Afghanistan History

The geographical location of the country as well as the ambitions of the countries which surround it have largely shaped the turbulent history of Afghanistan, which continues until today. The country is bordered on the northeast by China, on the east and south by Pakistan, on the west by Iran and on the north by Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan.  Bear in mind that prior to 1991, the last three countries were part of the Soviet Union which collapsed in that year.

Some archaeological evidence has been found of stone age and bronze age implements in various parts of Afghanistan such as Hazar Sum.  The first urban center probably arose near Kandahar between 3000 and 2000 BC and Kabul was thought to be established around 2000 BC.

Around 600 BC, Zoroaster introduced the religion in Balkh which bears his name.   Between 522 BC and 486 BC, the Persians took most of Afghanistan.  Constant revolts by the Afghans made Persian rule there difficult.  Next came Alexander the Great in 329 BC, after he conquered Persia; but the local people also did not submit entirely to his rule.

For the next few centuries from 150 BC, Afghanistan was fragmented into various kingdoms until 550 AD when the Persians returned to conquer the entire country.  Islamic conquerors arrived in the 7th century, and Genghis Khan and Tamur Lane followed in the 13th and 14th centuries. From 15th century, Afghans, Moghuls and Persians took turns to invade and conquer each other.

In the 19th century, Afghanistan became a pawn in the rivalry between Britain and Russia for control of Central Asia. Three Anglo-Afghan wars followed, with the British ending in defeat in the 1839-1842 war, in victory in the 1878-1880 war, and in some kind of a draw in 1919.   In that same year, Britain granted independence to Afghanistan and a form of constitutional monarchy was established but it was not stable. Starting from about 1953, Soviet influence began to grow, culminating in its invasion of the country in 1979, its defeat in 1989, subsequent civil war, the rise of the Talibans and their collapse in 2003, and the chaos which has lasted until now.
 
During the occupation of Afghanistan by the Soviets in the 1970s and 1980s, a team led by a Soviet archaeologist unearth an enormous amount of gold coins, gold ornaments and gold jewelry in a royal burial ground in the site of ancient Bactria in the north of the country (now the province of Balkh ).  Bactria was a region conquered by Alexander the Great on his way to India in 326 BC and was left to his successors upon his death in 323 BC.  The treasures unearthed during the Soviet occupation survived the war between the Soviets and the Afghan resistance movement, and the occupation by the Telebans; they are now in the custody of the Central Bank of Afghanistan.