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King Nadir Shah is assassinated
"An old, grainy photo of [his] grandfather and King Nadir Shah taken in 1931, two years before the king's assassination"(Hosseini 5). -
Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev agrees to help Afghanistan, and the two countries become close allies.
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Amir is born
"[Sofia Arkami, his] mother, hemorrhaged to death during childbirth"(Hosseini 6). -
Hassan is born
"On the south end of the garden, in the shadows of a loquat tree, was the servants' home, a modest little mud hut where Hassan lived with his father. It was there, in that little shack, that Hassan was born in the winter of 1964, just one year after my mother died giving birth to [Amir]. -
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. -
Ali and Hassan move away from Baba's house and Kabul
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Hassan is raped by Assef.
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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,
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. Taraki signs a friendship treaty with the Soviet Union. But a rivalry between Taraki and Hafizullah Amin, another influential communist leader, leads to fighting between the two sides. -
Amir and Baba flee Kabul
Amir and Baba are attempting to flee Kabul and make it to Jalalabad, so that they can escape the Soviet soldiers, and get rid of the espionage. -
Afghans flee to Pakistan
Some 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. -
Baba and Amir move to America
"Baba loved the idea of America"(Hosseini 124). -
Amir meets Soraya
Amir sees Soraya for the first time in the flea market where most Afghani people come to gossip. "She was standing behind us, a slim-hipped beauty with velvety coal black hair, an open thermos and Styrofoam cup in her hand"(Hosseini 140). -
Amir turns 21
Baba gives Amir a car. "'There', he said, pointing to the car in front of us. It was an old model Ford, long and wide, a dark color I couldn't discern in the moonlight"(Hosseini 133). -
Rahim Khan goes to Hazarajat to find Hassaan
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Amir and Soraya get married
This is before Baba dies -
Baba dies
Baba dies one month after Amir and Soraya’s wedding."He asked us ot lean in, gave us each a kiss. 'I'll come back with your morphine and a glass of water, Kaka jan,' Soraya said. 'Not tonight,' he said. 'There is no pain tonight.' 'Okay,' she said. She pulled up his blanket. We closed the door. Baba never woke up"(Hosseini 173). -
Amir publishes his first novel
"In the summer of 1988, about six months before the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan, I finished my first novel"(Hosseini 182). -
Shorawi completely withdraw from Afghanistan
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The Cold War ends
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Sohrab is born
Saunubar delivers Sohrab, officially becoming a grandmother. -
Sanaubar returns to Kabul
Saunubar comes to Baba’s old house beaten up, and Rahim Khan/Hassaan nurse her back to health. "'Smile for me. Please' Hassan did and the old woman wept. 'You smiled coming out of me, did anyone ever tell you? And I wouldn't even hold you. Allah forgive me, I wouldn't even hold you"'(Hosseini 210). -
The Taliban roll into Kabul, and begin their rule and anarchy
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The Hazara’s are massacred
"In 1998, they massacred the Hazaras in Mazar-i-Sharif"(Hosseini 213). -
Hassaan and Farzana are killed by the Taliban
"Hassan protested again. So they took him to the street... and ordered him to kneel... and shot him in the back of the head... Farzana came screaming and attacked them...shot her too. Self-defense, they claimed later"(219). -
Amir goes to Pakistan to see Rahim Khan
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Amir is beat up by Assef
Amir gets beat up by Assef trying to rescue Sohrab from rape and abuse. -
Sohrab tries to kill himself
Amir finds Sohrab in the bathtub, bloody. He tries to kill himself because he thinks he will be sent back to an orphanage, and finds death better than that. -
The Twin Towers are hit by planes
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Sohrab smiles for the first time since his suicide attempt
"I looked down at Sohrab. One corner of his mouth had curled up just so. A smile. Lopsided. Hardly there. But there"(Hosseini 370-1).
