Afghanistan fan site

More info on Wikipedia

Quick Facts

Afghanistan means the land of Afghans
The Third Anglo-Afghan War gave it independence
Afghanistan is 41st in the world in land size
Ancient focal point of trade and migration
Connects South, Central and Southwest Asia

Expert summary

The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is a land-locked mountainous country in the center of Asia. In its long history the land has seen a lot of invasions and the inhabitants invaded all surrounding countries to expand their empires. Ahmad Shah Durrani is reputed to have been the founder of modern Afghanistan in 1747, with the capital at Kandahar. The capital was later shifted to Kabul. Got full independence from the UK on 19 August 1919. After 1970, the country has known no peace. In 1979, it saw a Soviet invasion and in 2001, a US-led invasion to topple the Taliban government. The international community is now financing reconstruction of the country.