126-615: Kabul Polytechnic University is the main center of educating engineers in Kabul , Afghanistan. It was founded on 13 October 1963 (1342 Mizan in the Solar Hijri calendar ) as Kabul Polytechnic Institute and is located in 72 hectares of land in Karte Mamourin, North-Western Kabul. In the opening ceremony government officials from both Afghanistan and other countries were present. Since its establishment, it has been considered one of
252-563: A 19th-century British dictionary, Hindukush might be a corruption of the ancient Latin Indicus (Caucasus); the entry mentions the interpretation first given by Ibn Batuta as a popular theory already at that time, despite doubts cast upon it. In Vedic Sanskrit , the range was known as upariśyena , and in Avestan , as upāirisaēna (from Proto-Iranian * upārisaina - 'covered with juniper'). It can alternatively be interpreted as "beyond
378-578: A cement factory,a mechanised bakery, a five-lane highway from Kabul to the Soviet border and dams, including the Salang Pass to the north of Kabul. During the 1960s, Soviet-style microrayon housing estates were built, containing sixty blocks. The government also built many ministry buildings in the brutalist architecture style. In the 1960s the first Marks & Spencer store in Central Asia
504-727: A daily basis, and the Soviet Army stopped patrolling the city in January 1981. A major uprising against the Soviet presence broke out in Kabul in February 1980 in what is called the 3 Hut uprising . It led to a night curfew in the city that would remain in place for seven years. The Soviet Embassy also, was attacked four times with arms fire in the first five years of the war. A Western correspondent revisiting Kabul in December 1983 after
630-407: A frontier city for the empire; Abul Fazl , Emperor Akbar's chronicler, described it as one of the two gates to Hindustan (the other being Kandahar ). As part of administrative reforms under Akbar, the city was made capital of the eponymous Mughal province, Kabul Subah . Under Mughal governance, Kabul became a prosperous urban centre, endowed with bazaars such as the non-extant Char Chatta . For
756-621: A height of about 3,300 m (10,800 ft) one finds coniferous forests with Cedrus , Picea , Abies , Pinus , and junipers ". The inner valleys of the Hindu Kush see little rain and have desert vegetation. On the other hand, Eastern Himalaya is home to multiple biodiversity hotspots, and 353 new species (242 plants, 16 amphibians , 16 reptiles , 14 fish , two birds , two mammals and 61+ invertebrates ) have been discovered there in between 1998 and 2008, with an average of 35 new species finds every year. With Eastern Himalaya included,
882-461: A legend, one could find a lake in Kabul, in the middle of which the so-called "Island of Happiness" could be found, where a joyous family of musicians lived. According to this same legend, the island became accessible by the order of a king through the construction of a bridge (i.e. "pul" in Persian) made out of straw (i.e. "kah" in Persian). According to this legend the name Kabul was thus formed as
1008-617: A rabbi in her home throughout the first Islamic Emirate, lived in Morad Khane , Kabul for decades. While she was married to a Muslim man as a child, she still covertly attended synagogue and tried to teach her children what Hebrew prayers she could remember from her childhood. As of her departure in November 2021, there are believed to be no Jews in Afghanistan. The Islamic conquest reached modern-day Afghanistan in 642 AD, at
1134-476: A rescue attempt at the Serena Hotel. There were conflicting reports of who abducted Dubs and what demands were made for his release. Several senior Soviet officials were in the lobby of the hotel during a standoff with the kidnappers, who were holding Dubs in room 117. Afghan police, acting on the advice of Soviet advisors and over the objections of U.S. officials, launched a rescue attempt, during which Dubs
1260-512: A result of these two words combined, i.e. kah + pul . The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Place Names argues that the "suggestion that the name is derived from the Arabic root qbl 'meeting' or 'receiving' is unlikely". It remains unknown when the name "Kabul" was first applied to the city. It "came into prominence" following the destruction of Kapisa and other cities in what is present-day Afghanistan by Genghis Khan (c. 1162–1227) in
1386-518: A summer capital, during which time it prospered and increased in significance. It briefly came under the control of the Afsharids following Nader Shah's invasion of India , until finally coming under local rule by the Afghan Empire in 1747. Kabul became the capital of Afghanistan in 1776 during the reign of Timur Shah Durrani (a son of Ahmad Shah Durrani ). In the 19th century the city
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#17327720780191512-608: A time when Kabul was independent. Until then, Kabul was considered politically and culturally part of the Indian world. A number of failed expeditions were made to Islamise the region. In one of them, Abdur Rahman bin Samara arrived in Kabul from Zaranj in the late 600s and converted 12,000 inhabitants to Islam before abandoning the city. Muslims were a minority until Ya'qub bin Laith as-Saffar of Zaranj conquered Kabul in 870 from
1638-457: A vast town, the site of which is now occupied by a village inhabited by a tribe of Persians called Afghans. They hold mountains and defiles and possess considerable strength, and are mostly highwaymen. Their principal mountain is called Kuh Sulayman . In the 14th century, Kabul became a major trading centre under the kingdom of Timur ( Tamerlane ). In 1504, the city fell to Babur from the north and made into his headquarters, which became one of
1764-600: A year, said that the city was "converted into a fortress bristling with weapons". Contrastingly, that same year American diplomat Charles Dunbar commented that the Soviet troops' presence was "surprisingly modest", and an author in a 1983 Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists article thought that the Soviet soldiers had a "friendly" atmosphere. Hindu Kush The Hindu Kush is an 800-kilometre-long (500 mi) mountain range in Central and South Asia to
1890-464: Is designed to develop professional capacity in Afghanistan that addresses the needs of the growing Afghan HHS market. Addressing these needs will require updated methods of education to develop new skills. Expected results of the program include having faculty with enhanced teaching capability and faculty prepared for master graduate advisors in KPU. Ultimately students at KPU will be better prepared to enter
2016-552: Is over 5,800 m (19,000 ft) and are called the Kaja Mohammed range. ICIMOD 's first annual regional 30-meter resolution land cover database of HKH generated using public domain Landsat images demonstrated that grassland was the most dominant land cover, followed by barren land, which includes areas with bare areas. In 2000, 2005, 2010, and 2015, grassland covered 37.2%, 37.6%, 38.7%, and 38.2%, respectively, of
