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{{Short description|City in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan}} {{About|the city in Afghanistan}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}} {{Infobox settlement <!--See the Table at Infobox settlement for all fields and descriptions of usage-->| name = Kandahar | official_name = | native_name = {{hlist|{{lang|ps|کندهار}}|{{lang|prs|قندهار}}}} | other_name = | settlement_type = [[List of cities in Afghanistan|City]] | image_skyline = {{Photomontage | photo1a = | photo2a = KandaharMosque02.JPG | photo2b = KandaharUniversity-Mosque-2005.JPEG | photo3a = Mosque in Kandahar-2011.jpg | photo3b = Mausoleum of Baba Wali in Kandahar.jpg | photo4a = Toms of Ahamed Shah Abdali.jpg | photo4b = | photo5a = | photo5b = | color = white | color_border = white | position = center | spacing = 2 | size = 266 | foot_montage = }} | image_caption = ''Top to bottom and left to right'': Friday Mosque of Kandahar, The Eidgah Jaami Jumat at [[Kandahar University]], [[Tomb of Ahmad Shah Durrani]], aerial view over the [[Mausoleum of Baba Wali]], a Mosque in Kandahar | image_flag = Flag of Kandahar Municipality.png | image_seal = Kandahar50fs.png | image_shield = | motto = City of the Power | image_map = | map_caption = | pushpin_map = Afghanistan#West Asia#South Asia#Asia | pushpin_relief = yes | pushpin_label_position = above | pushpin_mapsize = 300px | pushpin_map_caption = Location in Afghanistan | coordinates = {{coord|31|37|12|N|65|42|57|E|region:AF|display=inline,title}} | subdivision_type = [[List of sovereign states|Country]] | subdivision_name = {{Flag|Afghanistan}} | subdivision_type1 = [[Provinces of Afghanistan|Province]] | subdivision_name1 = [[Kandahar Province|Kandahar]] | subdivision_type2 = [[Districts of Afghanistan|District]] | subdivision_name2 = [[Kandahar District|Kandahar]] | established_title = | established_date = | government_type = [[Municipality]] | government_footnotes = | leader_title = Governor | leader_name = [[Mullah Shirin Akhund]] | area_footnotes = | area_total_km2 = 273.37 | area_land_km2 = | area_water_km2 = | area_water_percent = | elevation_footnotes = | elevation_m = 1010 | population_footnotes = | population_total = 614,118 <ref name="auto">{{cite web|title=The State of Afghan Cities report2015|url=http://unhabitat.org/books/soac2015/|ref=UN-Habitat|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151031111515/http://unhabitat.org/books/soac2015/|archive-date=31 October 2015}}</ref> | population_as_of = '''2015''' | population_density_sq_mi = 6200 | population_urban = | population_note = | timezone = [[Time in Afghanistan|Afghanistan Time]] | utc_offset = +04:30 | timezone_DST = | utc_offset_DST = | postal_code_type = Postal Code | postal_code = 38XX | area_code = | website = {{URL|https://kandahar-m.gov.af}} }} '''Kandahar'''{{efn|{{IPAc-en|lang|ˈ|k|æ|n|d|ə|h|ɑ:r}}; {{Langx|ps|کندهار|translit=Kandahār}}; {{Langx|prs|قندهار|translit=Qandahār}}}} is a city in [[Afghanistan]], located in the south of the country on [[Arghandab River]], at an elevation of {{cvt|1010|m|ft|sp=us}}. It is Afghanistan's [[List of cities in Afghanistan|second largest city]], after [[Kabul]], with a population of about 614,118 in 2015.<ref name="auto"/> It is the capital of [[Kandahar Province]] and the centre of the larger cultural region called [[Loy Kandahar]]. The region around Kandahar is one of the oldest known areas of human settlement. A major fortified city existed at the site of Kandahar, probably as early as {{circa}} 1000–750 BC,<ref name="books.google.com">F.R. Allchin (ed.), [https://books.google.com/books?id=Q5kI02_zW70C&pg=PA127 ''The Archaeology of Early Historic South Asia: The Emergence of Cities and States''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210501125746/https://books.google.com/books?id=Q5kI02_zW70C&pg=PA127|date=1 May 2021}} (Cambridge University Press, 1995), pp.127–130</ref> and it became an important outpost of the [[Achaemenid Empire]] in the 6th century BC.<ref name="iranicaonline.org">Gérard Fussman, [http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kandahar-pre-islamic-monuments-and-remains "Kandahar II. Pre-Islamic Monuments and Remains"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171112185725/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kandahar-pre-islamic-monuments-and-remains|date=12 November 2017}}, in ''Encyclopædia Iranica'', online edition, 2012</ref> [[Alexander the Great]] laid the foundation of what is now [[Old Kandahar]] (in the southern section of the city) in the 4th century BC and named it [[Alexandria Arachosia]]. Many empires have long fought over the city due to its strategic location along the trade routes of [[South Asia|southern]], [[Central Asia|central]] and [[western Asia]]. In 1709, [[Mirwais Hotak]] made the region an independent kingdom and made Kandahar the capital of the [[Hotak dynasty]]. In 1747, [[Ahmad Shah Durrani]], founder of the [[Durrani dynasty]], made Kandahar the capital of the [[Durrani Empire|Afghan Empire]].<ref name="infoplease">{{cite encyclopedia |title=Kandahar |encyclopedia=[[Columbia Encyclopedia]] |url=http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/world/A0826983.html |access-date=9 January 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210220104603/https://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/places/asia/afghanistan/kandahar |archive-date=20 February 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=The City of Kandahar |encyclopedia=[[Columbia Encyclopedia]] |url=http://www.afghan-network.net/Culture/qandahar.html |access-date=9 January 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110515163409/http://www.afghan-network.net/Culture/qandahar.html |archive-date=15 May 2011}}</ref> Kandahar is the founding city and spiritual center of the [[Taliban]]. Despite the capital of [[Afghanistan]] being Kabul, where the government administration is based, Kandahar is the seat of power in Afghanistan as the [[Supreme Leader of Afghanistan|supreme leader]] and his spiritual advisers are based there. Kandahar has therefore been called the de facto capital of [[Afghanistan]], though the Taliban maintain Kabul as the official capital.