Afghanistan History

History
Human habitation in Afghanistan dates back to the Middle Paleolithic Era, and the country's strategic location along the Silk Road connected it to the cultures of the Middle East and other parts of Asia. The land has historically been home to various peoples and has witnessed numerous military campaigns, including those by Alexander the Great, Mauryas, Muslim Arabs, Mongols, British, Soviet, and since 2001 by the United States with NATO-allied countries.

The political history of the modern state of Afghanistan began with the Hotak and Durrani dynasties in the 18th century. In the late 19th century, Afghanistan became a buffer state between British India and the Russian Empire. Its border with British India, the Durand Line, was formed in 1893 but it is not recognized by the Afghan government and it has led to strained relations with Pakistan since the latter's independence in 1947.

In the late 1970s, Afghanistan in a series of coups first became a socialist state and then a Soviet Union protectorate. This evoked the Soviet–Afghan War in the 1980s against rebels. By 1996 most of Afghanistan was captured by the fundamentalist Islamic group the Taliban, who ruled most of the country as a totalitarian regime for almost five years. The Taliban were forcibly removed by the NATO-led coalition, and a new democratically-elected government political structure was formed.

Afghanistan is a unitary presidential Islamic republic with a population of 35 million, mostly composed of ethnic Pashtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras and Uzbeks. 