2142-755: Is run by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) faculty, which provides bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees in Civil Engineering including Water Resources and Hydraulic Engineering. Funds for this partnership are provided by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through FHI360. This partnership is part of the United States Workforce Development Program (USWDP) for Afghanistan administered by FHI360. The project
2268-540: Is said to be over 3,500 years old, and was mentioned at the time of the Achaemenid Persian Empire . Located at a crossroads in Asia —roughly halfway between Istanbul, Turkey , in the west and Hanoi, Vietnam , in the east—the city is situated in a strategic location along the trade routes of Central Asia and South Asia . It was a key destination on the ancient Silk Road and was traditionally seen as
2394-462: Is unknown, but "certainly pre-dates the advent of Islam when it was an important centre on the route between India and the Hellenic world ". In Sanskrit , it was known as Kubha , whereas Greek authors of classical antiquity referred to it as Kophen , Kophes or Koa . The Chinese traveler Xuanzang (fl. 7th century CE) recorded the city as Koafu (高附). The name "Kabul" was first applied to
2520-696: The Broghil Pass at 12,460 feet in Pakistan, and the Dorah Pass between Pakistan and Afghanistan at 14,000 feet. Other high passes in Pakistan include the Lowari Pass at 10,200 feet, the Gomal Pass . The Darmodar Aghost Pass is at elevation of 4,371 m (14,341 ft). The Ishkoman Aghost Pass is at elevation of 4,587 m (15,049 ft). The Hindu Kush form the boundary between
2646-576: The Chitral District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa , Pakistan. The Hindu Kush range region was a historically significant center of Buddhism , with sites such as the Bamiyan Buddhas . The range and communities settled in it hosted ancient monasteries, important trade networks and travelers between Central Asia and South Asia . While the vast majority of the region has been majority- Muslim for several centuries now, certain portions of
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#17327720780192772-637: The Cold War the Hindu Kush range became a strategic theatre, especially during the 1980s when Soviet forces and their Afghan allies fought the Afghan mujahideen channelled through Pakistan. After the Soviet withdrawal and the end of the Cold War, many mujahideen morphed into Taliban and al-Qaeda forces imposing a strict interpretation of Islamic law ( Sharia ), with Kabul, these mountains, and other parts of Afghanistan as their base. Other Mujahideen joined
2898-463: The Hindu Shahis and established the first Islamic dynasty in the region. It was reported that the rulers of Kabul were Muslims with non-Muslims living close by. Iranian traveller and geographer Istakhri described it in 921: Kábul has a castle celebrated for its strength, accessible only by one road. In it there are Musulmáns , and it has a town, in which are infidels from Hind . Over
3024-586: The Kabul River before being applied to the area situated between the Hindu-Kush and Sindh (present-day Pakistan ). This area was also known as Kabulistan . Alexander Cunningham (died 1893) noted in the 19th century that Kaofu, as recorded by the Chinese was in all likelihood the name of "one of the five Yuchi or Tukhari tribes". Cunningam added that this tribe gave its name to the city after it
3150-587: The Nuristan and Badakhshan provinces of Afghanistan with peaks over 7,000 m (23,000 ft). This section extends from the Durāh Pass to the Baroghil Pass at the border between northeastern Afghanistan and north Pakistan. The Chitral District of Pakistan is home to Tirich Mir , Noshaq , and Istoro Nal – the highest peaks in the Hindu Kush. The ridges between Khawak Pass and Badakshan
3276-489: The Soviet Union as gift to Afghanistan. Engineers from Soviet Union and Afghanistan worked jointly. After completion of teaching classrooms and laboratory in 1967 (1346), the university began to offer educational service and in the year of 1972 (1351) for the first time students from this university graduated. Until 1980 (1359) students studied till bachelor level and till 1992 (1371) students could study master level in
3402-453: The Soviet invasion in 1979. As of 1992, there were believed to be two Jews remaining in Afghanistan, both living in a synagogue in Kabul. The congregation's Torah scroll was confiscated during the first Islamic Emirate . Zebulon Simontov was believed and widely reported to be Afghanistan's last Jew, until Tova Moradi fled months after him, with her grandchildren. Moradi, who harbored
3528-611: The Soviet–Afghan War , and while fighting was mostly taking place in the countryside, Kabul was widely disturbed. Political crime and guerrilla attacks on military and government targets were common, and the sound of gunfire became commonplace at night in the outskirts. Large numbers of PDPA party members and Soviet troops were kidnapped or assassinated, sometimes in broad daylight, with acts of terrorism committed by civilians, anti-regime militias and also Khalqists . By July 1980, as many as twelve party members were being assassinated on
3654-665: The Taliban and al-Qaeda grew, and a scene of modern era warfare in Afghanistan. Ancient mines producing lapis lazuli are found in Kowkcheh Valley, while gem-grade emeralds are found north of Kabul in the valley of the Panjsher River and some of its tributaries. According to Walter Schumann, the West Hindu Kush mountains have been the source of the finest Lapis lazuli for thousands of years. Buddhism
3780-486: The Tibetan Empire between 801 and 815. Jews had a presence in Afghanistan from ancient times until 2021. There are records of religious correspondence establishing the presence of Jews in Kabul since the 8th century, though it is believed that they were present centuries or even millenia earlier. The 12th century Arab geographer Muhammad al-Idrisi wrote down his observations of a Jewish quarter in Kabul. In
3906-528: The ghettoization of their communities in Kabul and Herat . Most of Afghanistan's Jews fled the country or congregated in these urban hubs. After the establishment of the state of Israel , the Jewish community requested permission from King Zahir Shah to migrate there. Afghanistan was the only country that allowed its Jewish residents to migrate to Israel without relinquishing their citizenship. Most of those remaining, approximately 2,000 in number, left after
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4032-451: The growing season has increased by 4.25 days per decade. There is less conclusive evidence of light precipitation becoming less frequent while heavy precipitation became both more frequent and more intense. Finally, since 1970s glaciers have retreated everywhere in the region beside Karakoram , eastern Pamir , and western Kunlun , where there has been an unexpected increase in snowfall. Glacier retreat had been followed by an increase in
