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King Zahir Shah Dominique De La Rosa Zahir Shah was one of the sons to Mohammad Nader Shah. At the age of 19, Zahir Shah came to the throne after the assassination of his father in November of 1933. As king, he was "able to maintain Afghanistan's neutral position in international politics" (Britannica). Along with preforming economic projects and being backed by foreign aid, outside of Kabul seemed to have not been effected by what he did for his country. During his reign, Zahir was often put at blame for being indecisive about his decisions for the country. In the 1970s, the country suffered from a drought and famine. To make matters worse for Zahir Shah, Pashto tribes wanted a self-governing nation. By this time a man wanted to take over, "The coup was led by Mohamed Duad, who declared a republic and himself president" (Guardian). King Zahir Shah's overall aim was to keep the government a monarchy and did not want any form of presidency. Works Cited

Judah, Tim. "Profile: Mohamed Zahir Shah." //The Guardian //. Guardian News and Media, 23 Sept. 2001. Web. 14 Oct. 2012.

"Mohammad Zahir Shah (king of Afghanistan)." //Encyclopedia Britannica Online //. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2012.

**History - Scott Phillips**  King Zahir Shah followed his family lineage as being King of Afghanistan holding the monarchy form of government in the country. "He was proclaimed king in 1933, a few hours after his father had been assassinated" (Judah). The death of his oppressive father put him into the role of king of Afghanistan, however he was more of a figurehead as his cronies took over his powers until he was fit to make decisions. Once he arose to his full power of King, he began to move Afghanistan into a new era by pushing social and economic reform. These reforms were largely funded by foreign aid, "Zahir Shah undertook a number of economic development projects, including irrigation and highway construction, backed by foreign aid, largely from the United States and the Soviet Union" (Britannica). Unfortunately, not much of Afghanistan out of Kabul benefited from his endeavors. However, even with large presence from the Soviet Union and US, Afghanistan under his rule maintained peace and neutralism during the Cold War. King Shah would eventually meet his demise while taking vacation abroad, during which a bloodless coup took over Afghanistan and ended his rule. Shah was then exiled from Afghanistan.

Judah, Tim. "Profile: Mohamed Zahir Shah." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 23 Sept. 2001. Web. 14 Oct. 2012.

 "Mohammad Zahir Shah (king of Afghanistan)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2012.


 * Audience- Collin Crownhart**



King Zahir Shah's main intended audience is the the followers of his country, Afghanistan. Shah is remembered as the latest king of Afghanistan. He made a new democratic system which had a great effect on the society of Afghan. "Clearly he had decided that the time had come to bring the educated people of the country into the governing process" (King Zahir Shah). By "gathering the sophisticated people in the society" as one to be involved the "governing actions", Shah shaped a new scheme of democracy. This permitted "the sophisticated people" to make and transformations, giving the Afghan society to a new source of living in the society. In addition the demand for "sophisticated or educated people" needed so that the population was capable to transform to become educated in reason to participate in the modern political system and process, endorsing the thought of education and the significance of obtaining an educated population. King, Zahir Shah greatly influenced his audience and followers by altering Afghanistan's politics and its culture.

http://www.biography.com/people/king-mohammed-zahir-shah-9540049

http://www.afghanan.net/afghanistan-history-2/mohammad-zahir-shah/

SourceURL:file://localhost/Volumes/Empire/Users/delarosad1/Downloads/10_10_12-Cultural-%20King%20Zahir%20Shah%20.doc//

Cultural- Celina Robles

//Mohammad Zahir Shah inherited the throne of Afghanistan at the age of 19 years old due to the assassination of his father. He ruled Afghanistan from 1933 to 1973. After he became king “his uncles (Mohammad Hashim, and Shah Mahmud) were the ones ruling the country for many years” (Afghanistan Online). When Mohammad was able to rule Afghanistan he planned on uniting the country so that there was peace. In his efforts to bring peace to Afghanistan he was greatly criticized by groups like Afghan Mellat Party. He also kept Afghanistan in a neutral position within the international politics circle. During his ruling, “he provided an era of stable government to his country” ( Britannica ). In order to bring stability to his country he began to generate economic projects such as building highways and irrigations. When developing these projects he had support from the U.S and the Soviet Union. After his death in his honor the people titled him “Father of the Nations”.//

// "Mohammad Zahir Shah". //Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. // Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. 14 Oct. 2012 //

//“Mohammad Zahir Shah”.// Afghanistan Online//. 2004. Web. 14 Oct. 2012