Brief history ofAfganistan

HISTORY OF AFGHANISTAN

Afghanistan nation of 37 million people has one of the fastest growing populations on the 

planet and will soon be more populous 

than either Canada 

or Poland it is bordered by Iran, 

Turkmenistan, 

Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, China 

and Pakistan. 

Afghanistan is located at  

the strategic crossroads as connected 

Iranian 

central and east Asian civilizations to 

India. It is one of the most mountainous  countries in the world 

however it is also home to a vast 

network of rivers and fertile valleys 

carved out by the massive snow melt 

flowing from the Hindu Kush 

and other mountain ranges which envelop 

the country more than 4 000 years ago.The

e farmers of this region began to 

urbanize 

little is known about these first 

ancient city-states other than that 

those in the north 

in the land that became known as Bactria 

were culturally connected to central 

Asian peoples while those in the southeast were 

heavily influenced by the Indus valley 

civilization 

with some of the cities there likely 

being founded by colonists from the 

south however 

until more archaeological work is done. 

Afghanistan's ancient past 

will remain largely mysterious even 

Kabul 

the current capital of Afghanistan is 

likely to have been near continuously 

inhabited for more than 3500 years 

with the exact origin and people who 

built it unknown 

sometime during the 7th century BC. 

The 

Medes a northern Iranian people 

were the first to conquer and unite this 

land under their rule 

which lasted approximately a little over 

a century they were overthrown by the 

closely related augmented Persians 

who divided the empire up into Satrapis 

or provinces 

by the time of the conquests of 

alexander. The great Persian people 

language culture and religion were 

prevalent in what is now Afghanistan 

with 

sizable Buddhist and Greek minorities so 

the Persians had resettled from their 

western provinces in the preceding 

centuries. A

lexander faced some of the most 

formidable resistance of his conquests 

in Bactria which is likely the primary 

reason he married the Bactrian Princess 

Roxanna 

with whom he had a son also named A

lexander which secured the allegiance 

of much of the bacteria in nobility in 

people 

and access to India through the 

strategically important Khyber pass A

lexander also founded several Greek 

colonies in the region 

that later became important political 

commercial and military centers.The 

Macedonian generals Hilucas and his 

descendants ruled over much of the 

eastern portion of Alexander's empire 

in the years following his death at the 

age of 32 control over Bactria in the 

Indus river valley was tenuous at best 

before 300 BC much of this territory had 

been lost to the Indian Mauryan empire 

of Chandragupta 

in the peace that followed the war 

between the two empires. Chandragupta 

married Seleucus daughter 

and gifted his father-in-law 500 trained 

war elephants which he used to great effect in his 

wars in the west not long after the 

Greek cities of Bactria 

overthrew Seleucid rule establishing a 

wealthy kingdom that controlled much of 

the land trade to and from C

hina and India. They were able to 

withstand a major Cellucid invasion 

and a nearly three year long siege of 

their capital city of bulk 

causing the exhausted Cellucids to sue 

for peace over the next two decades. The 

Seleucid empire was also 

greatly weakened by the rise of another 

one of their former vassals 

Darsacid Parthians in the southeast the 

Mauryan empire collapsed the 

Greco-Bactrians were then able to 

effectively fill much of the power 

vacuum left by these two empires but 

their success was halted by internal 

division 

as much of the army was in India 

expanding Greco-Bactrian territory. The K

ing was overthrown by a usurper 

splitting the empire into two kingdoms 

which both experienced several decades 

of relative stability and prosperity 

and the flourishing of a culture that 

was a unique amalgamation of Greek 

Iranian, Indian and other central Asian 

cultures 

after the Greco-Bactrian suffered a 

series of severe military defeats by the 

Parthians. 

They were overrun by 

successive waves of nomadic invaders 

the most powerful of these tribal 

confederations were the UZ 

and the Saka or Scythians who 

established control over the lower Indus 

valley the UZ 

settled in Bactria and largely 

assimilated with the local people over 

time 

after the waves of nomadic invasions 

calmed down to some extent 

the Parthians then conquered much of the 

east up until the Indus river. The 

Parthian Arsacid dynasty was very 

hands-off in their style of governance 

and were content as long as taxes were 

paid and men supplied to the army when 

needed and as they became increasingly 

focused on halting roman expansion 

into Mesopotamia.

