Afghanistan geographic location. Complete description of Afghanistan. State and environmental protection
The climate of Afghanistan is diverse due to the large number of hills and mountains located on the territory of the country. Summers in the country are hot and winters are cold. In addition to elevation differences, the difference in climatic conditions is also explained by the country's lack of access to the sea - in summer time there is almost no cooling effect on the territory of the country that proximity to the sea could provide, and in winter time the cold is less controllable. In the southwestern part of Afghanistan, there is a combination of two types of climate - warm steppe and warm desert. In the north-eastern part of the country the climate is cold steppe.
Hot Summer
The summer months in Afghanistan are characterized by hot and dry days. In June, July, and August the nights are also warm. At night, in the lower parts of the country, the air temperature averages 22-28 degrees Celsius. In places with an altitude of over 3,000 meters above sea level, the temperature may be lower. In summer, hot winds often blow at speeds of up to 150 kilometers per hour, which bring with them a lot of dust and sand from Iran. Such a wind is called "sistan", or "120-day wind". In July, the maximum air temperature can often reach 36-43 degrees. From August the temperature drops. In October, the wetter and cooler season begins.
Low rainfall
There is little rainfall in Afghanistan. Most of the rain falls in winter. In the northern part of the country, slightly more rain falls in April and May than in other parts of Afghanistan. In the country's capital, Kabul, only 350 mm falls. rain per year. In Kandahar, the rain is even less - only 200 mm. per year, and in the driest regions of the country in the south-west, on the border with Iran, precipitation is even less. In Zaranj, 50 mm falls. precipitation per year, and in some years it can fall as little as 20 mm. and less.
The climate of Afghanistan in numbers
The table below shows the average minimum and maximum air temperatures in the capital of Afghanistan, Kabul, throughout the year.
Economic- geographical position Afghanistan
The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is located in the Middle East, far from the seas.
The western border of the country passes with Iran, in the north it borders on the former Soviet republics of the USSR - Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan.
The eastern border falls on China, India, Pakistan. The longest border with Pakistan is 2430 km.
Afghanistan is an ancient center of trade and migration between East and West.
The country occupies an important geopolitical position, being on the one hand between South and Central Asia, and on the other hand - the Middle East.
Remark 1
Today, Afghanistan is the most unstable state not only in the region, but also in the world, and the factor of this instability is Civil War which has been going on since 1978.
The Silk Road, which once passed through the territory of the country, is waiting for a revival, and Afghanistan does not lose its key importance in the new project, because new promising routes are opening up.
Rail transport is practically not developed. The only major railway channel in Afghanistan's trade was the transport corridor with Uzbekistan. It remains key today.
There are promising projects for the construction of railways through Afghanistan, which are supported by Tajikistan and Iran. One such project is already in operation, a railway from Iran to Afghanistan, built in 2008, where Iran was the sole sponsor of its construction.
The road gives Iran access to minerals in western Afghanistan.
Iran and Tajikistan are in the development of transport and infrastructure projects.
In addition to the construction of railways, it is planned to lay pipelines for pumping water and oil pipelines. Water in this region is a valuable resource.
This extremely poor country is entirely dependent on foreign aid.
The main part of the population employed in agriculture produces opium, grain, fruits, nuts. Industrial products are represented by clothing, soap, footwear, fertilizers, cement, carpets, gas, coal and copper production.
The country exports mainly what is produced by agriculture, as well as precious and semi-precious stones. In terms of exports, Afghanistan is connected with India, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and the United States.
As the world's top producer of opium, the country derives most of its income from the opium trade. The Taliban and other anti-government groups are involved in opium production.
In the import article, industrial goods, food products, textiles, oil and oil products are supplied by Pakistan, the USA, Germany, and India.
Remark 2
The economic and geographical position of the country is favorable, and, above all, because it is located at the crossroads of routes running from east to west, and borders on fairly developed countries of the world, but to use the benefits of this position for the development of your economy by virtue of objective reasons cannot yet.
Natural conditions of Afghanistan
The relief of Afghanistan is mountainous - this is the northeastern part of the Iranian plateau.
The east of the country is crossed by the high ranges of the Hindu Kush, whose height in this region is more than 4000-5000 m. The ranges stretch from the southwest to the northeast.
The highest point in Afghanistan - Mount Naushak (7485 m) is located on the border with Pakistan.
To the west of the Hindu Kush lies the hard-to-reach Khazarajat highland, more than 3000 m high, from which lower ridges fan out to the west and south-west.
The vast plain is located in the north of Afghanistan, called the Bactrian. It gradually turns into a sandy desert.
The Herat-Farah plateau stretches along the border with Iran and goes to the extreme northwest. The height of the plateau is from 600 to 800 m.
Hilly plateaus up to 1000 m high are located in the south-west of Afghanistan.
The Afghan sandy deserts of Registan, Garmsir, Dashti-Margo occupy large areas, which in the extreme south close the Chagai Mountains. Among the mountains there are also oases. Several oases are confined to the weakly dissected Ghazni-Kandahar Plateau. In the vicinity of the city of Kandahar is the largest of them.
The subtropical continental climate of the country is extremely diverse and depends on the height above sea level. On the peaks of the Hindu Kush, eternal winter.
Cool summers and long cold winters with snow are characteristic of the mountain plateaus of central Afghanistan.
Moderate climate in the mountain valleys, and on the plains the climate is hot - July average temperature is +24…+32 degrees.
The absolute maximum was recorded in the province of Helmand +45 degrees. Summer lasts 4-5 months. The amplitude of the day and night reaches 20 degrees.
Spring starts in February and ends in April. The rivers overflow at this time. In September, autumn comes and with it rare rains.
The duration of the winter period is 2 months, in mountainous areas it is a very severe season with heavy snowstorms and deep snow cover.
Plains during the year receive about 200 mm of precipitation, mountainous areas up to 800 mm. A special precipitation regime is typical for the south-east of the country - summer monsoons penetrate here and heavy rainfall occurs in July-August. In some areas in the south-west of the country, precipitation does not fall at all.
Frequent sandstorms in the deserts and on the arid plains are brought by a dry western wind.
Natural resources of Afghanistan
In the mountains of Afghanistan, nature has created many mineral resources, but the lack of infrastructure and very difficult terrain limit their development.
There are hydrocarbon reserves in the Afghan subsoil, the Sari-Pul oil field and the Shibergan gas field.
Several coal deposits - Karkar, Ishpushta, Darai-Suf, Karrokh.
There are salt-bearing structures, especially pronounced in the north of the country.
To the south of Kabul and Kandahar, industrial deposits of copper, iron, manganese, lead-zinc and tin ores are known. Chromium ores occur in the Logar Valley, and beryl ores are mined in the Nangarhar province.
There is a deposit of high-quality lapis lazuli and other precious and semi-precious stones, in particular such expensive ones as:
- emeralds,
- rubies,
- aquamarines.
Alluvial deposits of gold have been discovered in Badakhshan and Ghazni.
It is possible to mine marble, talc, granite, dolomite, gypsum, limestone, amethyst, jasper.
There are few full-flowing rivers in Afghanistan, with the exception of the river. Kabul, which flows into the Indus and further into the Indian Ocean. Basically, the rivers of the country are lost in the sands or end in endorheic lakes.
River water is taken to irrigate fields, so they become shallow in the second half of summer. The rivers Balkh and Khulm, flowing along the Bactrian Plain in the north, have an intermittent flow and dry up in the summer.
Mountain rivers are not navigable, but have significant hydropower potential.
There are few lakes, among the large ones Sarykul stands out in the Hindu Kush mountains. The lakes of the western and southwestern parts of the country also dry up. The largest salt lake is Hamun-i-Helmand, located on the border with Iran.
In the foothills and valleys, chestnut soils, burozems and gray soils were formed. Chernozem and mountain meadow soils are found where the mountain slopes are moist. Serozem desert soils and solonchaks spread in the south and south-west of the country. The soils of oases are generally fertile.
In the plant world, couch grass, fescue, characteristic of dry steppes and deserts, are predominant. Wormwood, camel's thorn, and saxaul predominate in rocky and sandy deserts. Spotted hyenas, antelopes, gazelles, saigas, and many reptiles live in open spaces of deserts and steppe plains.
In mountainous areas - mountain goats, bears, argali sheep. Along the river valleys you can meet wild boars, reed cats, Turanian tigers. The birds of prey are the kite, the vulture hawk, the golden eagle, the Himalayan vulture, etc. To protect nature, two reserves and a national park were created in the late 90s.
