Soraya Tarzi
| Queen Soraya | |
|---|---|
| Queen Consort of Afghanistan | |
Formal photograph of Queen Soraya during her tenure as Princess Consort of Afghanistan
|
|
| Princess Consort of Afghanistan | |
| Tenure | 28 February 1919 – 1926 |
| Queen Consort of Afghanistan | |
| Tenure | 1926 - 14 January 1929 |
| Born |
24 November 1899 Damascus, Ottoman Syria, Ottoman Empire |
| Died | 20 April 1968 (aged 68) Rome, Italy |
| Burial | Jalalabad, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan |
| Spouse | King Amanullah I of Afghanistan |
| Issue |
See
|
| House | Mohammadzai-Tarzi |
| Father | Mahmud Tarzi |
| Mother | Asma Rasmiya |
| Religion | Islam |
Soraya Tarzi, known mostly as Queen Soraya (Pashto/Dari: ملکه ثريا) (November 24, 1899 – April 20, 1968), was the Queen consort of Afghanistan in the early 20th century and the wife of King Amanullah Khan. Born in Syria, she was educated by her father, who was the Afghan leader and intellectual Sardar Mahmud Tarzi. She belonged to the Mohammadzai Pashtun tribe, a powerful sub-tribe of the Barakzai dynasty.
Soraya Tarzi was born on November 24, 1899, in Damascus, Syria, then a part of the Ottoman Empire. She was the daughter of the Afghan political figure Sardar Mahmud Tarzi, and granddaughter of Sardar Ghulam Muhammad Tarzi. She studied in Syria, learning Western and modern values there, which would influence her future actions and beliefs.
When Amanullah's father (Habibullah Khan) became the King of Afghanistan in October 1901, one of his most important contributions to his nation was the return of Afghan exiles, specifically that of the Tarzi family and others. This is because the Tarzi family promoted the modernization of Afghanistan. Upon her family's return to Afghanistan, Soraya Tarzi would later meet and marry King Amanullah Khan.
After the Tarzis' returned to Afghanistan, they were received at Court as wished by the Amir Habibullah Khan. This is where Soraya Tarzi met Prince Amanullah, son of the Amir Habibullah Khan. They struck an affinity. The prince, who was a sympathiser of Mahmud Tarzi's liberal ideas, married Soraya Tarzi in August 1913. Soraya Tarzi was King Amanullah Khan's only wife, which broke centuries of tradition. It was when she married into the monarchy that she grew to be one of the region's most important figures.
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