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Baba Is Born
Baba is born in 1933. 1933 is a year full of events, such as Zahir Shah's reign and the accident that killed Ali's parents. "In 1933, the year Baba was born..." (Hosseini 24). -
Ali's Parents Are Killed
Two young brothers from a wealthy family were high on hashish and mast on French wine when driving. They struck Ali's parents, killing them. "...two brothers, young men from a wealthy and reputable family in Kabul, got behind the wheel of their father's Ford roadster. High on hashish and mast on French wine, they struck and killed a Hazara husband and wife on the road to Paghman." (Hosseini 24). -
Zahir Shah Began His Reign Of Afghanistan
Zahir Shah begins his forty-year reign in Afghanistan. He was disposed of in 1973. "...and the year Zahir Shah began his forty-year reign of Afghanistan..." (Hosseini 24). -
Amir's Mother Dies
Amir's mother, Sofia Akrami, dies giving birth to Amir. Amir feels guilty that he had killed his own mother. "...winter of 1964, just one year after [Amir's] mother died giving birth to [him]." (Hosseini 6). -
Baba Builds An Orphanage
In the late 1960s, Baba builds an orphanage. This is Baba's way of contributing to the community. The construction was completed in 1963. "In the late 1960s, when I was five or six, Baba decided to build an orphanage...It took three years to build the orphanage." (Hosseini 13). -
Amir Is Born
Amir is born in 1963. Looking back to his actions of peaking into an alley near a frozen creek, where he was born, Amir thinks that the past can be buried. "[Amir] became what [he] [is] today at the age of twelve, on a frigid overcast day in the winter of 1975. [he] remember[s] the precise moment, crouching behind a crumbling mud wall, peeking into the alley near the frozen creek...[he's] learned, about how you can bury [the past]." (Hosseini 1). -
Hassan Is Born
Hassan is born in the servant's home, a little shack on the south end of the garden in Baba's house. He was born one year after Amir, in the winter of 1964. "It was there, in that little shack, that Hassan was born in the winter of 1964, just one year after [Amir's] mother died giving birth to [him]." (Hosseini 6). -
Daoud Khan Started A Coup
One night when the king was away in Italy, his cousin Daoud Khan tries to end the king's forty-year reign with a coup that involved shootings and explosions. Amir and Hassan were scared as they thought there was violence, but no blood was spilled. "The king, Zahir Shah, was away in Italy. In his absence, his cousin Daoud Khan had ended the king's forty-year reign with a bloodless coup." (Hosseini 36) -
Amir And Hassan Meets Assef
Amir and Hassan were confronted by Assef, and as Assef threatens to beat them up, Hassan tries to shoot Assef's eye out. This makes Assef angry and he swears to have his revenge. "'I'm a very patient person. This doesn't end today, believe me.' 'Your Hazara made a big mistake today, Amir,' [Assef] said. They then turned around, walked away." (Hosseini 43). -
Hassan's Birthday
It was Hassan's birthday, and Baba surprised him with the present of fixing Hassan's cleft lip. This expensive surgery shows how much Baba cares and loves Hassan. "'Oh,' Hassan said. He looked from Dr. Kumar to Baba to Ali. His hand touched his upper lip. 'Oh,' he said again. 'It's an unusual present, I know,' Baba said. 'And probably not what you had in mind, but this present will last you forever." (Hosseini 46). -
The Winter Kite Tournament
The winter kite contest is held in Amir's neighborhood, Wazir Akbar Khan. This was a major contest in which Amir will try to win to get Baba's praise. "Usually, each neighborhood held its own competition. But that year, the tournament was going to be held in my neighborhood, Wazir Akbar Khan..." (Hosseini 55). -
Amir Abandons Hassan
When Hassan was being raped by Assef, Amir chose not to intervene, abandoning him. This act was because he was a coward and he believes that since Hassan was a Hazara, he deserved it. "In the end, I ran. I ran because I was a coward...He was just a Hazara, wasn't he?" (Hosseini 77). -
Amir's Birthday
It is Amir's thirteenth birthday during the summer of 1976. Baba invites many people, which shows his love and commitment to Amir. "I turned thirteen that summer of 1976...Baba's motto about throwing parties was this: Invite the whole world or it's not a party." (Hosseini 93). -
Soviet Union Invades
The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979, the first troops parachuted into Kabul on December 27. "Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, has known little peace since 1979, when the Soviet Union invaded" (New York Times). -
