Bala Hissar, Kabul, January 1879

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

After the murder of Sir Louis Cavagnari and his escort at the British residency in Kabul on 3 September 1879, Major-General Frederick Sleigh Roberts, who had led his Kurram Field Force to victory at Peiwar Kotal the previous December, was ordered to lead a new Kabul Field Force to the Afghan capital. Roberts occupied Kabul on 8 October and set about executing those involved in Cavagnari's murder; the gallows were erected in the burnt-out residency building within the Bala Hissar, Kabul's ancient citadel. Yakub Khan, meanwhile, hurriedly abdicated.

From an album by John Burke who accompanied the British Army during the 2nd Afghan War.