4158-517: The 1398 invasion of the northern Indian subcontinent. Timur , also known as Temur or Tamerlane in Western scholarly literature, marched with his army to Delhi, plundering and killing all the way. He arrived in the capital Delhi where his army. Then he carried the wealth and the captured slaves, returning to his capital through the Hindu Kush. Babur , the founder of the Mughal Empire,
4284-534: The 1940s and 1950s, urbanisation accelerated and the built-up area was increased in size to 68 km by 1962, an almost fourteen-fold increase since 1925. The Serena Hotel opened in 1945 as the first Western-style luxury hotel. In the 1950s, under the premiership of Mohammad Daoud Khan , foreign investment and development increased. In 1955, the Soviet Union forwarded $ 100 million in credit to Afghanistan which financed public transportation, airports,
4410-415: The 19th century, at an extensive scale, around the Hindu Kush. According to a British Anti-Slavery Society report of 1874, the governor of Faizabad, Mir Ghulam Bey, kept 8,000 horses and cavalrymen who routinely captured non-Muslims as well as Shia Muslims as slaves. Others alleged to be involved in the slave trade were feudal lords such as Ameer Sheer Ali. The isolated communities in the Hindu Kush were one of
4536-702: The Avesta, the primary canon of texts of Zoroastrianism, refer to the Kabul River and to a settlement called Kubha . The Kabul valley was part of the Median Empire (c. 678–549 BC). In 549 BC, the Median Empire was annexed by Cyrus The Great and Kabul became part the Achaemenid Empire (c. 550–330 BC). During that period, Kabul became a center of learning for Zoroastrianism, followed by Buddhism and Hinduism . An inscription on Darius
4662-741: The Great 's tombstone lists Kabul as one of the 29 countries of the Achaemenid Empire. When Alexander the Great annexed the Achaemenid Empire, the Kabul region came under his control. After his death, his empire was seized by his general Seleucus , becoming part of the Seleucid Empire . In 305 BC, the Seleucid Empire was extended to the Indus River which led to friction with the neighbouring Mauryan Empire . During
4788-671: The Hindu Kush base before monsoons arrived in the northwestern part of the subcontinent. He retracted each time, only extending Islamic rule into western Punjab. In 1017, the Iranian Islamic historian Al-Biruni was deported after a war that Mahmud of Ghazni won, to the northwest Indian subcontinent under Mahmud's rule. Al Biruni stayed in the region for about fifteen years, learnt Sanskrit, and translated many Indian texts, and wrote about Indian society, culture, sciences, and religion in Persian and Arabic. He stayed for some time in
4914-595: The Hindu Kush expanding into the Oxus valley region of Central Asia. Buddhism later disappeared and locals were forced to convert to Islam. Richard Bulliet also proposes that the area north of Hindu Kush was center of a new sect that had spread as far as Kurdistan , remaining in existence until the Abbasid times. The area eventually came under the control of the Hindu Shahi dynasty of Kabul. The Islamic conquest of
5040-562: The Hindu Kush in the north merges with the Karakoram Range. Towards its southern end, it connects with the Spin Ghar Range near the Kabul River . Many peaks of the range are between 4,400 and 5,200 m (14,500 and 17,000 ft); however, some are much higher, with an average peak height of 4,500 metres (14,800 feet). The mountains of the Hindu Kush range diminish in height as they stretch westward. Near Kabul, in
5166-532: The Hindu Kush in the north merges with the Karakoram Range. Towards its southern end, it connects with the White Mountains near the Kabul River . It divides the valley of the Amu Darya (the ancient Oxus ) to the north from the Indus River valley to the south. The range has numerous high snow-capped peaks, with the highest point being Tirich Mir or Terichmir at 7,708 metres (25,289 ft) in
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5292-560: The Hindu Kush only became Islamized relatively recently, such as Kafiristan , which retained ancient polytheistic beliefs until the 19th century when it was converted to Islam by the Durrani Empire and renamed Nuristan ("land of light"). The Hindu Kush range has also been the passageway for invasions of the Indian subcontinent , and continues to be important to contemporary warfare in Afghanistan. The earliest known usage of
5418-548: The Hindu Kush range. He began a military campaign that rapidly brought both sides of the Hindu Kush range under his rule. From his mountainous Afghani base, he systematically raided and plundered kingdoms in north India from east of the Indus river to west of Yamuna river seventeen times between 997 and 1030. Mahmud of Ghazni raided the treasuries of kingdoms, sacked cities, and destroyed Hindu temples, with each campaign starting every spring, but he and his army returned to Ghazni and
5544-406: The Hindu Kush region, particularly near Kabul. In 1019, he recorded and described a solar eclipse in what is the modern era Laghman Province of Afghanistan through which Hindu Kush pass. Al Biruni also wrote about early history of the Hindu Kush region and Kabul kings, who ruled the region long before he arrived, but this history is inconsistent with other records available from that era. Al Biruni
5670-535: The Indian subcontinent in 327 BCE;_his armies built several towns in this region over the intervening two years. After Alexander died in 323 BCE, the region became part of the Seleucid Empire , according to the ancient history of Strabo written in the 1st century BCE, before it became a part of the Indian Maurya Empire around 305 BCE. The region became a part of the Kushan Empire around
5796-476: The Indus River valley such as Sind . Kabul fell to the army of Al-Ma'mun , the seventh Abbasid caliph, in 808 and the local king agreed to accept Islam and pay annual tributes to the caliph. However, states André Wink, inscriptional evidence suggests that the Kabul area near Hindu Kush had an early presence of Islam. When the extraction of silver from the mines in the Hindu Kush was at its greatest (c.850),
5922-846: The Indus watershed in South Asia, and Amu Darya watershed in Central Asia. Melt water from snow and ice feeds major river systems in Central Asia: the Amu Darya (which feeds the Aral Sea ), Helmand River (which is a major source of water for the Sistan Basin in southern Afghanistan and Iran), and the Kabul River – the last of which is a major tributary of the Indus River. Smaller rivers with headwaters in
6048-583: The Mauryan period, trade flourished because of uniform weights and measures. Irrigation facilities for public use were developed leading to an increased harvest of crops. People were also employed as artisans, jewelers, and carpenters. The Greco-Bactrians took control of Kabul from the Mauryans in the early 2nd century BC, then lost the city to their successors in the Indo-Greek Kingdom around
