Amanullah [key], 1892–1960, emir (1919–26) and king (1926–29) of Afghanistan. To win popular support for his rule he invaded India in an attempt to free Afghanistan from British-ruled India. No serious fighting occurred, however, and the Treaty of Rawalpindi was soon signed (1919). He attempted to introduce a number of Western reforms and changed the country from an emirate to a kingdom. His subjects rebelled against his program, and he fled the country in 1929. He remained in exile in Switzerland until his death.
See study by L. B. Poullada (1973).
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