Mahmūd Bēg Tarzī (August 23, 1865 in Ghazni - November 22, 1933 in Istanbul) (Pashto: محمود طرزۍ, Persian: محمود بیگ طرزی‎) was one of Afghanistan's greatest intellectuals.^[1] He is known as the father of Afghan journalism. As a great modern thinker, he became a key figure in the history of Afghanistan, following the lead of Kemal Ataturk in Turkey by working for modernization and secularization, and strongly opposing religious extremism and obscurantism.^[2] Tarzi emulated the Young Turks coalition.^[3]

Early years[link]

Mahmud Tarzi and his wife Asma Rasmiya

Mahmud Tarzi was born in 1865 in the city of Ghazni, Afghanistan. An ethnic Pashtun, his father was Sardar Ghulam Muhammad Tarzi, a leader of the Mohammadzai royal house and a well-known poet. In 1881, Emir Abdur Rahman Khan exiled Mahmud Tarzi's father and family - who would end up living in Turkey. On a second trip to Damascus in 1891, Tarzi married the daughter of Sheikh Saleh Al-Mossadiah, a muezzin of the Umayyad mosque. Tarzi would stay in Turkey until the age of 35, where he learned fluent Pashto, Persian, Turkish, French, Arabic, and Urdu.

When Abdur Rahman Khan died in 1901, his son Emir Habibullah Khan invited the Tarzi family back to Afghanistan the following year. Habibullah‘s most important contribution to Afghanistan was the return of Afghan exiles, and specifically that of Mahmud Beg Tarzi around the turn of the century. If there is a single person responsible for the modernization of Afghanistan in the first two decades of the twentieth century it was Mahmud Beg Tarzi.^[4] During this time, Mahmud Tarzi's daughter, Soraya Tarzi would marry and become Queen of Afghanistan. It was than that Mahmud Tarzi would take up a critical role in the history of Afghanistan - from famed poet to progressive leader.

Journalism and poetry[link]

One of Mahmud Tarzi's earliest works was known as the Account of a Journey (Sayahat-Namah-e Manzum) that was published in Lahore, Pakistan. However, Mahmud Tarzi's most influential work - and the foundation of journalism in Afghanistan - was his publishing of Seraj-al-Akhbar. This newspaper was published bi-weekly from October 1911 to January 1919.^[5] It played an important role in the development of an Afghan modernist movement, serving as a forum for a small, enlightened group of young Afghans, who provided the ethical justification and basic tenets of Afghan nationalism and modernism. Mahmud Tarzi also published Seraj-al-Atfal (Children's Lamp), the first Afghan Publication aimed at a juvenile audience.^[4]

Tarzi was the first who introduced Novel in Afghanistan and translated many English and French novels to Dari. He also contributed in editing, translations, and modernization of the Afghan press. He translated into Dari many major works of European authors, such as Around the World in Eighty Days, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, The Mysterious Island, International Law (from Turkish), and the History of the Russo-Japanese War. When he lived in Turkey and Syria, he immersed himself in reading and research, using both Turkish and Western literary and scientific sources. In Damascus, Tarzi wrote The Garden of Learning, containing choice articles about literary, artistic, travel and scientific matters. Another book entitled The Garden of Knowledge (later published in Kabul), concludes with an article “My beloved country, Afghanistan”, in which he tells his countrymen in Afghanistan how much he longs for his native land and recalls with nostalgia the virtues of its climate, mountains and deserts. In 1914, his novel Travel Across Three Continents in Twenty-Nine Days published. In the preface, he makes an apt comment about travel and history:

"Although age has its normal limits, it may be extended by two things-the study of history and by travel. Reading history broadens one's perception of the creation of the world, while travel extends one's field of vision."^[6]

He was instrumental in developing a modern literary community his last two decades in Afghanistan. Many of Tarzi's writings would be published after his death.

