Examining the history of 19th-century Afghanistan, this study seeks to shift the focus of debate from the geostrategic concern with Afghanistan as the bone of contention between imperial Russian and British interests to a thorough investigation of the sociopolitical circumstances prevailing within the country. On the basis of unpublished British documents and works by Afghan historians, it attempts to lay the groundwork for a better understanding of the political mechanisms at work during the early Muhammadzai era by analyzing them both from the viewpoint of the centre and the periphery.