Southern Asia · AFG

Afghanistan

The story · 11 chapters

How it was drawn

A crossroads of Persian, Greek, Indian and Turkic empires, Afghanistan took shape as a state in 1747 and got its borders as a buffer between Britain and Russia.

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Through the ages

Rivals in history

The kingdoms, empires and states Afghanistan fought or stood against, from the first to today.

Macedonian Empire330 BC to 327 BC
Alexander the Great invades the Persian satrapies of Aria, Arachosia and Bactria. Local leaders such as Bessus and Spitamenes resist for three years of hard fighting before Alexander secures the region and marries the Bactrian noble Roxana.
Umayyad Caliphate652 to 750
Arab armies take Herat and Balkh, but in the south and east the Zunbils and the Kabul Shahis resist the caliphate's raids for generations. Kabul only falls for good to the Saffarids, a Muslim dynasty from Sistan, in the 870s.
Mongol Empire1220 to 1223
Genghis Khan's armies pursue the last Khwarezmian ruler into the region. Balkh, Herat and Bamiyan are destroyed, and Jalal al-Din defeats a Mongol army at Parwan in 1221 before being crushed on the Indus.
Mughal Empire1504 to 1738
Babur takes Kabul in 1504 and uses it as his base to conquer India. The Mughals hold Kabul for over two centuries, fighting repeated revolts by Pashtun tribes, while the Afghan Sher Shah Suri drives Babur's son Humayun out of India from 1540 to 1555.
Safavid Persia1709 to 1722
In 1709 Mirwais Hotak leads a revolt that drives the Safavid governor out of Kandahar. His son Mahmud invades Persia, defeats the Safavid army at Gulnabad in 1722 and captures Isfahan, ending Safavid power.
Afsharid Iran1729 to 1738
Nader Shah, the new strongman of Persia, drives the Afghans out of Persia in 1729 and besieges Kandahar, which falls in 1738. Afghan soldiers then serve in his army, among them the young Ahmad Khan, the future Ahmad Shah Durrani.
Sikh Empire1818 to 1838
Ranjit Singh's Sikh Empire takes Multan in 1818, Kashmir in 1819 and Peshawar in 1834 from the Afghans. An Afghan army fights the Sikhs at Jamrud in 1837 but fails to recover Peshawar, which never returns to Afghan rule.
British Empire1838 to 1919
Britain invades in 1839 and loses an army on the retreat from Kabul in 1842. A second war from 1878 to 1880 puts Afghan foreign policy under British control. A third, short war in 1919 ends with full independence.
Russian Empire1869 to 1907
As Russia conquers Central Asia, its border reaches the Amu Darya. Russian troops seize the Panjdeh oasis from Afghan forces in 1885, nearly causing war with Britain. The Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907 finally recognises Afghanistan as a buffer.
PakistanSince 1947Still open
Afghanistan was the only country to vote against Pakistan joining the United Nations in 1947, rejecting the Durand Line and backing the idea of a Pashtunistan. The border remains unrecognised by Kabul, and armed clashes and Pakistani air strikes continue under Taliban rule.
Soviet Union1979 to 1989
Soviet troops invade in December 1979 to support Afghanistan's communist government. A decade of war against mujahideen guerrillas follows, killing hundreds of thousands of Afghans. The Soviet army withdraws in February 1989.
United States2001 to 2021
After the attacks of 11 September 2001, a US led coalition invades and topples the Taliban, who sheltered al-Qaeda. Twenty years of war against a Taliban insurgency follow, ending with the US withdrawal and the fall of Kabul in August 2021.

Today

Afghanistan now

Ahmad Shah DURRANI unified the Pashtun tribes and founded Afghanistan in 1747. The country served as a buffer between the British and Russian Empires until it won independence from notional British control in 1919. A brief experiment in increased democracy ended in a 1973 coup and a 1978 communist countercoup. The Soviet Union invaded in 1979 to support the tottering Afghan communist regime, touching off a long and destructive war.

Capital: Kabul
Government: theocratic; the United States does not recognize the Taliban Government
Head of government: Mohammad Hasan Akhund
Head of state: Hibatullah Akhundzada
Languages: Pamir, Pashto, Pashayi
Area: 652,870 km²

Through time

Then and now

Population41.5 million2023 · 7.8 million in 1950
Life expectancy66.0 years2023 · 28.2 years in 1950
GDP per person$1,3572022 · $1,156 in 1950
Living in cities26%2025 · 6% in 1950
Literacy37%2021 · 3% in 1950
Political regimeClosed autocracy2025 · Closed autocracy in 1950
Military alliancesNone of these2024 · None of these in 1950
Military spending1.8% of GDP2021
War deaths0.8 per 100,0002025

Population: HYDE 3.3, Gapminder and UN WPP. GDP per capita: Maddison Project Database 2023. Urban share: UN WPP. Life expectancy: Riley, HMD, UN WPP. Literacy: OWID historical estimates, World Bank, UNESCO. Military spending: SIPRI. War deaths: UCDP. Political regime: V-Dem, Regimes of the World. All via Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0). Alliances and organization memberships: compiled by Atlas. Satellites in orbit: CelesTrak SATCAT. Modern borders, backcast.