Islamic State of Afghanistan
Afghanistan- country in the southwest Central Asia. In the north it borders with Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, in the east - with China, India (disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir) and Pakistan, in the south - with Pakistan, in the west - with Iran.
The name of the country comes from the name of the legendary ancestor of the Afghans - Avgan.
Capital
Square
Population
26813 thousand people
Administrative division
The state is divided into 29 provinces (vilayats) and 2 districts of central subordination.
Form of government
Islamic state.
head of state
The president.
supreme legislative body
It does not work.
Supreme executive body
Government.
Big cities
Kandahar, Herat.
Official language
Pashto, donate.
Religion
Islam (85% - Sunnis, 15% - Shiites).
Ethnic composition
38% - Pashtuns, 25% - Tajiks, 19% - Khazars, 6% - Uzbeks.
Currency
Afghani = 100 pools.
Climate
Subtropical, continental, arid, with sharp daily and annual temperature fluctuations. In Kabul, located at an altitude of 1830 m above sea level, cold winters and warm summers (in July + 25°С, in January from 0°С to + 7°С). Precipitation, mainly in winter and spring, does not exceed 375 mm. On the northern plain, the average temperature in July is + 30 ° С, in January - + 2 ° С
(at minimum temperatures up to -20 °С). Only in the southeast of Afghanistan, where the Indian monsoon affects, summer rains are observed, and the mountain slopes here receive up to 800 mm of precipitation. In Jalalabad (550 m above sea level) the climate is subtropical, in Kandahar (1070 m above sea level) it is mild.
Flora
About 3% of the territory is occupied by coniferous forests, which are located at an altitude of 1830 to 3660 m, deciduous forests (juniper, ash) grow below. Among fruit trees, apple, pear, peach, and apricot are common. In the extreme south, in irrigated oases and the Jalalabad valley, date palms, olives, and citrus fruits grow.
Fauna
Camels, mountain goats, bears, gazelles, wolves, jackals, wild cats and foxes are found in Afghanistan. The famous breed of dogs bred here is the Afghan Hound.
Rivers and lakes
The largest rivers in Afghanistan are the Amu Darya, Kabul, Helmand and Harirud.
Attractions
Cave monastery in the Bami-ana valley (I-VIII centuries); palace in Bust (XI century); minaret in Jam (XII century); Gauharshad Mausoleum, Juma Masjid Mosque in Herat (XVB.); the remains of fortress walls of the 7th-8th centuries, medieval garden and park ensembles, including Bagi-Bagur with the tomb of Babur (XVI century), in Kabul, etc. Many monuments in Kabul and Kandahar were destroyed during the fighting.
Useful information for tourists
In view of the turbulent situation and destruction during the fighting, the country is not popular with foreign tourists.
Details Category: Countries of Central Asia Posted on 26.02.2014 17:47 Views: 5593The population of Afghanistan is made up of over 20 peoples, but the concept of "Afghan" applies to all citizens of the country - as proclaimed in the 2004 Constitution.
Islamic Republic of Afghanistan borders with Iran, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, China, India (the territory of Jammu and Kashmir disputed by India, China and Pakistan). Has no access to the sea.
This is one of the poorest countries in the world, in which a civil war has been going on since 1978.
To realize the sad fact of the difficult economic situation of the state is all the more offensive because Afghanistan is at the crossroads between East and West and is an ancient center of trade and migration. And its geopolitical position - between South and Central Asia on the one hand and the Middle East on the other - could well benefit it: play an important role in economic, political and cultural relations between the countries of the region.
State symbols
Flag- is a panel with an aspect ratio of 7:10, on which there are three vertical stripes, where black is the color of historical and religious banners, red is the color of the supreme power of the king and a symbol of the struggle for freedom, and green is the color of hope and success in business. In the center of the emblem there is a mosque with a mihrab (a niche in the wall of the mosque for the imam of the mosque to pray in it, the leader of the prayer, who during prayer should be in front of the rest of the worshipers) and a minbar (pulpit or tribune in the cathedral mosque), over which the shahada is written (testimony about faith in the One God of Allah and the messenger mission of the Prophet Muhammad). The flag was approved on January 4, 2004.
Coat of arms- Emblem of Afghanistan. IN latest version emblems present the addition of a shahada on Arabic upstairs. Below this is a picture of a mosque with a mihrab facing Mecca with a prayer mat inside. The two flags attached to the mosque are the flags of Afghanistan. Below the mosque is an inscription that means the name of the nation. There is a garland around the mosque.
State structure of modern Afghanistan
Form of government- Islamic Republic.
head of state- President elected for 4 years. The President is the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the country, forms the government, is elected for no more than two consecutive terms.
Head of the government- the president.
Capital- Kabul.
Largest cities- Kabul.
official languages- Pashto, Dari (eastern dialect of the Persian language).
State religion- Sunni Islam (90% of the population). Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, various autochthonous pagan cults and syncretic beliefs are also widespread.
Territory- 647,500 km².
Population– 31 108 077 people Afghanistan is a multinational state. Its population belongs to various language families: Iranian, Turkic, etc.
The most numerous ethnic group are the Pashtuns (from 39.4 to 42% of the population). The second largest group is Tajiks (from 27 to 38%). The third group is the Hazaras (from 8 to 10%). The fourth largest ethnic group is the Uzbeks (from 6 to 9.2%). Aimaks, Turkmens, Balochi are less numerous.
Currency- Afghani.
Administrative division- Afghanistan is a unitary state, administratively divided into 34 provinces (wilayats), which are divided into districts.
Climate- subtropical continental, cold in winter and dry hot in summer.
Economy- highly dependent on foreign aid. High unemployment. Industrial products: clothes, soap, shoes, fertilizers, cement, carpets, gas, coal, copper. Products Agriculture: opium, grain, fruits, nuts, wool, leather. Exports (official): opium, fruits and nuts, carpets, wool, astrakhan fur, precious and semi-precious stones. Imports: manufactured goods, foodstuffs, textiles, oil and oil products.
Drug production
“No other country in the world, except for China in the mid-19th century, produced as many drugs as modern Afghanistan” (Annual Report of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime). Afghanistan produces more than 90% of the opium supplied to the world market. International forces have not been able to take control of the entire territory of Afghanistan, limiting their real influence mainly to Kabul and its environs. Poppy cultivation is often the only source of income for Afghan farmers.
The Taliban "banned drugs and severely punished", carrying out repression against drug producers. But NATO has a "humanitarian relationship" with the drug-producing population.
Education- The level of education in Afghanistan is one of the lowest among developing countries. Primary school education (from 3 years in rural areas to 6 years in cities) is compulsory and free for children aged 7 to 14. Upon completion of primary school, access to secondary education is opened, which is divided into incomplete (grades 7–9) and complete (grades 10–12) secondary school. Education is free and separate at all levels. Classes are conducted mainly in Dari and Pashto languages, in places where ethnic groups live compactly - in their native language. In general, school attendance is uneven throughout the country.
students
Kabul University, opened in 1946, is the largest and most prestigious university educational institution countries. Due to the fighting in the 1990s, most of the time it was closed. There is also a small Nangarhar University. Bayazid Roshan (Jalalabad), Balkh University, Herat University, Kandahar University, as well as universities in Bamiyan, Badakhshan and Khost. Teaching in universities is predominantly in Dari. The Kabul State Medical Institute is functioning.
Sport is the national sport buzkashi: riders are divided into two teams, play in the field, each team tries to capture and hold the skin of a goat. Afghans are fond of football, field hockey, volleyball, basketball and especially pakhlavani (the local version of the classic wrestling). Many Afghans play backgammon. Kite fighting is popular among teenagers. The Afghan national team participates in Olympic Games since 1936
Armed forces- subdivided into the Afghan National Army (ANA) and the National Air Corps of Afghanistan. current armed forces Afghanistan was actually re-created with the help of US and NATO instructors.
Soldiers of the Afghan National Army
Nature
The territory of Afghanistan is located in the northeastern part of the Iranian plateau. A significant part is made up of mountains and valleys between them.
Mountain landscape
Oriental landscape
All rivers, with the exception of Kabul, which flows into the Indus, are endorheic. The lowland rivers are flooded in spring and dry up in summer. Mountain rivers have significant hydropower potential. In many areas, groundwater is the only source of water supply and irrigation.
