Kandahar: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|City in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan}} |
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{{About|the city in Afghanistan}} |
{{About|the city in Afghanistan}} |
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{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}} |
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{{Infobox settlement |
{{Infobox settlement |
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<!--See the Table at Infobox settlement for all fields and descriptions of usage--> |
<!--See the Table at Infobox settlement for all fields and descriptions of usage-->| name = Kandahar |
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| official_name = |
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<!-- Basic info ----------------> |
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| native_name = {{hlist|{{lang|ps|{{nq|کندهار}}}}|{{lang|prs|{{nq|قندهار}}}}}} |
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|name = Kandahar |
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| other_name = |
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|settlement_type |
| settlement_type = [[List of cities in Afghanistan|City]] |
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| image_skyline = {{Photomontage |
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| photo1a = |
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|image_skyline =Kandahar City.jpg |
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| photo2a = KandaharMosque02.JPG |
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|imagesize = |
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| photo2b = KandaharUniversity-Mosque-2005.JPEG |
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|image_caption =''Buildings of downtown Kandahar'' |
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| photo3a = Mosque in Kandahar-2011.jpg |
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|image_flag = |
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| photo3b = Mausoleum of Baba Wali in Kandahar.jpg |
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|flag_size = |
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| photo4a = Toms of Ahamed Shah Abdali.jpg |
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|image_seal = |
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| color = white |
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|image_blank_emblem = |
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| color_border = white |
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|blank_emblem_type = |
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| position = center |
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|blank_emblem_size = |
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| spacing = 2 |
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|image_map = |
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| size = 266 |
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}} |
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|pushpin_map = Afghanistan |
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| image_caption = ''Top to bottom and left to right'': Friday Mosque of Kandahar, The Eidgah Jaami Jumat at [[Kandahar University]], [[Tomb of Ahmad Shah Durrani]], aerial view over the [[Mausoleum of Baba Wali]], a Mosque in Kandahar |
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|pushpin_label_position = above |
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| image_flag = |
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| image_seal = Kandahar50fs.png |
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|pushpin_map_caption = Location in Afghanistan |
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| image_shield = |
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<!-- Location ------------------> |
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| motto = City of the War |
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| image_map = |
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| pushpin_map = Afghanistan#West Asia#South Asia#Asia |
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| pushpin_relief = yes |
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|subdivision_type1 = [[Provinces of Afghanistan|Province]] |
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| pushpin_label_position = above |
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|subdivision_name1 = [[Kandahar Province]] |
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| pushpin_mapsize = 300px |
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|subdivision_type2 = [[Districts of Afghanistan|District]] |
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| pushpin_map_caption = Location in Afghanistan |
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|subdivision_name2 =Kandahar District |
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| coordinates = {{coord|31|37|12|N|65|42|57|E|region:AF|display=inline,title}} |
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<!-- Politics -----------------> |
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| subdivision_type = [[List of sovereign states|Country]] |
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|government_footnotes = |
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| subdivision_name = {{Flag|Afghanistan}} |
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|government_type = |
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| subdivision_type1 = [[Provinces of Afghanistan|Province]] |
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|leader_title = [[Mayor]] |
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| subdivision_name1 = [[Kandahar Province|Kandahar]] |
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|leader_name = Ghulam Haidar Hamidi <ref>[http://www.pajhwok.com/viewstory.asp?lng=eng&id=98668]</ref> |
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| subdivision_type2 = [[Districts of Afghanistan|District]] |
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|established_title = |
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| subdivision_name2 = [[Kandahar District|Kandahar]] |
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|established_date = |
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| established_title = |
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| established_date = |
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| government_type = [[Municipality]] |
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|area_footnotes = |
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| leader_title = Governor |
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|area_total_km2 |
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| leader_name = mula sherin |
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<!-- ALL fields dealing with a measurements are subject to automatic unit conversion--> |
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| area_footnotes = |
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|area_land_km2 = <!--See table @ Template:Infobox Settlement for details on automatic unit conversion--> |
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| area_total_km2 = 273.37 |
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|area_water_km2 = |
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| elevation_footnotes = |
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| elevation_m = 1010 |
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| population_footnotes = |
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|area_metro_sq_mi = |
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| population_total = 651,484<ref name=nsia>{{cite web |url=https://www.nsia.gov.af:8080/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Estimated-Population-of-Afghanistan1-1400.pdf |title=Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2021-22 |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=April 2021 |website= |publisher=National Statistic and Information Authority (NSIA) |access-date=June 21, 2021 |quote=|archive-date=24 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624204559/https://www.nsia.gov.af:8080/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Estimated-Population-of-Afghanistan1-1400.pdf |url-status=dead}}</ref> |
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<!-- Population -----------------------> |
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|population_as_of |
| population_as_of = 2021 |
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| population_density_sq_mi = 6200 |
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|population_footnotes = |
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| population_urban = |
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|population_note = [http://www.cso.gov.af/ Central Statistics Office of Afghanistan] |
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| population_note = |
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|population_total =468200 |
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| timezone = Afghanistan Standard Time |
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|population_density_km2 = |
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| utc_offset = +4:30 |
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|population_density_metro_km2 = |
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| postal_code_type = Postal Code |
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| postal_code = 38XX |
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| area_code = |
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|population_density_urban_km2 = |
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| website = {{URL|https://kandahar-m.gov.af}} |
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|population_density_urban_sq_mi = |
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<!-- General information ---------------> |
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|timezone =Afghanistan Standard Time |
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|utc_offset = +4:30 |
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|timezone_DST = |
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|utc_offset_DST = |
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|latd =31 |latm =37 |lats =01 | latNS = N |
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|longd =65 |longm =43 |longs =01 | longEW = E |
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|elevation_footnotes = <!--for references: use <ref> </ref> tags--> |
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|elevation_m =1000 |
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|elevation_ft = |
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<!-- Area/postal codes & others --------> |
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|postal_code_type = <!-- enter ZIP code, Postcode, Post code, Postal code... --> |
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|blank_info = |
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}} |
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'''Kandahar''' ({{IPAc-en|lang|ˈ|k|æ|n|d|ə|h|ɑ:r}}; {{Langx|ps| {{nq|کندهار}}|translit=Kandahār}}; {{Langx|prs| {{nq|قندهار}}|translit=Qandahār}}) is a city in [[Afghanistan]], located in the south of the country on [[Arghandab River]], at an elevation of {{cvt|1010|m|ft|sp=us}}. It is Afghanistan's [[List of cities in Afghanistan|second largest city]], after [[Kabul]], with a population of about 614,118.<ref name="auto">{{cite web |title=The State of Afghan Cities report2015 |url=http://unhabitat.org/books/soac2015/ |ref=UN-Habitat |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151031111515/http://unhabitat.org/books/soac2015/ |archive-date=31 October 2015}}</ref> It is the capital of [[Kandahar Province]] and the centre of the larger cultural region called [[Loy Kandahar]]. |
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Kandahar is the founding city and spiritual center of the [[Taliban]]. Despite the capital of [[Afghanistan]] being Kabul, where the government administration is based, Kandahar is the seat of power in Afghanistan as the [[Supreme Leader of Afghanistan|supreme leader]] and his spiritual advisers are based there. Kandahar has therefore been called the de facto capital of [[Afghanistan]], though the Taliban maintain Kabul is the capital.<ref>{{cite news |author1=Ikramullah Ikram |author2=Abubakar Siddique |title=Southern Afghan City Becomes De Facto Capital As Taliban Chief Tightens Grip On Power |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/afghanistan-kandahar-taliban-akhundzada-capital/32369212.html |access-date=11 May 2023 |work=[[Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty]] |date=18 April 2023 |archive-date=11 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230511031105/https://www.rferl.org/a/afghanistan-kandahar-taliban-akhundzada-capital/32369212.html |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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'''Kandahār''' or '''Qandahār''' ([[Pashto]]/[[Persian language|Persian]]: '''کندهار''' or ''' قندهار''') (Greek: Alexandria Arachosia) is the second largest city in [[Afghanistan]], with a population of about 450,000. It is the capital of [[Kandahar province]], located in the south of the country at about 1,005 m (3,297 feet) above sea level. The [[Arghandab River]] runs along the west of the city. "Kandahar" is the latest modified form of the ancient name [[Gandhara]]The Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary'', Vaman Shivram Apte, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, India, 1975, ISBN: 81-208-0567-4.</ref> |
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Kandahar is a major trading center for |
Kandahar is one of the most culturally significant cities of the [[Pashtun people|Pashtuns]] community and has been their traditional seat of power for more than 300 years. It is a major trading center for sheep, [[wool]], cotton, silk, [[felt]], [[food grain]]s, fresh and [[dried fruit]]. The region produces fine fruits, especially [[pomegranate production in Afghanistan|pomegranates]] and grapes, and the city has plants for canning, drying, and packing fruit, and is a major source of [[cannabis (drug)#Marijuana|marijuana]] and [[hashish]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-02-08 |title=Afghanistan's Misguided Economy {{!}} Boston Review |url=https://bostonreview.net/world/graciana-del-castillo-afghanistans-misguided-economy |access-date=2023-01-09 |archive-date=8 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140208005722/https://bostonreview.net/world/graciana-del-castillo-afghanistans-misguided-economy |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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The region around Kandahar is one of the oldest known human settlements. A major fortified city existed at the site of Kandahar, probably as early as {{circa}} 1000–750 BC,<ref name="books.google.com">F.R. Allchin (ed.), [https://books.google.com/books?id=Q5kI02_zW70C&pg=PA127 ''The Archaeology of Early Historic South Asia: The Emergence of Cities and States''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210501125746/https://books.google.com/books?id=Q5kI02_zW70C&pg=PA127 |date=1 May 2021 }} (Cambridge University Press, 1995), pp.127-130</ref> and it became an important outpost of the [[Achaemenid Empire|Achaemenid (Persian) Empire]] in the 6th century BC.<ref name="iranicaonline.org">Gérard Fussman, [http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kandahar-pre-islamic-monuments-and-remains "Kandahar II. Pre-Islamic Monuments and Remains"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171112185725/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kandahar-pre-islamic-monuments-and-remains |date=12 November 2017 }}, in ''Encyclopædia Iranica'', online edition, 2012</ref> [[Alexander the Great]] had laid-out the foundation of what is now [[Old Kandahar]] (which is in the southern section of Kandahar city) in the 4th century BC and gave it the [[Ancient Greek]] name Ἀλεξάνδρεια Ἀραχωσίας ({{transliteration|grc|[[Alexandria Arachosia|Alexandria]] of [[Arachosia]]}}). Historically, this province is considered as an important political area for Afghanistan revelations. Many empires have long fought over the city due to its strategic location along the trade routes of [[South Asia|southern]], [[Central Asia|central]] and [[western Asia]]. In 1709, [[Mirwais Hotak]] made the region an independent kingdom and turned Kandahar into the capital of the [[Hotak dynasty]]. In 1747, [[Ahmad Shah Durrani]], founder of the [[Durrani dynasty]], made Kandahar the capital of the [[Durrani Empire|Afghan Empire]].<ref name="infoplease">{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/world/A0826983.html |title=Kandahar |encyclopedia=[[Columbia Encyclopedia]] |access-date=9 January 2011 |archive-date=20 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210220104603/https://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/places/asia/afghanistan/kandahar |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.afghan-network.net/Culture/qandahar.html |title=The City of Kandahar |encyclopedia=[[Columbia Encyclopedia]] |access-date=9 January 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110515163409/http://www.afghan-network.net/Culture/qandahar.html |archive-date=15 May 2011 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> |
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Many empires have long fought over the city, due to its strategic location along the trade routes of [[Southern Asia|Southern]] and [[Central Asia]]. In 1748, [[Ahmad Shah Durrani]], founder of the [[Durrani Empire|Afghan Empire]], made Kandahar the capital of Afghanistan.<ref name="Link">Columbia Encyclopedia (Sixth Edition) - ''Kandahar''...[http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/world/A0826983.html Link]</ref><ref>Columbia Encyclopedia (Fifth Edition) - ''The City of Kandahar''...[http://www.afghan-network.net/Culture/qandahar.html Link]</ref> From 1996 to 2001, Kandahar served as the capital of the [[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan]]. Since 2002, the city is slowly being rebuilt while it deals with the [[Taliban insurgency]] at the same time. |
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==Name== |
==Name== |
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The modern name of the city derives from the name of the original city built here, [[Alexandria Arachosia|Alexandria]]. This city (often referred to as [[Alexandria]] in Arachosia to distinguish it from [[List of cities founded by Alexander the Great|other Alexandrias]]) was founded after the invasion of [[Alexander the Great]] in 330 BC. The name "Alexander" in the local [[Pashto language]] is rendered as "Iskandar". It is believed that over time this transformed into ''"Scandar"'', and eventually the modern ''"Kandahar"''.<ref name="Hill2009">John E. Hill, ''Through the Jade Gate to Rome: A Study of the Silk Routes during the Later Han dynasty, 1st to 2nd centuries AD''. BookSurge, Charleston, South Carolina, 2009. {{ISBN|978-1-4392-2134-1}}, pp. 517–518. This derivation, as that from Gondophares, was characterised as "philologiquement impossible" by P. Bernard, "Un probleme de toponymie antique dans l'Asie Centrale: les noms anciens de Qandahar", ''Studia Iranica'', tome 3, 1974 and ''Afghanistan Quarterly'', vol.33, no.1, June 1980/Spring 1359, pp.49–62, p59, n.10.</ref> The change of the name from ''"Scandar"'' to Candar is mentioned by the 16th-century Portuguese historian [[João de Barros]] in his most famous work, ''[[Décadas da Ásia]]''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Barros |first1=João de |title=Da Asia De Joāo De Barros: Dos Feitos, Que Os Portuguezes Fizeram No Descubrimento, E Conquista Dos Mares, E Terras Do Oriente. Decada Quarta. Parte Segunda |date=1552 |publisher=Na Regia Officina Typografica |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BPlgAAAAcAAJ&q=Jo%C3%A3o+de+Barros+scandar&pg=PA6 |language=pt |quote=Those who go from Persia, from the kingdom of Horaçam (Khorasan), from Bohára, and all the Western Regions, travel to the city which the natives corruptly call Candar, instead of Scandar, the name by which the Persians call Alexander.:ruptamente Candar, havendo de dizer Scandar, nome per que os Perfas chamam Alexandre, por elle (como efcreve Arriano ") edificar efia Cidade, e do feu nome fe chamou Alexandria fituada ... |access-date=2 October 2020 |archive-date=1 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210501125637/https://books.google.com/books?id=BPlgAAAAcAAJ&q=Jo%C3%A3o+de+Barros+scandar&pg=PA6 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>Those who go from Persia, from the kingdom of Horaçam (Khorasan), from Bohára, and all the Western Regions, travel to the city which the natives corruptly call Candar, instead of Scandar, the name by which the Persians call Alexander</ref> |
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[[Image:AsokaKandahar.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Bilingual ''[[Edicts of Ashoka|Edict of Ashoka]]'' (in [[Greek language|Greek]] and [[Aramaic]]), found in Kandahar. Circa 250 BC.]] |
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It is believed that ''Kandahar'' may have derived from [[Alexandria (disambiguation)|Alexandria]] (''Iskandriya'' in various local languages).<ref name = Alexander/> A temple to the deified Alexander as well as an inscription in [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] and [[Aramaic]] by the Indian Emperor [[Ashoka]], who lived a few decades later, have been discovered in Kandahar.<ref>Ashoka's Rock Edicts...[http://www.livius.org/a/pakistan/shahbazgarhi/shahbazgarhi2.html Link]{{Dead link|date=December 2009}}</ref> |
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A [[folk etymology]] offered is that the word "kand" or "qand" in [[Persian language|Persian]] and [[Pashto language|Pashto]] (the local languages) is the origin of the word "[[candy]]". The name "Candahar" or "Kandahar" in this form probably translates to candy area. This probably has to do with the location being [[Soil Fertility|fertile]] and historically known for producing fine grapes, [[pomegranate production in Afghanistan|pomegranates]], [[apricot]]s, melons and other sweet fruits.{{Citation needed|date=June 2019}} |
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An alternative etymology derives the name of the city from |
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[[Gandhara]]<ref>[http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.0:1:390.hobson Hobson Jobson Dictionary<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>, the name of an ancient Hindu kingdom from the Vedic period and its capital city located between the [[Hindukush]] and [[Sulaiman Mountains]] (basically identical to the modern extend of the Pashtun-inhabited territories in Pakistan and Afghanistan)<ref>Gandara...[http://www.livius.org/ga-gh/gandara/gandara.html Link]</ref>, although Kandahar in modern times and the ancient Gandhara are not geographically identical.<ref>W. Vogelsang, ''"Gandahar"'', in ''The Circle Of Ancient Iranian Studies''</ref><ref>E. Herzfeld, ''"The Persian Empire: Studies on Geography and Ethnography of the Ancient Near East"'', ed. G. Walser, [[Wiesbaden]] 1968, pp. 279, 293-94, 336-38, 345</ref> |
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[[Ernst Herzfeld]] claimed Kandahar perpetuated the name of the [[Indo-Parthian]] king [[Gondophares]], who re-founded the city under the name Gundopharron.<ref>Ernst Herzfeld, ''Archaeological History of Iran'', London, Oxford University Press for the British Academy, 1935, p.63; Ernst Herzfeld, ''The Persian Empire: Studies in Geography and Ethnography of the Ancient Near East'', Wiesbaden, Steiner, 1968, p.335.</ref> However, modern historians and linguists generally find this derivation implausible.<ref name="Hill2009"/> |
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Another compelling etymology offered is that the word "kand" or "qand" in Persian and Pashto (the local languages) means "sugarcandy" and "har" means necklace. The name of the city (قند هار/Qandahar) means "sugar-necklace". And the ancient word- Gandh derived from Gandhar also means a sweet nice smell. This probably has to do with the city being known for producing fine grapes, pomegranates, [[apricot]]s, [[melon]]s and other sweet [[fruit]]s.<ref name="Link"/> |
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An alternative [[etymology]] derives the name of the city from [[Gandhara]],<ref name="Hobson Jobson Dictionary">[https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.0:1:390.hobson Hobson Jobson Dictionary] {{Webarchive |url=https://archive.today/20120707232441/http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.0:1:390.hobson |date=7 July 2012 }}; ''The Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary'', Vaman Shivram Apte, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, India, 1975, {{ISBN|81-208-0567-4}}; P. Bernard, "Une probleme de toponymie antique dans l'Asie centrale: les noms anciens de Qandahar", ''Studia Iranica'', tome 3 (fasc. 2) 1974, 171–185.</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=October 2024}} the name of an ancient Buddhist kingdom located along the north of the [[Kabul River|Kabul river]], and centred on the [[Peshawar Valley]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-HeJS3nE9cAC&q=gandhara+kunar+river&pg=PA135 |title=The Greeks in Bactria and India |isbn=9781108009416 |last1=Tarn |first1=William Woodthorpe |date=24 June 2010 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |access-date=25 June 2021 |archive-date=25 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210625051153/https://books.google.com/books?id=-HeJS3nE9cAC&q=gandhara+kunar+river&pg=PA135 |url-status=live }}</ref> The name Kandahar ({{langx|sa|कंधार}}) might be linguistically corrupted form of a word [[Gandhāra (kingdom)|Gandhāra]] ({{langx|sa|गंधार}}), which was used between 2000-1700 BCE.<ref>{{cite book |last=Singh |first=Upinder |url= |title=A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century |date= |publisher=[[Longman|Pearson Education India]] |isbn= |location= |page=264 |author-link=Upinder Singh}}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=October 2024}} |
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Another etymology derives the name of the city as combination of two [[PIE]] words, even used in Indo-Pakistan now by nomadic [[Bagga]] and [[Sansi]] tribes, ''kand = wall'' and ''har = mountain or stone'' leading to understand a city made of stones or fortress with stone wall. |
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Yet another etymology derives the name of the city from the name of the Indo-Parthian King [[Gondophares]]: he founded it under the name Gundopharron.<ref>Ernst Herzfeld, ''Archaeological History of Iran,'' London, Oxford University Press for the British Academy, 1935, p.63.</ref> |
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==History== |
==History== |
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{{Quote box |width=25em |align=right |title_bg=#B0C4DE |
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{{History of Afghanistan}} |
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|title=Timeline of Kandahar ([[Alexandria Arachosia]])<br><small>Historical affiliations</small> |
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|fontsize=80% |quote={{Noflag|[[Macedonia (ancient kingdom)|Macedonia]]}} 330 BC–312 BC<br> |
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{{Noflag|[[Seleucid Empire]]}} 312 BC–304 BC<br> |
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{{Noflag|[[Maurya Empire]]}} 304 BC–204 BC<br> |
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{{Noflag|[[Seleucid Empire]]}} 204 BC–c. 180 BC<br> |
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{{Noflag|[[Greco-Bactrian Kingdom]]}} 180 BC-c. 150 BC<br> |
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{{Noflag|[[Indo-Greek Kingdom|Yavana Kingdom]]}} c. 150 BC–142 BC<br> |
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{{Noflag|[[Indo-Scythians]]}} 142 BC–32 BC<br> |
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{{Noflag|[[Parthian Empire]]}} 32 BC–19 CE<br> |
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{{Noflag|[[Indo-Parthian Kingdom]]}} 19–36<br> |
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{{Noflag|[[Kushan Empire]]}} 36–230<br> |
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{{Noflag|[[Sasanian Empire]]}} 230–645<br> |
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{{Noflag|[[Rashidun Caliphate]]}} 645–661<br> |
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{{Noflag|[[Umayyad Caliphate]]}} 661–750<br> |
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{{flagicon image|Abbasid banner.svg}} [[Abbasid Caliphate]] 750-861<br> |
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{{Noflag|[[Saffarid dynasty]]}} 861–977<br> |
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{{Noflag|[[Ghaznavid Empire]]}} 977–1175<br> |
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{{Noflag|[[Ghurid dynasty]]}} 1175-1207<br> |
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{{Noflag|[[Khwarazmian Empire]]}} 1207–1222<br> |
