Editing Kandahar (section)

===Ancient history===
{{Further|Alexandria in Arachosia}}

'''Foundation of city and Greek invasion'''

The now known "[[Old Kandahar]]" was founded in 330 BC by [[Alexander the Great]], near the site of the ancient city of [[Mundigak]] (established around 3000 BC era). Mundigak served as the provincial capital of Arachosia and was ruled by the [[Medes]] followed by the Achaemenids until the arrival of the Macedonians. The main inhabitants of Arachosia were the ''[[Pakthas|Pakhtas]]'',<ref>Map of the [[Median Empire]] from the University of Texas in Austin, showing ''Pactyans'' in what is now Kandahar, Afghanistan&nbsp;... [http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/shepherd/oriental_empire.jpg Link] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031004232323/http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/shepherd/oriental_empire.jpg |date=4 October 2003 }}</ref> an ancient Indo-Iranian tribe, who might have been among the ancestors of today's [[Pashtuns]]. Kandahar was named ''[[Alexandria in Arachosia|Alexandria]]'', a name given to some cities that Alexander founded during his conquests.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.livius.org/aj-al/alexandria/alexandria_arachosia.html|title=Alexandria in Arachosia|first=Jona|last=Lendering|publisher=LIVIUS – Articles on Ancient History|access-date=9 January 2011|archive-date=15 June 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100615230642/http://www.livius.org/aj-al/alexandria/alexandria_arachosia.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Kandahar was a frequent target for conquest because of its strategic location in Asia, controlling the main trade route linking the [[Indian subcontinent]] with the [[Middle East]] and [[Central Asia]].<ref>Mentioned in Bopearachchi, "Monnaies Greco-Bactriennes et Indo-Grecques", p52. Original text in paragraph 19 of [http://www.parthia.com/parthian_stations.htm#PARTHIAN_STATIONS Parthian stations] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200531124126/http://www.parthia.com/parthian_stations.htm#PARTHIAN_STATIONS |date=31 May 2020 }}</ref> The territory became part of the [[Seleucid Empire]] after the death of Alexander. It is mentioned by [[Strabo]] that a treaty of friendship was established eventually between the Greeks and the [[Maurya Empire|Mauryas]] (Indians).<ref name=Dupree>{{cite web|url=http://www.aisk.org/aisk/NHDAHGTK05.php|title=An Historical Guide to Kabul&nbsp;– The Story of Kabul|author=[[Nancy Hatch Dupree]] / Aḥmad ʻAlī Kuhzād|publisher=American International School of Kabul|year=1972|access-date=18 September 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100830031416/http://www.aisk.org/aisk/NHDAHGTK05.php|archive-date=30 August 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.livius.org/man-md/mauryas/mauryas.html|title=Maurya dynasty|first=Jona|last=Lendering|publisher=LIVIUS – Articles on Ancient History|access-date=9 January 2011|archive-date=26 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120226183742/https://www.livius.org/man-md/mauryas/mauryas.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> The city eventually became part of the [[Greco-Bactrian Kingdom]] (250 BC – 125 BC), and continued that way for two hundred years under the later [[Indo-Greek Kingdom]] (180 BC – 10 AD). <!--(text section put into comment: This is not linked to Kandahar but Bagram (?) King [[Menander I]] (165 BC – 135 BC) of the Indo-Greek Kingdom practiced [[Greco-Buddhism]] and is recorded by the [[Mahavamsa]] (Chap. XXIX<ref name="Click chapter XXIX">Full text of the Mahavamsa [http://lakdiva.org/mahavamsa/chapters.html Click chapter XXIX]</ref>) to have sent "a Greek ("[[Yona]]") Buddhist head monk" named [[Mahadharmaraksita]] (literally translated as 'Great Teacher/Preserver of the Dharma') with 30,000 Buddhist monks from "the Greek city of Alasandra" (possibly [[Alexandria in the Caucasus]], as Bagram was known under the Greeks) to Sri Lanka for the dedication of [[Ruwanwelisaya|Great Stupa]] Buddhist temple in [[Anuradhapura]]. -->
[[File:AsokaKandahar.jpg|thumb|left|[[Kandahar Bilingual Rock Inscription]] ([[Greek language|Greek]] and [[Aramaic]]) by Emperor [[Ashoka]], from [[Chilzina]] in Kandahar, 3rd century BC.]]

While the [[Diadochi]] were warring amongst themselves, the Mauryas were developing in the northern part of the [[Indian subcontinent]]. The founder of the empire, [[Chandragupta Maurya]], confronted a Macedonian invasion force led by [[Seleucus I Nicator|Seleucus I]] in 305 BC and following a brief conflict, an agreement was reached as Seleucus ceded [[Gandhara]] and Arachosia and areas south of [[Bagram]] to the Mauryas. During the 120 years of the Mauryas in southern Afghanistan, Buddhism was introduced and eventually become one of the major religions alongside Zoroastrianism.

Inscriptions made by Emperor [[Ashoka]], a fragment of [[Edicts of Ashoka|Edict 13]] in Greek, as well as a full Edict, written in both Greek and Aramaic has been discovered in Kandahar. It is said to be written in excellent Classical Greek, using sophisticated philosophical terms. In this Edict, Ashoka the great used the word [[Eusebeia]] ("[[Piety]]") as the Greek translation for the ubiquitous "[[Dharma]]" of his other Edicts written in [[Prakrit]].