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97-525: The Alasay District (Alah Say) is situated in the eastern part of Kapisa Province , Afghanistan . It borders Tagab District (Kapisa Province) to the south and east, Nejrab District to the north and Laghman Province to the east. The population is 38,642 (2015). The district center is Alasay , located in its southwestern part. From approximately 2006 until March 2009 the area was considered insurgent controlled. In March, however, French forces from GTIA Kapisa and Chasseurs Alpins 27e Battalion, along with

194-518: A Torana . The wedge-shaped stone with indentation has Mauryan polish on two sides and was suspended vertically. According to K. P Jayaswal , Nanda era is mentioned in three sources. Kharavela's Hathigumpha inscription mentions Nandaraja constructing canal 103rd year of the Nanda period. According to Al-Biruni , the Sri-Harsha era was being used in areas of Kannauj and Mathura and there

291-548: A kshatriya king holding sway over ten neighboring states, including Lampaka, Nagarahara , Gandhara , and Banu. Xuanzang notes the Shen breed of horses from the area, and also notes the production of many types of cereals and fruits, as well as a scented root called Yu-kin. The Kapisa province territory fell to the Maurya Empire , which was led by Chandragupta Maurya . The Mauryas promoted both Buddhism and Hinduism to

388-669: A Nanda king) was the ruler of the Gangaridai (the Ganges valley) and the Prasii (probably a transcription of the Sanskrit word prachya s, literally "easterners"). According to the later writer Megasthenes ( c.  300 BCE ), Pataliputra (Greek: Palibothra) was located in the country of the Prasii, which further confirms that Pataliputra was the Nanda capital. The Nanda empire appears to have stretched from present-day Punjab in

485-471: A battalion of Afghan troops were able to successfully drive them out and establish two Afghan National Army bases in the valley. Most of the Alasay district is mountainous, and many of its villages are inaccessible by vehicles. The Alasay District contains three large valleys: There are approximately 70 villages in the district. Alasay currently has 13 schools: Currently, the high schools and Madrassa in

582-455: A decade of campaigning, led to a mutiny among Alexander's homesick soldiers, putting an end to his Indian campaign. Both Indian and Greco-Roman traditions characterise the dynasty's founder as of low birth. According to Greek historian Diodorus (1st century BCE), Porus told Alexander that the contemporary Nanda king was thought to be the son of a barber. Roman historian Curtius (1st century CE) adds that according to Porus, this barber became

679-738: A major trade commodity in the province. Once a week, a trade day (called a Mela ) occurs. The concept of the mela is ancient, and translates to "party" in Persian , as the event is as much a social event as a trade day. Kapisa is primarily a farming province. Agriculture, livestock, and trade and services account for the majority of commercial activity. Agriculture is a significant source of income for 62% of households. However, commerce and services provide income to 32 percent of rural households, while non-farm-related labor provides income to 35 percent of rural households. Cotton, sesame, tobacco, confection, honey, karakul skin, and sugar sweets appear to be

776-628: A measuring standard introduced by the Nandas. This may be a reference to their introduction of a new currency system and punch-marked coins , which may have been responsible for much of their wealth. A hoard of coins found at the site of ancient Pataliputra probably belongs to the Nanda period. The Nandas and the Mauryas appear to have patronised the religions originating in the Greater Magadha region, namely Jainism and Ajivikism . However,

873-500: A minister of the last Nanda king, died, his son Sthulabhadra refused to inherit his father's office, and instead became a Jain monk . Sthulabhadra's brother Shriyaka accepted the post. Pataliputra Voussoir Arch A granite stone fragment of an arch discovered by K. P. Jayaswal from Kumhrar , Pataliputra has been analysed as a pre Maurya-Nanda period keystone fragment of a trefoil arch of gateway with mason's marks of three archaic Brahmi letters inscribed on it which probably decorated

970-423: A more centralised administration. Ancient sources credit them with amassing great wealth, which was probably a result of the introduction of a new currency and taxation system. Ancient texts also suggest that the Nandas were unpopular among their subjects because of their low-status birth, excessive taxation, and general misconduct. The last Nanda king Dhana Nanda was overthrown by Chandragupta Maurya , founder of

1067-457: A raid near the village of Inzeri in the Tagab district of Kapisa. While coalition forces claimed at least 15 insurgents were killed (including a local Taliban commander), local villagers claimed that many of those killed were actually civilians. The raid was strongly criticized by Afghan president Hamid Karzai , who stated that such raids undermine the national government. The villagers were paid

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1164-401: A result, Alasay fell back to Taliban later that year and the security situation in the province deteriorated. It was that same tug-of-war all over again, with the residents of Alasay left frustrated and less safe than ever before. As 2009 progressed, bigger and bigger chunks of the province came under the sway of the insurgency, leading the provincial capital being more or less under curfew from

