. Fir:uzkuh, eventually the capital of the whole of Ghur, was originally founded by the Ghurid ruler Qutb ad-Din Muh-:­ ammad (d.541/1146-7) as capital of the petty principality of Warshada on the Heri Rud allotted to him by his father. (8) So befo~e the de~ay .of the Ghazneviqs and the rise of. the Shansa­ panis to mor~ th~n local significance, Ghur was a land of local chieftains, derebeys.

The route down the Heri Rudis the most direct between ~C1St~rrli\fgh~ll:~YlP an.ci KhU):'ctsa.nJbutbe.cau~e qf the wildness of Ghur, its paganism and the predatory activities of its people, tan (London, 1856), J>p.238 ff.; G. Le·Strange, · Eastern lands of the :Cali;.. p.Qe;tte .{Cambridge,. 1905), pp.416-17. 'Ahmad Ali· Kohzad, "Along the ~h-4 Baba and Hari· Rud", Afghanistan, VI-IX (Kabul, 1951-4), (6parts) gives a good modern description based on the author's journey through Ghur on horse.back. . ·. . · · 6- 1st., 281; Abu'l-Fadl Baihaqi, Tarikh-i Mas'udi,ed. Ghani and Feyyaz (Teh- ran, 1324), p.117. · 7- Baih., 12, 70, 229; Yaqut, III, 168 825; Tabaqat-i Nasiri,ed. W. Nassau Less . . (Calcutta, 1864), p.2/, tr. H. G, Raverty (London, 1881); I, p.115. 8- Tab. Nas., 48, tr. I, 339. The fact that Firuzkuh lies on the northern limits of Ghur, where it adjoins Gharchistan, and not in the centre of Ghur, is explained by Maricq and Wiet, op. cit., 61 ff.; see also below; n. 45, The eccentricity of this position caused many scholars -in the past to dismiss the possiblitity of Firuzkuh's lying in the Heri Rud basin. -50- it was little used for through traffic in early Islamic times. The routes from Kabul or Ghazna to Khurasan normally made long detours, either northwards across the Ghorband and through Balkh or southwards across the rivers and plains of Sistan via Kandahar and Bust. (9) Under the Ghaznevids, the conver­ sion of Ghur began, and the military might of the early Sultans enabled them to exert considerable influence within it; but the Ghaznevid official Abu'l-Fadl Ba.ihaqi's -memoirs show that Sultan Mas'ud (421-32/1030-41) made his major troop move­ ments between Ghazna and Khurasan by the "Bust Road~' or the "Balkh road". Indeed, the onset of winter weather made the transfer of large forces between Ghazna and Ghur impossible. (10) The central route through Ghur was used only by small detachments of troops or. to convey urgent messages or when some other important reason demanded speed; such occasions became more frequent as Seljuq pressure on Khurasan increas­ ed. After the final ruin of Ghaznevid power in the west at Dendanqan in 1040, the defeated Sultan and his entourage fled through Gharchistan and Ghur to the castle of a friendly chief­ tain of norther.n Ghur, Ab'ul-'Abbas b. Abi'l-Hassan Khalaf, whose father had gone over to Mas'ud's side when that princ~ had as governor of Khurasan led the Ghur expedition . of 411/1020 and had subsequently fought for the Sultan against the Qarakhanids. (11)

·As well as practising agriculture and banditry, the belli­ cose inhabitants of Ghur specialised in the production of 'wea.:. pons and war equipment. The mou1;1tain massif of the Pamirs, the Hindu Kush and their outliers are all highly metalliferous, and as the name of one of Ghur's- chief fortresses, Ahengeran or Pul-i-iAhengeran, "Blacksmith's boundary", implies, iron

