Kandahar, the main Pashtun city
Kandahar, the capital of the province with the same name, is Afghanistan’s second-largest city with a population of almost 470,000. It is in the south of the country, about halfway between Herat and Kabul; a road leads south to Quetta in Pakistan. It is an important trade centre for sheep, wool, cotton, food grains, fresh and dried fruit, and tobacco. The region around Kandahar produces excellent fruits, especially grapes, in areas where irrigation is possible.
Kandahar was founded by Alexander the Great in the fourth century BCE (its name may be derived from “Alexandria”), fought over by India and Persia, conquered by Arabs in the seventh century and by the Turkic Ghaznavids three centuries later. In the twelfth century, it was sacked by the Mongols under Genghis Khan. Then it became part of the Timurid empire and was conquered by Babur, founder of the Mogul empire of India in the sixteenth century. In 1748 it became the first capital of the emerging independent kingdom of Afghanistan. The city was laid out by Ahmad Shah, the father of modern Afghanistan and is dominated by his octangular, domed mausoleum.
Kandahar was founded by Alexander the Great in the fourth century BCE (its name may be derived from “Alexandria”), fought over by India and Persia, conquered by Arabs in the seventh century and by the Turkic Ghaznavids three centuries later. In the twelfth century, it was sacked by the Mongols under Genghis Khan. Then it became part of the Timurid empire and was conquered by Babur, founder of the Mogul empire of India in the sixteenth century. In 1748 it became the first capital of the emerging independent kingdom of Afghanistan. The city was laid out by Ahmad Shah, the father of modern Afghanistan and is dominated by his octangular, domed mausoleum.
