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King Zahir Shah ruled Afghanistan from 1933 to 1973
From 1933 to 1973, Afghanistan was under the rule of King Zahir Shah in the form of a monarchy. -
Mohammad Daoud Khan seized power on July 17, 1973.
Mohammad Daoud Khan is a former Prime Minister of Afghanistan, and the cousin of King Zahir Shah. This was a nearly bloodless military coup, but still frightened people as there was rioting and shooting. -
Hassan runs one last kite for Amir in the kite running competition of the winter of 1975
When Amir couldn't find Hassan after Hassan runs the last kite for him, also the last one he ever runs for Amir, an old merchant said he saw Hassan running with a blue kite in his hand, and Amir thinks, "'He did?' I said. For you a thousand times over, he'd promised. Good old Hassan. Good old reliable Hassan. He kept his promise and run the last kite for me" (Hosseini 70). This shows Hassan's loyalty, but also led to the incident that distanced him and Amir for the rest of their childhoods. -
Ali and Hassan leave Baba's house in the summer of 1976
After Hassan tells Ali about the alley incident, the two of them leave. As Amir watches them leave, he describes, “I watched Baba’s car pull away from the curb, taking with it the person whose first spoken word had been my name. I caught one final blurry glimpse of Hassan slumped in the backseat before Baba turned left at the street corner where we’d played marbles so many times” (Hosseini 109). From this, Amir and Hassan are separated, leading to tragic events that followed in Hassan's life. -
Mohammad Daoud was overthrown by the PDPA, a communist part that had close ties to the Soviet Union, on April 27, 1978,
Mohammad Daoud was overthrown by the PDPA, a communist part that had close ties to the Soviet Union, on April 27, 1978, and most of his family was killed. The overthrow of Mohammad Daoud led to Afghanistan becoming a Communist Republic. -
In 1979, the Soviet Army invaded Afghanistan and began a decade-old war
In 1979, the Soviet Army invaded Afghanistan and began a decade-old war, meaning they left in 1989. This caused the country to experience a drastic change from what conditions it was in over ten years ago, leaving the country under dangerous circumstances. -
Baba and Amir leave Kabul in the March of 1981
Facing dangerous circumstances from Kabul being invaded, Baba and Amir leave Kabul in the March of 1981. In the car ride, Amir describes, "My innards had been roiling since we'd left Kabul just after two in the morning. Baba never said so, but I knew he saw my car sickness as yet another of my array of weakness--I saw it on his embarrassed face the couple of times my stomach had clenched so badly I had moaned" (Hosseini 110). This shows how difficult the car ride out of Kabul was for Amir. -
Amir receives phone call from Rahim Khan on June 2001
Amir receives phone call from Rahim Khan asking that he visits him in Pakistan. He summarized what Rahim Khan told him, in which he says, "Except now I knew he knew. My suspicion had been right all those years. He knew about Assef, the kite, the money, the watch with the lightning bolt hands. He had always known. Come. There is a way to be good again, Rahim Khan had said on the phone just before hanging up" (Hosseini 192). This phone call is important for its influence on Amir's future actions. -
Al Qaeda launched its attack on the U.S. on September 11, 2001
The leader of the Northern Alliance were assassinated, leading to the Al Qaeda to launch its attack on September 11, 2001, in the US, two days after the assassination. The US thought the leader of Al Qaeda hid in Afghanistan, which caused them to attack the country in order to find him. -
Amir goes kite running with Sohrab in 2002
When kite running with Sohrab, Amir gets a flashback of the kite running competition that happened in 1975, when the incident that distanced him from Hassan occurred. When he sees Hassan's son, Sohrab, slightly smiling at the kite, Amir asks him, "'Do you want me to run that kite for you?'" (Hosseini 371). This is followed by Amir telling Sohrab, "'For you a thousand times over,' I heard myself say. This is significant because Hassan had told him that, and now Amir passes those words to Sohrab.