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{{Noflag|[[Mongol Empire]]}} 1222-1256<br> |
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{{flagicon image|Flag of the Ilkhanate.svg}} [[Ilkhanate]] 1256-1347<br> |
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{{Noflag|[[Kart dynasty]]}} 1347-1382<br> |
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{{flagicon image|Catalan Atlas, Flag of Cathay.svg}} [[Timurid Empire]] 1382-1507<br> |
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{{flagicon image|Alam of the Mughal Empire.svg}} [[Mughal Empire]] 1507–1649<br> |
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{{flagicon image|Safavid Flag.svg}} [[Safavid Empire]] 1649-1711<br> |
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{{flagicon image|Black flag.svg}} [[Hotak dynasty]] 1711–1738<br> |
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{{flagicon image|Afsharid Imperial Standard (3 Stripes).svg}} [[Afsharid Empire]] 1738–1747<br> |
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{{Noflag|[[Durrani Empire]]}} 1747–1818<br> |
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{{flagicon image|Flag of Afghanistan (1880–1901).svg}} [[Principality of Kandahar]] 1818-1839<br> |
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{{flagicon image|Flag of the United Kingdom (1-2).svg}} [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]] ([[Company Raj]]) 1839-1842<br> |
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{{flagicon image|Flag of Afghanistan (1880–1901).svg}} [[Principality of Kandahar]] 1842-1855<br> |
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{{flag|Afghanistan}} 1855–present |
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}} |
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===Prehistory=== |
===Prehistory=== |
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{{Further|Pre-Islamic period of Afghanistan}} |
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Excavations of prehistoric sites by Louis Dupree, the [[University of Pennsylvania]], the [[Smithsonian Institution]], and others suggest that the region around Kandahar is one of the oldest human settlements known so far.{{Quote|...Early peasant farming villages came into existence in Afghanistan ca. 5000 B.C., or 7000 years ago. ''Deh Morasi Ghundai'', the first prehistoric site to be excavated in Afghanistan, lies 27 km (17 mi.) southwest of Kandahar (Dupree, 1951). Another [[Bronze Age]] village mound site with multiroomed mud-brick buildings dating from the same period sits nearby at ''Said Qala'' (J. Shaffer, 1970). Second millennium B.C. Bronze Age [[pottery]], [[copper]] and [[bronze]] horse trappings and stone seals were found in the lowermost levels in the nearby cave called ''Shamshir Ghar'' (Dupree, 1950). In the [[Seistan]], southwest of these Kandahar sites, two teams of [[United States|American]] archaeologists discovered sites relating to the 2nd millennium B.C. (G. Dales, University Museum, University of Pennsylvania, 1969, 1971; W, Trousdale, Smithsonian Institution, 1971 – 76). Stylistically the finds from ''Deh Morasi'' and ''Said Qala'' tie in with those of pre-[[Indus Valley Civilization|Indus Valley]] sites and with those of comparable age on the [[Iranian Plateau]] and in [[Central Asia]], indicating cultural contacts during this very early age...<ref Name=Dupree3>Dupree, Nancy Hatch (1971) "Sites in Perspective (Chapter 3)" ''An Historical Guide To Afghanistan'' Afghan Tourist Organization, Kabul, [http://worldcat.org/oclc/241390 OCLC 241390] [http://www.afghanan.net/afghanistan/alexander.htm Copy here is non-attributed.]</ref>|Nancy H. Dupree|1971}} |
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Excavations of prehistoric sites by archaeologists such as [[Louis Dupree (professor)|Louis Dupree]] and others suggest that the region around Kandahar is one of the oldest known human settlements known so far. |
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{{Blockquote|Early peasant farming villages came into existence in Afghanistan ca. 5000 B.C., or 7000 years ago. Deh Morasi Ghundai, the first prehistoric site to be excavated in Afghanistan, lies {{cvt|27|km|0}} southwest of Kandahar (Dupree, 1951). Another [[Bronze Age]] village mound site with multiroomed mud-brick buildings dating from the same period sits nearby at Said Qala (J. Shaffer, 1970). Second millennium B.C. Bronze Age [[pottery]], copper and [[bronze]] horse trappings and stone seals were found in the lowermost levels in the nearby cave called Shamshir Ghar (Dupree, 1950). In the [[Seistan]], southwest of these Kandahar sites, two teams of American archaeologists discovered sites relating to the 2nd millennium B.C. (G. Dales, [[University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology|University Museum, University of Pennsylvania]], 1969, 1971; W, Trousdale, [[Smithsonian Institution]], 1971 – 76). Stylistically the finds from Deh Morasi and Said Qala tie in with those of pre-[[Indus Valley civilisation|Indus Valley]] sites and with those of comparable age on the [[Iranian Plateau]] and in Central Asia, indicating cultural contacts during this very early age.<ref Name=Dupree3>{{Cite book |title=An Historical Guide to Afghanistan |last1=Dupree |first1=Nancy Hatch |volume=First Edition |year=1970 |publisher=Afghan Air Authority, Afghan Tourist Organization |location=Kabul |page=492 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T__DHAAACAAJ |access-date=2012-06-17 |archive-date=7 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210507050410/https://books.google.com/books?id=T__DHAAACAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>|[[Nancy Dupree|N. Dupree]]|1971}} |
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British excavations in the 1970s discovered that Kandahar existed as a large fortified city during the early 1st millennium BC; while this earliest period at Kandahar has not been precisely dated via [[radiocarbon dating|radiocarbon]], ceramic comparisons with the latest period at the major [[Bronze Age]] city of [[Mundigak]] have suggested an approximate time-frame of 1000 to 750 BC.<ref name="books.google.com"/> This fortified city became an important outpost of the [[Achaemenid Empire]] in the 6th to 4th centuries BC, and formed part of the province of [[Arachosia]].<ref name="iranicaonline.org"/> |
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===Hellenistic era=== |
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{{Main|Alexandria in Arachosia}} |
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[[File:Afghanistan region during 500 BC.jpg|thumb|upright|left|The ancient [[Arachosia]] and the ''Pactyan people'' during the [[Achaemenid Empire]] in 500 B.C.]] |
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Kandahar was founded in 330 BC by [[Alexander the Great]], near the site of the ancient city of [[Mundigak]] (established around 3000 BC). Previously, the city was the provincial capital of [[Arachosia]] and was ruled by the [[Achaemenid Empire]]. The main inhabitants of Arachosia were the ''[[Pakthas|Pactyans]]'',<ref>Map of the [[Median Empire]] from the University of Texas in Austin, showing ''Pactyans'' in what is now Kandahar, Afghanistan...[http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/shepherd/oriental_empire.jpg Link]</ref> an ancient Iranian tribe, who may be among the ancestors of today's [[Pashtun people|Pashtuns]]. Kandahar was named ''[[Alexandria in Arachosia|Alexandria]]'', a popular name given to many cities that Alexander found during his conquests.<ref name=Alexander>Alexander the Great: his towns - ''Alexandria in Arachosia''...[http://www.livius.org/aj-al/alexandria/alexandria_arachosia.html Link]</ref> |
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===Ancient history=== |
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The city has been a frequent target for conquest because of its strategic location in [[Southern Asia]], controlling the main trade route linking the [[Indian subcontinent]] with the [[Middle East]], Central Asia and the [[Persian Gulf]].<ref>Mentioned in Bopearachchi, "Monnaies Greco-Bactriennes et Indo-Grecques", p52. Original text in paragraph 19 of [http://www.parthia.com/parthian_stations.htm#PARTHIAN_STATIONS Parthian stations]</ref> It later became part of the Indian [[Mauryan Empire]] under [[Chandragupta Maurya]], after the departure of Alexander. The [[Mauryan]] emperor [[Ashoka]] erected a pillar there with a bilingual inscription in [[Greek language|Greek]] and [[Aramaic]].<ref>Maurya dynasty...[http://www.livius.org/man-md/mauryas/mauryas.html Link]</ref> The [[Greco-Bactrian Kingdom]] occupied Kandahar after the Mauryans, but then lost the city to the [[Indo-Scythians]]. |
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{{Further|Alexandria in Arachosia}} |
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'''Foundation of city and Greek invasion''' |
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===Islamic conquest=== |
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{{See|Islamic conquest of Afghanistan}} |
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In the 7th century [[AD]], [[Islamic conquest of Afghanistan|Arab armies]] conquered the region with the new religion of [[Islam]] but were unable to succeed in fully converting the population. In 870 AD, [[Ya'qub-i Laith Saffari|Yaqub ibn Layth Saffari]], a local ruler of the [[Saffarids|Saffarid dynasty]] conquered Kandahar and the rest of the nearby regions in the name of Islam.{{Quote|...Arab armies carrying the banner of Islam came out of the west to defeat the [[Sasanians]] in 642 AD and then they marched with confidence to the east. On the western periphery of the Afghan area the princes of Herat and [[Seistan]] gave way to rule by Arab governors but in the east, in the mountains, cities submitted only to rise in revolt and the hastily converted returned to their old beliefs once the armies passed. The harshness and avariciousness of Arab rule produced such unrest, however, that once the waning power of the [[Caliphate]] became apparent, native rulers once again established themselves independent. Among these the Saffarids of Seistan shone briefly in the Afghan area. The fanatic founder of this dynasty, the coppersmith’s apprentice Yaqub ibn Layth Saffari, came forth from his capital at [[Zaranj]] in 870 AD and marched through [[Bost]], Kandahar, Ghazni, Kabul, [[Bamiyan]], [[Balkh]] and Herat, conquering in the name of Islam.<ref Name=Dupree3/>|Nancy H. Dupree|1971}} |
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[[File:Map of Afghanistan during the Safavid and Moghul Empire.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Kandahar (''Candahar'') during the [[Safavid dynasty]] and [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] period]] |
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The now known "[[Old Kandahar]]" was founded in 330 BC by [[Alexander the Great]], near the site of the ancient city of [[Mundigak]] (established around 3000 BC era). Mundigak served as the provincial capital of Arachosia and was ruled by the [[Medes]] followed by the Achaemenids until the arrival of the Macedonians. The main inhabitants of Arachosia were the ''[[Pakthas|Pakhtas]]'',<ref>Map of the [[Median Empire]] from the University of Texas in Austin, showing ''Pactyans'' in what is now Kandahar, Afghanistan ... [http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/shepherd/oriental_empire.jpg Link] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031004232323/http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/shepherd/oriental_empire.jpg |date=4 October 2003 }}</ref> an ancient Indo-Iranian tribe, who might have been among the ancestors of today's [[Pashtuns]]. Kandahar was named ''[[Alexandria in Arachosia|Alexandria]]'', a name given to some cities that Alexander founded during his conquests.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.livius.org/aj-al/alexandria/alexandria_arachosia.html |title=Alexandria in Arachosia |first=Jona |last=Lendering |publisher=LIVIUS – Articles on Ancient History |access-date=9 January 2011 |archive-date=15 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100615230642/http://www.livius.org/aj-al/alexandria/alexandria_arachosia.html |url-status=dead}}</ref> |
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It is believed that the [[Zunbils|Zunbil dynasty]], who were related to the [[Kabul Shahi|Shahi dynasty]] of Kabul, were probably the rulers of the Kandahar region from the 7th century until the late 9th century AD.{{Quote|The Zunbils ruled in the Kandahar area for nearly 250 years until the late 9th century AD.<ref>Excavations at Kandahar 1974 & 1975 (Society for South Asian Studies Monograph) by Anthony McNicoll.</ref>|Anthony McNicoll}} |
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Kandahar was a frequent target for conquest because of its strategic location in Asia, controlling the main trade route linking the [[Indian subcontinent]] with the [[Middle East]] and [[Central Asia]].<ref>Mentioned in Bopearachchi, "Monnaies Greco-Bactriennes et Indo-Grecques", p52. Original text in paragraph 19 of [http://www.parthia.com/parthian_stations.htm#PARTHIAN_STATIONS Parthian stations] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200531124126/http://www.parthia.com/parthian_stations.htm#PARTHIAN_STATIONS |date=31 May 2020 }}</ref> The territory became part of the [[Seleucid Empire]] after the death of Alexander. It is mentioned by [[Strabo]] that a treaty of friendship was established eventually between the Greeks and the [[Maurya Empire|Mauryas]] (Indians).<ref name=Dupree>{{cite web |url=http://www.aisk.org/aisk/NHDAHGTK05.php |title=An Historical Guide to Kabul – The Story of Kabul |author=[[Nancy Hatch Dupree]] / Aḥmad ʻAlī Kuhzād |publisher=American International School of Kabul |year=1972 |access-date=2010-09-18 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100830031416/http://www.aisk.org/aisk/NHDAHGTK05.php |archive-date=2010-08-30}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.livius.org/man-md/mauryas/mauryas.html |title=Maurya dynasty |first=Jona |last=Lendering |publisher=LIVIUS – Articles on Ancient History |access-date=9 January 2011 |archive-date=26 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120226183742/https://www.livius.org/man-md/mauryas/mauryas.html |url-status=dead}}</ref> The city eventually became part of the [[Greco-Bactrian Kingdom]] (250 BC – 125 BC), and continued that way for two hundred years under the later [[Indo-Greek Kingdom]] (180 BC – 10 AD). <!--(text section put into comment: This is not linked to Kandahar but Bagram (?) King [[Menander I]] (165 BC – 135 BC) of the Indo-Greek Kingdom practiced [[Greco-Buddhism]] and is recorded by the [[Mahavamsa]] (Chap. XXIX<ref name="Click chapter XXIX">Full text of the Mahavamsa [http://lakdiva.org/mahavamsa/chapters.html Click chapter XXIX]</ref>) to have sent "a Greek ("[[Yona]]") Buddhist head monk" named [[Mahadharmaraksita]] (literally translated as 'Great Teacher/Preserver of the Dharma') with 30,000 Buddhist monks from "the Greek city of Alasandra" (possibly [[Alexandria in the Caucasus]], as Bagram was known under the Greeks) to Sri Lanka for the dedication of [[Ruwanwelisaya|Great Stupa]] Buddhist temple in [[Anuradhapura]]. --> |
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Kandahar was taken by [[Mahmud of Ghazni|Sultan Mahmud]] of [[Ghazni]] in the 11th century followed by the [[Ghurids]] of [[Ghor]], and in the 13th century it was invaded by [[Genghis Khan]] and his [[Mongols|Mongol]] armies. It became part of the [[Timurid Empire]] from the 14th century to the 15th century, which was founded by [[Timur]] (Tamerlane). [[Pir Muhammad]], a grandson of Tamerlane, held the seat of government in Kandahar from about 1383 until his death in 1407. Following Pir Mohammad's death, the city was ruled by other Timurids. In the late 15th century Kandahar was entrusted to the [[Arghun Dynasty|Arghuns]], who eventually achieved independence from the Timurids. |
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[[File:AsokaKandahar.jpg|thumb|left|[[Kandahar Bilingual Rock Inscription]] ([[Greek language|Greek]] and [[Aramaic]]) by Emperor [[Ashoka the Great|Ashoka]], from [[Chilzina]] in Kandahar, 3rd century BC.]] |
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While the [[Diadochi]] were warring amongst themselves, the Mauryas were developing in the northern part of the [[Indian subcontinent]]. The founder of the empire, [[Chandragupta Maurya]], confronted a Macedonian invasion force led by [[Seleucus I Nicator|Seleucus I]] in 305 BC and following a brief conflict, an agreement was reached as Seleucus ceded [[Gandhara]] and Arachosia and areas south of [[Bagram]] to the Mauryas. During the 120 years of the Mauryas in southern Afghanistan, Buddhism was introduced and eventually become a major religion alongside Zoroastrianism and local pagan beliefs. |
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Tamerlane's descendant, [[Babur]], the founder of the [[Mughal Empire]], annexed Kandahar in the 16th century. Babur's son, [[Humayun]], lost it to the [[Safavids|Shah of Persia]]. Humayun's son, [[Akbar]], regained control of Kandahar but by the early 1700s subsequent Mughal emperors lost the territory once again to the [[Safavid dynasty|Persian Safavids]]. |
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Inscriptions made by Emperor Ashoka, a fragment of [[Edicts of Ashoka|Edict 13]] in Greek, as well as a full Edict, written in both Greek and Aramaic has been discovered in Kandahar. It is said to be written in excellent Classical Greek, using sophisticated philosophical terms. In this Edict, Ashoka the great used the word [[Eusebeia]] ("[[Piety]]") as the Greek translation for the ubiquitous "[[Dharma]]" of his other Edicts written in [[Prakrit]]. |
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===Modern history=== |
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{{See|Hotaki dynasty|Durrani Empire}} |
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[[Mir Wais Hotak|Mirwais Hotak]], a local [[Pashtun people|Afghan]] (''Pashtun'') from the [[Ghilzai]] clan, revolted and killed [[Gurgin Khan]], the [[Georgia (country)|Georgian]] governor who ruled in the name of the Safavid Persians. Mirwais then defeated a subsequent expedition by Gurgin's nephew, [[Kaikhosro of Kartli|Kay Khusraw]], and successfully resisted attempts by the Persian government to convert the local people from [[Sunni]] to the [[Shia]] version of Islam. Mirwais remained in power until his death in 1715 and was succeeded by his son, [[Mir Mahmud Hotaki]].<ref>Afghanland - ''Mirwais Khan Hotak''...[http://www.afghanland.com/history/hotak.html Link]</ref> |
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[[Image:Ahmad Shah Durrani - 1747.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Ahmad Shah Durrani]] [[Coronation|being crowned]] as [[List of leaders of Afghanistan|Emir of Afghanistan]] in October 1747.]] |
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===Medieval history=== |
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In 1722, Mir Mahmud led an army of Afghans to [[Isfahan]], the capital of the [[Safavid]] [[Persia]] and proclaimed himself King of Persia. The [[Hotaki dynasty]] was eventually removed from power by a new ruler, [[Nader Shah]] [[Afsharid dynasty|Afshar]], who invaded Kandahar in 1738 and destroyed the last stronghold of the Ghilzais. Expelling the surviving inhabitant, Nader Shah built a new town west of the ancient city, naming it after himself, "Naderabad". Today, this part of the city is called ''Topekhana'' and where the city's Persian residents can be found.<ref>Encyclopaedia Britannica - ''The Hotakis (from Afghanistan)''...[http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-21394/Afghanistan Link]</ref> Nader Shah's rule ended in June 1747, after being murdered by the Persians.<ref>The Afghans (2002) By Willem Vogelsang. Page 228.</ref> |
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{{Further|Islamic conquest of Afghanistan}} |
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[[File:The Surrender of Kandahar.jpg|thumb|upright|A [[Miniature (illuminated manuscript)|miniature]] from [[Padshahnama]] depicting the surrender of the [[Shi'a Islam|Shi'a]] [[Safavid dynasty|Safavid]] garrison at what is now [[Old Kandahar]] in 1638 to the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] army of [[Shah Jahan]]]] |
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'''Islamic conquest''' |
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[[Ahmad Shah Durrani]], an ethnic Pashtun and chief of the [[Durrani|Abdali]] tribe, gained control of Kandahar and made it the capital of his new [[Durrani Empire|Afghan Empire]] in October 1747. Previously, Ahmad Shah served as a military commander and personal bodyguard of Nader Shah [[Afshar tribe|Afshar]].<ref>Encyclopaedia Britannica - ''The Durrani dynasty''...[http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-21396/Afghanistan Link]</ref> His empire included present-day Afghanistan, [[Pakistan]], northeastern Iran, and the [[Punjab region]] of India. In October 1772, Ahmad Shah retired in Kandahar and died later from a natural cause.<ref name=Britannica>Encyclopaedia Britannica - ''Ahmad Shah Durrani''...[http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9004137/Ahmad-Shah-Durrani?source=YNFAF Link]</ref> The (now) "Old City" was laid out by Ahmad Shah and is dominated by his mausoleum, which is adjacent to the [[Mosque of the Cloak of the Prophet Mohammed]] on a main road in the center of the city. Between 1773-76, his eldest son [[Timur Shah Durrani]] transferred the capital of Afghanistan from Kandahar to Kabul, where the [[Durrani]] legacy continued.<ref Name=Dupree3/> |
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[[Image:Courtyard of Wali Sher Ali in 1881.jpg|thumb|upright|Courtyard of Kandahar's governor in 1881.]] |
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Until the 9th century, Kandahar and other regions ruled by the [[Zunbils]] were considered part of the [[Indian Subcontinent]], though it was an Eastern Iranic realm which followed [[Zurvanism]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wink |first=André |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g2m7_R5P2oAC&dq=it+was+clear+that+zunbils+ruled+over+a+predominately+indian+realm&pg=PA114 |title=Al-Hind, the Making of the Indo-Islamic World: Early Medieval India and the Expansion of Islam 7Th-11th Centuries |date=2002 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-0-391-04173-8 |pages=114 |language=en |access-date=5 April 2023 |archive-date=5 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405181852/https://books.google.com/books?id=g2m7_R5P2oAC&dq=it+was+clear+that+zunbils+ruled+over+a+predominately+indian+realm&pg=PA114 |url-status=live }}</ref> In the 7th century [[AD]], [[Islamic conquest of Afghanistan|Arab armies conquered the region]] but failed to convert the entire |
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On 28th [[Muharram]] 1242 Hijri (September 2, 1826) [[Syed Ahmad Shaheed]]'s forces reached Kandahar en route to Peshawar. Their purpose was to wage jihad against the [[Sikhism|Sikh]] kingdom of [[Ranjit Singh]] and aid their fellow Pashtuns and co-religionist in [[Pakistan]]. Within a few days more than 400 Kandharians presented themselves for the jihad, out of whom 270 were selected. Sayed Deen Muhammad Kandharai was appointed their leader. |
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population to Islam.The leader of the expedition was [[Abbad ibn Ziyad]], who governed Sijistan between 673 and 681.<ref>{{EI2|article=ʿAbbād b. Ziyād|last=Zetterstéen|first=K. V.|volume=1|page=5}}</ref> In AD 870, [[Ya'qub-i Laith Saffari|Yaqub ibn Layth Saffari]], a local ruler of the [[Saffarids|Saffarid dynasty]], conquered Kandahar and environs in the name of Islam. |
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'''Ghanavids''' |
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[[Great Britain|British]] and [[British Raj|Indian]] forces from [[British India]] occupied the city in 1839, during the [[First Anglo-Afghan War|first Anglo-Afghan war]]. They were forced to withdraw approximately three years later, in 1842. The British and Indian forces returned in 1878 during the [[Second Anglo-Afghan War|second Anglo-Afghan war]]. They emerged from the city in July 1880 to confront [[Ayub Khan]], but were heavily defeated at the [[Battle of Maiwand]]. They were again forced to withdraw a few years later, despite winning a battle near the city (see [[Battle of Kandahar]]). Kandahar remained peaceful for the next 100 years. |
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It is believed that the [[Zunbils|Zunbil dynasty]] were the rulers of the Kandahar region from the 7th century until the late 9th century AD.<ref>Excavations at Kandahar 1974 & 1975 (Society for South Asian Studies Monograph) by Anthony McNicoll.{{blockquote|The Zunbils ruled in the Kandahar area for nearly 250 years until the late 9th century AD.}}</ref> Kandahar was taken by [[Mahmud of Ghazni|Sultan Mahmud]] of [[Ghazni]] in the 11th century followed by the [[Ghurids]] of [[Ghor]]. |
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In the 1960s, [[Kandahar International Airport]] was built, with the help of the [[United States Agency for International Development]], 10 miles (16 kilometers) south-east of the city. It was used by the [[Soviets|Red Army]] during their ten-year occupation of the country. As of 2001, the airport is used by the [[Military of the United States|US]] and [[NATO]] forces as a military base. |
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Kandahar appears to have been renamed ''Teginābād'' in the 10th-12th centuries, but the origin of the new name is unclear. During this period, nearby [[Panjwayi District|Panjway]] served as the administrative center for the area. However, Kandahar was of much more strategic importance, to the extent that [[Minhaj-i-Siraj]] attributes the downfall of the [[Ghaznavids]] to the loss of Kandahar. The city's name was changed back to Kandahar by the 13th century, after [[Ala al-Din Husayn|Ala ad-Din Husayn Jahansuz]] sacked [[Lashkari Bazar]], near [[Lashkargah|Bost]]. Again, the reason for the name change is not clear.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Inaba |first1=Minoru |title=KANDAHAR iii. Early Islamic Period |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kandahar-early-islamic-period |website=[[Encyclopaedia Iranica]] |access-date=9 March 2020 |archive-date=21 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200221093955/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kandahar-early-islamic-period |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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During the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan (1979–1989), Kandahar was under Soviet command and witnessed heavy fighting. Soviet troops surrounded the city, and subjected it to a heavy artillery and air bombardment in which many civilians lost their lives.<ref>Conflict Studies Journal at the University of New Brunswick...[http://www.lib.unb.ca/Texts/JCS/bin/get5.cgi?directory=fall99/&filename=WESTERMA.htm#39 Link]</ref> After the Soviet withdrawal and the fall of [[Najibullah]]'s government in 1992, Kandahar fell into the hands of a local [[mujahideen]] commander, [[Gul Agha Sherzai]]. |
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'''Mongols''' |
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In August 1994 the [[Taliban]] captured Kandahar and soon after the city was turned into their capital.<ref>[[Reuters]], [http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L20399641.htm Link]</ref> In one incident the Taliban rescued a boy from two commanders who were fighting over him and after freeing him the people decided to support them.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/21/world/kandahar-journal-shh-it-s-an-open-secret-warlords-and-pedophilia.html?pagewanted=1 Kandahar Journal; Shh, It's an Open Secret: Warlords and Pedophilia] by [[Craig S. Smith]] and Thorne Anderson of [[The New York Times]], Feb 21 2002.</ref><ref name="LAT">http://www.glapn.org/sodomylaws/world/afghanistan/afnews009.htm by Maura Reynolds of the [[Los Angeles Times]], April 3, 2002.</ref> In December 1999, a hijacked [[Indian Airlines Flight 814]] plane by Pakistani militants loyal to [[Harkat-ul-Mujahideen]] landed at Kandahar Airport and kept the passengers hostage as part of a demand to release 3 Pakistani militants held in Indian custody. The demand was met and nobody was hurt in the incident. |
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[[File:KANDAHAR TEN-MILER.jpg|thumb|left|[[United States Army|U.S. Army]] troops pass by the starting point of the [[Army Ten-Miler]] run at [[Kandahar International Airport|Kandahar Airfield]] on October 4, 2009. More than 900 runners from 14 [[International Security Assistance Force|coalition forces]] participated in the run.]] |
