emirate · Central Asia and the Steppe

Saqqawist Emirate

1929 CE – 1929 CE · capital Kabul

The nine-month rule of Habibullah Kalakani, a Tajik rebel who seized Kabul from King Amanullah in 1929.

Origins

King Amanullah Khan's modernising reforms provoked tribal and religious revolts in late 1928. Habibullah Kalakani, a Tajik bandit leader from the Shomali plain north of Kabul, known as Bacha-i Saqao, 'son of the water carrier', captured Kabul in January 1929, and Amanullah abdicated and fled.

Rule and society

Kalakani proclaimed himself emir as Habibullah II and reversed Amanullah's reforms, closing girls' schools and restoring religious law, with backing from conservative clergy. His regime controlled little beyond Kabul and the north and was unrecognised by most of the Pashtun tribes, who resented a non-Pashtun ruler.

Decline and legacy

Mohammad Nadir Khan, a former general, raised Pashtun tribes and took Kabul in October 1929. Kalakani was captured and executed in November, and Nadir Shah restored the Kingdom of Afghanistan. Kalakani has been rehabilitated by some Tajik nationalists.

Lineage

Kingdom of Afghanistan 1926 CE – 1973 CESaqqawist Emirate

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Saqqawist Emirate. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/saqqawist-emirate
MLA
“Saqqawist Emirate.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/saqqawist-emirate. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Saqqawist Emirate.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/saqqawist-emirate.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Saqqawist Emirate’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/saqqawist-emirate (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