Timeline
1709 - Mirwais Hotak, an influential Afghan tribal chief, gained independence at Kandahar after a successful revolution against the Persian Safavid dynasty. 1722 - Battle of Gulnabad: Led by Mahmud, the Afghan army captured the Safavid capital of Isfahan and Mahmad was declared Shah of Persia. 1725	22 April	Mahmud was murdered by his cousin Ashraf, son of Abdul Aziz, and succeeded him as Shah of Persia.[3] 1729	29 September	Battle of Damghan: Afsharid forces led by Nader Shah defeated Ashraf and his forces. 1738		Nader invaded and destroyed Kandahar, and restored the Abdali ethnic Pashtus to political prominence. 1747	19 June	Ahmad Shah Durrani of the Abdali Pashtun confederacy declared the establishment of an independent Afghanistan, with its capital at Kandahar.[4] 19th century Year	Date	Event 1809		Durrani signed a treaty of alliance with the United Kingdom. 1826		Dost Mohammad Khan took the throne in Kabul, where he proclaimed himself emir. 1837	November	Siege of Herat: A Persian force attempts to capture Herat but are defeated and leave in 1838. 1839	March	First Anglo-Afghan War: A British expeditionary force captured Quetta 1841	November	First Anglo-Afghan War: A mob killed the British envoy to Afghanistan. 1842	January	Massacre of Elphinstone's army: A retreating British With mostly Indian regiment force of sixteen thousand was massacred by the Afghans. 1857		Afghanistan declared war on Persia. Afghan forces re-captured Herat. 1878	January	Second Anglo-Afghan War: Afghanistan refused a British diplomatic mission, provoking a second Anglo-Afghan war. 1879	May	Second Anglo-Afghan War: To prevent British occupation of a large part of the country, the Afghan government ceded much power to the United Kingdom in the Treaty of Gandamak. 1880	22 July	Abdur Rahman Khan was officially recognized as emir of Afghanistan. 1893	12 November	Abdur Rahman and British Raj representative Mortimer Durand signed an agreement establishing the Durand Line. 20th century Year	Date	Event 1901	1 October	Habibullah Khan, son of Abdur Rahman, became emir of Afghanistan. 20 February 1919	Habibullah was assassinated. His son Amanullah Khan declared himself King of Afghanistan. 1919	May	Third Anglo-Afghan War: Amanullah led a surprise attack against the British. 19 August	Afghan Foreign Minister Mahmud Tarzi negotiated the Treaty of Rawalpindi with the British at Rawalpindi. 1922		Solar Hijri calendar officially adopted in Afghanistan.[5] 1929		Amanullah was forced to abdicate in favor of Habibullah Kalakani in the face of a popular uprising. Former General Mohammed Nadir Shah took control of Afghanistan. 1933	8 November	Nadir was assassinated. His son, Mohammed Zahir Shah, was proclaimed King. 1964		A new constitution was ratified which instituted a democratic legislature. 1965	1 January	The Marxist People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) held its first congress. 1973	17 July	Mohammed Daoud Khan declares himself President in a coup against the king, Mohammed Zahir Shah. 1978	27 April	Saur Revolution: Military units loyal to the PDPA assaulted the Afghan Presidential Palace, killing President Mohammed Daoud Khan and his family. 1 May	Saur Revolution: The PDPA installed its leader, Nur Muhammad Taraki, as President of Afghanistan. July	A rebellion against the new Afghan government began with an uprising in Nuristan Province. 5 December	A treaty was signed which permitted deployment of the Soviet military at the Afghan government's request. 1979	14 September	Taraki was murdered by supporters of Prime Minister Hafizullah Amin. 24 December	Soviet–Afghan War: Fearing the collapse of the Amin regime, the Soviet army invaded Afghanistan. 27 December	Operation Storm-333: Soviet troops occupied major governmental, military and media buildings in Kabul, including the Tajbeg Palace, and executed Prime Minister Amin. 1988	14 April	Soviet–Afghan War: The Soviet government signed the Geneva Accords, which included a timetable for withdrawing their armed forces. 1989	15 February	Soviet–Afghan War: The last Soviet troops left the country. 1992	24 April	Civil war in Afghanistan (1989–1992): Afghan political parties signed the Peshawar Accord which created the Islamic State of Afghanistan and proclaimed Sibghatullah Mojaddedi its interim President. Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's Hezbi Islami, with the support of neighboring Pakistan, began a massive bombardment against the Islamic State in the capital Kabul. 28 June	As agreed upon in the Peshawar Accord, Jamiat-e Islami leader Burhanuddin Rabbani took over as President. 1994	August	The Taliban government began to form in a small village between Lashkar Gah and Kandahar. 1995	January	The Taliban, with Pakistani support, initiated a military campaign against the Islamic State of Afghanistan and its capital Kabul. 1995	13 March	Taliban, tortured and killed Abdul Ali Mazari leader of the Hazara people. 1996	26 September	Civil war in Afghanistan (1996–2001): The forces of the Islamic State retreated to northern Afghanistan. 27 September	Civil war in Afghanistan (1996–2001): The Taliban conquered Kabul and declared the establishment of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Former President Mohammad Najibullah, who had been living under United Nations protection in Kabul, was tortured, castrated and executed by Taliban forces. 1998	August	Civil war in Afghanistan (1996–2001): The Taliban captured Mazar-e Sharif, forcing Abdul Rashid Dostum into exile. 20 August	Operation Infinite Reach: Cruise missiles were fired by the United States Navy into four militant training camps in the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. 21st century Year	Date	Event 2001	9 September	Resistance leader Ahmad Shah Massoud was killed in a suicide bomb attack by two Arabs who were disguised as French news reporters. 20 September	After the September 11 attacks in the United States, U.S. President George W. Bush demanded the Taliban government to hand over al-Qaeda head Osama bin Laden and close all terrorist training camps in the country. 21 September	The Taliban refused Bush's ultimatum for lack of evidence connecting bin Laden to 9/11 attacks.[6] 7 October	Operation Enduring Freedom: The United States and the United Kingdom began an aerial bombing campaign against al-Qaeda and the Taliban. 5 December	The United Nations Security Council authorized the creation of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to help maintain security in Afghanistan and assist the Karzai administration.[7] 20 December	International Conference on Afghanistan in Germany: Hamid Karzai chosen as head of the Afghan Interim Administration. 2002	July	2002 loya jirga: Hamid Karzai appointed as President of the Afghan Transitional Administration in Kabul, Afghanistan. 2003	14 December	2003 loya jirga: A 502-delegate loya jirga was held to consider a new Afghan constitution. 2004	9 October	Hamid Karzai was elected President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan after winning the Afghan presidential election. 2005		Taliban insurgency: An insurgency began after a Pakistani decision to station around 80,000 soldiers next to the porous Durand Line border with Afghanistan. 2006	1 March	Bush and wife visited Afghanistan to inaugurate the renovated Embassy of the United States in Kabul. 2007	13 May	Afghanistan–Pakistan Skirmishes: Skirmishes began with Pakistan. 2010		U.S. President Barack Obama sent additional 33,000 U.S. soldiers to Afghanistan, with the total international troops reaching 150,000. 2011		After the death of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, many high-profile Afghan officials were assassinated, including among them were Mohammed Daud Daud, Ahmed Wali Karzai, Jan Mohammad Khan, Ghulam Haider Hamidi, and Burhanuddin Rabbani. 2011		Afghanistan National Front was created by Tajik leader Ahmad Zia Massoud, Hazara leader Mohammad Mohaqiq and Uzbek leader Abdul Rashid Dostum

History Links

 * History World
 * Ancient History
 * History and Culture Forum
 * Pre-Islamic Period
 * History of Afghanistan
 * Brief History of Afghanistan
 * Tribe, Clan, & Ethnic Genealogies of Afghanistan