History of Afghanistan

History of Afghanistan
See also
Ariana · Khorasan
Timeline
Pre-Islamic period  Bactria-Margiana (2200–1700 BC) Kambojas (?-550 BC) Median Empire (728–550 BC) Achaemenids (550–330 BC) Seleucids (330–150 BC) Mauryans (305–180 BC) Greco-Bactrians (256–125 BC) Indo-Greeks (180–130 BC) Indo-Scythians (Sakas) (155–80? BC) Indo-Parthians (20 BC-50? AD) Kushans (135 BC-248 AD) Sassanids (230–565) Indo-Sassanids (248–410) Kidarites (320–465) Hephthalites (410–557) Kabul Shahi (565–879)
Islamic conquest  Rashidun Caliphate (642–641) Umayyads (661–750) Abbasids (750–821) Tahirids (821–873) Saffarids (863–900)) Samanids (875–999) Ghaznavids (963–1187) Seljukids (1037–1194) Khwarezmids (1077–1231) Ghorids (1149–1212) Ilkhanate (1258–1353) Kartids (1245–1381) Timurids (1370–1506) Mughals (1501–1738) Safavids (1510–1709) Hotaki dynasty (1709–1738) Afsharids (1738–1747)
Modern history  Durrani Empire (1747–1826) Barakzai dynasty (1826–1973) Republic of Afghanistan (1973–1978) Democratic Republic (1978–1992) Islamic State (1992–1996) Islamic Emirate (1996–2001) Islamic Republic (2001–) Afghan Civil War 1979–1989 1989–1992 1992–1996 1996–2001 2001–present
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The written history of Afghanistan is traced to the Achaemenid Empire in 500 BCE^[1][2], although evidence indicates that an advanced degree of urbanized culture has existed in the land between 3000 and 2000 B.C.^[3][4][5] Alexander the Great and his Greek army arrived to Afghanistan in 330 BCE after conquering Persia.^[6] During different periods in history, Afghanistan was known by different names, such as Ariana, Arachosia, and Khorasan. It is the land where many powerful kingdoms established their capitals, including the Greco-Bactrians, Kushans, Indo-Sassanids, Kabul Shahi, Saffarids, Samanids, Ghaznavids, Ghurids, Kartids, Timurids, Mughals, Hotakis, and Durranis.^[7] On many trade and migration routes, the land of Afghanistan is called the "Central Asian roundabout" since routes converge from the Tigris-Euphrates Basin via the Iranian Plateau, from India through the passes over the Hindu Kush, from the Far East via the Tarim Basin, and from the adjacent Eurasian Steppe.^[8]

The Aryans, who are believed to have arrived to Afghanistan after the 20th century BCE^[3][5], left their languages that survived in the form of Pashto and Dari.^[9][1] Middle Eastern (Persian and Arab invasions) influenced the culture of Afghanistan, as its Zoroastrian, Greek, Buddhist, and Hindu past has long since vanished. Local empire-builders such as the Ghaznavids, Ghurids and Timurids made Afghanistan a major medieval power as well as a learning center that produced the likes of Avicenna, Al-Biruni and Ferdowsi among many other academic or iconic figures.

In the early 18th century, Mir Wais Hotak followed by Ahmad Shah Durrani unified Afghan tribes and founded the last Afghan Empire.^[10][11][12] Afghanistan's sovereignty has been held during the Anglo-Afghan Wars, the 1980s Soviet war, and the 2001-present war by the country's many and diverse people: the Pashtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras, Uzbeks, Turkmen, Baloch and others.

Prehistory

Archaeological cultures associated with Indo-Iranian migrations (after EIEC). The Andronovo, BMAC and Yaz cultures have often been associated with Indo-Iranian migrations. The GGC, Cemetery H, Copper Hoard and PGW cultures are candidates for cultures associated with Indo-Aryan migrations.

Excavation of prehistoric sites by Louis Dupree, the University of Pennsylvania, the Smithsonian Institution and others suggests that early humans were living in what is now Afghanistan at least 50,000 years ago, and that farming communities in Afghanistan were among the earliest in the world.^[5]

Urbanization may have begun as early as 3,000 B.C.^[13] Zoroastrianism predominated as the religion in the area, even the modern Afghan solar calendar shows the influence of Zoroastrianism in the names of the months..^[1] Other religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism arrived later to the region. Gandhara is the name of an ancient Hindu kingdom from the Vedic period and its capital city located between the Hindukush and Sulaiman Mountains (mountains of Solomon),^[14] although Kandahar in modern times and the ancient Gandhara are not geographically identical.^[15][16]

The early inhabitants of Afghanistan were Aryans,^[5] who were probably connected through culture and trade to neighboring civilizations like Jiroft and Tappeh Sialk and the Indus Valley Civilization. Urban civilization may have begun as early as 3000 BCE, and the early city of Mundigak (near Kandahar) may have been a colony of the nearby Indus Valley Civilization.^[4]

Bactria-Margiana (2200–1700 BCE)

The Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex became prominent in the southwest region between 2200 and 1700 BCE (approximately). The city of Balkh (Bactra) was founded about this time (ca. 2000–1500 BCE). It's possible that the BMAC may have been an Indo-European culture, perhaps the Proto-Indo-Aryans.

Ancient history

Medes (728-550 BCE)

The Medes conquered Afghanistan.^[17]

Achaemenid Persians (550-330 BCE)

Arachosia, Aria and Bactria were the ancient satraps of the Persian Achaemenid Empire that made up most of what is now Afghanistan during 500 B.C. Some of the inhabitants of Arachosia were known as Pactyans, whose name possibly survives in today's Pakhtuns / Pashtuns.

Afghanistan then became part of the Achaemenid Empire.^[17] The area was divided into several provinces called satrapies, which were each ruled by a governor, or satrap. These ancient satrapies included: Aria (Herat); Bactriana (Balkh); Margiana (Merw); Gandhara (Kabul, Jalalabad, Peshawar); Sattagydia (Ghazni); Arachosia (Kandahar and Quetta); and Drangiana (Sistan).^[18]

Alexander the Great and the Seleucids (312-260 BCE)

Alexander the Great and his Macedonian (Greek) army arrived to the area of Afghanistan in 330 BCE after defeating Darius III of Persia a year earlier at the Battle of Gaugamela.^[19] His army faced very strong resistance in the Afghan tribal areas where he is said to have commented that Afghanistan is "easy to march into, hard to march out of."^[1] In a letter to his mother, Alexander described the inhabitants of what is now Afghanistan as lion-like brave people.^[20]

Alexander built many great cities in the region after his expedition, most of them were named "Alexandria". Some of these include: Alexandria-of-the-Arians (modern-day Herat); Alexandria-on-the-Tarnak (near Kandahar); Alexandria-ad-Caucasum (near Begram, at Bordj-i-Abdullah); and finally, Alexandria-Eschate (near Kojend), in the north. After Alexander's death, his loosely connected empire split into many parts. Seleucus, a Macedonian officer during Alexander's Empire, took advantage of Alexander's absence and declared himself ruler of his own Seleucid Empire, encompassing Persia and Afghanistan.^[21]

Greco-Bactrians (305–125 BCE)

Approximate maximum extent of the Greco-Bactrian kingdom circa 180 BCE, including the regions of Tapuria and Traxiane to the West, Sogdiana and Ferghana to the north, Bactria and Arachosia to the south.

