This article will provide information on the list of the 34 province in Afghanistan and their capital cities, the history of Afghanistan and also provide answers to questions as regards to Afghanistan.
The written recorded history of the land presently constituting Afghanistan can be traced back to around 500 BCE when the area was under the Achaemenid Empire, although evidence indicates that an advanced degree of urbanized culture has existed in the land since between 3000 and 2000 BCE. Bactria dates back to 2500 BCE. The Indus Valley Civilisation stretched up to large parts of Afghanistan in the north. Alexander the Great and his Macedonian army arrived at what is now Afghanistan in 330 BCE after the fall of the Achaemenid Empire during the Battle of Gaugamela. Since then, many empires have established capitals in what is now Afghanistan, including the Greco-Bactrians, Kushans, Indo-Sassanids, Kabul Shahi, Saffarids, Samanids, Ghaznavids, Ghurids, Kartids, Timurids, Hotakis and Durranis. Afghanistan (meaning "land of the Afghans" or "Afghan land") has been a strategically important location throughout history. The land served as "a gateway to India, impinging on the ancient Silk Road, which carried trade from the Mediterranean to China". Sitting on many trade and migration routes, Afghanistan may be called the 'Central Asian roundabout' since routes converge from the Middle East, from the Indus Valley through the passes over the Hindu Kush, from the Far East via the Tarim Basin, and from the adjacent Eurasian Steppe. The Iranian languages were developed by one branch of these people; the Pashto language spoken today in Afghanistan by the ethnic Pashtuns, is one of the Eastern Iranian languages. Elena E. Kuz'mina argues that the tents of Iranic-speaking nomads of Afghanistan developed from the light surface houses of the Eurasian steppe belt in the Bronze Age. The Islamic conquest of Afghanistan influenced the culture of Afghanistan, and its pre-Islamic period of Zoroastrian, Buddhist and Hindu past has long vanished. From the Middle Ages to around 1750 the eastern part of Afghanistan was recognized as being a part of India while its western parts parts were included in Khorasan. Two of the four main capitals of Khorasan (Balkh and Herat) are now located in Afghanistan. The countries of Kandahar, Ghazni and Kabul formed the frontier region between Khorasan and the Indus. This land, inhabited by the Afghan tribes (i.e. ancestors of Pashtuns), was called Afghanistan, which loosely covered a wide area between the Hindu Kush and the Indus River, principally around the Sulaiman Mountains. The earliest record of the name "Afghan" ("Abgân") being mentioned is by Shapur I of the Sassanid Empire during the 3rd century CE which is later recorded in the form of "Avagana" by the Vedic astronomer Varaha Mihira in his 6th century CE Brihat-samhita. It was used to refer to a common legendary ancestor known as "Afghana", grandson of King Saul of Israel. Hiven Tsiang, a Chinese pilgrim, visiting the Afghanistan area several times between 630 and 644 CE also speaks about them. Ancestors of many of today's Turkic-speaking Afghans settled in the Hindu Kush area and began to assimilate much of the culture and language of the Pashtun tribes already present there. Among these were the Khalaj people which are known today as Ghilzai. Amid corruption charges and malfeasance against the royal family and the poor economic conditions created by the severe 1971–72 drought, former Prime Minister Mohammad Sardar Daoud Khan seized power in a non-violent coup on July 17, 1973, while Zahir Shah was receiving treatment for eye problems and therapy for lumbago in Italy. Daoud abolished the monarchy, abrogated the 1964 constitution, and declared Afghanistan a republic with himself as its first President and Prime Minister. His attempts to carry out badly needed economic and social reforms met with little success, and the new constitution promulgated in February 1977 failed to quell chronic political instability. As disillusionment set in, in 1978 a prominent member of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA), Mir Akbar Khyber (or "Kaibar"), was killed by the government. The leaders of PDPA apparently feared that Daoud was planning to exterminate them all, especially since most of them were arrested by the government shortly after. Nonetheless, Hafizullah Amin and a number of military wing officers of the PDPA's Khalq faction managed to remain at large and organize a military coup. In 2021, the United States forces and allies withdrew from Afghanistan, which allowed the Taliban to intensify their insurgency. On 15 August 2021, as the Taliban entered Kabul, President Ghani fled to Tajikistan, and the U.S.-backed Afghan government collapsed. Despite the Taliban taking Kabul, the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan still exists as a rump state. Anti-Taliban forces formed the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan and launched an uprising from the Panjshir Valley. On 7 September 2021 Taliban announced an interim government headed by Mohammad Hassan Akhund which remained unrecognized internationally until now.
It is a province located in the northern part of Afghanistan and has Fayzabad as its capital. It covers about 44,836 square kilometers.
It is a province located in the central part of Afghanistan and has Qala i Naw as its capital. It covers about 20,794 square kilometers.
