Afghanistan History
Afghanistan's history, internal political development, foreign relations, and
very existence as an independent state have largely been determined by its
geographic location at the crossroads of Central, West, and South Asia.
Over the centuries, waves of migrating peoples passed through the region
described by historian Arnold Toynbee as a "roundabout of the ancient
world"--leaving behind a mosaic of ethnic and linguistic groups. The outline
of the Afghanistan History In modern times, as well as in antiquity, will focus
on vast armies of the world passing through Afghanistan, temporarily
establishing local control.
50,000 BC - 20,000 BC Stone Age
Archaeologists have identified evidence of stone age
technology in Aq Kupruk (balkh), and Hazar Sum.
Plant remains at the foothill of the Hindu Kush
mountains indicate, that North Afghanistan was one of
the earliest places to domestic plants and animals.
3000 BC - 2000 BC Bronze Age
It has been indicated the Bronze have been invented in
ancient Afghanistan around this time.
Urbanization and trade grows, making it an important
point between Mesopotamian and other civilizations to
emerge as the present day’s “Crossroads of Asia”.
First true urban centers rise in two main sites in
Afghanistan--Mundigak, and Deh Morasi Ghundai.
Mundigak (near modern day Kandahar)--had an
economic base of wheat, barley, sheep and goats.
Also, evidence indicates that Mudigak could have been
a provincial capital of the Indus valley civilization.
Ancient Afghanistan--crossroads between
Mesopotamia, and other Civilizations.
2000 BC - 1500 BC Aryan Tribes in Aryana Emperor Yama (Ancient
Afghanistan)
The City of Kabul is thought to have been established
during this time.
Rig Veda may have been created in Afghanistan around
this time.
Evidence of early nomadic iron age in Aq Kapruk IV.
728 BC - 550 BC Medes Empire
Deioces, 728BC - 675BC
Phraortes (Kashtariti), 675BC - 653BC
Cyaxares, 625BC - 585BC
Astyages, 585BC - 550BC
628 BC - Zoroaster introduces a new religion in its capital Bactria (Balkh) in
N. Afghanistan.---(Zoroastrianism--Monotheistic religion)
6 BC- 330 BC Achaemenids Empire
Teispes
Cyrus I
Cambyses I (Kambiz) 600 B.C
Cyrus the Great, Start of Achaemenid Empire, 559BC 530BC
Kambiz II, 530BC - 522BC
Darius I the Great, 522BC - 486BC
Xerxes I(Khashyar), 486BC - 465BC
Artaxerxes I , 465BC - 425BC
Xerxes II, 425BC - 424BC (45 days)
Darius II, 423BC - 404BC
Artaxerxes II, 404BC - 359BC
Artaxerxes III, 359BC - 339BC
Arses, 338BC - 336BC
Darius III, 336BC - 330BC
Dariusthe Great expands the Achaemenid empire to
its peak, when it takes most of Afghanistan., including
Aria (Herat), Bactriana(Balk, and present-day Mazar-iShariff), Margiana (Merv), Gandhara (Kabul, Jalalabad
and Peshawar), Sattagydia (Ghazni to the Indus river),
Arachosia (Kandahar, and Quetta), and Drangiana
(Sistan).
The Persianempire was plagued by constant bitter and
bloody tribal revolts from Afghans living in Arachosia
(Kandahar, and Quetta)
329 BC - 326 BC Hellenistic period
Alexander the Great conquering Persia, Afghanistan.
330BC - 323BC
Alexander conquers Afghanistan, but fails to really
subdue its people, but unrest and bloody revolts
become the regime’s hallmarks.
Philip III(Arrhidaeus), 323BC - 317BC
Alexander IV,317BC - 312BC
323 BC - After Alexander's death the region at first was part of the
Seleucid empire. In the north, Bactria became independent, and the south
was acquired by the Maurya dynasty.
Bactria expanded southward but fell (mid-2d cent. B.C.)
to the Parthians and rebellious tribes (notably the Saka).
Buddhismwas introduced from the east by the Yüechi,
who founded the Kushan dynasty (early 2d cent. B.C.).
Their capital was Peshawar.
The city, once called Purushapura, was the capital of
the ancient Greco-Buddhist center of Gandhara.