6174-464: The Northern Alliance to oppose the Taliban rule. After the 11 September 2001 terror attacks in New York City and Washington D.C. , the American and ISAF campaign against Al Qaeda and their Taliban allies made the Hindu Kush once again a militarised conflict zone. The 2019 Hindu Kush Himalaya Assessment concluded that between 1901 and 2014, the Hindu Kush Himalaya (or HKH) region had already experienced warming of 0.1 °C per decade, with
6300-474: The Persian name Hindu Kush occurs on a map published about 1000 CE. Some modern scholars remove the space and refer to the mountain range as Hindukush . Hindu Kush is generally translated as "Killer of Hindu " or "Hindu-Killer" by most writers. Boyle's Persian–English dictionary indicates that the Persian suffix - koš [koʃ] is the present stem of the verb 'to kill' ( koštan کشتن ). According to linguist Francis Joseph Steingass ,
6426-400: The Shibar Pass in the west and the Khawak Pass in the east. The central Hindu Kush peaks rise to over 6,800 m (22,300 ft), and this section has numerous spurs between the Khawak Pass in the east and the Durāh Pass in the west. In 2005 and 2015 there were some major earthquakes. The eastern Hindu Kush, also known as the "High Hindu Kush", is mostly located in northern Pakistan and
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#17327720780196552-407: The Soviet manner. Education was modified into the Soviet model, with lessons focusing on teaching Russian , Marxism–Leninism and learning of other countries belonging to the Soviet bloc. Amid growing internal chaos and heightened cold war tensions, the U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan, Adolph Dubs , was kidnapped on his way to work at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul on 14 February 1979 and killed during
6678-404: The United States after the American-led invasion of Afghanistan which followed the September 11 attacks in the US in 2001. In 2021, Kabul was re-occupied by the Taliban following the withdrawal of American and NATO-led military forces from Afghanistan . Kabul is also spelled as Cabool , Cabol , Kabol , or Cabul . Kabul was known by different names throughout its history. Its meaning
6804-410: The Yuezhi and based in Bactria . Around 230 AD, the Kushans were defeated by the Sassanid Empire and replaced by Sassanid vassals known as the Indo-Sassanids . During the Sassanian period, the city was referred to as "Kapul" in Pahlavi scripts . Kapol in the Persian language means Royal (ka) Bridge (pol), which is due to the main bridge on the Kabul River that connected the east and west of
6930-399: The ancient Indian subcontinent. One of the early Buddhist schools , the Mahāsāṃghika - Lokottaravāda , was prominent in the area of Bamiyan. The Chinese Buddhist monk Xuanzang visited a Lokottaravāda monastery in the 7th century CE, at Bamiyan, Afghanistan. Birchbark and palm leaf manuscripts of texts in this monastery's collection, including Mahāyāna sūtras , have been discovered in
7056-431: The area happened under Sabuktigin who conquered Jayapala 's dominion west of Peshawar in the 10th century. The significance of the Hindu Kush mountain ranges has been recorded since the time of Darius I of the Achaemenid Empire . Alexander entered the Indian subcontinent through the Hindu Kush as his army moved past the Afghan Valleys in the spring of 329 BCE. He moved towards the Indus Valley river region in
7182-571: The basic center of training for professional engineering cadres in Afghanistan that has trained thousands of specialists in professions of construction of Civil and Industrial buildings , Hydro technical buildings, Road construction , Architecture , Geology and mining, Geology and exploration of mines, Geology and exploration of petroleum and gas, Chemical technology, Engineering geodesy , Automobile and tractor, Power electric supply for industrial institutions cities and villages in B.Sc., M.Sc., and P.H.D degrees. The Civil Engineering Department in UNO
7308-579: The beginning of Afghanistan. By this time, Kabul had lost its status as a metropolitan city, and its population had decreased to 10,000. Interest in the city was renewed when Ahmad Shah's son Timur Shah Durrani , after inheriting power, transferred the capital of the Durrani Empire from Kandahar to Kabul in 1776. Kabul experienced considerable urban development during the reigns of Timur Shah and his successor Zaman Shah ; several religious and public buildings were constructed, and diverse groups of Sufis , jurists, and literary families were encouraged to settle
7434-407: The caves of Hindu Kush, and these are now a part of the Schøyen Collection . Some manuscripts are in the Gāndhārī language and Kharoṣṭhī script, while others are in Sanskrit and written in forms of the Gupta script . According to Alfred Foucher , the Hindu Kush and nearby regions gradually converted to Buddhism by the 1st century CE, and this region was the base from where Buddhism crossed
7560-425: The city as Kaofu in the 7th century AD, which is the appellation of one of the five tribes of the Yuezhi who had migrated from across the Hindu Kush into the Kabul valley around the beginning of the Common Era . It was conquered by Kushan Emperor Kujula Kadphises in about 45 AD and remained Kushan territory until at least the 3rd century AD. The Kushans were Indo-European-speaking peoples related to
7686-409: The city through land grants and stipends. Kabul's first visitor from Europe was Englishman George Forster , who described 18th-century Kabul as "the best and cleanest city in Asia". In 1826, the kingdom was claimed by Dost Mohammad Khan , but in 1839 Shujah Shah Durrani was re-installed with the help of the British Empire during the First Anglo-Afghan War . In 1841 a local uprising resulted in
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#17327720780197812-447: The city's new-found tourism, western-style accommodations were opened in the 1960s, notably the Spinzar Hotel. Western, American and Japanese tourists visited the city's attractions including Chicken Street and the National Museum that contained some of Asia's finest cultural artifacts. Lonely Planet called it an upcoming "tourist trap" in 1973. Pakistanis visited to watch Indian movies that were banned in their own country. Kabul
7938-402: The city. In 420 AD, the Indo-Sassanids were driven out of Afghanistan by the Xionite tribe known as the Kidarites , who were then replaced in the 460s by the Hephthalites . It became part of the surviving Turk Shahi Kingdom of Kapisa , also known as Kabul-Shahan . According to Táríkhu-l Hind by Al-Biruni , Kabul was governed by princes of Turkic lineage. It was briefly held by
