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163-600: The Hindu Shahis , also referred to as the Kabul Shahis and Uḍi Śāhis , were a dynasty established between 843 CE and 1026 CE. They endured multiple waves of conquests for nearly two centuries and their core territory was described as having contained the regions of Eastern Afghanistan and Gandhara , encompassing the area up to the Sutlej river in modern day Punjab , expanding into the Kangra Valley . The empire

326-687: A proxy war as the Pakistani government provided these rebels with covert training centers, the United States supported them through Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), and the Soviet Union sent thousands of military advisers to support the PDPA regime. Meanwhile, there was increasingly hostile friction between the competing factions of the PDPA ;– the dominant Khalq and

489-508: A British orientalist in 1822. These coins exhibit progressive debasement with time, with a regular decrease of silver content, allowing for the sequencing of the coinage. Early issues do not mention personal names but only generic titles, thereby not matching with the names found from literature. The characteristic motif of a horseman on the reverse with a bull on the obverse goes back to the Indo-Scythian ruler Azes I . A. R. Rahman of

652-566: A battalion from king Sangramaraja of the Lohara dynasty , commanded by Tunga. The face-off happened in the middle of the following year. Bhimapala initially went about exploiting the local topography of a narrow mountain-pass in his favor, and launched stinging guerrilla attacks on Mahmud's troops—to the extent of being referred to by Uth'bi as "Bhima, the Fearless", until he got confident of his numerical superiority and switched to open-warfare; in

815-574: A battle commander, wished to inflict a decisive defeat, but had to concede when Jayapala threatened to incinerate all valuables. A war indemnity of one million Shahi dirhams and fifty war elephants was agreed upon and some frontier forts were ceded to the Ghaznavids. Accordingly, Jaypala made his way back with Ghaznavid commanders who were to take charge of the ceded forts, while some of his relatives and officials were left with Sabuktigin as hostages. Once Jayapala reached his own territories, he called off

978-574: A closer relationship with the Soviet Union . Afterward, the 1964 constitution was formed, and the first non-royal prime minister was sworn in. Zahir Shah, like his father Nadir Shah, had a policy of maintaining national independence while pursuing gradual modernization, creating nationalist feeling, and improving relations with the United Kingdom. Afghanistan was neither a participant in World War II nor aligned with either power bloc in

1141-652: A contingent of 4,000 Pashtuns . The Abdalis had "unanimously accepted" Ahmad Shah as their new leader. With his ascension in 1747, Ahmad Shah had led multiple campaigns against the Mughal empire , Maratha empire , and then-receding Afsharid empire . Ahmad Shah had captured Kabul and Peshawar from the Mughal appointed governor, Nasir Khan. Ahmad Shah had then conquered Herat in 1750, and had also captured Kashmir in 1752. Ahmad Shah had launched two campaigns into Khorasan , 1750–1751 and 1754–1755. His first campaign had seen

1304-600: A disastrous maneuver without consulting experienced Shahi generals, ensuring another crippling defeat coupled with a total loss of territory, west of Tausi. Rahman noted this campaign to be the death-blow for the Hindu Shahis — "it was no longer a question of whether but a question of when" the Shahis would perish. From the outset of his rule, Trilochanapala had chosen to expand into the Siwalik Hills to make up for

1467-463: A grandson of the Kabul Shah, marched towards Lahore seeking to utilize the imprisonment of Masʽud I and resulting political instability to his favor. The armies met at Qadar Jur (var. Qalachur) and despite the Shahis having numerical superiority, they were defeated as their troops left the battle in a state of panic once Sandbal was assassinated by a Turk archer. He seemed to have been based around

1630-733: A key role in the transfer of the Avesta to Persia and is thus considered by some to be the "second homeland of Zoroastrianism". Alexander the Great and his Macedonian forces arrived in Afghanistan in 330 BCE after defeating Darius III of Persia a year earlier in the Battle of Gaugamela . Following Alexander's brief occupation, the successor state of the Seleucid Empire controlled the region until 305 BCE, when they gave much of it to

1793-509: A large army, supplanted with neighboring troops under the commandership of his son, Trilochanapala, who arrived in the plains of Chach but failed to prevent Mahmud's troops from crossing across the Indus. The Battle of Chach ended with the defeat of the Hindu Shahis. Mahmud chased the fugitive troops for months, seizing Nagarkot to collect his war-spoils, in the process and even took a son of Anandapala as hostage. Governors were installed across

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1956-801: A member state for their official spokesman in Doha , Suhail Shaheen . The United Nations did not recognize the previous Taliban government and chose to work with the then government-in-exile instead. Western nations suspended most of their humanitarian aid to Afghanistan following the Taliban's August 2021 takeover of the country; the World Bank and International Monetary Fund also halted their payments. More than half of Afghanistan's 39 million people faced an acute food shortage in October 2021. Human Rights Watch reported on 11 November 2021 that Afghanistan

2119-524: A movement and militia of students ( talib ) from Islamic madrassas (schools) in Pakistan , who soon had military support from Pakistan. Taking control of Kandahar city that year, they conquered more territories until finally driving out the government of Rabbani from Kabul in 1996, where they established an emirate . The Taliban were condemned internationally for the harsh enforcement of their interpretation of Islamic sharia law, which resulted in

2282-468: A myriad of campaigns to unite most of Afghanistan in his reign, launching numerous incursions including against the surrounding states such as the Hazarajat campaign , conquest of Balkh , conquest of Kunduz , and the conquest of Kandahar . Dost Mohammad led his final campaign against Herat , conquering it and re-uniting Afghanistan. During his campaigns of re-unification, he held friendly relations with

2445-560: A patron of scholars though texts from his court are not extant. Circa April 1006, Mahmud requested Anandapala to consent to the passage of his troops via his territories to reach Daud , the ruler of Multan. He declined the request and even went to the extent of stationing troops on the banks of Indus to prevent Mahmud's crossing, an enraged Mahmud waged a cataclysmic war upon the Shahis and compelled Anandapala to escape to Kashmir before eventually finishing his original objective of conquering Multan. All these territories of "Hind" were left under

2608-496: A payment of 2.5 million dirhams and 50 war-elephants around March 1002, which Rahman finds more likely. Jayapala returned to Hund and immolated himself in a pyre after abdicating the throne in favor of Anandapala. Anandapala ascended to the throne around April 1002. His capital city remains unknown but was likely Nandan. Anandapala had entered into marital relations with Tunga, the prime-minister of Didda , then-ruler of Kashmir and had at least two sons. He commanded significant fame as

2771-479: A precarious state and in c.  843 CE , the last ruler Lagaturman was deposed by one of his ministers, a Brahmin vazir called Kallar. The sole description of events comes from Al-Biruni: Lagatarman's unbecoming manners had led his subjects to lodge multiple complaints with Kallar, who having chanced upon a treasure trove, was rapidly purchasing his way to power. Kallar imprisoned the King for corruption and became

2934-416: A series of coins. As has been the case with previous rulers, there is a lack of information including about his actual name, course of rule and eventual fate. The unavailability of his coins in or around Gandhara points to his lack of control over the region, which did not come into contact with Ya'qub's expeditions and were likely held by Samanta's relatives. Lalliya was the first Shahi noted by Kalhana , he

3097-515: A series of events that would dramatically turn Afghanistan from a poor and secluded (albeit peaceful) country to a hotbed of international terrorism. The PDPA initiated various social, symbolic, and land distribution reforms that provoked strong opposition, while also brutally oppressing political dissidents. This caused unrest and quickly expanded into a state of civil war by 1979, waged by guerrilla mujahideen (and smaller Maoist guerrillas) against regime forces countrywide. It quickly turned into

3260-585: A small power like Afghanistan, which is like a goat between these lions [Britain and Russia] or a grain of wheat between two strong millstones of the grinding mill, stand in the midway of the stones without being ground to dust? During the First World War , when Afghanistan was neutral, Habibullah Khan was met by officials of the central powers in the Niedermayer–Hentig Expedition . They called on Afghanistan to declare full independence from

3423-457: A state designation only during the colonial intervention of the nineteenth century. The term "Afghanistan" was officially used in 1855, when the British recognized Dost Mohammad Khan as king of Afghanistan . Excavations of prehistoric sites suggest that humans were living in what is now Afghanistan at least 50,000 years ago, and that farming communities in the area were among the earliest in

