{{Infobox settlement |name =Kandahar |native_name = کندهار |settlement_type =City |image = From 1996 to 2001, it served as the capital of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Since 2002, the city is slowly being rebuilt while dealing with Taliban insurgency.

Name

It is believed that ''Kandahar'' may have derived from Alexandria (''Iskandriya'' in various local languages) or Alexandropolis, one of the many cities renamed by Alexander the Great after himself.

A temple to the deified Alexander as well as an inscription in Greek and Aramaic by the Indian Emperor Ashoka, who lived a few decades later, have been discovered in Kandahar.

An alternative etymology derives the name of the city from Gandhara, the name of an ancient Hindu kingdom from the Vedic period and its capital city located between the Hindu Kush and Sulaiman Mountains (basically identical to the modern extent of the Pashtun-inhabited territories in Pakistan and Afghanistan), although Kandahar in modern times and the ancient Gandhara are not geographically identical.

Another compelling etymology offered is that the word "kand" or "qand" in Persian and Pashto (the local languages) means "sugarcandy" and "har" means necklace. The name of the city (قند هار/Qandahar) means "sugar-necklace". ((The ق is not an actual alphabet of persion, in the Turkish Languages spacially in Uzbeki the <> mean is sugarkandy and <> mean is river, and < is extraction of <>. and the qandahar mean is river of sugarkandy)). And the ancient word- Gandh derived from Gandhar also means a sweet nice smell. This probably has to do with the city being known for producing fine grapes, pomegranates, apricots, melons and other sweet fruits.

Another etymology derives the name of the city as combination of two PIE words, even used in Indo-Pakistan now by nomadic Bagga and Sansi tribes, ''kand = wall'' and ''har = mountain or stone'' leading to understand a city made of stones or fortress with stone wall.

Yet another etymology derives the name of the city from the name of the Indo-Parthian King Gondophares: he founded it under the name Gundopharron.

History

Prehistory

Excavations of prehistoric sites by archealogists such as Louis Dupree and others suggest that the region around Kandahar is one of the oldest human settlements known so far.

Hellenistic era

Kandahar was founded in 330 BC by Alexander the Great, near the site of the ancient city of Mundigak (established around 3000 BC). Previously, the city was the provincial capital of Arachosia and was ruled by the Achaemenid Empire. The main inhabitants of Arachosia were the ''Pactyans'', an ancient Iranian tribe, who may be among the ancestors of today's Pashtuns. Kandahar was named ''Alexandria'', a popular name given to many cities that Alexander found during his conquests.

The city has been a frequent target for conquest because of its strategic location in Southern Asia, controlling the main trade route linking the Indian subcontinent with the Middle East, Central Asia and the Persian Gulf. It later became part of the Indian Mauryan Empire under Chandragupta Maurya, after the departure of Alexander. The Mauryan emperor Ashoka erected a pillar there with a bilingual inscription in Greek and Aramaic. The Greco-Bactrian Kingdom occupied Kandahar after the Mauryans, but then lost the city to the Indo-Scythians.

Islamic conquest

In the 7th century AD, Arab armies conquered the region with the new religion of Islam but were unable to succeed in fully converting the population. In 870 AD, Yaqub ibn Layth Saffari, a local ruler of the Saffarid dynasty conquered Kandahar and the rest of the nearby regions in the name of Islam.

It is believed that the Zunbil dynasty, who were related to the Shahi dynasty of Kabul, were probably the rulers of the Kandahar region from the 7th century until the late 9th century AD.

Kandahar was taken by Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni in the 11th century followed by the Ghurids of Ghor, and in the 13th century it was invaded by Genghis Khan and his Mongol armies. It became part of the Timurid Empire from the 14th century to the 15th century, which was founded by Timur (Tamerlane). Pir Muhammad, a grandson of Tamerlane, held the seat of government in Kandahar from about 1383 until his death in 1407. Following his death, the city was ruled by other Timurids. In the late 15th century Kandahar was entrusted to the Arghuns, who eventually achieved independence from the Timurids.

Tamerlane's descendant, Babur, the founder of the Mughal Empire, annexed Kandahar in the 16th century. Babur's son, Humayun, lost it to the Shah of Persia. Humayun's son, Akbar, regained control of Kandahar but by the early 18th century subsequent Mughal emperors lost the territory once again to the Shi'a Safavid Persians.