The bowels of Afghanistan are rich in minerals, but their development is limited due to their location in remote mountainous areas.
There are deposits of coal and precious metals, beryllium ores, sulfur, table salt, marble, lapis lazuli, barite, celestine. There are deposits of oil, natural gas, gypsum. Copper, iron, manganese ores have been explored.
Flora
Dry-steppe and desert landscapes predominate in Afghanistan; dry steppes are common on foothill plains and in intermountain basins. They are dominated by couch grass, fescue and other cereals. The lowest parts of the basins are occupied by takyrs and salt marshes, and in the south-west of the country - by sandy and rocky deserts with a predominance of wormwood, camel's thorn, tamarisk and saxaul. The lower slopes of the mountains are dominated by thorny semi-shrubs (astragalus, acantolimon) in combination with juniper sparse forests, groves of wild pistachio, wild almond and wild rose.
wild pistachio in blossom
In the Indo-Himalayan region, the steppes alternate with woody arrays of Indian palm, acacia, figs, and almonds. Above 1500 m there are deciduous forests of evergreen balut oak with an undergrowth of almond, bird cherry, jasmine, buckthorn, sophora, cotoneaster.
figs
On the western slopes in some places grow forests of walnut, in the south - pomegranate groves, at altitudes of 2200–2400 m - Gerard's pine, which at altitudes is replaced by Himalayan pine with an admixture of Himalayan cedar and West Himalayan fir.
pomegranate grove
Spruce-fir forests are common in humid areas, in the lower tier of which ash grows, and in the undergrowth - birch, pine, honeysuckle, hawthorn and currant. Juniper forests grow on the dry southern slopes. Above 3500 m, thickets of juniper dwarf and rhododendron are common, and above 4000 m - alpine and subalpine meadows.
Subalpine meadows
Tugai (floodplain) forests are widespread in the valley of the Amudarya River, in which poplar-turanga, jeddah, willow, comb, reeds predominate. Pamir, white and laurel poplar, sucker (essential oil plant), tamarisk, sea buckthorn, and oleander grow in the tugai of mountain rivers.
Fauna
The fauna of Afghanistan is as diverse as the flora. In the open spaces of desert and steppe plains and plateaus, spotted hyenas, jackals, kulans (wild donkeys), gazelles and saiga antelopes are found, in the mountains - leopard irbis, mountain goats, argali mountain sheep (Pamir argali, argali) and bears.
Kulans
In the tugai thickets along the river valleys there are wild boar, reed cat, Turan tiger. The steppe fox, stone marten and wolves are widespread, causing considerable damage to flocks of sheep.
There are many reptiles in deserts and dry steppes: monitor lizards, geckos, turtles, agamas (steppe pythons), snakes, Poisonous snakes(gyurza, cobra, efa, muzzle).
Gecko
Deserts and steppes abound with rodents (marmots, ground squirrels, voles, gerbils, hares, shrews). There are many poisonous and harmful insects: scorpions, karakurts (Central Asian poisonous spider), phalanxes, locusts, etc.
Karakurt
The avifauna is rich - about 380 species. Of the birds of prey, the kite, vulture hawk, kestrel, golden eagle, Himalayan vulture, Indian Laggar falcon are common. In the deserts, wheatears, larks, and desert chickens are widespread. The southeastern regions are inhabited by the Bengal roller, snipe, southern turtledove, Himalayan jay, pika, Indian starling-myna.
falcon-laggar
Flamingos nest in lakes south and east of Ghazni. Some species of mammals are under the threat of extinction, incl. leopard, snow leopard, urial mountain sheep and Bactrian deer. For their protection in the beginning. In the 1990s, two wildlife sanctuaries and a national park were created. The rivers abound with commercial fish (asp, marinka, carp, catfish, barbel, trout).
culture
The culture of Afghanistan covers four main periods of its development: pagan, Hellenistic, Buddhist and Islamic. The surviving monument of the Hellenistic period is a Greco-Bactrian city, the ruins of which are located in the Afghan province of Kunduz at the confluence of the Amu Darya and Kokchi. The real settlement dates back to the time of Seleucus Nicator and refers to the turn of the 4th-3rd centuries. BC e. The heyday of the city falls on the III-II centuries. BC when most of the buildings were erected. The destruction of the city is associated with the invasion of the nomadic tribes of the Tokhars to Bactria in the middle of the 2nd century BC. (about 135 BC). Since then, the city has not been restored.
Literatureis one of the cultural traditions of Afghanistan. The Persian language was dominant, so many works were created in Farsi. IN Lately there are more and more works in Pashto and Turkic languages.
Kabul National Museum
Widely known in Afghanistan and beyond Kabul National Museum, created in 1919. It presented a collection of very rare examples of ancient and medieval art. During the Civil War, the museum was plundered and is currently under restoration. Small museums have been preserved in some centers of the provinces of Afghanistan.
The traditional Afghan dance is attan.
A lot of historical monuments were destroyed during the civil war. And as a result of American bombardments in the area of the city of Ai-Khanum, unique three-meter clay statues, historical monuments of the 3rd-2nd centuries BC, were damaged and partially destroyed. e. The whole world knows barbaric attitude the Taliban to the non-Islamic heritage of Afghanistan: monuments of Buddhist culture, the famous clay colossi, were destroyed.
UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Afghanistan
Jam minaret
A unique, well-preserved minaret of the 12th century. in northwestern Afghanistan. Its height is more than 60 m. It is the second tallest historical baked brick minaret in the world after the Qutub Minar in Delhi.
Presumably, it is the only surviving building of the city of Firuzkuh, which was the capital of the sultans of the Ghurid dynasty before its transfer to Ghazni. The city was destroyed by the army of Genghis Khan, and even its location was forgotten for a long time.
On August 19, 1957, the French archaeologist Andre Marik was the first European to reach the minaret. Serious scientific research of the monument has not yet been carried out due to the inaccessibility and the continuing unstable political situation.
Bamiyan Buddha statues
Two giant statues of Buddha (55 and 37 m), which were part of the complex of Buddhist monasteries in the Bamyan Valley. In 2001, despite the protests of the world community and other Islamic countries, the statues were destroyed by the Taliban, who believed that they were pagan idols and should be destroyed.
The statues were carved into the cliffs surrounding the valley, partly supplemented with solid plaster supported by wooden fittings. The upper parts of the faces of the sculptures made of wood were lost in antiquity. In addition to the destroyed sculptures, in the monasteries of the valley there is another one depicting the reclining Buddha, its excavations began in 2004.
The statues were destroyed in several stages over several weeks, starting on March 2, 2001. First, they were fired upon with anti-aircraft guns and artillery. This caused serious damage, but did not destroy them, because. the sculptures were carved into the rock. The Taliban then placed anti-tank mines at the bottom of the niche so that when the rock fragments fell from artillery fire, the statues would receive additional destruction on the mines. The Taliban then lowered the men down the cliff and planted explosives in holes in the statues. After one of the explosions failed to completely destroy the face of one of the Buddhas, a rocket was launched, which left a hole in the remains of the stone head.
Other sights of Afghanistan
Tora Bora
Fortified area of the Afghan Mujahideen in the period Afghan war(1979-1989), the radical Islamic movement "Taliban" and the international terrorist organization "Al-Qaeda" during the reign of the "Taliban regime" and the introduction of troops from the Western anti-Taliban coalition "ISAF".
It is a labyrinth of tunnels, going to a depth of 400 m, with many galleries, storage facilities, living quarters and shelters, bunkers, weapons and ammunition depots. The total length of the messages is more than 25 km. In December 2001, during a military operation against the Taliban, the complex was taken by the United Anti-Taliban Front with the support of the international coalition.
kabul zoo
The zoo was opened in 1967. Before the civil war, there were more than 500 species of animals in it, but during the time it was badly damaged. The zoo is helped by animal lovers of other countries, in particular, China and the USA.
Eid Gah Mosque
The second largest mosque of the XVI century. in Kabul.
Bande Amir
One of the six lakes
A chain of six turquoise lakes located at an altitude of 3000 m in the Hindu Kush mountains. The lakes are separated by tufa cliffs, which give it a bright blue color.
This is one of the most popular attractions in the country and at the same time the first national park in Afghanistan.
There are many places of worship in the country.
Story
The first people appeared on the territory of Afghanistan about 5000 years ago, and the rural communities of this region were among the first in the world.