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3586-491: A successional dispute, leading many to suggest that the same family was not ruling anymore. Rahman disagrees that there exist sufficient evidence in favor of such a hypothesis or conclusion. One Vijayapaladeva (r. 942 or 963) is obtained from the Ratnamanjari Inscription where he is held to be the 'supreme sovereign' or ' Maharajadhiraja ' . Rahman proposed that Vijayapaladeva had to have either belonged to

3749-417: Is a mass of complete merit here on earth, there is (a city) by name Udabhandra , which has been made their home by learned men forming communities, just as Meru (was made their home) by the immortal (gods) and other (supernatural beings)... ...Therein dwelt the chief of kings, Bhīma, of terrible valour (or with valour like that of Bhīma , the legendary hero), by whom, having conquered his enemies' troops,

3912-610: Is considered the "crossroads of Asia", and the country has had the nickname Heart of Asia. The renowned Urdu poet Allama Iqbal once wrote about the country: Sharada script It is a native script of Kashmir and is named after the goddess Śāradā or Saraswati , the goddess of learning and the main Hindu deity of the Sharada Peeth temple. Sharda script is named after the Hindu goddess Śāradā, also known as Saraswati ,

4075-496: Is depicted as a great ruler with enormous strength to the standard where kings of other regions would seek shelter in his capital of Udabhanda , a change from the previous capital of Kabul . Ya'qub is not known to have annexed or invaded the country of Gandhara and it is assumed by Rehman that it was under the kingship of Lalliya. Khudrayaka, the Saffarid governor of Kabul, is noted to have ended his reign in 880 CE, however it

4238-473: Is one of the four founders of the Taliban and was a deputy prime minister of the previous emirate; his appointment was seen as a compromise between moderates and hardliners. A new, all-male cabinet was formed, which included Abdul Hakim Haqqani as minister of justice. On 20 September 2021, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres received a letter from acting minister of foreign affairs Amir Khan Muttaqi to formally claim Afghanistan's seat as

4401-578: Is relatively abundant but only provides snippets of trivia. The language is exclusively Sharda . A samvat is mentioned in all of them whose zero year is understood to correspond to 822 C.E. based on the Zalamkot Bilingual Inscription; it has been assumed to be initiated by Kallar on his coronation, as was typically the case for most Hindu dynasties of medieval India. Copper land grants etc. are yet to be documented. The 10th century Arab historian Masudi mentioned that in his time

4564-415: Is unknown what arrangements Ya'qub made for the governance of Kabul after his victory and imprisonment of the then ruler; we only have Tarikh-i Sistan noting that Kabul was under an unnamed Ya'qub governor as late as 878/879. It is speculated that this governor was some blood relation of Samanta who was favorably inclined to Islam and went on to take the title of Khudarayaka (Small King) as ascertainable from

4727-712: Is unknown what brought about his downfall. It is assumed Lalliya was implicated as when Kabul is next mentioned in 900 CE, it is described as reverting back as Shahi territory. Amr ibn al-Layth succeeded Yaqub as the Amr of the Saffarid dynasty in 879 CE. The Tarikh-i Sistan records 'two Indian kings', reconstructed as Toramana and Asata described as governors and sons of Lalliya, are stated to have taken advantage of Amr al-Layth 's preoccupation with rebellions in Khorasan and to have successfully invaded Ghazni in 900 CE, defeating

4890-576: The 2001–2021 war . The Taliban government remains internationally unrecognized. Afghanistan is rich in natural resources, including lithium , iron, zinc , and copper. It is the second-largest producer of cannabis resin , and third largest of both saffron and cashmere . The country is a member of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation and a founding member of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation . Due to

5053-531: The 2014 presidential election where for the first time in Afghanistan's history power was democratically transferred. On 28 December 2014, NATO formally ended ISAF combat operations and transferred full security responsibility to the Afghan government. The NATO-led Operation Resolute Support was formed the same day as a successor to ISAF. Thousands of NATO troops remained in the country to train and advise Afghan government forces and continue their fight against

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5216-545: The Abbasid Caliph Al-Mu'tamid from Kabul however it not clear whether this is indicative of the city or of the Kabul valley , though according to Rehman the latter was most probable. The Rawżat aṣ-ṣafāʾ states that the ruler of Kabul was made prisoner though it is not clear whether this was Samanta. The region was in Saffarid control until 878 CE before being recaptured by Lalliya, the successor to Samanta. It

5379-580: The Badakhshan region. During the first century BCE, the Parthian Empire subjugated the region but lost it to their Indo-Parthian vassals. In the mid-to-late first century CE the vast Kushan Empire , centered in Afghanistan, became great patrons of Buddhist culture, making Buddhism flourish throughout the region. The Kushans were overthrown by the Sassanids in the 3rd century CE, though

5542-655: The Battle of Jamrud . Akbar Khan and the Afghan army failed to capture the Jamrud Fort from the Sikh Khalsa Army , but killed Sikh Commander Hari Singh Nalwa , thus ending the Afghan-Sikh Wars . By this time the British were advancing from the east, capitalizing off of the decline of the Sikh Empire after it had its own period of turbulence following the death of Ranjit Singh , which engaged

5705-570: The Cold War . However, it was a beneficiary of the latter rivalry as both the Soviet Union and the United States vied for influence by building Afghanistan's main highways, airports, and other vital infrastructure. On a per capita basis, Afghanistan received more Soviet development aid than any other country. In 1973, while the King was in Italy, Daoud Khan launched a bloodless coup and became

5868-619: The Emirate of Kabul in the first major conflict during " The Great Game ". In 1839 a British expeditionary force marched into Afghanistan, invading the Principality of Qandahar , and in August 1839, seized Kabul . Dost Mohammad Khan defeated the British in the Parwan campaign , but surrendered following his victory. He was replaced with the former Durrani ruler Shah Shuja Durrani as

6031-715: The Indo-Sassanids continued to rule at least parts of the region. They were followed by the Kidarites who, in turn, was replaced by the Hephthalites . They were replaced by the Turk Shahi in the 7th century. The Buddhist Turk Shahi of Kabul was replaced by a Hindu dynasty before the Saffarids conquered the area in 870, this Hindu dynasty was called Hindu Shahi . Much of the northeastern and southern areas of

6194-666: The Iranian and Indian cultural spheres, the area was a center for Zoroastrianism , Buddhism, Hinduism, and later Islam. The modern state of Afghanistan began with the Durrani Afghan Empire in the 18th century, although Dost Mohammad Khan is sometimes considered to be the founder of the first modern Afghan state . Afghanistan became a buffer state in the Great Game between the British Empire and

6357-790: The Italian Renaissance as the center of a cultural rebirth. In the early 16th century Babur arrived from Ferghana and captured Kabul from the Arghun dynasty . Babur would go on to conquer the Afghan Lodi dynasty who had ruled the Delhi Sultanate in the First Battle of Panipat . Between the 16th and 18th century, the Uzbek Khanate of Bukhara , Iranian Safavids , and Indian Mughals ruled parts of

6520-515: The Karzai administration and provide basic security. By this time, after two decades of war as well as an acute famine at the time, Afghanistan had one of the highest infant and child mortality rates in the world, the lowest life expectancy, much of the population were hungry, and infrastructure was in ruins. Many foreign donors started providing aid and assistance to rebuild the war-torn country. As coalition troops entered Afghanistan to help

6683-515: The League of Nations in 1934. The 1930s saw the development of roads, infrastructure, the founding of a national bank , and increased education. Road links in the north played a large part in a growing cotton and textile industry. The country built close relationships with the Axis powers , with Nazi Germany having the largest share in Afghan development at the time. Until 1946 King Zahir ruled with

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6846-783: The Maurya Empire as part of an alliance treaty. The Mauryans controlled the area south of the Hindu Kush until they were overthrown in about 185 BCE. Their decline began 60 years after Ashoka 's rule ended, leading to the Hellenistic reconquest by the Greco-Bactrians . Much of it soon broke away and became part of the Indo-Greek Kingdom . They were defeated and expelled by the Indo-Scythians in