Modern history

Mirwais Hotak, an Afghan leader from the Ghilzai tribe, revolted in 1709 by killing Gurgin Khan, the Georgian governor and representative of the Shia Safavid Persians. After establishing the Hotaki dynasty in Kandahar, Mirwais and his army successfully defeated subsequent expeditions by Kay Khusraw and Rustam Khán. Mirwais has resisted attempts by the Persian government who were seeking to convert the Afghans 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 Hotaki.

In 1722, Mahmud led an army of Afghans to Isfahan, the capital of the Safavids and proclaimed himself King of Persia. The Hotaki dynasty was eventually removed from power by a new ruler, Nader Shah Afshar of Mashad in Khorasan, who invaded Kandahar in 1738 and destroyed their last stronghold which was held by Hussain Hotaki. Expelling the surviving inhabitant, Nader Shah built a new town west of the ancient city, naming it after himself, "Naderabad". In the meantime, he freed Ahmad Khan (later Ahmad Shah Durrani) and his brother Zulfikar who were held prisoners by the Ghilzai Hotaks. Nader Shah's rule ended in June 1747, after being murdered by his Persian guards.

Ahmad Shah Durrani, chief of the Abdali Pashtun tribe, gained control of Kandahar and made it the capital of his new Afghan Empire in October 1747. Previously, Ahmad Shah served as a military commander of Nader Shah Afshar. His empire included present-day Afghanistan, Pakistan, northeastern Iran, and the Punjab region of India. In October 1772, Ahmad Shah retired in Kandahar and died from a natural cause. The now "Old City" was laid out by Ahmad Shah and is dominated by his mausoleum, which is adjacent to the Friday Mosque in the center of the city. Between 1773–76, his eldest son Timur Shah transferred the capital of Afghanistan from Kandahar to Kabul, where the Durrani legacy continued.

On 28th Muharram 1242 Hijri (2 September 1826) Syed Ahmad Shaheed's forces reached Kandahar en route to Peshawar. Their purpose was to wage jihad against the Sikh kingdom of Ranjit Singh and aid their fellow Pashtuns and coreligionist in Pakistan. Within a few days more than 400 Kandharians presented themselves for the jihad, out of whom 270 were selected. Sayed Deen Muhammad Kandharai was appointed their leader.

British and Indian forces from British India occupied the city in 1839, during the first Anglo-Afghan war. They were forced to withdraw approximately three years later, in 1842. The British and Indian forces returned in 1878 during the second Anglo-Afghan war. They emerged from the city in July 1880 to confront Ayub Khan, but were defeated at the Battle of Maiwand. They were again forced to withdraw a few years later, despite winning a battle near the city (see Battle of Kandahar). Kandahar remained peaceful for the next 100 years, except during 1929 when forces loyal to Habibullah Kalakani (Bache Saqqaw) locked down the city. 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 period lasted for nine months, until October 1929 when Nadir Khan and his army came to eliminate Habibullah Kalakani.

In the 1960s, during the competition between the United States and the Soviet Union, Kandahar International Airport was built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers next to the city. 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 the north of the country, such as Bagram Airfield and Kabul International Airport.

During the Soviet war in Afghanistan (1979–1989), Kandahar was under Soviet command and witnessed heavy fighting. Soviet troops surrounded the city and subjected it to heavy bombardment in which many civilians lost lives. Kandahar Airport was used by the Soviet Army during their ten-year occupation of the country. After the Soviet withdrawal and the collapse of Najibullah's government in 1992, Kandahar fell into the hands of a local mujahideen commander, Gul Agha Sherzai.

In August 1994 the Taliban captured Kandahar and soon after the city was turned into their capital. The Taliban began cleaning the city from warlords and criminals who were sometimes involved in bacha bazi. In December 1999, a hijacked Indian Airlines Flight 814 plane by Pakistani militants loyal to Harkat-ul-Mujahideen landed at Kandahar Airport and kept the passengers hostage as part of a demand to release 3 Pakistani militants held in Indian custody.

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 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 in 2003 and replaced by Yousef Pashtun until Asadullah Khalid took the post in 2005. The current Governor of the province is Toryalai Wesa. He was appointed by President Hamid Karzai in December 2008 after Rahmatullah Raufi's four month rule. As of 2001, Kandahar Airport is used by U.S. and NATO forces as one of their major military bases.