9- Kohzad, op, cit., XI/1;2-4, ·gives the· mileage of the ·northern route from Kabul to Herat as 830, the southern one as 727, and the central one through Ghur as 540 (across the Unai pass) or 628 (via Bamiyan). · 10- Tab. Nas .. ll3, tr. I, 440. 11- Baih., 523, 536 (where the journey between Ghazna and Nishapur via the Ghur route is said to take 15 days), 538-9, 543, 633. -51- must have been readily obtainable and so worked in Ghur. The Hudud al-alam records that "from this pr.ovince came slaves, armour, coats of mail and good arms". (12) When Mas'ud campaign~d in Ghur in 1020, the chieftain Abu'l -Hasan Khalaf brought him shields and cuirasses, and when the stronghold of the chieftain Warmesh-Pat of Jurwas was captured, a tribute of arms was levied. Later he employed Ghuri officers in his service as specialists in siege-warfare; in 1035 two of them directed the defence of Tirmidh against the sons of the Qara­ khanid 'Altigin with the aid of a powerful ballista (arrada). In the next century, the Shansabani ruler of Ghur, 'Izz ad-Din Husain (493-540/1100-46) used to send t~e Seljuq Sultan San­ jar as annual tribute armour, coats of mail, steel helmets and other war material, together with some of the ferocious watch­ dogs bred in Ghur. (13) III The isolation and backwardness of Ghur is seen in the per­ sistence there of paganism long after the surrounding territories had become Huslim. Juzjani is certainly premature in assert.. ing that there were already in the time of Ya'qub b. Laith (Later 9th century) rival parties of Muslims and pagans among the chieftains of Ghur who were continually at war. Describ­ ing. it as a dar kufr, Istakhri says he brings it into his purview only because there are a few Muslims there and because it ·is the biggest pagan enclave within the borders of Islam. He adds that the regions of Baghnin (in Zabulistan), of.the Khalaj, of Kabul and (Zamin-Dawar) are partly Islamised, and that the 12:"1i.al-'a., 110, 343; Ibn al-Athir,ed. Tornberg, IX, 155; Tab. Nas., 40, 356, tx:. 1321 II 1047. The name "Ahengeran" is found in other parts of thej Cen'trl '·Asian massif, e.g. and Ahengeran..Julga between Tashkent and Andejan (Babur-name, tr. A. S. Beveridge, London, 1912-21,pp.90, 152 161) and an Ahengeran in Quhistan (C.E. Yate, Khurasan and Sistan, Edin-t · burgh, 1900, p.127). Togan, "Die Schwerter $ier Germane~", zp.M.G., XC (1936), pp.33-4, suggests a connection between metal-workmg m the Ghur and Kabul areas and the skills of the Qarluq further north. 13- Baih., 115, 119-20 (=Tab. Nas., tr. I, 325 n.ff.), 466; Tab. Nas., 47, tr. I, 331J:7:' For the Ghuri dpgs, see also Nizami Arudi, Chahar maqala,ed. Qazwmt: and Mu'in (Tehran, 1333), p.96, E.G. Browne's Revised translation, G.M.S~ (London, 1921), 68, and Muhammad b. al-Munawwar, Asrar attauhid 0 maqamat ash-Shaikh Abi Sa'id, ed V. A. Zhukovsky (St. Petez:sburg, 1899), 237. -52- rest of the people are musalimun. i.e. in treaty relationship with the Muslims. The Hudud al-'alam describes the Ghuris as for­ merly pagan but now mostly Muslim. As Minorsky has point':' ed out, the stubborn ~esis[s.nce of the Ghuris in the first half of the 11th century against G1-;.~znevid attempts to control then~ shows that this claim was considerably exaggerated. Until this period, Ghur retained its reputation as a paganland which supplied slaves, mainly to markets in Herat and Sis.tan. (14) ·

When in the 7th century the Arabs had secured Khurasan, they began to look northwards and eastwards. Although their main efforts were directed against Transoxania and the upper Oxus valley, the region to the east of Herat was also probed at an early date. Tabari records unc2er 47/667 that "'in this year Ziyad (b. Abihi) sent al-Hakam b. 'Amr al Ghifari to Khurasan as Amir. He then raided the mountainous region of Ghur and Farawanda, brought them into submission by force . of arms and conquered them. He obtained from therh captives and a larg~ amount of plunder". This raid was apparenly ~ade from Merv or Herat. (15)

The exhedition of 107 /'t25-6 w~s ~ iarg~~~s~~~~ .. operatibii. thg ''overn~r of Kliuhisan; .AiJi.i Mundhir. As~

In the Caliphate of al-Ma'mun, it is. recorded that when in 205/821 'Abd al-Hamid b. Shubaib was appointed deputy in Sistan by the governor of Khu;r,asan and Sistan, Ghassan b. 'Abbad, the local Khawarij were attacked and the provinces of Ghur, Hind and Sind continually raided. (19) At the end of the 9th century the Samanids expelled the Saffarids from Khurasan, made the less aggressive successors of Ya'qub and 'Amir their tributaries and extended a tenous suzerainty over the region to the east of Ghur; but Ghur itself was left untouch­ ed. We know only of one successful expedition in this period. This was led by the Amir Abu Ja'far, who came from the promi­ nent Baihaq family of the Ziyadis and had been made governor 17- Tabl, Ir, 1496-7; I, A. V, 103, under A.H. lOS; cf. Caetani, op. cit., V, pp.l360, 1372. In the verses of Thabit Qutna given in Tabari, loc. cit., the poet speaks of this· second raid by Asad as essentially one against Turks; Eulo­ gising the Arab leader, he says: "Groups of the Turks wh~ live_ between Kabul and Ghur came to you, since there was no place m which they might find refuge from you. It is thus possible that the regions of Guz­ gan or Bamiyan, rather than the purely Khurasani region of Ghur, were the scene of these operations by Asad. 18- Tab., II, 1696; I.A.,V,179, under AH. 121. 19- Tarikh-i Sistan, ed. Malik ash-Shu'ara Bahar(Tehran,1314), 176-7. -54-

