history of Afghanistan
Quick Summary
Afghanistan, a landlocked country in South-Central Asia, has a history shaped by its strategic location as a crossroads for trade and cultural exchange between the Middle East, Central Asia, South Asia, and East Asia. The region has been inhabited since Paleolithic times, with evidence of Neolithic, Bronze Age, and Indus civilization cultures.1234
The area has been a prize for empire builders for millennia, with its challenging terrain and independent peoples often thwarting conquest. The modern boundaries of Afghanistan were largely defined in the late 19th century during the "Great Game" rivalry between Britain and Russia. The country has endured significant conflict, including civil war exacerbated by the Soviet invasion (1979-1989), the rise of the Taliban, and the U.S.-led invasion in 2001. Despite periods of cultural flourishing, particularly under the Timurids and Mughals, much of its history is marked by struggles for power and external influence.256734
- Afghanistan - Prehistory
- Afghanistan
- Afghanistan - Ḥabībullāh Khan (1901–19)
- Afghanistan - The arts and cultural institutions
- Afghanistan - The Republic of Afghanistan (1973–78)
- Afghanistan - Nādir Shah
- Afghanistan - ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Khan (1880–1901)
- Afghanistan - NATO troop surge and continued stalemate
- Afghan War
- Afghanistan - Later dynasties
- list of World Heritage sites - Afghanistan
- Afghanistan - The Kushāns
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IndiaThe coming of the Turks…close between the Punjab and Afghanistan. Afghanistan in turn was closely involved with Central Asian politics. Sebüktigin, a Turk, was appointed governor of Ghazna in 977. He attacked the Hindu Shahis and advanced as far as Peshawar. His son Maḥmūd succeeded to the Ghazna principality in 998. Maḥmūd went to…
Read More…close between the Punjab and Afghanistan. Afghanistan in turn was closely involved with Central Asian politics. Sebüktigin, a Turk, was appointed governor of Ghazna in 977. He attacked the Hindu Shahis and advanced as far as Peshawar. His son Maḥmūd succeeded to the Ghazna principality in 998. Maḥmūd went to…
Read More- IndiaFrom Banda Singh Bahadur to Ranjit Singh
…largely at the expense of Afghan and Rajput, as well as lesser Sikh, chieftains. In 1818 he took Multan, and the next year he made major gains in Kashmir. At the time of his death, the territory that he controlled sat solidly astride the main trade routes extending from north…
Read More…largely at the expense of Afghan and Rajput, as well as lesser Sikh, chieftains. In 1818 he took Multan, and the next year he made major gains in Kashmir. At the time of his death, the territory that he controlled sat solidly astride the main trade routes extending from north…
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IranThe Afghan interlude…a former Safavid vassal in Afghanistan, captured Isfahan and murdered Ḥusayn in his cell in the beautiful madrasah (religious school) built in his mother’s name.
Read More…a former Safavid vassal in Afghanistan, captured Isfahan and murdered Ḥusayn in his cell in the beautiful madrasah (religious school) built in his mother’s name.
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RussiaForeign policy…fear of Russian interference in Afghanistan led to the Anglo-Afghan War of 1878–80. In the 1880s Russian expansion extended to the Turkmen lands on the east coast of the Caspian Sea, whose people offered much stiffer military resistance. The Russian conquest of Merv in 1884 caused alarm in Kolkata (Calcutta),…
Read More…fear of Russian interference in Afghanistan led to the Anglo-Afghan War of 1878–80. In the 1880s Russian expansion extended to the Turkmen lands on the east coast of the Caspian Sea, whose people offered much stiffer military resistance. The Russian conquest of Merv in 1884 caused alarm in Kolkata (Calcutta),…
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TajikistanEarly history and Islamic period…in Central Asia and northern Afghanistan is attested from the middle of the 1st millennium bce. The ancestors of the Tajiks constituted the core of the ancient population of Khwārezm (Khorezm) and Bactria, which formed part of Transoxania (Sogdiana). They were included in the
Read More…in Central Asia and northern Afghanistan is attested from the middle of the 1st millennium bce. The ancestors of the Tajiks constituted the core of the ancient population of Khwārezm (Khorezm) and Bactria, which formed part of Transoxania (Sogdiana). They were included in the
Read More- IndiaThe completion of dominion and expansion
Afghanistan was seen as a point from which Russia could threaten British India or Britain could embarrass Russia. Lord Auckland (served 1836–42) was sent as governor-general, charged with forestalling the Russians, and from this stemmed his Afghan adventure and the First Anglo-Afghan War (1838–42). The…
Read MoreAfghanistan was seen as a point from which Russia could threaten British India or Britain could embarrass Russia. Lord Auckland (served 1836–42) was sent as governor-general, charged with forestalling the Russians, and from this stemmed his Afghan adventure and the First Anglo-Afghan War (1838–42). The…
Read More - IndiaThe northwest frontier
…into the ever-simmering cauldron of Afghan politics. In 1863, when the popular old emir, Dōst Moḥammad Khān, died, Lawrence wisely refrained from attempting to name his successor, leaving the Dōst’s 16 sons to fight their own fratricidal battles until 1868, when Shīr ʿAlī Khān finally emerged victorious. Lawrence then recognized…