The Afghan National Police are in control of the basic law and order situation in the city. The military of Afghanistan, supported by US-NATO forces, has gradually expanded its authority and presence throughout most of the country. The 205th Corps of the Afghan National Army has a base at Kandahar and provides military assistance to the south of the country. The Canadian Forces maintain their military command headquarters at Kandahar, heading the Regional Command South of the NATO led International Security Assistance Force in Kandahar Province. The Taliban also have spies inside the city reporting on events.

In recent years the Canadian and U.S. forces are rushing to quickly expand the Afghan police force for the prevention of a Taliban comeback in Kandahar, the militants' ''"spiritual birthplace"'' and a strategic key to ward off the Taliban insurgency, as a part of a larger effort that also aimed to deliver services such as electricity and clean drinking water that the Taliban could not provide – encouraging support for the government in a city that was once the Taliban's headquarters. The most significant battle between NATO troops 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 Kandahar detention facility (Sarposa Prison) after a Taliban attack. In Spring 2010, the province and the city of Kandahar became a target of American operations following ''Operation Moshtarak'' in the neighboring 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.

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 NATO forces, it did show that the militants are still capable of launching multiple, coordinated operations in Afghanistan. In June 2010, a shura was held by 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.

By 2011, Kandahar became known as the assassination city of Afghanistan after wintessing many target killings. In July Ahmed Wali Karzai, brother of President Hamid Karzai, was shot by his long time head of security on July 12, 2011. Soon after the Quetta Shura of the Taliban claimed responsibility. The next day an Islamic cleric (mulla) of the famous Red Mosque in the Shahr-e Naw area of the city 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. Afghanistan often blames Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) as the masterminds for directing the Taliban insurgency and assassinations. This form of terrorism is the idea of ISI for defending its sovereignty. The ISI is using these insurgents and militants in the name of jihad mainly to counter rival India, and the overwhelming majority of the victims in the attacks are ordinary Afghan civilians.

Climate

Kandahar has a continental warm semi-arid climate (Köppen ''BSh''), characterised by little precipitation and high variation between summer and winter temperatures. Summers start in mid-May, last until late-September, and are extremely dry. Temperatures peak in July with a 24-hour daily average of around . They are followed by dry autumns from early-October to late-November, with days still averaging in the 20s °C (above 68 °F) into November, though nights are sharply cooler. Winter begins in December and sees most of its precipitation in the form of rain. Temperatures average in January, although lows can drop well below freezing. They end in early-March and are followed by a pleasant spring till late-April with temperatures generally in the upper 10s °C to lower 30s °C (65–88 °F) range. Sunny weather dominates year-round, especially in summer, when rainfall is extremely rare. The annual mean temperature is .

Transport

Kandahar International Airport serves as the region's main airport for domestic and international flights. It is also used as a major military base as well as shipping and receiving of supplies for the NATO armies. The entire area in and around the airport is heavily guarded but a section is designated for civilian passengers. Most international flights are with Dubai and Pakistan.

A railroad track from the Pakistani town of Chaman to Kandahar is under way, which will connect Afghan Railways with Pakistan Railways. The feasibility study was completed in 2006, allowing for the next step to lay-down the rail track.

Kandahar is connected to Kabul by the Kabul-Kandahar Highway and to Herat by the Kandahar-Herat Highway. There is a bus station located at the start of the Kabul-Kandahar Highway, where a number of private buses are available to take people to most major cities of the country. Kandahar is also connected by road to Quetta in neighboring Pakistan. Due to the ongoing war the route to Kabul has become increasingly dangerous as insurgent attacks on convoys and destruction of bridges make it an unreliable link between the two cities.

Commuters of the city use the public bus system (Milli Bus), and taxicabs are common. Private vehicle use is increasing, partially due to road and highway improvements. Large dealerships are importing cars from Dubai, UAE.

Education

The city has public schools in every district for both boys and girls. However, many conservative parents do not allow girls in their family to attend high school or pursue higher education. The two known universities are Ahmad Shah Lycée and Kandahar University.

Communications

Telecommunication services in the city are provided by Afghan Wireless, Roshan, Etisalat, MTN Group and Afghan Telecom. In November 2006, the Afghan Ministry of Communications signed a $64.5 million agreement with ZTE for the establishment of a countrywide fiber optical cable network. This was intended to improve telephone, internet, television and radio broadcast services not just in Kandahar but throughout the country.