?f ~aih~q in 26~,1974-5 by Abul' Hasan Simjtiti. H~ bfbti~lit back many, captives to Khurasan, and; like the earlier liit!Ur­ ~iohs, this was a slav~ raid in force rather than ari attefupt tb gain a foothqld in Ghur. (20) Sebuktigin, when gotretnt>f of ~hazna and Zabulistan on behCllf of the Sanianids, is §aid tb have made several attacks on Ghur across the southern frontier facing Zamindawar and Bust, and the existence of one punitive expedition, in which Mahmud took part as a boy, has been un­ covered by Nazim from the poetry of 'Unsuri and Abu 'Ainir an-Najdi. In gratitude for his victory in 384/994 over the rebel­ lious generals Abu 'Ali Simjuri and Fa'iq khasse, Sebuktigin was awarded the governo~ship of Balkh, Bamiyan, Ghut and Gharchistan by the Samanid Amir,Nuh b.Mansur; and Juzjani's source could imply that a tribute of money and arms was al­ ready levied on the Shansabani chieftain of Ahengeran, Muham­ mad b. Suri, in Sebuktigin's time. (21) If any such control was in fact imposed, it can only have been transient; it was left to his son Mahmud of Ghazna to send a strong army under two of his best Turkish generals, Altuntash and Arslan Jadhib, against Ahengeran in 401/1011, the first of at least three expeditions into Ghur during his reign (see below p.127) (22). The Ghuris in this pe1~bd preyed on the caravans and travellers who passed just outside their frontiers, and levied transit dues on theni, and it was this brigandage which enraged Mahmud and drove 20- Gardizi, Zain al-2.khbar, ed. M.Nazim (Berlin,1928), 46-'7; 'Ali b. Z'ltd, kilo vn as Ibn Funduq, Tarikh-i Baihaq,ed. A. Bahmanyar (Teharan 1317). pp.129- 30. Baihaqi, Tarikh-i Mas' udi, 120, claims that Abu Jafar made several in­ cursions into Ghur. 21- Nazim, The life and times of Sultan Mahmud of Ghazna (Cambridge, 1931), pp.35-6; the anonymous Nasa'im al-ashar, kitab fi alqab al-wuz~ra, Ist~nbu~ Persian Ms., Aya Sofya 3487 (cf. Storey, 1090), f.74b; Ibn Haisam, Qisas-I thani, quoted in Tab. Nas., 40, tr, 1,320. . . . . 22- Utbi at-Tarikh al-Yamini, with commentary by Shaikh Mamm, (Cairo, 1286) IT pp 122-5 Persian tr. by, urbandhaqani, ed. 'Ali Qawim (Tehran, 1334): 199; I:A., rX, pp.155-6; cf. Nazim, op,_ cit., pp.70-3 .. This exp~dition may have been connected with. events whi~ w~re. takmg place In the adjoining land nf Sistan. Accordmg to the Tankh-I_ Sistan,. 358-9, t~e finan­ cial exactions of Ghaznevid officials there combmed With famme and plague during the years 400-2/1009-12 to c~use a re~ellion agai~t Mahmud. In the course of this the leaders (masha&'Ikh) of Sistlq:l went m a deputa­ tion to Ghur for help. So the expedition agajhst Ah~ta:q _fn#' bate had a flliiher ahn, to discourage the Ghuris frOm helping theae rebels against. the Ghaznevids. -55- him into punitive measures. (23)

_Yet tliese ttiajor efforts were only an intensification of the sthaller~sc~le Warfare which must have gone o:n intermittently al~n~ ih~ f~ontt~r_s of Ghur, the activities of ghazis and mura­ tiltbti. I~ the lOth and eady 11th centuries, all the thughur fating tlhur were ringed with ribats: at Ribat-i Karwan on the Otlrtl~rs o( Gtizgan, at Ribat-i Bazi in Gharchistan, at Bagh-i W"az~r td the east of Herat. Maqdisi describes the southern frontier adjoining Zamindawar as especially strongly defended wHh "fully-equipped (or "permanently-stationed"?) guards "(hurras lhtirattabun); at the ribat of Dar-rang were kept arms, equipment and horses, all(l murabitun resorted to it from all part. (24)

We have no knowledge about what constituted the pag­ anism of-Ghur. Ghur never formed part of the Sasanid empire, whose eastern boundary, as Marquo.rt sho\voo (Eransahr, 64,70), was normally at Talaqan, not much beyond Merv ar­ Rudh; and the absence of any important trade rounte from the west militated against the religions of the Persian empire being brought to it. (25) In the Shahname the forces of Ghur are de­ pi'cted as fighting on Af1:asiyab's side against Rustam. (26) Al­ though Tukharistan, Bamiyan add Kabul were long strongholds of Buddhism, the same absence of routes and the mountainous topogrphy prevented this faith from penetrating into Ghur.

