Afghanistan (modern World Nations)

AFGHANISTAN ARGENTINA AUSTRALIA AUSTRIA BAHRAIN BERMUDA BOLIVIA BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA BRAZIL CANADA CHILE CHINA COSTA RICA CROATIA CUBA EGYPT ENGLAND ETHIOPIA FRANCE REPUBLIC OF GEORGIA GERMANY GHANA GREECE GUATEMALA ICELAND INDIA INDONESIA IRAN IRAQ IRELAND ISRAEL ITALY JAMAICA JAPAN KAZAKHSTAN KENYA KUWAIT MEXICO THE NETHERLANDS NEW ZEALAND NIGERIA NORTH KOREA NORWAY PAKISTAN PERU THE PHILIPPINES PUERTO RICO RUSSIA SAUDI ARABIA SCOTLAND SENEGAL SOUTH AFRICA SOUTH KOREA SPAIN SWEDEN TAIWAN TURKEY UKRAINE UZBEKISTAN VENEZUELA VIETNAM Afghanistan Second Edition Jeffrey A. Gritzner University of Montana with additional text by John F. Shroder, Jr. University of Nebraska, Omaha Series Editor Charles F. Gritzner South Dakota State University Frontispiece: Flag of Afghanistan Cover: The Masjid-e Jami Mosque in Herat is one of Afghanistan’s most beautiful works of architecture. Afghanistan, Second Edition Copyright © 2007 by Infobase Publishing All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher. For information contact: Chelsea House An imprint of Infobase Publishing 132 West 31st Street New York NY 10001 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Gritzner, Jeffrey A. Afghanistan / Jeffrey A. Gritzner; with additional text by John F. Shroder. — 2nd ed. p. cm. — (Modern world nations) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-7910-9209-7 (hardcover) 1. Afghanistan—Juvenile literature. I. Shroder, John F., 1939- II. Title. III. Series. DS351.5.G75 2006 958.1—dc22 2006012724 Chelsea House books are available at special discounts when purchased in bulk quantities for businesses, associations, institutions, or sales promotions. Please call our Special Sales Department in New York at (212) 967-8800 or (800) 322-8755. You can find Chelsea House on the World Wide Web at http://www.chelseahouse.com Series and cover design by Takeshi Takahashi Printed in the United States of America Bang Hermitage 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 This book is printed on acid-free paper. All links and Web addresses were checked and verified to be correct at the time of publication. Because of the dynamic nature of the Web, some addresses and links may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. Table of Contents 1 Introducing Afghanistan 8 2 Physical Landscapes 14 3 Early History and Culture 25 4 The Age of European Imperialism 37 5 The Soviet Invasion and Its Aftermath 58 6 People and Culture 79 7 Afghanistan’s Government and Economy 87 8 Afghanistan Looks Ahead Facts at a Glance History at a Glance Bibliography Further Reading Index 98 103 106 108 109 110 Afghanistan Second Edition 1 Introducing Afghanistan B efore the last two decades of warfare there, visitors to Afghanistan often had the feeling that they had stepped into the past. The cultural landscape was almost medieval in character. Massive vertical windmills in the Hari Rud Valley and the mosaics of carefully tended fields and gardens could both have been described by Arab geographers in the seventh century A.D. The traveler also would have seen many karez (or qanat). These enormous horizontal wells were driven into the aquifers near the base of distant mountains and their presence is betrayed by the regularly spaced mounds of earth that snake across the landscape. T