Besides foreign channels, Afghanistan's local television channels include:

Ariana TV

Ariana Afghanistan TV

Lamar TV

Shamshad TV

Tolo TV

Hewad TV

Places of interest

The tomb of Ahmad Shah Durrani is located in the city center, which also houses Durrani's brass helmet and other personal items. In front of Durrani's mausoleum is the Shrine of the Cloak, containing one of the most valued relics in the Islamic world, which was given by the Emir of Bokhara (Murad Beg) to Ahmad Shah Durrani. The Sacred Cloak is kept locked away, taken out only at times of great crisis. Mullah Omar took it out in November 1996 and displayed it to a crowd of ''ulema'' of religious scholars to have himself declared Amir al-Mu'minin (Commander of the Faithful). Prior to that it was taken out when the city was struck by a cholera epidemic in the 1930s.

The village of ''Sher Surkh'' is located southeast of the city, in the suburbs of the old city of Nadirabad. Kandahar Museum is located at the western end of the third block of buildings lining the main road east of ''Eidgah Durwaza'' (gate). It has many paintings by the now famous Ghiyassuddin, painted while he was a young teacher in Kandahar. He is acknowledged among Afghanistan’s leading artists.

Just to the north of the city, off its northeast corner at the end of ''buria'' (matting) bazaar, there is a shrine dedicated to a saint who lived in Kandahar more than 300 years ago. The grave of ''Hazratji Baba'', long to signify his greatness, but otherwise covered solely by rock chips, is undecorated save for tall pennants at its head. A monument to Islamic martyrs stands in the center of Kandahar’s main square, called ''Da Shahidanu Chawk'', which was built in the 1940s.

The ''Chilzina'' is a rock-cut chamber above the plain at the end of the rugged chain of mountains forming the western defence of Kandahar’s ''Old City''. Forty steps, about, lead to the chamber which is guarded by two chained lions, defaced, and inscribed with an account of Moghul conquest. The rugged cliffs from which the ''Chilzina'' was hewn form the natural western bastion of the ''Old City'' of Kandahar which was destroyed in 1738 by Nadir Shah Afshar of Persia.

A short distance from ''Chilzina'', going west on the main highway, a bright blue dome appears on the right. This is the mausoleum of Mirwais Hotak, the Ghilzai chieftain who declared Kandahar's independence from the Persians in 1709. The shrine of Baba Wali, its terraces shaded by pomegranate groves beside the Arghandab River, is also very popular for picnics and afternoon outings. Close to Baba Wali's shrine is a military base established by the United States armed forces in about 2007.

Development

Kandahar and the rest of Afghanistan has not seen development from 1978 to 2003 due to the wars. Large sums of money have been pouring in for construction purposes in the last decade. New modern-style buildings are slowly replacing the older ones. Some residents of the city have access to clean drinking water and electricity, though plans and works are underway to extend services to every home.

Up to 20,000 single-family homes and associated infrastructure such as roads, water and sewer systems, and community buildings, including schools, are under construction in the new ''Aina Mena'' neighborhood of the city. Most government employees and civil servents as well as wealthy businessmen live in this area, which is the most secured place to live. Another $100 million development project started in the Baba Sab area of Arghandab in 2011. Also, construction of Hamidi Township in the Morchi Kotal area of the city started in August 2011. It is named after Ghulam Haider Hamidi, the mayor of Kandahar who was assassinated by the Taliban militants in late July 2011. Situated along the Kandahar-Uruzgan Highway in the northeast of the city, the new township will have 2,000 residential and commercial plots. Including new roads, schools, commercial markets, clinics, canals and other facilities.

About 6 miles (10 km) east of Kandahar, a huge industrial park is under construction with modern facilities. The park will have professional management for the daily maintenance of public roads, internal streets, common areas, parking areas, 24 hours perimeter security, access control for vehicles and persons.