<ref>{{cite news|author1=Ikramullah Ikram|author2=Abubakar Siddique|title=Southern Afghan City Becomes De Facto Capital As Taliban Chief Tightens Grip On Power|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/afghanistan-kandahar-taliban-akhundzada-capital/32369212.html|access-date=11 May 2023|work=[[Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty]]|date=18 April 2023|archive-date=11 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230511031105/https://www.rferl.org/a/afghanistan-kandahar-taliban-akhundzada-capital/32369212.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Kandahar is one of the most culturally significant cities of the [[Pashtuns]] community and has been their traditional seat of power for more than 300 years. It is a major trading center for fresh and [[dried fruit]], including [[food grain]]s, sheep, [[wool]], cotton, silk, and [[felt]]. The region produces fine fruits, especially [[pomegranate production in Afghanistan|pomegranates]] and grapes, and the city has plants for canning, drying, and packing fruits.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.avapress.com/en/news/277808/600-million-k_andahar-dried-fruit-will-_export-this-year|title=$600 Million Kandahar Dried Fruit Will Export This Year|work=Afghan Voice Agency|date=5 October 2023|access-date=21 January 2025}}</ref><ref>{{YouTube|LZZmtpuOUs8|Kandahar exports over $370 million dried fruits in 9 months}}, Ariana News, 20 January 2025.</ref> ==Name== The modern name of the city derives from the name of the original city built here, [[Alexandria Arachosia|Alexandria]]. This city (often referred to as [[Alexandria]] in Arachosia to distinguish it from [[List of cities founded by Alexander the Great|other Alexandrias]]) was founded after the invasion of [[Alexander the Great]] in 330 BC. The name "Alexander" in the local [[Pashto language]] is rendered as "Iskandar". It is believed that over time this transformed into ''"Scandar"'', and eventually the modern ''"Kandahar"''.<ref name="Hill2009">John E. Hill, ''Through the Jade Gate to Rome: A Study of the Silk Routes during the Later Han dynasty, 1st to 2nd centuries AD''. BookSurge, Charleston, South Carolina, 2009. {{ISBN|978-1-4392-2134-1}}, pp. 517–518. This derivation, as that from Gondophares, was characterised as "philologiquement impossible" by P. Bernard, "Un probleme de toponymie antique dans l'Asie Centrale: les noms anciens de Qandahar", ''Studia Iranica'', tome 3, 1974 and ''Afghanistan Quarterly'', vol.33, no.1, June 1980/Spring 1359, pp.49–62, p59, n.10.</ref> The change of the name from ''"Scandar"'' to Candar is mentioned by the 16th-century Portuguese historian [[João de Barros]] in his most famous work, ''[[Décadas da Ásia]]''.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Barros|first1=João de|title=Da Asia De Joāo De Barros: Dos Feitos, Que Os Portuguezes Fizeram No Descubrimento, E Conquista Dos Mares, E Terras Do Oriente. Decada Quarta. Parte Segunda|date=1552|publisher=Na Regia Officina Typografica|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BPlgAAAAcAAJ&q=Jo%C3%A3o+de+Barros+scandar&pg=PA6|language=pt|quote=Those who go from Persia, from the kingdom of Horaçam (Khorasan), from Bohára, and all the Western Regions, travel to the city which the natives corruptly call Candar, instead of Scandar, the name by which the Persians call Alexander.:ruptamente Candar, havendo de dizer Scandar, nome per que os Perfas chamam Alexandre, por elle (como efcreve Arriano ") edificar efia Cidade, e do feu nome fe chamou Alexandria fituada ...|access-date=2 October 2020|archive-date=1 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210501125637/https://books.google.com/books?id=BPlgAAAAcAAJ&q=Jo%C3%A3o+de+Barros+scandar&pg=PA6|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Those who go from Persia, from the kingdom of Horaçam (Khorasan), from Bohára, and all the Western Regions, travel to the city which the natives corruptly call Candar, instead of Scandar, the name by which the Persians call Alexander</ref> A [[folk etymology]] offered is that the word "kand" or "qand" in [[Persian language|Persian]] and [[Pashto language|Pashto]] (the local languages) is the origin of the word "[[candy]]". The name "Candahar" or "Kandahar" in this form probably translates to candy area. This probably has to do with the location being [[Soil Fertility|fertile]] and historically known for producing fine grapes, [[pomegranate production in Afghanistan|pomegranates]], [[apricot]]s, melons and other sweet fruits.{{Citation needed|date=June 2019}} [[Ernst Herzfeld]] claimed Kandahar perpetuated the name of the [[Indo-Parthian]] king [[Gondophares]], who re-founded the city under the name Gundopharron.<ref>Ernst Herzfeld, ''Archaeological History of Iran'', London, Oxford University Press for the British Academy, 1935, p.63; Ernst Herzfeld, ''The Persian Empire: Studies in Geography and Ethnography of the Ancient Near East'', Wiesbaden, Steiner, 1968, p.335.</ref> However, modern historians and linguists generally find this derivation implausible.<ref name="Hill2009"/> An alternative [[etymology]] derives the name of the city from [[Gandhara]],<ref name="Hobson Jobson Dictionary">[https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.0:1:390.hobson Hobson Jobson Dictionary] {{Webarchive |url=https://archive.today/20120707232441/http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.0:1:390.hobson |date=7 July 2012 }}; ''The Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary'', Vaman Shivram Apte, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, India, 1975, {{ISBN|81-208-0567-4}}; P. Bernard, "Une probleme de toponymie antique dans l'Asie centrale: les noms anciens de Qandahar", ''Studia Iranica'', tome 3 (fasc. 2) 1974, 171–185.</ref> {{ Unreliable source?