[edit]
Further information: History of Afghanistan
Timeline of Kandahar (Alexandria Arachosia)Historical affiliations
 Macedonia 330 BC–312 BC
 Seleucid Empire 312 BC–304 BC
 Maurya Empire 304 BC–204 BC
 Seleucid Empire 204 BC–c. 180 BC
 Greco-Bactrian Kingdom 180 BC – c. 150 BC
 Yavana Kingdom c. 150 BC–142 BC
 Indo-Scythians 142 BC–32 BC
 Parthian Empire 32 BC–19 CE
 Indo-Parthian Kingdom 19–36
 Kushan Empire 36–230
 Sasanian Empire 230–645
 Rashidun Caliphate 645–661
 Umayyad Caliphate 661–750
Abbasid Caliphate 750–861
 Saffarid dynasty 861–977
 Ghaznavid Empire 977–1175
 Ghurid dynasty 1175–1207
 Khwarazmian Empire 1207–1222
 Mongol Empire 1222–1256
Ilkhanate 1256–1347
 Kart dynasty 1347–1382
Timurid Empire 1382–1507
Mughal Empire 1507–1649
Safavid Empire 1649–1711
Hotak dynasty 1711–1738
Afsharid Empire 1738–1747
 Durrani Empire 1747–1818
Principality of Kandahar 1818–1839
United Kingdom (Company Raj) 1839–1842
Principality of Kandahar 1842–1855
Afghanistan 1855–present
Prehistory[edit]
Further information: Pre-Islamic period of Afghanistan
Excavations of prehistoric sites by archaeologists such as Louis Dupree and others suggest that the region around Kandahar is one of the oldest known human settlements known so far.
Early peasant farming villages came into existence in Afghanistan ca. 5000 B.C., or 7000 years ago. Deh Morasi Ghundai, the first prehistoric site to be excavated in Afghanistan, lies 27 km (17 mi) southwest of Kandahar (Dupree, 1951). Another Bronze Age village mound site with multiroomed mud-brick buildings dating from the same period sits nearby at Said Qala (J. Shaffer, 1970). Second millennium B.C. Bronze Age pottery, copper and bronze horse trappings and stone seals were found in the lowermost levels in the nearby cave called Shamshir Ghar (Dupree, 1950). In the Seistan, southwest of these Kandahar sites, two teams of American archaeologists discovered sites relating to the 2nd millennium B.C. (G. Dales, University Museum, University of Pennsylvania, 1969, 1971; W, Trousdale, Smithsonian Institution, 1971 – 76). Stylistically the finds from Deh Morasi and Said Qala tie in with those of pre-Indus Valley sites and with those of comparable age on the Iranian Plateau and in Central Asia, indicating cultural contacts during this very early age.— N. Dupree, 1971
British excavations in the 1970s discovered that Kandahar existed as a large fortified city during the early 1st millennium BC; while this earliest period at Kandahar has not been precisely dated via radiocarbon, ceramic comparisons with the latest period at the major Bronze Age city of Mundigak have suggested an approximate time-frame of 1000 to 750 BC. This fortified city became an important outpost of the Achaemenid Empire in the 6th to 4th centuries BC, and formed part of the province of Arachosia.
Ancient history[edit]
Further information: Alexandria in Arachosia
The main inhabitants of Arachosia were the Pakhtas, an ancient Indo-Iranian tribe, who might have been among the ancestors of today's Pashtuns. Mundigak served as the provincial capital of Arachosia and was ruled by the Medes followed by the Achaemenids until the arrival of the Macedonians. The now called "Old Kandahar" was founded in 330 BC by Alexander the Great, near the site of the ancient city of Mundigak (established around 3000 BC era). Kandahar was named Alexandria, a name given to some cities that Alexander founded during his conquests.
Kandahar was a frequent target for conquest because of its strategic location in Asia, controlling the main trade route linking the Indian subcontinent with the Middle East and Central Asia. The territory became part of the Seleucid Empire after the death of Alexander. The city eventually became part of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom (250 BC – 125 BC), and continued that way for two hundred years under the later Indo-Greek Kingdom (180 BC – 10 AD).