Airports

* Kandahar International Airport

Neighborhoods

* Aina Mena (under development since 2003)

* Hamidi Mena (under development since 2011)

* Arghandab Valley

* Shāhre Naw (meaning ''New City'')

* Dand

* Karz

* Mirwais Mena

* Daman

* Sarpuza

* Malajat

* Zoar Shār (meaning ''Old City'')

Cultural sites and parks

* Baba Saab

* Bāghi Pull

* Kokaran Park

* Chilzina View (Moghul Emperor Babur's inscription site)

* Kandahar Stadium

* Kandahar Museum

Mosques and Shrines

* Friday Mosque of Kandahar

* Shrine of the Cloak

* Mosque of the Hair of the Prophet

* Red Mosque

Mausoleums

* Mausoleum of Ahmad Shah Durrani

* Mausoleum of Mirwais Khan Hotak

* Mausoleum of Baba Wali

Shopping

* Herat Bazaar

* Kabul Bazaar

* Shah Bazaar

* Shkar Pur Bazaar

Hospitals

* Afghan National Army Regional Hospital

* Mirwais Hospital

Hotels and guest houses

Banks

* AIB Bank

* Kabul Bank

* Azizi Bank

Demography

The population of Kandahar numbers approximately 468,200. The Pashtuns make up the overwhelming majority population of the city and province but exact figures are not available. According to a 2003 National Geographic suggested figures, Pashtuns were put at ca. 70%, Tajiks 20%, Hazaras 6%, Baloch 2%, and Uzbeks 2%.

Pashto serves as the main language in the city and region. A 2006 provincial data prepared by Afghanistan's Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development and United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) states:

Notable people from Kandahar

Nur Jahan – empress of the Mughal Empire

Mirwais Hotak – founder of the Hotaki dynasty

Abdul Aziz Hotak – ruler of the Hotaki dynasty

Mahmud Hotaki – ruler of the Hotaki dynasty and Shah of Persia

Ashraf Hotaki – Shah of Persia

Hussain Hotaki – ruler of the Hotaki dynasty

Ahmad Shah Durrani – founder of the Durrani Empire/founder of the modern state of Afghanistan

Dost Mohammad Khan - founder of the Barakzai dynasty/Emire of Afghanistan

Sher Ali Khan - Emir of Afghanistan

Abdur Rahman Khan - Emir of Afghanistan

Muhammad Zahir Shah – the last king of Afghanistan

Nashenas - Afghan musician

Abdul Hai Habibi – professor at Kabul University and author of many books

Hamid Karzai – head and president of Afghanistan since late 2001

Gul Agha Sherzai – served as the governor of Kandahar province followed by as governors of Nangarhar province

Said Tayeb Jawad – former Afghanistan Ambassador to the United States

Ghulam Haider Hamidi - Mayor of Kandahar who was killed in July 2011

See also

Arachosia

Alexandria Arachosia

Kandahar Province

Kandahar escape

Footnotes

References

Hill, John E. 2004. ''The Peoples of the West from the Weilue'' 魏略 ''by Yu Huan'' 魚豢'': A Third Century Chinese Account Composed between 239 and 265 CE.'' Draft annotated English translation.

Hill, John E. (2009) ''Through the Jade Gate to Rome: A Study of the Silk Routes during the Later Han Dynasty, 1st to 2nd Centuries CE''. BookSurge, Charleston, South Carolina. ISBN 978-1-4392-2134-1.

Thapar, Romila (1963): ''Aśoka and the Decline of the Mauryas''. Oxford University Press. 3rd impression, New Delhi, 1980.

Frye, Richard N. (1963). ''The Heritage of Persia''. World Publishing company, Cleveland, Ohio. Mentor Book edition, 1966.

Toynbee, Arnold J. (1961). ''Between Oxus and Jumna''. London. Oxford University Press.

Willem Vogelsang (1985). "Early historical Arachosia in South-east Afghanistan; Meeting-place between East and West." ''Iranica antiqua'', 20 (1985), pp. 55–99.

Wood, Michael (1997). ''In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great: A Journey from Greece to Asia''. University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-23192-9

External links

Old photos of Kandahar

Kandahar dreamers test Taliban edicts

Arachosia

Alexandria in Arachosia

ARACHOSIA, province (satrapy)

Map of Kandahar, from Afghanistan IMS

The Taliban's Campaign for Kandahar

Category:Kandahar Category:Populated places established in the 4th century BC Category:Populated places in Kandahar Province Category:Hellenistic colonies Category:Populated places along the Silk Road Category:Cities in Central Asia Category:Bazaars Category:Hinduism in Afghanistan

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