Greco-Bactria continued until ca. 130 BCE, when Eucratides' son, King Heliocles I, was defeated and driven out of Bactria by the Yuezhi tribes. It is thought that his dynasty continued to rule in Kabul and Alexandria of the Caucasus until 70 BCE when King Hermaeus was defeated by the Yuezhi.

One of Demetrius' successors, Menander I, brought the Indo-Greek Kingdom to its height between 165–130 BCE, expanding the kingdom in India to even larger proportions than Demetrius. After Menander's death, the Indo-Greeks steadily declined and the last Indo-Greek king was defeated in ca. 10 CE.

Conquest of Macedonian territories by India's Chandragupta Maurya

After Alexander's death in 323 BCE, Chandragupta turned his attention to Northwestern India (modern Pakistan), where he defeated the satraps (described as "prefects" in classical Western sources) left in place by Alexander (according to Justin), and may have assassinated two of his governors, Nicanor and Philip.^[22][23] The satraps he fought may have included Eudemus, ruler in western Punjab until his departure in 317 BCE; and Peithon, son of Agenor, ruler of the Greek colonies along the Indus until his departure for Babylon in 316 BCE. The Roman historian Justin described how Sandrocottus (Greek version of Chandragupta's name) conquered the northwest:

Having consolidated power in the northwest, Chandragupta pushed east towards the Nanda Empire.

Buddhism

Afghanistan’s significant ancient tangible and intangible Buddhist heritage is recorded through wide-ranging archeological finds, including religious and artistic remnants. Buddhist doctrines are reported to have reached as far as Balkh even during the life of the Buddha (563 BCE to 483 BCE), as recorded by Husang Tsang.

In this context a legend recorded by Husang Tsang refers to the first two lay disciples of Buddha, Trapusa and Bhallika responsible for introducing Buddhism in that country. Originally these two were merchants of the kingdom of Balhika, as the name Bhalluka or Bhallika probably suggests the association of one with that country. They had gone to India for trade and had happened to be at Bodhgaya when the Buddha had just attained enlightenment.^[26]

Sakas (155–80 BCE)

Parthians (20 BCE-50 CE)

Kushans (135 BCE-248 CE)

Sassanids (230–565 CE)

Kidarites (320–465 CE)

Hephthalites (White Huns) (450–565 CE)

The Hephthalite Empire in Afghanistan extended from Chinese Sinkiang to Sassanid Iran, from Sogdiana to the Punjab. Their chief antagonists were the Sassanids. Consequently there was relatively little peace during this time. At about 565 AD, the Hephthalite Empire was overthrown by a combined force consisting of western Turks and Sassanids.^[27]

Middle Ages

Kabul Shahi (565–879 CE)

Islamic conquest (642-873 CE)

The Afghan area during the Caliphate

In 642 CE, Arabs had conquered most of Persia and then invaded Afghanistan from the western city of Herat, introducing the religion of Islam as they entered new cities. Afghanistan at that period had a number of different independent rulers, depending on the area.

The early Arab forces did not fully explore Afghanistan due to attacks by the mountain tribes. Much of the eastern parts of the country remained independent, as part of the Turk Shahi kingdoms of Kabul and Gandhara, which lasted that way until the forces of the Muslim Saffarid dynasty followed by the Ghaznavids conquered them.

Arab armies carrying the banner of Islam came out of the west to defeat the Sasanians in 642 CE and then they marched with confidence to the east. On the western periphery of the Afghan area the princes of Herat and Seistan gave way to rule by Arab governors but in the east, in the mountains, cities submitted only to rise in revolt and the hastily converted returned to their old beliefs once the armies passed. The harshness and avariciousness of Arab rule produced such unrest, however, that once the waning power of the Caliphate became apparent, native rulers once again established themselves independent. Among these the Saffarids of Seistan shone briefly in the Afghan area. The fanatic founder of this dynasty, the coppersmith's apprentice Yaqub ibn Layth Saffari, came forth from his capital at Zaranj in 870 CE and marched through Bost, Kandahar, Ghazni, Kabul, Bamyan, Balkh and Herat, conquering in the name of Islam.^[4]

—Nancy Hatch Dupree, 1971

The Shahi or Shahiya dynasties ruled portions of the Kabul Valley (in eastern Afghanistan) and the old province of Gandhara (northern Pakistan and Kashmir) from the decline of the Kushan Empire up to the early 9th century. The Shahis continued to rule eastern Afghanistan until the late 9th century until the Ghaznavid invasions.

During the eighth and ninth centuries CE the eastern parts of modern Afghanistan were still in the hands of non-muslim rulers. The Muslims tended to regard them as Indians, although many of the local rulers were apparently of Hunnish or Turkic descent. Yet, the Muslims were right in so far as the non Muslim population of Eastern Afghanistan was, culturally, strongly linked to the Indian sub-continent. Most of them were either Buddhists or they worshipped Hindu deities.^[28]

—Willem Vogelsang, 2002

Janjua Rajput

Janjua Rajput dynasty is the second dynasty under Hindu shahi after Bharaman Dynasty. Empire was extended in Afghanistan and Northwest Pakistan. The prominent Ruler of this empire is Jayapala.^[29]

Saffarids (863–900)

Samanids (875–999)

Ghaznavids (963–1187)

Mahmud of Ghazni consolidated the conquests of his predecessors and turned the city of Ghazni into a great cultural center as well as a base for frequent forays into the Indian subcontinent.

Ghorids (1149–1212)

The Ghaznavid dynasty was defeated in 1148 by the Ghurids from Ghor, but the Ghaznavid Sultans continued to live in Ghazni as the 'Nasher' until the early 20th century. They did not regain their once vast power until about 500 years later when the Ghilzai Hotakis rose to power. Various princes and Seljuk rulers attempted to rule parts of the country until the Shah Muhammad II of the Khwarezmid Empire conquered all of Persia in 1205. By 1219, the empire had fallen to the Mongols, led by Genghis Khan.

