Afghanistan is a country that has been the sphere of interests of the most important players in world politics for more than 200 years. Its name is firmly entrenched in the list of the most dangerous hot spots on our planet. However, only a few know the history of Afghanistan, which is briefly described in this article. In addition, its people over several millennia have created a rich culture close to the Persian one, which is currently in decline due to the constant political and economic instability, as well as the terrorist activities of radical Islamist organizations.
History of Afghanistan since ancient times
The first people appeared on the territory of this country about 5000 years ago. Most researchers even believe that it was there that the first settled rural communities in the world arose. In addition, it is assumed that Zoroastrianism appeared on modern Afghanistan between 1800 and 800 BC, and the founder of one of the oldest religions spent the last years of his life and died in Balkh.
In the middle of the 6th century BC e. The Achaemenids included these lands in the Persian Empire. However, after 330 BC e. she was captured by the army of Alexander the Great. Afghanistan was part of its state until the collapse, and then became part of the Seleucid Empire, which planted Buddhism there. Then the region fell under the rule of the Greco-Bactrian kingdom. By the end of the 2nd century AD e. Indo-Greeks defeated the Scythians, and in the first century BC. e. Parthian Empire conquered Afghanistan.
Middle Ages
In the 6th century, the territory of the country became part of the Sassanid Empire, and later the Samanids. Then Afghanistan, whose history did not know much of the long peace periods, survived the Arab invasion, which ended at the end of the 8th century.
In the next 9 centuries, the country often changed hands, until in the 14th century it became part of the Timurid empire. During this period, Herat became the second center of this state. After 2 centuries, the last representative of the Timurid dynasty - Babur - founded an empire with a center in Kabul and began to make campaigns in India. Soon he moved to India, and the territory of Afghanistan became part of the Safavid country.
The decline of this state in the 18th century led to the formation of feudal khanates and an uprising against Iran. In the same period, the Principality of Gilzey was formed with the capital in the city of Kandahar, defeated in 1737 by the Persian army of Nadir Shah.
Durrani Power
Oddly enough, Afghanistan (the history of the country in antiquity is already known to you) acquired independent statehood only in 1747, when Ahmad Shah Durrani founded a kingdom with a capital in Kandahar. Under his son Timur Shah, Kabul was proclaimed the main city of the state, and by the beginning of the 19th century, Shah Mahmud began to rule the country.
British colonial expansion
The history of Afghanistan from ancient times to the beginning of the 19th century is fraught with many mysteries, since many of its pages are studied relatively poorly. The same cannot be said about the period after the invasion of Anglo-Indian troops on its territory. The “new masters” of Afghanistan loved order and carefully documented all events. In particular, from the surviving documents, as well as from letters from British soldiers and officers, their families know the details of not only the battles and uprisings of the local population, but also their way of life and traditions.
So, the story of the war in Afghanistan waged by the Anglo-Indian troops began in 1838. A few months later, the 12,000-strong group of the British armed forces stormed Kandahar, and a little later Kabul. The emir avoided a collision with a superior opponent and went into the mountains. However, its representatives constantly visited the capital, and in 1841 unrest among the local population began in Kabul. The British command decided to retreat to India, but on the way the army was killed by Afghan partisans. A brutal punitive raid followed in response.
First Anglo-Afghan War
The reason for the outbreak of hostilities on the part of the British Empire was the sending by the Russian government in 1837 of Lieutenant Vitkevich to Kabul. There he was supposed to be as a resident under the seized power in the Afghan capital, Dost Mohammed. The latter, at that time, had fought for more than 10 years with his closest relative, Shuja Shah, supported by London. The British regarded Vitkevich’s mission as Russia's intention to gain a foothold in Afghanistan in order to infiltrate India in the future.
In January 1839, the British army of 12 thousand troops and 38 thousand servants, 30,000 camels, crossed the Bolan pass. On April 25, she managed to take Kandahar without a fight and launch an attack on Kabul.
Serious resistance to the British was provided only by the Ghazni fortress, however, it was also forced to surrender. The path to Kabul was opened, and the city fell on August 7, 1839. On the throne, with the support of the British, the emir of Shuja Shah reigned, and the emir Dost Muhammad fled to the mountains with a small group of soldiers.
The rule of the British protege did not last long, as local feudal lords organized unrest and began to attack the invaders in all areas of the country.
At the beginning of 1842, the British and Indians agreed with them to open a corridor through which they could retreat to India. However, at Jalalabad, the Afghans attacked the British, and out of 16,000 fighters, only one was saved.
In response, punitive expeditions followed, and after the suppression of the uprising, the British entered into negotiations with Dost-Mohammed, persuading him to abandon rapprochement with Russia. A peace treaty was later signed.
