The Mausoleum of Timur Shah, Kabul, 1879

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

Major-General Frederick Roberts' Kabul Field Force had occupied Kabul in October 1879 following a mutiny in the Afghan Army and the murder of the envoy Sir Louis Cavagnari and his escort. A popular uprising then forced Roberts to fall back to his base at Sherpur. On 23 December 1879, Roberts defeated a major Afghan attack and reoccupied Kabul. He remained in the city until the summer of 1880. Burke stayed with the soldiers, photographing the city's buildings and its inhabitants. Timur Shah ruled Afghanistan from 1772 to 1793. His domed mausoleum was never completed because of the political instability after his death.

From an album of 101 photographs by John Burke, 1878-1880.