Kandahar Bilingual Rock Inscription (Greek and Aramaic) by Emperor Ashoka, from the Chilzina Complex in Kandahar, 3rd century BC
It is mentioned by Strabo that a treaty of friendship was established eventually between the Greeks and the Mauryas (Indians). While the Diadochi were warring amongst themselves, the Mauryas were developing in the northern part of Hindustan. The founder of the empire, Chandragupta Maurya, confronted a Macedonian invasion force led by Seleucus I in 305 BC and following a brief conflict, an agreement was reached as Seleucus ceded Gandhara and Arachosia and areas south of Bagram to the Mauryas. During the 120 years of the Mauryas in southern Afghanistan, Buddhism was introduced and eventually become one of the major religions alongside Zoroastrianism.
Inscriptions made by Emperor Ashoka, a fragment of Edict 13 in Greek, as well as a full Edict, written in both Greek and Aramaic has been discovered in Kandahar. It is said to be written in excellent Classical Greek, using sophisticated philosophical terms. In this Edict, Ashoka the great used the word Eusebeia ("Piety") as the Greek translation for the ubiquitous "Dharma" of his other Edicts written in Prakrit.
Medieval history[edit]
Further information: Muslim conquests of Afghanistan
Muslim conquest
In the 7th century AD, Arab armies conquered the region but failed to convert the entire population to Islam. The leader of the expedition was Abbad ibn Ziyad, who governed Sijistan between 673 and 681. In AD 870, Yaqub ibn Layth Saffari, a local ruler of the Saffarid dynasty, made Islam the official religion of the area. During that time, the Kandahar region was between Persia and Hindustan and ruled by the Zunbil dynasty, while others claim it was an Eastern Persian realm where the inhabitants practiced Zurvanism.
Ghanavids
The region fell to Mahmud of Ghazni in the 11th century followed by Muhammad of Ghor. Kandahar appears to have been renamed Teginābād in the 10th–12th centuries, but the origin of the new name is unclear. During this period, nearby Panjwayi served as the administrative center for the area. However, Kandahar was of much more strategic importance, to the extent that Minhaj-i-Siraj attributes the downfall of the Ghaznavids to the loss of Kandahar. The city's name was changed back to Kandahar by the 13th century, after Ala ad-Din Husayn Jahansuz sacked Lashkari Bazar, near Bost. Again, the reason for the name change is not clear.
Mongols
The failed Mughal Siege of Kandahar in 1649. Attributed to Payag. Mughal, mid-17th century. Padshahnama. Opaque watercolor on paper. The Knellington Collection, Courtesy Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Kandahar was besieged by a Mongol army in 1221, although Jalal al-Din Mangburni defeated them. In 1251, upon accession to the Mongol throne, Möngke Khan granted Kandahar, along with other lands in Afghanistan, to Shams ad-Din Mohammad Kart of the Kart dynasty. However, the city is mentioned as being under Chagatai control in 1260–61; Kandahar did not come under Kart control until 1281. Later, in 1318, a Chagatai prince raised an army from Kandahar against the Ilkhanid governor of Sistan. Kandahar was described by Ibn Battuta in 1333 as a large and prosperous town three nights journey from Ghazni.
Timur, founder of the Timurid Empire, captured Kandahar in 1383 and later made his grandson Pir Muhammad the governor of the region. Following his death in 1405, the region was ruled by other Timurid governors. Kandahar was entrusted to the Arghuns in the late 15th century, who eventually achieved independence from the Timurids. Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, is believed to have visited the town (c. 1521 AD) during his journey between Hindustan and Mecca in Arabia.
Mughals and Safavids
Timur's descendant, Babur, the founder of the Mughal Empire, annexed Kandahar in 1508. In 1554, Babur's son, Humayun, handed it over to the Safavid Shah Tahmasp in return of 12,000 soldiers he received from the Shah to reconquer India. In 1595, Humayun's son Akbar the Great took back the city by diplomacy. When news about Akbar's death reached the Persian court, Shah Abbas ordered his army to besiege the city which finally failed due to the reinforcements sent by the Mughal Emperor Jahangir that forced the Safavid retreat. In the Mughal–Safavid War, Kandahar was once again lost to the Safavids. In 1698, Balochs under Samandar Khan and Mir Abdullah Khan Ahmadzai of Kalat State recaptured Kandahar. The city was important to Delhi because it was one of the gateways to Hindustan, and Mughal control over Kandahar helped to prevent foreign intrusions. The memory of the wars fought over Kandahar at this time is preserved in the epic poem Qandahār-nāma ("The Campaign Against Qandahār"), a major work of Saib Tabrizi which is a classic of Persian literature.