Mongols (1258–1353)

The Mongols resulted in massive destruction of many cities, including Bamiyan, Herat, and Balkh, and the despoliation of fertile agricultural areas. Large number of the inhabitant were also slaughtered. All the major cities and towns became part of the massive Mongol Empire, except the isolated hidden mountainous southern regions where the mountain tribes lived.

Timurids (1370–1506)

Timur (Tamerlane), incorporated what is today Afghanistan into his own vast Timurid Empire. The city of Herat became one of the capitals of his empire, and his grandson Pir Muhammad held the seat of Kandahar. Timur rebuilt most of Afghanistan's infrastructure which was destroyed by his early ancestor. The area was progressing under his rule. Timurid rule began declining in the early 16th century with the rise of a new ruler in Kabul, Babur.

Modern era

Mughals and Safavids (1501–1738)

In 1525 Babur, a descendant of Timur, rose to power and made Kabul the capital of his Moghul Empire. Timur handed over his kingdom to Babur during a ceremony. From the 16th century to the early 18th century Afghanistan was divided in to three major parts. The north was recognized as the Kingdom of Balk, which was ruled by Uzbeks Khans, the west was under Persian Safavid rule and the east belonged to the Mughals. There was constant war fought over the region Kandahar, in some occasions it was taken over by the Mughals but most of the time it was ruled by the Persians. Babur conquered most cities of Afghanistan before his campaign into India. In the city of Kandahar his personal epigraphy can be found in the Chilzina rock mountain, where it's stated that he didn't have enough time to finish it before news came about a Persian advance from the west. In hearing the news he and his army quickly left the area. Instead of looking towards Persia, the Mughal Empire was more focused on the Indian subcontinent, which included the region known as Kabulistan.

Hotaki dynasty (1709–1738)

Mir Wais Hotak

The Hotaki dynasty was founded in 1709 by Mirwais Khan Hotak, the chief of the Ghilzai Pashtuns of Kandahar, Afghanistan.^[30][31] In April of 1709, Mirwais Khan and his Afghan followers rose against the Persian Safavids in Kandahar City and killed George XI (Gurgīn Khān), the Georgian governor of the Greater Kandahar region and the direct representative of the Persian Shah Ḥusayn. Next, Mirwais ordered the deaths of the remaining Persian military forces, who were sent by the ruthless Gurgin Khan on expeditions to crush rebel forces in the nearby region.^[30] The Afghans then defeated twice a large Persian army that was dispatched from Isfahan (capital of the Persian Safavid Empire).

Several half-hearted attempts to subdue the rebellious city having failed, the Persian Government despatched Khusraw Khán, nephew of the late Gurgín Khán, with an army of 30,000 men to effect its subjugation, but in spite of an initial success, which led the Afgháns to offer to surrender on terms, his uncompromising attitude impelled them to make a fresh desperate effort, resulting in the complete defeat of the Persian army (of whom only some 700 escaped) and the death of their general. Two years later, in A.D. 1713, an­other Persian army commanded by Rustam Khán was also defeated by the rebels, who thus secured possession of the whole province of Qandahár.^[30]

The Persian armies were defeated and the area of Kandahar was made into an independent local kingdom. Mirwais Khan died of a natural death in 1715 and was succeeded by his son Shah Mahmud, who led an Afghan army into Persia in 1722 and defeated the Persian army at the Battle of Gulnabad. The Afghans captured Isfahan (Safavid capital) and Mir Mahmud became the new Persian Shah.

Seven months elapsed after the battle of Gulnábád before the final pitiful surrender, with every circumstance of humiliation, of the unhappy Sháh Ḥusayn. In that battle the Persians are said to have lost all their artillery, baggage and treasure, as well as some 15,000 out of a total of 50,000 men. On March 19 Mír Maḥmúd occupied the Sháh's beloved palace and pleasure-grounds of Faraḥábád, situated only three miles from Iṣfahán, which henceforth served as his headquarters. Two days later the Afgháns, having occupied the Armenian suburb of Julfá, where they levied a tribute of money and young girls, attempted to take Iṣfahán by storm, but, having twice failed (on March 19 and 21), sat down to blockade the city. Three months later Prince Ṭahmásp Mírzá, who had been nominated to succeed his father, effected his escape from the beleaguered city to Qazwín, where he attempted, with but small success, to raise an army for the relief of the capital.^[32]

Mahmud began a reign of terror against his Persian subjects and was eventually murdered in 1725 by his cousin, Ashraf Khan. Some sources say he died of madness or Alzheimer's disease. Ashraf became the new Afghan Shah of Persia soon after Mahmud's death, while the home region of Kandahar was ruled by Mahmud's other brother Shah Husayn Hotak. While Ashraf was able to secure peace with the Ottoman Empire in 1727, the Russian Empire took advantage of the political unrest in Persia to seize land for themselves, limiting the amount of territory under Shah Mahmud's control.

The Hotaki dynasty was a troubled and violent one as internecine conflict made it difficult to establish permanent control. The dynasty lived under great turmoil due to bloody succession feuds that made their hold on power tenuous, and after the massacre of thousands of civilians in Isfahan; including more than three thousand religious scholars, nobles, and members of the Safavid family . The majority Persians rejected the Afghan regime as usurping. For the next 7 years the Hotakis became the de facto rulers of Persia, but their rule continued in the region of Afghanistan until 1738.^[33]

The Ghilzai Afghans were eventually removed from power in what is now Iran by late 1729.^[34] They were defeated by Nader Shah, head of the Afsharids, in the October 1729 Battle of Damghan and pushed from what is now Iran to the western Afghanistan region. The last ruler of the Hotaki dynasty, Shah Husayn Khan, ruled the area of Afghanistan until 1738 when Nader's Afsharids and the Abdali Pashtuns under Ahmad Shah Durrani defeated him at Kandahar.^[33]

Afsharids (1738–1747)

Durrani Empire (1747–1826)

Maximum extent of the Durrani Empire, also known as the Afghan Empire.

Shah Shuja, the last Durrani King, sitting at his court inside the Bala Hissar before it was destroyed by the British Army.