The Kushans declined (3d cent. A.D.) and were
supplanted by the Sassanids, the Ephthalites, and the
Turkish Tu-Kuie.
312 BC - 260 BC Seleucids Empire
Seleucus I, 312BC - 281BC
Antiochus I Soter, 281BC - 261BC
Seleucus, 280BC - 267BC
256 BC - 130 BC - Graeco-Bactrian state established in northern
Afghanistan Arsacids Empire and Parthian Empire
Arsaces, 238BC - 217BC (or 211BC?)
Artabanus(Ardawan) or Arsaces II, 211BC - 191BC
Priapatius I, 191BC - 176BC
Phraates I, 176BC - 171BC
Phil-Hellenistic period
Mithradates I, 171BC - 138BC
Phraates II, 138BC - 128BC
Artabanus I, 128BC - 123BC
Mithradates II(the Great), 123BC - 87BC
Gotarzes, 90BC - 80BC
Orodes I, 80BC - 77BC
Sanatruces, 77BC - 70BC
Phraates III, 70BC - 57BC
Mithradtes III, 57BC - 55BC
Orodes II, 57BC - 37BC
Phraates IV, 37BC - 2BC
Phraates V, 2BC - AD 4
Orodes III, AD 4 - AD 7
Vonones, AD 7 - AD 11
Anti-Hellenistic Period
Artabanus II, 12 - 38
Gotarzes II, 38 - 51
Vardanes I, 39 - 45
Vonones II, 51
Vologases I, 51 - 78
Vardanes II, 55 - 58
Vologases II, 77 - 80
Artabanus III, 80 - 81
Pacorus, 78 - 105
120 Kushan Empire, under King Kanishka
Graeco-Buddhist Gandharan culture reach its height.
Under the Kushan King, Kanishka, Buddha was first
given a human face and the world's largest Buddhas
(175 feet and 120 feet tall) were carved into the cliff at
Bamiyan. But many gods and goddesses from Greek,
Persian, Central Asian and Hindu cultures were also
worshipped.
225 - 650 Sassanians
Ardashir I, 224 - 241
Shapur I, 241 - 272
Hormizd I, 272 - 273
Bahram I, 273 - 276
Bahram II, 276 - 293
Bahram III, 293
Narses, 293 - 302
Hormizd II, 302 - 309
Shapur II, 309 - 379
Ardashir II, 379 - 383
Shapur III, 383 - 388
Bahram IV, 388 - 399
Yazdegerd I, 399 - 420
Bahram V Gur, 420 - 438
Yazdegerd II, 438 - 457
Hormizd III, 457 - 459
Piruz, 457 - 484
Balash, 484 - 488
Kavadh (Qobad) I, 488 - 496
Tamasb, 496 - 499
Kavadh I, 499 - 531
Khosrow I (Anushirvan), 531 - 579
Hormizd IV, 579 - 590
Khosrow IIParviz, 590
Bahram VI, 590 - 591
Khosrow II Parviz, 591 - 628
Bestam (in Media), 591 - 596
Kavadh (Qobad) II Shiruye (Siroes), 628 - 630
Ardashir III, 628 - 630
Shahrbaraz, 630
Purandokht, 629 - 631
Azarmedukht, 631 - 632
Hormizd V, 631 - 632
Khosrow III, 632 - 633
Yazdegird III, 632 - 651
400 Invasion of the White Huns. They destroy the Buddhist culture, and
leave most of the country in ruins
425 - 550 Independent Yaftalee rule in Afghanistan .Yaftalee Dynasty Established in northern Hindu Kush region of Takhar, this dynasty gains
control over the majority of present day Afghanistan by 425.
