Try http://www.Youbidder.com The Place to Autobid on Ebay at the Last Second. Get your price and avoid bidding wars. Get the Chrome Extension (http://chiburl.com/f3k9x) or Firefox Addon (http://chiburl.com/avt9x) for 1-Click Autobids. • Try http://www.MeTee.com/coupon/YoutubeNews MeTee: Tee-Shirt design in seconds. The fastest way to make a shirt. Always free shipping worldwide. This Youtube brought to you by the above sponsors. Please support them. Message me if you woud like to become a sponsor. • Like news Facebook for 1-Click video newsfeed updates https://www.facebook.com/videoupdates • Share this video on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ to get the word out. The written history of Afghanistan can be traced back to around 500 BCE when the area was under the Achaemenid Empire, although evidence indicates that an advanced degree of urbanized culture has existed in the land since between 3000 and 2000 BCE. Alexander the Great and his Macedonian army arrived in what is now Afghanistan in 330 BCE after conquering Persia during the Battle of Gaugamela. Many powerful foreign kingdoms have established their capitals inside the modern state of Afghanistan, including the Greco-Bactrians, Mauryas, Kushans, Kabul Shahi, Saffarids, Samanids, Ghaznavids, Ghurids, Timurids, Mughals, Hotakis, Durranis, and others. Afghanistan (meaning 'land of the Afghans') has been a strategically important location throughout history. The land served as 'a gateway to India, impinging on the ancient Silk Road, which carried trade from the Mediterranean to China'. Sitting on many trade and migration routes, Afghanistan may be called the 'Central Asian roundabout' since routes converge from the Middle East, from the Indus Valley through the passes over the Hindu Kush, from the Far East via the Tarim Basin, and from the adjacent Eurasian Steppe. Dost Mohammed Khan gained control in Kabul. Collision between the expanding British and Russian Empires significantly influenced Afghanistan during the 19th century in what was termed 'The Great Game'. British concern over Russian advances in Central Asia and growing influence in Persia culminated in two Anglo-Afghan wars and 'The Siege of Herat' 1837--1838, in which the Persians, trying to retake Afghanistan and throw out the British and Russians, sent armies into the country and fought the British mostly around and in the city of Herat. The first Anglo-Afghan War (1839--1842) resulted in the destruction of a British army; it is remembered as an example of the ferocity of Afghan resistance to foreign rule. The Second Anglo-Afghan War (1878--1880) was sparked by Amir Shir Ali's refusal to accept a British mission in Kabul. This conflict brought Amir Abdur Rahman, known by some as the 'Iron Amir', to the Afghan throne. During his reign (1880--1901), the British and Russians officially established the boundaries of what would become modern Afghanistan. The British retained effective control over Kabul's foreign affairs. Abdur Rahman's reforms of the army, legal system and structure of government were able to give Afghanistan a degree of unity and stability which it had not before known. This, however, came at the cost of strong centralisation, harsh punishments for crime and corruption, and a certain degree of international isolation.

• published: 04 Feb 2014
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