Kandahar (Pashto: کندهار Kandahār, Persian: قندهار Qandahār) is the second largest city in Afghanistan, with a population of about 468,200 as of 2006. 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 a major trading center for sheep, wool, cotton, silk, felt, food grains, fresh and dried fruit, and tobacco. The region produces fine fruits, especially pomegranates and grapes, and the city has plants for canning, drying, and packing fruit. Kandahar has an international airport and extensive road links with Farah and Herat to the west, Ghazni and Kabul to the northeast, Tareen Kot to the north, and Quetta in Pakistan to the south.
The region around Kandahar is one of the oldest human settlements known so far. Alexander the Great founded Kandahar in the 4th century BC and named it with the Ancient Greek name Αλεξάνδρεια Aραχωσίας (Alexandria of Arachosia). Many empires have long fought over the city, due to its strategic location along the trade routes of Southern and Central Asia. In 1709, Mirwais Hotak made the region an independent kingdom and turned Kandahar into the first capital of the Hotaki dynasty.
In 1747, Ahmad Shah Durrani, founder of the Afghan Empire, made it the capital of modern Afghanistan. From 1996 to 2001, it served as the capital of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Since 2002, the city is slowly being rebuilt while dealing with Taliban insurgency.
Name:
It is believed that Kandahar may have derived from Alexandria (Iskandriya in various local languages) or Alexandropolis, one of the many cities renamed by Alexander the Great after himself.
A temple to the deified Alexander as well as an inscription in Greek and Aramaic by the Indian Emperor Ashoka, who lived a few decades later, have been discovered in Kandahar.
An alternative etymology derives the name of the city from Gandhara, the name of an ancient Hindu kingdom from the Vedic period and its capital city located between the Hindu Kush and Sulaiman Mountains (basically identical to the modern extent of the Pashtun-inhabited territories in Pakistan and Afghanistan), although Kandahar in modern times and the ancient Gandhara are not geographically identical.
Hellenistic era:"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..."
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 Pactyans, an ancient Iranian tribe, who may be among the ancestors of today's Pashtuns. Kandahar was named Alexandria, a popular name given to many cities that Alexander found during his conquests.
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. 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 and Aramaic.[16] The Greco-Bactrian Kingdom occupied Kandahar after the Mauryans, but then lost the city to the Indo-Scythians.
In the 7th century AD, Arab armies conquered the region with the new religion of Islam but were unable to succeed in fully converting the population. In 870 AD, Yaqub ibn Layth Saffari, a local ruler of the Saffarid dynasty conquered Kandahar and the rest of the nearby regions in the name of Islam.
"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."It is believed that the Zunbil dynasty, who were related to the Shahi dynasty of Kabul, were probably the rulers of the Kandahar region from the 7th century until the late 9th century AD.
The Zunbils ruled in the Kandahar area for nearly 250 years until the late 9th century AD.
—Anthony McNicoll.
Kandahar was taken by 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 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 his death, the city was ruled by other Timurids. In the late 15th century Kandahar was entrusted to the Arghuns, who eventually achieved independence from the Timurids.
Tamerlane's descendant, Babur, the founder of the Mughal Empire, annexed Kandahar in the 16th century. Babur's son, Humayun, lost it to the Shah of Persia. Humayun's son, Akbar, regained control of Kandahar but by the early 18th century subsequent Mughal emperors lost the territory once again to the Shi'a Safavid Persians.
Modern history:
Mirwais Hotak, an Afghan leader from the Ghilzai tribe, revolted in 1709 by killing Gurgin Khan, the Georgian governor and representative of the Shia Safavid Persians. After establishing the Hotaki dynasty in Kandahar, Mirwais and his army successfully defeated subsequent expeditions by Kay Khusraw and Rustam Khán. Mirwais has 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 Hotaki.
In 1722, Mahmud led an army of Afghans to Isfahan, the capital of the Safavids and proclaimed himself King of Persia. The Hotaki dynasty was eventually removed from power by a new ruler, Nader Shah Afshar of Mashad in Khorasan, who invaded Kandahar in 1738 and destroyed their last stronghold which was held by Hussain Hotaki. Expelling the surviving inhabitant, Nader Shah built a new town west of the ancient city, naming it after himself, "Naderabad". In the meantime, he freed Ahmad Khan (later Ahmad Shah Durrani) and his brother Zulfikar who were held prisoners by the Ghilzai Hotaks. Nader Shah's rule ended in June 1747, after being murdered by his Persian guards.