23= Utbi, loc. c1t.; LA., loc. crr::=:~fi:'-- J~~~~IT""';I:'bikay;rt";-=Tn Eiliot and Dawson, History of India, II, pp.l95-6. 24- Ist., 272; H. al'a., 107; Baih., 115, 633, cf. Maqdisi, ed. de Goeje, 309; ibid., 305-6, following Marquart's reconstruction of "Dar-rang" from the text's w.r.r.n.k. ("Das Reich Zabul und der Gott Zun vom 6-9 Jahrhaundert", Festschrift Eduard Sachau, ed. G. Weil, Berlin, 1915, pp. 270-1). 25- Jtizjani ih his legendary account of the Shansabani family's beginnings, ~eaks 'of a Jewish merchant in Ghur who made an agreement with Amir Bahji (see he}qw; p.i~6) for the settlement C!f Jews within G~ur (Tab. Nas., :m-7 tr. 1313-14~ cf. W. J. Fischel, "~e Jews of Central As1a (Khorasan) in ~ediaeval Hebrew and :($lami,c 1iter!itur'e", Historia Judaica, Vtl, New ~- ~pr1~. _1945, Pti.~2. W,~b t.~~s tHis sroty _too seriouslj). 26- Ea. Turner l.'\1:~can (Calcutta, 1829), 1,296 25/6, tr. A.G. and E. Warner (London, 1902-25), fi, i\31. -56-

However, the lands to the south of Ghur, such as Zamindawar, Ghazna and Qusdar, adjoined the Indian world and until the lOth century were. culturally and often politically part of it. Kabul, Ghazna and Bust were key-points in the commercial in­ :- tercourse between the eastern Islamic world and India, and the geographers often designate them "the merchants' resort" or "the entrepot" (matjar, furda) for India. The first two towns bad in early Ghaznevid times colonies of Indian traders per­ manently resident there. (27) The Samanid slave general Al­ ptigin came to power at Ghazna in 351/962 after defeating Abu 'Ali (or Abu Bakr) Lawik or Anuk (?); but this dispossessed native ruler (who, despite the Kunya attributed to him, can hardly have been a Muslim) was later given military help from Kabul, at that time part of the empire of the Hindushahi Rajahs of Waihand, and the influence here of this powerful Indian dy­ nasty was not finally dispelled till Mahmud's time. (28) Zamin­ dawar had once possessed a great shirne and piigrimage centre devoted to the god Zun or Zhun, whose fame as the temple of Su-na penetrated even to China, but whose cult was clearly Hindu and not Buddhist in nature. Marquart plausibly sug­ gested that the cult of Zun might be connected with the famous shrine of the Sun-God Aditya at Multan, and that the temple of Zun still existed in the latter: part of the 9th century when Ya'qub and 'Amr b. Laith conquered the region as far as Kabul and Bamiyan. (29) The Arabian traveller Abu Dulaf (flouruit mid-lOth century) travelled within the Samanid dominions from Bukhara to Zamindawar and in his first Risala seems to confuse reports of the House of Gold in Multan with those of the

27- Ist., 245, 280; I Hauq. 2,450; Maqd., 303-4; H.a.l-'a., III; Nazim, Sultan Mahmud. 163. 28- Tab. Nas., 7-8, tr. 1,71-4; Muhammad b. 'ali Shabankara'i, Majma' al-a~sab fi't- tawarikh, Istanbul Persian Ms., Yeni Cami 909, ff. 164a ff. (an especially full account of Sebuktigin'~ predecessors in Ghazna); Marquart, Eransahr (Berlin, 1901), p. 298; Nazim, op. cit., pp.24-30, 86 ff.,Appx. I, 193; M. Long­ worth Dames, E.I. 1, Art. "Ghaznavids". 29- "Das Reich Zabul", pp.262-8, 272-4, 288 n. 2; cf. Alberuni's India, tr. Schau (London, 1888), I,pp. 116-17, and Ibn an-Nadim, Eihrist, (Cairo, 1348), pp.485. 6. Minorsky, E. I. Art. "Zun", summarises Marquart.

;::.:Ji:. I

•

\

,

Government Printing House