8064-484: The country and maintained high schools and lycees in the capital, providing education for the children of the city's elite families. Kabul University opened in 1932, and by the 1960s the majority of teachers were western educated Afghans and the majority of instructors at the university had degrees from Western universities. Kabul's only railway service, the Kabul–Darulaman Tramway , operated for six years from 1923 to 1929. When Zahir Shah took power in 1933, Kabul had
8190-458: The country conquered by us, and have fled to places which our hand cannot yet reach, to Kashmir, Benares and other places". In the late 12th century, the historically influential Ghurid empire led by Mu'izz al-Din ruled the Hindu Kush region. He was influential in seeding the Delhi Sultanate , shifting the base of his Sultanate from south of the Hindu Kush range and Ghazni towards the Yamuna River and Delhi. He thus helped bring Islamic rule to
8316-437: The death of Genghis Khan's grandson. As a result, many natives of Afghanistan fled south toward the Indian subcontinent where some established dynasties in Delhi . The Chagatai Khanate and Kartids were vassals of Ilkhanate until the dissolution of the latter in 1335. Following the era of the Khalji dynasty in 1333, the famous Moroccan scholar Ibn Battuta was visiting Kabul and wrote: We travelled on to Kabul, formerly
8442-431: The early 19th century, Kabul and other major Afghan cities became sites of refuge for Jews fleeing persecution in neighboring Iran. Jews were generally tolerated for most of their time in Afghanistan, up until the passage of anti-Jewish laws in the 1870s. Jews were given a reprieve under the rule of King Nadir Shah until his assassination in 1933. The influence of Nazi propaganda led to increased violence against Jews and
8568-421: The eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province . The city is divided for administration into 22 municipal districts . In 2025 its population is estimated to be 6.74 million people. In contemporary times, Kabul has served as Afghanistan's political, cultural and economical center. Rapid urbanisation has made it the country's primate city and the 75th-largest city in
8694-434: The end of Palaeocene . This collision gradually formed the Himalayas, including the Hindu Kush. The Hindu Kush are a part of the "young Eurasian mountain range consisting of metamorphic rocks such as schist , gneiss and marble, as well as of intrusives such as granite, diorite of different age and size". The northern regions of the Hindu Kush witness Himalayan winter and have glaciers, while its southeastern end witnesses
8820-406: The entire Hindu Kush Himalaya region is home to an estimated 35,000+ species of plants and 200+ species of animals. The high altitudes of the mountains have historical significance in South and Central Asia. The Hindu Kush range was a major center of Buddhism with sites such as the Bamiyan Buddhas . It has also been the passageway during the invasions of the Indian subcontinent, a region where
8946-409: The extensive network of galleries on the approach roads was constructed with Soviet financial and technological assistance and involved drilling 2.7 km (1.7 mi) through the heart of the Hindu Kush; since the start of the wars in Afghanistan it has been an active area of armed conflict with various parties trying to control the strategic tunnel. The range has several other passes in Afghanistan,
9072-484: The famous Persian couplet , which states: اگرفردوس روی زمین است همین است و همین است و همین است Transliteration: Agar fardus rui zamayn ast', hameen ast', o hameen ast', o hameen ast'. (If there is a paradise on earth, it is this, and it is this, and it is this!) Kabul remained in Mughal control for the next 200 years. Though Mughal power became centred within the Indian subcontinent , Kabul retained importance as
9198-399: The field of engineering. In this period people were educated to PhD level. Upon reopening in 2002, it was renamed Kabul Polytechnic University. This University is the second largest university in Kabul after Kabul University , Afghanistan . Its staff is dedicated to educate the best young professionals in Afghanistan in the area of Engineering and Computer Sciences. This University is
9324-579: The first time in its history, Kabul served as a mint centre, producing gold and silver Mughal coins up to the reign of Alamgir II . It acted as a military base for Shah Jahan's campaigns in Balkh and Badakhshan . Kabul was also a recreational retreat for the Mughals, who hunted here and constructed several gardens. Most of the Mughals' architectural contributions to the city (such as gardens, fortifications, and mosques) have not survived. During this time,
9450-518: The following centuries, the city was successively controlled by the Samanids , Ghaznavids , Ghurids , Khwarazmshahs , Qarlughids , and Khaljis . In the 13th century, the invading Mongols caused major destruction in the region. Report of a massacre in the close by Bamiyan is recorded around this period, where the entire population of the valley was annihilated by the Mongol troops as revenge for
9576-490: The fringe of Indian subcontinent summer monsoons. The Hindu Kush range remains geologically active and is still rising; it is prone to earthquakes. The Hindu Kush system stretches about 966 kilometres (600 mi) laterally, and its median north–south measurement is about 240 kilometres (150 mi). The mountains are orographically described in several parts. Peaks in the western Hindu Kush rise to over 5,100 m (16,700 ft) and stretch between Darra-ye Sekari and
9702-475: The growing HHS sector in Afghanistan. UNO and UNL faculty will benefit from their exposure to Afghan faculty who will provide unique strengths and life experiences. Shared dialogue and cultural exchange will enhance the sustained relationship among UNO , UNL and KPU and advance mutual understanding among the citizens of the US and Afghanistan. Kabul Kabul is the capital city of Afghanistan . Located in
9828-478: The important entities in providing education and training. This University has 3 faculties and 20 departments (courses) that include 12 professional and 8 general subjected departments. The university building includes classrooms, laboratory, library, dormitory, place for professors, cafeteria with 1000 capacity, mosque with 500 capacity, sport facility, conference room with 1000 capacities, workshop and leisure center. The university building materials were given by
9954-526: The killing of the British resident and loss of mission in Kabul and the 1842 retreat from Kabul to Jalalabad , in which 4,500 regular British troops and 14,000 civilians were killed by Afghan tribesmen. In 1842 the British returned to Kabul, demolishing the city's main bazaar in revenge during the Kabul Expedition (1842) before returning to British India (now Pakistan). Akbar Khan took to