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Kandahar was besieged by a [[Mongol Empire|Mongol]] army in 1221, although [[Jalal ad-Din Mingburnu]] defeated them. In 1251, upon accession to the Mongol throne, [[Möngke Khan]] granted Kandahar, along with other lands in Afghanistan, to [[Shams-uddin Muhammad Kurt I|Shams ad-Din Mohammad Kart]] of the [[Kart dynasty]]. However, the city is mentioned as being under [[Chagatai Khanate|Chagatai]] control in 1260–61; Kandahar didn't come under Kart control until 1281. Later, in 1318, a Chagatai prince raised an army from Kandahar against the [[Ilkhanate|Ilkhanid]] governor of [[Sistan]].<ref name="KANDAHAR iv. From The Mongol Invasi">{{cite web |last1=Matthee |first1=Rudi |last2=Mashita |first2=Hiroyuki |title=KANDAHAR iv. From The Mongol Invasion Through The Safavid Era |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kandahar-from-the-mongol-invasion-through-the-safavid-era |website=Encyclopaedia Iranica |access-date=9 March 2020 |archive-date=28 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141028132345/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kandahar-from-the-mongol-invasion-through-the-safavid-era |url-status=live }}</ref> Kandahar was described by [[Ibn Battuta]] in 1333 as a large and prosperous town three nights journey from [[Ghazni]].<ref name=Batutta>{{Cite book |title=Travels in Asia and Africa, 1325–1354 |author=Ibn Battuta |edition=reprint, illustrated |year=2004 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=0-415-34473-5 |page=179 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zKqn_CWTxYEC&pg=PA179 |access-date=2012-08-04 |archive-date=2 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210702020838/https://books.google.com/books?id=zKqn_CWTxYEC&pg=PA179 |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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In October 2001, as part of [[Operation Enduring Freedom]], the [[United States Navy]] began hitting targets inside the city by [[Precision-guided munition|precision-guided]] [[cruise missile]]s that were fired from the [[Persian Gulf]]. These targets were the airport and buildings that were occupied by the Taliban, including [[Afghan Arabs|Arab]] families who had arrived several years earlier and were residing in the area.<ref>[[BBC News]], [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7193579.stm Kandahar's cemetery of 'miracles']</ref> About a month later, Taliban began surrendering to a private militia that had been formed by Gul Agha Sherzai and [[Hamid Karzai]].<ref>[http://www.time.com/time/asia/2003/journey/afghanistan.html Afghanistan, from the August 18 — August 25, 2003 issue of TIME magazine].</ref> Kandahar once again fell into the hands of Sherzai, who had control over the area before the rise of the Taliban, and was credited with permitting the same corruption that first fueled the growth of the Taliban. Sherzai was transferred in 2003 and replaced by [[Yousef Pashtun]] until [[Asadullah Khalid]] took the post in 2005. The current Governor of the province is [[Tooryalai Wesa]]. |
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[[File:Tribal and religious leaders in southern Afghanistan.jpg|thumb|upright|Tribal and religious leaders gather following a [[shura]] held by [[President of Afghanistan|Afghan President]] [[Hamid Karzai]].]] |
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[[Timur the Great]], founder of the [[Timurid Empire]], captured Kandahar in 1383. He appointed his grandson [[Pir Muhammad bin Jahangir Mirza|Pir Muhammad]] as governor of Kandahar in 1390.<ref name="KANDAHAR iv. From The Mongol Invasi"/> Following his death in 1405, the city was ruled by other Timurid governors. Kandahar was entrusted to the [[Arghun Dynasty|Arghuns]] in the late 15th century, who eventually achieved independence from the Timurids. [[Guru Nanak]], the founder of [[Sikhism]], is believed to have visited the town (c. 1521 AD) during his important journey between Hindustan and [[Mecca]] in Arabia. |
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The [[Afghan National Police]] are in control of the basic law and order situation in the city. The [[military of Afghanistan]], supported by US-NATO forces, has gradually expanded its authority and presence throughout most of the country. The [[205th Corps (Afghanistan)|205th Corps]] of the [[Afghan National Army]] has a base at Kandahar and provides military assistance to the south of the country. The [[Canadian Forces]] maintain their military command headquarters at Kandahar, heading the [[Regional Command South]] of the NATO led [[International Security Assistance Force]] in [[Kandahar Province]]. The Taliban also have spies inside the city reporting on events.<ref>BBC News,[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8203830.stm Kandahar dreamers test Taliban edicts]</ref> |
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'''Mughal and Safavid Era''' |
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In recent years the Canadian and U.S. forces are rushing to quickly expand the Afghan police force for the prevention of a Taliban comeback in Kandahar, the militants' ''"spiritual birthplace"'' and a strategic key to ward off the [[Taliban insurgency]], as a part of a larger effort that also aimed to deliver services such as electricity and clean drinking water that the Taliban could not provide — encouraging support for the government in a city that was once the Taliban's headquarters.<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/feedarticle/8912934 "NATO forces in race to secure Kandahar"]</ref> In Spring 2010, the province and the city of Kandahar became a target of American operations following ''[[Operation Moshtarak]]'' in the neighbouring [[Helmand province]].<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/27/world/asia/27kandahar.html "Kandahar Becomes Battlefield Before a U.S. Offensive"]</ref> In March 2010, U.S. and NATO commanders released details of plans for the biggest offensive of the war against the [[Taliban insurgency]].<ref>[http://in.reuters.com/article/southAsiaNews/idINIndia-47354120100331 "Q+A - NATO sees Kandahar battle as Afghan turning point"]</ref> |
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Tamerlane's descendant, [[Babur]], the founder of the [[Mughal Empire]], annexed Kandahar in 1508. In 1554, Babur's son, [[Humayun]], handed it over to the [[Safavid]] [[Shah Tahmasp]] in return of 12,000 soldiers he received from the Shah to reconquer India. In 1595, [[Humayun]]'s son [[Akbar the Great]] reconquered the city by diplomacy. Akbar died in 1605 and when this news reached the Persian court, Shah Abbas ordered his army to besiege the city which continued until early 1606 and finally failed due to the reinforcements sent by the Mughal Emperor [[Jahangir]] that forced the Safavid retreat. In the [[Mughal–Safavid War (1649–1653)|Mughal–Safavid War]], Kandahar was once again lost to the Safavids. In 1698, Mughals under [[Samandar Khan]] of [[Kalat State]] captured Kandahar again. Kandahar was regarded as important to the Mughal Empire because it was one of the gateways to India, and Mughal control over Kandahar helped to prevent foreign intrusions.<ref name="sen2">{{Cite book |last=Sen |first=Sailendra |title=A Textbook of Medieval Indian History |publisher=Primus Books |year=2013 |isbn=978-93-80607-34-4 |pages=151, 162, 169–170}}</ref> |
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On 22 May 2010 Kandahar Air Field became subject of a combined rocket and ground attack by the Taliban, following similar attacks on Kabul and Bagram in the preceding weeks. Although this attack did not lead to many casualties on the side of the Coalition Forces, it did show that the Taliban are still capable of launching multiple, coordinated operations in Afghanistan. On 13 June 2010, a [[shura]] was held by Afghan President Hamid Karzai with tribal and religious leaders of the Kandahar region. The meeting highlighted the need for support of NATO-led forces in order to stabilize parts of the province. |
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The memory of the wars fought over Kandahar at this time is preserved in the epic poem ''Qandahār-nāma'' ("The Campaign Against Qandahār"), a major work of [[Saib Tabrizi]] which is a classic of Persian literature. |
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==Climate== |
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{{Infobox Weather |
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|metric_first = yes |
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|single_line = yes |
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|location = Kandahar |
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|Jan_Hi_°C = 12 |
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|Feb_Hi_°C = 17 |
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|Mar_Hi_°C = 22 |
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|Apr_Hi_°C = 28 |
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|May_Hi_°C = 32 |
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|Jun_Hi_°C = 37 |
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|Jul_Hi_°C = 39 |
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|Aug_Hi_°C = 36 |
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|Sep_Hi_°C = 33 |
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|Oct_Hi_°C = 29 |
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|Nov_Hi_°C = 22 |
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|Dec_Hi_°C = 13 |
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|Year_Hi_°C = 27 |
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|Jan_Lo_°C = -1 |
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|Feb_Lo_°C = 2 |
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|Mar_Lo_°C = 5 |
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|Apr_Lo_°C = 10 |
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|May_Lo_°C = 12 |
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|Jun_Lo_°C = 15 |
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|Jul_Lo_°C = 17 |
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|Aug_Lo_°C = 15 |
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|Sep_Lo_°C = 10 |
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|Oct_Lo_°C = 5 |
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|Nov_Lo_°C = 2 |
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|Dec_Lo_°C = -1 |
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|Year_Lo_°C = 8 |
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|Jan_Precip_cm = 7.9 |
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|Feb_Precip_cm = 4.2 |
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|Mar_Precip_cm = 2.0 |
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|Apr_Precip_cm = 0.8 |
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|May_Precip_cm = 0.5 |
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|Jun_Precip_cm = 0.0 |
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|Jul_Precip_cm = 0.2 |
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|Aug_Precip_cm = 0.0 |
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|Sep_Precip_cm = 0.0 |
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|Oct_Precip_cm = 0.0 |
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|Nov_Precip_cm = 0.0 |
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|Dec_Precip_cm = 1.9 |
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|Year_Precip_cm = 17.5 |
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|source = <ref>{{cite web |
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|url=http://www.artofwar.net.ru/profiles/andreev_pavel_v/view_book/kandagrad |
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|title=Weather Information |
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|accessdate=}}</ref> |
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|accessdate = }} |
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===Modern (1709-Present)=== |
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Kandahar has an arid, continental climate characterized by little precipitation and high variation between summer and winter temperatures. Summers start in mid-May, last until late-September, and are extremely dry. They peak in June with average temperatures of around 32<sup>o</sup>C (90<sup>o</sup>F). They are followed by a dry autumn from early-October to late-November with average temperatures sliding from 18<sup>o</sup>C (64<sup>o</sup>F) to 9C (48<sup>o</sup>F). |
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{{Further|Hotak dynasty|Durrani Empire}} |
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[[File:Kandahar fourthcity durrani.jpg|thumb|right|270px|This lithograph is taken from plate 23 of ''Afghaunistan'' by Lieutenant [[James Rattray]], 1848. He sketched Kandahar in December 1841 from the rooftop of the former residence of the province's governor, Sirdar Meer Dil Khaun, who was brother to the Emir. Pictured on the left is the tomb of Ahmed Shah Durrani and on the right the Bala Hissar (fort) and citadel.]] |
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Winter starts in December and sees most of the precipitation in the form of rain. Temperatures average around 5-8<sup>o</sup>C (42 - 46<sup>o</sup>F), although lows can drop well below freezing. They end in early-March and are followed by a pleasant spring till late-April with temperatures in the 15<sup>o</sup>C (60<sup>o</sup>F) range. |
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[[Mirwais Hotak]], chief of the [[Ghilji]] tribe, revolted in 1709 by killing [[George XI of Kartli|Gurgin Khan]], an ethnic [[Georgian people|Georgian]] subject and governor of the Shia [[Safavid dynasty|Safavid]] Persians. After establishing the [[Hotak dynasty]] in Kandahar, Mirwais and his army successfully defeated subsequent expeditions by [[Kaikhosro of Kartli|Kay Khusraw]] and Rustam Khán. Mirwais resisted attempts by the Persian government who were seeking to convert the Afghans from [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]] to the Shia sect of Islam. He died of a natural death in November 1715 and was succeeded by his brother [[Abdul Aziz Hotak|Abdul Aziz]], but after being suspected of giving Kandahar's sovereignty back to the Persians he was killed by his nephew [[Mahmud Hotak]].<ref name="Browne29">{{Cite web |url=http://persian.packhum.org/persian/pf?file=90001014&ct=29 |title=AN OUTLINE OF THE HISTORY OF PERSIA DURING THE LAST TWO CENTURIES (A.D. 1722–1922) |page=29 |work=Edward Granville Browne |publisher=Packard Humanities Institute |location=London |access-date=24 September 2010 |archive-date=11 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011103441/http://persian.packhum.org/persian/pf?file=90001014&ct=29 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Malleson">{{Cite book |title=History of Afghanistan, from the Earliest Period to the Outbreak of the War of 1878 |last1=Malleson |first1=George Bruce |year=1878 |publisher=Elibron.com |location=London |isbn=1-4021-7278-8 |page=227 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pqNGBEmHUd4C&pg=PA227 |access-date=27 September 2010 |archive-date=16 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170416125629/https://books.google.com/books?id=pqNGBEmHUd4C&pg=PA227 |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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[[File:Coronation of Ahmad Shah Durrani in 1747 by Breshna.jpg|left|thumb|250px|Painting by [[Abdul Ghafoor Breshna]] depicting the 1747 [[coronation]] of [[Ahmad Shah Durrani]], who is regarded as the [[List of national founders|founding father]] of Afghanistan ([[Father of the Nation]]).]] |
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[[File:Kandahar-1881.jpg|left|thumb|250px|[[British Raj|British]] and [[Afghan National Army|allied forces]] at Kandahar after the 1880 [[Battle of Kandahar (1880)|Battle of Kandahar]], during the [[Second Anglo-Afghan War]]. The large defensive wall around the city was finally removed in the early 1930s by the order of King [[Mohammed Nadir Shah|Nader Khan]], the father of King [[Mohammed Zahir Shah|Zahir Shah]].]] |
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In 1722, Mahmud led an army of Afghans to the Safavid capital [[Isfahan]] and proclaimed himself King of Persia. The [[Hotak dynasty]] was eventually removed from power by a new Persian ruler, [[Nader Shah]]. In 1738, Nader Shah invaded Afghanistan and destroyed the now ''[[Old Kandahar]]'', which was held by [[Hussain Hotak]] and his [[Ghilji]] tribes.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/7798/Afghanistan/21392/Last-Afghan-empire |title=Last Afghan empire |encyclopedia=Louis Dupree, Nancy H. Dupree and others |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica Online |access-date=24 September 2010 |archive-date=30 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101130150119/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/7798/Afghanistan/21392/Last-Afghan-empire |url-status=live }}</ref> In the meantime, Nader Shah freed [[Ahmad Shah Durrani|Ahmad Khan]] (later [[Ahmad Shah Durrani]]) and his brother Zulfikar who were held prisoners by the Hotak ruler. Before leaving southern Afghanistan for Delhi in India, Nader Shah laid out the foundation for a new town to be built next to the destroyed ancient city, naming it "[[Naderabad, Kandahar|Naderabad]]". His rule ended in June 1747 after being murdered by his Persian guards.<ref>''The Afghans'' (2002) by [[Willem Vogelsang]]. Page 228.</ref> |
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Ahmad Shah Durrani, chief of the [[Durrani]] tribe, gained control of Kandahar and made it the capital of his new [[Durrani Empire|Afghan Empire]] in October 1747. Initially, Ahmad Shah had trouble finding land on which to build his city. His own tribe had no extensive lands and others who had, such as the Alikozai and Barakzai, refused to give up their lands. Only the Popalzai finally offered him his pick of their lands. The foundations for the city were laid in June, 1761.<ref>{{cite book |last=Dupree |first=Nancy |date=1977 |title=An Historical Guide to Afghanistan |publisher=Jagra, Ltd. |page=281}}</ref> Once begun, the city was built with grand proportions. It was laid out in the form of a regular rectangle with a circumference of three miles; walls 30 feet thick at the bottom and 15 feet at the top, rose 27 feet high to enclose it. Outside, the walls were ringed by a moat 24 feet wide. Six mammoth gateways pierced these walls: the Eid Gah Gate on the north, the Shikarpur Gate on the south; the Herat and Top Khana Gates on the west; and, the Bar Durrani and Kabul Gates on the east. At its peak, Ahmad Shah's empire included present-day Afghanistan, Pakistan, the [[Khorasan Province|Khorasan]] and [[Quhistan|Kohistan]] provinces of Iran, along with [[Punjab, India|Punjab]] in India. In October 1772, Ahmad Shah retired and died from a natural cause.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/10162/Ahmad-Shah-Durrani |title=Aḥmad Shah Durrānī |publisher=[[Britannica.com]] Online Version |access-date=9 January 2011 |archive-date=4 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140404104909/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/10162/Ahmad-Shah-Durrani |url-status=live }}</ref> A new city was laid out by Ahmad Shah and is dominated by his mausoleum, which is adjacent to the [[Mosque of the Cloak of the Prophet Mohammed|Mosque of the Cloak]] in the centre of the city. By 1776, his eldest son [[Timur Shah Durrani|Timur Shah]] had transferred Afghanistan's main capital, due to several conflicts with various Pashtun tribes, from Kandahar to Kabul, where the [[Durrani]] legacy continued.<ref Name=Dupree3/> |
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From 1818 to 1855, Kandahar was ruled by half-brothers of [[Dost Mohammad Khan]] as an [[Principality of Qandahar|independent principality]]. In September 1826, [[Syed Ahmad Barelvi|Syed Ahmad Shaheed]]'s followers arrived to Kandahar in search of volunteers to help them wage [[jihad]] against the [[Sikh Empire|Sikh]] invaders to what is now Pakistan. Led by [[Ranjit Singh]], the [[Sikhs]] had captured several of Afghanistan's territories in the east, including what is now [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]] and [[Kashmir]]. More than 400 local Kandahar warriors assembled themselves for the jihad. Sayed Din Mohammad Kandharai was appointed as their leader. |
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'''British war''' |
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[[British Raj|British-led Indian forces]] from neighbouring [[British India]] invaded the city in 1839, during the [[First Anglo-Afghan War]], but withdrew in 1842. In November 1855, Dost Mohammad Khan conquered Kandahar. The British and Indian forces returned in 1878 during the [[Second Anglo-Afghan War]]. They emerged from the city in July 1880 to confront the forces of [[Mohammad Ayub Khan (Emir of Afghanistan)|Ayub Khan]], but were defeated at the [[Battle of Maiwand]]. They were again forced to withdraw a few years later, despite winning the [[Battle of Kandahar (1880)|Battle of Kandahar]]. |
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Kandahar remained peaceful for the next 100 years, except during 1929 when loyalists of [[Habibullah Kalakani]] (Bache Saqqaw) placed the fortified city on lock-down and began torturing its population. Nobody was allowed to enter or leave from within the city's tall defensive walls, and as a result of this many people suffered after running out of food supplies. This lasted until October 1929 when [[Mohammed Nadir Shah|Nadir Khan]] and his Afghan army came to eliminate Kalakani, known as the Tajik bandit from the village of [[Kalakan]] in northern Kabul Province. |
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[[File:1973-12-08 Kandahar (14).jpg|thumb|left|Street in the city, 1973]] |
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[[File:KandaharMosque02.JPG|thumb|280px|The Mausoleum of [[Mirwais Hotak]]]] |
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During [[Mohammed Zahir Shah|Zahir Shah]]'s rule, the city slowly began expanding by adding modern style streets and housing schemes. Although Kandahar remained less international than Kabul, with fewer foreigners in residence and thus no market for coffee, jam, potatoes, or other European produce, a modest German community took root there in the 1930s. Engineers and factory managers, accompanied by their spouses, arrived to supervise wool-processing plants. A Siemens electrical station powered these emerging industries, signaling a step toward the broader modernization taking shape across Afghanistan during this period. <ref>{{Cite book |last=Crews |first=Robert D. |title=Afghan Modern: The History of a Global Nation |date=2015 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-49574-6 |edition= |location=Cambridge, MA |pages=161 |chapter=Seduced by Capital}}</ref> |
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In the 1960s, during the rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union, [[Kandahar International Airport]] was built by the [[United States Army Corps of Engineers|U.S. Army Corps of Engineers]] next to the city. The U.S. also completed several other major projects in Kandahar and in other parts of southern Afghanistan. In the meantime, Soviet engineers were busy building major infrastructures in other parts of the country, such as [[Bagram Airfield]] and [[Kabul International Airport]]. |
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During the 1980s, [[Soviet–Afghan War]], Kandahar city (and the province as a whole) witnessed heavy fighting as it became a centre of resistance as the [[mujahideen]] forces waged a strong [[guerrilla warfare]] against the [[Democratic Republic of Afghanistan|Soviet-backed government]], who tightly held on control of the city. Government and Soviet troops surrounded the city and subjected it to heavy air bombardment in which many civilians lost their lives.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lib.unb.ca/Texts/JCS/bin/get5.cgi?directory=fall99%2F&filename=WESTERMA.htm#39 |title=The Limits of Soviet Airpower: The Failure of Military Coercion in Afghanistan, 1979–89 |work=Edward B. Westermann |publisher=[[University of New Brunswick]] |access-date=9 January 2011 |archive-date=5 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605194158/http://www.lib.unb.ca/Texts/JCS/bin/get5.cgi?directory=fall99%2F&filename=WESTERMA.htm#39 |url-status=live }}</ref> In January 1982 indiscriminate shelling and bombing by the Soviets killed hundreds.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.heritage.org/node/22652/print-display |title=The Heritage Foundation |access-date=11 January 2018 |archive-date=12 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180112100834/http://www.heritage.org/node/22652/print-display |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/03/08/world/soviet-reprisals-on-afghans-called-fierce.html |title=Soviet Reprisals on Afghans Called Fierce |newspaper=The New York Times |date=8 March 1982 |last1=Middleton |first1=Drew |access-date=29 January 2018 |archive-date=12 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180112044330/http://www.nytimes.com/1982/03/08/world/soviet-reprisals-on-afghans-called-fierce.html |url-status=live }}</ref> 300 civilians were killed during Soviet bombings in July 1984.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/07/24/Soviet-forces-bombed-the-city-of-Kandahar-in-southern/5417459489600/ |title=Soviet forces bombed the city of Kandahar in southern |access-date=11 January 2018 |archive-date=12 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180112042626/https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/07/24/Soviet-forces-bombed-the-city-of-Kandahar-in-southern/5417459489600/ |url-status=live }}</ref> It was under siege again in April 1986.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://apnews.com/19a6eb5d553820d0143d100366f9cee1 |title=Soviet-Afghan Offensive Destroys Rebel Stronghold |website=[[Associated Press]] |access-date=7 June 2020 |archive-date=7 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200607155106/https://apnews.com/19a6eb5d553820d0143d100366f9cee1 |url-status=live }}</ref> The city's population was reduced from 200,000 before the war to no more than 25,000 inhabitants, following a months-long campaign of carpet bombing and bulldozing by the Soviets and Afghan communist soldiers in 1987.{{sfn|Kaplan|2008|p=188}} Kandahar International Airport was used by the [[Soviet Army]] during their ten-year troop placement in the country. The city also became a battle ground for the US and Pakistani-backed forces against the pro-Communist government of Afghanistan.<ref name="theguardian.com">{{Cite web |date=9 December 2001 |title=Kandahar on brink of chaos as warlords ready for battle |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/dec/09/afghanistan.peterbeaumont |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190104175515/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/dec/09/afghanistan.peterbeaumont |archive-date=4 January 2019 |access-date=4 January 2019 |website=[[TheGuardian.com]]}}</ref> |
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Kandahar underwent a complete sociopolitical collapse in the early 1990s, driven in part by the divide-and-rule tactics of the communist governor-general, [[Nur ul-Haq Ulumi]], who manipulated rival mujahideen factions against each other, and by the rampant greed within both the communist and mujahideen militias.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Moiz |first=Ibrahim |title=The True Story of the Taliban: Emirate and Insurgency, 1994-2021 |date=2024 |publisher=The Other Press |isbn=9798336042269 |location=Kuala Lumpur |pages=47–53 |oclc=1458059551}}</ref> After the Soviet withdrawal and the collapse of [[Mohammad Najibullah|Najibullah]]'s government in 1992, Kandahar fell to local mujahideen commander, [[Gul Agha Sherzai]]. However Sherzai lacked authority against other local commanders which led to lawlessness in the city,<ref name="theguardian.com" /> and fighting in 1993.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Zaeef |first1=Mohammad |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zfGlVzNltF8C&pg=PT377 |title=My life with the Taliban |date=7 August 2012 |publisher=Hachette India |isbn=9789350094136 |access-date=7 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210501130520/https://books.google.com/books?id=zfGlVzNltF8C&pg=PT377 |archive-date=1 May 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> During this time, banditry, rape, and murder became rampant in Kandahar, creating a demand for a more moral and unified alternative. This led to the rise of the ''talibs'' (students), who eventually formed the Taliban movement. By the spring of 1994, the nucleus of the [[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (1996–2001)|Taliban emirate]] had begun to take shape, and that year, they launched operations to dismantle warlord militia checkpoints around the city. The talibs gained considerable popularity and legitimacy during this period by defeating these predatory warlords.<ref name=":0" /> |
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In August 1994, the Taliban, under [[Mullah Omar|Mohammed Omar Mujahid]], captured Kandahar from commander [[Mullah Naqib]] almost without a fight<ref name="theguardian.com" /> and turned the city into their headquarters. The capture of Afghanistan's second-largest city marked the Taliban's transformation from a fledgling militia into an Islamic emirate, solidifying their legitimacy as a governing authority through the imposition of a strict interpretation of Islamic law.<ref name=":0" /> Formal education for girls was banned as well as the consumption of TV, films, music with instrumental [[accompaniments]], and the playing of sports. In December 1999, a hijacked [[Indian Airlines Flight 814]] plane by Pakistani militants loyal to [[Harkat-ul-Mujahideen]] landed at Kandahar International Airport and kept the passengers hostage as part of a demand to release three Pakistani militants from prison in India. |