|date=October 2024}} the name of an ancient Buddhist kingdom located along the north of the [[Kabul River|Kabul river]], and centred on the [[Peshawar Valley]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-HeJS3nE9cAC&q=gandhara+kunar+river&pg=PA135|title=The Greeks in Bactria and India|isbn=9781108009416|last1=Tarn|first1=William Woodthorpe|date=24 June 2010|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|access-date=25 June 2021|archive-date=25 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210625051153/https://books.google.com/books?id=-HeJS3nE9cAC&q=gandhara+kunar+river&pg=PA135|url-status=live}}</ref> ==History== {{Quote box |width=25em |align=right |title_bg=#B0C4DE |title=Timeline of Kandahar ([[Alexandria Arachosia]])<br><small>Historical affiliations</small> |fontsize=80% |quote={{Noflag|[[Macedonia (ancient kingdom)|Macedonia]]}} 330 BC–312 BC<br> {{Noflag|[[Seleucid Empire]]}} 312 BC–304 BC<br> {{Noflag|[[Maurya Empire]]}} 304 BC–204 BC<br> {{Noflag|[[Seleucid Empire]]}} 204 BC–c. 180 BC<br> {{Noflag|[[Greco-Bactrian Kingdom]]}} 180 BC – c. 150 BC<br> {{Noflag|[[Indo-Greek Kingdom|Yavana Kingdom]]}} c. 150 BC–142 BC<br> {{Noflag|[[Indo-Scythians]]}} 142 BC–32 BC<br> {{Noflag|[[Parthian Empire]]}} 32 BC–19 CE<br> {{Noflag|[[Indo-Parthian Kingdom]]}} 19–36<br> {{Noflag|[[Kushan Empire]]}} 36–230<br> {{Noflag|[[Sasanian Empire]]}} 230–645<br> {{Noflag|[[Rashidun Caliphate]]}} 645–661<br> {{Noflag|[[Umayyad Caliphate]]}} 661–750<br> {{flagicon image|Abbasid banner.svg}} [[Abbasid Caliphate]] 750–861<br> {{Noflag|[[Saffarid dynasty]]}} 861–977<br> {{Noflag|[[Ghaznavid Empire]]}} 977–1175<br> {{Noflag|[[Ghurid dynasty]]}} 1175–1207<br> {{Noflag|[[Khwarazmian Empire]]}} 1207–1222<br> {{Noflag|[[Mongol Empire]]}} 1222–1256<br> {{flagicon image|Flag of the Ilkhanate.svg}} [[Ilkhanate]] 1256–1347<br> {{Noflag|[[Kart dynasty]]}} 1347–1382<br> {{flagicon image|Catalan Atlas, Flag of Cathay.svg}} [[Timurid Empire]] 1382–1507<br> {{flagicon image|Alam of the Mughal Empire.svg}} [[Mughal Empire]] 1507–1649<br> {{flagicon image|Safavid Flag.svg}} [[Safavid Empire]] 1649–1711<br> {{flagicon image|Black flag.svg}} [[Hotak dynasty]] 1711–1738<br> {{flagicon image|Afsharid Imperial Standard (3 Stripes).svg}} [[Afsharid Empire]] 1738–1747<br> {{Noflag|[[Durrani Empire]]}} 1747–1818<br> {{flagicon image|Flag of Afghanistan (1880–1901).svg}} [[Principality of Kandahar]] 1818–1839<br> {{flagicon image|Flag of the United Kingdom (1-2).svg}} [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]] ([[Company Raj]]) 1839–1842<br> {{flagicon image|Flag of Afghanistan (1880–1901).svg}} [[Principality of Kandahar]] 1842–1855<br> {{flag|Afghanistan}} 1855–present }} ===Prehistory=== {{Further|Pre-Islamic period of Afghanistan}} Excavations of prehistoric sites by archaeologists such as [[Louis Dupree (professor)|Louis Dupree]] and others suggest that the region around Kandahar is one of the oldest known human settlements known so far. {{Blockquote|Early peasant farming villages came into existence in Afghanistan ca. 5000 B.C., or 7000 years ago. Deh Morasi Ghundai, the first prehistoric site to be excavated in Afghanistan, lies {{cvt|27|km|0}} southwest of Kandahar (Dupree, 1951). Another [[Bronze Age]] village mound site with multiroomed mud-brick buildings dating from the same period sits nearby at Said Qala (J. Shaffer, 1970). Second millennium B.C. Bronze Age [[pottery]], copper and [[bronze]] horse trappings and stone seals were found in the lowermost levels in the nearby cave called Shamshir Ghar (Dupree, 1950). In the [[Seistan]], southwest of these Kandahar sites, two teams of American archaeologists discovered sites relating to the 2nd millennium B.C. (G. Dales, [[University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology|University Museum, University of Pennsylvania]], 1969, 1971; W, Trousdale, [[Smithsonian Institution]], 1971 – 76). Stylistically the finds from Deh Morasi and Said Qala tie in with those of pre-[[Indus Valley civilisation|Indus Valley]] sites and with those of comparable age on the [[Iranian Plateau]] and in Central Asia, indicating cultural contacts during this very early age.<ref Name=Dupree3>{{Cite book|title=An Historical Guide to Afghanistan|last1=Dupree|first1=Nancy Hatch|volume=First Edition|year=1970|publisher=Afghan Air Authority, Afghan Tourist Organization|location=Kabul|page=492|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T__DHAAACAAJ|access-date=17 June 2012|archive-date=7 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210507050410/https://books.google.com/books?id=T__DHAAACAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref>|[[Nancy Dupree|N. Dupree]]|1971}} British excavations in the 1970s discovered that Kandahar existed as a large fortified city during the early 1st millennium BC; while this earliest period at Kandahar has not been precisely dated via [[radiocarbon dating|radiocarbon]], ceramic comparisons with the latest period at the major [[Bronze Age]] city of [[Mundigak]] have suggested an approximate time-frame of 1000 to 750 BC.<ref name="books.google.com"/> This fortified city became an important outpost of the [[Achaemenid Empire]] in the 6th to 4th centuries BC, and formed part of the province of [[Arachosia]].<ref name="iranicaonline.org"/> ===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 ... [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 – 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]]. ===Medieval history=== {{Further|Islamic conquest of Afghanistan}} '''Islamic conquest''' Between the 7th and 9th century, the Kandahar region was ruled by the [[Zunbil dynasty]] and considered part of the [[Indian Subcontinent]], though it was an Eastern Iranic realm which followed [[Zurvanism]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wink|first=André|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g2m7_R5P2oAC&dq=it+was+clear+that+zunbils+ruled+over+a+predominately+indian+realm&pg=PA114|title=Al-Hind, the Making of the Indo-Islamic World: Early Medieval India and the Expansion of Islam 7th–11th Centuries|date=2002|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-0-391-04173-8|pages=114|language=en|access-date=5 April 2023|archive-date=5 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405181852/https://books.google.com/books?id=g2m7_R5P2oAC&dq=it+was+clear+that+zunbils+ruled+over+a+predominately+indian+realm&pg=PA114|url-status=live}}</ref> In the 7th century [[AD]], [[Islamic conquest of Afghanistan|Arab armies conquered the region]] but failed to convert the entire population to Islam.The leader of the expedition was [[Abbad ibn Ziyad]], who governed Sijistan between 673 and 681.<ref>{{EI2|article=ʿAbbād b. Ziyād|last=Zetterstéen|first=K. V.|volume=1|page=5}}</ref> In AD 870, [[Ya'qub-i Laith Saffari|Yaqub ibn Layth Saffari]], a local ruler of the [[Saffarids|Saffarid dynasty]], conquered Kandahar and environs in the name of Islam. '''Ghanavids''' It is believed that the Zunbil dynasty governed the Kandahar region from the 7th century until the late 9th century AD.