Afghanistan 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. According to the World Population review, as of 2023[update] Afghanistan's population is 43 million. The National Statistics Information Authority of Afghanistan estimated the population to be 32.9 million as of 2020[update]
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 180th in 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...
Mahendra Pratap , centre, with (left to right) Maulavi Barkatullah , Werner Otto von Hentig , Kazim Bey, and Walter Röhr. Kabul, 1916The Niedermayer–Hentig Expedition Kabul Missiondiplomatic mission to Afghanistan sent by the Central Powers in 1915–1916. The purpose was to encourage Afghanistan to declare full independence from the British Empire , enter World War I on the side of the Central Powers, and attack British India . The expedition was part of the Hindu–German Conspiracy , a series of Indo-German efforts to provoke a nationalist revolution in India. Nominally headed by the exiled Indian prince Raja Mahendra Pratap , the expedition was a joint operation of Germany and Turkey and was led by the German Army officers Oskar Niedermayer and Werner Otto von Hentig . Other participants included members of an Indian nationalist organisation called the Berlin Committee , including Maulavi Barkatullah and Chempakaraman Pillai , while the Turks were represented by Kazim Bey , a close confidante of Enver Pasha .
Britain saw the expedition as a serious threat. Britain and its ally, the Russian Empire , unsuccessfully attempted to intercept it in Persia during the summer of 1915. Britain waged a covert intelligence and diplomatic offensive, including personal interventions by the Viceroy Lord Hardinge and King George V , to maintain Afghan neutrality. (Full article...
The following are images from various Afghanistan-related articles on Wikipedia.
Image 1 Map of Afghanistan 1839–1863, showing the First Anglo-Afghan war, and unification of Afghanistan by Dost Mohammad Khan (from
History of Afghanistan )
Image 2 The
Sasanian Empire at its greatest extent c. 620, under
Khosrow II (from
History of Afghanistan )
Image 3 Timurid Empire at its greatest extent in 1405 (from
History of Afghanistan )
Image 4 Vishnu Nicolo Seal representing
Vishnu with a worshipper (probably
Mihirakula ), 4th–6th century CE. The inscription in cursive
Bactrian reads: "
Mihira ,
Vishnu and
Shiva ".
British Museum . (from
History of Afghanistan )
Image 5 Typical Afghan food table (from
Culture of Afghanistan )
Image 6 Ghaznavid Empire at its greatest extent in 1030 CE (from
History of Afghanistan )
Image 7 Outside the
Presidential Palace in
Kabul , a day after the
Marxist revolution on April 28, 1978. (from
History of Afghanistan )
Image 9 Soldiers of the
Afghan National Army in 2010, including the
ANA Commando Battalion standing in the front.
Image 10 Former Pakistani President
Pervez Musharraf sent more troops against the
United Front of
Ahmad Shah Massoud than the Afghan Taliban. (from
History of Afghanistan )
Image 11 Map of the Hotak Empire during the Reign of
Mirwais Hotak , 1715. (from
History of Afghanistan )
Image 12 Gandhara Buddhist reliquary with content, including
Indo-Parthian coins. 1st century CE.
Image 13 King 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 14 Map of Afghanistan (
Emirate ) and surrounding nations, dated 1860. (from
History of Afghanistan )
Image 15 The
Bimaran casket , representing the
Buddha surrounded by
Brahma (left) and
Śakra (right) was found inside a
stupa with coins of
Azes inside.
British Museum . (from
History of Afghanistan )
Image 16 An Afghan boy with a kite (from
Culture of Afghanistan )
Image 17 Mongol invasions and conquests seriously depopulated large areas of Afghanistan (from
History of Afghanistan )
Image 18 An Afghan man with a
tasbih (from
Culture of Afghanistan )
Image 19 The
Mahajanapadas , including the
Gandhara and
Kambojas kingdoms and
Achaemenid Empire in West, around c. 500 BCE (from
History of Afghanistan )
Image 20 Map 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 21 A map of Afghanistan showing the
2021 Taliban offensive (from
History of Afghanistan )
Image 22 Elements of Afghan culture including:
tabla and
harmonium musical instruments, an
GhaderKooni , teapot, and
sheer pira dessert (from
Culture of Afghanistan )
Image 23 Ethnolinguistic groups in Afghanistan in 1982 (from
History of Afghanistan )
Image 24 Hotaki Empire, 1728 (from
History of Afghanistan )
Image 25 Alexander Empire in South Asia (from
History of Afghanistan )
Image 26 Arachosia ,
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 27 Women dancing in traditional dress in
San Francisco (from
Culture of Afghanistan )
Image 28 Approximate maximum extent of the
Greco-Bactrian kingdom circa 180 BCE, including the regions of
Tapuria and
Traxiane to the West,
Sogdiana and
Ferghana to the north,
Bactria and
Arachosia to the south. (from
History of Afghanistan )
Image 29 Songbirds in cages at a farm in
Nangarhar Province , used for the pleasure of the site's farmers (from
Culture of Afghanistan )
Image 30 Map of the situation in Afghanistan in late 1996;
Massoud (red),
Dostum (green) and
Taliban (yellow) territories. (from
History of Afghanistan )
Image 32 Modern-day sketch work of
Mahmud Hotak (from
History of Afghanistan )
Image 33 Herat Citadel in the western Afghan city of
Herat (from
Culture of Afghanistan )
Image 34 Women painting at the Center for Contemporary Arts Afghanistan (CCAA) in
Kabul . (from
Culture of Afghanistan )
Image 36 Kushan territories (full line) and maximum extent of Kushan dominions under Kanishka (dotted line), according to the Rabatak inscription (from
History of Afghanistan )
Image 37 Taliban fighters patrolling Kabul in a
Humvee , 17 August 2021 (from
History of Afghanistan )
Image 38 A
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 39 Kabul during civil war in 1993 (from
History of Afghanistan )
Image 42 Some 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 43 Map of the region during the 7th century (from
History of Afghanistan )
Image 44 Players in a game of
buzkashi , the national sport (from
Culture of Afghanistan )
Image 45 Map of the situation in Afghanistan in August 2001 until October 2001 (from
History of Afghanistan )
Image 46 Alexander's troops beg to return home from India in plate
3 of 11 by Antonio Tempesta of Florence, 1608. (from
History of Afghanistan )
Image 47 Gandhara Kingdom in
Early Vedic Period , around 1500 BCE (from
History of Afghanistan )
Image 49 Ethno-linguistic map of Afghanistan 1997 (from
History of Afghanistan )
Image 50 Present-day location of Afghanistan in Asia (from
History of Afghanistan )
Image 51 Much of the area corresponding to modern-day Afghanistan was subordinated to the Achaemenid Empire (from
History of Afghanistan )
Image 52 The day after the Marxist revolution on April 28, 1978 (from
History of Afghanistan )
Image 53 Tents 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 )
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