Read More…into the ever-simmering cauldron of Afghan politics. In 1863, when the popular old emir, Dōst Moḥammad Khān, died, Lawrence wisely refrained from attempting to name his successor, leaving the Dōst’s 16 sons to fight their own fratricidal battles until 1868, when Shīr ʿAlī Khān finally emerged victorious. Lawrence then recognized…
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20th-century international relationsThe Soviets in Afghanistan…when the Soviet army invaded Afghanistan in 1979. It is likely, however, that the Soviets were responding to a crisis of their own rather than trying to exploit another’s. Remote and rugged Afghanistan had been an object of imperialist intrigue throughout the 19th and 20th centuries because of its vulnerable…
Read More…when the Soviet army invaded Afghanistan in 1979. It is likely, however, that the Soviets were responding to a crisis of their own rather than trying to exploit another’s. Remote and rugged Afghanistan had been an object of imperialist intrigue throughout the 19th and 20th centuries because of its vulnerable…
Read More- 20th-century international relationsAfghanistan
In Afghanistan the Soviet Union had committed some 115,000 troops in support of the KGB-installed regime of President Najibullah but had failed to eliminate the resistance of the mujahideen. The war became a costly drain on the Soviet budget and a blow to Soviet military prestige.…
Read MoreIn Afghanistan the Soviet Union had committed some 115,000 troops in support of the KGB-installed regime of President Najibullah but had failed to eliminate the resistance of the mujahideen. The war became a costly drain on the Soviet budget and a blow to Soviet military prestige.…
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Soviet invasion of Afghanistan…invasion of Afghanistan, invasion of Afghanistan in late December 1979 by troops from the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union intervened in support of the Afghan communist government in its conflict with anti-communist Muslim guerrillas during the Afghan War (1978–92) and remained in Afghanistan until mid-February 1989.
Read More…invasion of Afghanistan, invasion of Afghanistan in late December 1979 by troops from the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union intervened in support of the Afghan communist government in its conflict with anti-communist Muslim guerrillas during the Afghan War (1978–92) and remained in Afghanistan until mid-February 1989.
Read More- RussiaThe Brezhnev era (1964–82)
…by the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979.
Read More…by the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979.
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Mikhail GorbachevGeneral secretary of the CPSU: perestroika to the fall of the Soviet Union…withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan after their nine-year occupation of that country.
Read More…withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan after their nine-year occupation of that country.
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Soviet UnionForeign policy…withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan. The last soldier left in February 1989. Brezhnev had blundered into Afghanistan, and the U.S.S.R. had paid a heavy price in soldiers (almost 14,000), matériel, and foreign hostility.
Read More…withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan. The last soldier left in February 1989. Brezhnev had blundered into Afghanistan, and the U.S.S.R. had paid a heavy price in soldiers (almost 14,000), matériel, and foreign hostility.
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United StatesThe George W. Bush administration…and the Taliban government of Afghanistan, which had harbored bin Laden and his followers. On October 7 the United States launched aerial attacks against Afghanistan; by the end of the year the Taliban and bin Laden’s forces were routed or forced into hiding, and the Bush administration was negotiating with…
Read More…and the Taliban government of Afghanistan, which had harbored bin Laden and his followers. On October 7 the United States launched aerial attacks against Afghanistan; by the end of the year the Taliban and bin Laden’s forces were routed or forced into hiding, and the Bush administration was negotiating with…
Read More- United StatesMilitary de-escalation in Iraq and escalation in Afghanistan
…detriment of the situation in Afghanistan; Obama argued that Afghanistan should have been the focus of U.S. military efforts. As security conditions in Iraq continued to improve, the new administration began slowly removing U.S. military personnel, with an announced goal of ending U.S. combat operations by mid-2010 and exiting the…
Read More…detriment of the situation in Afghanistan; Obama argued that Afghanistan should have been the focus of U.S. military efforts. As security conditions in Iraq continued to improve, the new administration began slowly removing U.S. military personnel, with an announced goal of ending U.S. combat operations by mid-2010 and exiting the…
Read More - United StatesForeign affairs: U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
forces from Afghanistan in accordance with an agreement that the Trump administration had concluded with the Taliban in February 2020. Negotiated without the involvement of the Afghan government, the accord called for the U.S. to reduce its military presence in Afghanistan from about 12,000 troops to 8,600…
Read Moreforces from Afghanistan in accordance with an agreement that the Trump administration had concluded with the Taliban in February 2020. Negotiated without the involvement of the Afghan government, the accord called for the U.S. to reduce its military presence in Afghanistan from about 12,000 troops to 8,600…
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