Formation of the current city[edit]
Further information: Hotak dynasty and Durrani Empire
Mausoleum of Mirwais Hotak next to the Kandahar–Herat Highway
Mirwais Hotak, chief of the Ghilji tribe, revolted in 1709 by killing Gurgin Khan, an ethnic Georgian subject and governor of the Shia Safavid Persians. After establishing the Hotak dynasty in Kandahar, Mirwais and his Afghan army successfully defeated subsequent expeditions by Kay Khusraw and Rustam Khán. It has been said that Mirwais resisted attempts by the Persian government who was seeking to convert the people of Kandahar from Sunni to the Shia sect of Islam. He died of a natural death in November 1715 and was succeeded by his brother Abdul Aziz, but after being suspected of giving Kandahar's sovereignty back to the Persians he was killed by his nephew Mahmud Hotak.
In 1722, Mahmud led an army of Afghans to the Safavid capital Isfahan and proclaimed himself King of Persia. The Hotak dynasty was eventually removed from power by a new Persian ruler, Nader Shah. In 1738, Nader Shah invaded Afghanistan and destroyed the now Old Kandahar, which was held by Hussain Hotak and his Ghilji tribes. In the meantime, Nader Shah freed Ahmad Khan (later Ahmad Shah Durrani) and his brother Zulfikar who were held prisoners by the Hotak ruler. Before leaving southern Afghanistan for Delhi in India, Nader Shah laid out the foundation for a new town to be built next to the destroyed ancient city, naming it "Naderabad". His rule ended in June 1747 after being murdered by his Persian guards.
This lithograph is taken from plate 23 of Afghaunistan by Lieutenant James Rattray, 1848. He sketched Kandahar in December 1841 from the rooftop of the former residence of the province's governor, Sirdar Meer Dil Khaun, who was brother to the Emir. Pictured on the left is the Mausoleum of Ahmad Shah Durrani and on the right the Bala Hissar (fort) and citadel.
Painting by Abdul Ghafoor Breshna depicting the 1747 coronation of Ahmad Shah Durrani, who is regarded as the founding father of Afghanistan (Father of the Nation)
Ahmad Shah Durrani, chief of the Durrani tribe, gained control of Kandahar and made it the capital of his new Afghan Empire in October 1747. Initially, Ahmad Shah had trouble finding land on which to build his city. His own tribe had no extensive lands and others who had, such as the Alikozai and Barakzai, refused to give up their lands. Only the Popalzai finally offered him his pick of their lands. The foundations for the city were laid in June 1761. Once begun, the city was built with grand proportions. It was laid out in the form of a regular rectangle with a circumference of three miles; walls 30 feet thick at the bottom and 15 feet at the top, rose 27 feet high to enclose it. Outside, the walls were ringed by a moat 24 feet wide. Six mammoth gateways pierced these walls: the Eid Gah Gate on the north, the Shikarpur Gate on the south; the Herat and Top Khana Gates on the west; and, the Bar Durrani and Kabul Gates on the east. At its peak, Ahmad Shah's empire included present-day Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Khorasan and Kohistan provinces of Iran, along with Punjab in India. In October 1772, Ahmad Shah retired and died from a natural cause. A new city was laid out by Ahmad Shah and is dominated by his mausoleum, which is adjacent to the Mosque of the Cloak in the centre of the city. By 1776, his eldest son Timur Shah had transferred Afghanistan's main capital, due to several conflicts with various Pashtun tribes, from Kandahar to Kabul, where the Durrani legacy continued.
1839 map of Kandahar
From 1818 to 1855, Kandahar was ruled by half-brothers of Dost Mohammad Khan as an independent principality. In September 1826, Syed Ahmad Shaheed's followers arrived to Kandahar in search of volunteers to help them wage jihad against the Sikh invaders to what is now Pakistan. Led by Ranjit Singh, the Sikhs had captured several of Afghanistan's eastern territories, including parts of what is now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Kashmir. More than 400 local Kandahar warriors assembled themselves for the jihad. Sayed Din Mohammad Kandharai was appointed as their leader.
