Is Afghanistan scary?
Afghanistan, a country amid other stands and famous for the wrong reasons. From the first impression, you may think that Afghanistan is a cluster mess that keeps blowing up a lot of stuff and you are probably right, but why Afghanistan is being such a pain? The short answer is geography. Afghanistan is strategically located in the crossroad between ancient civilizations, Persians to the west, Indians to the south, and Chinese to the east. There are also fearsome steppe nomads to the north. On top of that, Afghanistan is also quite mountainous which allows distinct cultures languages, and dialects to be separated from each other by the rugged terrains. A diverse population includes Pashtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras, Uzbeks, and many more as Iran. A traditional cultural powerhouse is situated just right next door. Afghanistan is heavily influenced by Persian cultures.
Most people in Afghanistan can speak Iranian languages. The Dari language is also referred to as the Afghan. Persian is one of the national languages of Afghanistan. Alongside the Pashto language, an Iranian language spoken by the majority of Pashtuns. As you can imagine due to its strategic location and geographical features. Afghanistan is a natural powder keg battleground. Since the beginning of time, the story of Afghanistan kinda began with some dudes from the Indus valley who established some towns near the Hindu kush mountains region to the north. The Oxus civilization flourished. Then some indo Arians came along and settled in Afghanistan. They loved Hindu gods. Fast forward the median Empire came along bringing Persian influences to modern-day Afghanistan. Also historically known as bacteria and Arianna. These say trapezes are at the easternmost bits of the median empire because it is difficult to expand further beyond those harsh mountains.
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| photo by flicker |
History Of Afghanistan
Then the A Comet empire came along and made Zoroastrianism very popular in Afghanistan Later Alexander the Great beat up the Aca minute empire but could not nail down this best dude because he retreated to the mountainous region of bacteria an extremely difficult cat and mouse game. This is where Afghanistan began to gain the reputation of being the graveyard of empires. Anyway, Alexander later fell in love with a Bactrian lady called Roxana. This is the perfect epitome of the Hellenistic age where greek people migrated all over Asia, spreading the greek influence everywhere, fusing Greek and native cultures. In addition, Alexander also established a lot of cities in Afghanistan which were of course named after himself, A nightmare for any postman. After Alexander's death, Afghanistan was controlled by the Solu sit Empire a Hellenistic empire. Then the morgan empire from the Indian subcontinent took control of Afghanistan and made Hinduism and Buddhism very popular.
Later the Greco Bactrian and the Indo greek kingdoms dominated Afghanistan, which by now is a melting pot of Greek Persian Indian Hinduism, Buddhism, and Zoroastrianism influences. It was all fun and games until the nomads from Central Asia came along, notably the USC and the Sakas. The party ins later controlled Afghanistan and this Christian dude called Thomas probably came by to say hello before traveling to India. Then the cushion empire originated from the USC. People expanded quickly and dominated much of Central Asia. The cushion empire loved trading and had diplomatic relations with the roman empire. Season in Persia ox you might empire and china making itself very rich. The fall of the cushion empire gave way to the season and the Persian empire in Afghanistan. Later, some who, not tribes from Central Asian nomads came along and displaced the Persians The sonic Persian empire later fell to the Arab Muslims When the Arab Muslims came to Afghanistan, they did not fully conquer all of Afghanistan.
Due to the constant resistance by the states located within the mountains Some parts of Afghanistan remained a part of the Hindu Sashi kingdoms of Kabul and Gandara, effectively making Afghanistan a buffer zone between Muslim and Hindu slash Buddhist powers. Fast forward, some non Arab native rulers made themselves independent from the caliph fats, notably the to hire its and the Sapphire It's the sovereign dynasty was one of the first indigenous Persian dynasties to emerge after the Islamic conquest The sufferings were later replaced by the Persian Simmons who was then replaced by the Persian Ized Turkic Gas David's. It was during the 12th century where the Islamization of Afghanistan was achieved. Afghanistan at this point was quite diverse, but it became even more diverse When the Mongolians came along, most major cities north of the Hindu kush became part of the Mongol empire whilst Afghan tribal areas south of the Hindu kush were usually either allied with the Indian dudes or were independent.