The Parthian noble 

family that had defeated the Scythians 

and had seized control over the Indus 

river 

seceded from the empire establishing the 

serene kingdom 

or more commonly called the 

Indo-Parthian kingdom and although they 

ceased to pay taxes 

and their king claimed equal status to 

the Parthian great king. 

Th

e two states appear to have been 

allies and deeply involved in each 

other's politics 

in the north the Greco-Bactrian people 

and UZ tribes 

formed the khushan kingdom and became an 

empire at the expense of the Parthians 

and then expanded deep into central Asia 

and the Indian subcontinent 

the Kushans worshiped Greek as well as 

Hindu gods 

but gradually over time Buddhism became 

more prevalent and was widely promoted 

within the empire's borders 

and even without with Buddhist merchants 

and missionaries traveling to Han china 

which many believe were the first to 

introduce Buddhism to china. The Kushan 

empire was the crossroads of the world 

manufactured goods from as far away as 

china Rome 

and Oximite Ethiopia would have been 

common sites in the great cities of the 

Kushan empire. In 

the west the Parthians succumbed to 

internal infighting which allowed the 

Sassanid Persians to overthrow them 

viewing themselves as the 

re-establishment of the ancient Acamet 

Persian empire that alexander had 

toppled the reinvigorated Persians 

successfully campaigned to the north, 

south east and west 

quickly overrunning the Kushan empire 

and established the Kushan shahs 

as vassal kings of a greatly diminished 

territory and were gradually stripped of 

their military and administrative power 

during the intermediate period of 

Sasanian decline. The 

nomadic Keturites and then heft the 

lights gained control over the eastern 

portion of the empire and like the Uzi 

before them 

they largely adopted much of the local 

culture before being reconquered by the 

Sasanians. It 

was during Sassanian rule that the 

first recorded instance of the term 

afghan was made in reference to the 

people inhabiting the mountainous 

eastern provinces of the empire 

and is likely derived from the Pashtun 

ethnic group which is the largest in 

Afghanistan by the time of this region's 

conquest by the Arab caliphates 

Buddhism and the Persian Zoroastrian 

faith were the dominant religions in the 

land 

that proved difficult to control 

whenever a large Arab army left 

the locals would rebel and revert to 

their ancient customs 

and self-rule in the east. 

Kabul managed 

to remain an 

independent wealthy city-state 

controlling trade through the Khyber 

pass to India ruled over by Buddhists 

and Hindus. It was not until the late 9th 

century 

that the Safarid dynasty founded by a 

Persian coppersmith born in southwestern 

Afghanistan 

successfully rebelled against the 

Abbasid caliphate and firmly established 

local rule that afghans began to convert 

to Islam. W

hich the dynasty widely promoted the 

Safarids were overthrown by the salmonid 

empire. Whose rulers claimed descent from 

the Sasanian Persians 

and extensively promoted Persian culture 

and Islam throughout the empire 

they made the mistake of utilizing 

Turkic's life soldiers which in time 

overthrew them and established the 

Ghaznavid dynasty based out of the city 

of Ghazna 

in eastern Afghanistan. They continued 

the policies of promoting 

Islam and Persian culture particularly 

among the nomadic Turkic 

tribes that were settled within the 

empire the Ghaznavids were greatly 

weakened by conflict with the Sljuk Turk empire which allowed for their 

overthrow by the native Gurud dynasty. W

hich had recently converted from 

Buddhism to Islam 

and were possibly of Pashtun descent 

during the reign of Sultan Gyathal din 

Muhammad the Gurud sultanate became a 

major world power 

stretching from the Iranian plateau to 

Bengal in the east. 

H

owever after Guiathaldin's death the 

empire fell into infighting 

and was rapidly conquered by both the 

Delhi sultanate in India 

and the empire of tourism. Both of Turkic 

Mamlik origin 

only 15 years after their conquest of 

the Gerd sultanate 

Khorazim was overrun by the Mongol 

empire of Genghis khan who frequently 

massacred the populations of cities that 

did not immediately surrender 

the Mongol empire split into several 

successor states not long after their 

conquest of the region. The

 ill khanate as the name coincidentally implies 

fell ill and was ravaged by the plague 

wiping out much of the Mongol royal 

family 

and army and as the ill khanate 

fragmented into many small states. The 

Tajik vassal princces of Herat 

established a sizable kingdom for a 

short time. All

 of these small states were conquered 

by the Turko Mongol warlord Tamerlane 

who inflicted even greater slaughter and 

destruction throughout the near east. Then

 the Mongols had done a few 

generations before 

Timor frequently used Afghanistan as his 

base of operations 

and his descendants moved the capital 

from Samarkand 

to Herat the century following. Timor 

death began with peace and prosperity 

and ended with internal strife and civil 

war with its territory being lost to the 

Uzbeks in the north. 

