Description

This concise, 14-chapter history of ancient Afghanistan begins about the year 3000 BC, when the first Aryan, or Indo-European, settlement was established at Bakhdi (Bactria, present-day Balkh), and ends with the ascendance of Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni to the throne in circa 997 AD. In the introductory chapter, the book discusses the several names of ancient Afghanistan, before settling on Aryana, the term used by most classical writers. It also notes that the term Afghanistan (Land of the Afghans) first came into use in the 18th century, during the reign ...