7009-629: The Northern Alliance , later joined by others, to resist the Taliban. Dostum's forces were defeated by the Taliban during the Battles of Mazar-i-Sharif in 1997 and 1998; Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff, Pervez Musharraf , began sending thousands of Pakistanis to help the Taliban defeat the Northern Alliance. By 2000, the Northern Alliance only controlled 10% of territory, cornered in the northeast. On 9 September 2001, Massoud

7172-753: The Principality of Qandahar , Emirate of Herat , Khanate of Qunduz , Maimana Khanate , and numerous other warring polities. The most prominent state was the Emirate of Kabul , ruled by Dost Mohammad Khan . With the collapse of the Durrani Empire, and the exile of the Sadozai Dynasty to be left to rule in Herat , Punjab and Kashmir were lost to Ranjit Singh , ruler of the Sikh Empire , who invaded Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in March 1823 and captured

7335-554: The Punjab region The Durranis lost Multan in 1772 after Ahmad Shah's death. Following this victory, Timur Shah was able to lay siege to Multan and recapture it, incorporating it into the Durrani Empire once again, reintegrating it as a province until the Siege of Multan (1818) . Timur Shah was succeeded by his son Zaman Shah Durrani after his death in May 1793. Timur Shah's reign oversaw

7498-656: The Quaid-i-Azam University and Ahmad Hasan Dani did rudimentary field surveys in the late 1960s. Afterwards, the Italian Archaeological Mission in Pakistan (IAMP) extensively surveyed the regions in and around Swat . In 1996, Khan and Meister obtained a license from Department of Archaeology for an "integrated study of Hindu-Śāhi sites"; excavation at Kafir-kot and field-surveys of the Salt Range were engaged in with aid from

7661-414: The Russian Empire . From India, the British attempted to subjugate Afghanistan but were repelled in the First Anglo-Afghan War ; the Second Anglo-Afghan War saw a British victory. Following the Third Anglo-Afghan War in 1919, Afghanistan became free of foreign political hegemony, and emerged as the independent Kingdom of Afghanistan in 1926. This monarchy lasted almost half a century, until Zahir Shah

7824-402: The Samanids and sometime after 913 CE, the power vacuum led to the rise of a friendly power in the Ghazna province, the Lawik dynasty , which flourished until 962 CE and engaged in marital ties with the Hindu Shahis. There are various unsubstantiated speculations regarding the end date of Kamaluka's reign, ranging from 900 to 950. Mentioned as 'Bhima' in Al-Biruni 's list, and identified with

7987-425: The Soviet Union and the Weimar Republic . He proclaimed himself King of Afghanistan on 9 June 1926, forming the Kingdom of Afghanistan . He introduced several reforms intended to modernize his nation. A key force behind these reforms was Mahmud Tarzi , an ardent supporter of the education of women. He fought for Article 68 of Afghanistan's 1923 constitution , which made elementary education compulsory. Slavery

8150-473: The Soviet Union to invade Afghanistan in 1979. Mujahideen fought against the Soviets in the Soviet–Afghan War and continued fighting among themselves following the Soviets' withdrawal in 1989 . The Taliban controlled most of the country by 1996, but their Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan received little international recognition before its overthrow in the 2001 US invasion of Afghanistan . The Taliban returned to power in 2021 after capturing Kabul , ending

8313-592: The Soviet withdrawal , the civil war ensued until the communist regime under People's Democratic Party leader Mohammad Najibullah collapsed in 1992. The Soviet–Afghan War had drastic social effects on Afghanistan. The militarization of society led to heavily armed police, private bodyguards, openly armed civil defense groups, and other such things becoming the norm in Afghanistan for decades thereafter. The traditional power structure had shifted from clergy, community elders, intelligentsia, and military in favor of powerful warlords . Another civil war broke out after

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8476-437: The Third Anglo-Afghan War , and entering British India via the Khyber Pass . After the end of the Third Anglo-Afghan War and the signing of the Treaty of Rawalpindi on 19 August 1919, Emir Amanullah Khan declared the Emirate of Afghanistan a sovereign and fully independent state . He moved to end his country's traditional isolation by establishing diplomatic relations with the international community, particularly with

8639-460: The Turk Shahis in 815 CE who had invaded Khorasan. Following this defeat, the Turk Shahis not only had to convert to Islam but also had to cede key cities and regions. Another campaign against the Gandhara branch seems to have followed soon, with the Caliphate reaching as far East as the Indus river and imposing a critical defeat. A hefty annual tribute was to be paid in return for sovereignty rights to both territories. The Turk Shahis ended up in

8802-604: The University of Pennsylvania and the American Institute of Pakistan Studies. Inscriptions remain scarce. Mostly found in Udabhanda , they either commemorate the commissioning of temples or are affixed at the base of idol-pedestals. Of the former kind— Mir Ali Inscription, Dewal Inscription, Dewai Inscription, Ratnamanjari Inscription, Veka Inscription, Hund Stone Inscription, Kamesvaridevi Inscription, Barikot Inscription, and Isvara Inscription—most are disfigured to various extents due to their use as grinding stones in medieval times and are decipherable only in parts. The latter kind

8965-484: The Uppsala Conflict Data Program , at least 212,191 people were killed in the conflict. Though the state of war in the country ended in 2021, armed conflict persists in some regions amid fighting between the Taliban and the local branch of the Islamic State , as well as an anti-Taliban Republican insurgency . The Taliban government is led by supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada and acting prime minister Hasan Akhund , who took office on 7 September 2021. Akhund

9128-442: The creation of a dysfunctional coalition government between leaders of various mujahideen factions. Amid a state of anarchy and factional infighting, various mujahideen factions committed widespread rape, murder and extortion, while Kabul was heavily bombarded and partially destroyed by the fighting. Several failed reconciliations and alliances occurred between different leaders. The Taliban emerged in September 1994 as

9291-439: The graveyard of empires , the land has witnessed numerous military campaigns , including those by the Persians , Alexander the Great , the Maurya Empire , Arab Muslims , the Mongols , the British , the Soviet Union , and a US-led coalition . Afghanistan also served as the source from which the Greco-Bactrians and the Mughals , among others, rose to form major empires. Because of the various conquests and periods in both

9454-421: The rebuilding process , the Taliban began an insurgency to regain control. Afghanistan remained one of the poorest countries in the world because of a lack of foreign investment, government corruption , and the Taliban insurgency. The Afghan government was able to build some democratic structures, adopting a constitution in 2004 with the name Islamic Republic of Afghanistan . Attempts were made, often with

9617-399: The siege of Kandahar , the last Hotak stronghold, from Shah Hussain Hotak . Soon after, the Persian and Afghan forces invaded India , Nader Shah had plundered Delhi, alongside his 16-year-old commander, Ahmad Shah Durrani who had assisted him on these campaigns. Nader Shah was assassinated in 1747. After the death of Nader Shah in 1747, Ahmad Shah Durrani had returned to Kandahar with

9780-399: The Śri Bhīmadeva coin series, Bhimadeva was one of the most accomplished rulers of the Hindu Shahis along side Lalliya. His rise to power was concurrent with the growth of neighboring Hindu kingdoms such as that of the Pala Empire . According to the Khajuraho stone inscription, the Kangra Valley was under the authority of a Shahi king assumed to be Bhimadeva, and it is further presumed that

9943-431: The 14th century; during this period it starts to appear in forms closely resembling Gurmukhī and other Landa scripts . By the 15th century, Sharada had evolved so considerably that epigraphists denote the script at this point by a special name, Devāśeṣa . position Sharada script uses its own signs for the positional decimal numeral system . Śāradā script was added to the Unicode Standard in January, 2012 with

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10106-519: The Afghan government and quickly advanced in front of collapsing Afghan government forces. The Taliban captured the capital city of Kabul on 15 August 2021, after regaining control over a vast majority of Afghanistan. Several foreign diplomats and Afghan government officials, including president Ashraf Ghani, were evacuated from the country, with many Afghan civilians attempting to flee along with them. On 17 August, first vice president Amrullah Saleh proclaimed himself caretaker president and announced

10269-429: The Afghans, as well as accept Afghan sovereignty. Following this, Ahmad Shah sieged Nishapur once again, and captured it. Ahmad Shah invaded India eight times during his reign, beginning in 1748. Crossing the Indus River, his armies sacked and absorbed Lahore into the Durrani Realm . He met Mughal armies at the Battle of Manupur (1748) , where he was defeated and forced to retreat back to Afghanistan. He returned