Politics[link]

Mahmud Tarzi was an Afghan nationalist. They were from Kandahar but not among the rulers of the province].^[7] Tarzi held many government positions in his life. He is a good example of the reform-minded individuals that ruled Afghanistan at the beginning of the 20th century. After Amanullah Khan ascended the throne, Tarzi would become Minister of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan in 1919. Shortly thereafter, the third Anglo-Afghan war began. After the national independence from the British in 1919, Tarzi, as Minister of Foreign Affairs, established Afghan Embassies in London, Paris, and other capitals of the world. Tarzi would also go on to play a large role in the declaration of Afghanistan's independence. From 1922 to 1924, Tarzi served as Ambassador in Paris, France. He was then again placed as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1924 to 1927. However, throughout his tenure in Afghanistan, Tarzi was a high government official during the reigns of Amir Habibullah Khan and his son King Amanullah Khan.^[6]

Afghan Independence[link]

Tarzi effectively guided the second movement of the young constitutionalists called Mashroota Khwah. This led to reviving the first suppressed movement of the constitutionalists in Afghanistan.^[8] Tarzi served as high counsel and advisor during this event.

Afghan Peace Conferences[link]

During Mahmud Tarzi's time as Foreign Affairs Minister in Afghanistan, the third Anglo-Afghan war broke out. Britain bombarded Kabul and Jalalabad, over a ton of munitions rained down to Jalalabad in a single day.^[9] Mahmud Tarzi was appointed head of the Afghan Delegation at the peace conferences at Mussoorie 1920 and Kabul 1921. The British, who had dealt with Tarzi before attempted to reduced Tarzi's energy to get more than they were supposed to. After four months the talks broke up because of the Durand Line. Sir Henry Dobbs led the British delegation to Kabul in January, 1921 - Mahmud Tarzi headed the Afghan group. After 11 months of hard discussions, the British and Afghans signed a peace treaty normalizing their relations. Although Afghanistan was the winner of the conference - as the British accepted Afghanistan's independence - Tarzi's diplomacy was shown as the British sent a message afterwards to Mahmud Tarzi, giving their good will toward all tribes.^[9]

Social Justice & Equality[link]

Politically, he held important government positions during the reigns of Amir Habibullah Ghazi and King Amanullah. He reached the highest points of government as a chief adviser and Foreign Minister. Mahmud Tarzi is a good example of the reform-minded individuals that contributed to Afghan society at the beginning of the 20th century. He was a main force behind Habibullah Khan's social reforms, especially with regard to education. These reforms included changing the medieval schools and madrasah systems, allow publication of books and journals, and lift all restrictions that ban girls and women from the rest of society.^[10] He led the charge for modernization - doing so as a strong opponent of religious obscuring. Although very religious, he was strongly against the state establishing a religion, even if it were his own.^[2] Early in his career, he was in favour of a united nation that would stretch from modern-day Pakistan to Syria, not to unify a Muslim nation but to stop inner-conflict and tribal wars that were common during that time in history. Tarzi's daughter, Queen Soraya Tarzi would play a bigger role for social justice, being one of the first major feminists in power in Afghanistan's history.

Final years[link]

Many of Mahmud Tarzi's plans and projects were never started, as the royal house of Amanullah Khan came to an end by a coup in 1929. Tarzi and his family were put into exile in Turkey. He died on November 22, 1933 at the age of 68 in Istanbul, Turkey.

Mahmud Tarzi Cultural Foundation[link]

On September 1, 2005, the Mahmud Tarzi Cultural Foundation was established in Kabul, Afghanistan with its headoffice in Mahmud Tarzi High School. The foundation is serving, according to NGO rules as a whole, briefly as, increasing the life quality of children at the educational level, helping their education, building schools, training & health centers, running these facilities and to complete the mentioned services written in the Deed of Foundation by creating financial aid for Afghan students.

A major project that the cultural foundation is starting in the Spring of 2007 is the Mahmud Tarzi Compound in Afghanistan. This project contains a library and a museum for Mahmud Tarzi’s works, a street children care center (for the remembrance of Asma Rasmia who was the wife of Mahmud Tarzi), and a women's care center (for the remembrance of Melika Soraya, daughter of Mahmud Tarzi and Queen of Afghanistan).

In order to get necessary finance for the foundation, a business center and a hotel will be built together with the compound. With any profit, the foundation will organize scholarship programmes, publishes old and new works of Sardar Mahmud Tarzi, and make contributions to the young authors and litterateurs to whom work for Mahmud Tarzi's ideas.

See also[link]

Poetry portal

• Tarzi

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Mahmud Tarzi

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mahmud Tarzi

• Biography and photos of Mahmud Tarzi
• Encyclopedia Iranica: Mahmud Tarzi
• Official Website of Mahmud Tarzi
• The Mahmud Tarzi Cultural Foundation (MTCF)
• Old Photo Book - by Mahmud Tarzi