Ahmad Shah Durrani, chief of the Abdali Pashtun tribe, gained control of Kandahar and made it the capital of his new Afghan Empire in October 1747. Previously, Ahmad Shah served as a military commander of Nader Shah Afshar. 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 from a natural cause. The now "Old City" was laid out by Ahmad Shah and is dominated by his mausoleum, which is adjacent to the Friday Mosque in the center of the city. Between 1773–76, his eldest son Timur Shah transferred the capital of Afghanistan from Kandahar to Kabul, where the Durrani legacy continued.
On 28th Muharram 1242 Hijri (2 September 1826) Syed Ahmad Shaheed's forces reached Kandahar en route to Peshawar. Their purpose was to wage jihad against the Sikh kingdom of Ranjit Singh and aid their fellow Pashtuns and coreligionist 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.
British and Indian forces from British India occupied the city in 1839, during the 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. They emerged from the city in July 1880 to confront Ayub Khan, but were 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, except during 1929 when forces loyal to Habibullah Kalakani (Bache Saqqaw) locked down the city. 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 period lasted for nine months, until October 1929 when Nadir Khan and his army came to eliminate Habibullah Kalakani.
In the 1960s, during the competition 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 the north of the country, such as Bagram Airfield and Kabul International Airport.
During the Soviet war in Afghanistan (1979–1989), Kandahar was under Soviet command and witnessed heavy fighting. Soviet troops surrounded the city and subjected it to heavy bombardment in which many civilians lost lives.
Kandahar Airport was used by the Soviet Army during their ten-year occupation of the country. After the Soviet withdrawal and the collapse of Najibullah's government in 1992, Kandahar fell into the hands of a local mujahideen commander, Gul Agha Sherzai.
In August 1994 the Taliban captured Kandahar and soon after the city was turned into their capital. The Taliban began cleaning the city from warlords and criminals who were sometimes involved in bacha bazi (Sodomy). In December 1999 Kandahar city once again came into the highlights of International media when an Indian plane flying from Katmandu to Delhi was hijacked by a Jihadi Group allegedly loyal to Harkat Ul Mujahideenand landed in Kandahar International Airport and kept the passengers hostage as part of a demand to release 3 Pakistani and Kashmiri Jihadi leaders held in Indian custody.
In October 2001, as part of the so called war against terrorism, the United States Navy began hitting targets inside the city by precision-guided cruise missiles that were fired from the Persian Gulf. These attacks cause death of many people including citizens, children women and Taliban and Arab Jihadis as well.
About a month later, the Taliban began leaving Kandahar in mass numbers and Kandahar once again fell into the hands of Gul Agha 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. The current Governor of the province is Toryalai Wesa. He was appointed by President Hamid Karzai in December 2008 after Rahmatullah Raufi's four month rule.
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 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.
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 Jihad, 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 Western troops failed to defeat the Taliban in open warfare due to Taliban's long experience of war. In June 2008, it was reported that over 1,000 inmates had escaped from Kandahar detention facility (Sarposa Prison) after a Taliban attack.
In Spring 2010, the province and the city of Kandahar became a target of American operations following Operation Moshtarak in the neighboring Helmand province. In March 2010, U.S. and NATO commanders released details of plans for the biggest offensive of the war against the Taliban attacks.
In May 2010 Kandahar International Airport became subject of a combined rocket and ground attack by Taliban Jihadis, 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 Taliban 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 wintessing many target killings. In July Ahmed Wali Karzai, brother of President Hamid Karzai, was shot by his long time head of security on July 12, 2011. 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, while many tribal elders and Islamic clerics have also been assassinated in the last several years. Anti Pakistan elements in Afghanistan often falsely blame Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) as the masterminds for directing the Taliban attack and assassinations. According to these accusations this form of terrorism is the idea of ISI for defending its sovereignty.
Climate:
Kandahar has a continental warm semi-arid climate (Köppen BSh), 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, though 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 till 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).
Transport:
Kandahar International Airport serves as the region'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 with Dubai and Pakistan.
A railroad track from the Pakistani town of Chaman to Kandahar is under way, which will connect Afghan Railways with Pakistan Railways. The feasibility study was completed in 2006, allowing for the next step to lay-down the rail track.
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 private buses are available to take people to most major cities of the country.
Kandahar is also connected by road to Quetta in neighboring 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.
Commuters of the city use the public bus system (Milli Bus), and taxicabs are common. Private vehicle use is increasing, partially due to road and highway improvements. Large dealerships are importing cars from Dubai, UAE.
Education:
The city has public schools in every district for both boys and girls. However, many conservative parents do not allow girls in their family to attend high school or pursue higher education. The two known universities are Ahmad Shah Lycée and Kandahar University.