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====21st century==== |
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{{Further|International Security Assistance Force|Presidency of Hamid Karzai}} |
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[[File:KANDAHAR TEN-MILER.jpg|thumb|[[United States Army|U.S. Army]] troops in 2009 passing by the starting point of the [[Army Ten-Miler]] run at their base next to [[Kandahar International Airport]].]] |
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In October 2001, as part of [[War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)|Operation Enduring Freedom]], the [[United States Navy]] began [[bombing of Kandahar (2001)|hitting targets]] inside the city by [[Precision-guided munition|precision-guided]] [[cruise missile]]s that were fired from the [[Persian Gulf]]. These targets were the airport and buildings that were occupied by the Taliban, including [[History of Arabs in Afghanistan|Arab]] families who had arrived several years earlier and were residing in the area.<ref>[[BBC News]], [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7193579.stm Kandahar's cemetery of 'miracles'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080120174340/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7193579.stm |date=20 January 2008 }}</ref> About a month later, the Taliban began surrendering in mass numbers to a private militia that had been formed by [[Gul Agha Sherzai]] and [[Hamid Karzai]].<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/asia/2003/journey/afghanistan.html |title=Home Free |quote=''[[Hamid Karzai]] dreamed for years of his eventual homecoming. But for both him and his newly reborn nation, the journey has only begun'' |magazine=Time |access-date=9 January 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090724022555/http://www.time.com/time/asia/2003/journey/afghanistan.html |archive-date=24 July 2009}}</ref> Kandahar once again fell into the hands of Sherzai, who had control over the area before the rise of the Taliban. He was transferred in 2003 and replaced by [[Yousef Pashtun]] until [[Asadullah Khalid]] took the post in 2005. [[Toryalai Wesa]] was appointed [[List of governors of Kandahar|Governor of the province]] by President Hamid Karzai in December 2008 after [[Rahmatullah Raufi]]'s four-month rule. |
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[[File:Afghan National Security Force soldiers provide security for the Kandahar Nursing and Midwifery Institute.jpg|thumb|[[Afghan National Security Forces]] and members of [[International Security Assistance Force|ISAF]] providing security in 2012.]] |
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In 2002, Kandahar International Airport started to be used by members of the United States armed forces and NATO's [[International Security Assistance Force]] (ISAF). NATO began training the newly formed [[Afghan National Police]] and provided security responsibility of the city. The [[military of Afghanistan]], backed by [[NATO]] forces, gradually expanded its authority and presence throughout most of the country. The [[205th Corps (Afghanistan)|205th Corps]] of the [[Afghan National Army]] was based at Kandahar and provided military assistance to the south of the country. The [[Canadian Forces]] maintained their military command headquarters at Kandahar, heading the [[Train Advise Assist Command – South|Regional Command South]] of the NATO led [[International Security Assistance Force]] in [[Kandahar Province]]. The Taliban also had supporters inside the city reporting on events.<ref>BBC News, [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8203830.stm Kandahar dreamers test Taliban edicts] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090818081449/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8203830.stm |date=18 August 2009 }}</ref> |
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NATO forces expanded the Afghan police force for the prevention of a Taliban comeback in Kandahar, the militants' ''"spiritual birthplace"'' and a strategic key to ward off the [[Taliban insurgency]], as a part of a larger effort that also aimed to deliver services such as electricity and clean drinking water that the Taliban could not provide – encouraging support for the government in a city that was once the Taliban's headquarters. The most significant battle between NATO troops and the Taliban lasted throughout the summer of 2006, culminating in [[Operation Medusa]]. The Taliban failed to defeat the Western troops in open warfare, which marked a turn in their tactics towards [[Improvised explosive device|IED]] emplacement.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/feedarticle/8912934 |title=Removed: news agency feed article |work=the Guardian |date=9 December 2015 |access-date=6 May 2016 |archive-date=20 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920044330/https://www.theguardian.com/info/2015/dec/09/removed-news-agency-feed-article |url-status=live }}</ref> In June 2008, it was reported that over 1,000 [[Sarposa prison tunneling escape of 2011|inmates had escaped]] from [[Sarposa prison]]. In Spring 2010, the province and the city of Kandahar became a target of American operations following ''[[Operation Moshtarak]]'' in the neighbouring [[Helmand Province]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/27/world/asia/27kandahar.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220103/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/27/world/asia/27kandahar.html |archive-date=2022-01-03 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Kandahar, a Battlefield Even Before U.S. Offensive |date=27 March 2010 |work=The New York Times |access-date=6 May 2016}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In March 2010, U.S. and NATO commanders released details of plans for the biggest offensive of the war against the Taliban insurgency.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://in.reuters.com/article/southAsiaNews/idINIndia-47354120100331 |title=Q+A – NATO sees Kandahar battle as Afghan turning point |work=Reuters Editorial |date=31 March 2010 |agency=Reuters India |access-date=6 May 2016 |archive-date=20 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920044331/https://www.reuters.com/?edition-redirect=in |url-status=dead }}</ref> |
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[[File:Crocker and Wesa in 2012.jpg|left|thumb|[[United States Ambassador to Afghanistan|U.S. Ambassador]] [[Ryan Crocker]] and [[Toryalai Wesa]], the [[list of governors of Kandahar|Governor of Kandahar Province]].]] |
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In May 2010, Kandahar International Airport became subject of a combined rocket and ground attack by insurgents, following similar attacks on Kabul and Bagram in the preceding weeks. Although this attack did not lead to many casualties on the side of NATO forces, it did show that the militants are still capable of launching multiple, coordinated operations in Afghanistan. In June 2010, a [[shura]] was held by Afghan President Hamid Karzai with tribal and religious leaders of the Kandahar region. The meeting highlighted the need for support of NATO-led forces in order to stabilize parts of the province. |
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By 2011, Kandahar became known as the assassination city of Afghanistan after witnessing many targeted killings. In July [[Ahmed Wali Karzai]], brother of President Hamid Karzai, was shot by his long time head of security. Soon after the [[Quetta Shura]] of the Taliban claimed responsibility. The next day an Islamic cleric (mulla) of the famous [[Red Mosque, Kandahar|Red Mosque]] in the Shahr-e Naw area of the city and a number of other people were killed by a Taliban suicide bomber who had hidden explosives inside his [[turban]]. On 27 July 2011, the mayor of the city, [[Ghulam Haider Hamidi]], was assassinated by another Taliban militant who had hidden explosives in his turban. Two [[deputy mayor]]s had been killed in 2010,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/07/27/afghanistan.mayor.killed/index.html |title=Kandahar mayor killed in suicide attack; Taliban claim responsibility |access-date=6 May 2016 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304111007/http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/07/27/afghanistan.mayor.killed/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> while many tribal elders and Islamic clerics have also been assassinated in the last several years. The overwhelming majority of the victims in the attacks are ordinary Afghan civilians.<ref name=civilians>[http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2011/10/10/challenges-remain-despite-reduced-rebel-attacks-isaf Challenges remain despite reduced rebel attacks: ISAF] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130612004042/http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2011/10/10/challenges-remain-despite-reduced-rebel-attacks-isaf |date=12 June 2013 }}. Pajhwok Afghan News. 10 October 2011.</ref> On 6 June 2012, at least 21 civilians were killed and 50 others injured when two Taliban suicide bombers on motorcycles blew themselves up in a market area near Kandahar International Airport.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2012/06/07/21-killed-50-injured-twin-suicide-blasts-video |title=21 killed, 50 injured in twin suicide blasts (Video) |publisher=Pajhwok Afghan News |editor=Siddiqullah |date=7 June 2012 |access-date=8 June 2012 |archive-date=12 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130612002802/http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2012/06/07/21-killed-50-injured-twin-suicide-blasts-video |url-status=dead}}</ref> |
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On [[May 2020 Afghanistan attacks|4 May 2020]], a policewoman was assassinated in the centre of Kandahar, making her the fifth policewoman to be killed during the previous two months in Kandahar. No group claimed responsibility for the killing of the policewomen by the end of the day of the reported event.<ref name="vo1">{{Cite web |url=https://www.voanews.com/south-central-asia/taliban-claim-attack-afghan-army-base |title=Taliban Claim Attack on Afghan Army Base |date=4 May 2020 |via=voanews.com/ |access-date=28 May 2020 |archive-date=16 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816214122/https://www.voanews.com/south-central-asia/taliban-claim-attack-afghan-army-base |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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On 12 August 2021, the Taliban [[Battle of Kandahar (2021)|captured Kandahar]]. After days of brutal clashes with [[Afghan National Army|ANA]] soldiers retreating from the city, the Taliban were finally able to capture the city.<ref name = "talib1">{{cite web |last1=Akhgar |first1=Tameem |title=Taliban take Kandahar, Herat in major Afghanistan offensive |url=https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-afghanistan-taliban-26d485963b7a0d9f2107afcbc38f239a |website=Apnews |date=12 August 2021 |access-date=12 August 2021 |archive-date=12 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210812043017/https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-afghanistan-taliban-26d485963b7a0d9f2107afcbc38f239a |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name = "talib2">{{cite news |last1=Goldbaum |first1=Christina |title=Afghanistan Collapse Accelerates as 2 Vital Cities Near Fall to Taliban |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/12/world/asia/kandahar-afghanistan-taliban.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211228/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/12/world/asia/kandahar-afghanistan-taliban.html |archive-date=2021-12-28 |url-access=limited |newspaper=The New York Times |date=12 August 2021 |access-date=12 August 2021}}{{cbignore}}</ref> It became the twelfth provincial capital to be seized by Taliban as part of the wider [[2021 Taliban offensive]]. |
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On 15 October 2021, [[2021 Kandahar bombing|four suicide bombers killed dozens at a Shia mosque in the city]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Afghanistan: At least 35 killed in suicide bombing during prayers at Kandahar mosque |url=https://news.sky.com/story/afghanistan-at-least-15-killed-in-explosion-at-mosque-in-kandahar-12434327 |access-date=2021-10-15 |website=Sky News |language=en |archive-date=16 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211016130830/https://news.sky.com/story/afghanistan-at-least-15-killed-in-explosion-at-mosque-in-kandahar-12434327 |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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==Geography== |
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The [[Arghandab River]] runs along the west of Kandahar. The city has 15 districts and a total land area of 27,337 hectares.<ref name="auto1">{{cite web |title=The State of Afghan Cities report 2015 |url=http://unhabitat.org/books/soac2015_volume2/ |ref=UN-Habitat |access-date=22 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151031111658/http://unhabitat.org/books/soac2015_volume2/ |archive-date=31 October 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The total number of dwellings in Kandahar is 61,902.<ref name="auto1"/> |
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Only 64% of families in Kandahar have access to safe drinking water; 22% of households have access to safe toilet facilities; and 27% of households have access to electricity, with the remainder dependent on public power. Kandahar's transportation infrastructure is well-developed, with 76.8% of the province's roads capable of carrying car traffic in all seasons. However, there are no roads in a minor portion of the province (3.3 percent). In terms of telecommunications, Kandahar City and major roadways are covered by the three major mobile networks AWCC, Roshan, and MTN.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{Cite web |title=Afghanistan Provincial Reconstruction Handbook |date=February 2011 |url=https://usacac.army.mil/sites/default/files/publications/11-16.pdf |pages=88 |access-date=21 September 2023 |archive-date=26 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230626151451/https://usacac.army.mil/sites/default/files/publications/11-16.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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===Land use=== |
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Kandahar is the regional hub in southern Afghanistan, close to the border with Pakistan.<ref name="auto1"/> Non-built up land use accounts for 59% of the total land area.<ref name="auto1"/> Within the built-up area, vacant plots occupy a slightly higher percentage of land (36%) than residential land (34%).<ref name="auto1"/> There is a significant commercial cluster along the road to Pakistan in District 5.<ref name="auto1"/> India, Iran and Pakistan have consulates here for trade, military and political links. |
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===Climate=== |
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Kandahar has a [[hot semi-arid climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification|Köppen]] ''BSh''),<ref>[http://www.artofwar.net.ru/profiles/andreev_pavel_v/view_book/kandagrad] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100214001736/http://www.artofwar.net.ru/profiles/andreev_pavel_v/view_book/kandagrad|date=14 February 2010}} {{in lang|ru}}</ref> that borders on a [[hot desert climate]] (''BWh''), characterised by little precipitation and high variation between summer and winter temperatures. Summers start in mid-May, last until late September, and are extremely dry. Temperatures peak in July with a 24-hour daily average of around {{cvt|31.9|°C|1}}. They are followed by dry autumns from early October to late November, with days still averaging in the 20s °C (above 68 °F) into November, although nights are sharply cooler. Winter begins in December and sees most of its precipitation in the form of rain. Temperatures average {{cvt|5.1|°C|1}} in January, although lows can drop well below freezing. They end in early March and are followed by a pleasant spring until late April with temperatures generally in the upper 10s °C to lower 30s °C (65–88 °F) range. Sunny weather dominates year-round, especially in summer, when rainfall is extremely rare. The annual mean temperature is {{cvt|18.6|°C|1}}. |
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{{Weather box |
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|width = auto |
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|location = Kandahar (1964–1983) |
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|metric first = Y |
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|single line = Y |
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|Jan record high C = 25.0 |
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|Feb record high C = 26.0 |
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|Mar record high C = 36.5 |
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|Apr record high C = 37.1 |
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|May record high C = 43.0 |
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|Jun record high C = 45.0 |
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|Jul record high C = 46.5 |
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|Aug record high C = 44.5 |
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|Sep record high C = 41.0 |
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|Oct record high C = 37.5 |
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|Nov record high C = 31.5 |
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|Dec record high C = 26.0 |
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|Jan high C = 12.2 |
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|Feb high C = 14.8 |
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|Mar high C = 21.6 |
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|Apr high C = 28.1 |
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|May high C = 34.1 |
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|Jun high C = 39.1 |
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|Jul high C = 40.2 |
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|Aug high C = 38.2 |
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|Sep high C = 34.0 |
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|Oct high C = 27.5 |
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|Nov high C = 21.0 |
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|Dec high C = 15.4 |
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|year high C = 27.2 |
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|Jan mean C = 5.1 |
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|Feb mean C = 7.8 |
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|Mar mean C = 13.9 |
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|Apr mean C = 20.2 |
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|May mean C = 25.4 |
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|Jun mean C = 30.0 |
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|Jul mean C = 31.9 |
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|Aug mean C = 29.4 |
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|Sep mean C = 23.5 |
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|Oct mean C = 17.5 |
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|Nov mean C = 11.0 |
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|Dec mean C = 7.3 |
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|Jan low C = 0.0 |
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|Feb low C = 2.4 |
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|Mar low C = 7.1 |
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|Apr low C = 12.3 |
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|May low C = 15.8 |
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|Jun low C = 19.5 |
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|Jul low C = 22.5 |
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|Aug low C = 20.0 |
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|Sep low C = 13.5 |
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|Oct low C = 8.5 |
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|Nov low C = 3.3 |
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|Dec low C = 1.0 |
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|year low C = 10.5 |
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|Jan record low C = −12.1 |
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|Feb record low C = -10.0 |
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|Mar record low C = −4.8 |
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|Apr record low C = 2.0 |
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|May record low C = 2.4 |
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|Jun record low C = 8.5 |
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|Jul record low C = 13.5 |
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|Aug record low C = 9.0 |
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|Sep record low C = 5.2 |
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|Oct record low C = -2.2 |
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|Nov record low C = −9.3 |
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|Dec record low C = −11.4 |
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|Jan precipitation mm = 54.0 |
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|Feb precipitation mm = 42.0 |
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|Mar precipitation mm = 41.1 |
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|Apr precipitation mm = 18.7 |
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|May precipitation mm = 2.2 |
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|Jun precipitation mm = 0 |
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|Jul precipitation mm = 2.3 |
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|Aug precipitation mm = 1.0 |
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|Sep precipitation mm = 0 |
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|Oct precipitation mm = 2.3 |
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|Nov precipitation mm = 7.0 |
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|Dec precipitation mm = 20.0 |
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|Jan precipitation days = 6 |
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|Feb precipitation days = 6 |
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|Mar precipitation days = 6 |
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|Apr precipitation days = 4 |
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|May precipitation days = 1 |
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|Jun precipitation days = 0 |
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|Jul precipitation days = 0 |
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|Aug precipitation days = 0 |
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|Sep precipitation days = 0 |
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|Oct precipitation days = 1 |
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|Nov precipitation days = 2 |
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|Dec precipitation days = 3 |
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|Jan sun = 198.4 |
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|Feb sun = 183.6 |
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|Mar sun = 235.6 |
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|Apr sun = 255.0 |
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|May sun = 347.2 |
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|Jun sun = 369.0 |
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|Jul sun = 341.0 |
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|Aug sun = 337.9 |
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|Sep sun = 324.0 |
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|Oct sun = 306.9 |
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|Nov sun = 264.0 |
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|Dec sun = 217.0 |
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|Jan humidity = 58 |
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|Feb humidity = 59 |
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|Mar humidity = 50 |
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|Apr humidity = 41 |
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|May humidity = 30 |
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|Jun humidity = 23 |
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|Jul humidity = 25 |
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|Aug humidity = 25 |
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|Sep humidity = 24 |
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|Oct humidity = 29 |
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|Nov humidity = 40 |
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|Dec humidity = 52 |
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|source 1 = NOAA (1964–1983)<ref name= NOAA>{{cite web |url=https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/data/normals/WMO/1961-1990/RA-II/AH/40990.TXT |title=Kandahar Climate Normals 1964–1983 |publisher=[[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] |access-date=26 December 2012 |archive-date=20 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920044332/ftp://ftp.atdd.noaa.gov/pub/GCOS/WMO-Normals/RA-II/AH/40990.TXT |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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|date=August 2010 |
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}} |
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==Transport== |
==Transport== |
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{{ |
{{Further|Transport in Afghanistan|Highway 1 (Afghanistan)}} |
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[[File: |
[[File:Aerial view of Kandahar Airport in 2005.jpg|thumb|left|View of the airport in 2005]] |
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[[File:Kam Air at Kandahar International Airport in 2012.jpg|thumb|A [[Kam Air]] passenger plane at [[Kandahar International Airport]] in 2012]] |
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Kandahar International Airport has been used by the NATO forces to deliver troops and humanitarian supplies since late 2001. Repairs and upgrades also occurred during that period; the airport re-opened for civilian use in late 2006.<ref>Pajhwok Afghan News - ''AAA begins flights for Kandahar''... [http://www.pajhwok.com/viewstory.asp?lng=eng&id=28216 Link]</ref> |
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[[Kandahar International Airport]] serves as southern Afghanistan's main airport for domestic and international flights. It is also used as a major military base as well as shipping and receiving of supplies for the NATO armies. The entire area in and around the airport is heavily guarded but a section is designated for civilian passengers. Most international flights are to the UAE, Iran, India, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan. |
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Pakistan plans to build a railroad track from the Pakistani town of [[Chaman]] to Kandahar<ref>{{cite news |last1=Sial |first1=Amer |title=Pak Railways poised to get massive funding from CPEC and CAREC |url=http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2016/08/18/pak-railways-poised-to-get-massive-funding-from-cpec-and-carec/ |access-date=23 March 2017 |publisher=Pakistan Today |date=2016-08-18 |archive-date=24 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170324083531/http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2016/08/18/pak-railways-poised-to-get-massive-funding-from-cpec-and-carec/ |url-status=live }}</ref> which will connect [[Rail transport in Afghanistan|Afghan Railways]] with [[Pakistan Railways]]. The [[feasibility study]] was completed in 2006<ref>{{cite news |first=Javed Hamim |last=Kakar |title=Pakistan, Afghanistan ink MoU on rail links |url=http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2010/07/07/pakistan-afghanistan-ink-mou-rail-links |publisher=[[Pajhwok Afghan News]] |date=7 July 2010 |access-date=23 October 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120313034322/http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2010/07/07/pakistan-afghanistan-ink-mou-rail-links |archive-date=13 March 2012}}</ref> but {{As of|2012|lc=y}} no construction work had begun.<ref>Kandahar-Quetta bus service soon By Bashir Ahmad Naadim 20 Jul 2012 – 17:17, http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2012/07/20/kandahar-quetta-bus-service-soon {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140530002358/http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2012/07/20/kandahar-quetta-bus-service-soon |date=30 May 2014 }}</ref> |