10432-431: The American invasion. During the initial invasion, US and UK forces bombed al-Qaeda training camps, and later working with the Northern Alliance, the Taliban regime came to an end. In December 2001, after the Taliban government was overthrown, the Afghan Interim Administration under Hamid Karzai was formed. The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was established by the UN Security Council to help assist

10595-482: The British despite the First Anglo-Afghan War, and affirmed their status in the Second Anglo-Afghan treaty of 1857, while Bukhara and internal religious leaders pressured Dost Mohammad to invade India during the Indian Rebellion of 1857 . Dost Mohammad died in June 1863, a few weeks after his successful campaign to Herat. Following his death, a civil war ensued among his sons, prominently Mohammad Afzal Khan , Mohammad Azam Khan , and Sher Ali Khan . Sher Ali won

10758-418: The Ghurids in 1186 , whose architectural achievements included the remote Minaret of Jam . The Ghurids controlled Afghanistan for less than a century before being conquered by the Khwarazmian dynasty in 1215. In 1219 CE, Genghis Khan and his Mongol army overran the region . His troops are said to have annihilated the Khwarazmian cities of Herat and Balkh as well as Bamyan . The destruction caused by

10921-412: The Hindu Kush. The Ghaznavids rose to power in the 10th century. By the 11th century, Mahmud of Ghazni had defeated the remaining Hindu rulers and effectively Islamized the wider region, with the exception of Kafiristan . Mahmud made Ghazni into an important city and patronized intellectuals such as the historian Al-Biruni and the poet Ferdowsi . The Ghaznavid dynasty was overthrown by

11084-466: The Hindu Shahis to ward off future invasions of a similar scale. Mahmud did not take kindly to these alliances and returned in October 1019. Trilochanapala's men were tasked by Vidyadhara of Chandela to prevent Mahmud's troops from crossing across the Ramganga (somewhere around Bulandshahr ) and they took positions at the eastern bank but failed to execute the task. Subsequently, Trilochanapala planned to move away, probably to join Vidyadhara's forces for

11247-419: The Hindu Shahis was discontinued and instead replaced with the Sharada script . The dress customs were noted as clothing consisting of cotton outer garments, trousers and shoes with men shaving their hair and beards. A gold coin of Bhimadeva describes him as wearing a Dhoti and Uttariya . Afghanistan Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan , is a landlocked country located at

11410-492: The Hindu Shahis. In 870 CE, Ya'qub ibn al-Layth , the founder of the recently formed Saffarid dynasty marched onto Kabul . According to the Tarikh-i Sistan , the Saffarids had come into conflict with the zunbil dynasty based in modern day Ghazni and after having defeated them, a son of the Zunbils had fled into the area corresponding to Kabul resulting in Yaqub's invasion. It has been attested to by numerous sources that Ya'qub had brought forth idols and elephants to

11573-407: The Hindu Shahis. Rahman speculates that either their Brahmin affiliation was a late rumor floated to justify their original usurpation of the throne, or they were fallen Brahmins, who ran afoul of caste-rules while discharging royal duties. According to André Wink , all other sources state the Shahis as Kshatriyas . Rahman accepted folklore among current inhabitants of Hund about pre-Muslim kings of

11736-632: The Kabul branch or had been a local Shahi feudatory. Khaw disagrees and instead equates Vijayapaladeva with one Thakkana Sahi, mentioned by Kalhana as a rebel who had to be captured by Queen Didda of Kashmir. For Khaw, this identification fits within the narrative of Muslim sources; Jayapala ascended only after this threat was neutralized. Bilgetegin succeeded Abu Ishaq Ibrahim on the occasion of his death in November 966, and ruled for about nine years, before being assassinated during his invasion of Gardiz ,

11899-807: The Mongols forced many locals to return to an agrarian rural society. Mongol rule continued with the Ilkhanate in the northwest while the Khalji dynasty administered the Afghan tribal areas south of the Hindu Kush until the invasion of Timur (aka Tamerlane), who established the Timurid Empire in 1370. Under the rule of Shah Rukh , the city of Herat served as the focal point of the Timurid Renaissance , whose glory matched Florence of

12062-464: The Pakistani government ordered the expulsion of Afghans from Pakistan . Iran also decided to deport Afghan nationals back to Afghanistan. Taliban authorities condemned the deportations of Afghans as an "inhuman act". Afghanistan faced a humanitarian crisis in late 2023. On 10 November 2024, Afghanistan's Foreign Ministry confirmed that Taliban representatives would attend the COP29 summit , marking

12225-566: The Saffarid governor named as Fardaghin, though the Tarikh does not make it clear whether it was the region of Zabulistan or of the city. Kalhana notes that Lalliya was a significant ally of the Gujrati ruler Alakhana against the machinations of the Utpala dynasty , whose ruler Samkaravarman invaded the Hindu Shahis c. 902 CE, however Kalhana further states that Lalliya's 'mighty glory outshone

12388-488: The Shahi to be an infidel, proclaimed his absolute devotion to Sabuktigin and pledged to attack Jayapala upon release. Around the same time, Jayapala was challenged by Bharat, a Raja of Lahore who wished to wrest control of Nandana , Jailam and Takeshar. Anandapala, then Governor of Punjab and son of Jayapala, was ordered to intercept Bharat's forces and in the ensuing battle, Bharat was imprisoned and Lahore annexed; however

12551-411: The Shahis were in a state of disarray with Jayapala and fifteen of his relatives taken as prisoners. About one million Shahi forces were taken as slaves. The war-spoils awed contemporary chroniclers: the royal necklaces alone were valued at over six million Shahi dirhams. Mahmud continued his raid as far as Hund , as his forces chased fleeing troops and decimated pockets of resistance. Within a few months,

12714-729: The Sharada script used in Punjab, the Hill States (partly Himachal Pradesh ) and Kashmir . Sharada proper was eventually restricted to very limited ceremonial use in Kashmir, as it grew increasingly unsuitable for writing the Kashmiri language . With the last known inscription dating to 1204 C.E., the early 13th century marks a milestone in the development of Sharada. The regional variety in Punjab continued to evolve from this stage through

12877-459: The Siwaliks and might have been a Shahi heir — many contemporary Muslim chronicles do mention a Hindu triumvirate to have unsuccessfully attacked the Ghaznavids around the same time but mention only two of the names, both petty Siwalik chieftains and not Sandbal. Some Shahis migrated into Kashmir and gained prominent positions in their court. Shaivism was practised by the Hindu Shahis and likely

13040-592: The Taliban. A report titled Body Count concluded that 106,000–170,000 civilians had been killed as a result of the fighting in Afghanistan at the hands of all parties to the conflict. On 19 February 2020, the US–Taliban deal was made in Qatar. The deal was one of the critical events that caused the collapse of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF); following the signing of the deal,

13203-577: The US dramatically reduced the number of air attacks and deprived the ANSF of a critical edge in fighting the Taliban insurgency , leading to the Taliban takeover of Kabul. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced on 14 April 2021 that the alliance had agreed to start withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan by 1 May. Soon after NATO troops began withdrawing, the Taliban launched an offensive against

13366-631: The United Kingdom, join them and attack British India, as part of the Hindu–German Conspiracy . The effort to bring Afghanistan into the Central Powers failed, but it sparked discontent among the population about maintaining neutrality with the British. Habibullah was assassinated in February 1919, and Amanullah Khan eventually assumed power. A staunch supporter of the 1915–1916 expeditions, Amanullah Khan invaded British India, beginning

13529-500: The acting regent before usurping the throne permanently. The new "Hindu Shahi" dynasty was thus established in Gandhara . None apart from Al-Biruni mentions Kallar; nothing is known about his rule or territorial extent or even his regnal dates. Historians such as that of Alexander Cunningham suggest that coin series bearing the obverse title 'Spalapati' ('Warlord) were minted by Kallar. According to Edward Clive Bayley 's misreading of

13692-530: The aim of waging holy war against the Lawik dynasty and the Hindu Shahis. The Lawik king fled to the Shahi domain in hopes of gaining re-inforcements to conquer the lost territory and in c. 963 Bhimadeva was successful in capturing Ghazni . This victory is engraved in the Hund Slab Inscription dated to c. 989 CE during the reign of the succeeding Shahi Jayapala. ...To the north of the Indus, which