In 1738, Nadir Shah and his army, which included Ahmad Khan and four thousand of his Pashtun soldiers of the Abdali tribe,^[35] conquered the region of Kandahar from the Hotak Ghilzais; in the same year he occupied Ghazni, Kabul and Lahore. On June 19, 1747, Nadir Shah was assassinated by the Persians^[36] and Ahmad Shah Abdali called for a loya jirga ("grand assembly") to select a leader among his people. The Afghans gathered near Kandahar in October 1747 and chose him as their new head of state. Ahmad Shah Durrani is often regarded as the founder of modern Afghanistan.^[33][37][38] After the inauguration, Ahmad Shah adopted the title padshah durr-i dawran ('King, "pearl of the age")^[39] and the Abdali tribe became known as the Durrani tribe there after. Ahmad Shah not only represented the Durrani but he united all the Pashtun tribes.^{[33][37][40][41][42][43][44]}

By 1751, Ahmad Shah Durrani and his Afghan army conquered the entire present-day Afghanistan, Pakistan, Khorasan and Kohistan provinces of Iran, along with Delhi in India.^[45] He defeated the Sikhs of the Maratha Empire in the Punjab region nine times, one of the biggest battles was the 1761 Battle of Panipat. In October 1772, Ahmad Shah retired to his home in Kandahar where he died peacefully and was buried there at a site that is now adjacent to the Mosque of the Cloak of the Prophet Mohammed. He was succeeded by his son, Timur Shah Durrani, who transferred the capital of their Afghan Empire from Kandahar to Kabul. Timur died in 1793 and was finally succeeded by his son Zaman Shah Durrani.

Zaman Shah and his brothers had a weak hold on the legacy left to them by their famous ancestor. They sorted out their differences through a "round robin of expulsions, blindings and executions,"^[46] which resulted in the deterioration of the Afghan hold over far-flung territories, such as Attock and Kashmir. Durrani's other grandson, Shuja Shah Durrani, fled the wrath of his brother and sought refuge with the Sikhs. Not only had Durrani invaded the Punjab region many times, but had destroyed the holiest shrine of the Sikhs – the Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar, defiling its sarowar with the blood of cows and decapitating Baba Deep Singh in 1757. The Sikhs, under Ranjit Singh, rebelled in 1809 and eventually wrest a large part of the Kingdom of Kabul (present day Pakistan, but not including Sindh) from the Afghans.^[47] Hari Singh Nalwa, the Commander-in-Chief of the Sikh Empire along its Afghan frontier, invaded the Afghan territory as far as the city of Jalalabad.^[48] In 1837, the Afghan Army descended through the Khyber Pass on Sikh forces at Jamrud.^[49] The Sikhs were supported by the East India Company until they were defeated later by the British forces during the Anglo-Sikh wars.

The Great Game (1826–1919)

Mohammad Yaqub Khan with Britain's Sir Pierre Louis Napoleon Cavagnari on May 26, 1879, when the Treaty of Gandamak was signed.

Dost Mohammed Khan gained control in Kabul. Collision between the expanding British and Russian Empires significantly influenced Afghanistan during the 19th century in what was termed "The Great Game". British concern over Russian advances in Central Asia and growing influence in Persia culminated in two Anglo-Afghan wars and "The Siege of Herat" 1837–1838, in which Persians trying to retake Afghanistan and throw out the British and Russians sent armies into the country waging wars with the British mostly around and in the city of Herat. The first (1839–1842) resulted in the destruction of a British army; it is remembered as an example of the ferocity of Afghan resistance to foreign rule. The second Anglo-Afghan war (1878–1880) was sparked by Amir Shir Ali's refusal to accept a British mission in Kabul. This conflict brought Amir Abdur Rahman to the Afghan throne. During his reign (1880–1901), the British and Russians officially established the boundaries of what would become modern Afghanistan. The British retained effective control over Kabul's foreign affairs.

Afghanistan remained neutral during World War I, despite German encouragement of anti-British feelings and Afghan rebellion along the borders of British India. The Afghan king's policy of neutrality was not universally popular within the country, however.

Habibullah, Abdur Rahman's son and successor, was assassinated in 1919, possibly by family members opposed to British influence. His third son, Amanullah, regained control of Afghanistan's foreign policy after launching the Third Anglo-Afghan war with an attack on India in the same year. During the ensuing conflict, the war-weary British relinquished their control over Afghan foreign affairs by signing the Treaty of Rawalpindi in August 1919. In commemoration of this event, Afghans celebrate August 19 as their Independence Day.

Reforms of Amanullah Khan (1919–1929)

King Amanullah moved to end his country's traditional isolation in the years following the Third Anglo-Afghan war. He established diplomatic relations with most major countries and, following a 1927 tour of Europe and Turkey (during which he noted the modernization and secularization advanced by Atatürk), introduced several reforms intended to modernize Afghanistan. A key force behind these reforms was Mahmud Tarzi, Amanullah Khan's Foreign Minister and father-in-law — and an ardent supporter of the education of women. He fought for Article 68 of Afghanistan's first constitution (declared through a Loya Jirga), which made elementary education compulsory.^[50] Some of the reforms that were actually put in place, such as the abolition of the traditional Muslim veil for women and the opening of a number of co-educational schools, quickly alienated many tribal and religious leaders. Faced with overwhelming armed opposition, Amanullah was forced to abdicate in January 1929 after Kabul fell to forces led by Habibullah Kalakani.

Reigns of Nadir Shah and Zahir Shah (1929–1973)

Mohammad Zahir Shah in 1963

Prince Mohammed Nadir Khan, a cousin of Amanullah's, in turn defeated and killed Habibullah Kalakani in October of the same year, and with considerable Pashtun tribal support he was declared King Nadir Shah. He began consolidating power and regenerating the country. He abandoned the reforms of Amanullah Khan in favour of a more gradual approach to modernisation. In 1933, however, he was assassinated in a revenge killing by a Kabul student.

Mohammad Zahir Shah, Nadir Khan's 19-year-old son, succeeded to the throne and reigned from 1933 to 1973. Until 1946 Zahir Shah ruled with the assistance of his uncle Sardar Mohammad Hashim Khan, who held the post of Prime Minister and continued the policies of Nadir Shah. In 1946, another of Zahir Shah's uncles, Sardar Shah Mahmud Khan, became Prime Minister and began an experiment allowing greater political freedom, but reversed the policy when it went further than he expected. In 1953, he was replaced as Prime Minister by Mohammed Daoud Khan, the king's cousin and brother-in-law. Daoud sought a closer relationship with the Soviet Union and a more distant one towards Pakistan. However, disputes with Pakistan led to an economic crisis and he was asked to resign in 1963. From 1963 until 1973, Zahir Shah took a more active role.

In 1964, King Zahir Shah promulgated a liberal constitution providing for a bicameral legislature to which the king appointed one-third of the deputies. The people elected another third, and the remainder were selected indirectly by provincial assemblies. Although Zahir's "experiment in democracy" produced few lasting reforms, it permitted the growth of unofficial extremist parties on both the left and the right. These included the communist People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA), which had close ideological ties to the Soviet Union. In 1967, the PDPA split into two major rival factions: the Khalq (Masses) was headed by Nur Muhammad Taraki and Hafizullah Amin who were supported by elements within the military, and the Parcham (Banner) led by Babrak Karmal.