1261-533: A skilled birth attendant fell from 12% in 2005 to 7% in 2011. In 2008, the Kapisa Province has 24 health clinics and two hospitals with a total capacity of 110 beds. According to data from 2008, the Ministry of Health employs 34 doctors and 154 other health professionals in the province. There are 72 pharmacies in the province. The majority of villages do not have a permanent health worker. Nearly half of

1358-403: A son of the Nanda king Sarvatha-siddhi and a hunter's daughter named Mura. The Buddhist text Milinda Panha mentions a war between the Nanda general Bhaddasala (Sanskrit:Bhadrashala) and Chandragupta. According to the text, this war led to the slaughter of 10,000 elephants; 100,000 horses; 5,000 charioteers; and a billion foot soldiers. While this is obviously an exaggeration, it suggests that

1455-482: A total of $ 40,000 in condolence payments, and received an apology for any civilian deaths. On 17 November 2009, Taliban insurgents fired rockets on a bazaar in Tagab district where French forces were meeting with tribal elders, killing 10 Afghan civilians and wounding 28. Kapisa is seen as an important piece of property in the war against insurgency in the country, the province has been called "the gateway to Kabul", it

1552-646: A total of 22 years. These nine kings were: The Nanda capital was located at Pataliputra (near present-day Patna ) in the Magadha region of eastern India. This is confirmed by the Buddhist and Jain traditions, as well as the Sanskrit play Mudrarakshasa . The Puranas also connect the Nandas to the Shaishunaga dynasty , which ruled in the Magadha region. The Greek accounts state that Agrammes (identified as

1649-547: Is a strategic goldmine: it lies along a primary infiltration route into and out of Pakistan, it provides easy access to Kabul in an easily defensible primary valley (there are two other valleys in Alasay District), and it is mostly populated by the ethnic minority the Pashai and some Nuristani . In a French-led NATO force initiated, the operation was a success initially, due to reaching out to locals beforehand, they retook

1746-557: Is located in Kohistan district, the university was built by Ahmad Shah Massoud . The overall literacy rate (6+ years of age) fell from 39% in 2005 to 31% in 2011. The overall net enrolment rate (6–13 years of age) fell from 60% in 2005 to 55% in 2011. In Kapisa Province, the general literacy rate is 39 percent; however, although 53 percent of men are literate, only 23% of women are. 60 percent of youngsters aged six to thirteen are enrolled in school. There were 112,544 pupils enrolled in

1843-508: Is now deployed in Kapisa and of the Afghan police who now are solely responsible for providing the province's security. A transition ceremony for Kapisa Province was held July 4, 2012, formalizing the symbolic transfer of responsibility of the province from ISAF to Afghan authorities as part of the transition process in the province launched May 13, 2012; the Afghan security forces began to take

1940-458: Is viewed as an important area even as small as it is. A densely packed, multiethnic enclave in steep valleys surrounded by tall mountains. It has unique ethnicities like the Pashai and Parachi, unique Pashtuns like the Safi, and many Tajik dominated areas. Kapisa has been the site of several failed attempts at counterinsurgency since 2005. There have been at least two special operations sweeps through

2037-469: The Brahmanical orthodoxy, which may have played a role in its political success; however, it is difficult to assess the veracity of this claim. D. D. Kosambi theorised that Magadha's monopoly over iron ore mines played a major role in its imperial expansion, but historian Upinder Singh has disputed this theory, pointing out that Magadha did not have a monopoly over these mines, and the iron mining in

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2134-667: The Buddha had just attained enlightenment. Just like the rest of Afghanistan , many historical sites in Kapisa have been looted by smugglers and then sold abroad. During 2009 and 2010 twenty-seven relics were discovered by the National Security forces; these included ancient relics belonging to 2 BC and 4 BC mostly from Kohistan district. Before 2012, French forces were complemented by U.S. forces through Provincial Reconstruction Teams and Human Terrain Teams . The province

2231-783: The Chalukyas ; then the Kalachuryya family ; and after them the ( Hoysala ) Ballalas. Alexander the Great invaded north-western India at the time of Agrammes or Xandrames, whom modern historians generally identify as the last Nanda king – Dhana Nanda . In the summer of 326 BCE, Alexander's army reached the Beas River (Greek: Hyphasis), beyond which the Nanda territory was located. According to Curtius, Alexander learned that Agrammes had 200,000 infantry; 20,000 cavalry; 3,000 elephants ; and 2,000 four-horse chariots. Diodorus gives