It is assumed that Zoroastrianism originated in what is now Afghanistan between 1800 and 800 BC. BC e., a Zarathustra lived and died in Balkh (city in Afghanistan). By the middle of the VI century. BC e. The Achaemenids incorporated Afghanistan into their Persian Empire.
Then the territory of Afghanistan became part of the empire of Alexander the Great, and after its collapse became part of the Seleucid state until 305 BC. e. Buddhism became the dominant religion in the region.
The region then became part of the Greco-Bactrian kingdom (until 125 BC).
In the 1st century Afghanistan was conquered by the Parthian Empire, at the end of the 2nd century. - Kushan Empire. The Kushans were defeated by the Sassanids in the 3rd century BC. Until the 7th century Afghanistan several times passed from one ruler to another.
Islamic and Mongolian periods
In the 7th century The territory of western Afghanistan was conquered by the Arabs, who brought their culture and a new religion - Islam, which finally established itself in the 10th century. In the same century, the Turks came to the country from Central Asia - the Ghaznavid Empire arose with its capital in the city of Ghazni. The flourishing of science and culture began.
In the XII century. the local Afghan Ghurid dynasty strengthened, uniting Afghanistan and neighboring territories under its rule. IN early XIII V. Ghurids conquered Khorezm.
In the XIII century. the region was invaded by the Mongol troops of Genghis Khan. In the second half of the XIV century. Afghanistan was part of Timur's empire, and after his death, the Timurids ruled here, of which the ruler of Kabul, Babur, who founded the Mughal Empire, is especially famous. He was also a poet and writer.
In the XVIII century. The territory of Afghanistan was part of the Persian Empire of the Iranian Safavid dynasty. After the weakening of Persia and several uprisings, the Afghans managed to create a number of independent principalities - Kandahar and Herat. The Durrani Empire was founded in Kandahar in 1747 by the military commander Ahmad Shah Durrani. It became the first unified Afghan state. However, under his successors, the empire broke up into a number of independent principalities - Peshawar, Kabul, Kandahar and Herat.
Anglo-Afghan Wars
Being in the center of Eurasia, Afghanistan becomes the arena of struggle between the two powerful powers of that time: British and Russian empires. This fight was called the "Great Game". In order to control Afghanistan, the British Empire waged a series of wars, but was forced in 1919 to recognize the independence of Afghanistan.
Republic of Afghanistan
In 1973, a coup d'etat took place in Afghanistan. The monarchy was abolished and a republic proclaimed. But during this period, the country is marked by extreme political instability. President Mohammed Daoud's attempts to reform and modernize the country failed.
April (Saur) revolution
In April 1978, a revolution began in the country. Together with members of his family, President Mohammed Daoud was executed, and the communist People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan came to power.
Beginning of the civil war
In the same year, 1978, it was proclaimed Democratic Republic Afghanistan. Nur Muhammad Taraki became the head of state. The government began to carry out radical reforms, but secularization (the process of reducing the role of religion in society) caused mass protests. The Civil War began. The ruling party, the PDPA (People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan), split into two factions, which entered the struggle for power. Nur Mohammed Taraki was killed, Hafizullah Amin became the head of state. In the USSR, he was considered an unreliable person, capable of reorienting himself to the West at any moment, so they decided to eliminate him.
The USSR intervened in the civil war to help the communist government. This war has not ended yet. The USSR invaded Afghanistan and occupied it. After the assassination of Amin during the storming of the presidential palace by Soviet special forces, Babrak Karmal took the post of chairman of the Revolutionary Council.
The Afghan Mujahideen fought against the Soviet troops. Then they were supported by the USA, China and a number of other countries of the world. Incessant resistance persuaded the leadership of the USSR to withdraw troops from Afghanistan.
May 4, 1986 B. Karmal was released "for health reasons." Mohammed Najibullah became the new chairman of the Revolutionary Council of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan on October 1.
Soviet troops were withdrawn from the country in 1989. After the withdrawal of Soviet troops (1989), Najibullah remained in power for another three years.
Parts of the Soviet Army in Afghanistan
After the withdrawal of Soviet troops into the civil war, it did not end, but flared up with renewed vigor. In April 1992, the rebels entered Kabul, and the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan ceased to exist. During the struggle for power between Ahmad Shah Massoud and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the capital of Kabul was fired upon by the artillery of the opposing sides, a large number of cultural and historical monuments of the Afghan capital was destroyed. And in the south of the country, the Taliban movement was gaining strength. The Taliban declared themselves the defenders of the interests of the Afghan people. They wanted to build an Islamic state in Afghanistan based on Sharia law.
By 1996, most of the country fell under their control; in September, after the capture of Kabul, Mohammed Najibullah was executed. The rule of the Taliban was characterized by religious intolerance towards non-believers: despite the protests of the world community, they blew up architectural monuments - the Bamiyan Buddha statues. They were very cruel: thieves' hands were cut off, women and girls were forbidden to attend schools and be on the street without a male escort, etc.
Since the late 1980s, drug production in Afghanistan has been on the rise. After the September 11, 2001 attacks, international terrorist Osama bin Laden was hiding in Taliban Afghanistan. This was the reason for the US invasion of Afghanistan. During Operation Enduring Freedom, by the beginning of 2002, the Taliban regime had fallen. But the Taliban movement was not finally broken. The main forces went to the mountainous regions of Waziristan, others switched to guerrilla warfare in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Republic of Afghanistan
In December 2001, at the Bonn Conference of Afghan politicians Hamid Karzai was put in charge of the transitional administration of Afghanistan, and then elected interim president of the country. In 2004, a new constitution was adopted and the first presidential elections were held, which were won by Hamid Karzai.
But the civil war continues in the country, but with the participation of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan (ISAF).
AFGHANISTAN, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (Pashto: Da Afghanistan Islami Dawlat, Dari: Dowlat-e Eslвmi-ye Afghвnestвn), is a state in the southwestern part of Central Asia. The name "Afghanistan" appeared relatively recently. Before the beginning 19th century this country was known as Khorasan, which means "sunrise", "east", or "eastern land" in Middle Persian. The Persians, however, have long referred to the Pashtun tribes that inhabited the mountains of the Hindu Kush as Afghans. The British called the country "Afghanland" (since 1801), which was later translated into Persian as Afghanistan, i.e. "Country of the Afghans" To con. 19th century this name of the country was established as the official one. The capital is Kabul (3.04 million people - 2005, estimate). Territory - 647.5 thousand square meters. km. Population - 29.93 million people. (2005, estimate).
Geographic location and boundaries. An inland state (landlocked) located between 29°30" and 38°20"N. and 60°30" and 74°45" E. It borders with Pakistan in the south and east, with Iran in the west, with Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in the north, with China and India in the extreme northeast. The closest distance from its borders to the Indian Ocean is approx. 500 km. The length from north to south is 1015 km, from east to west - 1240 km. The borders of Afghanistan were finally determined after the Second World War.
Nature. Surface relief. Afghanistan occupies the northeastern part of the Iranian Plateau, which includes high ridges and intermountain valleys. The eastern regions of the country from the southwest to the northeast are crossed by the high massive ridges of the Hindu Kush with a height of more than 4000-5000 m, and within the Wakhan ridge - more than 6000 m. Here, on the border with Pakistan, is the highest point of the country, Mount Naushak (7485 m above sea level). .m.). In the upper tier of mountains, especially in the northeast, there is glaciation with various types of glaciers.
To the west of the Hindu Kush, there is a large, heavily dissected, hard-to-reach upland of Khazarajat with a height of more than 3000 m (some peaks reach 4000 m). In these mountains, physical weathering is actively taking place, as a result of which rocks are destroyed, and their fragments accumulate in the form of talus (hyraxes) along the slopes and at their foot. From Hazarajat to the west and southwest, systems of lower ranges fan out. The Paropamis Mountains, approx. 600 km and up to 250 km wide are located in the north-west of Afghanistan and consist of two main ranges - Safedkuh (in the north) and Siahkuh (in the south). The ridges are separated by the valley of the river Harirud. Safedkuh is approx. 350 km and reaches a height of 3642 m in the east and 1433 m in the west.