Contemporary era

Daoud Khan's Republic (1973–1978)

Amid charges of corruption and malfeasance against the royal family and poor economic conditions created by the severe 1971–72 drought, former Prime Minister Mohammad Sardar Daoud Khan seized power in a non-violent coup on July 17, 1973, while Zahir Shah was receiving treatment for eye problems and therapy for lumbago in Italy.^[51] Daoud abolished the monarchy, abrogated the 1964 constitution, and declared Afghanistan a republic with himself as its first President and Prime Minister. His attempts to carry out badly-needed economic and social reforms met with little success, and the new constitution promulgated in February 1977 failed to quell chronic political instability.

As disillusionment set in, in 1978 a prominent member of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA), Mir Akbar Khyber (or "Kaibar"), was killed by the government. The leaders of PDPA apparently feared that Daoud was planning to exterminate them all, especially since most of them were arrested by the government shortly after. Nonetheless, Hafizullah Amin and a number of military wing officers of the PDPA's Khalq faction managed to remain at large and organize a military coup.

PDPA communist military coup/Democratic Republic (1978-1992)

April 28, 1978, the day after the Saur Revolution in Kabul

On 27 April 1978, the PDPA, led by Nur Mohammad Taraki, Babrak Karmal and Amin Taha overthrew the government of Mohammad Daoud, who was assassinated along with all his family members in a bloody military coup. The coup became known as the Saur Revolution. On 1 May, Taraki became President, Prime Minister and General Secretary of the PDPA. The country was then renamed the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (DRA), and the PDPA regime lasted, in some form or another, until April 1992.

Once in power, the PDPA implemented a liberal and marxist-leninist agenda. It moved to replace religious and traditional laws with secular and marxist-leninist ones. Men were obliged to cut their beards, women couldn't wear a chadof, and mosques were placed off limits. The PDPA made a number of reforms on women's rights, banning forced marriages, giving state recognition of women's right to vote, and introducing women to political life. A prominent example was Anahita Ratebzad, who was a major Marxist leader and a member of the Revolutionary Council. Ratebzad wrote the famous New Kabul Times editorial (May 28, 1978) which declared: "Privileges which women, by right, must have are equal education, job security, health services, and free time to rear a healthy generation for building the future of the country ... Educating and enlightening women is now the subject of close government attention." But the PDPA also carried out socialist land reforms. The PDPA invited the Soviet Union to assist in modernizing its economic infrastructure (predominantly its exploration and mining of rare minerals and natural gas). The USSR also sent contractors to build roads, hospitals and schools and to drill water wells; they also trained and equipped the Afghan army. Upon the PDPA's ascension to power, and the establishment of the DRA, the Soviet Union promised monetary aid amounting to at least $1.262 billion.

At the same time the communists imposed a tyranny on the Afghan people. In March 1979, Hafizullah Amin took over as prime minister, retaining the position of field marshal and becoming vice-president of the Supreme Defence Council. Taraki remained President and in control of the Army. On 14 September, Amin overthrew Taraki, who was killed. Amin stated that "the Afghans recognize only crude force."^[52] Afghanistan expert Amin Saikal writes: "As his powers grew, so apparently did his gravings for personal dictatorship ... and his vision of the revolutionary process based on terror."^[52] Human Rights Watch estimates that as many as 100,000 people may have been killed in the countryside alone by government troops. Members of the academia and ethnic minorities were killed, tortured or imprisoned. In December 1978 the PDPA leadership signed an agreement with the Soviet Union which would allow military support for the PDPA in Afghanistan if needed. The majority of people in the cities including Kabul either welcomed or were ambivalent to these policies. However, the marxist-leninist and secular nature of the government as well as its heavy dependence on the Soviet Union made it unpopular with a majority of the Afghan population. Repressions plunged large parts of the country, especially the rural areas, into open revolt against the new Marxist-leninist government. By spring 1979 unrests had reached 24 out of 28 Afghan provinces including major urban areas. Over half of the Afghan army would either desert or join the insurrection.

The United States saw the situation as a prime opportunity to weaken the Soviet Union. As part of a Cold War strategy, in 1979 the United States government (under President Jimmy Carter and National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski) began to covertly fund and train anti-government Mujahideen forces through the Pakistani secret service known as Inter Services Intelligence (ISI).

Soviet war in Afghanistan (1979-1989)

In 1979, with the Afghan army unable to cope with the large number of uprisings, the Soviet Union sent troops to crush the uprising and support the government. On December 25, 1979, the Soviet army entered Kabul. This was the starting point of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan and the Soviet war in Afghanistan, which ended only in 1989 with a full withdrawal of Soviet troops under the Geneva Accords reached in 1988.

For over nine years, the Soviet Army conducted military operations against the so-called Afghan mujahideen. The American CIA (through its middleman Pakistan), and Saudi Arabia financed and armed some resistance forces. Others received no notable assistance. Among the foreign participants in the war was Osama bin Laden, whose Maktab al-Khidamat (MAK) (Office of Order) organization trained a small number of mujahideen and provided some arms and funds to fight the Soviets. Bin Laden played only a limited part in this conflict.

Soviet troops withdrawing from Afghanistan in 1988.

The Soviet government realized early on that a military solution to the conflict would require far more troops. Because of this they had discussions about troop withdrawal and the search for a political peaceful solution as early as 1980, but they never took any serious steps in that direction until 1988. Early Soviet military reports confirms the difficulties the Soviet army had while fighting on the mountainous terrain, for which the Soviet Army had no training whatsoever. Parallels between the Vietnam War was frequently referred to by Soviet army officers.^[53] Nine major offensives by the Red Army were defeated by legendary Afghan commander Ahmad Shah Massoud^[54], who was called the "Afghan who won the cold war" by the Wall Street Journal.^[55] Massoud, however, because of his independence received close to no outside support.

The Soviet Union withdrew its troops in February 1989, but continued to aid the government, led by Mohammed Najibullah. Massive amounts of aid from the CIA and Saudi Arabia to some mujahideen parties also continued. The communist government of Najibullah collapsed in 1992.

Islamic State, Foreign Intrusion and War (1992-1996)

After the fall of the communist Najibullah-regime in 1992, the Afghan political parties agreed on a peace and power-sharing agreement (the Peshawar Accords). The Peshawar Accords created the Islamic State of Afghanistan and appointed an interim government for a transitional period. Sibghatullah Mojaddedi was appointed as the first president, followed by Burhanuddin Rabbani. Ahmad Shah Massoud was appointed to the position of defense minister of the Islamic State of Afghanistan. Gulbuddin Hekmatyar was offered the position of prime minister, but he declined for he did not want to share any power.

