A Short History of Afghanistan

A SHORT HISTORY OF AFGHANISTAN By Professor Abdul Hai Habibi President, Historical Society of Afghanistan Publisher: Book Publishing Institution With Cooperation by the Historical Society of Afghanistan Kabul 1967 A SHORT HISTORY OF AFGHANISTAN In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful Preface Afghanistan has been at the crossroads of different civilizations and cultures from pre-historic times and has acted as the cradle of human thought and discipline. During its long history many empires have risen from its soil which strived to maintain their independence and nationality through the turmoil of history. For several years there has been a need to publish the history of Afghanistan comprehensively in one or two short volumes taking into account millenniums of the past to the present century. A book which would be useful to students and the general public and highlight true historical facts. When I was appointed president of the Afghan Historical Society last year, Mr. Mohammed Osman Sedki, the Minister of Information and Culture of the time, informed me of the need for such a book. I immediately embarked on the project and started writing A Short History of Afghanistan. In writing this book I used a large number of references in the Eastern and Western languages which are included in the bibliography. However, during the publication of this work, I ran into difficulties and had to omit certain passages and references. I mention this to assert that all the facts in the book are based on authentic sources. Included are figures from various sources. It is my hope that those who read this book will find it useful. The first volume deals with pre-Islamic history and the Islamic era up to 600 Hijera (1222 AD). The second volume deals with the last 700 years until the independence of Afghanistan. (Both volumes are presented in this translation together). While writing this book I strived to present historical facts in as much detail as possible bearing in mind that they are not lengthy. It is hoped that in future the writing of this book will pave the way for preparing a detailed history of the country, a sample of which is The History of Afghanistan After Islam, which was published last year. It is a comprehensive treatment of the history of Afghanistan during the first two centuries after the advent of Islam in the country in one thousand pages. Abdul Hay Habibi Kabul, Jamal Mena, 1 Sunbula 1346 (September, 1967) 1 Part One A Glance at Pre-historic Times Historians consider pre-historic times the period when man had not invented writing. The period after the invention of writing is considered as historic time, in case the early writings are readable. Since there are certain early inscriptions which have not been read they are considered to be pre-historic. When they are read they will be included as part of the historic era. In general the period dating back 4500 years BP (before present) is considered historic in the Eastern hemisphere because Egyptian and Mediterranean inscriptions that have been read are that old. The Mohenjodaro inscriptions, in Sind and Harapa, have not been read as yet and are therefore considered pre-historic. Pre-historic excavations in Afghanistan were started by European archaeologists in 1936. Stone implements dating to the Third Stone Period, and pottery and iron implements of Chalcolithic period were found during these investigations. From these scientific finds it has been deduced that human civilization existed in Afghanistan and adjoining lands as early as 6000 years BP because in the Anu region near Merv copper finds have been found. Pre-historic relics in regions neighboring Afghanistan have been found at the following sites: 1. Harapa in Punjab. These are the plains east of the Hindu Kush mountains where a city and development has been discovered. 2. Mohenjodaro. This site is situated in Sind where a city has been excavated. The contour of a city, streets and shops are evident. The streets include a drainage system and bins for the disposal of rubbish. In the city statues of the Goddess of Creation, pottery, cotton, gold and silver jewelry, other metals together with industrial implements and metal statues have been found. All these objects are preserved in a museum of the ancient city. Among the delicate finds small statues of elephants and the drawings of hefty oxen have been discovered. Some carry an inscription but the writing has not been interpreted as yet. The Mohenjodaro civilization, spread between Harapa and Mohenjodaro in the Indus (Sind) valley for a distance of one thousand miles without interruption to the east of Afghanistan. It was four times as large as the Babylon and twice the size of the Egyptian civilization. It is famous for its buildings, clay pottery and working instruments. It has been concluded that this civilization spread