In the north of Afghanistan there is a vast Bactrian plain, which has a slope towards the valley of the Amu Darya river. The surface of the plain in the foothills of the Hindu Kush and Paropamis is composed of loess deposits and is dissected by numerous rivers. To the north it passes into the sandy desert. In the extreme northwest and along the border with Iran, the Herat-Farah plateau stretches from 600 to 800 m high. In the southwest of Afghanistan, there are drainless hilly plateaus from 500 to 1000 m high, dissected by the valley of the Helmand River. Vast areas are occupied by the sandy deserts of Registan, Garmsir and the clayey-rubbly desert of Dashti-Margo, closed in the extreme south by the Chagay mountains. In the south-east of the country, between the Hindu Kush and the spurs of the Suleiman Mountains, there is a slightly dissected Ghazni-Kandahar plateau less than 2000 m high, to which several oases are confined. The largest of them is located in the vicinity of the city of Kandahar.
Minerals. A lot of minerals are concentrated in the bowels of Afghanistan, but their development is limited due to the difficult mountainous terrain and the lack of developed infrastructure. There are reserves of oil (Sari-Pul), natural gas (Shibergan), coal (Karkar, Ishpushta, Darai-Suf, Karrokh). Salt-bearing structures are pronounced in the north of the country near the town of Talukan. Rock salt is mined in the Andkhoy region and elsewhere. There are industrial deposits of copper (south of Kabul and Kandahar), iron (Khajigek, north and west of Kabul), manganese (in the Kabul region), lead-zinc (Bibi-Gaukhar, Tulak, Farindzhal) and tin ores (Badakhshan). Chrome ores occur in the valley of the Logara River, and to the north of Jalalabad, in the province of Nangarhar, beryl ores are mined. For many centuries, Afghanistan has been famous for its deposits of high-quality lapis lazuli (in the north-east of the country in the Kokchi river basin), as well as other precious and semi-precious stones (ruby, aquamarine and emerald). Alluvial gold deposits have been discovered in Badakhshan and Ghazni. It is possible to extract high-quality marble, talc, granite, basalt, dolomite, gypsum, limestone, kaolin (clay), asbestos, mica, barite, sulfur, amethysts and jasper.
The climate of Afghanistan is continental (with significant temperature ranges), dry. Average temperatures (in Celsius) in January on the plains range from 0° to 8° С? (the absolute minimum is -25° С). The average July temperatures on the plains are 24-32°--С, and the recorded absolute maximum temperature is--+45°--С-- (in Girishka, Helmand prov.). In Kabul, the average temperature in July is + 25 ° - C, - in January - - - - - 3 ° C. During the day, the weather is usually clear, sunny, and cool or cold at night. The average annual rainfall is low: on the plains - approx. 200 mm, in the mountains - up to 800 mm. The rainy season in the plains of Afghanistan lasts from October to April. A specific moisture regime is manifested in the southeast of the country, where summer monsoons penetrate, bringing heavy rainfall in July-August. Thanks to the monsoons, the annual rainfall reaches 800 mm. In the southwest, in Sistan, in some places precipitation does not fall at all. In deserts and arid plains, dry westerly winds often bring sandstorms, while the difference in air temperatures in the lowlands and in the mountains, as well as their abrupt change, causes the formation of strong local winds.
Water resources. With the exception of the Kabul River, which flows into the Indus River and belongs to the Indian Ocean basin, and the left tributaries of the Pyanj (upper course of the Amu Darya River), the rivers of Afghanistan end in endorheic lakes or are lost in the sands. The main source of food for large rivers is the melt water of mountain snows and glaciers. The rivers of the southeastern slopes of the Hindu Kush (Kunar River) feed mainly on precipitation, as well as groundwater and rarely dry up. Floods occur in spring and summer. Due to large water withdrawals for irrigation and strong evaporation, even large rivers become shallow in the second half of summer and refill only in spring during the snowmelt in the mountains. Most of the rivers on the eastern slopes of the Hindu Kush and the Suleiman Mountains belong to the Indian Ocean basin and are fed by glaciers. The largest of them is the Kabul River (the basin area is 93 thousand sq. km, the length is 460 km) with numerous tributaries (the Logar, Pyanjshir, Kunar, Aliger, Alishen, Tagao and Surkhab rivers), the most fertile and densely populated region of Afghanistan. On the southern slopes of the Hindu Kush, in Kuhi-Baba, the Helmand River (1130 km) originates, which belongs to the internal drainless basin of Lake Hamun-i-Helmand. It crosses a significant part of the country in a southwestern direction, taking in the foothills the tributary Ergendab, which, in turn, is fed by the rivers Ergestan, Ternek, and others, and is lost within the desert clay plain of Sistan in Iran. The catchment area of the Helmand River is approx. 165 thousand sq. km. In its valley there are a number of oases, the inhabitants of which use the waters of the river for irrigation. From other rivers of the same basin, the Farahrud (560 km), Kharutrud and Rudihor rivers stand out. Their channels dry up most of the year.
The Harirud River (Tejen in the lower reaches on the territory of Turkmenistan, total length 1100 km, in Afghanistan - 600 km) originates in the Hindu Kush and flows to the west, and then turns sharply to the north. Its waters irrigate the fertile Herat oasis. One of the largest rivers is the Amu Darya (in the upper reaches of the Vakhandarya), which is formed from the confluence of the Pyanj (1125 km) and Vakhsh (524 km), which originate in the Pamirs. The rivers of the Bactrian Plain (Balkh, Khulm, etc.) in the north have an unstable flow and dry up greatly in summer. Many of them do not reach the Amu Darya and are lost in the sands, forming vast deltas. Mountain rivers have significant hydropower potential and, as a rule, are not navigable. The Kabul River is navigable for approx. 120 km. On some rivers, hydrotechnical dams form artificial reservoirs: Sarobi and Naglu on the Kabul River to the east of the capital, Kanjaki on the Helmand and Arghandab rivers near the city of Kandahar.
There are few lakes in Afghanistan. The largest and most picturesque lakes in the Hindu Kush mountains are Sarykul on the Wakhan Pass, Shiva in Gorno-Badakhshan and Bandi-Amir. To the south of Ghazni is the lake Istadeh-i-Mukur. In the west and south-west of the country there are salt lakes Sabari, Namaksar and Dagi-Tundi that dry up in summer. One of the largest is Lake Khamun-i-Helmand (107 sq. km), located on the border of Afghanistan and Iran, it includes the rivers of the southern slopes of the Hindu Kush.
Soils. The foothills and valleys are characterized by chestnut soils, burozems and gray soils, which form in the north on loess, and in the south - on clay-gravel deposits. Chernozem and mountain meadow soils are found on the most humid mountain slopes. The largest part of land suitable for arable land is concentrated in the northern regions and intermountain basins (on alluvial, more fertile soils). In the south and south-west of the country, gray desert soils and solonchaks are common. The fertile soils of the oases are largely the result of centuries of peasant labor.
Vegetation. Dry-steppe and desert landscapes predominate in Afghanistan; dry steppes are common on foothill plains and in intermountain basins. They are dominated by couch grass, fescue and other cereals. The lowest parts of the basins are occupied by takyrs and salt marshes, and in the south-west of the country - by sandy and rocky deserts with a predominance of wormwood, camel's thorn, tamarisk and saxaul. The lower slopes of the mountains are dominated by thorny semi-shrubs (astragalus, acantolimon) in combination with juniper sparse forests, groves of wild pistachio, wild almond and wild rose.
In the Indo-Himalayan region in the east and southeast of the country at altitudes from 750 to 1500 m above sea level. steppes alternate with woody massifs of Indian palm, acacia, figs, almonds. Above 1500 m there are deciduous forests of evergreen balut oak with an undergrowth of almond, bird cherry, jasmine, buckthorn, sophora, cotoneaster. Walnut forests grow in some places on the western slopes, pomegranate groves grow on the southern slopes, Gerard's pine grows at altitudes of 2200-2400 m, changing higher (up to 3500 m) to Himalayan pine with an admixture of Himalayan cedar and West Himalayan fir. In more humid areas, spruce-fir forests are common, in the lower tier of which ash grows, and in the undergrowth - birch, pine, honeysuckle, hawthorn and currant. Juniper forests grow on dry, well-warmed southern slopes. Above 3500 m, thickets of juniper dwarf and rhododendron are common, and above 4000 m - alpine and subalpine meadows. Tugai (floodplain) forests are widespread in the valley of the Amudarya River, in which poplar-turanga, jeddah, willow, comb, reeds predominate. Pamir, white and laurel poplar, sucker (essential oil plant), tamarisk, sea buckthorn, and oleander grow in the tugai of mountain rivers.