2328-400: The Gangaridai and the Prasii separately, although suggesting that these two were ruled by a common sovereign. Historian H. C. Raychaudhuri theorises that the Nandas held centralised control over their core territories in present-day Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, but allowed considerable autonomy in the frontier parts of their empire. This is suggested by Buddhist legends, which state Chandragupta

2425-607: The Hathigumpha inscription to mean that "Nandaraja" (the Nanda king) flourished in year 103 of the Mahavira Era , that is, in 424 BCE. The 14th century Jain writer Merutunga , in his Vichara-shreni , states that king Chandra Pradyota of Avanti died on the same night as the Jain leader Mahavira . He was succeeded by his son Palaka, who ruled for 60 years. After that, the Nandas rose to power at Pataliputra and captured

2522-403: The Maurya Empire . Modern historians generally identify the ruler of the Gangaridai and the Prasii mentioned in ancient Greco-Roman accounts as a Nanda king. While describing Alexander the Great 's invasion of Punjab (327–325 BCE), Greco-Roman writers depict this kingdom as a great military power. The prospect of a war against this kingdom, coupled with the exhaustion resulting from almost

2619-732: The "Sahalin" mentioned in the Buddhist text Divyavadana . Dhundhi-raja , an 18th-century Puranic commentator, names one of the Nanda kings as Sarvatha-siddhi, and states that his son was Maurya, whose son was Chandragupta Maurya. However, the Puranas themselves do not talk of any relation between the Nanda and the Maurya dynasties. According to the Sri Lankan Buddhist text Mahavamsa , written in Pali language , there were 9 Nanda kings – they were brothers who ruled in succession, for

2716-482: The 181 elementary, intermediate, and high schools in 2008. Boys made for 66% of students, while boys' schools accounted for 51% of all schools. In the schools, there were 3,657 instructors, with 12 percent of them being female. With one university and a teacher training college, the province also provides a number of higher education options. The percentage of households with clean drinking water fell from 27% in 2005 to 15% in 2011. The percentage of births attended to by

2813-574: The American military, the French never developed a solid plan for consolidating their victories and building on successes – which left many areas of Kapisa in a constant tug-of-war between the French and the insurgents. In early 2009, French forces embarked on a significant campaign which aimed to retake an eastern Alasay District that the Taliban has controlled for the previous year. Alasay district

2910-506: The Aryans and established settlements of his own, but lasted only a decade before Seleucus Nicator gave them to Sandrocottus ( Chandragupta ), upon terms of intermarriage and of receiving in exchange 500 elephants. Some time after, as he was going to war with the generals of Alexander, a wild elephant of great bulk presented itself before him of its own accord, and, as if tamed down to gentleness, took him on its back, and became his guide in

3007-706: The Avanti capital Ujjayini . The Nanda rule, spanning the reigns of nine kings, lasted for 155 years, after which the Mauryas came to power. According to the Śvetāmbara Jain tradition, Mahavira died in 527 BCE, which would mean that the Nanda rule—according to Merutunga's writings—lasted from 467 BCE to 312 BCE. According to historian R. C. Majumdar , while all the chronological details provided by Merutunga cannot be accepted without corroborative evidence, they cannot be dismissed as entirely unreliable unless contradicted by more reliable sources. The Buddhist, Jain, and Puranic traditions all state that there were 9 Nanda kings, but

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3104-588: The French mission was facing serious challenges. A shocking ambush in Surobi, the district of Kabul Province they were responsible for patrolling, killed 10 French troops. The Surobi massacre spurred a larger debate in France about the war. After taking over from the U.S., which exercised partial control over the province for several years beforehand, the French continued to follow the U.S.-led approach of sending troops through an area to kill or chase away militants. Like

3201-562: The Jain tradition, the Nanda minister subjugated the entire country up to the coastal areas. The Puranas state that the Nanda king Mahapadma destroyed the Kshatriyas , and attained undisputed sovereignty. The Kshatriyas said to have been exterminated by him include Maithalas , Kasheyas , Ikshvakus , Panchalas , Shurasenas , Kurus , Haihayas , Vitihotras , Kalingas , and Ashmakas . The Amaravathi hoard of Punch marked coins have revealed imperial standard coins dating back to

3298-613: The Nanda administration today. The Puranas describe the Nanda king as ekarat ("single ruler"), which suggests that the Nanda empire was an integrated monarchy rather than a group of virtually independent feudal states. However, the Greek accounts suggest the presence of a more federated system of governance. For example, Arrian mentions that the land beyond the Beas River was governed by "the aristocracy, who exercised their authority with justice and moderation." The Greek accounts mention

3395-408: The Nanda territory (Gangaridai and Prasii) because the Nanda king was hated and despised by his subjects, as he was wicked and of low origin. The Sri Lankan Buddhist tradition blames the Nandas for being greedy and for imposing oppressive taxation. The Puranas of India label the Nandas as adharmika , indicating that they did not follow the norms of dharma or righteous conduct. The Nanda dynasty