Second Anglo-Afghan War
The situation in the country remained relatively stable until the Russo-Turkish War began in 1877. Afghanistan, whose history is a long list of armed conflicts, once again finds itself between two fires. The fact is that when London expressed dissatisfaction with the success of the Russian troops, quickly moving towards Istanbul, Petersburg decided to play the Indian card. For this purpose, a mission was sent to Kabul, which was received with honors by the emir Sher Ali Khan. On the advice of Russian diplomats, the latter refused to let the British embassy enter the country. This was the reason for the entry of British troops into Afghanistan. They occupied the capital and forced the new emir Yakub Khan to sign an agreement according to which his state had no right to conduct foreign policy without the mediation of the British government.
In 1880, Abdurrahman Khan became the emir. He made an attempt to enter into armed conflict with Russian troops in Turkestan, but was defeated in March 1885 in the Kushki region. As a result, London and St. Petersburg jointly determined the borders in which Afghanistan (history in the 20th century is presented below) still exists.
Independence from the British Empire
In 1919, as a result of the assassination of Emir Khabibullah Khan and a coup d'état, Amanullah Khan appeared on the throne, proclaiming the country's independence from Great Britain and declaring jihad against it. He carried out mobilization, and the 12,000-strong army of regular fighters, supported by the 100-thousand army of nomad partisans, moved to India.
The history of the war in Afghanistan launched by the British in order to maintain its influence also contains a reference to the first massive air raid in the history of this country. The British Air Force was attacked by Kabul. As a result of the panic that arose among the residents of the capital, and after several lost battles, Amanullah Khan asked for peace.
In August 1919, a peace treaty was signed. According to this document, the country received the right to foreign relations, but was deprived of an annual British subsidy of £ 60,000, which until 1919 amounted to about half of Afghanistan's budget revenues.
Kingdom
In 1929, Amanullah Khan, who was going to begin fundamental reforms after a trip to Europe and the USSR, was overthrown as a result of the uprising of Habibullah Kalakani, nicknamed Bachai Sakao (Son of the Water-carrier). The attempt to return the former emir to the throne, supported by the Soviet troops, was not successful. This was used by the British, who overthrew Bachai Sakao and seated on the throne of Nadir Khan. With his accession, Afghan modern history began. The monarchy in Afghanistan began to be called royal, and the emirate was abolished.
In 1933, Nadir Khan, who was killed by a cadet during a parade in Kabul, was succeeded by his son Zahir Shah. He was a reformer and was considered one of the most enlightened and progressive Asian monarchs of his time.
In 1964, Zahir Shah issued a new constitution, which was aimed at democratizing Afghanistan and eliminating discrimination against women. As a result, the radical clergy began to express discontent and actively engage in destabilizing the situation in the country.
Dictatorship of Daud
As the history of Afghanistan says, the 20th century (the period from 1933 to 1973) was truly golden for the state, since industry appeared in the country, good roads, the education system was modernized, a university was founded, hospitals were built, etc. However, in the 40th year after his accession to the throne, Zahir Shah was overthrown by a cousin - Prince Mohammed Daoud, who proclaimed Afghanistan a republic. After that, the country became an arena of confrontation between various groups that expressed the interests of Pashtuns, Uzbeks, Tajiks and Hazaras, as well as other ethnic communities. In addition, radical Islamic forces entered the confrontation. In 1975, they revolted over the provinces of Paktia, Badakhshan and Nangarhar. However, the government of dictator Daoud with difficulty, but managed to suppress it.
At the same time, representatives of the People's Democratic Party of the country (PDPA) also sought to destabilize the situation. However, she had significant support in the Afghan Armed Forces.
DRA
The history of Afghanistan (20th century) experienced another turning point in 1978. April 27 there was a revolution. After coming to power by Nur Mohammad, Taraki Muhammad Daoud and all members of his family were killed. Hafizullah Amin and Babrak Karmal were in the top leadership posts.
Background to the entry into Afghanistan of a limited contingent of Soviet troops
The policy of the new authorities to eliminate the backlog of the country met the resistance of the Islamists, which grew into a civil war. Unable to cope with the situation on its own, the Afghan government repeatedly appealed to the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee with a request to provide military assistance. However, the Soviet authorities abstained, as they foresaw the negative consequences of such a move. At the same time, they strengthened the protection of the state border in the Afghan sector and increased the number of military advisers in the neighboring country. At the same time, the KGB constantly received intelligence that the US was actively financing anti-government forces.
The killing of Taraki
The history of Afghanistan (20th century) contains information about several political killings in order to seize power. One of these events took place in September 1979, when the leader of the PDPA Taraki was arrested and executed by order of Hafizullah Amin. Under the new dictator, terror unfolded in the country, affecting the army, in which rebellion and desertion became commonplace. Since the CC were the main support of the PDPA, the Soviet government saw in this situation the threat of its overthrow and the coming to power of forces hostile to the USSR. In addition, it became known that Amin has secret contacts with American emissaries.
As a result, it was decided to develop an operation to overthrow him and replace him with a leader more loyal to the USSR. The main candidate for this role was Babrak Karmal.