Human Rights Watch writes: "The sovereignty of Afghanistan was vested formally in "The Islamic State of Afghanistan," an entity created in April 1992, after the fall of the Soviet-backed Najibullah government. ... With the exception of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's Hezb-e Islami, all of the parties ... were ostensibly unified under this government in April 1992. ... Hekmatyar's Hezb-e Islami, for its part, refused to recognize the government for most of the period discussed in this report and launched attacks against government forces and Kabul generally. ... Hekmatyar continued to refuse to join the government. Hekmatyar's Hezb-e Islami forces increased their rocket and shell attacks on the city. Shells and rockets fell everywhere."^[56]

Behind Gulbuddin Hekmatyar stood another force: the Pakistani army. A well-known Afghanistan expert, Amin Saikal, concludes in his book which was chosen by The Wall Street Journal as 'One of the "Five Best" Books on Afghanistan': "Pakistan was keen to gear up for a breakthrough in Central Asia. ... Islamabad could not possibly expect the new Islamic government leaders, especially (Ahmad Shah) Massoud (who had always maintained his independence from Pakistan), to subordinate their own nationalist objectives in order to help Pakistan realize its regional ambitions. ... Had it not been for the ISI’s logistic support and supply of a large number of rockets, Hekmatyar’s forces would not have been able to target and destroy half of Kabul. Yet Hekmatyar’s failure to achieve what was expected of him prompted the ISI leaders to come up with a new surrogate force[: the Taliban]."^[52] A documentary reports: "Massoud, whose northern council was the dominant military power tried to keep order while the parties talked, but meantime, Pakistan urged on its Afghan client Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. ... Massoud, with UN help tried to avoid civil war in the early 1990s but ... Hekmatyar rained rockets on Kabul seeking power for himself." ^[57] Rashid Dostum and his Junbish-i Milli militia allied with Hekmatyar in 1994 and were backed by Uzbekistan.^[52]

Saudi Arabia and Iran also armed and directed their respective proxy Afghan militias. A publication with the George Washington University also describes: "[O]utside forces saw instability in Afghanistan as an opportunity to press their own security and political agendas."^[58] According to Human Rights Watch, numerous Iranian agents were assisting Hezb-i Wahdat forces, as Iran was attempting to maximize Wahdat's military power and influence in the new government.^[56] Saudi agents of some sort, private or governmental, were trying to strengthen Sayyaf and his Ittihad-i Islami faction to the same end.^[56] Consequently, tensions between the two militias, Iran-controlled Wahdat and Saudi-backed Ittihad, escalated into another full blown war in the capital. Rare ceasefires, usually negotiated by representatives of Massoud, Mujaddidi or Rabbani, or officials from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), commonly collapsed within days.^[56]

During the war most of Kabul was destroyed and the civilian population was severely harmed. The Afghanistan Justice Project provides some information on the crimes committed by different forces during that time. The Afghanistan Justice Project (AJP) was established in late 2001 as an independent research and advocacy organization whose objective is to document serious war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by all of the parties during the wars in Afghanistan, covering the period from 1978-2001.

In late 1994 Massoud's forces were finally able to defeat Hekmatyar, Dostum and Mazari militarily in Kabul. In the same year a conference in three parts was arranged by Massoud to discuss the future of Afghanistan and a process leading towards peace. Massoud had united political and cultural personalities, governors, commanders, clergymen and representatives, also in order to deliberate about a future president and his tasks and to reach a lasting agreement. Massoud, like most people in Afghanistan, saw this conference as a small hope for democracy and for free elections. His favourite for candidacy to the presidency was Dr. Mohammad Yusuf, the first democratic prime minister under Zahir Shah, the former king. In the first meeting representatives from 15 different Afghan provinces met, in the second meeting there were already 25 provinces participating. When Hekmatyar failed to achieve what Pakistan wanted, in 1995 they turned towards a new force coming up in the southern city of Kandahar: the Taliban. Hekmatyar consequently was not able to sustain his military campaign against the Islamic State of Afghanistan and subsequently took the long-offered position of prime minister in exchange for finally giving up before fleeing into exile. With the strong support of Pakistan and later Saudi financed Osama Bin Laden meanwhile the Taliban proceeded to Kabul see video, where at first Massoud handed them their first major defeat. Massoud unarmed went to talk to some Taliban leaders in Maidan Shar, but the Taliban declined to join a political process. When Massoud returned unharmed the Taliban leader who had received him as his guest payed with his life (he was killed by other senior Taliban) for failing to execute Massoud while the possibility was there. Some months later, after Taliban forces had again encircled the capital, Massoud ordered a retreat from Kabul on September 26, 1996.^[59] Massoud and his troops retreated to the northeast of Afghanistan.^[60][61][62]

Taliban Emirate/Pakistan against the United Front (1996-2001)

Map of the situation in Afghanistan in 1996; Massoud, Dostum and Taliban territories

Flag of the United Front

Flag of the Taliban

After the fall of Kabul to the Taliban on September 27, 1996,^[63] Ahmad Shah Massoud, who still represented the legitimate government of Afghanistan as recognized by most foreign countries and the United Nations, and Abdul Rashid Dostum, one of his former archnemesis, for the survival of their remaining territories were forced to create an alliance against the Taliban, Pakistan and Al Qaeda coalition which was about to attack the areas of Massoud and those of Dostum.^[64] see video The alliance was called United Front but in the Western and Pakistani media became known as the Northern Alliance.

As the Taliban committed massacres, especially among the Shia and Hazara population which they regarded as "sub-humans" worse than "non-believers" an thus according to them were without any rights ^[65] many Hazaras fled to the area of Massoud. The Hazaras consequently also joined the United Front. The National Geographic concluded: "The only thing standing in the way of future Taliban massacres is Ahmad Shah Massoud."^[65] In the following years many more were to join the United Front. These included Afghans and Afghan commanders from all regions and Afghan ethnicities including many Pashtuns such as Commanders Abdul Haq, Haji Abdul Qadir and Qari Baba, politician Abdul Rahim Ghafoorzai and future Afghan president Hamid Karzai.