Relations

Close partners and tensions

Close partners

China
Pakistan
Iran, Islamic Rep.

Summarised from World Bank and Wikipedia data, updated 23 October 2026.

Rivals in history

The kingdoms, empires and states Afghanistan fought or stood against, from the first to today.

Macedonian Empire330 BC to 327 BC

Alexander the Great invades the Persian satrapies of Aria, Arachosia and Bactria. Local leaders such as Bessus and Spitamenes resist for three years of hard fighting before Alexander secures the region and marries the Bactrian noble Roxana.

Umayyad Caliphate652 to 750

Arab armies take Herat and Balkh, but in the south and east the Zunbils and the Kabul Shahis resist the caliphate's raids for generations. Kabul only falls for good to the Saffarids, a Muslim dynasty from Sistan, in the 870s.

Mongol Empire1220 to 1223

Genghis Khan's armies pursue the last Khwarezmian ruler into the region. Balkh, Herat and Bamiyan are destroyed, and Jalal al-Din defeats a Mongol army at Parwan in 1221 before being crushed on the Indus.

Mughal Empire1504 to 1738

Babur takes Kabul in 1504 and uses it as his base to conquer India. The Mughals hold Kabul for over two centuries, fighting repeated revolts by Pashtun tribes, while the Afghan Sher Shah Suri drives Babur's son Humayun out of India from 1540 to 1555.

Safavid Persia1709 to 1722

In 1709 Mirwais Hotak leads a revolt that drives the Safavid governor out of Kandahar. His son Mahmud invades Persia, defeats the Safavid army at Gulnabad in 1722 and captures Isfahan, ending Safavid power.

Afsharid Iran1729 to 1738

Nader Shah, the new strongman of Persia, drives the Afghans out of Persia in 1729 and besieges Kandahar, which falls in 1738. Afghan soldiers then serve in his army, among them the young Ahmad Khan, the future Ahmad Shah Durrani.

Sikh Empire1818 to 1838

Ranjit Singh's Sikh Empire takes Multan in 1818, Kashmir in 1819 and Peshawar in 1834 from the Afghans. An Afghan army fights the Sikhs at Jamrud in 1837 but fails to recover Peshawar, which never returns to Afghan rule.

British Empire1838 to 1919

Britain invades in 1839 and loses an army on the retreat from Kabul in 1842. A second war from 1878 to 1880 puts Afghan foreign policy under British control. A third, short war in 1919 ends with full independence.

Russian Empire1869 to 1907

As Russia conquers Central Asia, its border reaches the Amu Darya. Russian troops seize the Panjdeh oasis from Afghan forces in 1885, nearly causing war with Britain. The Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907 finally recognises Afghanistan as a buffer.

PakistanSince 1947Still open

Afghanistan was the only country to vote against Pakistan joining the United Nations in 1947, rejecting the Durand Line and backing the idea of a Pashtunistan. The border remains unrecognised by Kabul, and armed clashes and Pakistani air strikes continue under Taliban rule.

Soviet Union1979 to 1989

Soviet troops invade in December 1979 to support Afghanistan's communist government. A decade of war against mujahideen guerrillas follows, killing hundreds of thousands of Afghans. The Soviet army withdraws in February 1989.

United States2001 to 2021

After the attacks of 11 September 2001, a US led coalition invades and topples the Taliban, who sheltered al-Qaeda. Twenty years of war against a Taliban insurgency follow, ending with the US withdrawal and the fall of Kabul in August 2021.

Afghanistan now

Capital

Kabul

Government

theocratic; the United States does not recognize the Taliban Government

Head of government

Mohammad Hasan Akhund

Head of state

Hibatullah Akhundzada

Languages

Pamir, Pashto, Pashayi

Area

652,870 km²

Then and now

Population41.5 million2023 · 7.8 million in 1950

Life expectancy66.0 years2023 · 28.2 years in 1950

GDP per person$1,3572022 · $1,156 in 1950

Living in cities26%2025 · 6% in 1950

Literacy37%2021 · 3% in 1950

Political regimeClosed autocracy2025 · Closed autocracy in 1950

Military alliancesNone of these2024 · None of these in 1950

Military spending1.8% of GDP2021

War deaths0.8 per 100,0002025