History of the Afghanistan War (1979-1989): preparation
Preparations for the coup in the neighboring state began in December 1979, when the specially created Muslim Battalion was deployed to Afghanistan. The history of this unit is still a mystery to many. It is only known that he was staffed by GRU employees from the Central Asian republics, who were well aware of the traditions of the peoples living in Afghanistan, their language and way of life.
The decision to send troops was taken in mid-December 1979 at a meeting of the Politburo. Only A. Kosygin did not support him, because of which he had a serious conflict with Brezhnev.
The operation began on December 25, 1979, when the 781st separate reconnaissance battalion 108 MSD entered the territory of the DRA. Then began the transfer of other Soviet military units. By the middle of the day on December 27, they completely controlled Kabul, and in the evening began to storm the Amin’s palace. It lasted only 40 minutes, and after its completion it became known that most of those who were there, including the country's leader, were killed.
A brief chronology of events from 1980 to 1989
Real stories about the war in Afghanistan are stories about the heroism of soldiers and officers who did not always understand for the sake of whom and what they were forced to risk their lives. Briefly, the chronology is as follows:
- March 1980 - April 1985. The conduct of hostilities, including large-scale, as well as work on the reorganization of the DRA armed forces.
- April 1985 - January 1987. Support for Afghan troops by the Air Force aviation, combat engineer units and artillery, as well as an active struggle to curb the supply of arms from abroad.
- January 1987 - February 1989. Participation in national reconciliation policies.
By the beginning of 1988, it became clear that the presence of the Soviet armed forces in the DRA was not practical. We can assume that the history of the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan began on February 8, 1988, when at a meeting of the Politburo the question was raised about choosing a date for this operation.
She became May 15th. However, the last unit of the SA left Kabul on February 4, 1989, and the withdrawal of troops ended February 15 at the crossing of the state border, Lieutenant General B. Gromov.
In the 90s
Afghanistan, whose history and prospects for peaceful development in the future are rather vague, has plunged into the abyss of a brutal civil war in the last decade of the 20th century.
In late February 1989, in Peshawar, the Afghan opposition elected the leader of the Alliance of Seven, S. Mujaddy, as the head of the Transitional Mujahideen Government, and launched military operations against the pro-Soviet regime.
In April 1992, opposition groups captured Kabul, and the next day its leader, in the presence of foreign diplomats, was proclaimed president of the Islamic State of Afghanistan. The history of the country after this “inauguration” made a sharp turn towards radicalism. One of the first decrees signed by S. Mujadddi declared all laws that contradicted Islam to be invalid.
In the same year, he transferred power to the Burhanuddin Rabbani group. This decision caused ethnic strife, during which field commanders destroyed each other. Soon, the authority of Rabbani was so weak that his government ceased to carry out any activities in the country.
At the end of September 1996, the Taliban captured Kabul, captured the ousted president Najibullah and his brother, who were hiding in the UN mission building, and publicly executed by hanging on one of the squares of the Afghan capital.
A few days later, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan was proclaimed, announced the creation of an Interim Governing Council, consisting of 6 members, headed by Mullah Omar. Having come to power, the Taliban to some extent stabilized the situation in the country. However, they had many opponents.
On October 9, 1996, one of the main opposition leaders, Dostum, met with Rabbani in the vicinity of Mazar-i-Sharif. Ahmad Shah Masoud and Karim Khalili joined them. As a result, the Supreme Council was established and efforts were joined to jointly combat the Taliban. The group was called the Northern Alliance. She managed to form an independent in northern Afghanistan during 1996-2001. state.
After the invasion of international forces
The history of modern Afghanistan has received a new development after the famous terrorist attack of September 11, 2001. The United States used it as an excuse to invade this country, declaring its overthrow to overthrow the Taliban regime that harbored Osama bin Laden. On October 7, the territory of Afghanistan was subjected to massive air strikes, weakening the Taliban. In December, a council of elders of Afghan tribes was convened, which was headed by future (since 2004) President Hamid Karzai.
At the same time, NATO completed the occupation of Afghanistan, and the Taliban switched to guerrilla warfare. From this time to this day, terrorist attacks in the country have not stopped. In addition, every day it turns into a huge plantation for growing opium poppy. Suffice it to say that, according to conservative estimates, about 1 million people in this country are addicted to drugs.
At the same time, the unknown stories of Afghanistan presented without retouching were a shock to Europeans or Americans, including due to cases of aggression by NATO soldiers against civilians. Perhaps this circumstance is due to the fact that the war is already tired of everything. Confirmation of these words is the decision of Barack Obama on the withdrawal of troops. However, it has not yet been implemented, and now the Afghans are hoping that the new US president will not change plans, and that the foreign military will finally leave the country.
Now you know the oldest and most recent history of Afghanistan. Today this country is going through hard times, and one can only hope that peace will finally come to its land.