Kabul
city is capital of Afghanistan and its largest city and economic and cultural
center, lying in eastern Afghanistan, on the Kabul River. It is strategically
located in a high narrow valley, wedged between mountain ranges that command the
main approaches to the Kyber Pass .
A tunnel under the Hindu Kush mountains links Kabul with the Tajikistan border.
The city's chief products are woolen and cotton cloth, beet sugar, ordnance, and
furniture, but a continuing state of war between 1979 and 1996 limited
production, and the city's industry, infrastructure, and economy have not yet
recovered. Kabul's old section, with its narrow, crooked streets, contains
extensive bazaars; the modern section has administrative and commercial
buildings. An educational center, Kabul has a university (est. 1931), numerous
colleges, and a fine museum. Also in the city are Babur's tomb and gardens; the
mausoleum of Nadir Shah; the Minar-i-Istiklal (column of independence), built in
1919 after the Third Afghan War; the tomb of Timur Shah (reigned 1773-93); and
several important mosques. The fort of Bala Hissar, destroyed by the British in
1879 to avenge the death of their envoy in Kabul, is now a military college. The
royal palace and an ancient citadel stand outside the present city.Kabul's
history dates back more than 3,000 years, although the city has been destroyed
and rebuilt on several different sites. Conquered by Arabs in the 7th cent., it
was overshadowed by Ghazni and Herat until Babur made it his capital (1504-26).
It remained under Mughal rule until its capture (1738) by Nadir Shah of Persia.
It succeeded Kandahar
as Afghanistan's capital in 1773. During the Afghan Wars a British army took
(1839) Kabul. In 1842 the withdrawing British troops were ambushed and almost
annihilated after the Afghans had promised them safe conduct; in retaliation
another British force partly burned Kabul. The British again occupied the city
in 1879, after their resident and his staff were massacred there.On Dec. 23,
1979, Soviet armed forces landed at Kabul airport to help bolster a Communist
government. Kabul became the Soviet command center, but was little damaged by
the ten-year conflict. In Feb., 1989, Soviet forces withdrew from the city. In
spring of 1992 the government of Mohammad Najibullah collapsed, and Kabul fell
to guerrilla armies. Destruction of the city increased as the coalition of
guerrilla forces broke into rival warring factions, and much of Kabul has been
damaged by fighting.Kabul's old section, with its narrow, crooked streets,
contains extensive bazaars; the modern section has administrative and commercial
buildings. An educational center, Kabul has a university (est. 1931), numerous
colleges, and a fine museum. Also in the city are Babur's tomb and gardens; the
mausoleum of Nadir Shah; the Minar-i-Istiklal (column of independence), built in
1919 after the Third Afghan War; the tomb of Timur Shah (reigned 1773-93); and
several important mosques. The fort of Bala Hissar, destroyed by the British in
1879 to avenge the death of their envoy in Kabul, is now a military college. The
royal palace and an ancient citadel stand outside the present city.
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