13855-744: The area north of the Caspian Sea . The region at the time was referred to as Ariana . By the middle of the 6th century BCE, the Achaemenids overthrew the Medes and incorporated Arachosia , Aria , and Bactria within its eastern boundaries. An inscription on the tombstone of Darius I of Persia mentions the Kabul Valley in a list of the 29 countries that he had conquered. The region of Arachosia , around Kandahar in modern-day southern Afghanistan, used to be primarily Zoroastrian and played

14018-463: The assistance of his uncle, who held the post of prime minister and continued the policies of Nadir Shah. Another uncle, Shah Mahmud Khan , became prime minister in 1946 and experimented with allowing greater political freedom. He was replaced in 1953 by Mohammed Daoud Khan , a Pashtun nationalist who sought the creation of a Pashtunistan , leading to highly tense relations with Pakistan. Daoud Khan pressed for social modernization reforms and sought

14181-582: The attempted stabilization and consolidation of the empire. However, Timur Shah had over 24 sons, which plunged the empire in civil war over succession crises. Zaman Shah Durrani succeeded to the Durrani Throne following the death of his father, Timur Shah Durrani. His brothers Mahmud Shah Durrani and Humayun Mirza revolted against him, with Humayun centered in Kandahar and Mahmud Shah centered in Herat . Zaman Shah would defeat Humayun and force

14344-547: The bride home and Chandar asked for reparations. This brought an end to Trilochanapala's imperial ambitions in the Lower Himalayas for the time being though stray conflicts continued. When Mahmud sacked Sharwa while returning from his Kanauj campaign (c. 1017), Trilochanapala is noted to have taken refuge with Paramara Bhoja . Sometime soon, significant polities in the Doab entered into treaties with one another and with

14507-426: The brutal treatment of many Afghans, especially women . During their rule, the Taliban and their allies committed massacres against Afghan civilians, denied UN food supplies to starving civilians and conducted a policy of scorched earth , burning vast areas of fertile land and destroying tens of thousands of homes. After the fall of Kabul to the Taliban, Ahmad Shah Massoud and Abdul Rashid Dostum formed

14670-609: The city be spared in lieu of a negotiated peace treaty. Mahmud rejected the request and sacked Thanesar with an uneventful passage via Shahi territories. However, as a consequence or otherwise, Trilochanapala soon stopped paying the annual tributes to Mahmud and declared war. In November 1013, Mahmud progressed towards Hind to contain Trilochanapala but failed to make it across the snow-laden passes. Taking advantage of this delay, Trilochanapala tasked his son Bhimapala with arranging Shahi troops and went to Kashmir, where he received

14833-471: The city of Peshawar following the Battle of Nowshera . In 1834, Dost Mohammad Khan led numerous campaigns, firstly campaigning to Jalalabad , and then allying with his rival brothers in Kandahar to defeat Shah Shuja Durrani and the British in the Expedition of Shuja ul-Mulk . In 1837, Dost Mohammad Khan attempted to conquer Peshawar and sent a large force under his son Wazir Akbar Khan , leading to

14996-547: The city of Bhimanagar in present day Kangra was named after him. The Rajatarangini states that Bhima's daughter was married to the Lohara dynasty king of Kashmir, and his grand-daughter noted as Didda became the Queen and last ruler of the Utpala dynasty . In the final years of Bhima's reign in c. 962, Alp-Tegin , a rebel Turkish chief of the Samanid Empire , had annexed the regions of Zabulistan and Kabul with

15159-416: The conquered provinces and Mahmud would return to Ghazni. This would be the last military conflict of Anandapala; the next year, Anandapala sent an embassy to Mahmud. The proposal of peace was accepted and in return, Hindu Shahis were to accept tributary status, provide (limited) military support, guarantee passage of troops, and remit an annual tribute. Mahmud sent his own agents to oversee the enforcement of

15322-458: The corrupted remains of a Bactrian legend as Arabic numerals, he proposed that another series of coins bearing the legend 'Samanta' ('Feudatory') were also minted by Kallar. He argued the 'Spalapati' series to have been minted for circulation in Persian regions of his territory and the 'Samanta' series for Sanskrit -speaking regions. and it has been adduced that Kallar may have felt insecure about

15485-607: The country remained dominated by Buddhist culture. Arab Muslims brought Islam to Herat and Zaranj in 642 CE and began spreading eastward; some of the native inhabitants they encountered accepted it while others revolted. Before the arrival of Islam , the region used to be home to various beliefs and cults, often resulting in Syncretism between the dominant religions such as Zoroastrianism , Buddhism or Greco-Buddhism , Ancient Iranian religions , Hinduism , Christianity, and Judaism. An exemplification of

15648-408: The crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia . It is bordered by Pakistan to the east and south , Iran to the west , Turkmenistan to the northwest , Uzbekistan to the north , Tajikistan to the northeast , and China to the northeast and east . Occupying 652,864 square kilometers (252,072 sq mi) of land, the country is predominantly mountainous with plains in the north and

15811-573: The defeat of his brother, Suleiman Mirza. Timur Shah Durrani ascended to the throne in November 1772, having defeated a coalition under Shah Wali Khan and Humayun Mirza. Timur Shah began his reign by consolidating power toward himself and people loyal to him, purging Durrani Sardars and influential tribal leaders in Kabul and Kandahar . One of Timur Shah's reforms was to move the capital of the Durrani Empire from Kandahar to Kabul . Timur Shah fought multiple series of rebellions to consolidate

15974-519: The early eighth/fourteenth century, when it designated the easternmost part of the Kartid realm. This name was later used for certain regions in the Ṣafavid and Mughal empires that were inhabited by Afghans. While based on a state-supporting elite of Abdālī / Durrānī Afghans, the Sadūzāʾī Durrānī polity that came into being in 1160 / 1747 was not called Afghanistan in its own day. The name became

16137-426: The earth was protected... ...The king of that (country) is (now) Jayapaladeva, who, through his body, origin, and birth, has become the sole hero, whose very pure fame, having left heaven, has attained the eternal abode of Brahman.... Bhima's death is chronologically placed within the span of 964 to 965 CE. The Hund Slab Inscription attributes his passing to him 'burning himself through Shivas desire but not through

16300-478: The effects of war in recent decades, the country has dealt with high levels of terrorism, poverty , and child malnutrition. Afghanistan remains among the world's least developed countries , ranking 182nd on the Human Development Index . Afghanistan's gross domestic product (GDP) is $ 81 billion by purchasing power parity and $ 20.1 billion by nominal values. Per capita, its GDP is among

16463-461: The empire, and he also led campaigns into Punjab against the Sikhs like his father, though more successfully. The most prominent example of his battles during this campaign was when he led his forces under Zangi Khan Durrani – with over 18,000 men total of Afghan, Qizilbash, and Mongol cavalrymen – against over 60,000 Sikh men. The Sikhs lost over 30,000 in this battle and staged a Durrani resurgence in

16626-399: The enemy lines repeatedly using light attacks and followed them with an all-out assault, routing the Shahis who had to flee beyond the Indus despite their overwhelming numerical superiority. The entire span of territory up to Peshawar was lost, and Sabuktigin installed his own tax-collectors; local tribes were ordained into Ghaznavid arms too. A ribāṭ was commissioned at Kindi to commemorate

16789-414: The entire Shahi territory to the west of the Indus had submitted to Mahmud. Jayapala was eventually released but Muslim chroniclers differ about the specifics. Unsuri , a court-poet of Mahmud notes that he was sold in the slave market; Minhaj ad-din and al-Malik Isami adds a price of 80 dirhams. Others like al-Ansab note that Mahmud had rejected his request for pardon but allowed him to be free in lieu of

16952-512: The ethnic Pashtun and Baloch territories were divided by the Durand Line , which forms the modern-day border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Shia -dominated Hazarajat and pagan Kafiristan remained politically independent until being conquered by Abdur Rahman Khan in 1891–1896. He was known as the "Iron Amir" for his features and his ruthless methods against tribes. He died in 1901, succeeded by his son, Habibullah Khan . How can

