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Located at the heart of Asia, Afghanistan is at the centre of ancient civilizations stretching back at least 3,000 years. Its long recorded history dates back to Stone Age as archaeological evidence suggests that settlers lived in the northern Hindu Kush mountain range after migrating from the north 50,000 years ago. During the Bronze Age (3000 BC to 2000 BC), ancient Afghanistan was a crossroad between Mesopotamia and other cultures. The region’s richness and strategic importance- once a meeting point of Chinese, Indian and European civilizations- made it a centre of attraction for several civilizations ushering in a succession of ruling dynasties which included the Graeco-Bacterians, the Kushans, the Sasanians, the Ghaznavids, the Ghorid, the Timurid and the Mogul. Through the centuries the flow of ideas, religious traditions and cultural riches followed the merchants, pilgrims, scholars and invaders. The Silk Route passed through central Afghanistan linking the western and eastern civilizations.
A variety of religious traditions including Zoroastrianism, Buddhism and latterly Islam flourished in Afghanistan. One of the world’s oldest monotheistic religions, Zoroastrianism, was founded by the Prophet Zoroaster in 1200 BCE in Southwest Afghanistan. Indian pilgrims travelling along the Silk Route introduced Buddhism which remained strong until the 10th century AD. The Buddhist monastery of Bamiyan, created by monks within the cliff, is a testament to the richness of its past. The two colossal statues of standing Buddha, carved in the 4th to 6th centuries, were the first expression of Buddha in human form. Around this time the Gandhara culture reached its height under the Kushans who were great patrons of arts and religion.
After the introduction of Islam in the 7th century by Arabs the region became the hub of Islamic power and civilization and remained so for the next six centuries until the invasion of the Mongols in the mid 13th century. At the height of Islamic civilization great scientists, philosophers, poets, artists, architects and mathematicians thrived in a flourishing intellectual and artistic milieu. Ibne Sina, regarded as the father of modern medicine, was born in Balkh in year 980 AD. Jalalludin Balkhi (Rumi) emerged as a great poet and thinker towards the end of this great era. In 13th century AD, the Mongols invaded the region and destroyed everything in its wake. The end of the Mongol empire saw the rise of Timurid Dynasty. From their capital in Herat, they led a cultural renaissance attracting artists, poets, philosophers and musicians to the court including the world-renowned miniaturist Behzad and the poet Jami.
In 16th century, Zahiruddin Babur, the founder of the Moghul Dynasty gained control of Afghanistan and established an empire. After Moghuls Afghanistan steadily declined and was ruled by several dynasties including Hotakis.
Modern Afghanistan emerged in 1747, when Ahmad Shah Durrani was elected king in a tribal assembly after the death of King Nadir Shah of Iran. For twenty-five years Ahmad Shah Durrani, for much of his reign, ruled over an empire which extended from the Amu Darya in the north to the Arabian Sea and from Herat to the Punjab. After the death of Durrani in 1773 the country was plunged into a protracted civil war.
Afghanistan’s relationship with foreign powers became a significant factor during the 19th century. Power struggle and competition between Britain and Russia determined, to a large extent, the modern borders of Afghanistan. In 1838 in an attempt to impose its political will on Afghanistan Britain invaded the country which ended in a disastrous defeat. This was the first of three Anglo-Afghan wars which proved catastrophic for Britain. With the ascension of Amanullah Khan to the throne Britain finally acknowledged Afghanistan’s independence as a nation in August 1919. After the achievement of independence Amanullah embarked on an accelerated programme of reform on European lines. The reforms alienated the traditional forces in the country, what followed culminated in a civil war forcing Amanullah into exile in 1929.
Order was restored under Amanullah’s cousin, Nadir Khan, who was assassinated in 1933 which brought his only surviving son, Zahir Shah, to the throne. In his forty year reign Zahir Shah tried to pursue a non-aligned policy attempting to derive benefits from both USA and the USSR. The 1964 constitution transformed Afghanistan in principle into a constitutional monarchy. Elections were held in 1965 and 1969, but as a result of an acrimonious power struggle within the royal family Daud Khan, his cousin and brother-in-law, came to power in an almost bloodless coup in 1973.
Daud Khan who came to power as prime minister of the new republic of Afghanistan was promoted to the role of president by the 1977 constitution. He tried to maintain a centrist policy with a foreign policy less dependent on the USSR and USA. With his former left wing allies disenchanted with him he was overthrown by a violent soviet-backed coup in 1978. Within months insurrection broke out all over the country leading to a full-scale soviet invasion in December 1979.
The Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, which lasted for 10 years, devastated and depopulated most parts of the country. Russian tanks and planes tried to bomb even remote valleys into submission but popular resistance to the occupation grew in strength forcing Mikhail Gorbachez to announce a phased withdrawal from Afghanistan. The last Soviet battalion crossed the ‘Friendship Bridge’ over the Amu Darya in February 1989, leaving President Mohammad Najibullah in charge.
In 1992 Kabul fell to mujahideen factions and an Islamic state was immediately declared. However, the victory was soon soured by infighting as rival factions failed to agree on how to share power. In the ensuing civil war tens of thousands of civilians lost their lives and much of Kabul was reduced to rubble. In 1994 the extremist Taliban movement began in southern Afghanistan and seized control of Kabul in 1996. The Taliban set about implementing a rigid interpretation of Islamic law and conduct.
After 9-11, a US-led international military intervention led to the fall of the Taliban in 2001. An Afghan Interim Authority (AIA) was established in 2001 in Bonn and was followed by the Loya Jirga (Grand Council) in April 2002 in which a transitional government was set up. A new constitution was drafted and following the election of October 2004 Hamid Karzai became president of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.
