Afghanistan Timeline

In case you need historical information for your final essay, here is the Afghan timeline. If you are taking the final exam, you will also be responsible for these facts.

Afghanistan Chronology

327 BC: Arrival of Alexander the Great

870: Establishment of Islam in Afghanistan

1219: Mongol conquest under Ghengis Khan. Ghengis dies in 1227.

13th-18th Centuries: Afghanistan is battle ground for various Persian and Indian Empires.

1700s: Establishment of Afghan monarchy.

1839-1842, 1878-1880, 1919: Anglo-Afghan Wars.

1880s: Modern boundaries of Afghanistan are drawn by Tsarist Russia and the British Empire without input from Afghans.

1929: Nadir Khan takes control.

1933: Nadir Khan is assassinated. His son Zahir Shah inherits the throne, but his uncles serve as regents until 1953.

1947: Britain pulls out of India and carves Pakistan out of Indian and Afghan lands.

1953: Prime Mohammad Daoud becomes prime minister.

1960s: Communist party formed, Peoples Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA).

1973: Monarchy overthrown with assistance of Soviet clients PDPA. Afghan King Zahir sent into exile in Rome. Mohammad Daoud Khan establishes Republic of Afghanistan, declares himself president.

1978: Communist coup. Daoud killed. Afghan guerrilla resistance is formed, known by the term mujahideen.

24 December 1979: Soviets invade Afghanistan.

1979-1989: Mujahideen fight Soviets with financial and military support from U.S., Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and others. Al-Qaeda and Taliban emerge as important forces in the fight against the Soviets.

1989-2001: After Soviets pull out, Afghanistan is plagued by ethnic, tribal, and religious rivalries.

1992: Mujahideen take Kabul, liberate Afghanistan, and form an Islamic state.

1994: Taliban emerges amid breakdown of order in Afghanistan.

1996-2001: Afghanistan is under the Taliban’s strict Muslim code. Women must be fully veiled, are no longer allowed to work, go out alone, or even wear white socks. Men are forced to grow beards. Buzkashi, the Afghan national sport, is outlawed.

11 September 2001: “9/11” attacks on World Trade Center and Pentagon.

October 2001: U.S begins airstrikes against Taliban. Interim government is formed.

2001-present: U.S. invades and continues war in Afghanistan.

2004: Afghanistan adopts a new constitution with a three-branch government. Hamid Karzai is elected president.