British invasions and withdrawals[edit]
Further information: First Anglo-Afghan War and Second Anglo-Afghan War
British-Indian invading forces taking refuge at Kandahar after their defeat in the July 1880 Battle of Maiwand, during the Second Anglo-Afghan War. The large defensive wall around the city was removed in the early 1930s by the order of King Nader Khan, the father of King Zahir Shah.
British-led Indian forces from neighboring British India invaded the city in 1839, during the First Anglo-Afghan War, but withdrew in 1842. In November 1855, Dost Mohammad Khan took control of Kandahar. The British-led Indian forces (under LTG Stewart) returned in January of 1879 during the Second Anglo-Afghan War. They emerged from Chaman to confront the forces of Ayub Khan, but were defeated at the Battle of Maiwand in July 1880. They were again forced to withdraw several months later, despite winning the Battle of Kandahar.
Kandahar remained peaceful for the next 100 years, except during 1929 when loyalists of Habibullah Kalakani placed the fortified city on lock-down and began oppressing its population. Nobody was allowed to enter or leave from within the city's tall defensive walls, and as a result of this many people suffered after running out of food supplies. This lasted until October 1929 when Nadir Khan and his Afghan army came to eliminate Kalakani, known as the Tajik bandit from the village of Kalakan in Kabul Province.
During the Kingdom of Mohammad Zahir Shah, the city slowly began expanding by adding modern style streets and housing schemes. Although Kandahar remained less international than Kabul, with fewer foreigners in residence and thus no market for coffee, jam or other European products, a modest German community took root there in the 1930s. Engineers and factory managers, accompanied by their spouses, arrived to supervise wool-processing plants. Some American families began arriving to Kandahar in the 1950s. A Siemens electrical station powered these emerging industries, signaling a step toward the broader modernization taking shape across Afghanistan during this period.
Street scene in the historical part of the city, 1973
In the 1960s, during the rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union, the United States built the Kandahar International Airport. The U.S. also completed several other major projects in Kandahar and in other parts of southern Afghanistan. In the meantime, Soviet engineers were busy building major infrastructures in other parts of the country, such as Bagram Airfield and Kabul International Airport. Kandahar had become a major stop on the Hippie trail from Herat to Kabul. In 1972 the city was in shock after four citizens of France were kidnapped and brutally murdered by local criminals, who were later publicly hanged in front of the victims' family after confessing to their crimes.
Soviet invasion and withdrawal[edit]
Further information: Soviet–Afghan War
During the 1980s Soviet–Afghan War, Kandahar witnessed heavy fighting between the Afghan mujahideen and the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. Soviet troops surrounded the city and subjected it to heavy air bombardment in which many civilians were killed. In January 1982 indiscriminate shelling and bombing by the Soviets killed hundreds. 300 civilians were killed during Soviet bombings in July 1984. It was under siege again in April 1986. The city's population was reduced from 200,000 before the war to no more than 25,000 residents in 1987. Most have fled to neighboring Pakistan and Iran.
Kandahar underwent a complete sociopolitical collapse in the early 1990s, driven in part by the divide-and-rule tactics of the communist governor-general, Nur ul-Haq Ulumi, who manipulated rival mujahideen factions against each other, and by the rampant greed within both the communist and mujahideen militias. After the Soviet withdrawal and the collapse of Mohammad Najibullah's government in 1992, Kandahar fell to local mujahideen commander, Gul Agha Sherzai. However Sherzai lacked authority against other local commanders which led to lawlessness in the city, and fighting in 1993. During this time, banditry, rape, and murder became rampant in Kandahar, creating a demand for a more moral and unified alternative. This led to the rise of the talibs (students), who eventually formed the Taliban movement. By the spring of 1994, the nucleus of the Taliban emirate had begun to take shape, and that year, they launched operations to dismantle warlord militia checkpoints around the city. The talibs gained considerable popularity and legitimacy during this period by defeating these predatory warlords.
