Portal:Afghanistan

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The Afghanistan Portal

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Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central 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 35 and 50 million.

Human habitation in Afghanistan dates to the Middle Paleolithic era. The country's land has witnessed numerous military campaigns, including those by the Achaemenids, Alexander the Great, the Maurya Empire, Arab Muslims, the Mongols, the British, the Soviet Union, and a United States-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 Empire in the 18th century under Ahmad Shah Durrani, 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.

The mujahideen won against the Soviets in the Soviet–Afghan War, leading to the Soviets' withdrawal in 1989. The ensuing civil war overthrew the socialist republic and established the Islamic State of Afghanistan through the Peshawar Accord, which could not remain in force and resulted in a second civil war between mujahideen factions in 1992. The Taliban controlled most of the country by 1996, but their Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan received little international recognition before its overthrow in the 2001 US invasion of Afghanistan. The Taliban returned to power in 2021 after capturing Kabul, ending the 2001–2021 war. The Taliban government is widely unrecognized by the international community due to reported violations of human rights in Afghanistan, particularly regarding the treatment of women by the Taliban. (Full article...)

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Tora Bora (Pashto: توره بوړه, "Black Cave") is a cave complex, part of the Spin Ghar (White Mountains) mountain range of eastern Afghanistan. It is situated in the Pachir Aw Agam District of Nangarhar, approximately 50 kilometres (30 miles) west of the Khyber Pass and 10 km (6 mi) north of the border of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. Tora Bora and the surrounding Spin Ghar range had natural caverns formed by streams eating into the limestone, that had later been expanded into a CIA-financed complex built for the Afghan mujahideen. Tora Bora was known to be a stronghold location of mujahideen, used by military forces against the Soviet Union during the 1980s. Osama Bin Laden hid in the Tora Bora caves from approximately 17 November to mid-December 2001. He likely escaped on or around 15–16 December 2001.^{[citation needed]} (Full article...)

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... that St. Martin's Church, Zillis, used ultramarine imported from medieval Afghanistan as a pigment for its painted ceiling?
... that Serge de Beaurecueil, having spent a "wretched childhood" dreaming of journeying to a faraway land, became the only Catholic priest in Afghanistan?
... that a Pakistani teenager had never heard of Islamabad, the capital of his own country, when he was arrested for terrorism in Afghanistan?
... that Polish writer Magdalena Kozak combines military science fiction writing with a career as a parachute-trained paramedic and military officer, with over 300 jumps and service in Afghanistan?
... that the female founder of a dervish group in Afghanistan was forced to flee the country in 2021?
... that the female founder of a dervish group in Afghanistan was forced to flee the country in 2021?

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

Image 1Arachosia, 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 2Kushan territories (full line) and maximum extent of Kushan dominions under Kanishka (dotted line), according to the Rabatak inscription. (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 3Shoppers examining traditional Afghan rugs in a market in Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan. (from Culture of Afghanistan)
Image 4Map of the situation in Afghanistan in August 2001 until October 2001 (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 5King 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)
Image 6Coin 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 7Modern-day sketch work of Mahmud Hotak. (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 8An Afghan boy with a kite (from Culture of Afghanistan)
Image 9Map of the region during the 7th century (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 10Soldiers of the Afghan National Army in 2010, including the ANA Commando Battalion standing in the front.
Image 11NATO's military terminal at Kabul International Airport (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 12Mohammad Zahir Shah in 1963
Image 13Some 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 14Songbirds in cages at a farm in Nangarhar Province, used for the pleasure of the site's farmers (from Culture of Afghanistan)
Image 15Khan Jahan Lodi, a high ranking noble of the Mughal empire, commissioned the first work covering the history of Afghan people, Tarikh-i-Khan-Jahani, which influenced later works on this topic (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 16A 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 17Map 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 18Alexander the Great's Empire in South Asia. (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 19Aramaic 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 20Bronze statuette of Alexander the Great from Bagram, Afghanistan. (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 21Hotak Empire, c. 1728. (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 22The 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 23Typical Afghan food table (from Culture of Afghanistan)
Image 24Map of Afghanistan (Emirate) and surrounding nations, dated 1860. (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 25Kandahar 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 26Afghan President Hamid Karzai speaking before U.S. Congress in June 2004 (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 27Portrait of Ahmad Shah Durrani, c. 1757. (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 28Much of the area corresponding to modern-day Afghanistan was subordinated to the Achaemenid Empire (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 29An Afghan man with a tasbih (from Culture of Afghanistan)
Image 30The day after the Marxist revolution on 28 April 1978 (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 31Map of the situation in Afghanistan in late 1996; Massoud (red), Dostum (green) and Taliban (yellow) territories. (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 32Afghan musicians in Farah, Afghanistan. (from Culture of Afghanistan)
Image 33Women dancing in traditional dress in San Francisco (from Culture of Afghanistan)
Image 34Herat Citadel in the western Afghan city of Herat (from Culture of Afghanistan)
Image 35Mongol invasions and conquests seriously depopulated large areas of Afghanistan (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 36Outside the Presidential Palace in Kabul, a day after the Marxist revolution on 28 April 1978. (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 37Painting of Battle of Damghan, illustrating Persian decisive artillery fire against the Afghans in 1729 (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 38Ethnolinguistic groups in Afghanistan in 1982 (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 39Timurid Empire at its greatest extent in about 1405 CE. (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 40The Sasanian Empire at its greatest extent c. 620 CE, under the king Khosrow II. (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 41Present-day location of Afghanistan in Asia (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 42From left to right: Abdullah Abdullah, John Kerry and Ashraf Ghani during the 2014 Afghan presidential election (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 43Taliban fighters patrolling Kabul in a Humvee, 17 August 2021 (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 44The Mahajanapadas, including the Gandhara and Kambojas kingdoms and Achaemenid Empire in West, around c. 500 BCE (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 45A map of Afghanistan showing the 2021 Taliban offensive (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 46Surrender of the Safavids under Mihrab Khan to the Mughal general Qulij Khan Turani at the Siege of Bost (1638). (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 47Players in a game of buzkashi, the national sport (from Culture of Afghanistan)
Image 48Approximate 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 49Kabul during civil war in 1993 (from History of Afghanistan)
Image 50Map of the Hotak Empire during the Reign of Mirwais Hotak, 1715. (from History of Afghanistan)

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Tulipa gesneriana, the national flower of Afghanistan

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This is a list of recognized content, updated weekly by JL-Bot (talk · contribs) (typically on Saturdays). There is no need to edit the list yourself. If an article is missing from the list, make sure it is tagged (e.g. {{WikiProject Afghanistan}}) or categorized correctly and wait for the next update. See WP:RECOG for configuration options.

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Sher Ali (1825-1879) Amir of Afghanistan, photographed in 1869 by John Burke
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