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Amirs mother dies
Amirs mother dies while giving birth to Amir. -
Amir is born
Amir (the protagonist and narrator) is born -
Hassan is born
Hassan (Amir's loyal friend and half-friend) is born -
Baba's Orphanage
Baba finishes building his Orphanage and has a grand opening -
Mohammed Daoud Khan becomes president
Khan overthrows the last king, Mohammed Zahir Shah, in a military coup. Khan’s regime, the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan, comes to power. Khan abolishes the monarchy and names himself president. The Republic of Afghanistan is established with firm ties to the USSR. -
Hassan's Birthday
As a birthday present, Baba hires a plastic surgeon, Dr. Kumar, to fix Hassan's cleft lip. This shows Baba's love for Hassan, as he gives him a present he will never forget. -
Hassan gets raped
Assef rapes Hassan as Hassan is trying to get Amir his kite back. -
Hassan and Ali Leave
Hassan and Ali leave Baba's house after Amir plants his money and watch underneath Hassans Pillow in an attempt to kick Hassan out of the house. -
Khan is killed
Khan is killed in a communist coup. Nur Mohammad Taraki, one of the founding members of the Afghan Communist Party, takes control of the country as president, and Babrak Karmal is named deputy prime minister. They proclaim independence from Soviet influence and declare their policies to be based on Islamic principles, Afghan nationalism, and socioeconomic justice. -
American Ambassador Adolph Dubs is killed
American Ambassador Adolph Dubs is killed. The United States cuts off assistance to Afghanistan. A power struggle between Taraki and Deputy Prime Minister Hafizullah Amin begins. Taraki is killed on Sept. 14 in a confrontation with Amin supporters. -
Russians Invade
Russians invade Afghanistan, Amir and Baba decide to leave Kabul. -
Afghans forced to flee their homes
2.8 million Afghans have fled from the war to Pakistan, and another 1.5 million have fled to Iran. Afghan guerrillas gain control of rural areas, and Soviet troops hold urban areas. -
Amir graduates
Amir graduates high school and Baba gets him a car. -
Osama bin Laden makes first trip to Afghanistan
Although he claims to have traveled to Afghanistan immediately after the Soviet invasion, Saudi Islamist Osama bin Laden makes his first documented trip to Afghanistan to aid anti-Soviet fighters. The United Nations investigates reported human rights violations in Afghanistan. -
Baba and Amirs flea market experience
Baba and Amir being to work at the flea market. During this time, Amir meets Soraya. -
Baba gets cancer
Baba develops a tumor and eventually passes away -
al-Qaida is formed
Osama bin Laden forms the group al-Qaida, to continue their jihad, or holy war, against the Soviets and others who they say oppose their goal of a pure nation governed by Islam. With their belief that the Soviet’s faltering war in Afghanistan was directly attributable to their fighting, they claim victory in their first battle, but also begin to shift their focus to America, saying the remaining superpower is the main obstacle to the establishment of a state based on Islam. -
Taliban is created as well as new rules
Newly formed Islamic militia, the Taliban, rises to power on promises of peace. Most Afghans, exhausted by years of drought, famine, and war, approve of the Taliban for upholding traditional Islamic values. The Taliban outlaw cultivation of poppies for the opium trade, crackdown on crime, and curtail the education and employment of women. Women are required to be fully veiled and are not allowed outside alone. Islamic law is enforced via public executions and amputations. -
najibullah is publicly executed
The Taliban publicly executes Najibullah. Ethnic groups in the north, under Masood’s Northern Alliance, and the south, aided in part by Hamid Karzai, continue to battle the Taliban for control of the country. -
al-Qaida bombs two american embassies
Following al-Qaida’s bombings of two American embassies in Africa, President Clinton orders cruise missile attacks against bin Laden’s training camps in Afghanistan. The attacks miss the Saudi and other leaders of the terrorist group. -
The United Nations punishes Afghanistan
By now considered an international terrorist, bin Laden is widely believed to be hiding in Afghanistan, where he is cultivating thousands of followers in terrorist training camps. The United States demands that bin Laden be extradited to stand trial for the embassy bombings. The Taliban declined to extradite him. The United Nations punishes Afghanistan with sanctions restricting trade and economic development. -
Hassan and Farzana are killed
The Taliban ordered Hassan and his family to move out of Baba's old house. When Hassan refuses, they take him into the streets and kill him. Farzana runs to Hassan and is murdered as well. The Taliban claim their murders were an act of "self-defense". -
Amir adopts Sohrab
Amir finds and saves Sohrab from Assef and the bad Taliban men. He then adopts Sohrab and takes him to live in America with him. -
Sohrab tries to commit suicide
Sohrab attempts to commit suicide after Amir breaks his promise and tells him he might have to put him in an orphanage again. -
9/11
The 9/11 attacks were a series of attacks made by Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda. The terrorists hijacked four planes and targeted them to crash into the White House, the Twin Towers, and the Pentagon. One of the planes hit the Pentagon, two planes hit the Twin Towers, and the last plane that was targeted for the White House crashed in an open field because the passengers on board stopped the terrorists but none survived. 2,996 people were killed, 6,000 injured. -
Sohrab Smiles
Sohrab smiles for the first time since he tried to commit suicide.