<ref>Excavations at Kandahar 1974 & 1975 (Society for South Asian Studies Monograph) by Anthony McNicoll.{{blockquote|The Zunbils ruled in the Kandahar area for nearly 250 years until the late 9th century AD.}}</ref> Kandahar was taken by [[Mahmud of Ghazni|Sultan Mahmud]] of [[Ghazni]] in the 11th century followed by the [[Ghurids]] of [[Ghor]]. Kandahar appears to have been renamed ''Teginābād'' in the 10th–12th centuries, but the origin of the new name is unclear. During this period, nearby [[Panjwayi District|Panjway]] served as the administrative center for the area. However, Kandahar was of much more strategic importance, to the extent that [[Minhaj-i-Siraj]] attributes the downfall of the [[Ghaznavids]] to the loss of Kandahar. The city's name was changed back to Kandahar by the 13th century, after [[Ala al-Din Husayn|Ala ad-Din Husayn Jahansuz]] sacked [[Lashkari Bazar]], near [[Lashkargah|Bost]]. Again, the reason for the name change is not clear.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Inaba|first1=Minoru|title=KANDAHAR iii. Early Islamic Period|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kandahar-early-islamic-period|website=[[Encyclopaedia Iranica]]|access-date=9 March 2020|archive-date=21 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200221093955/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kandahar-early-islamic-period|url-status=live}}</ref> '''Mongols''' [[File:The Surrender of Kandahar.jpg|thumb|upright|A [[Miniature (illuminated manuscript)|miniature]] from [[Padshahnama]] depicting the surrender of the [[Shia Islam|Shia]] [[Safavid dynasty|Safavid]] garrison at what is now [[Old Kandahar]] in 1638 to the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] army of [[Shah Jahan]]]] Kandahar was besieged by a [[Mongol Empire|Mongol]] army in 1221, although [[Jalal ad-Din Mingburnu]] defeated them. In 1251, upon accession to the Mongol throne, [[Möngke Khan]] granted Kandahar, along with other lands in Afghanistan, to [[Shams-uddin Muhammad Kurt I|Shams ad-Din Mohammad Kart]] of the [[Kart dynasty]]. However, the city is mentioned as being under [[Chagatai Khanate|Chagatai]] control in 1260–61; Kandahar didn't come under Kart control until 1281. Later, in 1318, a Chagatai prince raised an army from Kandahar against the [[Ilkhanate|Ilkhanid]] governor of [[Sistan]].<ref name="KANDAHAR iv. From The Mongol Invasi">{{cite web|last1=Matthee|first1=Rudi|last2=Mashita|first2=Hiroyuki|title=KANDAHAR iv. From The Mongol Invasion Through The Safavid Era|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kandahar-from-the-mongol-invasion-through-the-safavid-era|website=Encyclopaedia Iranica|access-date=9 March 2020|archive-date=28 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141028132345/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kandahar-from-the-mongol-invasion-through-the-safavid-era|url-status=live}}</ref> Kandahar was described by [[Ibn Battuta]] in 1333 as a large and prosperous town three nights journey from [[Ghazni]].<ref name=Batutta>{{Cite book|title=Travels in Asia and Africa, 1325–1354|author=Ibn Battuta|edition=reprint, illustrated|year=2004|publisher=Routledge|isbn=0-415-34473-5|page=179|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zKqn_CWTxYEC&pg=PA179|access-date=4 August 2012|archive-date=2 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210702020838/https://books.google.com/books?id=zKqn_CWTxYEC&pg=PA179|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Timur|Tamerlane]], founder of the [[Timurid Empire]], captured Kandahar in 1383. He appointed his grandson [[Pir Muhammad bin Jahangir Mirza|Pir Muhammad]] as governor of Kandahar in 1390.<ref name="KANDAHAR iv. From The Mongol Invasi"/> Following his death in 1405, the city was ruled by other Timurid governors. Kandahar was entrusted to the [[Arghun Dynasty|Arghuns]] in the late 15th century, who eventually achieved independence from the Timurids. [[Guru Nanak]], the founder of [[Sikhism]], is believed to have visited the town (c. 1521 AD) during his important journey between Hindustan and [[Mecca]] in Arabia. '''Mughal and Safavid Era''' Tamerlane's descendant, [[Babur]], the founder of the [[Mughal Empire]], annexed Kandahar in 1508. In 1554, Babur's son, [[Humayun]], handed it over to the [[Safavid]] [[Shah Tahmasp]] in return of 12,000 soldiers he received from the Shah to reconquer India. In 1595, [[Humayun]]'s son [[Akbar the Great]] reconquered the city by diplomacy. Akbar died in 1605 and when this news reached the Persian court, Shah Abbas ordered his army to besiege the city which continued until early 1606 and finally failed due to the reinforcements sent by the Mughal Emperor [[Jahangir]] that forced the Safavid retreat. In the [[Mughal–Safavid War (1649–1653)|Mughal–Safavid War]], Kandahar was once again lost to the Safavids. In 1698, Balochs under [[Samandar Khan]] and [[Mir Abdullah Khan Ahmadzai]] of [[Kalat State]] captured Kandahar again. Kandahar was regarded as important to the Mughal Empire because it was one of the gateways to India, and Mughal control over Kandahar helped to prevent foreign intrusions.<ref name="sen2">{{Cite book|last=Sen|first=Sailendra|title=A Textbook of Medieval Indian History|publisher=Primus Books|year=2013|isbn=978-93-80607-34-4|pages=151, 162, 169–170}}</ref> The memory of the wars fought over Kandahar at this time is preserved in the epic poem ''Qandahār-nāma'' ("The Campaign Against Qandahār"), a major work of [[Saib Tabrizi]] which is a classic of Persian literature. ===Modern (1709–present)=== {{Further|Hotak dynasty|Durrani Empire}} [[File:KandaharMosque02.JPG|thumb|The Mausoleum of [[Mirwais Hotak]]]] [[Mirwais Hotak]], chief of the [[Ghilji]] tribe, revolted in 1709 by killing [[George XI of Kartli|Gurgin Khan]], an ethnic [[Georgian people|Georgian]] subject and governor of the Shia [[Safavid dynasty|Safavid]] Persians. After establishing the [[Hotak dynasty]] in Kandahar, Mirwais and his army successfully defeated subsequent expeditions by [[Kaikhosro of Kartli|Kay Khusraw]] and Rustam Khán. Mirwais resisted attempts by the Persian government who were seeking to convert the Afghans from [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]] to the Shia sect of Islam. He died of a natural death in November 1715 and was succeeded by his brother [[Abdul Aziz Hotak|Abdul Aziz]], but after being suspected of giving Kandahar's sovereignty back to the Persians he was killed by his nephew [[Mahmud Hotak]].