Afghanistan In 16th Century
Then Tamerlane came for round two In the 16th century. This central Asian dude named Barbara came to Afghanistan and was thinking of invading some new juicy lens. Thus he invaded India by beating up the Delhi Sultanate and established the Mogul empire in the Indian subcontinent. throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, Afghanistan can be Generally divided into three major areas. The northern bits were ruled by the Canadian Bukhara, a bunch of Persian-sized Turko Mongol Muslim dudes. The western bits were ruled by Safavid Persia, a bunch of Persian Muslim dudes. The eastern bits were ruled by the mogul empire. A bunch of Indian Muslim dudes, as you can imagine, the native afghans also sometimes interchangeable with being referred to as the Pashtuns were not happy being bossed by foreign people all the time. So they revolted. The hotel dynasty was established by the native afghans following the decline of Safavid Persia.
Then Afghanistan came under the rule of the after-it dynasty. In 17 40 seven, does Rainey was selected as the leader of the Afghans by the Grand Council in the city of Kandahar. He founded the, during the empire which became the foundation of the modern state of Afghanistan, this afghan state was happily doing its own thing, beating its neighbors being beaten by its neighbors, and beating itself up until the brits and Russians arrived. You see after the Napoleonic wars, the British empire was the strongest dude in the world, challenged only by Russia. In Central Asia. The rivalry between the expanding British and Russian empires in Central Asia became known as the great game, which significantly influenced Afghanistan in the 19th century. The brits were worried that Russia might attack its precious India via Afghanistan and Persia. So Britain sought to establish control over these bits of the lens.
At first, the Afghans managed to beat up the brits. The brits later came Back with vengeance in round two and successfully established a protectorate over Afghanistan. Afghanistan thus became a buffer zone between the British and Russian empires who drew up Afghanistan national borders, which included this weird panhandle to make sure the British and Russian empires remain separated as usual. When big bullies draw your borders. Arbitrarily, you will have to pick up the mess later on, Afghanistan remained neutral during World War. Despite encouragements from Germany to beat up British India after World War, Afghanistan became independent and began modernizing itself. It was more or less smooth sailing until the 1970s, which saw coups and revolutions, culminating in the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The United States, not happy being humiliated by the soviet backed communists in Vietnam decided to make Afghanistan the Vietnam of the soviet union. The United States armed some militant groups in Afghanistan to beat up the Soviets From the 1980s onward, Afghanistan went downhill as constant wars and chaos halted any economic developments.
When the Soviets left, a power vacuum was formed, which caused Afghanistan to descend into civil war with a bunch of militant groups fighting The crap out of one another, the Taliban's emerged victorious, which controlled a huge chunk of Afghanistan. The Taliban were good friends with a lot of religious militant groups who called for holy war against the Americans. For a lot of reasons, This call for Holy War Sparked the nine 11 attacks, shocking the whole world. The United States declared war on terror, Go on full democracy mode, and invaded Afghanistan, beating up the Taliban. However, after two decades of American intervention, Afghanistan is not fully pacified, partly due to its mountainous terrain, which is easily defensible against invading forces. And also the militant groups receiving support from neighboring Pakistan and other countries. From Pakistan's point of view, Afghanistan needs to be under its hegemony.
Otherwise, India might scoop in and squeeze Pakistan in between. As Afghanistan was unwinnable American troops decided to withdraw, leaving the road wide open for the Taliban to retake the country, ironically, Afghanistan, whom the United States wanted to become the Vietnam of the Soviet Union, has now become the Vietnam 2.04 United States. This is why Afghanistan has the nickname as the graveyard of empires because nobody can control Afghanistan except afghans themselves. And if you are wondering how Afghanistan can get itself out of the mess, a strong centralized Afghan government will probably be a good answer, although at what cost and what type of centralized national government will probably be of a fierce debate. A deadly debate that may last for the next few decades. Due to regional and international geopolitics, the story of Afghanistan is the epitome of a crossroads region surrounded by opposing big bullies.
It is hard for crossroad regions to have happily ever after. Just ask the Caucasus, Poland, and Ukraine. Afghanistan may not be on top of your travel bucket list now, but that does not mean it is a complete hellhole. Afghanistan has everything for everyone which includes awesome natural wonders, ancient cities, and monuments, cultural heritage, beautiful people, and tons of opium and we'd a good tip will be to wait for the war to truly end before your tourism visit. Otherwise, you might become a meat shield.