3492-559: The Nandas besides other dynasties of Magadha, including the Mauryas; but it is not certain when this region was annexed by the Magadhan rulers. Some Kuntala country (North Mysore) inscriptions suggest that the Nandas also ruled it, which included a part of present-day Karnataka in southern India. However, these inscriptions are relatively late ( c.  1200 CE ), and therefore, cannot be considered as reliable in this context. The Magadha empire included parts of southern India during

3589-525: The Nandas were the sole Kshatriyas in India "at the time of the Mauryas" and M. N. Srinivas suggested that the "other Kshatriya castes have come into existence through a process of caste mobility from among the lower castes". There is little unanimity among the ancient sources regarding the total duration of the Nanda reign or their regnal period. For example, the Matsya Purana assigns 88 years to

3686-456: The Nandas", which was "swept away and submerged later on by the floods of the Ganges". Another interpretation of this verse states this wealth was hidden in the waters of the Ganges. The 7th-century Chinese traveller Xuanzang mentions the "five treasures of king Nanda's seven precious substances". Greek writer Xenophon , in his Cyropaedia (4th century BCE), mentions that the king of India

3783-535: The Puranic claim of Shaishunaga ancestry. The Buddhist tradition calls the Nandas "of unknown lineage" ( annata-kula ). According to Mahavamsa , the dynasty's founder was Ugrasena, who was originally "a man of the frontier": he fell into the hands of a gang of robbers, and later became their leader. He later ousted the sons of the Shaishunaga king Kalashoka (or Kakavarna). K. N. Panikkar suggested that

3880-494: The Puranic tradition, the dynasty's founder was Mahapadma: the Matsya Purana assigns him an incredibly long reign of 88 years, while the Vayu Purana mentions the length of his reign as only 28 years. The Puranas further state that Mahapadma's 8 sons ruled in succession after him for a total of 12 years, but name only one of these sons: Sukalpa. A Vayu Purana script names him as "Sahalya", which apparently corresponds to

3977-399: The Sri Lankan Buddhist tradition which states that the Nandas ruled for 22 years. Historian Upinder Singh dates the Nanda rule from 364/345 BCE to 324 BCE, based on the assumption that Gautama Buddha died in c.  486 BCE . According to another theory, based on astronomical calculations, the first Nanda king ascended the throne in 424 BCE. Proponents of this theory also interpret

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4074-520: The Tagab Valley. The French presence there had reduced the ability of militants in Kapisa to launch attacks into Kabul. When the French leave, the U.S. would not have the troops to fill in the gap, leaving a big opportunity for militants north of Kabul to strike back. Most of the province population believe that the long-term presence of foreign forces in Afghanistan can only serve to perpetuate

4171-471: The area, and at least three major Coalition efforts to clear and hold territory. The province of Kapisa is an area that constitutes an invisible boundary between a zone to the west and north where the population is Tajik, and generally hostile to the Taliban, and the steep-sided valleys to the south-east dominated by the Pashtun and Pashai people, where there is a lot of rebel activity. This ethnic split lies at

4268-412: The challenge of the overall ISAF missions to build support for the legitimate government of Afghanistan with the realities of the dysfunctional local government within Kapisa. The provincial governor, Ghulam Qawis Abubaker , was widely viewed as corrupt and was accused by contractors and district officials of funding insurgent elements in order to keep Kapisa unstable enough to keep PRT dollars coming into

4365-551: The community level and alleviate the concerns villagers had with existing projects and bypassing the provincial leadership. This strategy continued to gain support across the coalition elements as provincial officials were being arrested for having ties to the insurgency. When a bombing in central district of Nijrab killed four French soldiers in June 2012, within France the bombing resonated deeply: while President Hollande had before indicated that he might keep some French troops in

4462-399: The contest, Agha Jan come in third, and Tahira Mujadidi, the winning female candidate, came in fourth. As of 2021, the population of the province is around 495,028 people. It is believed that predominately of kapisa are Tajiks population followed by few Pashtuns & Pashai Agriculture is the largest portion of the economy. One particular crop, saffron , has been introduced as

4559-756: The convines of Magadha. In response, Brahmins broadened their services, eventually resulting in the Hindu synthesis of Brahmanical orthodoxy with local religious traditions, which came to dominate India. Nevertheless, only with the Brahminical Shunga Empire (185 BCE–73 BCE) did the Brahmins gain some prominence in Maghadian society, though it was still not considered to be part of Aryavarta. The Jain tradition suggests that several Nanda ministers were inclined towards Jainism. When Shakatala,