17115-602: The first president of Afghanistan , abolishing the monarchy. In April 1978, the communist People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) seized power in a bloody coup d'état against then-President Mohammed Daoud Khan , in what is called the Saur Revolution . The PDPA declared the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan , with its first leader named as People's Democratic Party General Secretary Nur Muhammad Taraki . This would trigger

17278-543: The first time the country participated since the Taliban's return to power in 2021. Afghanistan had been barred from previous summits due to the lack of global recognition of the Taliban regime. However, the Taliban's environmental officials stressed that climate change is a humanitarian issue, not a political one, and should be addressed regardless of political differences. Afghanistan is located in Southern-Central Asia. The region centered at Afghanistan

17441-582: The formation of an anti-Taliban front with a reported 6,000+ troops in the Panjshir Valley , along with Ahmad Massoud . However, by 6 September, the Taliban had taken control of most of Panjshir province , with resistance fighters retreating to the mountains. Clashes in the valley ceased mid-September. According to the Costs of War Project , 176,000 people were killed in the conflict, including 46,319 civilians, between 2001 and 2021. According to

17604-461: The former, Kalhana's Rajatarangini (1148-1149) is the only extant source. Of the latter, there are Tārīkh al-Hind by Al-Biruni (c. 1030), Tārīkh-i Bayhaqī by Abu'l-Faḍl Bayhaqi (c. late 11th century), Zayn al-Akhbar by Abu Sa'id Gardezi , and Kitab-i Yamini by al-Utbi (c. 1020). The Hindu Shahis issued silver jital coinage which underwent wide circulation from nearby Sindh to northeastern Europe. They were first "discovered" by James Tod ,

17767-474: The goddess of learning and the main Hindu deity of the Sharada Peeth temple. Although originally a script restricted to only Brahmins , Sharda was later spread throughout the larger Hindu population in Northwestern Indian subcontinent, as Hinduism became the dominant religion in the region again. The Bakhshali manuscript uses an early stage of the Sharada script. The Sharada script

17930-490: The governorship of a certain Sukhapala, a neo-convert. However, a couple of years hence, Sukhapala renounced Islam (c. late 1006) and declared rebellion. At this juncture, Anandapala tried to make space for himself by promising to aid Mahmud in containing Turk rebellions at the other side of his empire; apparently, he did not want a ruler who had defeated him, to be defeated by another. It is unknown whether Anandapala's offer

18093-537: The kings of Gandhara were all called " [REDACTED] " (which has been variously read Hajaj , J.haj or Ch'hach ), Elliot transliterated the character to "Hahaj" and Cunningham had it equated to the Janjua tribe/clan , who were held to be descendants of the Rouran Khaganate . Rahman doubts this theory and instead transliterates to "J.haj", an Arabicised form of Chhachh , while the area of Gandhara itself

18256-465: The kings of the north'. Samkaravarman was killed by a stray arrow in Hazara , with scholars stating Lalliya's role in his death. A year later, his successor Gopalavarman re-invaded Shahi territory to depose a rebellious Shahi, and installed Lalliya's son Toramana with the new name of "Kamaluka". Rajat., v, 232-33: As superintendent of the treasury he (Prabhakaradeva, the prime minister of Gopalavarman -

18419-543: The last bastion of the Lawiks. His successor Piri was described as a drunkard whose oppressive rule led the citizens of Ghazna to request the return of Lawik. Lawik mounted yet another expedition with help from the "son of Kabul Shah" and met the Muslim forces in the area of Charkh . Both breathed their last in the war and the Muslim forces imposed an overwhelming victory, despite their numerical inferiority. Sabuktigin became

18582-453: The late 2nd century BCE. The Silk Road appeared during the first century BCE, and Afghanistan flourished with trade, with routes to China, India, Persia, and north to the cities of Bukhara , Samarkand , and Khiva in present-day Uzbekistan. Goods and ideas were exchanged at this center point, such as Chinese silk, Persian silver and Roman gold, while the region of present Afghanistan was mining and trading lapis lazuli stones mainly from

18745-480: The legitimacy of his rule as long as the imprisoned Turk Shahi ruler Lagaturman was alive, and hence affirmed his claim to leadership by such indirect titles. The 'Spalapati' series may also have been minted by the last Turk Shahi rulers instead as 'Pati Dumi', who was defeated by the Abbasid Caliph Al-Ma'mun , is described by Al-Azraqi and Al-Biruni as an 'Ispahbadh' ('Warlord'), equivalent to

18908-518: The lowest of any country as of 2020 . Some scholars suggest that the root name Afghān is derived from the Sanskrit word Aśvakan , which was the name used for ancient inhabitants of the Hindu Kush . Aśvakan literally means "horsemen", "horse breeders", or " cavalrymen " (from aśva , the Sanskrit and Avestan words for "horse"). Historically, the ethnonym Afghān was used to refer to ethnic Pashtuns . The Arabic and Persian form of

19071-491: The loyalty of Mahmud Shah Durrani. Securing his position on the throne, Zaman Shah led three campaigns into Punjab . The first two campaigns captured Lahore , but he retreated due to intel about a possible Qajar invasion. Zaman Shah embarked on his third campaign for Punjab in 1800 to deal with a rebellious Ranjit Singh. However, he was forced to withdraw, and Zaman Shah's reign was ended by Mahmud Shah Durrani. However, just under two years into his reign, Mahmud Shah Durrani

19234-447: The main faceoff, but a swift charge by Mahmud's troops inflicted yet another resounding defeat. Bulandshahr was sacked and two of his wives and daughters imprisoned. He tried to enter into a peace-treaty but in vain, causing him to flee to Vidyadhara. It is not known whether he made it to the camp but Vidyadhara is noted to have deserted his posts by then. In 1021, Trilochanapala, by then a ruler of little significance in all probabilities,

19397-522: The mayhem that followed this tactical blunder, the Shahis were routed and Bhima had to flee. The fortress at Nandana was sacked for war-spoils and a Ghaznavid governor was installed, while Mahmud went searching for Trilochanapala. Trilochanpala, in the meantime, had set up his base with Kashmiri forces on the banks of the Poonch River . An initial round of success against a Ghaznavid reconnaissance party contributed to Tunga's pride and he then mounted

19560-750: The more moderate Parcham . In October 1979, PDPA General Secretary Taraki was assassinated in an internal coup orchestrated by then-prime minister Hafizullah Amin , who became the new general secretary of the People's Democratic Party . The situation in the country deteriorated under Amin, and thousands of people went missing. Displeased with Amin's government, the Soviet Army invaded the country in December 1979, heading for Kabul and killing Amin. A Soviet-organized regime, led by Parcham's Babrak Karmal but inclusive of both factions (Parcham and Khalq), filled

19723-634: The name, Afġān , was first attested in the 10th-century geography book Hudud al-'Alam . The last part of the name, " -stan ", is a Persian suffix meaning "place of". Therefore, "Afghanistan" translates to "land of the Afghans", or "land of the Pashtuns" in a historical sense. According to the third edition of the Encyclopedia of Islam : The name Afghanistan (Afghānistān, land of the Afghans / Pashtuns, afāghina , sing. afghān ) can be traced to

19886-467: The new ruler of Kabul , a de facto puppet of the British. Following an uprising that saw the assassination of Shah Shuja , the 1842 retreat from Kabul of British-Indian forces and the annihilation of Elphinstone 's army, and the punitive expedition of The Battle of Kabul that led to its sacking, the British gave up on their attempts to try to subjugate Afghanistan, allowing Dost Mohammad Khan to return as ruler. Following this, Dost Mohammad pursued

20049-514: The new Amir, leading to Britain gaining control of Afghanistan's foreign relations as part of the Treaty of Gandamak of 1879, making it an official British Protected State . An uprising however, re-started the conflict, and Yaqub Khan was deposed. During this tumultuous period, Abdur Rahman Khan began his rise to power, becoming an eligible candidate to become Amir after he seized much of Northern Afghanistan . Abdur Rahman marched on Kabul , and

20212-531: The next year in 1749 and captured the area around Lahore and Punjab , presenting it as an Afghan victory for this campaign. From 1749 to 1767, Ahmad Shah led six more invasions, the most important being the last; the Third Battle of Panipat created a power vacuum in northern India, halting Maratha expansion. Ahmad Shah Durrani died in October 1772, and a civil war over succession followed, with his named successor, Timur Shah Durrani succeeding him after

