Soraya Tarzi

Soraya Tarzi
Soraya Tarzi
	Formal photograph of Soraya during her tenure as princess consort of Afghanistan
Queen consort of Afghanistan
Tenure	9 June 1926 – 14 January 1929
Princess consort of Afghanistan
Tenure	28 February 1919 – 9 June 1926
Born	Suraiya Shahzada Tarzi; 24 November 1899; Damascus, Ottoman Syria, Ottoman Empire
Died	20 April 1968 (aged 68); Rome, Italy
Burial	Jalalabad, Afghanistan
Spouse	Amanullah Khan
Issue	See Princess Ameenah Shah; Princess Abedah Bibi; Princess Meliha; Crown Prince Rahmatullah of Afghanistan; Prince Saifullah; Prince Hymayatullah; Princess Adeela; Prince Ehsanullah; Princess India; Princess Nagia;
House	Mohammadzai-Tarzi
Father	Sardar Mahmud Beg Tarzi
Mother	Asma Rasmiya Khanum
Religion	Islam

Soraya Tarzi (Pashto/Dari: ثريا طرزی; November 24, 1899 – April 20, 1968) was the first queen consort of Afghanistan as the wife of King Amanullah Khan. She played a major part in the modernization reforms of Amanullah Khan, particularly in regard to the emancipation of women.

Born in Syria, she was educated by her father, who was the Afghan leader and intellectual Sardar Mahmud Beg Tarzi.^[1] She belonged to the Mohammadzai Pashtun tribe, a sub-tribe of the Barakzai dynasty. As Queen of Afghanistan, she was not only filling a position – but became one of the most influential women in the world at the time.^[2] Owing to the reforms King Amanullah Khan instituted, the country's religious sects grew violent. In 1929, the King abdicated in order to prevent a civil war and went into exile.^[3] Their first stop was India, then part of the British Empire.

^ Runion, Meredith (October 30, 2007). The History of Afghanistan. 139: Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 155. ISBN 9780313337987.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
^ Cite error: The named reference Ahmed-Ghosh was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference Halidziai was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Runion139-1] Runion, Meredith (October 30, 2007). The History of Afghanistan. 139: Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 155. ISBN 9780313337987.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)

[Ahmed-Ghosh-2] Cite error: The named reference Ahmed-Ghosh was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Halidziai-3] Cite error: The named reference Halidziai was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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