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Commuters of the city use the public bus system ([[Milli Bus]]), and yellow taxicabs are common. Private vehicle use is increasing, partially due to road and highway improvements. Large dealerships are importing cars from [[Dubai]], [[UAE]].<ref>Lonely Planet - Tony Wheeler - ''Afghanistan Practicalities''...[http://www.lonelyplanet.com/tonywheeler/my_lists/afghanistan_practicalities/ Link]</ref> |
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Kandahar is connected to [[Kabul]] by the [[Kabul-Kandahar Highway]] and to [[Herat]] by the [[Kandahar-Herat Highway]]. There is a bus station located at the start of the Kabul-Kandahar Highway, where a number of |
Kandahar is connected to [[Quetta]] [[Pakistan]] via [[Chaman]] and [[Kabul]] by the [[Kabul-Kandahar Highway]] and to [[Herat]] by the [[Kandahar-Herat Highway]]. There is a bus station located at the start of the Kabul-Kandahar Highway, where a number of privately owned older-model [[Mercedes-Benz buses|Mercedes-Benz]] [[coach (bus)|coach]] buses are available to take passengers to most major cities of the country. Kandahar is also connected by road to [[Quetta]] in neighbouring Pakistan. Due to the ongoing war, the route to Kabul has become increasingly dangerous as insurgent attacks on convoys and destruction of bridges make it an unreliable link between the two cities.<ref>{{cite news |first=James |last=Cogan |title=Hundreds dead in fighting along Afghanistan-Pakistan border |url=http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/aug2008/afgh-a16.shtml |work=[[World Socialist Web Site]] |date=16 August 2008 |access-date=25 August 2008 |archive-date=2 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080902043919/http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/aug2008/afgh-a16.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Salih Muhammad |last=Salih |author2=Siddique, Abubakar |title=Death stalks the highway to hell |url=http://atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/JJ24Df03.html |work=[[Asia Times Online]] |date=23 October 2008 |access-date=23 October 2008 |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20110827092424/http://atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/JJ24Df03.html |archive-date=27 August 2011 |url-status=unfit}}</ref> |
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Commuters in the city of Kandahar use the public bus system ([[Milli Bus]]), and taxicabs and [[Auto rickshaw|rickshaws]] are common. Private vehicle use is increasing, partially due to road and highway improvements. Large dealerships are importing cars from [[Dubai]], [[UAE]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lonelyplanet.com/tonywheeler/my_lists/afghanistan_practicalities/ |title=Afghanistan Practicalities |publisher=[[Lonely Planet]] |first=Tony |last=Wheeler |date=6 June 2006 |access-date=9 January 2011 |archive-date=7 January 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110107095118/http://www.lonelyplanet.com/tonywheeler/my_lists/afghanistan_practicalities/ |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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==Demographics and population == |
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Kandahar has a population of approximately 1,057,500 people in 2008. In the province, there are around 14,445 households, with an average of seven individuals per home. Around 68 percent of Kandahar's population resides in rural districts, with males accounting for 51 percent of the population. Pashtuns are the province's largest ethnic group. Major Pashtun tribes such as the [[Tareen]] or [[Durrani]] including Barakzai, Popalzai, Alkozai, Noorzai, Ishaqzai, Achakzai, Maku, and Qizilbash Shia's and [[Ghilji|Khilji]] are included. More than 98 percent of the population speaks Pashtu. 88 center for learning army lessons. Only a small percentage of the population speaks [[Balochi language]] and [[Dari]]. [[Kochi people]] (Pashtun Nomads) also live in Kandahar province, and their numbers fluctuate depending on the season, with estimates stating approximately 79,000 in the winter and 39,000 in the summer.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> |
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==Education== |
==Education== |
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{{Further|Education in Afghanistan}} |
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[[File:ITClass.JPG|thumb|upright|The computer class at [[Kandahar University]].]] |
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[[File:School children watch members of Afghan National Security Force and Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team.jpg|thumb|Children from the Zarghona Ana High School watch members of [[Afghan National Security Force]] and Kandahar [[Provincial Reconstruction Team]] prepare for the Kandahar Nursing and Midwifery Institute grand opening ceremony in 2012.]] |
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The city has public schools in every district for both males and females. However, many conservative parents do not allow females in their family to get high school or higher education. There are at least 2 universities, one is Ahmad Shah Lycée and the other is [[Kandahar University]]. |
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Before the 1978 coup in Kabul, majority of the city's population were enrolled in schools.{{citation needed|date=May 2014}} Nearly all of the elite class of the city fled to neighboring Pakistan during the early 1980s, and from there they began immigrating to North America, Europe, [[Afghan Australian|Australia]] and other parts of the world. |
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The two oldest known schools are Ahmad Shah Baba High School and Zarghona Ana High School. There are a number of new schools that opened in the last decade, with more being built in the future as the city's population grows with the large returning Afghans from neighboring countries. [[Afghan Turk High Schools]] is one of the top private schools in the city. |
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The main university is the [[Kandahar University]]. A number of private higher education institutions have also opened in the last decade such as Benawa Institute of Higher Education, Mirwais Neeka Institute of Higher Education, Malalay Institute of Higher Education and Saba Institute of Higher Education.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://counselorcorporation.com/benawa-institute-of-higher-education/ |title=Benawa Institute of Higher Education | Tuition | Admission - Counselor Corporation |date=8 July 2020 |access-date=28 July 2021 |archive-date=28 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210728173647/https://counselorcorporation.com/benawa-institute-of-higher-education/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://counselorcorporation.com/mirwais-neeka-institute-of-higher-education/ |title=Mirwais Neeka Institute of Higher Education - Counselor Corporation |date=19 September 2020 |access-date=28 July 2021 |archive-date=28 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210728173650/https://counselorcorporation.com/mirwais-neeka-institute-of-higher-education/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://counselorcorporation.com/saba-institute-of-higher-education/ |title=Saba Institute of Higher Education | Fee & Academics - Counselor Corporation |date=27 September 2020 |access-date=28 July 2021 |archive-date=28 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210728173644/https://counselorcorporation.com/saba-institute-of-higher-education/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://counselorcorporation.com/malalay-university/ |title=Malalay University | Tuition and Fees | Academics - Counselor Corporation |date=19 September 2020 |access-date=28 July 2021 |archive-date=28 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210728173644/https://counselorcorporation.com/malalay-university/ |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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The adult literacy rate ratio was 16.8% in 2012.[https://knoema.com/atlas/Afghanistan/Kandahar] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230317222205/https://knoema.com/atlas/Afghanistan/Kandahar |date=17 March 2023 }} |
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==Communications== |
==Communications== |
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{{Further|Communications in Afghanistan}} |
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Telecommunication services in the city are provided by InstaTelecom, [[Afghan Wireless]], [[Roshan (Telecom)|Roshan]], [[Etisalat]] and Areeba mobile companies. In November 2006, the Afghan Ministry of Communications signed a [[US Dollar|US]] 64.5 million dollar agreement with a company (ZTE Corporation) for the establishment of a countrywide fiber optical cable network. This will improve telephone, internet, television and radio broadcast services not just in Kandahar but throughout the country.<ref>Pajhwok Afghan News - ''Ministry signs contract with Chinese company''...[http://www.pajhwok.com/viewstory.asp?lng=eng&id=26882 Link]</ref> |
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Telecommunication services in the city are provided by [[Afghan Wireless]], [[Roshan (Telecom)|Roshan]], [[Etisalat]], [[MTN Group]] and [[Afghan Telecom]]. In November 2006, the [[Ministry of Communications (Afghanistan)|Afghan Ministry of Communications]] signed a $64.5 million agreement with [[ZTE]] for the establishment of a countrywide fibre optical cable network. This was intended to improve telephone, internet, television and radio broadcast services not just in Kandahar but throughout the country. |
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==Places of interest== |
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Besides foreign channels, [[List of television channels in Afghanistan|Afghanistan's local television channels]] include: |
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[[File:Ruins of old Kandahar Citadel in 1881.jpg|thumb|upright|An 1881 photo showing the ruined [[Old Kandahar]] [[citadel]] of Shah [[Hussain Hotak]] that was destroyed by the [[Afsharid dynasty|Afsharid forces]] of [[Nader Shah]] in 1738. This destroyed fortress is still standing today.]] |
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* [[Ariana TV]] |
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The tomb of [[Ahmad Shah Durrani]] is located in the city centre, which also houses Durrani's brass helmet and other personal items. In front of Durrani's mausoleum is the [[Shrine of the Cloak]], containing one of the most valued relics in the Islamic world, which was given by the Emir of [[Bokhara]] ([[Murad Beg]]) to Ahmad Shah Durrani. The Sacred Cloak is kept locked away, taken out only at times of great crisis. [[Mullah Omar]] took it out in November 1996 and displayed it to a crowd of ''ulema'' of religious scholars to have himself declared [[Amir al-Mu'minin]] (Commander of the Faithful). Prior to that it was taken out when the city was struck by a cholera epidemic in the 1930s.<ref>Lamb, Christina (2002). ''[https://archive.org/details/sewingcirclesofh00chri The Sewing Circles of Herat: A Personal Voyage Through Afghanistan]''. Harper Collins. First Perennial edition (2004), p. 38 and n. {{ISBN|0-06-050527-3}}.</ref> |
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* [[Ariana Afghanistan TV]] |
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* [[Lamar TV]] |
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* [[Shamshad TV]] |
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* [[Tolo TV]] |
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The village of ''Sher Surkh'' is located southeast of the city, in the suburbs of the old city of [[Naderabad, Kandahar|Nadirabad]]. Kandahar Museum is located at the western end of the third block of buildings lining the main road east of ''Eidgah Durwaza'' (gate). It has many paintings by the now famous Ghiyassuddin, painted while he was a young teacher in Kandahar. He is acknowledged among Afghanistan's leading artists. |
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==Recent developments== |
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[[Image:Kandahar Valley - 1.JPG|thumb|upright|The model plan of a 20,000 home development project called ''Kandahar Valley''.]] |
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Just to the north of the city, off its northeast corner at the end of ''buria'' (matting) bazaar, there is a shrine dedicated to a saint who lived in Kandahar more than 300 years ago. The grave of ''[[Hazratji Baba]]'', {{cvt|23|ft|m|order=flip}} long to signify his greatness, but otherwise covered solely by rock chips, is undecorated save for tall pennants at its head. A monument to Islamic martyrs stands in the centre of Kandahar's main square, called ''Da Shahidanu Chawk'', which was built in the 1940s. |
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Due to almost 30 years of destruction and no development, Kandahar (along with the rest of the country) is going through a nationwide reconstruction period. As of 2002, large amounts of money have been pouring in for construction purposes. New modern-style buildings are slowly replacing the older ones. Kandahar's major [[highway]]s were repaired and completed including the [[Kabul-Kandahar highway|highway to Kabul]]. However, work on smaller roads in some parts around the city is still in progress. |
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[[File:Old Kandahar and Chil Zena.jpg|thumb|Ancient city of [[Old Kandahar]] (red) and [[Chilzina]] mountainous outcrop (blue) on the western side of Kandahar.]] |
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Kandahar's residents have access to clean drinking water and 24 hour electricity. Although not every part of the city may receive it, plans and works are underway to extend these services to every home.<ref>South Asian News Agency, [http://www.sananews.com.pk/news.php?netwire=8219&cwire=8219 ''30 Power Generators to Be Installed in Kandahar'']</ref> |
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The ''[[Chilzina]]'' is a rock-cut chamber above the plain at the end of the rugged chain of mountains forming the western defence of Kandahar's ''Old City''. This is here that [[Ashoka]]'s [[Kandahar Bilingual Rock Inscription]] was found. Forty steps, about, lead to the chamber, which is guarded by two chained lions, defaced, and inscribed with an account of [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] conquest. The rugged cliffs from which the ''Chilzina'' was hewn form the natural western bastion of the ''Old City'' of Kandahar, which was destroyed in 1738 by [[Nadir Shah Afshar]] of Persia. |
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A short distance from ''Chilzina'', going west on the main highway, a bright blue dome appears on the right. This is the mausoleum of [[Mirwais Hotak]], the Ghiljai chieftain who declared Kandahar's independence from the Persians in 1709. The shrine of [[Baba Wali Kandhari]]<ref name="wondersofpakistan.wordpress.com">{{cite web |url=http://wondersofpakistan.wordpress.com/2009/04/13/punja-sahib-the-miracle-at-hassan-abdal/ |title=Punja Sahib: The Miracle at Hassan Abdal |work=Wonders of Pakistan |date=13 April 2009 |access-date=6 May 2016 |archive-date=13 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313232015/https://wondersofpakistan.wordpress.com/2009/04/13/punja-sahib-the-miracle-at-hassan-abdal/ |url-status=live }}</ref> (Baba Sahib), its terraces shaded by pomegranate groves beside the [[Arghandab River]], is also very popular for picnics and afternoon outings.<ref Name=Dupree3/> He was a Muslim [[Pir (Sufism)|pir]] who had a strange encounter with [[Guru Nanak]] at [[Hasan Abdal]] in what is now [[Attock District]] of Pakistan. The shrine of Baba Wali is important to Muslims and [[Sikh]]s. Close to Baba Wali's shrine is a military base established by the [[United States armed forces]] in about 2007. |
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Up to 20,000 single-family homes and associated infrastructure such as roads, water and sewer systems, and [[community building]]s, including schools, are under construction on empty land in Kandahar.<ref>[[U.S. Department of State]], [http://www.usinfo.state.gov/sa/Archive/2004/Jan/29-5307.html ''U.S. Government Agency Grants $3 Million to Build Afghan Homes'']</ref> |
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==Development and modernization== |
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About 6 miles (10 km) east of Kandahar, a huge [[industrial park]] is under construction with modern facilities. The park will have professional management for the daily maintenance of public roads, internal streets, common areas, parking areas, 24 hours perimeter security, access control for vehicles and persons.<ref>Afghanistan Investment Support Agency, [http://www.aisa.org.af/ipda/kandahar.html ''Afghanistan Industrial Parks Development Authority'']</ref> |
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[[File:Aino Mina housing model.jpg|thumb|The original model plan of the ''Aino Mina'' neighbourhood, which began in 2003 by [[Mahmud Karzai]] and associates.<ref name=Cusak/>]] |
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Decades of war left Kandahar and the rest of the country destroyed and depopulated, but in recent years billions of dollars began pouring in for construction purposes and millions of expats have returned to Afghanistan. New residential areas have been established around the city, and a number of modern style buildings have been constructed. |
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Some residents of the city have access to clean drinking water and electricity, and the government is working to extend these services to every home.<ref>South Asian News Agency, [http://www.sananews.com.pk/news.php?netwire=8219&cwire=8219 ''30 Power Generators to Be Installed in Kandahar'']{{Dead link|date=August 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The city relies on electricity from the [[Kajaki Dam|Kajaki]] [[hydroelectricity]] plant in neighbouring [[Helmand Province|Helmand]], which is being upgraded or expanded. About {{cvt|20|mi|km|sigfig=1|order=flip}} north of the city is the [[Dahla Dam]], the second largest [[list of dams and reservoirs in Afghanistan|dam in Afghanistan]]. |
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A railroad track from the Pakistani town of [[Chaman]] to Kandahar is planned for the future. The [[feasibility study]] was completed in or about early 2006, allowing for the next step to lay-down the rail track. The work on the rail track will take approximately 2 years to complete. |
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The ''Aino Mina'' is a new housing project for up to two million people on the northern edge of the city.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.burohappold.com/projects/project/aino-mina-development-138/ |title=Aino Mina Development |access-date=6 May 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304031905/http://www.burohappold.com/projects/project/aino-mina-development-138/ |archive-date=4 March 2016 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> Originally called the ''Kandahar Valley'' and started by [[Mahmud Karzai]],<ref name=Cusak>{{cite news |url=http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/19/spending-time-with-the-karzais-in-parts-of-kandahar/ |title=Spending Time With the Karzais in (Parts of) Kandahar |work=The New York Times |date=19 July 2011 |access-date=2012-10-20 |first=Jake |last=Cusack |archive-date=8 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120808095610/http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/19/spending-time-with-the-karzais-in-parts-of-kandahar/ |url-status=live }}</ref> it was announced that the project would build up to 20,000 single-family homes and associated infrastructure such as roads, water and sewer systems, and [[community building]]s, including schools.<ref>[[U.S. Department of State]], [http://www.usinfo.state.gov/sa/Archive/2004/Jan/29-5307.html ''U.S. Government Agency Grants $3 Million to Build Afghan Homes''] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061004135535/http://usinfo.state.gov/sa/Archive/2004/Jan/29-5307.html |date=4 October 2006 }}</ref> |
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==Places of interest== |
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The tomb of [[Ahmad Shah Durrani]] is located in the city center, which also houses Durrani's brass helmet and other personal items. In front of Durrani's mausoleums is the [[Mosque of the Cloak of the Prophet Mohammed]], containing one of the most valued relics in the Islamic world, which was given by the Emir of [[Bokhara]] ([[Murad Beg]]) to Ahmad Shah Durrani. The Sacred Cloak is kept locked away, taken out only at times of great crisis. [[Mohammed Omar|Mullah Omar]] took it out in November 1996 and displayed it to a crowd of ''ulema'' of religious scholars to have himself declared [[Amir al-Mu'minin]] (Commander of the Faithful). Prior to that it was taken out when the city was struck by a cholera epidemic in the 1930s.<ref>Lamb, Christina (2002). ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=u5joY3VMX-gC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false The Sewing Circles of Herat: A Personal Voyage Through Afghanistan]''. Harper Collins. First Perennial edition (2004), p. 38 and n. ISBN 0-06-050527-3.</ref> |
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[[File:Ruins of old Kandahar Citadel in 1881.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Ruins of old Kandahar Citadel that was destroyed by the Persian army in 1738.]] |
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It recently won 2 awards, the ''Residential Project'' and ''Sustainable Project'' of the Year at the Middle East Architect Awards.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.designmena.com/portfolio/aino-mina |title=Case study: Aino Mina |work=Design Middle East |access-date=6 May 2016 |archive-date=6 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140106003655/http://www.designmena.com/portfolio/aino-mina |url-status=dead}}</ref> Many of the high-ranking government employees and civil servants as well as wealthy businessmen live in this area, which is a more secured community in Kandahar. Work on the next $100 million scheme was initiated in 2011. |
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The village of ''Sher Surkh'' is located southeast of the city, in the suburbs of the old city of Nadirabad. Kandahar Museum is located at the western end of the third block of buildings lining the main road east of ''Eidgah Durwaza'' (gate). It has many paintings by the now famous Ghiyassuddin, painted while he was a young teacher in Kandahar. He is acknowledged among Afghanistan’s leading artists. |
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Also, construction of Hamidi Township in the Morchi Kotal area of the city began in August 2011. It is named after [[Ghulam Haider Hamidi]], the mayor of Kandahar who was assassinated by militants in late July 2011.<ref>[http://www.afghanpanorama.com/?p=457 Kandahar mayor killed by suicide bomber with explosives in turban]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Situated along the Kandahar-Uruzgan Highway in the northeast of the city, the new township will have 2,000 residential and commercial plots. Including new roads, schools, commercial markets, clinics, canals and other facilities.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2011/08/16/construction-hameedi-township-starts-kandahar |title=Construction of Hameedi township starts in Kandahar |date=16 August 2011 |first=Bashir Ahmed |last=Naadem |access-date=16 August 2011 |archive-date=8 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120908074140/http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2011/08/16/construction-hameedi-township-starts-kandahar |url-status=dead}}</ref> |
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Just to the north of the city, off its northeast corner at the end of ''buria'' (matting) bazaar, there is a shrine dedicated to a saint who lived in Kandahar more than 300 years ago. The grave of ''[[Hazratji Baba]]'', {{convert|23|ft|m}} long to signify his greatness, but otherwise covered solely by rock chips, is undecorated save for tall pennants at its head. A monument to Islamic martyrs stands in the center of Kandahar’s main square, called ''Da Shahidanu Chawk'', which was built in the 1940s. |
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About {{cvt|10|km|0}} east of Kandahar, a huge [[industrial park]] is under construction with modern facilities. The park will have professional management for the daily maintenance of public roads, internal streets, common areas, parking areas, 24 hours perimeter security, access control for vehicles and persons.<ref>Afghanistan Investment Support Agency, [http://www.aisa.org.af/ipda/kandahar.html ''Afghanistan Industrial Parks Development Authority''] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060721180455/http://www.aisa.org.af/ipda/kandahar.html |date=21 July 2006 }}</ref> |
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The ''Chilzina'' is a rock-cut chamber above the plain at the end of the rugged chain of mountains forming the western defence of Kandahar’s ''Old City''. Forty steps, about, lead to the chamber which is guarded by two chained lions, defaced, and inscribed with an account of Moghul conquest. The rugged cliffs from which the ''Chilzina'' was hewn form the natural western bastion of the ''Old City'' of Kandahar which was destroyed in 1738 by [[Nadir Shah Afshar]] of Persia. |
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[[File:Baba Saab.JPG|thumb|The [[mausoleum]] of [[Baba Wali Kandhari]]<ref name="wondersofpakistan.wordpress.com"/> next to the Arghandab Valley, in the northern outskirts of the city.]] |
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[[File:Mosque in Kandahar-2011.jpg|thumb|The mausoleum of [[Ahmad Shah Durrani]] in the centre of the city, which also serves as the [[Congregational Mosque]] and contains a sacred [[cloak]] that used to be worn by Islam's Prophet [[Muhammad]].]] |
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[[File:Buildings in Kandahar2.jpg|thumb|Al-Jadeed indoor shopping centre in the Shahre Naw section of the city.]] |
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[[File:Park in Kandahar.jpg|thumb|Local children watching a football match at the playground of Ahmad Shah Baba High School.]] |
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[[File:View of Arghandab Valley.jpg|thumb|200px|Arghandab Valley]] |
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[[File:The mausoleum of Ahmad Shah Durrani (Ahmad Shah Baba).jpg|thumb|200px|Mausoleum of Ahmad Shah Durrani]] |
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[[File:Governor's courtyard in Kandahar.jpg|thumb|200px|Governor's Mansion]] |
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===Airports=== |
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A short distance from ''Chilzina'', going west on the main highway, a bright blue dome appears on the right. This is the mausoleum of ''Mir Wais Khan'', the Ghilzai chieftain who declared Kandahar’s independence from the Persians in 1709. The shrine of [[Baba Wali]], its terraces shaded by pomegranate groves beside the [[Arghandab River]], is also very popular for picnics and afternoon outings.<ref Name=Dupree3/> |
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*[[Kandahar International Airport]] |
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===Neighborhoods=== |
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[[Image:Kandahar International Airport during at night.jpg|thumb|Night view of [[Kandahar International Airport]] in 2007.]] |
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{{div col|colwidth=15em}} |
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[[Image:Baba Saab.JPG|thumb|The Shrine of [[Baba Wali]] at Arghandab Valley, on the outskirt of the city.]] |
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*[[Aino Meyna]] (under development since 2003) |
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[[File:Azizi Bank in Kandahar.jpg|thumb|Branch of [[Azizi Bank]] in the city]] |
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*Hamidi Meyna (under development since 2011) |
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*[[Share Naw]] (meaning ''New City'') |
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*Dand |
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*[[Karz, Kandahar|Karz]] |
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*Mirwais Meyna |
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*Daman |
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*Sarpuza |
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*Malajat |
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*[[Old Kandahar]] (Zorr Shar) |
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*[[Arghandab Valley]] |
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{{div col end}} |
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===Cultural sites and parks=== |
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* '''Airports''' |
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{{div col|colwidth=15em}} |
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** [[Kandahar International Airport]] |
