Emir Habibollah Khan resisted overtures from the Central Powers (Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, the Ottoman Empire) during World War I to join them against the British and Russians. He was killed in a coup d’état in February 1919 which brought an anti-British ruler, Emir Amonallah, to power. A short war in May 1919 was resolved with the reassertion of British hegemony, qualified by Afghanistan’s right to conduct its own foreign policy. It therefore was able to sign a treaty of friendship with the new Bolshevik regime in Russia. Emir Amonallah proved to be an enlightened and modernising ruler.
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Citation: Editors, Litencyc. "Third Anglo-Afghan War". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 01 February 2010 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=5475, accessed 23 November 2024.]