Animal world. Spotted hyenas, jackals, kulans (wild donkeys), gazelles and saiga antelopes live in open spaces of desert and steppe plains and plateaus, in the mountains - leopard irbis, mountain goats, argali mountain sheep (Pamir argali, argali) and bears. In the tugai thickets along the river valleys there are wild boar, reed cat, Turan tiger. The steppe fox, stone marten and wolves are widespread, causing considerable damage to flocks of sheep. There are many reptiles in deserts and dry steppes: monitor lizards, geckos, turtles, agamas (steppe pythons), snakes, poisonous snakes (gyurza, cobra, efa, muzzle). Deserts and steppes abound with rodents (marmots, ground squirrels, voles, gerbils, hares, shrews). There are many poisonous and harmful insects: scorpions, karakurts (Central Asian poisonous spider), phalanxes, locusts, etc. The avifauna is rich (there are about 380 species). Of the birds of prey, the kite, vulture hawk, kestrel, golden eagle, Himalayan vulture, Indian Laggar falcon are common. In the deserts, wheatears, larks, and desert chickens are widespread. The southeastern regions are inhabited by the Bengal roller, snipe, southern turtledove, Himalayan jay, pika, Indian starling-myna. Flamingos nest in lakes south and east of Ghazni. Some species of mammals are under the threat of extinction, incl. leopard, snow leopard, urial mountain sheep and Bactrian deer. For their protection in the beginning. In the 1990s, two wildlife sanctuaries and a national park were created. The rivers abound with commercial fish (asp, marinka, carp, catfish, barbel, trout).
Population. According to the first general census in 1979, the population of Afghanistan was 15.54 million people. (including 2.5 million nomads). According to an estimate for 2005, 29.93 million people lived in the country.
Population density - 43 people. per 1 sq. km, but its distribution is very uneven. Most of the population is concentrated in the valleys of large rivers, where agriculture is carried out and the main cities are located. The most populated are the oases of Kandahar and Kabul (489 people per 1 sq. km - 2003), as well as the regions of Herat, Mazar-i-Sharif, Kunduz, Baghlan and Jalalabad, where the population density exceeds 100 people. per 1 sq. km. The least inhabited are the highland regions of the Hindu Kush system, as well as the southern and southwestern parts of the country, occupied by the Dashti-Margo and Registan deserts. Here, the population density averages 0.7-10 people. per 1 sq. km.
Natural population growth is traditionally characterized by high birth and death rates. Until mid. In the 1970s, the population growth rate was estimated at 3.5% per year, in 1979 - at 2.6%, in the 1980s - at 2.2% (with a birth rate of 4.9% and a death rate of 2.7%), and in 2000 - at 3.54% (with a birth rate of 4.2% and a death rate of 1.8%). The growth rate in 2001 decreased to 3.48% (taking into account the return of refugees from Iran), but in 2005 it rose again to 4.77%. Birth rate per 1000 people. in 2005 it was 47.02. The mortality rate is 20.75 per 1000 people, while the child mortality rate is one of the highest in the world (163.1 per 1000 births). The average life expectancy is 42.9 years. If current trends in demographic development continue, the expected population in 2025 should reach 48 million people.
There are slightly more males than females in Afghanistan, with the preponderance of the male population over the female population being most noticeable in the 15 to 64 age group. The average age of Afghans is 17.56 years. In the age structure of the population, the proportion of people under the age of 15 is 44.7% of the population, from 15 to 64 years old - 52.9% and over 65 years old - 2.4%.
Ethnic composition. Afghanistan is a multi-ethnic state, which is inhabited by more than 20 nationalities. The largest of them are Pashtuns (42%), Tajiks (28%), Hazaras (10%), Uzbeks (8%), Charaymaks (2.6%), Turkmens (2%), Balochs (0.5%), Nuristanis (0.4%) and Pashays (0.2%). There are also Arabs, Kurds, Kyzylbash, Afshars, Kazakhs, Kirghiz, Mongols, Nuristanis, etc. (2005).
Representatives of the Pashtun tribes (Pashtans, Pashtuns, Pakhtans), professing orthodox Sunni Islam, number approx. 13 million people They are settled mainly south of the Hindu Kush, in the southeastern and southern border regions with Pakistan, although they also live in the north. All Pashtuns speak the Pashto language, which consists of several dialects and is close to the Persian language (Farsi). Among the Pashtuns there are sedentary and nomadic tribes. Both are distinguished by militancy, many of their disputes are still resolved on the basis of the traditional code of honor - "pashtunwali", which is based on hospitality, protection of personal dignity and blood feud. According to this code, the Pashtuns are subordinate to the tribal leaders (khans) and the elders of clans and clans (maliks), who form a jirga - a council of tribal or tribal elders. Tribes are divided into branches, which are subdivided into clans (heli), and clans into clans, relations between which are often in the nature of alienation or even hostility. The main Pashtun tribal associations are Sarbani (Durrani, Yusufzai, etc.), Batani (Ghilzai, Hattaki, etc.), Gurgushti (Safi, Kakar, etc.) and Karrani (Waziri, Ahmadzai, Orakzai, etc.). Total number tribes, according to various sources, reaches 400.
Among the largest tribal groups inhabiting Afghanistan are Durrani (about 7 million people, 2005) and Ghilzai (about 5 million people, 2005), which until the beginning. 20th century viewed as two distinct ethnic groups. The Durrani inhabit mainly the southwest of Afghanistan, the regions of Kandahar, Farah and Herat, as well as most of the cities of the country, and include branches of the zirak (Barakzai, populzai or Karzai, Sadozai, Alkozai, etc.) and Panjpay (Nurzai, Alizai, Adozai, Khugiani , iskhakzai, etc.). Unlike most Pashtuns, Durranis are more educated and urbanized, often bilingual, but prefer to speak Dari. The saddozai (populzai clan) and mohammadzai (barakzai clan) clans have long enjoyed the greatest influence in the country. In the creation of Afghanistan as an independent state (the Durranian state) in 1747, Ahmad Shah Durrani, who came from the populzai clan of the Abdali (or Durrani) tribe, played an important role, pushing the Ghilzais out of government. In this regard, the capture of the city of Kabul by the Taliban and their short stay in power is regarded as a historical revenge, since the Ghilzais prevail among the Taliban. President Najibullah, who was executed by the Taliban, belonged to another Pashtun tribe, the Ahmadzais. The current president of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, also belongs to the Durrani, a populzai clan.
The Ghilzai live in the southeast of Afghanistan and in western Pakistan, in the regions of Kalat-i-Ghilzai and Ghazni, but they retain a nomadic lifestyle and include branches of the Turan (Tokhi, Khattak, Kharoti, etc.) and Burkhan (Suleimankhel, Alikhel, tarakhel, ismailzai, ahmadzai, etc.). The Ghilzais speak the Ghilzai dialect of Eastern Pashto. The Ghilzai tribes have played a prominent role in the life of Central Asia since the 11th century. They were the rulers of the Delhi Sultanate (1450-1526), and in 1709-1738 they founded the Hotaki dynasty and led a rebellion against Persian rule, which ultimately led to the short-lived dominance of the Afghans in Persia (from 1722 to 1734). The leaders of the "People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan" (PDPA), Taraki and Amin, who came to power in the 1970s, were Gilzais. Many Mujahideen also came out of the Ghilzais, including Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, as well as the Taliban.
The Karrani tribal association (about 1.5 million people) includes the tribes of Afridia, Momandi, Shinvari, Orakzai, Jadzhi, or Zadzi, Chakmani, Jadran, etc. They mainly inhabit the territory in the southeast of the country, in the Jalalabad region, Khyber Pass and on both sides of the border with Pakistan. Other large tribes: Mangals, Tani, Turi, etc.
The nomads of Afghanistan - Kuchi (or Kuchai), who are usually referred to as Pashtuns, form an independent ethnic group and, according to the current Afghan constitution, enjoy a special position in the state. According to various estimates, from 2.5 to 6 million Kuchis live in Afghanistan, but we are talking not only about the nomadic Pashtun tribes, like the Ahmadzai, but also about the numerous nomadic peoples of the region (Aimaks, Balochs, Arabs, etc.). Largely because of the wars, the Kuchi are forced to abandon their centuries-old nomadic lifestyle and move to settled life.