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*[[Kandahar Park]] [https://www.flickr.com/photos/24037728@N08/2408896394/in/photostream] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151119184530/https://www.flickr.com/photos/24037728@N08/2408896394/in/photostream |date=19 November 2015 }} |
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*Baba Saab |
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*Kokaran Park |
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*Baghi Pul Park [https://web.archive.org/web/20161014053819/http://www.panoramio.com/photo/25270245] |
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*Chilzina View (Moghul Emperor [[Babur]]'s [[inscription]] site) |
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*[[Kandahar Museum]] |
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{{div col end}} |
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=== Mosques and shrines === |
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* '''Districts''' |
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{{div col|colwidth=15em}} |
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** Arghandab Valley |
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*[[Friday Mosque of Kandahar]] |
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** Kandahar Valley (under construction) |
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*[[Mosque of the Hair of the Prophet]] |
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** Shāri Noe (New City), alternately Shahre Naw or Shar-i-Nau |
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*[[Omar Al-Farooq Mosque]] |
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** Dand |
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*[[Shrine of the Cloak]] |
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** [[Karz]] |
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*Mosque at [[Kandahar University]] (Eidgah Jaami Jumat) |
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** Mirwais Mina, alternately Mena |
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{{div col end}} |
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** Daman |
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** Sarpuza |
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** Zoar Shār (Old City) |
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=== Mausoleums === |
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* '''General''' |
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*Mausoleum of [[Ahmad Shah Durrani]] |
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** Baba Saab (picnic area & weekend spot) |
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*Mausoleum of [[Mirwais Hotak]] |
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** Bāghi Pull (picnic area & weekend spot) |
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*Mausoleum of Baba Wali |
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** Chilzina View ([[Moghul|Moghul Emperor]] [[Babur]]'s [[inscription]] site) |
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** Kandahar Stadium |
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** Kandahar Museum |
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===Shopping=== |
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* '''Mosques and Shrines''' |
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{{div col|colwidth=15em}} |
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** Friday Mosque or [[Mosque of the Cloak of the Prophet Mohammed]] |
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*Al-Jadeed indoor shopping center [https://www.flickr.com/photos/24037728@N08/2407958627/in/photostream] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170102110918/https://www.flickr.com/photos/24037728@N08/2407958627/in/photostream |date=2 January 2017 }} |
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** Jama-e Mubārak or [[Mosque of the Hair of the Prophet]] |
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*Herat [[Bazaar]] |
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** Shrine of Baba Wali |
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*Kabul Bazaar |
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*Shah Bazaar |
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*Shkar Pur Bazaar |
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*Piaroz Super store |
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*Kandahr Super Store |
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*Samimi Super Store |
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{{div col end}} |
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===Hospitals=== |
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* '''Mausoleums''' |
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{{div col|colwidth=15em}} |
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** Mausoleum of [[Ahmad Shah Durrani]] |
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*[[Afghan National Army Regional Hospital]] |
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** Mausoleum of [[Mirwais Khan Hotak]] |
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*[[Mirwais Hospital]] |
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*[[Sial Curative Hospital]] |
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*[[Bilal Hospital]] |
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*[[Momand Hospital]] |
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*[[Sydal Hospital]] |
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{{div col end}} |
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===Banks=== |
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* '''Shopping''' |
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*[[Afghanistan International Bank|AIB Bank]] |
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** Herat [[Bazaar]] |
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* |
*[[Kabul Bank]] |
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*[[Azizi Bank]] |
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** Shah Bazaar |
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** Shkar Pur Bazaar |
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==Sports== |
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* '''Banks''' |
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** [[Afghanistan International Bank|AIB Bank]] |
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** [[Kabul Bank]] |
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** [[Azizi Bank]] |
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;Professional sports teams from Kandahar |
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* '''Hospitals''' |
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{| class="wikitable sortable" |
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** [[Afghan National Army Regional Hospital]] |
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|- |
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** [[Mirwais Hospital]] |
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! scope="col" | Club |
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! scope="col" | League |
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! scope="col" | Sport |
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! scope="col" | Venue |
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! scope="col" | Established |
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|- |
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! scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;" | [[Kandahar Knights]] |
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|[[Afghanistan Premier League]] |
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|[[Cricket]] |
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|[[Sharjah Cricket Stadium]] |
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|2018 |
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|- |
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! scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;" | [[Boost Defenders]] |
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| [[Shpageeza Cricket League]] |
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| [[Cricket]] |
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| [[Kandahar International Cricket Stadium]] |
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| 2013 |
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|- |
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! scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;" | [[De Maiwand Atalan F.C.]] |
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| [[Afghan Premier League]] |
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| [[Association football|Football]] |
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| [[Kandahar Stadium]] |
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| 2012 |
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|} |
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== |
===Stadium=== |
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*[[Kandahar International Cricket Stadium]] (under construction)<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-05-29 |title=20 acres of land donated for cricket stadium in Kandahar {{!}} Pajhwok Afghan News |url=http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2010/10/27/20-acres-land-donated-cricket-stadium-kandahar |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140529103150/http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2010/10/27/20-acres-land-donated-cricket-stadium-kandahar |archive-date=2014-05-29 |access-date=2021-05-08}}</ref> |
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The population of Kandahar numbers approximately 468,200.<ref>[http://www.mrrd.gov.af/nabdp/Provincial%20Profiles/Kandahar%20PDP%20Provincial%20profile.pdf UNDSS Provincial Profile], Afghanistan's "Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and development (MRRD)", 2009</ref> [[Pashtun people|Pashtuns]] form the overwhelming majority of the city, comprising ca. 70%. [[Tajiks]] are the second largest group, comprising ca. 20% of the population. [[Hazara people|Hazaras]], [[Baluch people|Baluchs]], and [[Uzbek people|Uzbeks]] form sizable minorities.<ref>[http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0311/feature2/images/mp_download.2.pdf Population Map], [[National Geographic]], 2003</ref> |
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*[[Kandahar Stadium]] used for football<ref>{{Citation |last=Iqbal Ahmad Esmati |title=Football Ground |date=2005-02-13 |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/24037728@N08/2408005625/ |access-date=2021-05-08 |archive-date=10 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160810160701/https://www.flickr.com/photos/24037728@N08/2408005625 |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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*Ahmad Shahi Stadium, with 20,000 capacity, used for football |
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==Demography and culture== |
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===Notable people from Kandahar=== |
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{{Further|Demographics of Afghanistan}}{{Bar box|float=left|bars={{bar percent|[[Muslims]]|green|99.8}} |
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*[[Mirwais Khan Hotak]] |
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{{bar percent|[[Hindus]]|orange|0.15}} |
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*[[Mir Mahmud Hotaki]] |
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{{bar percent|Others*|blue|0.05}}|caption=*{{small|includes [[Sikhs]], [[Baháʼí Faith|Baháʼí]] and [[Atheists]]}}|left1=Religion|right1=%|title=Religions in Kandahar}}[[File:Tribal and religious leaders in southern Afghanistan.jpg|thumb|upright|A gathering of tribal and religious leaders following a [[shura]] held by [[President of Afghanistan|Afghan President]] [[Hamid Karzai]] in June 2010 to start a dialogue for peace with the Taliban.]] |
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*[[Ahmad Shah Abdali]] |
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The population of Kandahar numbers approximately 651,484 {{As of|2021|lc=y}}.<ref name=nsia/> The [[Pashtuns]] make up the overwhelming majority population of the city and province but exact figures are not available. In a 2003 estimate by the [[National Geographic Society|National Geographic]], Pashtuns were put at ca. 70%, [[Tajik people|Tajiks]] 20%, [[Baluch people|Baloch]] 2%, and [[Uzbek people|Uzbeks]] 2%.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0311/feature2/images/mp_download.2.pdf |title=2003 National Geographic Population Map |work=Thomas Gouttierre, Center For Afghanistan Studies, [[University of Nebraska]] at Omaha; Matthew S. Baker, Stratfor |publisher=[[National Geographic Society]] |year=2003 |access-date=11 April 2011 |archive-date=12 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912083622/http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0311/feature2/images/mp_download.2.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> |
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*[[Nashenas]] |
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*[[Hamid Karzai]], from [[Karz]] |
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[[Pashto language|Pashto]] is the main language in the city and the region. [[Persian language|Persian]] is also understood by a few number of the city dwellers, especially those serving in the government. Both are the official [[languages of Afghanistan]]. A 2006 compendium of provincial data prepared by the Afghan [[Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development]] and [[United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan]] (UNAMA) states: |
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*[[Nur Jahan]] |
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{{blockquote|sign=|source=|"The major ethnic group living in Khandahar province is Pashtoons. This includes major tribes such as [[Tareen]] or [[Durrani]] sub tribes including [[Barakzai]], [[Popalzai]], [[Alakozai|Alkozai]], [[Achakzai]], [[Ishaqzai]], [[Noorzai]] and [[Alizai (Pashtun tribe)|Alezai]]. [[Pashto language|Pashtu]] is spoken by more than 98% of population and in more than 98% of villages. [[Dari language|Dari]] is spoken in six villages by 4000 people and [[Balochi language|Balochi]] is spoken by 8000 people in two villages. 19000 people in nine villages speak some other unspecified language."<ref name=demography>{{cite web |url=http://www.mrrd-nabdp.org/Provincial%20Profiles/Kandahar%20PDP%20Provincial%20profile.pdf |title=B. Demography and Population |work=[[United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan]] and Afghanistan Statistical Yearbook 2006, Central Statistics Office |publisher=Afghanistan's [[Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development]] |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120321120424/http://www.mrrd-nabdp.org/Provincial%20Profiles/Kandahar%20PDP%20Provincial%20profile.pdf |archive-date=21 March 2012}}</ref>}} |
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*[[Gul Agha Sherzai]] |
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*[[Said Tayeb Jawad]] |
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In another report, by BBC news Farsi, there are roughly 50,000-100,000 Tajik or Persian speakers in the city of Kandahar.<ref>{{Cite news |last=هنریار |first=ارشاد |date=2019-05-26 |title=فارسی زبانهای قندهار؛ پیشتاز زرگری و رایگیری |language=fa |work=BBC News فارسی |url=https://www.bbc.com/persian/afghanistan-48406606 |access-date=2020-07-26 |archive-date=7 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807001602/https://www.bbc.com/persian/afghanistan-48406606 |url-status=live }}</ref> The "Council for Tajiks of the south" head office is also based in Kandahar city.<ref>{{Cite web |title=شورای همبستگی تاجیکان قندهار آغاز به فعالیت کرد |url=http://tajikmedia.com/?p=12037 |access-date=2020-07-26 |website=tajikmedia.com |archive-date=26 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200726072448/http://tajikmedia.com/?p=12037 |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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*[[Dost Mohammad Khan]] |
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The [[Pashtun culture]], [[Pashtuns|history]], traditions, [[Pashtun clothing|clothing]] and [[Pashtunwali]] is dominant in this region. |
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== Notable people == |
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{{div col|colwidth=20em}} |
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*[[Kandahari Begum]], wife of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan |
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*[[Nur Jahan]] – Empress of the [[Mughal Empire]], chief wife of Mughal emperor Jahangir |
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*[[Mirwais Hotak]] – founder of the [[Hotak dynasty]] |
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*[[Abdul Aziz Hotak]] – ruler of the Hotak dynasty |
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*[[Mahmud Hotak]] – ruler of the Hotak dynasty and Shah of Persia |
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*[[Ashraf Hotak]] – Shah of Persia |
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*[[Hussain Hotak]] – ruler of the Hotak dynasty |
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*[[Ahmad Shah Durrani]] – founding father of Afghanistan, buried in the city |
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*[[Dost Mohammad Khan]] – Emir of Afghanistan and son of Payandah Khan |
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*[[Sher Ali Khan]] – Emir of Afghanistan and son of Dost Mohammad Khan |
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*[[Abdur Rahman Khan]] – Emir of Afghanistan and son of Dost Mohammad Khan |
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*[[Ghulam Muhammad Tarzi]] – leader of [[Tarzi]] family who played an important part in Afghan history during the late 19th century onward |
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*Abdul Rehman Khan, father of [[Bollywood]] actor [[Kader Khan]] |
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*[[Mohammad Ibraheem Khwakhuzhi]] |
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*[[Maryam Durani]] an Afghan activist and women's advocate |
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*[[Ubaidullah Jan]] – Pashto music king of southern Afghanistan |
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*[[Naghma (singer)|Naghma]] – Afghan singer |
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*[[Nashenas]] – [[Music of Afghanistan|Afghan musician]] |
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*[[Abdul Hai Habibi]] – scholar, former professor at [[Kabul University]] and author of many books |
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*The [[Karzai (surname)|Karzais]] – the family of Afghan President [[Hamid Karzai]] |
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*[[Gul Agha Sherzai]] – served as the [[List of governors of Kandahar|governor of Kandahar Province]] followed by as [[List of governors of Nangarhar|governors of Nangarhar Province]] |
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*[[Said Tayeb Jawad]] – former [[Ambassadors of Afghanistan|Afghanistan Ambassador]] to the United States |
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*[[Yousef Pashtun]] – Afghan politician |
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*[[Nasrat Haqparast]] - UFC Lightweight Fighter |
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*[[Khan Mohammad Mujahid]] – Alokozai tribe leader |
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*[[Malalai of Maiwand]] – National folk hero of Afghanistan |
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*[[Hibatullah Akhundzada]] – Supreme leader of Afghanistan as of 2021 |
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*[[Akhtar Mansour]] – Second supreme leader of the [[Taliban]] |
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{{div col end}} |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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{{div col|colwidth=25em}} |
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*[[Kandahar Province]] |
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*[[Old Kandahar]] |
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*[[Arachosia]] |
*[[Arachosia]] |
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*[[Alexandria Arachosia]] |
*[[Alexandria Arachosia]] |
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*[[ |
*[[Yazidis of Kandahar]] |
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*[[Operation Dreamseed]] |
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{{div col end}} |
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== |
==Footnotes== |
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{{Reflist}} |
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* {{cite book |last= Dupree|first= Nancy Hatch|title= An Historical Guide to Afghanistan|origyear= 1st Edition: 1970|origmonth= |url= |edition= 2nd Edition, Revised and Enlarged|series= |date= |year= 1977|publisher= Afghan Tourist Organization}} |
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* Hill, John E. 2004. ''The Western Regions according to the Hou Hanshu.'' Draft annotated English translation.[http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/hhshu/hou_han_shu.html] |
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* Hill, John E. 2004. ''The Peoples of the West from the Weilue'' 魏略 ''by Yu Huan'' 魚豢'': A Third Century Chinese Account Composed between 239 and 265 CE.'' Draft annotated English translation. [http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/weilue.html] |
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* Thapar, Romila (1963): ''Aśoka and the Decline of the Mauryas''. Oxford University Press. 3rd impression, New Delhi, 1980. |
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* Frye, Richard N. (1963). ''The Heritage of Persia''. World Publishing company, Cleveland, Ohio. Mentor Book edition, 1966. |
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* Toynbee, Arnold J. (1961). ''Between Oxus and Jumna''. London. Oxford University Press. |
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* Vogelsang, W. (1985). "Early historical Arachosia in South-east Afghanistan; Meeting-place between East and West." ''Iranica antiqua'', 20 (1985), pp. 55–99. |
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* Wood, Michael (1997). ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=5wDWn1dL6HMC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great: A Journey from Greece to Asia]''. University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-23192-9 |
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==References== |
==References== |
||
*{{Cite book |last=Dupree |first=Nancy Hatch |title=An Historical Guide to Afghanistan |orig-year=1st Edition: 1970 |edition=2nd Edition, Revised and Enlarged |year=1977 |publisher=Afghan Tourist Organization}} |
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{{Reflist|2}} |
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*Hill, John E. 2004. [http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/weilue.html ''The Peoples of the West from the Weilue''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171223070446/http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/weilue.html |date=23 December 2017 }} 魏略 ''by Yu Huan'' 魚豢'': A Third Century Chinese Account Composed between 239 and 265 CE.'' Draft annotated English translation. |
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*Hill, John E. (2009) ''Through the Jade Gate to Rome: A Study of the Silk Routes during the Later Han dynasty, 1st to 2nd centuries CE''. BookSurge, Charleston, South Carolina. {{ISBN|978-1-4392-2134-1}}. |
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*Frye, Richard N. (1963). ''The Heritage of Persia''. World Publishing company, Cleveland, Ohio. Mentor Book edition, 1966. |
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* {{cite book |last=Kaplan |first=Robert D. |author-link=Robert D. Kaplan |title=Soldiers of God: With Islamic Warriors in Afghanistan and Pakistan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r3TLByMXsJkC |year=2008 |publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-307-54698-2 |oclc=48367823}} |
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*Toynbee, Arnold J. (1961). ''Between Oxus and Jumna''. London. Oxford University Press. |
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*[[Willem Vogelsang]] (1985). "Early historical Arachosia in South-east Afghanistan; Meeting-place between East and West." ''Iranica antiqua'', 20 (1985), pp. 55–99. |
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*Wood, Michael (1997). ''[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9790520231923 In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great: A Journey from Greece to Asia]''. University of California Press. {{ISBN|0-520-23192-9}} |
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==Further reading== |
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;Published in the 19th century |
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*{{Citation |publisher=B. Quaritch |location=London |author=Edward Balfour |author-link=Edward Balfour |title=Cyclopaedia of India |edition=3rd |date=1885 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/cyclopaediaofind02balfuoft#page/490/mode/2up |chapter=Kandahar}} |
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*Boulger, Demetrius Charles. ''[http://www.wdl.org/en/item/11800/ Ought We to Hold Candahar?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131226030557/http://www.wdl.org/en/item/11800/ |date=26 December 2013 }}''. London: William H. Allen and Company (1879). |
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;Published in the 20th century |
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*{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Kandahar |volume=15 |last=Holdich |first=Thomas Hungerford |author-link=Thomas Hungerford Holdich |pages=648–649 |short=1 }} |
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;Published in the 21st century |
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*{{cite book |title=Historic Cities of the Islamic World |editor=C. Edmund Bosworth |year=2007 |publisher=[[Koninklijke Brill]] |location=Leiden |chapter=Kandahar}} |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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{{Commons |
{{Commons category}} |
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{{Wikivoyage}} |
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* [http://www.afghanistan-photos.com/crbst_5.html Old photos of Kandahar] |
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*[https://web.archive.org/web/20051027130028/http://www.aims.org.af/maps/urban/kandahar.pdf Map of Kandahar], from [[Afghanistan Information Management Services]] |
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* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8203830.stm Kandahar dreamers test Taliban edicts] |
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* [http://www.livius.org/ap-ark/arachosia/arachosia.html Arachosia] |
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* [http://www.livius.org/aj-al/alexandria/alexandria_arachosia.html Alexandria in Arachosia] |
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* [http://www.iranica.com/newsite/articles/v2f3/v2f3a010.html ARACHOSIA, province (satrapy)] |
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* [http://www.aims.org.af/maps/urban/kandahar.pdf Map of Kandahar, from Afghanistan IMS] |
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* [http://www.understandingwar.org/report/talibans-campaign-kandahar The Taliban's Campaign for Kandahar] |
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{{AfghanistanLargestCities}} |
{{AfghanistanLargestCities}} |
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{{Kandahar Province}} |
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{{Districts of Kandahar}} |
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[[ar:قندهار]] |
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[[bg:Кандахар]] |
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Latest revision as of 22:56, 1 January 2025
Kandahar
| |
---|---|
Motto: City of the War | |
Coordinates: 31°37′12″N 65°42′57″E / 31.62000°N 65.71583°E | |
Country | Afghanistan |
Province | Kandahar |
District | Kandahar |
Government | |
• Type | Municipality |
• Governor | mula sherin |
Area | |
• Total | 273.37 km2 (105.55 sq mi) |
Elevation | 1,010 m (3,310 ft) |
Population (2021) | |
• Total | 651,484[1] |
• Density | 2,400/km2 (6,200/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+4:30 (Afghanistan Standard Time) |
Postal Code | 38XX |
Website | kandahar-m |
Kandahar (English: /ˈkændəhɑːr/; Pashto: کندهار, romanized: Kandahār; Dari: قندهار, romanized: Qandahār) is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on Arghandab River, at an elevation of 1,010 m (3,310 ft). It is Afghanistan's second largest city, after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118.[2] It is the capital of Kandahar Province and the centre of the larger cultural region called Loy Kandahar.
