Built in the 1920s by King Amanullah Khan, the palace was meant to be the center of a new capital for modern Afghanistan. It was abandoned when the King was removed from power. It was gutted by fire in 1969, then restored to house the Ministry of Defense. It was again gutted by fire in the coup of 1978.

Construction of the Darul Aman Palace began in the early 1920s as part of the endeavours of Emir Amanullah Khan to modernize Afghanistan. In June 1926, Amanullah proclaimed himself as King of Afghanistan. The palace was to be part of the new capital city called Darulaman, connected to Kabul by a narrow‐gauge railway. Amanullah Khan invited 22 architects from Germany and France to build the palace. The palace is considered to be a testimony of the Afghan‐German ties, as it was designed by German engineer Walter Harten and his team of engineers.

The palace is an imposing neoclassical building on a hilltop overlooking a flat, dusty valley in the western part of the Afghan capital. Designed by French architects A. Godard

and M. Godard, as well as German architects, it was one of the first buildings in the country to get central heating and running water.

Sources:

"Darulaman Palace". Website of Society for the Preservation of Afghanistan's Cultural Heritage (SPACH). http://spach.info/ephotoskabuldarulaman.htm. [Accessed July 31, 2006, inaccessible September 13, 2013]

Dupree, Nancy Hatch. 1965. "Darulaman." An Historical Guide to Kabul, Internet Edition. http://www.aisk.org/aisk/NHDAHGTK07.php#start. [Accessed July 31, 2006, inaccessible September 13, 2013]

Glasse, Jennifer. "In Restoring a Century-old Palace, a Step toward Rebuilding Afghanistan's Independence." PBS. September 12, 2016. Accessed September 13, 2016. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/restoring-century-old-palace-step-toward-rebuilding-afghanistans-independence/.