20375-532: The nobility of Lahore pleaded on behalf of their old King, who was reinstated as a feudatory after payment of tributes. About a year hence, Bharat's son Chandrak deposed him on the grounds of waging an ill-thought-out campaign against the Shahis, and became the new feudatory. For reasons which are not clear, c. 998-999 (eight years after the usurpation), Jayapala declared war against Lahore on the pretext of protecting his suzerain Bharat and dispatched Anandapala. Chandrak

20538-507: The peace treaty and within a year, normal trade relations had resumed. The death of Anandapala is not recorded in any chronicle; however, it can be ascertained to be c. late 1010 - early 1011. The fate of the son taken back to Ghazni remains unknown. Al-Biruni held that Trilochanapala had a favorable attitude towards Muslim subjects, unlike his father. Trilochanapala did not dishonor Anandapala's treaty, but when Mahmud wished to march towards Thanesar via Hindu Shahi territories, he proposed that

20701-463: The region belonging to the Hodi tribe, and proposed an Odi origin for the Hindu Shahis belonging to Oddiyana , a region in Gandhara . He also pointed to the famous Senvarma inscription as evidence in support and suggested Odi Shahis or Uḍi Śāhis as an accurate name for the dynasty. Meister found Rahman's arguments to be convincing. The Abbasids led by caliph Al-Ma'mun defeated the Kabul branch of

20864-499: The region of Zabulistan . He is additionally noteworthy for coming into conflict with Samkaravarman of the Utpala dynasty , resulting in his victory and the latter's death in Hazara . Bhimadeva, the next notable ruler, is most significant for vanquishing the Samanid Empire in Ghazni and Kabul in response to their conquests. Jayapala then gained control and was brought into conflict with the newly formed Ghaznavid Empire , however, he

21027-515: The resulting Afghan Civil War (1863–1869) and ruled Afghanistan until his death in 1879. In his final years, the British returned to Afghanistan in the Second Anglo-Afghan War to fight perceived Russian influence in the region. Sher Ali retreated to northern Afghanistan, intending to create a resistance there similar to his predecessors, Dost Mohammad Khan, and Wazir Akbar Khan. His untimely death however, saw Yaqub Khan declared

21190-465: The siege of Mashhad , however, he was forced to retreat after four months. In November 1750, he moved to siege Nishapur , but he was unable to capture the city and was forced to retreat in early 1751. Ahmad Shah returned in 1754 ; he captured Tun , and on 23 July, he sieged Mashhad once again. Mashhad had fallen on 2 December, but Shahrokh was reappointed in 1755. He was forced to give up Torshiz , Bakharz , Jam , Khaf , and Turbat-e Haidari to

21353-732: The south of the country) was a center of the Helmand culture . More recent findings established that the Indus Valley Civilization stretched up towards modern-day Afghanistan. An Indus Valley site has been found on the Oxus River at Shortugai in northern Afghanistan. After 2000 BCE successive waves of semi-nomadic people from Central Asia began moving south into Afghanistan; among them were many Indo-European -speaking Indo-Iranians . These tribes later migrated further into South Asia, Western Asia, and toward Europe via

21516-581: The southwest , which are separated by the Hindu Kush mountain range. Kabul is the country's capital and largest city. According to the World Population review, as of 2023 , Afghanistan's population is 43 million. The National Statistics Information Authority of Afghanistan estimated the population to be 32.9 million as of 2020 . Human habitation in Afghanistan dates to the Middle Paleolithic era. Popularly referred to as

21679-545: The successor of Samkaravarman ) plundered the riches of the amorous (queen) and vanquished the Sahi kingdom at Udabhanda. He bestowed the kingdom of the rebellious Sahi upon Toramana, Lilliya's son, and gave him the (new) name Kamaluka. Nothing definite is known about the reign of the Hindu Shahi ruler Kamaluka, except that he was succeeded by his son, Bhimadeva. Concurrent to his reign, the Saffarids rapidly lost their power to

21842-428: The support of foreign donor countries, to improve the country's economy, healthcare, education, transport, and agriculture. ISAF forces also began to train the Afghan National Security Forces . Following 2002, nearly five million Afghans were repatriated. The number of NATO troops present in Afghanistan peaked at 140,000 in 2011, dropping to about 16,000 in 2018. In September 2014 Ashraf Ghani became president after

22005-522: The syncretism in the region would be that people were patrons of Buddhism but still worshipped local Iranian gods such as Ahura Mazda , Lady Nana , Anahita or Mihr (Mithra) and portrayed Greek gods as protectors of Buddha. The Zunbils and Kabul Shahi were first conquered in 870 CE by the Saffarid Muslims of Zaranj. Later, the Samanids extended their Islamic influence south of

22168-415: The terrible enemy', suggesting a ritualistic suicide, and the absence of any noted political setbacks further supports the inference that his death occurred under such circumstances. In c.965 CE Ghazni was recaptured from the Lawik dynasty by Abu Ishaq , the successor of Alp-Tegin, after Bhimas death. Bhimadeva's successors would all have the surname of "Pala", and Muslim sources give hazy indications of

22331-493: The territories lost in his predecessors' conflicts with the Ghaznavids: this brought him into multiple conflicts with Chandar Rai of Sharwa . But the fatal encounter with Mahmud ensured that Trilochanapala had nowhere but the Siwaliks to retreat into and compelled him to enter into a peace treaty, even offering his son to be married to the daughter of Chandar. The offer was accepted but Bhima was imprisoned when he went to bring

22494-687: The territory. During the medieval period, the northwestern area of Afghanistan was referred to by the regional name Khorasan , which was commonly used up to the 19th century among natives to describe their country. In 1709, Mirwais Hotak , a local Ghilzai tribal leader, successfully rebelled against the Safavids . He defeated Gurgin Khan , the Georgian governor of Kandahar under the Safavids, and established his own kingdom. Mirwais died in 1715, and

22657-556: The title Spalapati. Rahman therefore believes that Kallar did not initiate any changes in the currency system of the last Turk Shahis and the Samanta series was minted by succeeding Hindu Shahi rulers. Numismatist and historian Michael Alram 's publications take note of this view; however some scholars attribute the entirety of the bull/horserider coinage, including the Spalapati series, to the Hindu Shahis. Al-Biruni notes that Samanta

22820-454: The treaty and threw the commanders into prison, hoping to force Sabuktigin into exchanging hostages. Sabuktigin refused to believe that the treaty had been breached, but once it was established beyond doubt, he plundered the frontier town of Lamghan : temples were demolished and houses burnt down. In response, Jayapala secured troops from unidentified Rajas, and met with the Ghaznavids near Kindi (modern day Kandibagh ?). The Ghaznavids breached

22983-558: The undisputed leader of the Ghazni region, as he would go on to overthrow Piri. Kabul was lost forever and the foundation stone of the Ghaznavid Empire was cast. In 986–987, Jayapala marched towards Ghazni and met with Sabuktigin 's forces at Ghuzak. The war remained largely inconclusive for days before the tide turned against the Shahis: Jayapala was forced to propose a peace treaty. Mahmud , son of Sabuktigin and

23146-616: The vacuum. Soviet troops in more substantial numbers were deployed to stabilize Afghanistan under Karmal, marking the beginning of the Soviet–Afghan War . Lasting nine years, the war caused the deaths of between 562,000 and 2 million Afghans, and displaced about 6 million people who subsequently fled Afghanistan, mainly to Pakistan and Iran . Heavy air bombardment destroyed many countryside villages, millions of landmines were planted, and some cities such as Herat and Kandahar were also damaged from bombardment. After

23309-553: The victory. However, Peshawar and adjacent regions returned to the Shahis sometime soon, probably during what would be a long interlude in the Ghaznavid-Shahi conflict. Circa 990–991, Mahmud would be imprisoned by his father Sabuktigin on grounds of fomenting a rebellion. Jayapala probably tried to leverage the rift in his favor by promising to rescue Mahmud, marry off his daughter to him, and further, allot sufficient wealth and troops. Mahmud did not respond favorably and noting

