had remained in Kabul as the king's representative. Upon receiving the news of his father's death, Amanullah immediately seized control of the treasury at Kabul and staged a coup against his uncle. He took control of Kabul and the central government, declaring war against Nasrullah. Nasrullah did not want any bloodshed in order for him to be king. He told Amanullah that he could have the kingdom, and he would go into exile in Saudi Arabia. Amanullah Khan swore upon the Quran that no harm would come to Nasrullah if he returned to Kabul and then he could do as he pleased. On 28 February 1919, Amanullah proclaimed himself Emir. On 3 March 1919, fearing that Nasrullah's supporters would rise against Amanullah, he subsequently went against his word. Nasrullah was arrested and imprisoned by Amanullah's forces. On 13 April 1919, Amanullah held a Durbar (a royal court under the supervision of Amanullah) in Kabul which inquired into the death of Habibullah. It found a colonel in the Afghanistan military guilty of the crime, and had him executed. On manufactured evidence, it found Nasrullah complicit in the assassination. Nasrullah was sentenced to life imprisonment but Amanullah had him assassinated approximately one year later while being held in the royal jail. Russia had recently undergone its Communist revolution leading to strained relations between the country and the United Kingdom. Amanullah Khan recognized the opportunity to use the situation to gain Afghanistan's independence over its foreign affairs. He led a surprise attack against the British in India on 3 May 1919, beginning the Third Anglo-Afghan war. After initial successes, the war quickly became a stalemate as the United Kingdom was still dealing with the costs of World War I. An armistice was reached towards the end of 1919, which led to Afghanistan being freed of British diplomatic influence. Reforms Administrative and Political Reforms Amanullah conceptualized a modernist constitution that incorporated equal rights and individual freedoms with the guidance of his father-in-law and Foreign Minister Mahmud Tarzi. To ensure national unity based on equal rights for all people before the law and their participation in the political development of the country, he drafted the country's first constitution, the "Statute of the Supreme Government of Afghanistan," which was officially approved and ratified by 872 tribal elders and government officials gathered in a Loya Jirga in Jalalabad on 11 April 1922. Under Sharia law and government-enacted