Kandahar is the founding city and spiritual center of the Taliban. Despite the capital of Afghanistan being Kabul, where the government administration is based, Kandahar is the seat of power in Afghanistan as the supreme leader and his spiritual advisers are based there. Kandahar has therefore been called the de facto capital of Afghanistan, though the Taliban maintain Kabul is the capital.[3]
Kandahar is one of the most culturally significant cities of the Pashtuns community and has been their traditional seat of power for more than 300 years. It is a major trading center for sheep, wool, cotton, silk, felt, food grains, fresh and dried fruit. The region produces fine fruits, especially pomegranates and grapes, and the city has plants for canning, drying, and packing fruit, and is a major source of marijuana and hashish.[4]
The region around Kandahar is one of the oldest known human settlements. A major fortified city existed at the site of Kandahar, probably as early as c. 1000–750 BC,[5] and it became an important outpost of the Achaemenid (Persian) Empire in the 6th century BC.[6] Alexander the Great had laid-out the foundation of what is now Old Kandahar (which is in the southern section of Kandahar city) in the 4th century BC and gave it the Ancient Greek name Ἀλεξάνδρεια Ἀραχωσίας (Alexandria of Arachosia). Historically, this province is considered as an important political area for Afghanistan revelations. Many empires have long fought over the city due to its strategic location along the trade routes of southern, central and western Asia. In 1709, Mirwais Hotak made the region an independent kingdom and turned Kandahar into the capital of the Hotak dynasty. In 1747, Ahmad Shah Durrani, founder of the Durrani dynasty, made Kandahar the capital of the Afghan Empire.[7][8]
Name
[edit]The modern name of the city derives from the name of the original city built here, Alexandria. This city (often referred to as Alexandria in Arachosia to distinguish it from other Alexandrias) was founded after the invasion of Alexander the Great in 330 BC. The name "Alexander" in the local Pashto language is rendered as "Iskandar". It is believed that over time this transformed into "Scandar", and eventually the modern "Kandahar".[9] The change of the name from "Scandar" to Candar is mentioned by the 16th-century Portuguese historian João de Barros in his most famous work, Décadas da Ásia.[10][11]
A folk etymology offered is that the word "kand" or "qand" in Persian and Pashto (the local languages) is the origin of the word "candy". The name "Candahar" or "Kandahar" in this form probably translates to candy area. This probably has to do with the location being fertile and historically known for producing fine grapes, pomegranates, apricots, melons and other sweet fruits.[citation needed]
Ernst Herzfeld claimed Kandahar perpetuated the name of the Indo-Parthian king Gondophares, who re-founded the city under the name Gundopharron.[12] However, modern historians and linguists generally find this derivation implausible.[9]
An alternative etymology derives the name of the city from Gandhara,[13][unreliable source?] the name of an ancient Buddhist kingdom located along the north of the Kabul river, and centred on the Peshawar Valley.[14] The name Kandahar (Sanskrit: कंधार) might be linguistically corrupted form of a word Gandhāra (Sanskrit: गंधार), which was used between 2000-1700 BCE.[15][failed verification]
History
[edit]Historical affiliations
Macedonia 330 BC–312 BC
Seleucid Empire 312 BC–304 BC
Maurya Empire 304 BC–204 BC
Seleucid Empire 204 BC–c. 180 BC
Greco-Bactrian Kingdom 180 BC-c. 150 BC
Yavana Kingdom c. 150 BC–142 BC
Indo-Scythians 142 BC–32 BC
Parthian Empire 32 BC–19 CE
Indo-Parthian Kingdom 19–36
Kushan Empire 36–230
Sasanian Empire 230–645
Rashidun Caliphate 645–661
Umayyad Caliphate 661–750
Abbasid Caliphate 750-861
Saffarid dynasty 861–977
Ghaznavid Empire 977–1175
Ghurid dynasty 1175-1207
Khwarazmian Empire 1207–1222
Mongol Empire 1222-1256
Ilkhanate 1256-1347
Kart dynasty 1347-1382
Timurid Empire 1382-1507
Mughal Empire 1507–1649
Safavid Empire 1649-1711
Hotak dynasty 1711–1738
Afsharid Empire 1738–1747
Durrani Empire 1747–1818
Principality of Kandahar 1818-1839
United Kingdom (Company Raj) 1839-1842
Principality of Kandahar 1842-1855
Afghanistan 1855–present
Prehistory
[edit]Excavations of prehistoric sites by archaeologists such as Louis Dupree and others suggest that the region around Kandahar is one of the oldest known human settlements known so far.
Early peasant farming villages came into existence in Afghanistan ca. 5000 B.C., or 7000 years ago. Deh Morasi Ghundai, the first prehistoric site to be excavated in Afghanistan, lies 27 km (17 mi) southwest of Kandahar (Dupree, 1951). Another Bronze Age village mound site with multiroomed mud-brick buildings dating from the same period sits nearby at Said Qala (J. Shaffer, 1970). Second millennium B.C. Bronze Age pottery, copper and bronze horse trappings and stone seals were found in the lowermost levels in the nearby cave called Shamshir Ghar (Dupree, 1950). In the Seistan, southwest of these Kandahar sites, two teams of American archaeologists discovered sites relating to the 2nd millennium B.C. (G. Dales, University Museum, University of Pennsylvania, 1969, 1971; W, Trousdale, Smithsonian Institution, 1971 – 76). Stylistically the finds from Deh Morasi and Said Qala tie in with those of pre-Indus Valley sites and with those of comparable age on the Iranian Plateau and in Central Asia, indicating cultural contacts during this very early age.[16]
— N. Dupree, 1971
British excavations in the 1970s discovered that Kandahar existed as a large fortified city during the early 1st millennium BC; while this earliest period at Kandahar has not been precisely dated via radiocarbon, ceramic comparisons with the latest period at the major Bronze Age city of Mundigak have suggested an approximate time-frame of 1000 to 750 BC.[5] This fortified city became an important outpost of the Achaemenid Empire in the 6th to 4th centuries BC, and formed part of the province of Arachosia.[6]
Ancient history
[edit]Foundation of city and Greek invasion
The now known "Old Kandahar" was founded in 330 BC by Alexander the Great, near the site of the ancient city of Mundigak (established around 3000 BC era). Mundigak served as the provincial capital of Arachosia and was ruled by the Medes followed by the Achaemenids until the arrival of the Macedonians. The main inhabitants of Arachosia were the Pakhtas,[17] an ancient Indo-Iranian tribe, who might have been among the ancestors of today's Pashtuns. Kandahar was named Alexandria, a name given to some cities that Alexander founded during his conquests.[18]
Kandahar was a frequent target for conquest because of its strategic location in Asia, controlling the main trade route linking the Indian subcontinent with the Middle East and Central Asia.[19] The territory became part of the Seleucid Empire after the death of Alexander. It is mentioned by Strabo that a treaty of friendship was established eventually between the Greeks and the Mauryas (Indians).[20][21] The city eventually became part of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom (250 BC – 125 BC), and continued that way for two hundred years under the later Indo-Greek Kingdom (180 BC – 10 AD).
While the Diadochi were warring amongst themselves, the Mauryas were developing in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent. The founder of the empire, Chandragupta Maurya, confronted a Macedonian invasion force led by Seleucus I in 305 BC and following a brief conflict, an agreement was reached as Seleucus ceded Gandhara and Arachosia and areas south of Bagram to the Mauryas. During the 120 years of the Mauryas in southern Afghanistan, Buddhism was introduced and eventually become a major religion alongside Zoroastrianism and local pagan beliefs.
Inscriptions made by Emperor Ashoka, a fragment of Edict 13 in Greek, as well as a full Edict, written in both Greek and Aramaic has been discovered in Kandahar. It is said to be written in excellent Classical Greek, using sophisticated philosophical terms. In this Edict, Ashoka the great used the word Eusebeia ("Piety") as the Greek translation for the ubiquitous "Dharma" of his other Edicts written in Prakrit.
Medieval history
[edit]Islamic conquest
Until the 9th century, Kandahar and other regions ruled by the Zunbils were considered part of the Indian Subcontinent, though it was an Eastern Iranic realm which followed Zurvanism.[22] In the 7th century AD, Arab armies conquered the region but failed to convert the entire population to Islam.The leader of the expedition was Abbad ibn Ziyad, who governed Sijistan between 673 and 681.[23] In AD 870, Yaqub ibn Layth Saffari, a local ruler of the Saffarid dynasty, conquered Kandahar and environs in the name of Islam.
Ghanavids
It is believed that the Zunbil dynasty were the rulers of the Kandahar region from the 7th century until the late 9th century AD.[24] Kandahar was taken by Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni in the 11th century followed by the Ghurids of Ghor.
Kandahar appears to have been renamed Teginābād in the 10th-12th centuries, but the origin of the new name is unclear. During this period, nearby Panjway served as the administrative center for the area. However, Kandahar was of much more strategic importance, to the extent that Minhaj-i-Siraj attributes the downfall of the Ghaznavids to the loss of Kandahar. The city's name was changed back to Kandahar by the 13th century, after Ala ad-Din Husayn Jahansuz sacked Lashkari Bazar, near Bost. Again, the reason for the name change is not clear.[25]
Mongols
Kandahar was besieged by a Mongol army in 1221, although Jalal ad-Din Mingburnu defeated them. In 1251, upon accession to the Mongol throne, Möngke Khan granted Kandahar, along with other lands in Afghanistan, to Shams ad-Din Mohammad Kart of the Kart dynasty. However, the city is mentioned as being under Chagatai control in 1260–61; Kandahar didn't come under Kart control until 1281. Later, in 1318, a Chagatai prince raised an army from Kandahar against the Ilkhanid governor of Sistan.[26] Kandahar was described by Ibn Battuta in 1333 as a large and prosperous town three nights journey from Ghazni.[27]
Timur the Great, founder of the Timurid Empire, captured Kandahar in 1383. He appointed his grandson Pir Muhammad as governor of Kandahar in 1390.[26] Following his death in 1405, the city was ruled by other Timurid governors. Kandahar was entrusted to the Arghuns in the late 15th century, who eventually achieved independence from the Timurids. Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, is believed to have visited the town (c. 1521 AD) during his important journey between Hindustan and Mecca in Arabia.
Mughal and Safavid Era
Tamerlane's descendant, Babur, the founder of the Mughal Empire, annexed Kandahar in 1508. In 1554, Babur's son, Humayun, handed it over to the Safavid Shah Tahmasp in return of 12,000 soldiers he received from the Shah to reconquer India. In 1595, Humayun's son Akbar the Great reconquered the city by diplomacy. Akbar died in 1605 and when this news reached the Persian court, Shah Abbas ordered his army to besiege the city which continued until early 1606 and finally failed due to the reinforcements sent by the Mughal Emperor Jahangir that forced the Safavid retreat. In the Mughal–Safavid War, Kandahar was once again lost to the Safavids. In 1698, Mughals under Samandar Khan of Kalat State captured Kandahar again. Kandahar was regarded as important to the Mughal Empire because it was one of the gateways to India, and Mughal control over Kandahar helped to prevent foreign intrusions.[28]
The memory of the wars fought over Kandahar at this time is preserved in the epic poem Qandahār-nāma ("The Campaign Against Qandahār"), a major work of Saib Tabrizi which is a classic of Persian literature.
Modern (1709-Present)
[edit]Mirwais Hotak, chief of the Ghilji tribe, revolted in 1709 by killing Gurgin Khan, an ethnic Georgian subject and governor of the Shia Safavid Persians. After establishing the Hotak dynasty in Kandahar, Mirwais and his army successfully defeated subsequent expeditions by Kay Khusraw and Rustam Khán. Mirwais resisted attempts by the Persian government who were seeking to convert the Afghans from Sunni to the Shia sect of Islam. He died of a natural death in November 1715 and was succeeded by his brother Abdul Aziz, but after being suspected of giving Kandahar's sovereignty back to the Persians he was killed by his nephew Mahmud Hotak.[29][30]
In 1722, Mahmud led an army of Afghans to the Safavid capital Isfahan and proclaimed himself King of Persia. The Hotak dynasty was eventually removed from power by a new Persian ruler, Nader Shah. In 1738, Nader Shah invaded Afghanistan and destroyed the now Old Kandahar, which was held by Hussain Hotak and his Ghilji tribes.[31] In the meantime, Nader Shah freed Ahmad Khan (later Ahmad Shah Durrani) and his brother Zulfikar who were held prisoners by the Hotak ruler. Before leaving southern Afghanistan for Delhi in India, Nader Shah laid out the foundation for a new town to be built next to the destroyed ancient city, naming it "Naderabad". His rule ended in June 1747 after being murdered by his Persian guards.[32]
Ahmad Shah Durrani, chief of the Durrani tribe, gained control of Kandahar and made it the capital of his new Afghan Empire in October 1747. Initially, Ahmad Shah had trouble finding land on which to build his city. His own tribe had no extensive lands and others who had, such as the Alikozai and Barakzai, refused to give up their lands. Only the Popalzai finally offered him his pick of their lands. The foundations for the city were laid in June, 1761.[33] Once begun, the city was built with grand proportions. It was laid out in the form of a regular rectangle with a circumference of three miles; walls 30 feet thick at the bottom and 15 feet at the top, rose 27 feet high to enclose it. Outside, the walls were ringed by a moat 24 feet wide. Six mammoth gateways pierced these walls: the Eid Gah Gate on the north, the Shikarpur Gate on the south; the Herat and Top Khana Gates on the west; and, the Bar Durrani and Kabul Gates on the east. At its peak, Ahmad Shah's empire included present-day Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Khorasan and Kohistan provinces of Iran, along with Punjab in India. In October 1772, Ahmad Shah retired and died from a natural cause.[34] A new city was laid out by Ahmad Shah and is dominated by his mausoleum, which is adjacent to the Mosque of the Cloak in the centre of the city. By 1776, his eldest son Timur Shah had transferred Afghanistan's main capital, due to several conflicts with various Pashtun tribes, from Kandahar to Kabul, where the Durrani legacy continued.[16]
From 1818 to 1855, Kandahar was ruled by half-brothers of Dost Mohammad Khan as an independent principality. In September 1826, Syed Ahmad Shaheed's followers arrived to Kandahar in search of volunteers to help them wage jihad against the Sikh invaders to what is now Pakistan. Led by Ranjit Singh, the Sikhs had captured several of Afghanistan's territories in the east, including what is now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Kashmir. More than 400 local Kandahar warriors assembled themselves for the jihad. Sayed Din Mohammad Kandharai was appointed as their leader.
British war
British-led Indian forces from neighbouring British India invaded the city in 1839, during the First Anglo-Afghan War, but withdrew in 1842. In November 1855, Dost Mohammad Khan conquered Kandahar. The British and Indian forces returned in 1878 during the Second Anglo-Afghan War. They emerged from the city in July 1880 to confront the forces of Ayub Khan, but were defeated at the Battle of Maiwand. They were again forced to withdraw a few years later, despite winning the Battle of Kandahar.
Kandahar remained peaceful for the next 100 years, except during 1929 when loyalists of Habibullah Kalakani (Bache Saqqaw) placed the fortified city on lock-down and began torturing its population. Nobody was allowed to enter or leave from within the city's tall defensive walls, and as a result of this many people suffered after running out of food supplies. This lasted until October 1929 when Nadir Khan and his Afghan army came to eliminate Kalakani, known as the Tajik bandit from the village of Kalakan in northern Kabul Province.
During Zahir Shah's rule, the city slowly began expanding by adding modern style streets and housing schemes. Although Kandahar remained less international than Kabul, with fewer foreigners in residence and thus no market for coffee, jam, potatoes, or other European produce, a modest German community took root there in the 1930s. Engineers and factory managers, accompanied by their spouses, arrived to supervise wool-processing plants. A Siemens electrical station powered these emerging industries, signaling a step toward the broader modernization taking shape across Afghanistan during this period. [35]
In the 1960s, during the rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union, Kandahar International Airport was built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers next to the city. The U.S. also completed several other major projects in Kandahar and in other parts of southern Afghanistan. In the meantime, Soviet engineers were busy building major infrastructures in other parts of the country, such as Bagram Airfield and Kabul International Airport.
During the 1980s, Soviet–Afghan War, Kandahar city (and the province as a whole) witnessed heavy fighting as it became a centre of resistance as the mujahideen forces waged a strong guerrilla warfare against the Soviet-backed government, who tightly held on control of the city. Government and Soviet troops surrounded the city and subjected it to heavy air bombardment in which many civilians lost their lives.[36] In January 1982 indiscriminate shelling and bombing by the Soviets killed hundreds.[37][38] 300 civilians were killed during Soviet bombings in July 1984.[39] It was under siege again in April 1986.[40] The city's population was reduced from 200,000 before the war to no more than 25,000 inhabitants, following a months-long campaign of carpet bombing and bulldozing by the Soviets and Afghan communist soldiers in 1987.[41] Kandahar International Airport was used by the Soviet Army during their ten-year troop placement in the country. The city also became a battle ground for the US and Pakistani-backed forces against the pro-Communist government of Afghanistan.[42]
Kandahar underwent a complete sociopolitical collapse in the early 1990s, driven in part by the divide-and-rule tactics of the communist governor-general, Nur ul-Haq Ulumi, who manipulated rival mujahideen factions against each other, and by the rampant greed within both the communist and mujahideen militias.[43] After the Soviet withdrawal and the collapse of Najibullah's government in 1992, Kandahar fell to local mujahideen commander, Gul Agha Sherzai. However Sherzai lacked authority against other local commanders which led to lawlessness in the city,[42] and fighting in 1993.[44] During this time, banditry, rape, and murder became rampant in Kandahar, creating a demand for a more moral and unified alternative. This led to the rise of the talibs (students), who eventually formed the Taliban movement. By the spring of 1994, the nucleus of the Taliban emirate had begun to take shape, and that year, they launched operations to dismantle warlord militia checkpoints around the city. The talibs gained considerable popularity and legitimacy during this period by defeating these predatory warlords.[43]
In August 1994, the Taliban, under Mohammed Omar Mujahid, captured Kandahar from commander Mullah Naqib almost without a fight[42] and turned the city into their headquarters. The capture of Afghanistan's second-largest city marked the Taliban's transformation from a fledgling militia into an Islamic emirate, solidifying their legitimacy as a governing authority through the imposition of a strict interpretation of Islamic law.[43] Formal education for girls was banned as well as the consumption of TV, films, music with instrumental accompaniments, and the playing of sports. In December 1999, a hijacked Indian Airlines Flight 814 plane by Pakistani militants loyal to Harkat-ul-Mujahideen landed at Kandahar International Airport and kept the passengers hostage as part of a demand to release three Pakistani militants from prison in India.
21st century
[edit]In October 2001, as part of Operation Enduring Freedom, the United States Navy began hitting targets inside the city by precision-guided cruise missiles that were fired from the Persian Gulf. These targets were the airport and buildings that were occupied by the Taliban, including Arab families who had arrived several years earlier and were residing in the area.[45] About a month later, the Taliban began surrendering in mass numbers to a private militia that had been formed by Gul Agha Sherzai and Hamid Karzai.[46] Kandahar once again fell into the hands of Sherzai, who had control over the area before the rise of the Taliban. He was transferred in 2003 and replaced by Yousef Pashtun until Asadullah Khalid took the post in 2005. Toryalai Wesa was appointed Governor of the province by President Hamid Karzai in December 2008 after Rahmatullah Raufi's four-month rule.
In 2002, Kandahar International Airport started to be used by members of the United States armed forces and NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). NATO began training the newly formed Afghan National Police and provided security responsibility of the city. The military of Afghanistan, backed by NATO forces, gradually expanded its authority and presence throughout most of the country. The 205th Corps of the Afghan National Army was based at Kandahar and provided military assistance to the south of the country. The Canadian Forces maintained their military command headquarters at Kandahar, heading the Regional Command South of the NATO led International Security Assistance Force in Kandahar Province. The Taliban also had supporters inside the city reporting on events.[47]
NATO forces expanded the Afghan police force for the prevention of a Taliban comeback in Kandahar, the militants' "spiritual birthplace" and a strategic key to ward off the Taliban insurgency, as a part of a larger effort that also aimed to deliver services such as electricity and clean drinking water that the Taliban could not provide – encouraging support for the government in a city that was once the Taliban's headquarters. The most significant battle between NATO troops and the Taliban lasted throughout the summer of 2006, culminating in Operation Medusa. The Taliban failed to defeat the Western troops in open warfare, which marked a turn in their tactics towards IED emplacement.[48] In June 2008, it was reported that over 1,000 inmates had escaped from Sarposa prison. In Spring 2010, the province and the city of Kandahar became a target of American operations following Operation Moshtarak in the neighbouring Helmand Province.[49] In March 2010, U.S. and NATO commanders released details of plans for the biggest offensive of the war against the Taliban insurgency.[50]
In May 2010, Kandahar International Airport became subject of a combined rocket and ground attack by insurgents, following similar attacks on Kabul and Bagram in the preceding weeks. Although this attack did not lead to many casualties on the side of NATO forces, it did show that the militants are still capable of launching multiple, coordinated operations in Afghanistan. In June 2010, a shura was held by Afghan President Hamid Karzai with tribal and religious leaders of the Kandahar region. The meeting highlighted the need for support of NATO-led forces in order to stabilize parts of the province.