23472-460: The west and the Sikh Empire in the east. Fateh Khan , leader of the Barakzai tribe , installed many of his brothers in positions of power throughout the empire. Fateh Khan was brutally murdered in 1818 by Mahmud Shah . As a result, the brothers of Fateh Khan and the Barakzai tribe rebelled, and a civil war brewed. During this turbulent period, Afghanistan fractured into many states, including

23635-469: The world. An important site of early historical activities, many believe that Afghanistan compares to Egypt in the historical value of its archaeological sites. Artifacts typical of the Paleolithic , Mesolithic , Neolithic , Bronze , and Iron Ages have been found in Afghanistan. Urban civilization is believed to have begun as early as 3000 BCE, and the early city of Mundigak (near Kandahar in

23798-446: Was overthrown in 1973 , following which the Republic of Afghanistan was established. Since the late 1970s, Afghanistan's history has been dominated by extensive warfare, including coups, invasions, insurgencies, and civil wars . The conflict began in 1978 when a communist revolution established a socialist state (itself a response to the dictatorship established following a coup d'état in 1973 ), and subsequent infighting prompted

23961-602: Was abolished in 1923. King Amanullah's wife, Queen Soraya , was an important figure during this period in the fight for woman's education and against their oppression. Some of the reforms, such as the abolition of the traditional burqa for women and the opening of co-educational schools, alienated many tribal and religious leaders, leading to the Afghan Civil War (1928–1929) . King Amanullah abdicated in January 1929, and soon after Kabul fell to Saqqawist forces led by Habibullah Kalakani . Mohammed Nadir Shah , Amanullah's cousin, defeated and killed Kalakani in October 1929, and

24124-407: Was accepted but Mahmud stalled his chase of Ilaq Khan and turned his attention to the Shahis; Sukhapala offered negligible resistance before fleeing into Kashmur from where he was captured, fined, and imprisoned to death. It is likely that Anandapala was installed as the next Ghaznavid vassal. C. December 1008, Mahmud mounted an invasion of Hindu Shahis for reasons which are not clear. Anandapala sent

24287-426: Was also the predominant religion; Saura was practised by some subjects, as were Buddhism and Islam . Kabul exported cotton clothing and indigo. Ibn Hawqal mentions the high quality cotton and wool industries during Shahi reign in which exports to China and Khorusan were noted. Silver ore was also smelted in Andarab and mining occurring in the Panjshir region. It is also noted that the Bactrian script during

24450-413: Was ambushed and kidnapped around the battleground of Samutla, and Lahore was annexed by the Shahis. Rahman speculates that the Shahis were trying to balance their losses to the Ghaznavids using any pretext. In 998 CE, Mahmud ascended the Ghaznavid throne at Ghazni, and went on an annexation spree. Soon, Mahmud turned his eyes on the Shahis, allegedly resolving to invade their territories every year. In what

24613-405: Was assassinated by his mutinous Hindu troops for reasons unknown. Bhimapala, who must have escaped the Rais sometime in between, succeeded him and continued to rule until 1026; nothing is known about his rule or territories. Adab al-harb —a manual of state-craft produced during the times of Iltutmish , which contains a host of unique information about the Ghaznavids—note that in 1040, one Sandbal,

24776-463: Was assassinated by two Arab suicide attackers in Panjshir Valley . Around 400,000 Afghans died in internal conflicts between 1990 and 2001. In October 2001, the United States invaded Afghanistan to remove the Taliban from power after they refused to hand over Osama bin Laden , the prime suspect of the September 11 attacks , who was a "guest" of the Taliban and was operating his al-Qaeda network in Afghanistan. The majority of Afghans supported

24939-516: Was called "country of the Rahbūt " (Rājpūt) which is even today the name of the region around the Hindu Shahi capital of Hund . In the 10th century, this region was occupied by the tribe of the Gakhars and Khokhars , who formed a large part of the Hindu Shahi army according to the Persian historian Firishta . Al-Biruni , a contemporary, claimed that the Shahis were Brahmins . However this goes against Masudi's statement, as well as against Kalhana, whose contemporaneous Kshatriyas staked descent from

25102-432: Was declared Amir, being recognized by the British as well. Another uprising by Ayub Khan threatened the British, where rebels confronted and defeated British forces in the Battle of Maiwand . Following up on his victory, Ayub Khan unsuccessfully besieged Kandahar , and his decisive defeat saw the end of the Second Anglo-Afghan War, with Abdur Rahman secured firmly as Amir. In 1893, Abdur Rahman signed an agreement in which

25265-520: Was declared King Nadir Shah. He abandoned the reforms of King Amanullah in favor of a more gradual approach to modernization, but was assassinated in 1933 by Abdul Khaliq . Mohammed Zahir Shah succeeded to the throne and reigned as king from 1933 to 1973. During the tribal revolts of 1944–1947 , King Zahir's reign was challenged by Zadran , Safi , Mangal , and Wazir tribesmen led by Mazrak Zadran , Salemai , and Mirzali Khan , among others – many of whom were Amanullah loyalists . Afghanistan joined

25428-403: Was deposed by his brother Shah Shuja Durrani on 13 July 1803. Shah Shuja attempted to consolidate the Durrani Realm but was deposed by his brother at the Battle of Nimla (1809) . Mahmud Shah Durrani defeated Shah Shuja and forced him to flee, usurping the throne again. His second reign began on 3 May 1809. By the early 19th century, the Afghan empire was under threat from the Persians in

25591-460: Was eventually defeated. During his rule and that of his son and successor, Anandapala, the kingdom of Lahore was conquered. The following Shahi rulers all resisted the Ghaznavids but were ultimately unsuccessful, resulting in the downfall of the empire in 1026 CE. No literature survives from Hindu Shahi courts. Unlike the case of Turk Shahis, only fragmented information can be obtained from chronicles of neighboring powers — Kashmir and Ghaznavi . Of

25754-616: Was facing widespread famine due to an economic and banking crisis. The Taliban have significantly tackled corruption, now being placed as 150th on the corruption watchdog perception index. The Taliban have also reportedly reduced bribery and extortion in public service areas. At the same time, the human rights situation in the country has deteriorated. Following the 2001 invasion, more than 5.7 million refugees returned to Afghanistan; however, in 2021, 2.6 million Afghans remained refugees, primarily in Iran and Pakistan, and another 4 million were internally displaced. In October 2023,

25917-425: Was founded by Kallar in c.  843 CE after overthrowing Lagaturman, the last Turk Shahi king. The history of the Hindu Shahis begins in 843 CE with Kallar deposing the last Turk Shahi ruler, Lagaturman. Samanta succeeded him, and it was during his reign that the region of Kabul was lost to the Persianate Saffarid empire . Lalliya replaced Samanta soon after and re-conquered Kabul whilst also subduing

26080-466: Was succeeded by his brother Abdul Aziz , who was soon killed by Mirwais's son Mahmud for possibly planning to sign a peace with the Safavids. Mahmud led the Afghan army in 1722 to the Persian capital of Isfahan , and captured the city after the Battle of Gulnabad and proclaimed himself King of Persia. The Afghan dynasty was ousted from Persia by Nader Shah after the 1729 Battle of Damghan . In 1738, Nader Shah and his forces captured Kandahar in

26243-422: Was the last battle of his life, Jayapala met with Mahmud in the Battle of Peshawar on 27 September 1001; one Shahi governor of the Bardari province named Adira Afghan is held to have switched sides and aided in the safe and quick passage of Mahmud's troops across Shahi provinces. Mahmud saw through Jayapala's tactics of delaying the conflict in the hope of receiving reinforcements and declared war immediately. Soon,

26406-428: Was the successor of Kallar and may have been his son, but their genealogical relationship is left undescribed. Like in the case of Kallar, there is a total lack of information on his rule or even his actual name and he seems to have replicated the Turk Shahi system of producing no name on their coinage. The Samanta series prototype was followed by all future Hindu Shahi rulers and even the Muslim Ghaznavids, who succeeded

26569-454: Was used in Afghanistan as well as in the Himachal region in India. In Afghanistan, the Kabul Ganesh has a 6th to 8th century Proto-Sharada inscription mentioning the, Turk Shahis , king Khingala of Oddiyana . At the historic temple of Mirkula Devi (also Mrikula Devi) in Lahaul, [Himachal Pradesh], the goddess Mahishamardini has a Sharada inscription of 1569 CE. From the 10th century onwards, regional differences started to appear between

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