The 

Safavid Persians in the west and in 

the southeast the emergent mogul empire 

which would go on to conquer most of India 

claiming descent from Timor and Genghis 

khan throughout the 17th century Afghanistan became a largely autonomous buffer zone between the powerful Safavid and Mogul 

empires in 1709. 

The Pashtun Hotec dynasty successfully rebelled and established a short-lived empire by conquering a great deal of Iranian territory. The Safavid empire was overthrown by the soldier of fortune Nattershah. He was the son of a common Herdsmen and one of the most brilliant military strategists ever to have lived. He reconquered Afghanistan and defeated ottoman and mogul armies 

but his reign was brought short. When he 

was assassinated at the age of 48 one of 

his cavalry commander amid shah durani was a Pashtun and returned to his homeland where a Pashtun tribal confederation selected him as their leader. He used his military experience to great effect conquering those cities that did not join his cause in Afghanistan and during his long 25-year reign. He successfully campaigned in India three times against the Marathas and Moguls and even sacked their capital city of Delhi in 1757. The Tehrani empire is considered the foundation of the modern state of Afghanistan and Amid Durrani as the father of the nation. The empire declined after they were defeated by the Sikhs and driven out of the Indian subcontinent. However the greatest factor influencing their decline may have been economic as trade was cut off to china due to poor diplomatic relations and the traffic along the ancient land trade routes connecting India, Iran and central Asia all but disappeared this was due to the expansion of the Russian empire into central Asia and the dominance of the British east India company over maritime trade leaving Afghanistan in a more isolated state than it had been in in over two thousand years but also a more unified one with the majority of the country practicing the same religion Sunni Islam and the concept of a national afghan identity became prevalent regardless of tribal or ethnic affiliation the Tehrani were overthrown by Dost Mohammed Khan who established the emirate of Afghanistan. 

The British who had largely gained control over India and its revenue feared that the Russians would take Afghanistan and use it as a staging ground to take India from them so to preempt the Russians they invaded instead and reinstalled the deposed Iranian king on the throne. Who was widely disliked after encountering minimal resistance to their conquest and occupation of the country. The British withdrew most of their troops back to India. The remaining British occupying force was then ambushed and was almost completely slaughtered as they attempted to retreat from the country in a event that shocked great Britain and the western world. The afghans then reinstated Dost Muhammad Khan on the throne of the country nearly four decades after the first invasion. The British invaded again a peace was concluded after both sides suffered heavy casualties.

Afghanistan became a British protectorate with the afghans maintaining complete self-rule and the British handling their foreign affairs which they didn't do too much of anyways namely no cadoodling with the russkies 40 years later in a third Anglo-Afghan war 120 000 afghans invaded India. After a few brief clashes with the British a treaty was made where Afghanistan would be internationally recognized as a fully independent state. A few years later in 1926 the country was reformed into the kingdom of Afghanistan and began the process of modernization and increased contacts with the outside world in 1973. 

The monarchy was overthrown in a bloodless Coup D'etat by the king's cousin Mohammed Dawaod khan. Who became the president of a single party republic who further sought to modernize the country and received aid from the soviet union and the united states who both tried to curry influence over the country in 1978. Dawaod and many of his family members were assassinated during a communist Coup D'etat establishing the democratic republic of Afghanistan. 

This soviet-backed government pushed wide-ranging reforms that sought to modernize and abolish most traditional and religious societal structures this caused widespread insurrection and soviet involvement in a long war of attrition that nearly lasted 10 years and caused millions of refugees to leave the country. A few years after the soviet union withdrew their forces 

the Islamic state of Afghanistan 

overthrew the government and took over 

the cities 

which was largely overthrown by the 

Islamic emirate of Afghanistan in 1996. W

hich established a totalitarian rule 

they were removed from power five years 

later 

by U.S coalition forces and the northern 

alliance 

and established the Islamic republic of Afghanistan in 2004.