<ref name="Browne29">{{Cite web|url=http://persian.packhum.org/persian/pf?file=90001014&ct=29|title=AN OUTLINE OF THE HISTORY OF PERSIA DURING THE LAST TWO CENTURIES (A.D. 1722–1922)|page=29|work=Edward Granville Browne|publisher=Packard Humanities Institute|location=London|access-date=24 September 2010|archive-date=11 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011103441/http://persian.packhum.org/persian/pf?file=90001014&ct=29|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Malleson">{{Cite book|title=History of Afghanistan, from the Earliest Period to the Outbreak of the War of 1878|last1=Malleson|first1=George Bruce|year=1878|publisher=Elibron.com|location=London|isbn=1-4021-7278-8|page=227|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pqNGBEmHUd4C&pg=PA227|access-date=27 September 2010|archive-date=16 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170416125629/https://books.google.com/books?id=pqNGBEmHUd4C&pg=PA227|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1722, Mahmud led an army of Afghans to the Safavid capital [[Isfahan]] and proclaimed himself King of Persia. The [[Hotak dynasty]] was eventually removed from power by a new Persian ruler, [[Nader Shah]]. In 1738, Nader Shah invaded Afghanistan and destroyed the now ''[[Old Kandahar]]'', which was held by [[Hussain Hotak]] and his [[Ghilji]] tribes.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/7798/Afghanistan/21392/Last-Afghan-empire|title=Last Afghan empire|encyclopedia=Louis Dupree, Nancy H. Dupree and others|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica Online|access-date=24 September 2010|archive-date=30 November 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101130150119/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/7798/Afghanistan/21392/Last-Afghan-empire|url-status=live}}</ref> In the meantime, Nader Shah freed [[Ahmad Shah Durrani|Ahmad Khan]] (later [[Ahmad Shah Durrani]]) and his brother Zulfikar who were held prisoners by the Hotak ruler. Before leaving southern Afghanistan for Delhi in India, Nader Shah laid out the foundation for a new town to be built next to the destroyed ancient city, naming it "[[Naderabad, Kandahar|Naderabad]]". His rule ended in June 1747 after being murdered by his Persian guards.<ref>''The Afghans'' (2002) by [[Willem Vogelsang]]. Page 228.</ref> [[File:Kandahar fourthcity durrani.jpg|thumb|This lithograph is taken from plate 23 of ''Afghaunistan'' by Lieutenant [[James Rattray]], 1848. He sketched Kandahar in December 1841 from the rooftop of the former residence of the province's governor, Sirdar Meer Dil Khaun, who was brother to the Emir. Pictured on the left is the tomb of Ahmed Shah Durrani and on the right the Bala Hissar (fort) and citadel.]] [[File:Coronation of Ahmad Shah Durrani in 1747 by Breshna.jpg|left|thumb|Painting by [[Abdul Ghafoor Breshna]] depicting the 1747 [[coronation]] of [[Ahmad Shah Durrani]], who is regarded as the [[List of national founders|founding father]] of Afghanistan ([[Father of the Nation]]).]] Ahmad Shah Durrani, chief of the [[Durrani]] tribe, gained control of Kandahar and made it the capital of his new [[Durrani Empire|Afghan Empire]] in October 1747. Initially, Ahmad Shah had trouble finding land on which to build his city. His own tribe had no extensive lands and others who had, such as the Alikozai and Barakzai, refused to give up their lands. Only the Popalzai finally offered him his pick of their lands. The foundations for the city were laid in June 1761.<ref>{{cite book|last=Dupree|first=Nancy|date=1977|title=An Historical Guide to Afghanistan|publisher=Jagra, Ltd.|page=281}}</ref> Once begun, the city was built with grand proportions. It was laid out in the form of a regular rectangle with a circumference of three miles; walls 30 feet thick at the bottom and 15 feet at the top, rose 27 feet high to enclose it. Outside, the walls were ringed by a moat 24 feet wide. Six mammoth gateways pierced these walls: the Eid Gah Gate on the north, the Shikarpur Gate on the south; the Herat and Top Khana Gates on the west; and, the Bar Durrani and Kabul Gates on the east. At its peak, Ahmad Shah's empire included present-day Afghanistan, Pakistan, the [[Khorasan Province|Khorasan]] and [[Quhistan|Kohistan]] provinces of Iran, along with [[Punjab, India|Punjab]] in India. In October 1772, Ahmad Shah retired and died from a natural cause.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/10162/Ahmad-Shah-Durrani|title=Aḥmad Shah Durrānī|publisher=[[Britannica.com]] Online Version|access-date=9 January 2011|archive-date=4 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140404104909/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/10162/Ahmad-Shah-Durrani|url-status=live}}</ref> A new city was laid out by Ahmad Shah and is dominated by his mausoleum, which is adjacent to the [[Mosque of the Cloak of the Prophet Mohammed|Mosque of the Cloak]] in the centre of the city. By 1776, his eldest son [[Timur Shah Durrani|Timur Shah]] had transferred Afghanistan's main capital, due to several conflicts with various Pashtun tribes, from Kandahar to Kabul, where the [[Durrani]] legacy continued.