The Amir Yakub Khan and Sirdars of Kabul, 1879

Photograph by John Burke, 2nd Afghan War (1878-1880), 1879.

In May 1879, Amir Yakub Khan, son of the overthrown Sher Ali, travelled to Gandamak, a village just outside Jellalabad, to meet the British envoy Sir Louis Cavagnari. The gathering resulted in the signing of the Treaty of Gandamak whereby the Amir ceded territories to the British and accepted a British envoy in Kabul. The Amir is seated in the centre. Daoud Shah, from the Ghilzai tribe, his commander-in-chief, sits at his right. Despite the treaty, the war in Afghanistan was not over. In September 1879, following a mutiny in the Afghan Army, Cavagnari and his escort were murdered.