10080-655: The land cover patterns across the regions. In the HKH, forest cover is mostly distributed in the south and south-eastern areas, where precipitation is more; the grasslands are mostly distributed in the north and north-western parts, while cropland is mostly found in the southern part of the region. The mountainous areas of Hindu Kush range are mostly barren or, at the most, sparsely sprinkled with trees and stunted bushes. From about 1,300 to 2,300 m (4,300 to 7,500 ft), states Yarshater, " sclerophyllous forests are predominant with Quercus and Olea (wild olive); above that, up to
10206-711: The lowest of which is the southern Shibar pass (2,700 m or 9,000 ft) where the Hindu Kush range terminates. Before the Salang Tunnel , another feat of engineering was the road constructed through the Tang-e Gharu gorge near Kabul, replacing the ancient Lataband Pass and greatly reducing travel time towards the Pakistani border at the Khyber Pass . Other mountain passes are at altitudes of about 3,700 m (12,000 ft) or higher, including
10332-887: The meeting point between Tartary , India and Persia . Over the centuries Kabul has been under the rule of various dynasties and empires, including the Seleucids , Bactrian Greeks , Mauryans , the Kushans , the Hindu Shahis , Western Turks , the Turk Shahis , the Samanids , the Khwarazmians , the Timurids , the Mongols and the Arman Rayamajhis. In the 16th century, the Mughal Empire used Kabul as
10458-465: The mid-2nd century BC. Buddhism was greatly patronised by these rulers and the majority of people of the city were adherents of the religion. Indo-Scythians expelled the Indo-Greeks by the mid 1st century BC, but lost the city to the Kushan Empire about 100 years later. It is mentioned as Kophes or Kophene in some classical Greek writings. The Chinese Buddhist monk Hsuan Tsang refers to
10584-419: The near future (2036–2065) and by 2.2–3.3 °C (2066–2095) near the end of the century under the "intermediate" Representative Concentration Pathway 4.5 (RCP4.5). Under the high-warming RCP8.5 scenario where the annual emissions continue to increase for the rest of the century, the expected regional warming is 2.3–3.2 °C and 4.2–6.5 °C, respectively. Under all scenarios, winters will warm more than
10710-399: The new king was assassinated during an award ceremony in a school in Kabul. The throne was left to his 19-year-old son, Zahir Shah , who became the last King of Afghanistan . Unlike Amanullah Khan, Nader Khan and Zahir Shah had no plans to create a new capital city, and thus Kabul remained the country's seat of government . During the inter-war period , France and Germany helped to develop
10836-591: The nickname " Paris of Central Asia". This period of tranquility ended in 1978 with the Saur Revolution , and the subsequent Soviet military intervention in 1979 which sparked a 10-year Soviet–Afghan War . The 1990s were marked by civil wars between splinter factions of the disbanded Afghan mujahideen which destroyed much of the city. In 1996, Kabul was captured by the Taliban after four years of intermittent fighting. The Taliban-ruled city fell to
10962-612: The northern plains of the Indian subcontinent. In the Mongol invasion of the Khwarazmian Empire , Genghis Khan invaded the region from the northeast in one of his many conquests to create the huge Mongol Empire . The Moroccan traveler Ibn Battuta arrived in the Delhi Sultanate by passing through the Hindu Kush. The mountain passes of the Hindu Kush range were used by Timur and his army and they crossed to launch
11088-545: The number of glacial lakes , some of which may be prone to dangerous floods. In the future, if the Paris Agreement goal of 1.5 °C of global warming is not exceeded, warming in the HKH will be at least 0.3 °C higher, and at least 0.7 °C higher in the hotspots of northwest Himalaya and Karakoram. If the Paris Agreement goals are broken, then the region is expected to warm by 1.7–2.4 °C in
11214-679: The only 10 kilometers (6 miles) of rail and the country had few internal telegraphs, phone lines or roads. Zahir turned to the Japanese, Germans and Italians for help in developing a modern transportation and communications network. A radio tower built in Kabul by the Germans in 1937 provided communication with outlying villages. A national bank and state cartels were organised to allow for economic modernisation. Textile mills, power plants, carpet and furniture factories were built in Kabul, providing much-needed manufacturing and infrastructure. During
11340-444: The origins of the name. According to Nigel Allan, the term Hindu Kush has two alternate meanings i.e 'sparkling snows of India' and 'mountains of India', with Kush possibly being a soft variant of the Persian kuh ('mountain'). Allan states that Hindu Kush was the frontier boundary to Arab geographers. Yet others suggest that the name may be derived from ancient Avestan , meaning 'water mountain'. According to Hobson-Jobson ,
11466-719: The peak in the area of the Kushan Pass , which had become a center of the Kushan Empire by the first century. The range forms the western section of the Hindu Kush Himalayan Region ( HKH ) and is the westernmost extension of the Pamir Mountains , the Karakoram and the Himalayas . It divides the valley of the Amu Darya (the ancient Oxus ) to the north from the Indus River valley to
11592-591: The population was about 60,000. Under later Mughal Emperors , Kabul became neglected. The empire lost the city when it was captured in 1738 by Nader Shah , who was en route to invade the Indian subcontinent . Nine years after Nader Shah and his forces invaded and occupied the city as part of the more easternmost parts of his Empire, he was assassinated by his own officers, causing its rapid disintegration. Ahmad Shah Durrani , commander of 4,000 Abdali Afghans , asserted Pashtun rule in 1747 and further expanded his new Afghan Empire . His ascension to power marked
11718-514: The population was concentrated on the south side of the river. The city was modernised throughout the regime of King Habibullah Khan , with the introduction of electricity, telephone, and a postal service. The first modern high school, Habibia , was established in 1903. In 1919, after the Third Anglo-Afghan War , King Amanullah Khan announced Afghanistan's independence in foreign affairs at Eidgah Mosque in Kabul. Amanullah
11844-411: The pre-Akbar Mughal and Delhi Sultanate era "sent thousands of Hindus every year north to Central Asia to pay for horses and other goods". However, the interaction between Central Asia and South Asia through the Hindu Kush was not limited to slavery, it included trading in food, goods, horses and weapons. The practice of raiding tribes, hunting, and kidnapping people for slave trading continued through
11970-496: The principal cities of his later Mughal Empire . In 1525, Babur described Kabulistan in his memoirs by writing that: There are many differing tribes in the Kābul country ; in its dales and plains are Turks and clansmen and 'Arabs ; and in its town and in many villages, Sārts ; out in the districts and also in villages are the Pashāi , Parājī , Tājik , Bīrkī and Afghān tribes. In