530 Persians reassert control over all of what is now Afghanistan.
531 - 579 Khosrow I (Khosrow Anüshirvan), king of Persia
590 - 628 Khosrow II (Khosrow Parviz), king of Persia of the Sassanid, or
Sassanian, dynasty
652 Arabs introduce Islam that was to influence the course of
Afghanistan’s history
650 - 661 Arabs - Orthodox Caliphates
Uthman (Osman), 650 - 656
Ali, 656 - 661
661 - 750 Arabs - Umayyad Caliphate
Mu'awiya I, 661 - 680
Yazid I, 680 - 683
Mu'awiya II, 683 - 684
Marwan I, 684 - 685
Abd-al-Malik, 685 - 705
Al-Walid I, 705 - 715
Suleyman, 715 - 717
Umar II, 717 - 720
Yazid II, 720 - 724
Hisham, 724 - 743
Al-Walid II, 743 - 744
Yazid III, 744
Ibrahim, 744
Marwan II, 744 - 750
750 - 821 Arabs - Abbasid Caliphate
Abu al-Abbas al-Saffah, 750 - 754
Al-Mansur, 754 - 775
Al-Mahdi, 775 - 785
Al-Hadi, 785 - 786
Harun al-Rashid, 786 - 809
Al-Amin, 809 - 813
Al-Mamun, 813 - 833
860 - 960 Samanid (Turkestan)
Nasr I, 864 - 892
Ismail, 892 - 907
Ahmad, 907 - 914
Nasr II, 914 - 942
Nuh I, 942 - 954
Abd al-Malik I, 954 - 961
Mansur I, 961 - 976
962 - 1030 Ghaznavid Dynasty - (Khurasan)
Mahmud, 970 - 1030 The Islamic era begins with
Mohammed Ghazni and Afghanistan becomes the
centre of Islamic power and civilisation. Several shortlived Muslim dynasties were founded, the most powerful
of them having its capital at Ghazna (see Ghazni).
Mahmud of Ghazna, who conquered the lands from
Khorasanin Iran to the Punjab in India early in the 11th
cent., was the greatest of Afghanistan's rulers
Masoud I, 1030 - 1040
1140 - 1215 Ghorid leaders from central Afghanistan capture and burn
Ghazni, then move on to conquer India.
Ghurid Empire Shansabani Dynasty (Afghanistan)
Izz Al-Din Husayn I, 1117 - 1146
Sayf al_Din Suri, 1146 - 1149
Baha al-Din Sam I, 1149
Ala al-Din Husayn II, 1149 - 1161
Say al-Din Muhammad I, 1161 - 1163
Ghiyath al_Din Muhammad II, 1163 - 1203
Mu'izz al-Din Muhammad III, 1203 - 1206
Ghiyath al-Din Mahmud, 1206 - 1210
Baha al-Din Sam II, 1210
Ala al-Din Atsiz, 1210 - 1214
Ala al-Din Muhammad IV, 1215 - 1215
1219 - 1221 Mongol Invasion of Afghanistan by Genghis Khan Empire
Khans (Mongol)
Hülagü Khan, 1256 - 1265
Abagha, 1265 - 1282
Tegüder, 1282 - 1284
Arghun, 1284 - 1291
Gaykhatu, 1291 - 1295
Baydu, 1295
Mahmud Ghazan, 1295 - 1304
Uljaytü, 1304 - 1316
Abu Said, 1317 - 1335
Arpa, 1335 - 1336
Musa, 1336 - 1337
Muhammad, 1336 - 1338
Sati Beg, 1338 - 1339
Jahan Temür, 1339 - 1340
Sulayman, 1339 - 1343
1273 Marco Polo crosses Afghanistan on his voyage from Italy to China to
discover the “Silk Route”. Revolts and battles between smaller kingdoms
mark the next two centurie
1370 - 1404 Timurids and Turkmen Empire
Timurids
Timur, 1393 - 1405
Miranshah (Western Persia), 1405 - 1408
Khalil (Western Persia 1409 - 1411), 1405 - 1409
Shah Rokh Shah, 1409 - 1447
Ulugh Beg, 1447 - 1449
Soltan Abu Said, 1451 - 1469
1414 - 1421 The Sayyids
Khizr Khan (1414-1421)
1451 Lodi dynasty An Afghan by the named Buhlul Khan invades Delhi,
and seizes the throne.
1451-1489: Buhlul Khan Lodi
1489-1517: Sikandar Lodi
1517-1526: Ibrahim
1504-1519 Moghul dynasty Babur shah, takes control of Kabul, Babar
begins to take control of Afghanistan. Babur, a descendant of Timur , used
Kabul as the base for his conquest of India and the establishment of the
Mughal empire in the 16th cent.