Amir Graduates From High School
Amir graduates from high school at the age of 20 and plans to go to college by fall. Baba surprises Amir by giving him a Ford. "That summer of 1983, I graduated from high school at the age of twenty...'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. 'It needs painting, and I'll have one of the guys at the station put in new shocks, but it runs...'You'll need it to go to college.'" (Hosseini 133). -
Soviet Union Leaves
The Soviet Union leaves Afghanistan after more than 9 years of fighting rebels who were supported by the United States. "Soviet troops stayed in the country for more than nine years, fighting a conflict that cost them roughly 15,000 lives and undisclosed billions of rubles...after peace talks moderated by the United Nations, the last Soviet troops left Afghanistan in February 1989" (The New York Times). -
The Taliban Takes Over
The Taliban takes over Afghanistan after getting 12,000 followers and support from Pakistan. The Taliban made several changes to the community. "Buoyed by Pakistani aid, the Taliban by 1996 had taken control of Afghanistan, imposing strict - enforcement of fundamentalist Islamic law, banning movies and music and forcing women out of schools and into all-enveloping burqa clothing." (New York Times). -
Hamid Karzai Becomes Leader
Hamid Karzai is made chairman of the country, and later elected as president for a 5-year term. "In December 2001, Hamid Karzai, a supporter and relative of Mohammad Zahir Shah, the exiled former king of Afghanistan, was named chairman of an interim government that replaced the defeated Taliban, making him the leader of the country...Mr. Karzai was elected to a five-year term as president in 2004." (The New York Times). -
The Taliban Rises Again
The Taliban started a guerrilla warfare along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Distracted by Iraq, the Taliban regroups and grew in the Southern Afghanistan. "Despite their defeat in 2001, the Taliban continued to wage a guerrilla warfare...on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. As the American military focus was diverted to the invasion and occupation of Iraq, the Taliban regrouped and began to extend its influence in the southern part of Afghanistan." (The New York Times). -
Al Qaeda Attacks The World Trade Center
On September 11 Al Qaeda launches terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, causing the United States to become militarily involved. "The United States has been militarily involved in Afghanistan since 2001, when it led an invasion after the Sept. 11 attacks by Al Qaeda." (The New York Times). -
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Forces Drive The Taliban Out Major Cities
Joined with forces, the United States and rebel groups began to remove the Taliban from controlling Major Afghanistan cities. Afghan forces and the United States battled the remaining Al Qaeda and Taliban leadership, but they escaped. "An air and ground campaign began that drove the Taliban out of the major Afghan cities... Remnants of Al Qaeda and Taliban leadership... escaped after a battle there, primarily involving Afghan forces allied with the United States." (The New York Times). -
Sohrab Smiles
After Amir beat another kite in a kite-flying contest, he spots Sohrab smile for the first time. Amir then runs the kite for him, saying, "For you, a thousand times over." This shows how Amir is determined to love and take care of Sohrab as Hassan did to him. "I looked down at Sohrab. One corner of his mouth had curled up just so. A smile. Lopsided. Hardly there. But there...'For you, a thousand times over,' I heard myself say. Then I turned and ran." (Hosseini 371) -
Petraeus Leads The United States Central Command
An Iraq Commander named David Petraeus receives the responsibility of military operations in Iraq after taking command of the United States Central Command. -
The US Brings More Forces To Afghanistan
President Obama explains his plan to send 30,000 troops to Afghanistan and will withdraw them in two years. "In a speech delivered Dec. 1, 2009, at West Point, Mr. Obama announced his plan to deploy 30,000 additional troops. He vowed to start bringing American forces home from Afghanistan in the middle of 2011." (The New York Times). -
US Combat Forces Leave Afghanistan
The United States withdrew its forces from Afghanistan in 2014, two years after the initial plans. "Though initial plans called for American combat forces to begin withdrawing from Afghanistan in the summer of 2011, the Obama administration increasingly emphasizes the idea that the United States will have forces in the country until at least the end of 2014." (The New York Times).