<ref Name=Dupree3/> From 1818 to 1855, Kandahar was ruled by half-brothers of [[Dost Mohammad Khan]] as an [[Principality of Qandahar|independent principality]]. In September 1826, [[Syed Ahmad Barelvi|Syed Ahmad Shaheed]]'s followers arrived to Kandahar in search of volunteers to help them wage [[jihad]] against the [[Sikh Empire|Sikh]] invaders to what is now Pakistan. Led by [[Ranjit Singh]], the [[Sikhs]] had captured several of Afghanistan's territories in the east, including what is now [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]] and [[Kashmir]]. More than 400 local Kandahar warriors assembled themselves for the jihad. Sayed Din Mohammad Kandharai was appointed as their leader. '''British war''' [[File:Kandahar-1881.jpg|thumb|[[British Raj|British-Indian]] invading forces at Kandahar after the 1880 [[Battle of Kandahar (1880)|Battle of Kandahar]], during the [[Second Anglo-Afghan War]]. The large defensive wall around the city was finally removed in the early 1930s by the order of King [[Mohammed Nadir Shah|Nader Khan]], the father of King [[Mohammed Zahir Shah|Zahir Shah]].]] [[British Raj|British-led Indian forces]] from neighbouring [[British India]] invaded the city in 1839, during the [[First Anglo-Afghan War]], but withdrew in 1842. In November 1855, Dost Mohammad Khan conquered Kandahar. The British and Indian forces returned in 1878 during the [[Second Anglo-Afghan War]]. They emerged from the city in July 1880 to confront the forces of [[Mohammad Ayub Khan (Emir of Afghanistan)|Ayub Khan]], but were defeated at the [[Battle of Maiwand]]. They were again forced to withdraw a few years later, despite winning the [[Battle of Kandahar (1880)|Battle of Kandahar]]. Kandahar remained peaceful for the next 100 years, except during 1929 when loyalists of [[Habibullah Kalakani]] (Bache Saqqaw) placed the fortified city on lock-down and began torturing its population. 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 lasted until October 1929 when [[Mohammed Nadir Shah|Nadir Khan]] and his Afghan army came to eliminate Kalakani, known as the Tajik bandit from the village of [[Kalakan]] in northern Kabul Province. During [[Mohammed Zahir Shah|Zahir Shah]]'s rule, the city slowly began expanding by adding modern style streets and housing schemes. Although Kandahar remained less international than Kabul, with fewer foreigners in residence and thus no market for coffee, jam, potatoes, or other European produce, a modest German community took root there in the 1930s. Engineers and factory managers, accompanied by their spouses, arrived to supervise wool-processing plants. A Siemens electrical station powered these emerging industries, signaling a step toward the broader modernization taking shape across Afghanistan during this period.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Crews|first=Robert D.|title=Afghan Modern: The History of a Global Nation|date=2015|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-49574-6|edition=|location=Cambridge, MA|pages=161|chapter=Seduced by Capital}}</ref> [[File:1973-12-08 Kandahar (14).jpg|thumb|Street in the city, 1973]] In the 1960s, during the rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union, [[Kandahar International Airport]] was built by the [[United States Army Corps of Engineers|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 other parts of the country, such as [[Bagram Airfield]] and [[Kabul International Airport]]. During the 1980s, [[Soviet–Afghan War]], Kandahar city (and the province as a whole) witnessed heavy fighting as it became a centre of resistance as the [[mujahideen]] forces waged a strong [[guerrilla warfare]] against the [[Democratic Republic of Afghanistan|Soviet-backed government]], who tightly held on control of the city. Government and Soviet troops surrounded the city and subjected it to heavy air bombardment in which many civilians lost their lives.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lib.unb.ca/Texts/JCS/bin/get5.cgi?directory=fall99%2F&filename=WESTERMA.htm#39|title=The Limits of Soviet Airpower: The Failure of Military Coercion in Afghanistan, 1979–89|work=Edward B. Westermann|publisher=[[University of New Brunswick]]|access-date=9 January 2011|archive-date=5 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605194158/http://www.lib.unb.ca/Texts/JCS/bin/get5.cgi?directory=fall99%2F&filename=WESTERMA.htm#39|url-status=live}}</ref> In January 1982 indiscriminate shelling and bombing by the Soviets killed hundreds.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.heritage.org/node/22652/print-display|title=The Heritage Foundation|access-date=11 January 2018|archive-date=12 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180112100834/http://www.heritage.org/node/22652/print-display|url-status=unfit}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/03/08/world/soviet-reprisals-on-afghans-called-fierce.html|title=Soviet Reprisals on Afghans Called Fierce|newspaper=The New York Times|date=8 March 1982|last1=Middleton|first1=Drew|access-date=29 January 2018|archive-date=12 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180112044330/http://www.nytimes.com/1982/03/08/world/soviet-reprisals-on-afghans-called-fierce.html|url-status=live}}</ref> 300 civilians were killed during Soviet bombings in July 1984.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/07/24/Soviet-forces-bombed-the-city-of-Kandahar-in-southern/5417459489600/|title=Soviet forces bombed the city of Kandahar in southern|access-date=11 January 2018|archive-date=12 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180112042626/https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/07/24/Soviet-forces-bombed-the-city-of-Kandahar-in-southern/5417459489600/|url-status=live}}</ref> It was under siege again in April 1986.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://apnews.com/19a6eb5d553820d0143d100366f9cee1|title=Soviet-Afghan Offensive Destroys Rebel Stronghold|website=[[Associated Press]]|access-date=7 June 2020|archive-date=7 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200607155106/https://apnews.com/19a6eb5d553820d0143d100366f9cee1|url-status=live}}</ref> The city's population was reduced from 200,000 before the war to no more than 25,000 inhabitants, following a months-long campaign of carpet bombing and bulldozing by the Soviets and Afghan communist soldiers in 1987.{{sfn|Kaplan|2008|p=188}} Kandahar International Airport was used by the [[Soviet Army]] during their ten-year troop placement in the country. The city also became a battle ground for the US and Pakistani-backed forces against the pro-Communist government of Afghanistan.<ref name="theguardian.com">{{Cite web|date=9 December 2001|title=Kandahar on brink of chaos as warlords ready for battle|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/dec/09/afghanistan.peterbeaumont|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190104175515/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/dec/09/afghanistan.peterbeaumont|archive-date=4 January 2019|access-date=4 January 2019|website=[[TheGuardian.com]]}}</ref> Kandahar underwent a complete sociopolitical collapse in the early 1990s, driven in part by the divide-and-rule tactics of the communist governor-general, [[Nur ul-Haq Ulumi]], who manipulated rival mujahideen factions against each other, and by the rampant greed within both the communist and mujahideen militias.