By 2011, Kandahar became known as the assassination city of Afghanistan after witnessing many targeted killings. In July Ahmed Wali Karzai, brother of President Hamid Karzai, was shot by his long time head of security. Soon after the Quetta Shura of the Taliban claimed responsibility. The next day an Islamic cleric (mulla) of the famous Red Mosque in the Shahr-e Naw area of the city and a number of other people were killed by a Taliban suicide bomber who had hidden explosives inside his turban. On 27 July 2011, the mayor of the city, Ghulam Haider Hamidi, was assassinated by another Taliban militant who had hidden explosives in his turban. Two deputy mayors had been killed in 2010,[51] while many tribal elders and Islamic clerics have also been assassinated in the last several years. The overwhelming majority of the victims in the attacks are ordinary Afghan civilians.[52] On 6 June 2012, at least 21 civilians were killed and 50 others injured when two Taliban suicide bombers on motorcycles blew themselves up in a market area near Kandahar International Airport.[53]
On 4 May 2020, a policewoman was assassinated in the centre of Kandahar, making her the fifth policewoman to be killed during the previous two months in Kandahar. No group claimed responsibility for the killing of the policewomen by the end of the day of the reported event.[54]
On 12 August 2021, the Taliban captured Kandahar. After days of brutal clashes with ANA soldiers retreating from the city, the Taliban were finally able to capture the city.[55][56] It became the twelfth provincial capital to be seized by Taliban as part of the wider 2021 Taliban offensive.
On 15 October 2021, four suicide bombers killed dozens at a Shia mosque in the city.[57]
Geography
[edit]The Arghandab River runs along the west of Kandahar. The city has 15 districts and a total land area of 27,337 hectares.[58] The total number of dwellings in Kandahar is 61,902.[58]
Only 64% of families in Kandahar have access to safe drinking water; 22% of households have access to safe toilet facilities; and 27% of households have access to electricity, with the remainder dependent on public power. Kandahar's transportation infrastructure is well-developed, with 76.8% of the province's roads capable of carrying car traffic in all seasons. However, there are no roads in a minor portion of the province (3.3 percent). In terms of telecommunications, Kandahar City and major roadways are covered by the three major mobile networks AWCC, Roshan, and MTN.[59]
Land use
[edit]Kandahar is the regional hub in southern Afghanistan, close to the border with Pakistan.[58] Non-built up land use accounts for 59% of the total land area.[58] Within the built-up area, vacant plots occupy a slightly higher percentage of land (36%) than residential land (34%).[58] There is a significant commercial cluster along the road to Pakistan in District 5.[58] India, Iran and Pakistan have consulates here for trade, military and political links.
Climate
[edit]Kandahar has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen BSh),[60] that borders on a hot desert climate (BWh), characterised by little precipitation and high variation between summer and winter temperatures. Summers start in mid-May, last until late September, and are extremely dry. Temperatures peak in July with a 24-hour daily average of around 31.9 °C (89.4 °F). They are followed by dry autumns from early October to late November, with days still averaging in the 20s °C (above 68 °F) into November, although nights are sharply cooler. Winter begins in December and sees most of its precipitation in the form of rain. Temperatures average 5.1 °C (41.2 °F) in January, although lows can drop well below freezing. They end in early March and are followed by a pleasant spring until late April with temperatures generally in the upper 10s °C to lower 30s °C (65–88 °F) range. Sunny weather dominates year-round, especially in summer, when rainfall is extremely rare. The annual mean temperature is 18.6 °C (65.5 °F).
Climate data for Kandahar (1964–1983) | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 25.0 (77.0) |
26.0 (78.8) |
36.5 (97.7) |
37.1 (98.8) |
43.0 (109.4) |
45.0 (113.0) |
46.5 (115.7) |
44.5 (112.1) |
41.0 (105.8) |
37.5 (99.5) |
31.5 (88.7) |
26.0 (78.8) |
46.5 (115.7) |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 12.2 (54.0) |
14.8 (58.6) |
21.6 (70.9) |
28.1 (82.6) |
34.1 (93.4) |
39.1 (102.4) |
40.2 (104.4) |
38.2 (100.8) |
34.0 (93.2) |
27.5 (81.5) |
21.0 (69.8) |
15.4 (59.7) |
27.2 (81.0) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | 5.1 (41.2) |
7.8 (46.0) |
13.9 (57.0) |
20.2 (68.4) |
25.4 (77.7) |
30.0 (86.0) |
31.9 (89.4) |
29.4 (84.9) |
23.5 (74.3) |
17.5 (63.5) |
11.0 (51.8) |
7.3 (45.1) |
18.6 (65.4) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 0.0 (32.0) |
2.4 (36.3) |
7.1 (44.8) |
12.3 (54.1) |
15.8 (60.4) |
19.5 (67.1) |
22.5 (72.5) |
20.0 (68.0) |
13.5 (56.3) |
8.5 (47.3) |
3.3 (37.9) |
1.0 (33.8) |
10.5 (50.9) |
Record low °C (°F) | −12.1 (10.2) |
−10.0 (14.0) |
−4.8 (23.4) |
2.0 (35.6) |
2.4 (36.3) |
8.5 (47.3) |
13.5 (56.3) |
9.0 (48.2) |
5.2 (41.4) |
−2.2 (28.0) |
−9.3 (15.3) |
−11.4 (11.5) |
−12.1 (10.2) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 54.0 (2.13) |
42.0 (1.65) |
41.1 (1.62) |
18.7 (0.74) |
2.2 (0.09) |
0 (0) |
2.3 (0.09) |
1.0 (0.04) |
0 (0) |
2.3 (0.09) |
7.0 (0.28) |
20.0 (0.79) |
190.6 (7.52) |
Average precipitation days | 6 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 29 |
Average relative humidity (%) | 58 | 59 | 50 | 41 | 30 | 23 | 25 | 25 | 24 | 29 | 40 | 52 | 38 |
Mean monthly sunshine hours | 198.4 | 183.6 | 235.6 | 255.0 | 347.2 | 369.0 | 341.0 | 337.9 | 324.0 | 306.9 | 264.0 | 217.0 | 3,379.6 |
Source: NOAA (1964–1983)[61] |
Transport
[edit]Kandahar International Airport serves as southern Afghanistan's main airport for domestic and international flights. It is also used as a major military base as well as shipping and receiving of supplies for the NATO armies. The entire area in and around the airport is heavily guarded but a section is designated for civilian passengers. Most international flights are to the UAE, Iran, India, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan.
Pakistan plans to build a railroad track from the Pakistani town of Chaman to Kandahar[62] which will connect Afghan Railways with Pakistan Railways. The feasibility study was completed in 2006[63] but as of 2012[update] no construction work had begun.[64]
Kandahar is connected to Quetta Pakistan via Chaman and Kabul by the Kabul-Kandahar Highway and to Herat by the Kandahar-Herat Highway. There is a bus station located at the start of the Kabul-Kandahar Highway, where a number of privately owned older-model Mercedes-Benz coach buses are available to take passengers to most major cities of the country. Kandahar is also connected by road to Quetta in neighbouring Pakistan. Due to the ongoing war, the route to Kabul has become increasingly dangerous as insurgent attacks on convoys and destruction of bridges make it an unreliable link between the two cities.[65][66]
Commuters in the city of Kandahar use the public bus system (Milli Bus), and taxicabs and rickshaws are common. Private vehicle use is increasing, partially due to road and highway improvements. Large dealerships are importing cars from Dubai, UAE.[67]
Demographics and population
[edit]Kandahar has a population of approximately 1,057,500 people in 2008. In the province, there are around 14,445 households, with an average of seven individuals per home. Around 68 percent of Kandahar's population resides in rural districts, with males accounting for 51 percent of the population. Pashtuns are the province's largest ethnic group. Major Pashtun tribes such as the Tareen or Durrani including Barakzai, Popalzai, Alkozai, Noorzai, Ishaqzai, Achakzai, Maku, and Qizilbash Shia's and Khilji are included. More than 98 percent of the population speaks Pashtu. 88 center for learning army lessons. Only a small percentage of the population speaks Balochi language and Dari. Kochi people (Pashtun Nomads) also live in Kandahar province, and their numbers fluctuate depending on the season, with estimates stating approximately 79,000 in the winter and 39,000 in the summer.[59]
Education
[edit]Before the 1978 coup in Kabul, majority of the city's population were enrolled in schools.[citation needed] Nearly all of the elite class of the city fled to neighboring Pakistan during the early 1980s, and from there they began immigrating to North America, Europe, Australia and other parts of the world.
The two oldest known schools are Ahmad Shah Baba High School and Zarghona Ana High School. There are a number of new schools that opened in the last decade, with more being built in the future as the city's population grows with the large returning Afghans from neighboring countries. Afghan Turk High Schools is one of the top private schools in the city.
The main university is the Kandahar University. A number of private higher education institutions have also opened in the last decade such as Benawa Institute of Higher Education, Mirwais Neeka Institute of Higher Education, Malalay Institute of Higher Education and Saba Institute of Higher Education.[68][69][70][71]
The adult literacy rate ratio was 16.8% in 2012.[2] Archived 17 March 2023 at the Wayback Machine
Communications
[edit]Telecommunication services in the city are provided by Afghan Wireless, Roshan, Etisalat, MTN Group and Afghan Telecom. In November 2006, the Afghan Ministry of Communications signed a $64.5 million agreement with ZTE for the establishment of a countrywide fibre optical cable network. This was intended to improve telephone, internet, television and radio broadcast services not just in Kandahar but throughout the country.
Places of interest
[edit]The tomb of Ahmad Shah Durrani is located in the city centre, which also houses Durrani's brass helmet and other personal items. In front of Durrani's mausoleum is the Shrine of the Cloak, containing one of the most valued relics in the Islamic world, which was given by the Emir of Bokhara (Murad Beg) to Ahmad Shah Durrani. The Sacred Cloak is kept locked away, taken out only at times of great crisis. Mullah Omar took it out in November 1996 and displayed it to a crowd of ulema of religious scholars to have himself declared Amir al-Mu'minin (Commander of the Faithful). Prior to that it was taken out when the city was struck by a cholera epidemic in the 1930s.[72]
The village of Sher Surkh is located southeast of the city, in the suburbs of the old city of Nadirabad. Kandahar Museum is located at the western end of the third block of buildings lining the main road east of Eidgah Durwaza (gate). It has many paintings by the now famous Ghiyassuddin, painted while he was a young teacher in Kandahar. He is acknowledged among Afghanistan's leading artists.
Just to the north of the city, off its northeast corner at the end of buria (matting) bazaar, there is a shrine dedicated to a saint who lived in Kandahar more than 300 years ago. The grave of Hazratji Baba, 7.0 m (23 ft) long to signify his greatness, but otherwise covered solely by rock chips, is undecorated save for tall pennants at its head. A monument to Islamic martyrs stands in the centre of Kandahar's main square, called Da Shahidanu Chawk, which was built in the 1940s.
The Chilzina is a rock-cut chamber above the plain at the end of the rugged chain of mountains forming the western defence of Kandahar's Old City. This is here that Ashoka's Kandahar Bilingual Rock Inscription was found. Forty steps, about, lead to the chamber, which is guarded by two chained lions, defaced, and inscribed with an account of Mughal conquest. The rugged cliffs from which the Chilzina was hewn form the natural western bastion of the Old City of Kandahar, which was destroyed in 1738 by Nadir Shah Afshar of Persia.
A short distance from Chilzina, going west on the main highway, a bright blue dome appears on the right. This is the mausoleum of Mirwais Hotak, the Ghiljai chieftain who declared Kandahar's independence from the Persians in 1709. The shrine of Baba Wali Kandhari[73] (Baba Sahib), its terraces shaded by pomegranate groves beside the Arghandab River, is also very popular for picnics and afternoon outings.[16] He was a Muslim pir who had a strange encounter with Guru Nanak at Hasan Abdal in what is now Attock District of Pakistan. The shrine of Baba Wali is important to Muslims and Sikhs. Close to Baba Wali's shrine is a military base established by the United States armed forces in about 2007.
Development and modernization
[edit]Decades of war left Kandahar and the rest of the country destroyed and depopulated, but in recent years billions of dollars began pouring in for construction purposes and millions of expats have returned to Afghanistan. New residential areas have been established around the city, and a number of modern style buildings have been constructed.
Some residents of the city have access to clean drinking water and electricity, and the government is working to extend these services to every home.[75] The city relies on electricity from the Kajaki hydroelectricity plant in neighbouring Helmand, which is being upgraded or expanded. About 30 km (20 mi) north of the city is the Dahla Dam, the second largest dam in Afghanistan.
The Aino Mina is a new housing project for up to two million people on the northern edge of the city.[76] Originally called the Kandahar Valley and started by Mahmud Karzai,[74] it was announced that the project would build up to 20,000 single-family homes and associated infrastructure such as roads, water and sewer systems, and community buildings, including schools.[77]
It recently won 2 awards, the Residential Project and Sustainable Project of the Year at the Middle East Architect Awards.[78] Many of the high-ranking government employees and civil servants as well as wealthy businessmen live in this area, which is a more secured community in Kandahar. Work on the next $100 million scheme was initiated in 2011.
Also, construction of Hamidi Township in the Morchi Kotal area of the city began in August 2011. It is named after Ghulam Haider Hamidi, the mayor of Kandahar who was assassinated by militants in late July 2011.[79] Situated along the Kandahar-Uruzgan Highway in the northeast of the city, the new township will have 2,000 residential and commercial plots. Including new roads, schools, commercial markets, clinics, canals and other facilities.[80]
About 10 km (6 mi) east of Kandahar, a huge industrial park is under construction with modern facilities. The park will have professional management for the daily maintenance of public roads, internal streets, common areas, parking areas, 24 hours perimeter security, access control for vehicles and persons.[81]
Airports
[edit]Neighborhoods
[edit]- Aino Meyna (under development since 2003)
- Hamidi Meyna (under development since 2011)
- Share Naw (meaning New City)
- Dand
- Karz
- Mirwais Meyna
- Daman
- Sarpuza
- Malajat
- Old Kandahar (Zorr Shar)
- Arghandab Valley
Cultural sites and parks
[edit]- Kandahar Park [3] Archived 19 November 2015 at the Wayback Machine
- Baba Saab
- Kokaran Park
- Baghi Pul Park [4]
- Chilzina View (Moghul Emperor Babur's inscription site)
- Kandahar Museum
Mosques and shrines
[edit]- Friday Mosque of Kandahar
- Mosque of the Hair of the Prophet
- Omar Al-Farooq Mosque
- Shrine of the Cloak
- Mosque at Kandahar University (Eidgah Jaami Jumat)
Mausoleums
[edit]- Mausoleum of Ahmad Shah Durrani
- Mausoleum of Mirwais Hotak
- Mausoleum of Baba Wali
Shopping
[edit]- Al-Jadeed indoor shopping center [5] Archived 2 January 2017 at the Wayback Machine
- Herat Bazaar
- Kabul Bazaar
- Shah Bazaar
- Shkar Pur Bazaar
- Piaroz Super store
- Kandahr Super Store
- Samimi Super Store
Hospitals
[edit]Banks
[edit]Sports
[edit]- Professional sports teams from Kandahar
Club | League | Sport | Venue | Established |
---|---|---|---|---|
Kandahar Knights | Afghanistan Premier League | Cricket | Sharjah Cricket Stadium | 2018 |
Boost Defenders | Shpageeza Cricket League | Cricket | Kandahar International Cricket Stadium | 2013 |
De Maiwand Atalan F.C. | Afghan Premier League | Football | Kandahar Stadium | 2012 |
Stadium
[edit]- Kandahar International Cricket Stadium (under construction)[82]
- Kandahar Stadium used for football[83]
- Ahmad Shahi Stadium, with 20,000 capacity, used for football
Demography and culture
[edit]The population of Kandahar numbers approximately 651,484 as of 2021[update].[1] The Pashtuns make up the overwhelming majority population of the city and province but exact figures are not available. In a 2003 estimate by the National Geographic, Pashtuns were put at ca. 70%, Tajiks 20%, Baloch 2%, and Uzbeks 2%.[84]
Pashto is the main language in the city and the region. Persian is also understood by a few number of the city dwellers, especially those serving in the government. Both are the official languages of Afghanistan. A 2006 compendium of provincial data prepared by the Afghan Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development and United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) states:
"The major ethnic group living in Khandahar province is Pashtoons. This includes major tribes such as Tareen or Durrani sub tribes including Barakzai, Popalzai, Alkozai, Achakzai, Ishaqzai, Noorzai and Alezai. Pashtu is spoken by more than 98% of population and in more than 98% of villages. Dari is spoken in six villages by 4000 people and Balochi is spoken by 8000 people in two villages. 19000 people in nine villages speak some other unspecified language."[85]
In another report, by BBC news Farsi, there are roughly 50,000-100,000 Tajik or Persian speakers in the city of Kandahar.[86] The "Council for Tajiks of the south" head office is also based in Kandahar city.[87]
The Pashtun culture, history, traditions, clothing and Pashtunwali is dominant in this region.
Notable people
[edit]- Kandahari Begum, wife of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan
- Nur Jahan – Empress of the Mughal Empire, chief wife of Mughal emperor Jahangir
- Mirwais Hotak – founder of the Hotak dynasty
- Abdul Aziz Hotak – ruler of the Hotak dynasty
- Mahmud Hotak – ruler of the Hotak dynasty and Shah of Persia
- Ashraf Hotak – Shah of Persia
- Hussain Hotak – ruler of the Hotak dynasty
- Ahmad Shah Durrani – founding father of Afghanistan, buried in the city
- Dost Mohammad Khan – Emir of Afghanistan and son of Payandah Khan
- Sher Ali Khan – Emir of Afghanistan and son of Dost Mohammad Khan
- Abdur Rahman Khan – Emir of Afghanistan and son of Dost Mohammad Khan
- Ghulam Muhammad Tarzi – leader of Tarzi family who played an important part in Afghan history during the late 19th century onward
- Abdul Rehman Khan, father of Bollywood actor Kader Khan
- Mohammad Ibraheem Khwakhuzhi
- Maryam Durani an Afghan activist and women's advocate
- Ubaidullah Jan – Pashto music king of southern Afghanistan
- Naghma – Afghan singer
- Nashenas – Afghan musician
- Abdul Hai Habibi – scholar, former professor at Kabul University and author of many books
- The Karzais – the family of Afghan President Hamid Karzai
- Gul Agha Sherzai – served as the governor of Kandahar Province followed by as governors of Nangarhar Province
- Said Tayeb Jawad – former Afghanistan Ambassador to the United States
- Yousef Pashtun – Afghan politician
- Nasrat Haqparast - UFC Lightweight Fighter
- Khan Mohammad Mujahid – Alokozai tribe leader
- Malalai of Maiwand – National folk hero of Afghanistan
- Hibatullah Akhundzada – Supreme leader of Afghanistan as of 2021
- Akhtar Mansour – Second supreme leader of the Taliban
See also
[edit]Footnotes
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- ^ Barros, João de (1552). Da Asia De Joāo De Barros: Dos Feitos, Que Os Portuguezes Fizeram No Descubrimento, E Conquista Dos Mares, E Terras Do Oriente. Decada Quarta. Parte Segunda (in Portuguese). Na Regia Officina Typografica. Archived from the original on 1 May 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
Those who go from Persia, from the kingdom of Horaçam (Khorasan), from Bohára, and all the Western Regions, travel to the city which the natives corruptly call Candar, instead of Scandar, the name by which the Persians call Alexander.:ruptamente Candar, havendo de dizer Scandar, nome per que os Perfas chamam Alexandre, por elle (como efcreve Arriano ") edificar efia Cidade, e do feu nome fe chamou Alexandria fituada ...
- ^ Those who go from Persia, from the kingdom of Horaçam (Khorasan), from Bohára, and all the Western Regions, travel to the city which the natives corruptly call Candar, instead of Scandar, the name by which the Persians call Alexander
- ^ Ernst Herzfeld, Archaeological History of Iran, London, Oxford University Press for the British Academy, 1935, p.63; Ernst Herzfeld, The Persian Empire: Studies in Geography and Ethnography of the Ancient Near East, Wiesbaden, Steiner, 1968, p.335.
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References
[edit]- Dupree, Nancy Hatch (1977) [1st Edition: 1970]. An Historical Guide to Afghanistan (2nd Edition, Revised and Enlarged ed.). Afghan Tourist Organization.
- Hill, John E. 2004. The Peoples of the West from the Weilue Archived 23 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine 魏略 by Yu Huan 魚豢: A Third Century Chinese Account Composed between 239 and 265 CE. Draft annotated English translation.
- Hill, John E. (2009) Through the Jade Gate to Rome: A Study of the Silk Routes during the Later Han dynasty, 1st to 2nd centuries CE. BookSurge, Charleston, South Carolina. ISBN 978-1-4392-2134-1.
- Frye, Richard N. (1963). The Heritage of Persia. World Publishing company, Cleveland, Ohio. Mentor Book edition, 1966.
- Kaplan, Robert D. (2008). Soldiers of God: With Islamic Warriors in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-307-54698-2. OCLC 48367823.
- Toynbee, Arnold J. (1961). Between Oxus and Jumna. London. Oxford University Press.
- Willem Vogelsang (1985). "Early historical Arachosia in South-east Afghanistan; Meeting-place between East and West." Iranica antiqua, 20 (1985), pp. 55–99.
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Further reading
[edit]- Published in the 19th century
- Edward Balfour (1885), "Kandahar", Cyclopaedia of India (3rd ed.), London: B. Quaritch
- Boulger, Demetrius Charles. Ought We to Hold Candahar? Archived 26 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine. London: William H. Allen and Company (1879).
- Published in the 20th century
- Holdich, Thomas Hungerford (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 15 (11th ed.). pp. 648–649.
- Published in the 21st century
- C. Edmund Bosworth, ed. (2007). "Kandahar". Historic Cities of the Islamic World. Leiden: Koninklijke Brill.