4656-559: The country to help with the training mission, he later announced a full withdrawal by July. France being the fifth largest contributor to NATO's ISAF coalition, with nearly 3,300 soldiers, began its troop withdrawal from Afghanistan in July and completed it by the end of the 2012. Kapisa transitioned to Afghan government control in third of the five-phase transfers. Withdrawing French troops by the end of 2012 had been one of President Hollande's election pledges. The date meant that French forces left

4753-457: The country two years before the main scheduled NATO withdrawal. The early French withdrawal had led some to speculate that Kapisa will become a security vacuum just outside Kabul. This would be no small matter: the "ring of steel" that surrounds Afghanistan's capital has been broken so many times that few have faith in the capital's safety anymore. Several of those early attacks, before the influx of French troops, were planned and supported out of

4850-500: The district are boys' schools. The Alasay district is poor, with only a small amount of land usable for agriculture. Other sources of income include animal husbandry and labor. Currently, the Alasay district only contains four health facilities, located in the villages of Alasay, Ashpai, Koti, and Eskin. This Kapisa Province , Afghanistan location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Kapisa Province The earliest references to Kapisa appear in

4947-488: The dynasty's founder as Mahapadma , and claim that he was the son of the Shaishunaga king Mahanandin . However, even these texts hint at the low birth of the Nandas, when they state that Mahapadma's mother belonged to the Shudra class, the lowest of the varnas . Since the claim of the barber ancestry of the dynasty's founder is attested by two different traditions—Greco-Roman and Jain, it appears to be more reliable than

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5044-517: The empire to include a larger part of northern India. Ancient sources differ considerably regarding the names of the Nanda kings and the duration of their rule, but based on the Buddhist tradition recorded in the Mahāvaṃsa , they appear to have ruled during c.  345 –322 BCE, although some theories date the start of their rule to the fifth century BCE. The Nandas built on the successes of their Haryanka and Shaishunaga predecessors and instituted

5141-471: The entire valley with a single casualty over a single day of fighting. Almost immediately, the Afghans of the valley welcomed the French, and things seemed to be looking up. However, they didn't stay. Much as in previous efforts to "sweep" the province, the French were dragged into other tasks, like protecting the main highway that travels the province from north to south through the volatile Tagab Valley . As

5238-526: The former queen's paramour thanks to his attractive looks, treacherously assassinated the then king, usurped the supreme authority by pretending to act as a guardian for the then princes, and later killed the princes. The Jain tradition, as recorded in the Avashyaka Sutra and the 12th-century text Parishishta-parvan , corroborates the Greco-Roman accounts, stating that the first Nanda king

5335-464: The fractured and elusive Afghanistan. Kapisa is allocated four seats in the Wolesi Jirga, Afghanistan's lower house of Parliament, one of which is reserved for female candidates. In the 2010 Wolesi Jirga contest 45,271 votes were cast in the province. Only one incumbent candidate, Mohammad Iqbal Safai was re-elected, coming in second place in the contest. Mirdad Khan Nijrabi came in first place in

5432-442: The goddess of material prosperity ( Lakshmi ), but also of the goddess of learning ( Sarasvati ). According to this tradition, notable grammarians such as Varsha, Upavarsha, Panini , Katyayana , Vararuchi , and Vyadi lived during the Nanda period. While much of this account is unreliable folklore, it is probable that some of the grammarians who preceded Patanjali lived during the Nanda period. Several historical sources refer to

5529-512: The great wealth of the Nandas. According to the Mahavamsa , the last Nanda king was a treasure- hoarder , and amassed wealth worth 80 kotis (800 million). He buried these treasures in the bed of the Ganges river. He acquired further wealth by levying taxes on all sorts of objects, including skins, gums, trees, and stones. A verse by the Tamil poet Mamulanar refers to "the untold wealth of

5626-446: The heart of the Kapisa insurrection. Mahmud-i-Raqi, capital of Kapisa Province is Tajik dominated, where there are more fighters who fought with Massoud than there are Taliban sympathizers. Their staunch anti-Taliban stance is not the norm in this province – especially in the Tagab or Alasay districts. The Province a complex political and ethnic arena, where there is a lot of ambiguity towards foreign troops. Kapisa represents an allegory of

5723-468: The historical Magadha region started much later. Singh, however, notes that the adjoining Chota Nagpur Plateau was rich in many minerals and other raw materials, and access to these would have been an asset for Magadha. According to the Jain tradition, Kalpaka was the minister of the first Nanda king. He became a minister reluctantly, but after assuming the office, he encouraged the king to adopt an aggressive expansionist policy. The Jain texts suggest that