In 1997 the Taliban began an offensive against the territories held by Dostum that caused some of his forces, led by General Abdul Malik, to rebel and join the Taliban on May 20.^[66] This led him to flee Afghanistan, leaving much of his army behind, and seek refuge in Uzbekistan. The newly Taliban-friendly forces handed over the city of Mazari Sharif to the Taliban. Soon, however, their massacres against Shiite Muslims led to a confrontation between Hazara militias and the Taliban. In intense fighting in the city of Mazar-i-Sharif, the Taliban were defeated. The Taliban retook Mazar-i-Sharif in August 8, 1998. Upon taking it, they began a mass killing of the locals; 4,000 to 5,000 civilians were executed, and many more reported tortured.^[67] Among those killed in Mazari Sharif were several Iranian diplomats. Others were kidnapped by the Taliban, touching off a hostage crisis that nearly escalated to a full scale war, with 150,000 Iranian soldiers massed on the Afghan border at one time.^[68] It was later admitted that the diplomats were killed by the Taliban, and their bodies were returned to Iran.^[69] Meanwhile, Dostum went into exile and his militia became largely inactive.

Ahmad Shah Massoud was the only leader who was able to defend vast parts of his territories against the Taliban. He was also the only main Afghan leader who never left Afghanistan for exile. All the other leaders at one point or another in the fight against the Taliban had left Afghanistan. He personally commanded around 10,000 of the UIF's estimated formerly 40,000 troops. Massoud's were the most disciplined and the best trained troops within the UIF. Ahmad Shah Massoud had been named "The Afghan who won the cold war" by the Wall Street Journal. ^[55] He had defeated the Soviet Red Army nine times in his home region of Panjshir, in north-eastern Afghanistan.^[54]

The Taliban repeatedly offered Massoud a position of power to make him stop his resistance. Massoud declined for he did not fight for the sake of power. He explained in one interview: "The Taliban say: “Come and accept the post of prime minister and be with us”, and they would keep the highest office in the country, the presidentship. But for what price?! The difference between us concerns mainly our way of thinking about the very principles of the society and the state. We can not accept their conditions of compromise, or else we would have to give up the principles of modern democracy. We are fundamentally against the system called “the Emirate of Afghanistan”."^[70] Massoud, instead, wanted to convince the Taliban to join a political process which would have ensured the holding of democratic elections in a foreseeable future.^[70] His proposals for peace can be seen here: Proposal for Peace, promoted by Commander Massoud.

United Front areas shown with lines in this 2001 map

Pervez Musharraf - then as Chief of Army Staff - was responsible for sending scores of regular Pakistani army troops to fight alongside the Taliban and Bin Laden against Ahmad Shah Massoud.^[65][71] Some sources estimate that about 3.000 Pakistani army soldiers had been deployed alongside the Taliban in just one of the major battles.^[72] In total there were believed to be 28 000 Pakistani nationals fighting alongside the Taliban. American journalist Sebastian Junger who frequently travels to war zones stated in March 2001: "They [the Taliban] receive a tremendous amount of support by Pakistan. ... without that involvement by Pakistan the Taliban would really be forced to negotiate ..."^[55] Massoud stated in early 2001 that without the support by Pakistan the Taliban would not be able to sustain their military campaign for up to a year.^[73] "The Taliban are not a force to be considered invincible. They are distanced from the people now. They are weaker than in the past. There is only the assistance given by Pakistan, Osama bin Laden and other extremist groups that keep the Taliban on their feet. With a halt to that assistance, it is extremely difficult to survive."^[74] He also said: "There should be an Afghanistan where every Afghan finds himself or herself happy. And I think that can only be assured by democracy based on consensus."^[74]

In early 2001 Massoud employed a new strategy of local military pressure and global political appeals.^[75] His plans was for his allies to seed small revolts around Afghanistan in the areas where the Afghans wanted to rise against the Taliban. Resentment was increasingly gathering against Taliban rule from the bottom of Afghan society including the Pashtun areas.^[75] Massoud would publicize their cause "popular consensus, general elections and democracy" worldwide. Massoud was very wary not to revive the failed Kabul government of the early 1990s.^[75] Instead, already in 1999, he started the training of police forces which he trained specifically in order to keep order and protect the civilian population in case the United Front would be successful.^[76]

In spring 2001, Ahmad Shah Massoud addressed the European Parliament in Brussels stating that behind the situation in Afghanistan there was the regime in Pakistan.^[73] He also stated his conviction that without the support of Pakistan, Osama Bin Laden and Saudi Arabia the Taliban would not be able to sustain their military campaign for up to a year, also because the Afghan population was ready to rise against them.^[73] Addressing the United States specifically he issued the warning that should the U.S. not work for peace in Afghanistan and put pressure on Pakistan to cease their support to the Taliban, the problems of Afghanistan would soon become the problems of the U.S. and the world.

On September 9, 2001, two Arab suicide bombers allegedly belonging to Al Qaeda detonated a bomb hidden in a video camera while posing as journalists and interviewing Ahmed Shah Massoud. Commander Massoud died in a helicopter that was taking him to a hospital. The funeral, although happening in a rather rural area, was attended by hundreds of thousands of people. Sad day (video clip). Afghan journalist Fahim Dashty summarized: "He was the only one, ever, to serve Afghanistan, to serve Afghans. To do a lot of things for Afghanistan, for Afghans. And we lost him ..." see video Well-known journalist Sebastian Junger reports: "A lot of people who knew him felt that he was the best hope for that part of the world."^[54]

The assassination of Massoud is considered to have a strong connection to the September 11, 2001 attacks on U.S. soil which killed nearly 3000 people and which appeared to be the terrorist attack that Massoud had warned against in his speech to the European Parliament several months earlier. John P. O'Neill was a counter-terrorism expert and the Assistant Director of the FBI until late 2001. He retired from the FBI and was offered the position of director of security at the World Trade Center (WTC). He took the job at the WTC two weeks before 9/11. On September 10, 2001, John O’Neill told two of his friends, "We're due. And we're due for something big. ... Some things have happened in Afghanistan [referring to the assassination of Massoud]. I don’t like the way things are lining up in Afghanistan. ... I sense a shift, and I think things are going to happen. ... soon."^[77] John O'Neill died on September 11, 2001, when the south tower collapsed.^[77] The assassination on September 9, 2001, however, was not the first time Al Qaeda, the Taliban, the Pakistani ISI and before them the Soviet KGB, the Afghan communist KHAD and Hekmatyar had tried to assassinate Massoud. He survived countless assassination attempts over a period of 26 years. The first attempt on Massoud's life was carried out by Hekmatyar and two Pakistani ISI agents in 1975 when Massoud was only 22 years old.^[78] In early 2001 Al Qaeda would-be assassins were captured by Massoud's forces while trying to enter his territory.^[75]

For many days the United Front denied the death of Massoud for fear of a collapse in morale among their people. The United Front managed to hold together, however. The slogan "Now we are all Massoud" became a unifying battle cry. It were Massoud's troops who ousted the Taliban from power in Kabul in 2001 with American air support after the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001 on U.S. soil had killed 3000 people. In November and December 2001 the United Front gained control of much of the country. The United Front also played a crucial role in establishing the post-Taliban interim government in late 2001.

