Portal:Afghanistan

The Afghanistan Portal

Flag of Afghanistan

Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at 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 the southwest, which are separated by the Hindu Kush mountain range. Kabul is the country's capital and largest city. Afghanistan's population is estimated to be between 36 and 50 million.

Human habitation in Afghanistan dates to the Middle Paleolithic era. Popularly referred to as 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 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 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 was overthrown in 1973, following which the Republic of Afghanistan was established.

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 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 the lowest of any country as of 2020^[update]. (Full article...)

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The district in the map of Helmand Province

Nāwa-I-Barakzāyi District (Pashto: ناوۀ بارکزائی /Persian: ناوۀ بارکزائی) or Trek Nawa is an administrative district in Helmand Province, Afghanistan located south of the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah along the Helmand River. It is bordered by the districts of Lashkar Gah, Nad Ali, Garmsir, and Rig, as well as the provinces of Nimruz and Kandahar. It falls within the area known as Pashtunistan, (land of the Pashtuns), an area comprising most of southeast Afghanistan and northwest Pakistan. The dominant language is Pashto and many of the 89,000 residents practice the traditional code of Pashtunwali. Nawa-I-Barakzayi's name reflects the dominant Pashtun tribe in the district, the Barakzai. Prior to the 1970s, it was called Shamalan after a small village at the south end of the district.

It is one of the top opium-producing districts in Afghanistan with 6% of Afghanistan's total crop being grown there. This has made the Nawa-i-Barakzayi district a central hub in the opium and heroin trade. The district has also been the scene of heavy fighting during the Helmand province campaign. It was a Taliban stronghold until the summer of 2009, when United States Marines were deployed there as part of Operation Strike of the Sword. In January 2010 ISAF chief Stanley McChrystal and the country's prime minister Hamid Karzai visited the district to assess the ISAF's work in combating the insurgents. Nawa previously fell to the Taliban in early August 2016, but Afghan forces reentered the district center in mid-August, making the district contested. In October 2016, Taliban has seized control of the district and killed the Ahmadshah Salem, the district's chief of police. (Full article...)

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... that artefacts from Ai-Khanoum, a Hellenistic city rediscovered by the King of Afghanistan in 1961, include a "remarkable" disc displaying "hybrid Greek and Oriental imagery"?
... that background research for Dujanah included interviews with Muslim apostates and a Scottish veteran of Afghanistan?
... that the ruined stronghold of Alexandria Ariana, a city founded by Alexander the Great, may lie underneath the citadel of Herat in present-day Afghanistan?
... that University of Nebraska alumnus M. Khalid Roashan helped draft the 1964 Constitution of Afghanistan?

