Afghanistan Genealogy

Guide to Afghanistan ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

History
Afghanistan (/æfˈɡænɪstæn, æfˈɡɑːnɪstɑːn/ (About this sound listen); Pashto/Dari: افغانستان‬, Pashto: Afġānistān [avɣɒnisˈtɒn, ab-],[10] Dari: Afġānestān [avɣɒnesˈtɒn]), officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located within South Asia. Afghanistan is bordered by Pakistan in the south and east; Iran in the west; Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan in the north; and in the far northeast, China. Its territory covers 652,000 square kilometers or 252,000 sq miles and much of it is covered by the Hindu Kush mountain range, which experience very cold winters. The north consists of fertile plains, whilst the south-west consists of deserts where temperatures can get very hot in summers. Kabul serves as the capital and its largest city.

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, and since 2001 by the United States with NATO-allied countries. It has been called unconquerable and nicknamed the graveyard of empires. The land also served as the source from which the Kushans, Hephthalites, Samanids, Saffarids, Ghaznavids, Ghorids, Khaljis, Mughals, Hotaks, Durranis, and others have risen to form major empires.

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 in 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. Following the Third Anglo-Afghan War in 1919 the country was free of foreign influence, eventually becoming a monarchy under King Amanullah, and later for 40 years under Zahir Shah. It was 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. The country fares much worse in terms of per-capita ranking 167th out of 186 countries in a 2016 report from the International Monetary Fund. 

Timeline
1709	21 April	Mirwais Hotak, an influential Afghan tribal chief, gained independence at Kandahar after a successful revolution against the Persian Safavid dynasty. 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. 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. 1839	March	First Anglo-Afghan War: A British expeditionary force captured Quetta 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. 1919	May	Third Anglo-Afghan War: Amanullah led a surprise attack against the British. 1922		Solar Hijri calendar officially adopted in Afghanistan. 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. 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. 1978	27 April	Saur Revolution: Military units loyal to the PDPA assaulted the Afghan Presidential Palace, killing President Mohammed Daoud Khan and his family. 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. 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. 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. 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 executed. 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. 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. 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. 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. 2007	13 May	Afghanistan–Pakistan Skirmishes: Skirmishes began with Pakistan. 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

Afghanistan Map
Genealogy records are kept on the local level in Afghanistan.

Provinces
Genealogy records are kept on the local level in Afghanistan. Afghanistan is administratively divided into thirty-four (34) provinces (welayats):

FamilySearch Resources
Below are FamilySearch resources that can assist you in researching your family.
 * Facebook Communities - Facebook groups discussing genealogy research