5820-534: The insurgency. Because they are close enough to Kabul, the militants count attacks there as attacks in Kabul. Whilst the districts of Tagab, Alasay and Nijrab are Hizb-i Islami Gulbuddin supporters and are a mixture of Pashtuns, Tajiks and Pashai. The importance of Kapisa comes as it lies along the approach to the Panjshir River valley and most of the major Jamiat figures have managed to secure wealth and power in

5917-503: The last Nanda king was unpopular among his subjects. According to Diodorus, Porus told Alexander that the contemporary Nanda king was a man of "worthless character", and was not respected by his subjects as he was thought to be of low origin. Curtius also states that according to Porus, the Nanda king was despised by his subjects. According to Plutarch , who claims that Androkottos (identified as Chandragupta) met Alexander, Androkottos later declared that Alexander could have easily conquered

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6014-417: The lead since autumn 2011. However the insurgency still remained active in Tagab and Alasay districts. Some clashes have been reported in the province since the 2021 Taliban takeover of Afghanistan . Kapisa province is located 80 km (50 mi) northeast of Kabul . It is bordered from the north by Panjshir Province , from the east by Laghman Province , from the south by Kabul province and from

6111-481: The life of the Buddha (563 BCE to 483 BCE), as recorded by Xuanzang . In this context, a legend recorded by Xuanzang 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

6208-544: The militants. By 2010, the French had stopped liaising with their Afghan Army counterparts, and the Provincial Reconstruction Team had ceased most of its operations. In late 2009, the province saw an influx of ISAF forces as the French elevated their presence from a Battalion-strength Task Force under Task Force Korrigan ( Groupement tactique interarmes de Kapisa ) to a Brigade-strength Task Force under Task Force Lafayette ( Brigade La Fayette ). At

6305-469: The ministerial offices of the Nanda Empire were hereditary. For example, after the death of Shakatala, a minister of the last Nanda king, his position was offered to his son Sthulabhadra; when Sthulabhadra refused the offer, Shakatala's second son Shriyaka was appointed as the minister. The Brihatkatha tradition claims that under the Nanda rule, the city of Pataliputra not only became the abode of

6402-452: The most common industrial goods produced in this area. Despite the fact that the number of villages engaged in handcraft production is more than five times that of villages engaged in industries, overall production remains low. Carpets, pottery, and jewelry are three handicrafts that stand out. In the province, 96% of households have access to irrigated land, while 7% of rural households have access to rain-fed land. Wheat, maize, and barley are

6499-616: The most important field crops. Poultry, cattle, oxen, sheep, and goats are the most frequent livestock. The province is represented in Afghan domestic cricket tournaments by the Kapisa Province cricket team . Kapisa is home to Al-Beroni University , named after the Islamic scholar Al-Biruni who was from this region. The University offers programs in Agriculture, Engineering, Islamic Studies, Law, Medicine and Literature and

6596-405: The number of elephants as 4,000. Plutarch inflates these numbers significantly, except the infantry: according to him, the Nanda force included 200,000 infantry; 80,000 cavalry; 6,000 elephants; and 8,000 chariots. It is possible that the numbers reported to Alexander had been exaggerated by the local Indian population, who had the incentive to mislead the invaders. The Nanda army did not have

6693-483: The opportunity to face Alexander, whose soldiers mutinied at the Beas River, refusing to go any further in the east. Alexander's soldiers had first started to agitate to return to their homeland at Hecatompylos in 330 BCE, and the stiff resistance that they had met in north-western India in the subsequent years had demoralised them. They mutinied, when faced with the prospect of facing the Nanda army, forcing Alexander to withdraw from India. Little information survives on

6790-467: The political success of these dynasties of Magadha. Pataliputra, the capital of Magadha, was naturally protected because of its location at the junction of the Ganges and the Son rivers. The Ganges and its tributaries connected the kingdom with important trade routes. It had fertile soil and access to lumber and elephants of the adjacent areas. Some historians have suggested that Magadha was relatively free from

6887-414: The population must travel more than 10 kilometers to reach the nearest health center. [REDACTED] Media related to Kapisa Province at Wikimedia Commons Nanda Empire The Nanda dynasty ruled the Magadha region and other parts of the northern Indian subcontinent during the fourth century BCE and possibly also during the fifth. The Nandas overthrew the Shaishunaga dynasty and expanded

6984-483: The post-2001 Afghanistan, while most of the HiG figures have not. As a result, most of the violence in the area is not actually "Taliban" as we would normally consider it, but HiG fighters (and in a lot of cases petty thugs) calling themselves Taliban. In July 2007 Abdul Sattar Murad , was removed from office by President Hamid Karzai , and his replacement was Ghulam Qawis Abubaker . The ostensible reason for Murad's removal

