Afghanistan - Inglese

Mohammed Zahir Shah: The Times obituary

[Times - World]

Mohammed Zahir Shah, called to rule Afghanistan at the age of 19 on the assassination of his father, Nadir Shah, presided over a regime which tried to continue the transition from medieval tribalism to a modern unitary state, which had begun under King Amanullah in the 1920s. In this, guided at first by his uncle who was also Prime Minister, he had a certain amount of success, given the volatile and unstable state of the country.