It is a province located in the northern region of Afghanistan and has Puli Khumri as its capital. It covers about 18,255 square kilometers.
It is a province located in the northern region of Afghanistan and has Mazar-i-Sharif as its capital. It covers about 16,186 square kilometers.
It is a province located in the central region of Afghanistan and has Bamyan as its capital. It covers about 18,029 square kilometers.
It is a province located in the southern region of Afghanistan and has Nili as its capital. It covers about 17,501 square kilometers.
It is a province located in the central region of Afghanistan and has Farah as its capital. it covers about 49,339 square kilometers.
It is a province located in the northern region of Afghanistan and has Maymana as its capital. It covers about 20,798 square kilometers.
It is a province located in the southern region of Afghanistan and Ghazni as its capital. It covers about 22,460 square kilometers.
It is a province located in the central region of Afghanistan and has Chaghcharan as its capital. It covers about 36,657 square kilometers.
It is a province located in the Southern region of the country with Lashkargah as its capital. It covers about 58,305 square kilometers.
It is a province located in the central region of Afghanstan and has Herat as its capital. It covers about 55,868 square kilometers.
It is a province located in the northern region of the country with Sheberghan as its capital. The province covers about 11,292 square kilometers.
It is a province located in the central region of the country and it doubles as the capital city. It covers about 4,524 square kilometers.
It is a province located in the southern part of the country with Kandahar as its capital. It covers about 54,844 square kilometers.
It is a province located in the central region of Afghanistan and has Mahmud-i-Raqi as its capital. It covers about 1,908 square kilometers.
It is a province located in the southern region of Afghanistan and has Khost as its capital city. It covers about 4,235 square kilometers.
It is a province located in the central region of the country with Asadabad as its capital. It covers about 4,926 square kilometers.
It is a province located in the northern region of Afghanistan and has Kunduz as its capital city. It covers about 8,081 square kilometers.
It is a province located in the central region of Afghanistan and has Mihtarlam as its capital. It covers about 3,978 square kilometers.
It is a province located in the central region of Afghanistan and has Pul-i-Alam as its capital. It covers about 4,568 square kilometers.
It is a province located in the central region of Afghanistan and has Jalalabad as its capital city. It covers about 7,641 square kilometers.
It is a province located in the southern region of the country with Zaranj as the capital city. It covers about 42,410 square kilometers.
It is a province located in the central region of Afghanistan and has Parun as its capital. It covers about 9,267 square kilometers.
It is a province located in the southern region of the country with Gardez as its capital city. It covers about 5,583 square kilometers.
It is a province located in the southern region of the country which has Sharana as its capital. It covers about 19,516 square kilometers.
It is a province located in the central region of Afghanistan and has Bazarak as its capital city. It covers about 3,772 square kilometers.
It is a province located in the central region of Afghanistan and has Charikar as its capital city. It covers about 5,715 square kilometers.
It is a province located in the northern region of Afghanistan and has Samangan as its capital. It covers about 13,438 square kilometers.
It is a province located in the northern region of Afghanistan and has Sar-e Pol as its capital city. It covers about 16,386 square kilometers.
It is a province located in the northern region of Afghanistan and has Taloqan as its capital city. It covers about 12,458 square kilometers.
It is a province located in the southern region of Afghanistan and has Tarinkot as its capital city. It covers about 11,474 square kilometers.
It is a province located in the central region of the country which has Maidan Shar as its capital. It covers about 10,348 square kilometers.
It is a province located in the southern region of Afghanistan and has Qalat as its capital city. It covers about 17,472 square kilometers of the country.
Working closely with President Ashraf Ghani and the Ministry of Urban Development and Land, Sasaki worked to develop a bold vision to guide strategic development in five of Afghanistan's largest cities: Herat, Jalalabad, Kandahar, Khost, and Mazar-e-Sharif.
Afghanistan is a landlocked multiethnic country located in the heart of south-central Asia.
Afghanistan was settled at least 50,000 years ago. Early cities such as Mundigak and Balkh sprang up around 5,000 years ago; they likely were affiliated with the Aryan culture of India. Around 700 BCE, the Median Empire expanded its rule to Afghanistan. The Medes were an Iranian people, rivals of the Persians.
With al-Qaeda's help, the Taliban won control of over 90 percent of Afghan territory by the summer of 2001.
The countries of Kandahar, Ghazni and Kabul formed the frontier region between Khorasan and the Indus. This land, inhabited by the Afghan tribes (i.e. ancestors of Pashtuns), was called Afghanistan, which loosely covered a wide area between the Hindu Kush and the Indus River, principally around the Sulaiman Mountains.
- 32.4 million people live in Afghanistan
- The country has 250,000 square miles of land
- The official languages include Pashtu and Dari
- Islam is the official religion in Afghanistan
- The life expectancy in Afghanistan is 44 years