7081-766: The province at higher levels, which in turn would widen the corruption problem. In 2010, the governor himself would be removed and charged by ISAF with corruption, though the Karzai administration would later refuse to prosecute the case. U.S. forces, including the PRT, also believed the Governor himself was responsible for the killing of the Panjsher PRT Commander in May 2009 (believing the Kapisa PRT commander to be

7178-559: The region which was entirely Hindu for all its history till then, and were planning to capture more territory of Central Asia when they decimated local Greco-Bactrian forces and the chief general of Alexander Seleucus. Seleucus is said to have reached a peace treaty with Chandragupta by giving his daughter in marriage, control of the territory south of the Hindu Kush to the Mauryas and 500 elephants. Alexander took these away from

7275-602: The reign of the Mauryas – the successors of the Nandas – but there is no satisfactory account of how they came to control this area. For example, an inscription discovered at Bandanikke states: the Kuntala country (which included the north-western parts of Mysore and the southern parts of the Bombay Presidency) was ruled by the nava-Nanda, Gupta-kula , Mauryya kings ; then the Rattas ruled it : after whom were

7372-423: The rule of the first Nanda king alone, while some manuscripts of the Vayu Purana state the total duration of the Nanda rule as 40 years. The 16th century Buddhist scholar Taranatha assigns 29 years to the Nandas. It is difficult to assign precise date for the Nanda and other early dynasties of Magadha. Historians Irfan Habib and Vivekanand Jha date the Nanda rule from c.  344 –322 BCE, relying on

7469-481: The rulers of the empire never engaged in conversion of their subjects to other religions and there is no evidence that these rulers discriminated against any contemporary religion. Greater Magadha , east of the confluence of the Ganges and the Yamuna, was the area where the second urbanisation took place, and where Jainism and Buddhism originated. It was outside Aryavarta , the heartland of Vedic Brahmanism west of

7566-467: The same time, the Kapisa PRT, formerly the Parwan-Kapisa PRT, relocated from Bagram Airbase to FOB Morales-Frazier , focusing exclusively on operations in the Kapisa Province for the following three years. The French military's growing frustration with their inability to make progress resulted in tensions with the Afghans they were meant to support. These tensions stemmed in large part from

7663-470: The sources differ considerably on the names of these kings. According to the Greco-Roman accounts, the Nanda rule spanned two generations. For example, the Roman historian Curtius (1st century CE) suggests that the dynasty's founder was a barber-turned-king, and that his son was the dynasty's last king, who was overthrown by Chandragupta. The Greek accounts name only one Nanda king—Agrammes or Xandrames—who

7760-534: The south west by Parwan province. The province covers an area of 1,842 km (711 sq mi); that makes it the smallest province in all of Afghanistan. Kapisa Province's terrain is a mixture of high peaks, mountainous river valleys, and shallow central plains; the highest points of the province are in the east, on the borders with Panjsher and Laghman Provinces. The districts of Kohistan, Mahmud Raqi, and Kohband districts, all of which are Jamiat-i Islami and almost all Tajik, were targeted zones of interest for

7857-629: The this confuence, associated with one single state, the Kuru kingdom . The Nanda emperors, and later the Mauryan emperors, had little interest in Brahmanism, and the conquest of the Vedic heartland by the Nanda and Maurya rule deprived the Brahmins of their patrons, threatening the survival of the Vedic ritual tradition, and creating opportunities for Buddhists and Jains to spread their religion outside

7954-511: The true objective) and of escalating attacks in northern Kapsia in Fall 2009 aimed at both PRT and French convoys as the counterinsurgency effort during this period shifted to Tagab and Alasay. For much of the period leading up to this, the French forces, ISAF, and the U.S. PRT differed in strategies for dealing with the problem and whom to deal with among the Afghan population, eventually seeking out district-level shura approaches to fund projects at

8051-421: The war cycle and the departure of the French will weaken the Taliban stance. Over 60 French soldiers have been killed in Kapisa since 2008, with hundreds more injured severely. With the help of Afghan National Army , French forces conducted operations to repel the insurgents and Afghan forces were able to gain a foothold in Kapisa valleys. They oversaw the formation of the 3rd Brigade of the 201st Afghan corps that

8148-418: The war, and conspicuous in fields of battle. Sandrocottus, having thus acquired a throne, was in possession of India, when Seleucus was laying the foundations of his future greatness; who, after making a league with him, and settling his affairs in the east, proceeded to join in the war against Antigonus. As soon as the forces, therefore, of all the confederates were united, a battle was fought, in which Antigonus

8245-656: The west to Odisha in the east. An analysis of various historical sources – including the ancient Greek accounts, the Puranas , and the Hathigumpha inscription – suggests that the Nandas controlled eastern India, the Ganges valley, and at least a part of Kalinga . It is also highly probable that they controlled the Avanti region in Central India, which made it possible for their successor Chandragupta Maurya to conquer present-day Gujarat western India. According to