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Moiz|first=Ibrahim|title=The True Story of the Taliban: Emirate and Insurgency, 1994–2021|date=2024|publisher=The Other Press|isbn=9798336042269|location=Kuala Lumpur|pages=47–53|oclc=1458059551}}</ref> After the Soviet withdrawal and the collapse of [[Mohammad Najibullah|Najibullah]]'s government in 1992, Kandahar fell to local mujahideen commander, [[Gul Agha Sherzai]]. However Sherzai lacked authority against other local commanders which led to lawlessness in the city,<ref name="theguardian.com" /> and fighting in 1993.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Zaeef|first1=Mohammad|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zfGlVzNltF8C&pg=PT377|title=My life with the Taliban|date=7 August 2012|publisher=Hachette India|isbn=9789350094136|access-date=7 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210501130520/https://books.google.com/books?id=zfGlVzNltF8C&pg=PT377|archive-date=1 May 2021|url-status=live}}</ref> During this time, banditry, rape, and murder became rampant in Kandahar, creating a demand for a more moral and unified alternative. This led to the rise of the ''talibs'' (students), who eventually formed the Taliban movement. By the spring of 1994, the nucleus of the [[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (1996–2001)|Taliban emirate]] had begun to take shape, and that year, they launched operations to dismantle warlord militia checkpoints around the city. The talibs gained considerable popularity and legitimacy during this period by defeating these predatory warlords.<ref name=":0" /> In August 1994, the Taliban, under [[Mullah Omar]], captured Kandahar from commander [[Mullah Naqib]] almost without a fight<ref name="theguardian.com" /> and turned the city into their headquarters. The capture of Afghanistan's second-largest city marked the Taliban's transformation from a fledgling militia into an Islamic emirate, solidifying their legitimacy as a governing authority through the imposition of a strict interpretation of Islamic law.<ref name=":0" /> Formal education for girls was banned as well as the consumption of TV, films, music with instrumental [[accompaniments]], and the playing of sports. In December 1999, a hijacked [[Indian Airlines Flight 814]] plane by Pakistani militants loyal to [[Harkat-ul-Mujahideen]] landed at Kandahar International Airport and kept the passengers hostage as part of a demand to release three Pakistani militants from prison in India. ====21st century==== {{Further|International Security Assistance Force|Presidency of Hamid Karzai}} [[File:KANDAHAR TEN-MILER.jpg|thumb|[[United States Army|U.S. Army]] troops in 2009 passing by the starting point of the [[Army Ten-Miler]] run at their base next to [[Kandahar International Airport]].]] In October 2001, as part of [[War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)|Operation Enduring Freedom]], the [[United States Navy]] began [[bombing of Kandahar (2001)|hitting targets]] inside the city by [[Precision-guided munition|precision-guided]] [[cruise missile]]s that were fired from the [[Persian Gulf]]. These targets were the airport and buildings that were occupied by the Taliban, including [[History of Arabs in Afghanistan|Arab]] families who had arrived several years earlier and were residing in the area.<ref>[[BBC News]], [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7193579.stm Kandahar's cemetery of 'miracles'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080120174340/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7193579.stm |date=20 January 2008 }}</ref> 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]].<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/asia/2003/journey/afghanistan.html|title=Home Free|quote=''[[Hamid Karzai]] dreamed for years of his eventual homecoming. But for both him and his newly reborn nation, the journey has only begun''|magazine=Time|access-date=9 January 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090724022555/http://www.time.com/time/asia/2003/journey/afghanistan.html|archive-date=24 July 2009}}</ref> 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. [[Toryalai Wesa]] was appointed [[List of governors of Kandahar|Governor of the province]] by President Hamid Karzai in December 2008 after [[Rahmatullah Raufi]]'s four-month rule. In 2002, Kandahar International Airport started to be used by members of the United States armed forces and NATO's [[International Security Assistance Force]] (ISAF). NATO began training the newly formed [[Afghan National Police]] and provided security responsibility of the city. The [[military of Afghanistan]], backed by [[NATO]] forces, gradually expanded its authority and presence throughout most of the country. The [[205th Corps (Afghanistan)|205th Corps]] of the [[Afghan National Army]] was based at Kandahar and provided military assistance to the south of the country. The [[Canadian Forces]] maintained their military command headquarters at Kandahar, heading the [[Train Advise Assist Command – South|Regional Command South]] of the NATO led [[International Security Assistance Force]] in [[Kandahar Province]]. The Taliban also had supporters inside the city reporting on events.<ref>BBC News, [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8203830.stm Kandahar dreamers test Taliban edicts] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090818081449/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8203830.stm |date=18 August 2009 }}</ref> NATO forces expanded 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 [[Improvised explosive device|IED]] emplacement.