1520-1579 Bayazid Roshan (Afghan intellectual) revolts against the power
of the Moghul government. Roshan was killed in a battle with the Moghuls
in 1579--but his struggle for independence continued.
1613-1689 Khushhal Khan Khattak (Afghan warrior-poet) initiates a
national uprising against the foreign Moghul government.
1708 Mir Wais Neka (forerunner of Afghan independence) makes Kandahar
independent of Safavid Persia that had ruled it since 1622. Mir Wais,
considered by some to be the father of Afghan independence, takes over
Kandahar. His son, Mir Mahmud, invades Persia and liberates Herat.
1715-- Mir Wais dies peacefully, and lies in a
mausoleum outside of Kandahar.
1722-- Mir Wais' son, Mir Mahmud, invades Persia and
occupies Isfahan. At the same time, the Durranis revolt,
and terminate the Persian occupation of Herat. The
Durranis revolt to throw out Persians from Herat.
1725 (April 25)--Mir Mahmud is mysteriously killed after
going mad. Afghans start to lose control of Persia.
1736 Persian King Nadir Shah occupies the south-west and later
Kandahar; assassinated in 1747.
the Persian Nadir Shah extended his rule to N of the
Hindu Kush. After his death (1747) his lieutenant,
Ahmad Shah, an Afghan tribal leader, established a
united state covering most of present-day Afghanistan.
His dynasty, the Durrani, gave the Afghans the name
(Durrani) that they themselves frequently use.
1747 Nadir Shah is assassinated, and the Afghans rise
once again. Afghans, under the leadership of Ahmad
Shah Abdali retake Kandahar, and establish modern
Afghanistan.
1747 - 1773 Ahmad Shah Durrani, also known as Ahmad Shah Abdali and
(Ahmad Shah Baba) is the founder of today's Afghanistan. Pir Sabir Shah,
the spiritual guide of the time, showered his praise for the young Ahmad
Shah by declaring him Dar-e-Durran (pearl of the pearls) not because that
he was a military giant but for his humanity a definite quality of a statesman.
The start of the Durrani's Empire.
1773 - 1793 Timur Shah
Relocated the capital of Afghanistan from Kandahar to
Kabul.
1793 - 1800 Zaman Shah
He began to remove prominent Muhammadzai leaders
from positions of power and replacing them with men of
his own lineage, the Sadozai. This upset the delicate
balance of Durrani tribal politics that Ahmad Shah had
established and may have prompted Painda Khan and
other Durrani chiefs to plot against the shah. Painda
Khan and the chiefs of the Nurzai and the Alizai Durrani
clans were executed, as was the chief of the Qizilbash
clan. Painda Khan's son fled to Iran and pledged the
substantial support of his Muhammadzai followers to a
rival claimant to the throne, Zeman's older brother,
Mahmood Shah. The clans who's chiefs Zeman had
executed joined forces with the rebels, and they took
Kandahar without bloodshed.
1800 - 1803 Shah Mahmood
King of Afghanistan (1800 - 03; second time 1810 - 26)
1803 - 1810 Shah Shujah
King of Afghanistan (1803 -10; second time 1839 - 42)
whose alliance with the British led to his death.
1810 - 1826 Shah Mahmood and his brother Zaman Shah struggle for the
throne.
1819-1826 Shaw Mahmood but the reign of the Sadozai
line ended in 1818, and no predominant ruler emerged
until Dost Muhammad became emir in 1826.
1826 - 1839 Dost Mohammad Khan takes Kabul, and establishes control.
During his rule the status of Afghanistan became an international problem,
as Britain and Russia contested for influence in central Asia. Aiming to
control access to the northern approaches to India, the British tried to
replace Dost Muhammad with a former emir, subordinate to them. This
policy caused the first Afghan War (1838–42) between the British and the
Afghans. Dost Muhammad was at first deposed but, after an Afghan revolt in
Kabul, was restored. In 1857, Dost Muhammad signed an alliance with the
British. He died in 1863 and was succeeded, after family fighting, by his third
son, Sher Ali.
