Why Afghanistan Is Impossible to Conquer

Why is Afghanistan so Strategic?

Afghanistan's history is marked by its strategic location along the Silk Road, making it a crossroads of various civilizations. Early human habitation dates back to the Middle Paleolithic era. It has been influenced by <a href="https://history-maps.com/story/History-of-Iran" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Persian</a>, Indian, and Central Asian cultures, and has been a center for <a href="https://history-maps.com/story/History-of-Buddhism" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Buddhism</a>, <a href="https://history-maps.com/story/History-of-Hinduism" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Hinduism</a>, Zoroastrianism, and Islam through different eras. The Durrani Empire is considered to be the foundational polity of the modern nation-state of Afghanistan, with Ahmad Shah Durrani being credited as its Father of the Nation. However, Dost Mohammad Khan is sometimes considered to be the founder of the first modern Afghan state. Following the Durrani Empire's decline and the death of Ahmad Shah Durrani and Timur Shah, it was divided into multiple smaller independent kingdoms, including but not limited to Herat, Kandahar and Kabul. Afghanistan would be reunited in the 19th century after seven decades of civil war from 1793 to 1863, with wars of unification led by Dost Mohammad Khan from 1823 to 1863, where he conquered the independent principalities of Afghanistan under the Emirate of Kabul. Dost Mohammad died in 1863, days after his last campaign to unite Afghanistan, and Afghanistan was consequently thrown back into civil war with fighting amongst his successors. During this time, Afghanistan became a buffer state in the Great Game between the <a href="https://history-maps.com/story/History-of-England" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">British Raj</a> in South Asia and the <a href="https://history-maps.com/story/Russian-Empire" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Russian Empire</a>. The British Raj attempted to subjugate Afghanistan but was repelled in the <a href="https://history-maps.com/story/First-Anglo-Afghan-War" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">First Anglo-Afghan War</a>. However, the Second Anglo-Afghan War saw a British victory and the successful establishment of British political influence over Afghanistan. Following the Third Anglo-Afghan War in 1919, Afghanistan became free of foreign political hegemony, and emerged as the independent Kingdom of Afghanistan in June 1926 under Amanullah Khan. This monarchy lasted almost half a century, until Zahir Shah was overthrown in 1973, following which the Republic of Afghanistan was established. Since the late 1970s, Afghanistan's history has been dominated by extensive warfare, including coups, invasions, insurgencies, and civil wars. The conflict began in 1978 when a communist revolution established a socialist state, and subsequent infighting prompted the <a href="https://history-maps.com/story/History-of-the-Soviet-Union" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Soviet Union</a> to invade Afghanistan in 1979. Mujahideen fought against the Soviets in the Soviet–Afghan War and continued fighting amongst themselves following the Soviets' withdrawal in 1989. The Islamic fundamentalist 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 and overthrowing the government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, thus bringing an end to the 2001–2021 war. Although initially claiming it would form an inclusive government for the country, in September 2021 the Taliban re-established the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan with an interim government made up entirely of Taliban members. The Taliban government remains internationally unrecognized.

Visual Timelines

History of Afghanistan Timeline

History of Afghanistan Timeline

Helmand Culture

Oxus Civilization

Ancient Period of Afghanistan

Gandhara Kingdom

Medes Era in Afghanistan

Achaemenid Empire in Afghanistan

Macedonian Invasion & Seleucid Empire in Bactria

Greco-Bactrian Kingdom

Classical Period of Afghanistan

Indo-Greek Kingdom

Indo-Scythians in Afghanistan

Yuezhi Nomadic Invasion of Bactria

Indo-Parthian Suren Kingdom

Kushan Empire

Kushano-Sasanian Kingdom

Sasanian Era in Afghanistan

Kidarites

Hephthalite Empire

Middle Ages in Afghanistan

Muslim Conquests of Afghanistan

Turk Shahis

Samanid Empire

Saffarid Rule

Ghaznavid Empire

Khwarazmian Empire

Ghurid Empire

Mongol Invasion of the Khwarazmian Empire

Chagatai Khanate

Timurid Empire

16th-17th century Afghanistan

Modern Era in Afghanistan

Hotak Dynasty in Afghanistan

Durrani Empire

Barakzai Dynasty

First Anglo-Afghan War

Great Game

Second Anglo-Afghan War

Third Anglo-Afghan War

Afghan Civil War (1928–1929)

Kingdom of Afghanistan

Contemporary Era in Afghanistan

Republic of Afghanistan (1973–1978)

People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan

Soviet–Afghan War

First Afghan Civil War

Second Afghan Civil War

Taliban and the United Front

War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)

Fall of Kabul

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