In second place in terms of numbers (more than 7 million, 2005) are Tajiks, who are among the indigenous inhabitants of this region. To the beginning 13th c. they inhabited all the large oases north and south of the Hindu Kush, now they inhabit mainly the northern and northeastern regions (primarily Herat and Badakhshan), the valleys of the Panjshir and Gorbend rivers, as well as the city of Kabul. As a people of Iranian origin, they use the Dari (or Farsi-Kabuli) language, which is similar to Persian. Sunni Muslims predominate among Tajiks, but there are also many Ismaili Shiites. The main occupations of the Tajiks are agriculture, handicrafts and trade. Many of them, having received education, became officials and statesmen. The President of Afghanistan in 1992-1996, Burhanuddin Rabbani, and the commander of government troops, Ahmad Shah Masood (who was nicknamed the "Panjshir lion") are Tajiks. Tajiks are sometimes referred to as Afshars (about 5 thousand people) and Kyzylbash (10 thousand people), descendants of Persian soldiers who were resettled in Afghanistan in the 18th century. Nadir Shah Afshar. They are settled in Kabul and Kandahar, as well as in Herat, the Qizilbash speak only Dari, and the Afshars speak one of the dialects of the Azerbaijani language (Azeri).
In the steppes in the basin of the Amu Darya River (north-west of Afghanistan) live several groups speaking Turkic languages - Turkmens, Uzbeks, etc. The former inhabit the northern regions of Afghanistan, primarily Faryab and Badghis, the latter live rather compactly in the northern foothills of the Hindu Kush territories of Char Vilayet (four regions), where, before their conquest by the Afghans in the middle. 19th century There were Uzbek khanates Meimane, Akhcha, Balkh and Kunduz. Today these are the districts of Herat, Faryab, Jowzjan, Balkh, Tokhar, Kunduz, Baghlan and Badakhshan. Both those and others also belong to Sunni Muslims, retain a strictly patriarchal social structure. Their main occupations are agriculture and cattle breeding, and the Turkmens are also known as skilled carpet weavers. Often Uzbeks and Turkmens live in the same villages with Tajiks and Afghans without mixing. Small groups among the Uzbek population are settled by Kazakhs (about 2 thousand people, 2003, Kunduz and Khanabad region) and Karakalpaks (about 2 thousand people, 2003, Jalalabad and Mazar-i-Sharif region). The leader of the Afghan Uzbeks, Rashid Dostum, until 2005 headed the National Islamic Movement of Afghanistan, which opposed the Taliban.
The Hazaras are a people of Mongolian origin who profess Shia Islam, although there are groups of Sunni and Ismaili Hazaras in the north and northeast of the country. Presumably, the ancestors of the Hazaras came to Afghanistan in the 13th-14th centuries. from China or Mongolia. Today, approx. 5 million Hazaras, not counting refugees in Iran (about 200 thousand people). They are concentrated in the central part of Afghanistan, primarily in Hazarajat (the area between Kabul and Herat), but there are settlements of the Hazaras in other parts of the country (Kabul, Badakhshan, Nangarhar, Kunduz and Kandahar). The Hazaras speak an archaic dialect of Persian. Among them, farmers and sheep breeders predominate; in the cities they form a large stratum of hired workers. The main tribes are Besud, Jaguri, Daizangi, Daikunti, Uruzgani, Sheikhali, Fuladi and Yakaulang. As a religious minority, the Hazaras have always been discriminated against and oppressed by the Pashtuns and Tajiks, but the Taliban have been particularly vicious in their persecution, forcing many Hazaras to flee to Iran (it has long provided political and military support to Shiite groups in Afghanistan). Basic political organization Hazara is PIEA - "Party of Islamic Unity of Afghanistan" ("Hezbe Wahdat").
In the mountains in the northwest and north of Afghanistan, along the Afghan-Iranian border, live the Charaymaks (or Aimaks) - semi-nomadic peoples of mixed ethnic origin, formed several centuries ago as a result of the merger of the local Tajik population with the Turkic-Mongolian tribes. According to estimates, their number in Afghanistan ranges from 600 thousand to 1.2 million people. Usually, aimaks include Jamshids (92 thousand people), Khazarai-Kalayinau (Aimaks-Kalayinau, 162 thousand people), Firuzkuhs (125 thousand people), Taimani (416 thousand people), and also Teimurs (104 thousand people), which, however, some researchers attribute to Tajiks (data for 2003). In their origin, the Charaimaks are close to the Khazars, they have the same names of tribal associations, but they profess Sunni Islam and speak dialects close to the Dari language.
Baloch (290 thousand people, 2003) and Bragui (about 250 thousand people, 2003) inhabit some areas in the south-west of the country, south of the Helmand River, although individual groups Beluchis also live to the north. Both peoples have much in common: for the most part, they switched to a settled way of life a long time ago, they are engaged in agriculture, cattle breeding and carpet weaving. But the Balochi belong to the Indo-Iranian group, and the Brahui, according to some signs, belong to the Dravidian peoples. The main tribal groups of the Bragui are Zahri-Mengal, Raisani and Sarpara. Tribes are divided into clans (takkars), and clans are divided into clans (falli). Living in close proximity to the Balochs, the Brahui adopted many of their customs and linguistic features so much that they often call themselves Balochs, considering themselves to be their special branch.
In addition to the main ethnic groups, throughout Afghanistan, especially north of the Hindu Kush, there are many small ethnic groups that number from several thousand to several hundred people. In the western regions of the country, in Juvain and the Khashrud valley, there are Persian peoples (about 25 thousand people, 2003), who profess Shiite Islam. On the border with Iran, in the southwest of the country, small communities of Kurds are settled. To the north-east of Charikar and to the north of the city of Kabul live Parachi (5-6 thousand people), and to the south and east of it - Ormuri (2-5 thousand people), also belonging to the Iranian group. Researchers consider them descendants ancient population Afghanistan, who lived here before the advent of the Pashtuns. Other nationalities (Nuristanis, Kirghiz, Kazakhs, Pashai, etc.) are not numerous. Nuristanis, including the tribes of Kati (over 15 thousand people, 1994), Paruni (about 1 thousand people, 2000), Vaigali (1.5 thousand people, 2000) and Ashkuni (about 1.2 thousand people, 2000), as well as tregs (about 1 thousand people, 1994), before the forced conversion to Islam by the Afghan emir in 1895-1896, they were called kafirs ("infidels"). They live quite closed in high mountains northeast of the Kabul river valley, they speak many dialects, their culture has much in common with the culture of the Pamir Tajiks. In the southeast of Afghanistan, in the mountain valleys of the tributaries of the Kabul and Kunar rivers (next to the Nuristanis), groups of small peoples (Tirahs, Jatis, Kokhistanis, Gujars) live, speaking dialects that stand out as a special Dardic subgroup of Indo-Aryan languages. The largest among them are the Pashays or Lagmans (about 124.2 thousand people, 2003), who are close to the Afghans in their way of life and customs. Pamir peoples in Afghanistan number approx. 100 thousand people and are represented by Darvazi (about 10 thousand people, 2003), Shugnans (about 20 thousand people, 1994), Mundans (3.7 thousand people, 2000) and Ishkashim people (about 1 thousand people). , 1990), as well as the Zebak and Sanglich people close to them. Several thousand Wakhans (about 18 thousand people, 1990), who also belong to the Pamir peoples, are concentrated within the narrow Wakhan corridor. In the extreme north-east of the country, in the Pamir Highlands and in Badakhshan, the Kirghiz continue to live (about 0.7 thousand people, 2000). In 1978, most of them migrated to Gilgit and Hunza (Pakistan), and then moved to Turkey (near Lake Van). Uighurs live in several villages in Badakhshan and Abi Barik. Arabs (according to various estimates, from 10 to 35 thousand people) live in several villages in the north of the country: near Dauletabad, Balkh, Shibirgan and south of Talukan. Several thousand Mongols live near Herat.
With everything national diversity The population of Afghanistan can be combined into four ethno-linguistic groups - Iranian, Turkic, Nuristani and Indo-Aryan. In the south, in the center of the country and in the northeast, Iranian-speaking peoples (Pashtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras, Aimaks, etc.) predominate, while in the northwest, on the vast Bactrian plain, Turkic peoples (Uzbeks, Turkmens, Kirghiz) have long lived. In the east of the country, in difficult mountainous areas, the peoples of the Indo-Aryan (Pashais, Punjabis) and Nuristani groups are settled.