Kandahar University (Pashto: د کندهار پوهنتون) is a government funded higher learning institution in Kandahar, Afghanistan. It is one of two universities in southern Afghanistan. Kandahar University (KU) was established in 1990, at a time when the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) was in power under President Mohammad Najibullah. Dr. Tooryalai Wesa, who returned to the country after 13 years and is the current governor of Kandahar province, was the first Chancellor of Kandahar University.
Kandahar University provides areas of study in Agriculture, Medicine, Engineering and Education. The university has future plans to launch faculties in the fields of Economy, Computer Science and Islamic Studies. The institution currently has an enrollment of 1,124+ students with a dominant number of male students. Females represent five per cent of the student body. KU enrolls around 280 students each year in different majors through an entrance exam directly under control of the Ministry of Higher Education of Afghanistan.
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 fiber optical cable network. This was intended to improve telephone, internet, television and radio broadcast services not just in Kandahar but throughout the country.
Besides foreign channels, Afghanistan's local television channels include:
- Ariana TV
- Ariana Afghanistan TV
- Lamar TV
- Shamshad TV
- Tolo TV
- Hewad TV
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 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.
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, 23 feet (7.0 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.
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.
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 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. Close to Baba Wali's shrine is a military base established by the United States armed forces in about 2007.
Kandahar and the rest of Afghanistan have not seen development from 1978 to 2003 due to the wars. Large sums of money have been pouring in for construction purposes in the last decade. New modern-style buildings are slowly replacing the older ones. Some residents of the city have access to clean drinking water and electricity, though plans and works are underway to extend services to every home.
Up to 20,000 single-family homes and associated infrastructure such as roads, water and sewer systems, and community buildings, including schools, are under construction in the new Aina Mena neighborhood of the city. Most government employees and civil servents as well as wealthy businessmen live in this area, which is the most secured place to live. Another $100 million development project started in the Baba Sab area of Arghandab in 2011. Also, construction of Hamidi Township in the Morchi Kotal area of the city started in August 2011.
It is named after Ghulam Haider Hamidi, the mayor of Kandahar who was assassinated by the Taliban in late July 2011. 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.
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.
Airports:
- Kandahar International Airport
- Aina Mena (under development since 2003)
- Hamidi Mena (under development since 2011)
- Arghandab Valley
- Shāhre Naw (meaning New City)
- Dand
- Karz
- Mirwais Mena
- Daman
- Sarpuza
- Malajat
- Zoar Shār (meaning Old City)
- Baba Saab
- Bāghi Pull
- Kokaran Park
- Chilzina View (Moghul Emperor Babur's inscription site)
- Kandahar Stadium
- Kandahar Museum
- Friday Mosque of Kandahar
- Shrine of the Cloak
- Mosque of the Hair of the Prophet
- Red Mosque
- Mausoleum of Ahmad Shah Durrani
- Mausoleum of Mirwais Khan Hotak
- Mausoleum of Baba Wali
- Herat Bazaar
- Kabul Bazaar
- Shah Bazaar
- Shkar Pur Bazaar
- Afghan National Army Regional Hospital
- Mirwais Hospital
- AIB Bank
- Kabul Bank
- Azizi Bank
- The population of Kandahar numbers approximately 468,200. The Pashtuns make up the overwhelming majority population of the city and province but exact figures are not available. According to a 2003 National Geographic suggested figures, Pashtuns were put at ca. 70%, Tajiks 20%, Hazaras 6%, Baloch 2%, and Uzbeks 2%.
- Pashto serves as the main language in the city and region. A 2006 provincial data prepared by Afghanistan's 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 Barakzai, Popalzai, Alokozai, 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.
- Nur Jahan – empress of the Mughal Empire
- Mirwais Hotak – founder of the Hotaki dynasty
- Abdul Aziz Hotak – ruler of the Hotaki dynasty
- Shah Mahmud Hotaki – ruler of the Hotaki dynasty and Shah of Persia
- Ashraf Hotaki – Shah of Persia
- Hussain Hotaki – ruler of the Hotaki dynasty
- Ahmad Shah Durrani – founder of the Durrani Empire/founder of the modern state of Afghanistan
- Dost Mohammad Khan - founder of the Barakzai dynasty/Emire of Afghanistan
- Sher Ali Khan - Emir of Afghanistan
- Abdur Rahman Khan - Emir of Afghanistan
- Muhammad Zahir Shah – the last king of Afghanistan
- Ubaidullah Jan Kandaharai - Music King of Kandahar
- Nashenas - Afghan musician.
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