King of Afghanistan (1826 - 39; second time 1843 - 63)
1832--1833 Persia moves into Khurasan (province), and
threatens Herat. Afghans defend Herat successfully.
1834-- (May) Afghans lose Peshawar to the Sikhs; later
they crushed the Sikhs under the leadership of Akbar
Khan who defeated the Sikhs near Jamrud, and killed
the great Sikh general Hari Singh. However, they
failed to retake Peshawar due to disunity and bad
judgment on the part of Dost Mohammad Khan.
1836 Dost Mohammad Khan is proclaimed as Amir almu' minin (commander of the faithful). He was well on
the road toward reunifying the whole of Afghanistan
when the British, in collaboration with an ex-king (Shah
Shuja), invade Afghanistan to curtail the growing
Russian and Persian influence.
1839 - 1842 Shah Shuja is installed as a "puppet king" by the British .
First Anglo-Afghan War
After some resistance, Amir Dost Mohammad
Khan surrenders to the British and is deported to
India. (1839-1842)
April 1842--Shah Shuja killed by Afghans.
1842-1844 Akbar Khan (Afghan hero) is victorious against
the British. The ferocity was such that the 16,500- B British
garrison with 12,000 support staff and dependents were wiped
out. Only one survived, of mixed British-Indian garrison,
reaches the fort in Jalalabad, on a stumbling pony.
Mohammad Akbar Khan was a major player in the defeat of
the British army in the first Anglo-Afghan War (1839-1842). He
outsmarted and killed Sir William MacNaughten, a top British
official who highly advocated the invasion and subjugation of
Afghanistan by the British army. Mohammad Akbar was very
ambitous and wanted to regain all the land that was lost by the
Afghans, and rebuild another great empire, similar to Ahmad
Shah Abdali's. However, his father, Dost Mohammad Khan,
who wanted to work with the British, feared his son's rise to
power. Many believed that Amir Dost Mohammad poisoned his
own son at the age of 29. Mohammad Akbar Khan is highly
revered by Afghans today, and is seen as a major historical
hero. A residential area of Kabul is named after him.
By 1843 the nation declares independence, Dost
Khan returns to occupy the throne.
In 1844, Akbar Khan dies.
1843 - 1863 Dost Mohammad Khan comes back and occupies the royal
throne. After the annihilation of British troops, Afghanistan once again
becomes independent.
1859-- British take Baluchistan , and Afghanistan
becomes completely landlocked.
1863 - 1866 Sher Ali Dost Mohammad Khan's son , succeeds to the throne.
King of Afghanistan (1863 - 66; second time 1868 - 79)
o
(1865)--Russia takes Bukhara, Tashkent, and
Samerkand.
1866 - 1867 Mohamad Afzal
Mohammad Afzal occupies Kabul and proclaims
himself Amir.
October, 1867--Mohammad Afzal dies.
1867 - 1868 Mohammad Azam
Mohammad Azam succeeds to the throne
1868--Mohammad Azam flees to Persia
1868 - 1879 Sher Ali reasserts control
1873 Russia establishes a fixed boundary with
Afghanistan and promises to respect its territorial
integrity.
1878-British launch their second war. For the
second time, the Afghans’ spirited resistance
forces them to withdraw. Sher Ali dies.
Mohammad Yaqub Khan takes over but
concedes to the British such key territories as
Khyber and Pischin. The Afghans will never get
back these regions.
1879 - Amir Muhammad Yaqub Khan takes over until October 1879.
Amir Muhammad Yaqub Khan gives up the
following Afghan territories to the British: Kurram,
Khyber, Michni, Pishin, and Sibi. Afghans lose
these territories permanently.
Kabul occupied by British forces
1880 - 1901 Abdur Rahman takes throne of Afghanistan. He was, however,
recognized by the British as emir in 1880, and he supported British interests
against Russia..
Battle of Maiwand
July 1880, Afghan woman named Malalai carries the
Afghan flag forward after the soldiers carrying the flag were
killed by the British. She becomes a hero for her show of
courage and valour.
The British, shortly after the accession of the new
Amir, withdraw from Afghanistan, although they
retain the right to handle Afghanistan's foreign
relations.
Abdur Rahman establishes fixed borders and he
loses a lot of Afghan land.
