Kabul Province - History

History

Kabul's history dates back more than 3,500 years. It was once the center of Zoroastrianism and subsequently also a home for Buddhists and Hindus kings. Arab Muslims invaded the area in the 7th century by introducing Islam but was slowly taken back by the Hindu Shahi's of Kabul. It was re-invaded by the Saffarids and Samanids in the 9th century followed by Mahmud of Ghazni in the 11th century, when the Hindu Shahi King Jay Pala committed suicide. It became part of the Ghurids after defeating the Ghaznavids, and later it was invaded by the Mongols under Genghis Khan.

Timur, founder of the Timurid dynasty, invaded the region in 14th century and developed it into a major trading center. In 1504, the city fell to Babur from the north of the country and was made into his capital, which became one of the principal cities of his later Mughal Empire. In 1525, Babur described Kabulistan in his memoirs by writing that:

For much of its time Kabul was independent until it became part of the Durrani Empire in 1747. During the First Anglo-Afghan War in 1839, the British army invaded the area but withdrew in 1842, although thousands of them were killed during a surprise ambush on their way to Jalalabad. In retaliation another British force partly burned Kabul before retreating back to British India. The British again occupied the city during the Second Anglo-Afghan War in 1879, after their resident staff were massacred there, but withdrew about a year later when they installed Emir Abdur Rahman Khan.

In 1919, King Amanullah Khan rose to power during the Third Anglo-Afghan War when Afghanistan's capital and its eastern city of Jalalabad were air raided by the No. 31 and 114 squadrons of the British Royal Air Force in May 1919. Amanullah Khan defeated the British and began modernization of the country after the signing of the Treaty of Rawalpindi. In the late 1920s, switching of power took place until Zahir Shah became the youngest new King.

In the 1960s and 1970s, Kabul was known as the Paris of central Asia as it was transforming into a European style city. Once the jewel of Asia, a very progressive and moderately modern capital. Kabul in those days had, modern cinemas, cafes, formal French gardens, schools, libraries, universities, fine boutiques. The inhabitants of Kabul known as "Kabulis" were highly educated, modern, progressive and cosmopolitan people. Where women and men attended primary school, high school and university. Mini-jupes (mini skirts) was a common sight in the 1970s. Highly educated, culturally aware and yet religious at the same time, there was never an issue with not having your hair covered or the clothes you wore in the Kabul of the 1960s and 1970s. This progressive peaceful society lasted until foreign interference occurred in the late 1970s plummeting the country to what Afghanistan has become today. In December 1979, Soviet armed forces landed at Kabul International Airport to help bolster the PDPA-led government of Afghanistan.

Kabul became the Soviet command center for approximately 10 years during their stay in Afghanistan. In February 1989, Soviet forces withdrew from Afghanistan after they were defeated by the Mujahideens. In spring of 1992 the government of Mohammad Najibullah collapsed, Kabul fell into the hands of Mujahideen forces. Destruction increased as the coalition of the parties broke into rival warring factions, and much of Kabul was damaged. In 1996 the Taliban took over the region and started a new strict Islamic Sharia rule which restricted most forms of education, entertainment, women from working, men from shaving beards, and many normal human activities or hobbies.

Less than a month after the assassination of Ahmad Shah Massoud and the September 11 attacks in the United States, in October 2001, the United States armed forces assisted by British Armed Forces provided massive air support to United Front (Northern Alliance) ground forces during Operation Enduring Freedom. The Taliban abandoned Kabul and the United Front came to take control of the city. In December 2001 Kabul became the capital of the Afghan Transitional Administration, which transformed to the present Government of Afghanistan that is led by President Hamid Karzai.

In early 2002 a NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was deployed in Kabul and from there they began taking over other parts of the country. The war-torn city began to see some positive development as millions of expats returned to the country. Its population has grown from about 500,000 in 2001 to over 3 million by 2007. Many foreign embassies re-opened, especially the biggest U.S. Embassy. Afghan government institutions were also re-developed and modernized. Since 2008 the newly trained Afghan National Police (ANP) and the Afghan National Army (ANA) are in charge of security in the area, while NATO also has a heavy presence but are not patrolling the streets anymore.

While the city is being developed, it is also the scene of occasional deadly suicide bombings and explosions carried out by the Haqqani network, Taliban's Quetta Shura, Hezb-i Islami, Al Qaeda, and other anti-government elements who are allegedly supported and guided by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) spy network.