12096-582: The range include the Khash, the Farah and the Arashkan (Harut) rivers. The basins of these rivers serve the ecology and economy of the region, but the water flow in these rivers greatly fluctuates, and reliance on these has been a historical problem with extended droughts being commonplace. The eastern end of the range, with the highest peaks, high snow accumulation allows to long-term water storage. Geologically,
12222-589: The range is rooted in the formation of the subcontinent from a region of Gondwana that drifted away from East Africa about 160 million years ago, around the Middle Jurassic period. The Indian subcontinent, Australia and islands of the Indian Ocean rifted further, drifting northeastwards, with the Indian subcontinent colliding with the Eurasian Plate nearly 55 million years ago, towards
12348-602: The reach of eagles". In the time of Alexander the Great , the mountain range was referred to as the Caucasus Indicus (as opposed to the Greater Caucasus range between the Caspian and Black Seas ), and as Paropamisos (see Paropamisadae ) by Hellenic Greeks in the late first millennium BCE. Some 19th-century encyclopedias and gazetteers state that the term Hindu Kush originally applied only to
12474-448: The reports of slavery and other violence for geo-political strategic considerations. The first British invasion of Afghanistan ended in disaster in 1842, when 16,000 British soldiers and camp followers were massacred as they retreated through the Hindu Kush back to India. After 1947 In the colonial era, the Hindu Kush was considered, informally, the dividing line between Russian and British areas of influence in Afghanistan. During
12600-412: The slave markets of Central Asia with slaves seized in South Asia. The seizure and transportation of slaves from the Indian subcontinent became intense in and after the 8th century CE, with evidence suggesting that the slave transport involved "hundreds of thousands" of slaves from India in different periods of Islamic rule era. According to John Coatsworth and others, the slave trading operations during
12726-541: The south. The range has numerous high snow-capped peaks, with the highest point being Tirich Mir or Terichmir at 7,708 metres (25,289 ft) in the Chitral District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa , Pakistan. To the north, near its northeastern end, the Hindu Kush buttresses the Pamir Mountains near the point where the borders of China, Pakistan and Afghanistan meet, after which it runs southwest through Pakistan and into Afghanistan near their border. The eastern end of
12852-532: The start of the common era. The lands north of the Hindu Kush, in the Hephthalite dominion, Buddhism was the predominant religion by mid 1st millennium CE. These Buddhists were religiously tolerant and they co-existed with followers of Zoroastrianism , Manichaeism , and Nestorian Christianity. This Central Asia region along the Hindu Kush was taken over by Western Turks and Arabs by the eighth century, facing wars with mostly Iranians. One major exception
12978-440: The suffix - kush means "a male; (imp. of kushtan in comp.) a killer, who kills, slays, murders, oppresses as azhdaha-kush ['dragon-slayer']." The term was earliest used by Ibn Battuta . According to him, Hindu Kush means Hindu Killer as slaves from the Indian subcontinent often died in the harsh climatic conditions of the mountains while being taken to Turkestan . Several other theories have been propounded as to
13104-633: The targets of these slave-hunting expeditions. The people of Kafiristan practiced had ancient polytheistic traditions until the 1896 invasion and conversion to Islam at the hands of Afghans under Amir Abdur Rahman Khan . British era The Hindu Kush served as a geographical barrier to the British Empire , leading to a paucity of information and scarce direct interaction between the British colonial officials and Central Asian peoples. The British had to rely on tribal chiefs, Sadozai and Barakzai noblemen for information, and they generally downplayed
13230-461: The thirteenth century. The centrality of the city within the region, as well as its cultural importance as a nexus of ethnic groups in the region, caused Kabul to become known as the Paris of Central Asia in the late 20th century. The origin of Kabul, who built it and when, is largely unknown. The Hindu Rigveda , composed between 2000 and 1500 BC and one of the four canonical texts of Hinduism , and
13356-536: The throne from 1842 to 1845 and was followed by Dost Mohammad Khan. The Second Anglo-Afghan War broke out in 1879 when Kabul was under Sher Ali Khan 's rule, as the Afghan king initially refused to accept British diplomatic missions and later the British residents were again massacred. During the war, Bala Hissar was partially destroyed by a fire and an explosion. In Kabul, an established bazaar city, leather and textile industries developed by 1916. The majority of
13482-491: The total area of the HKH region. During the same years, the second dominant land cover was barren areas, including bare soil and bare rock. In 2000, 2005, 2010, and 2015, bare soil and bare rock covered 32.1, 31.4, 30.4, and 30.7%. The cropland cover in 2000 was about 5.1% and about 5.4% in 2015. Snow and glacier areas covered about 4% of the high-elevation section in 2018, while waterbodies and riverbeds/channels together accounted for 2%. The weather conditions also have an impact on
13608-537: The value of silver in relation to gold dropped, and the content of silver in the Carolingian denarius was increased so that it should maintain its intrinsic value. The range came under the control of the Hindu Shahi dynasty of Kabul but was conquered by Sabuktigin who took all of Jayapala 's dominion west of Peshawar . Mahmud of Ghazni came to power in 998 CE, in Ghazna , Afghanistan, south of Kabul and
13734-457: The warming rate accelerating to 0.2 °C per decade over the past 50 years. Over the past 50 years, the frequency of warm days and nights had also increased by 1.2 days and 1.7 nights per decade, while the frequency of extreme warm days and nights had increased by 1.26 days and 2.54 nights per decade. There was also a corresponding decline of 0.5 cold days, 0.85 extreme cold days, 1 cold night, and 2.4 extreme cold nights per decade. The length of
13860-503: The west of the Himalayas . It stretches from central and eastern Afghanistan into northwestern Pakistan and far southeastern Tajikistan . The range forms the western section of the Hindu Kush Himalayan Region ( HKH ); to the north, near its northeastern end, the Hindu Kush buttresses the Pamir Mountains near the point where the borders of China, Pakistan and Afghanistan meet, after which it runs southwest through Pakistan and into Afghanistan near their border. The eastern end of