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The following are images from various Afghanistan-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Ethnolinguistic groups in Afghanistan in 1982 (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 2Portrait of Ahmad Shah Durrani, c. 1757. (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 3Tents of Afghan nomads in the northern Badghis Province of Afghanistan. Early peasant farming villages came into existence in Afghanistan about 7,000 years ago. (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 4Approximate maximum extent of the Greco-Bactrian kingdom circa 180 BCE, including the regions of Tapuria and Traxiane in the West, Sogdiana and Ferghana to the North, Bactria and Arachosia to the South. (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 5Map of Afghanistan (Emirate) and surrounding nations, dated 1860. (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 6Aramaic inscription of Laghman is an inscription on a slab of natural rock in the area of Laghmân, Afghanistan, written in Aramaic by the Indian emperor Ashoka about 260 BCE, and often categorized as one of Minor Rock Edicts of Ashoka. (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 7Taliban fighters patrolling Kabul in a Humvee, 17 August 2021 (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 8NATO's military terminal at Kabul International Airport (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 9Ghaznavid Empire at its greatest extent in 1030 CE (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 10From left to right: Abdullah Abdullah, John Kerry and Ashraf Ghani during the 2014 Afghan presidential election (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 11An Afghan boy with a kite (from Culture of Afghanistan)
Image 12A miniature from Padshahnama depicting the surrender of the Shia Safavid garrison of Kandahar in 1638 to the Mughal army of Shah Jahan commanded by Kilij Khan. (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 13Women painting at the Center for Contemporary Arts Afghanistan (CCAA) in Kabul. (from Culture of Afghanistan)
Image 14Map of Afghanistan 1839–1863, showing the First Anglo-Afghan war, and unification of Afghanistan by Dost Mohammad Khan (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 15Map of the Hotak Empire during the Reign of Mirwais Hotak, 1715. (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 16Gandhara Kingdom in Early Vedic Period, around 1500 BCE (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 17Players in a game of buzkashi, the national sport (from Culture of Afghanistan)
Image 18Afghan musicians in Farah, Afghanistan. (from Culture of Afghanistan)
Image 19Ahmad Shah Massoud, fought against the Taliban until his assassination in 2001. (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 20The Bimaran casket, representing the Buddha surrounded by Brahma (left) and Śakra (right) was found inside a stupa with coins of Azes II inside. British Museum. (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 21Much of the area corresponding to modern-day Afghanistan was subordinated to the Achaemenid Empire (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 22Hotak Empire, c. 1728. (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 23Mohammad Zahir Shah in 1963
Image 24Herat Citadel in the western Afghan city of Herat (from Culture of Afghanistan)
Image 25Modern-day sketch work of Mahmud Hotak. (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 26President Hamid Karzai observing the honor guard of the Afghan armed forces during the 2011 Afghan Independence Day. (from Culture of Afghanistan)
Image 27Afghan President Hamid Karzai speaking before U.S. Congress in June 2004 (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 28The Sasanian Empire at its greatest extent c. 620 CE, under the king Khosrow II. (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 29Kushan territories (full line) and maximum extent of Kushan dominions under Kanishka (dotted line), according to the Rabatak inscription. (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 30A letter of the Alchon Hun ruler Mehama, written in the Bactrian language using a cursive Greek script. It says: "Meyam, King of the people of Kadag"; dated to 461–462 CE. (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 31Bronze statuette of Alexander the Great from Bagram, Afghanistan. (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 32A map of Afghanistan showing the 2021 Taliban offensive (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 33Kandahar Greek Edicts of Ashoka is among the Major Rock Edicts of the Indian Emperor Ashoka (reigned 269–233 BCE), which were written in the Greek language and Prakrit language. (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 34Mongol invasions and conquests seriously depopulated large areas of Afghanistan (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 35An Afghan man with a tasbih (from Culture of Afghanistan)
Image 36Elements of Afghan culture including: tabla and harmonium musical instruments, an Afghan carpet, teapot, and sheer pira dessert dessert (from Culture of Afghanistan)
Image 37Soldiers of the Afghan National Army in 2010, including the ANA Commando Battalion standing in the front.
Image 38Alexander the Great's Empire in South Asia. (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 39Timurid Empire at its greatest extent in about 1405 CE. (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 40Outside the Presidential Palace in Kabul, a day after the Marxist revolution on April 28, 1978. (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 41Present-day location of Afghanistan in Asia (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 42Arachosia, Aria and Bactria were the ancient satraps of the Achaemenid Empire that made up most of what is now Afghanistan during 500 BCE. (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 43Songbirds in cages at a farm in Nangarhar Province, used for the pleasure of the site's farmers (from Culture of Afghanistan)
Image 44Ethno-linguistic map of Afghanistan 1997 (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 45Kabul during civil war in 1993 (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 46Map of the situation in Afghanistan in August 2001 until October 2001 (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 47Coin of Indo-Parthian king Abdagases I (c. 46–60 CE), with Greek legend on the obverse, and Kharosthi legend on the reverse. (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 48Map of the region during the 7th century (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 49Some of the popular Afghan dishes, from left to right: 1. Lamb grilled kebab (seekh kabab); 2. Palao and salad; 3. Tandoori chicken; and 4. Mantu (dumplings). The Afghan cuisine includes a blend of Central Asian, Eastern Asian, South Asian and the Middle Eastern cuisines. Nearly all Afghan dishes are non-spicy. (from Culture of Afghanistan)
Image 50Map of Ghurid territory, before the assassination of Muhammad of Ghor. In the west, Ghurid territory extended to Nishapur and Merv, while Ghurid troops reached as far as Gorgan on the shores of the Caspian Sea. Eastward, the Ghurids invaded as far as Bengal. (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 51Approximate maximum extent of the Maurya Empire under Ashoka the Great, around 269–233 BCE, conceptualized as a network of core regios connected by networks of communication and trade, with large areas with peripheral or no Maurya control. (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 52Typical Afghan food table (from Culture of Afghanistan)
Image 53Map of the situation in Afghanistan in late 1996; Massoud (red), Dostum (green) and Taliban (yellow) territories. (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 54The Mahajanapadas, including the Gandhara and Kambojas kingdoms and Achaemenid Empire in West, around c. 500 BCE (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 55Women dancing in traditional dress in San Francisco (from Culture of Afghanistan)
Image 56The day after the Marxist revolution on April 28, 1978 (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 57King Yaqub Khan with Britain's Sir Pierre Louis Napoleon Cavagnari, 26 May 1879, on the occasion of the signing of the Treaty of Gandamak (from History of Afghanistan)

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A view Band-e Amir National Park in the Bamyan Province of Afghanistan

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