Nuristan converted to Islam.
1885- Russian forces seize the Panjdeh Oasis, a
piece of Afghan territory north of the Oxus River.
Afghans tried to retake it, but was finally forced
to allow the Russians to keep Panjdeh, and the
Russians promised to honor Afghan territorial
integrity in the future.
1893- The Durand line fixes borders of
Afghanistan with British India, splitting Afghan
tribal areas, leaving half of Afghans in what is
now Pakistan.
1895 Afghanistan's northern border is fixed and
guaranteed by Russia
1901-- Abdur Rahman dies, his son Habibullah
succeeds him.
1907- 1919 Habibullah Khan’s regime.Russia and Great Britain sign the
convention of St. Petersburg, Agreement reached between British and
Russian governments over the territorial integrity of Afghanistan
1919 - 1929 Amanullah Khan (The reform King)
1921--Third Anglo-Afghan war.
1929 - 1930 Habibullah Kalakani (Bachae Saqaw)
1930 - 1933 Nadir Khan takes the throne; his tribal army loots government
buildings and houses of wealthy citizens because the treasury was empty.
Habibullah Kalakani, along with his supporters, and a few supporters of
Amanullah Khan are killed by Nadir Khan. Now Nadir Khan establishes full
control.
1933-- Nadir Khan was assassinated by a High
School student whos father served Amanullah
Khan and was killed by Nadir Khan.
Zahir Shaw, at the age of 19 inherits the throne,
even though he did not want to take the throne.
He rules until 1973. Zahir Shah's uncles serve
as prime ministers and advisors until 1953.
Mahmud Tarzi dies in Turkey at the age of 68
with a heart full of sorrow and despair toward his
country.
1940 - 1973 Zahir Shah proclaims Afghanistan as neutral during WW2
1949-- Afghanistan's Parliament denounces the
Durand Treaty and refuses to recognize the
Durand line as a legal boundary between
Pakistan and Afghanistan. Pashtuns in
Pashtunistan (Occupied Afghan Land) proclaim
an independent Pashtunistan, but their
proclamation goes unacknowledged by the world
community.
1973-- July 17th: Zahir Shah is in Europe, when
his government is overthrown in a military coup
headed by Daoud Khan his cousin.
1973 - 1978 Daoud Khan abolishes the monarchy, declares himself
President. The Republic of Afghanistan is established.
1978-- Bloody Communist coup: Daoud is killed
1978 - 1979 Taraki is named President,
June--Afghan guerrilla (Mujahideen) movement is
born.
1979--Taraki is killed
1979 - Hafizullah Amin takes the Presidency.
Mass killings of Afghans
US ambassador killed
1979 --Amin is executed
1979 - 1986 Babrak Karmal replaceing Amin
1979 Soviet Union (Russia) invade in December.
Babrak Karmal is replaced by Dr. Najibullah.
1986 - 1992 Dr. Najibullah replaceing Karmal
1987-- Najibullah proposes ceasefire, but the
Mujahideen refuse to deal with a "puppet
government".
1988--1989 Peace accords signed in Geneva .
Soviet Union defeated by Afghanistan, total
withdrawal by the Soviets occurred on Feb. 15,
1989.
The Geneva Accords and Their Aftermath
1992 April 15 The Mujahideen take Kabul and liberate Afghanistan,
Najibullah is protected by UN.
The Mujahideen form an Islamic State--Islamic
Jihad Council--elections.
Professor Burhannudin Rabbani takes power.
Through 1993, Hekmatyar's Hezb-i-Islami forces,
allied with the Shi'a Hezb-i-Wahdat militia,
clashed intermittently with Rabbani and Masood's
Jamiat forces. Dostam switched sides,
precipitating largescale fighting in Kabul and in
northern provinces.
1994-The Talibanmilitia are born, and advance
rapidly against the Islamic government. Dostum
and Hekmatyar continued to clash against
Rabbani and Masood's government, and as a
result Kabul is reduced to rubble.
1996 - 2001 Mullah Omar Taliban militia force President Rabbani and his
government out of Kabul. After the capture of Kabul, the Taliban executed
Najibullah.
2001 - Dec. 5 Hamid Karzai interim Afghan government