Languages. It is estimated that there are more than 20 languages and 200 different dialects in Afghanistan. According to the current constitution, Pashto (Afghan) and Dari (Farsi-Kabuli, an Afghan dialect of Persian) are recognized as official languages in Afghanistan. Along with this, five more languages \u200b\u200b(Uzbek, Tajik, Baluchi, Nuristani and Pashai) have official status, but only in those areas where they are used by the majority of the population
From the founding of Afghanistan until 1936, the only official language was Dari, which has a long literary tradition dating back to the Middle Ages. By 1964, all official office work was translated into Pashto (Pashto), the language of the Pashtuns. It belongs to the Indo-European family of languages and has approx. 20 tribal dialects, combined into two main branches: eastern, or pakhto (with Ghilzai, Peshevar-Mohman and Afridian dialects) and western, or Pashto (with Kandahar (or Durrani), Wazir, Khattak and other dialects). Pashto is most widespread in the Pashtun regions, where it is spoken by approx. 13 million, and government attempts to upgrade its status have so far failed.
Dari (Eastern Farsi), belonging to the Western Iranian group of languages, acts not only as a language government controlled and economy, but almost everywhere (except for the province of Kandahar and the eastern regions of the province of Ghazni, where Pashto dominates) serves as the language of interethnic communication. It is believed that more than half of the population of Afghanistan prefer to speak Dari. Along with the literary form of Dari, its local dialects and subdialects (Kabul, Herat, etc.) are widespread in Afghanistan. The Dari dialects of Badakhshan, Panjshir, Kohistan and the Kabul region are similar to the dialects of the Tajik language in Central Asia. Both languages have a script created on the basis of Arabic script.
One of the dialects of the Kurdish language is spoken on the border with Iran in the Herat region. The Khazarians use one of the archaic dialects (Khazaraji) of the Persian language, with which the Balochi (Baluchi) and Tajik languages are also associated. One of the dialects of Dari is sometimes referred to as the language of the Charaymaks (Aimak), which has many borrowings from the Turkic languages. Uzbeks, Turkmens and Kirghiz belong to the Turkic-speaking peoples. The Nuristanis speak the languages of Kati, Vaygali, Ashkun, Prasun, Vamayi, Paruni, etc., representing a separate ancient branch (Dardic languages), which emerged from Iranian and Indian languages. language groups. The Brahui speak a language belonging to the Dravidian family, which is similar to the languages of the peoples of South India. Of the Semitic languages, the Tajik dialect of Arabic is known. In the southern regions of Afghanistan, you can hear Urdu, and in some cities - Western Punjabi and Sindhi, which belong to the Indian group of languages.
Rural and urban population. The population of Afghanistan is predominantly rural. Prior to the outbreak of hostilities in the 1980s, ca. 76% of the country's population was mainly engaged in settled agriculture, 9% were pastoralists and led a nomadic or semi-nomadic lifestyle. By 2003, approx. 77% of the population. There are more than 22 thousand rural settlements ("karya") in the country. According to various estimates, from 2.6 million to 5 million Afghans lead a nomadic and semi-nomadic lifestyle.
In the middle 1980s, approx. 20% of the country's population. Refugees from the villages replenished the population of a number of large cities, primarily Kabul (about 2 million people, 1989) and Jalalabad. However, due to the hostilities of the 1990s, which broke out in the immediate vicinity of some large cities, there was an outflow of the population, primarily from Kabul and Mazar-i-Sharif. Only on the streets of Kabul in 1992-1996 more than 50 thousand inhabitants were killed. As a result of heavy fighting in 1992-1994, the population of the capital and its environs decreased and, according to an estimate in 1996, amounted to only 647.5 thousand people. (in the early 1990s - 2 million people). Most other cities, including Herat and Kandahar, were also heavily affected by the fighting.
By 2003, the proportion of the urban population had risen to 23%, with approximately half of all city dwellers living in Kabul, the country's capital and largest city. In 2005, the number of its inhabitants was 3.04 million people, and in the urban agglomeration - 4.9 million people. In Kabul, you can meet representatives of various ethnic groups inhabiting Afghanistan, but the majority of the inhabitants are Tajiks, Hazaras (about 25%) and Pashtuns (about 20%). Kabul is also inhabited by small communities of Sikhs, Hindus and Uzbeks.
In the south of Afghanistan, at the foot of the spurs of the Western Hindu Kush, the city of Kandahar is located - the second largest city in the country (359.7 thousand inhabitants, 2004) and the most important center of trade connected by a transport network with Pakistan. Kandahar has long been considered the center of Pashtun Afghanistan. Under Ahmad Shah Durrani (1748-1774), the city was the first capital of Afghanistan, in 1818-1855 - the center of the Kandahar principality, and in 1994-2001 - the center of the Taliban movement.
In the west of Afghanistan, in a large oasis on the river Harirud and the intersection of trade routes between Iran, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan, the city of Herat is located (254.8 thousand people, 2003). The city was the capital of Afghanistan in 1797, 1818, and then became the center of the Principality of Herat, which was fought over by Afghanistan and Iran. In 1990, Herat became the fiefdom of Ismail Khan (one of the field commanders of the Mujahideen). In 1995, the city was captured by the Taliban, and in November 2001 came under the control of the Northern Alliance.
The most significant cities also include Jalalabad (192 thousand inhabitants) and Ghazni (136.3 thousand people), which are located to the east and south of Kabul, as well as cities in the north of the country: Mazar-i-Sharif (291.9 thousand . people), Kunduz (161.9 thousand people), Bamiyan (119.5 thousand people), Baghlan (105.1 thousand people), Balkh (104.3 thousand people, all data for 2005), Charikar (33.9 thousand people) and Faizabad (14.1 thousand people, data for 2003). Despite population growth, urban recovery is slow and investment in infrastructure is minimal. Most cities are in need of a system of sewage treatment plants, water pumping stations and public transport.
Migrations. Internal migrations have traditionally been small and associated with the movement of nomadic tribes or resettlement from the countryside to cities and oases. From con. In the 1970s, external migration increased sharply. According to estimates, to the beginning. In the 1980s, up to 4.5 million Afghan refugees turned out to be in the border areas of Pakistan and Iran, incl. OK. 3 million in Pakistan and 1.5 million in Iran. In addition, at least 150 thousand refugees from Afghanistan were accepted by other countries, incl. Australia, USA and Canada, countries Western Europe and the Middle East. By 1987, there were 5.5-7 million refugees in Pakistan and Iran. Their number was somewhat reduced to the end. 1992, when approx. 1.5 million people New streams of refugees poured into neighboring countries in 1995-1998 and 2001-2002. According to UN estimates, by mid. In the 1990s, the number of refugees from Afghanistan increased to 6.5 million, of which approx. 2.9 million people were in Iran. On the territory of Russia to the end. In the 1990s, at least 100,000 Afghans lived. In con. 2001 after the fall of the Taliban, many of them began to return to Afghanistan. To con. In 2004, more than 1.5 million refugees from Pakistan and over 1.46 million from Iran returned to the country. According to preliminary estimates, between 2 and 4 million Afghan refugees remained in Pakistan in 2005.
Religion. The state religion of Afghanistan is Islam. According to the constitution, adherents of other faiths (Sikhs and Hindus) have equal rights with Muslims.
The vast majority of the population of Afghanistan (80%) is Muslim. The most common Sunnism of the Hanafi persuasion, which is followed by approx. 80% of all Afghans. Sunnis are Pashtuns and Uzbeks, Turkmens, Balochs, as well as part of the Charaimaks and Tajiks. One of the last to accept Islam was the Nuristani, who are still in the con. 19th century adhered to local beliefs. A number of large Sufi orders still operate on the territory of the country - Chishtiyya, Naqshbandiyya and Kadiriyya (See SUFISM). A small group of the population belongs to the Ahmadiyya sect. Shiism is practiced ca. 19% of the country's inhabitants, among them the Hazaras, Qizilbash and Persians, as well as some mountain Pashtun tribes (Afghans-Dzadzi) and part of the Teimurs. There are Shiite communities in the region of Kabul, Herat, Ghazni and Hazarajat. The peoples of Badakhshan and part of the Tajiks mostly belong to the Ismailis (about 2% of the Muslims of Afghanistan), whose main center is the city of Puli-Khumri (Baghlan province). Of the religious minorities, the most numerous are the communities of Sikhs and Hindus (about 3.7 thousand people, 2005), who live mainly in large cities. Parsis (Zoroastrians) also remain in Afghanistan, and a Catholic mission operates. In 1948 in Afghanistan (mainly in Herat, Kabul and Balkh) lived approx. 5 thousand Jews, by 1973 there were only approx. 200 people Most of the Jewish families left the country, moving to Israel.