8342-502: The wine trade of the era. The grapes ( Kapiśayani Draksha ) and wine ( Kapiśayani Madhu ) of the area are referred to in several works of ancient Indian literature. The epic Mahabharata also mentions the common practice of slavery in the city. Based on the account of the Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang , who visited in AD 644, it seems that in later times Kapisa was part of a kingdom ruled by

8439-521: The writings of the fifth century BCE Indian scholar Pāṇini . Pāṇini refers to the city of Kapiśi, a city of the Kapisa kingdom, modern Bagram . Pāṇini also refers to Kapiśayana , a famous wine from Kapisa. The city of Kapiśi also appeared as Kaviśiye on Graeco-Indian coins of Apollodotus I and Eucratides . Archeological discoveries in 1939 confirmed that the city of Kapisa was an emporium for Kapiśayana wine, bringing to light numerous glass flasks, fish-shaped wine jars, and drinking cups typical of

8536-496: Was overthrown by Chandragupta Maurya , who was supported by his mentor (and later minister) Chanakya . Some accounts mention Chandragupta as a member of the Nanda family. For example, the 11th century writers Kshemendra and Somadeva describe Chandragupta as a "son of the genuine Nanda" ( purva-Nanda-suta ). Dhundiraja, in his commentary on the Vishnu Purana , names Chandragupta's father as Maurya; he describes Maurya as

8633-524: Was 'ineffective governance', but it was widely believed by press sources that Murad was removed because of critical comments he made in a Newsweek interview regarding the central government's ineffectiveness in remote areas of the province. Insurgent activity in the province increased in 2006 and 2007. Southern areas of the province, in particular the Tagab district , have been the site of repeated clashes between U.S. and Afghan forces and insurgent groups. On January 19, 2009, coalition military forces led

8730-408: Was a contemporary of Alexander. "Agrammes" may be a Greek transcription of the Sanskrit word "Augrasainya" (literally "son or descendant of Ugrasena", Ugrasena being the name of the dynasty's founder according to the Buddhist tradition). The Puranas , compiled in India in c.  4th century CE (but based on earlier sources), also state that the Nandas ruled for two generations. According to

8827-487: Was a difference of 400 years between Sri-Harsha era and Vikrama era which would make it fall in 458 BCE, the attributes of which matched with the Nanda kings. According to 12th century Yedarava inscription of Chalukya king Vikramaditya VI , Nanda era along with Vikram era and Shaka era were extant which were abolished in favour of a new Chalukyan era, but other scholars have opined that evidences are too meager to make anything conclusive. All historical accounts agree that

8924-432: Was on building roads, bridges, construction of schools, and also improvements to power capabilities on existing infrastructure. Composed of U.S. Air Force , Army , State Department , and USAID subject matter experts and mentors, the team sought to work closely with key leaders to facilitate development. The vision was to foster a stable and secure environment ready for transition to the Afghan government. By August 2008

9021-724: Was served by the Kapisa PRT, located at Forward Operating Base Morales-Frazier in Nijrab District . The PRT conducted counterinsurgency and stability operations in the province for more than six years, working with leaders of Kapisa at the provincial and district level, to bolster the capacity and credibility of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The PRT participated in key leader engagements, scouting areas for new projects, and performing quality checks and site visits on existing projects. The key focus

9118-459: Was slain, and his son Demetrius put to flight. Having consolidated power in the northwest, Chandragupta pushed east towards the Nanda Empire . 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 even reached as far as Balkh during

9215-429: Was the son of a barber. According to the 12th century text Parishishta-parvan , the mother of the first Nanda king was a courtesan. However, the text also states that the daughter of the last Nanda king married Chandragupta, because it was customary for Kshatriya girls to choose their husbands; thus, it implies that the Nanda king claimed to be a Kshatriya, that is, a member of the warrior class. The Puranas name

9312-403: Was unable to defeat the Nandas when he attacked their capital but was successful against them when he gradually conquered the frontier regions of their empire. The Nanda kings appear to have strengthened the Magadha kingdom ruled by their Haryanka and Shaishunaga predecessors, creating the first great empire of northern India in the process. Historians have put forward various theories to explain

9409-467: Was very wealthy, and aspired to arbitrate in the disputes between the kingdoms of West Asia. Although Xenophon's book describes the events of the 6th century BCE (the period of Cyrus the Great ), historian H. C. Raychaudhuri speculates that the writer's image of the Indian king may be based on the contemporary Nanda king. The Kashika , a commentary on Panini's grammar, mentions Nandopakramani manani –

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