13986-545: The west, they attain heights of 3,500 to 4,000 metres (11,500 to 13,100 ft); in the east they extend from 4,500 to 6,000 metres (14,800 to 19,700 ft). Numerous high passes (" kotal ") transect the mountains, forming a strategically important network for the transit of caravans. The most important mountain pass in Afghanistan is the Salang Pass (Kotal-e Salang) (3,878 m or 12,723 ft) north of Kabul , which links southern Afghanistan to northern Afghanistan. The Salang Tunnel at 3,363 m (11,033 ft) and
14112-660: The western mountains are the Hazāra and Nikdīrī tribes, some of whom speak the Mughūlī tongue. In the north-eastern mountains are the places of the Kāfirs , such as Kitūr and Gibrik . To the south are the places of the Afghān tribes . Mirza Muhammad Haidar Dughlat , a poet from Hindustan who visited at the time wrote: "Dine and drink in Kabul: it is mountain, desert, city, river and all else." It
14238-504: The world . The modern-day city of Kabul is located high in a narrow valley in the Hindu Kush mountain range, and is bounded by the Kabul River . At an elevation of 1,790 metres (5,873 ft), it is one of the highest capital cities in the world . The center of the city contains its old neighborhoods, including the areas of Khashti Bridge, Khabgah, Kahforoshi, Deh-Afghanan, Chandavel, Shorbazar, Saraji and Baghe Alimardan. Kabul
14364-515: Was a patrilineal descendant of Timur with roots in Central Asia. He first established himself and his army in Kabul and the Hindu Kush region. In 1526, he made his move into north India, and won the Battle of Panipat, ending the last Delhi Sultanate dynasty, and starting the era of the Mughals. Slavery , as with all major ancient and medieval societies, has been a part of Central Asia and South Asia history. The Hindu Kush mountain passes connected
14490-526: Was a stop on the Hippie trail from Bamyan to the west towards Peshawar . The city was known for its street sales of hashish and became a major attraction for western hippies . On 28 April 1978, President Daoud and most of his family were assassinated in Kabul's Presidential Palace in what is called the Saur Revolution . Pro-Soviet PDPA under Nur Muhammad Taraki seized power and slowly began to institute reforms. Private businesses were nationalised in
14616-450: Was built in the city. Kabul Zoo was inaugurated in 1967, which was maintained with the help of visiting German zoologists . During this time, Kabul experimented with liberalisation, notably the loosening of restrictions on speech and assembly, which led to student politics in the capital and demonstrations by Socialist, Maoist, liberal or Islamist factions. Foreigners flocked to Kabul as the nation's tourism industry expanded. To accompany
14742-476: Was from here that Babur began his 1526 conquest of Hindustan, which was ruled by the Afghan Lodi dynasty and began east of the Indus River in what is present-day Pakistan . Babur loved Kabul due to the fact that he lived in it for 20 years and the people were loyal to him, including the weather that he was used to. His wish to be buried in Kabul was finally granted. The inscription on his tomb contains
14868-558: Was heard loudly saying: " Kabul must burn! Kabul must burn! ", and mastered the idea of proxy war in Afghanistan. Pakistani President Zia-ul-Haq authorised this operation under General Rahman, which was later merged with Operation Cyclone , a programme funded by the United States and carried out by the Central Intelligence Agency . The Soviets turned the city of Kabul into their command centre during
14994-456: Was nicknamed the Paris of Central Asia . According to J. Bruce Amstutz , an American diplomat in Kabul: [Before the 1978 Marxist coup d'etat] Kabul was a pleasant city [..] Though poor economically, it was spared the eyesore slums so visible in other Asian cities. The Afghans themselves were an imposing people, the men tall and self-assured and the women attractive. Until the late 1970s, Kabul
15120-573: Was occupied by the British : after establishing foreign relations and agreements, they withdrew from Afghanistan and returned to British India . Kabul is known for its historical gardens, bazaars , and palaces such as the Gardens of Babur , Darul Aman Palace and the Arg . In the second half of the 20th century, the city became a stop on the hippie trail undertaken by many Europeans and gained
15246-672: Was occupied by them in the 2nd century BCE. This "supposition seems likely" as the Afghan historian Mir Ghulam Mohammad Ghobar (1898–1978) wrote that in the Avesta (sacred book of Zoroastrianism ), Kabul was known as Vaekereta , whereas the Greeks of antiquity referred to it as Ortospana ("High Place"), which corresponds to the Sanskrit word Urddhastana , which was applied to Kabul. The Greek geographer Ptolemy (died c. 170 CE ) recorded Kabul as Καβουρα ( Kabura ). According to
15372-472: Was reform-minded and he had a plan to build a new capital city on land 6 km from Kabul. This area, named Darulaman , consisted of the famous Darul Aman Palace , where he later resided. Many educational institutions were founded in Kabul during the 1920s. In 1929 King Amanullah left Kabul after a local uprising orchestrated by Habibullah Kalakani , but he was imprisoned and executed after nine months in power by King Nader Khan . Three years later, in 1933,
15498-505: Was shot in the head from a distance of six inches and killed. Many questions about the killing remain unanswered. On 24 December 1979, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan and Kabul was heavily occupied by Soviet Armed Forces . In Pakistan, Director-General of the ISI Akhtar Abdur Rahman advocated for the idea of covert operation in Afghanistan by arming Islamic extremists who formed the mujahideen. General Rahman
15624-502: Was supported by Sultan Mahmud. Al Biruni found it difficult to get access to Indian literature locally in the Hindu Kush area, and to explain this he wrote, "Mahmud utterly ruined the prosperity of the country, and performed wonderful exploits by which the Hindus became the atoms scattered in all directions, and like a tale of old in the mouth of the people. (...) This is the reason, too, why Hindu sciences have retired far from those parts of
15750-635: Was the period in the mid to late seventh century when the Tang dynasty from China destroyed the Northern Turks and extended its rule all the way to the Oxus River valley and regions of Central Asia bordering all along the Hindu Kush. The subcontinent and valleys of the Hindu Kush remained unconquered by the Islamic armies until the 9th century, even though they had conquered the southern regions of
15876-583: Was widespread in the ancient Hindu Kush region. The ancient artwork of Buddhism includes the giant rock-carved statues called the Bamiyan Buddhas, in the southern and western end of the Hindu Kush. These statues were destroyed by Taliban Islamists in 2001. The southeastern valleys of Hindu Kush connecting towards the Indus Valley region were a major center that hosted monasteries, religious scholars from distant lands, trade networks and merchants of
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