In August 1994, Mullah Omar and his Taliban forces turned the city into their headquarters after Mullah Naqib and his forces surrendered. The capture of Afghanistan's second-largest city marked the Taliban's transformation from a fledgling militia into an Islamic emirate, solidifying their legitimacy as a governing authority through the imposition of a strict interpretation of Islamic law. Formal education for girls was banned as well as the consumption of TV, films, music with instrumental accompaniments, and the playing of sports. In December 1999, a hijacked Indian Airlines Flight 814 plane by Pakistani militants loyal to Harkat-ul-Mujahideen landed at Kandahar International Airport and kept the passengers hostage as part of a demand to release three Pakistani militants from prison in India.
NATO invasion and withdrawal[edit]
Further information: War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
U.S. Army troops in 2009 passing by the starting point of the Army Ten-Miler run at their base next to Kandahar International Airport
In October 2001, as part of Operation Enduring Freedom, the United States Navy began hitting targets inside the city by precision-guided cruise missiles that were fired from the Persian Gulf. These targets were the Kandahar International Airport and buildings that were occupied by the Taliban, including Arab families who had arrived several years earlier and were residing in the area. About a month later, the Taliban began surrendering in mass numbers to a private militia that had been formed by Gul Agha Sherzai and Hamid Karzai. Kandahar once again fell into the hands of Sherzai, who had control over the area before the rise of the Taliban. He was transferred to Nangarhar Province in 2003 and replaced by Yousef Pashtun until Asadullah Khalid took the post in 2005.
In 2002, members of the United States armed forces took control of the Kandahar International Airport. Years later NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) began training members of the new Afghan National Security Forces and provided security for the city. The military of Afghanistan, backed by ISAF, gradually expanded its authority and presence throughout most of the country. The 205th Corps of the Afghan National Army was based at Kandahar and provided military assistance to the south of the country. The Canadian Forces maintained their military command headquarters at Kandahar, heading the Regional Command South of ISAF in Kandahar Province. The Taliban also had supporters inside the city reporting on events.
ISAF gradually expanded the Afghan police force as part of a larger effort that also aimed to deliver services such as electricity and clean drinking water. The most significant battle between ISAF and the Taliban lasted throughout the summer of 2006, culminating in Operation Medusa. The Taliban failed to defeat the Western troops in open warfare, which marked a turn in their tactics towards IED emplacement. In June 2008, it was reported that over 1,000 inmates had escaped from Sarposa prison. In Spring 2010, the province and the city of Kandahar became a target of American operations following Operation Moshtarak in the neighbouring Helmand Province. In March 2010, U.S. and NATO commanders released details of plans for the biggest offensive of the war against the Taliban insurgency.
The Governor's Complex in the center of the city, across from Khirka Sharif
Mausoleum of Ahmad Shah Durrani, next to Khirka Sharif
In May 2010, Kandahar International Airport became subject of a combined rocket and ground attack by insurgents, following similar attacks on Kabul and Bagram in the preceding weeks. Although this attack did not lead to many casualties on the side of ISAF, it did show that the militants were still capable of launching multiple, coordinated operations in Afghanistan. In June 2010, a shura was held by then-Afghan President Hamid Karzai with tribal and religious leaders of the Kandahar region. The meeting highlighted the need for support of NATO-led forces in order to stabilize parts of the province.
In July 2011 Ahmad Wali Karzai, brother of President Hamid Karzai, was killed by one of his close bodyguards. The next day the mullah of the famous Red Mosque and a number of other people were killed by a Taliban suicide bomber who had hidden explosives inside his turban. On 27 July 2011, the mayor of the city, Ghulam Haider Hamidi, was assassinated by another Taliban militant who had hidden explosives in his turban. Two deputy mayors had been killed in 2010, while many tribal elders and Islamic clerics have also been assassinated in the last several years. The overwhelming majority of the victims in the attacks were ordinary civilians. On 6 June 2012, at least 21 civilians were killed and 50 others injured when two Taliban suicide bombers on motorcycles blew themselves up in a market area near Kandahar International Airport.
On 4 May 2020, a policewoman was assassinated in the centre of Kandahar, making her the fifth policewoman to be killed during the previous two months in Kandahar. No group claimed responsibility for the killing of the policewomen by the end of the day of the reported event.
On or about 12 August 2021, the Taliban recaptured Kandahar. After days of fighting the NATO-trained Afghan National Army retreated from the city. It became the twelfth provincial capital to be retaken as part of the wider 2021 Taliban offensive. On 15 October 2021, four suicide bombers killed dozens at a Shia mosque in the city.