Operation Enduring Freedom (2001-present)

United States special operations forces with Hamid Karzai during Operation Enduring Freedom in late 2001.

After the attacks of 9/11 and in response to the Taliban's refusal to hand over Al Qaida operatives without the provision of tangible evidence linking Al Qaida to the September 11, 2001 attacks and the Taliban's refusal to assist the U.S. in prosecuting Al Qaida, the United States and its coalition allies launched an invasion of Afghanistan to oust "terrorist elements" from Afghanistan and defeat those who harbored them, the Taliban. By December United Front ground troops and international coalition forces had taken control over most of Afghanistan. Sponsored by the UN, Afghan factions met in Bonn, Germany and chose a 30 member interim authority led by Hamid Karzai, a Pashtun from Kandahar. After governing for 6 months, former King Zahir Shah convened a Loya Jirga, which elected Karzai as president and gave him authority to govern for two more years. On October 9, 2004, Karzai was elected as president of Afghanistan in the country's first ever presidential election. Karzai ran for re-election in 2009. Early in his presidency, United States President Barack Obama moved to bolster troop strength in Afghanistan.

Around 2006 a new Taliban insurgency rose to power. The recurrent Taliban retook parts of Afghanistan and remain in a war against the newly created democratic Afghan state and international coalition forces (ISAF).

References

Further reading

• Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul (2008). Eds., Friedrik Hiebert and Pierre Cambon. National Geographic, Washington, D.C. ISBN 978-1-4262-0374-9.
• Anthony Arnold, Afghanistan's Two-Party Communism
• Henry S. Bradsher, Afghanistan and the Soviet Union
• David B. Edwards, Before Taliban: Genealogies of the Afghan Jihad
• Louis Dupree, Afghanistan
• DeSpain, Dori. A Brief History of Afghanistan. School Journal. Volume 53. Issue 9 (2007)
• Arnold Charles Fletcher, Afghanistan: Highway of Conquest
• Vartan Gregorian, The Emergence of Modern Afghanistan: Politics of Reform and Modernization, 1840–1946
• Kawun Kakar Hasan, Government and Society in Afghanistan: The Reign of Amin 'Abdal-Rahman Khan
• W. Kerr Fraser-Tytler, Afghanistan: A Study of Political Developments in Central and Southern Asia
• Raiz Muhammad Khan, Untying the Afghan Knot: Negotiating the Soviet Withdrawal
• Richard S. Newell, The Politics of Afghanistan
• Elliot, Sir H. M., Edited by Dowson, John. The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians. The Muhammadan Period; published by London Trubner Company 1867–1877. (Online Copy: The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians. The Muhammadan Period; by Sir H. M. Elliot; Edited by John Dowson; London Trubner Company 1867–1877 – This online Copy has been posted by: The Packard Humanities Institute; Persian Texts in Translation; Also find other historical books: Author List and Title List)
• Leon B. Poullada, Reform and Rebellion in Afghanistan, 1919–1929
• Olivier Roy, Islam and Resistance in Afghanistan
• Barnett Rubin, The Fragmentation of Afghanistan: State Formation and Collapse in the International System
• Bernard, P. 1994. "The Greek Kingdoms of Central Asia." In: History of civilizations of Central Asia, Volume II. The development of sedentary and nomadic civilizations: 700 B.C. to A.D. 250. Harmatta, János, ed., 1994. Paris: UNESCO Publishing., pp. 99–129.
• Hill, John E. 2003. "Annotated Translation of the Chapter on the Western Regions according to the Hou Hanshu." 2nd Draft Edition."The Han Histories". Depts.washington.edu. http://depts.washington.edu/uwch/silkroad/texts/hhshu/hou_han_shu.html. Retrieved 2010-01-31. 
• Hill, John E. 2004. The Peoples of the West from the Weilue 魏略 by Yu Huan 魚豢: A Third Century Chinese Account Composed between 239 and 265 CE. Draft annotated English translation."Weilue: The Peoples of the West". Depts.washington.edu. 2004-05-23. http://depts.washington.edu/uwch/silkroad/texts/weilue/weilue.html. Retrieved 2010-01-31. 
• Rashid, Ahmed, Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia. Yale University Press, 2001, 294 pages. ISBN 0-300-08902-3
• Sarianidi, Viktor I. 1971. "The Lapis Lazuli Route in the Ancient East." V. I. Sarianidi. Archaeology Magazine, January 1971, pp. 12–15.
• Sarianidi, Viktor I. 1985. The Golden Hoard of Bactria: From the Tillya-tepe Excavations in Northern Afghanistan. Harry N. Abrams, Inc. New York.
• Sarianidi, Viktor. 1989. "Early Kushan Jeweller's Art." International Association for the Study of the Cultures of Central Asia Information Bulletin, Issue 15. Moscow, Nauka Publishers, pp. 124–134.
• Sarianidi, Viktor 1990–1992 "Tilya Tepe: The Burial of a Noble Warrior." PERSICA XIV, 1990–1992, pp. 103–130.
• Vogelsang, Willem. 2002. The Afghans. Blackwell Publishers. Oxford. ISBN 0-631-19841-5.
• Watson, Burton. Trans. 1961. Records of the Grand Historian of China: Translated from the Shih chi of Ssu-ma Ch'ien. Chap. 123. The Account of Ta-yüan. Columbia University Press.
• Wood, John. 1872. A Journey to the Source of the River Oxus. New Edition, edited by his son, with an essay on the "Geography of the Valley of the Oxus" by Henry Yule. John Murray, London.
• Afghanistan. The Encyclopædia Britannica. 15th Edition. 2005.

External links

• Historical photos of Afghanistan
• Library of Congress – Country Study of Afghanistan
• Encarta Encyclopedia – Afghanistan (Archived 2009-10-31)
• History of Afghanistan – By John Ford Shroder, B.S., M.S., Ph.D. (Archived 2009-10-31)
• History of Nations – Afghanistan
• U.S. Department of State Background Note on Afghanistan
• BBC: Country profile: Afghanistan
• Afghanistan Online – History of Afghanistan
• History of Afghanistan – From Pre-history till today
• List of rulers for Afghanistan
• HISTORY: For Ages, Afghanistan Is Not Easily Conquered, New York Times, 9/18/2001
• Afghan history chronology
• Online Copy: The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians. The Muhammadan Period; by Sir H. M. Elliot; Edited by John Dowson; Trubner Company, London, 1867–1877
• Excellent series of links from the American International School of Kabul
• Professor Abdul Hai Habibi's site on various aspects of Afghan history
• Radio France Internationale in English dossiers on Afghanistan

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