throughout the Indus valley and the cities of Harapa and Mohenjodaro were its northern and southern capitals. It had relations with western civilizations that spread as far as Babylon and about 4000 years BP a quarter for Indian traders existed in the city. The archaeological finds of the Mediterranean shows that the people of the Indus valley made counting instruments and balances. The findings at Harapa indicate that the majority of people lived in two story houses and most houses had a well, bathroom and an underground reservoir. The common people, workers and artisans, lived in small double room houses that were separate from each other. The cities of these pre-historic people had numerous citadels that were most probably used for grain storage. The ruins of the latest civilization of Harapa show the misery which the people encountered. Most of the houses have been destroyed and the city, which was well designed and structured, has been laid to waste. From this state of affairs it has been concluded that the people came under the attack of western Aryans who destroyed their civilization. Even though the Harapa scriptures have not been read it is clear that the inscriptions belong to the period before the migration of the Aryans. The wheels which were 2 pulled by horses were made by a people who spoke in the Indian and European languages but those of the Mohenjodaro and Harapa were pulled by sturdy bullocks as is evident from drawings of the time. Similar civilizations have been found in the southern parts of Afghanistan in Nal wa Jalawan, Lorlayee of Baluchistan, Nad Ali of Seistan and some parts of southern Iran. The civilization stretches up to the Mediterranean and is related to people who resided there before the arrival of the Aryans. In the archeological finds of these areas statues of the Goddess of Creation have been found which resemble those of the Indus civilization. It is therefore possible that their religion, beliefs and culture were similar. The archeological finds of Qala-e Gul Mohammad, a mound situated a few miles northwest of the city of Quetta, shows that the ancient residents of this land did not know the art of making earthenware pottery. They used stone knives, bone needles and implements resembling pointed spears. They were a nomadic people among whom the making of houses and buildings was not prevalent. In later times they started making earthenware pottery and buildings. Archeologists consider it the pottery of Zhobe valley. Pictures of gazelles and cattle are seen on the pottery. Large quantities of bones have been found in their homes indicating that these people were meat eaters and used stone mortars to grind grain. Iron implements are missing among the finds and some of the earthenware is shaped in the form of the letters T-A-W-V. Such shapes have not been seen elsewhere, therefore archeologists have not come to any conclusion regarding these finds. The civilization is estimated to be 6000 years old. The borders of the pre-historic civilization of Harapa have been extended to the Rann of Kutch of India. From the years 1954 to 1965 relics were found from various mounds in the area. These finds are similar to the Harapa civilization. This areas lies south of the city of Rajkot. In Afghanistan pre-historic sites have been discovered in several locations. 1- Sir Mark Aurel Stein, Roman Ghirshman and Thomas Hocken conducted excavations in Nad Ali, Zaranj of Seistan, Qala Kang and Sarotar before the Second World War. They found stoneware, various kinds of weapons, arrows, decorated bows, silver earrings and bone implements. Scholars consider these to be similar to the finds of Anu of Merv, the archeological excavations in the west and those of the Indus valley. They have come to the conclusion that a large civilization extended from the Indus to the Nile valley, including Afghanistan, during this time. In Tapa-e Dagh, Ghirshman dug 12 m deep pits in a 30 m high mound. He was successful in finding relics that date back 3000 BP. He stated that if we dig another 21 meters it is possible to find relics dating back 6000 BP which could be related to the Indus valley, Mediterranean and Egyptian civilizations. In this area there are numerous mounds which may contain remnants of ancient civilizations. 2- Pre-historic relics have been found in excavations conducted in the Arghandab valley and Panjwayee, west of the city of Kandahar. Similarly pre-historic finds have also been discovered at the Badawan cave and Deh Morasai. These civilizations are related to those of the Indus valley, Punjab and Baluchistan. The statues of the Goddess of Creation have been discovered at these sites. Ancient relics dating back five thousand years, excavated in 1966 at the Mundigak mound, 66 km southwest of Kandahar, represent a pre-historic civilization in the Arghandab valley.

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