Afghanistan
Afghanistan's ethnically and linguistically mixed
population reflects its location astride historic trade
and invasion routes leading from Central Asia into South
and Southwest Asia. While population data is somewhat
unreliable for Afghanistan, Pashtuns make up the largest
ethnic group at 38-44% of the population, followed by
Tajiks (25%), Hazaras (10%), Uzbek (6-8%), Aimaq,
Turkmen, Baluch, and other small groups. Dari (Afghan
Farsi) and Pashto are official languages. Dari is spoken
by more than one-third of the population as a first
language and serves as a lingua franca for most Afghans,
though Pashto is spoken throughout the Pashtun areas of
eastern and southern Afghanistan. Tajik and Turkic
languages are spoken widely in the north. Smaller groups
throughout the country also speak more than 70 other
languages and numerous dialects.
Afghanistan is an Islamic country. An estimated 80% of
the population is Sunni, following the Hanafi school of
jurisprudence; the remainder of the population--and
primarily the Hazara ethnic group--is predominantly
Shi'a. Despite attempts during the years of communist
rule to secularize Afghan society, Islamic practices
pervade all aspects of life. In fact, Islam served as a
principal basis for expressing opposition to communism
and the Soviet invasion. Islamic religious tradition and
codes, together with traditional tribal and ethnic
practices, have an important role in personal conduct
and dispute settlement. Afghan society is largely based
on kinship groups, which follow traditional customs and
religious practices, though somewhat less so in urban
areas. |
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Afghanistan, often called the crossroads of Central
Asia, has had a turbulent history. In 328 BC, Alexander
the Great entered the territory of present-day
Afghanistan, then part of the Persian Empire, and
established a Hellenistic state in Bactria (present-day
Balkh). Invasions by the Scythians, White Huns, and
Turks followed in succeeding centuries. In AD 642, Arabs
invaded the entire region and introduced Islam.
Arab rule gave way to the Persians, who controlled the
area until conquered by the Turkic Ghaznavids in 998.
Following Mahmud's short-lived dynasty, various princes
attempted to rule sections of the country until the
destructive Mongol invasion of 1219 led by Genghis Khan.
Following Genghis Khan's death in 1227, a succession of
petty chiefs and princes struggled for supremacy until
late in the 14th century, when one of his descendants,
Tamerlane, incorporated Afghanistan into his own vast
Asian empire.
In 1747, Ahmad Shah Durrani, the founder of what is
known today as Afghanistan, established his rule. A
Pashtun, Durrani was elected king by a tribal council
after the assassination of the Persian ruler Nadir Shah
at Khabushan in the same year. Throughout his reign,
Durrani consolidated chieftainships, petty
principalities, and fragmented provinces into one
country. His rule extended from Mashad in the west to
Kashmir and Delhi in the east, and from the Amu Darya
(Oxus) River in the north to the Arabian Sea in the
south.
European Influence
During the 19th century, collision between the expanding
British Empire in the subcontinent and czarist Russia
significantly influenced Afghanistan in what was termed
"The Great Game." British concern over Russian advances
in Central Asia and growing influence in Persia
precipitated two Anglo-Afghan wars in 1839 and again in
1878. The first resulted in the destruction of a British
army. The latter conflict brought Amir Abdur Rahman to
the Afghan throne. During his reign (1880-1901), the
British and Russians officially established the
boundaries of what would become modern Afghanistan
through the demarcation of the Durand Line. The British
retained effective control over Kabul's foreign affairs.
Habibullah, Abdur Rahman's son and successor, was
assassinated in 1919. His third son, Amanullah, regained
control of Afghanistan's foreign policy after launching
the third Anglo-Afghan war with an attack on India in
the same year. During the ensuing conflict, the
war-weary British relinquished their control over Afghan
foreign affairs by signing the Treaty of Rawalpindi in
August 1919. In commemoration of this event, Afghans
celebrate August 19 as their Independence Day. |
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