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/feedarticle/8912934|title=Removed: news agency feed article|work=the Guardian|date=9 December 2015|access-date=6 May 2016|archive-date=20 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920044330/https://www.theguardian.com/info/2015/dec/09/removed-news-agency-feed-article|url-status=live}}</ref> In June 2008, it was reported that over 1,000 [[Sarposa prison tunneling escape of 2011|inmates had escaped]] from [[Sarposa prison]]. In Spring 2010, the province and the city of Kandahar became a target of American operations following ''[[Operation Moshtarak]]'' in the neighbouring [[Helmand Province]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/27/world/asia/27kandahar.html|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220103/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/27/world/asia/27kandahar.html|archive-date=3 January 2022|url-access=subscription|url-status=live|title=Kandahar, a Battlefield Even Before U.S. Offensive|date=27 March 2010|work=The New York Times|access-date=6 May 2016}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In March 2010, U.S. and NATO commanders released details of plans for the biggest offensive of the war against the Taliban insurgency.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://in.reuters.com/article/southAsiaNews/idINIndia-47354120100331|title=Q+A – NATO sees Kandahar battle as Afghan turning point|work=Reuters Editorial|date=31 March 2010|agency=Reuters India|access-date=6 May 2016|archive-date=20 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920044331/https://www.reuters.com/?edition-redirect=in|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[File:Crocker and Wesa in 2012.jpg|left|thumb|[[United States Ambassador to Afghanistan|U.S. Ambassador]] [[Ryan Crocker]] and [[Toryalai Wesa]], the [[list of governors of Kandahar|Governor of Kandahar Province]].]] 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 witnessing many targeted killings. In July [[Ahmed Wali Karzai]], brother of President Hamid Karzai, was shot by his long time head of security. Soon after the [[Quetta Shura]] of the Taliban claimed responsibility. The next day an Islamic cleric (mulla) of the famous [[Red Mosque, Kandahar|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 mayor]]s had been killed in 2010,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/07/27/afghanistan.mayor.killed/index.html|title=Kandahar mayor killed in suicide attack; Taliban claim responsibility|access-date=6 May 2016|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304111007/http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/07/27/afghanistan.mayor.killed/index.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> while many tribal elders and Islamic clerics have also been assassinated in the last several years. The overwhelming majority of the victims in the attacks are ordinary Afghan civilians.<ref name=civilians>[http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2011/10/10/challenges-remain-despite-reduced-rebel-attacks-isaf Challenges remain despite reduced rebel attacks: ISAF] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130612004042/http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2011/10/10/challenges-remain-despite-reduced-rebel-attacks-isaf |date=12 June 2013 }}. Pajhwok Afghan News. 10 October 2011.</ref> On 6 June 2012, at least 21 civilians were killed and 50 others injured when two Taliban suicide bombers on motorcycles blew themselves up in a market area near Kandahar International Airport.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2012/06/07/21-killed-50-injured-twin-suicide-blasts-video|title=21 killed, 50 injured in twin suicide blasts (Video)|publisher=Pajhwok Afghan News|editor=Siddiqullah|date=7 June 2012|access-date=8 June 2012|archive-date=12 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130612002802/http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2012/06/07/21-killed-50-injured-twin-suicide-blasts-video|url-status=dead}}</ref> On [[May 2020 Afghanistan attacks|4 May 2020]], a policewoman was assassinated in the centre of Kandahar, making her the fifth policewoman to be killed during the previous two months in Kandahar. No group claimed responsibility for the killing of the policewomen by the end of the day of the reported event.<ref name="vo1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.voanews.com/a/south-central-asia_taliban-claim-attack-afghan-army-base/6188667.html|title=Taliban Claim Attack on Afghan Army Base|date=4 May 2020|via=voanews.com/|access-date=28 May 2020|archive-date=16 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816214122/https://www.voanews.com/south-central-asia/taliban-claim-attack-afghan-army-base|url-status=live}}</ref> On 12 August 2021, the Taliban [[Battle of Kandahar (2021)|captured Kandahar]]. After days of brutal clashes with [[Afghan National Army|ANA]] soldiers retreating from the city, the Taliban were finally able to capture the city.<ref name = "talib1">{{cite web|last1=Akhgar|first1=Tameem|title=Taliban take Kandahar, Herat in major Afghanistan offensive|url=https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-afghanistan-taliban-26d485963b7a0d9f2107afcbc38f239a|website=Apnews|date=12 August 2021|access-date=12 August 2021|archive-date=12 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210812043017/https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-afghanistan-taliban-26d485963b7a0d9f2107afcbc38f239a|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name = "talib2">{{cite news|last1=Goldbaum|first1=Christina|title=Afghanistan Collapse Accelerates as 2 Vital Cities Near Fall to Taliban|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/12/world/asia/kandahar-afghanistan-taliban.html|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211228/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/12/world/asia/kandahar-afghanistan-taliban.html|archive-date=28 December 2021|url-access=limited|newspaper=The New York Times|date=12 August 2021|access-date=12 August 2021}}{{cbignore}}</ref> It became the twelfth provincial capital to be seized by Taliban as part of the wider [[2021 Taliban offensive]]. On 15 October 2021, [[2021 Kandahar bombing|four suicide bombers killed dozens at a Shia mosque in the city]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Afghanistan: At least 35 killed in suicide bombing during prayers at Kandahar mosque|url=https://news.sky.com/story/afghanistan-at-least-15-killed-in-explosion-at-mosque-in-kandahar-12434327|access-date=15 October 2021|website=Sky News|language=en|archive-date=16 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211016130830/https://news.sky.com/story/afghanistan-at-least-15-killed-in-explosion-at-mosque-in-kandahar-12434327|url-status=live}}</ref> ==Geography== [[File:View of Arghandab Valley.jpg|thumb|[[Arghandab Valley]]]] The [[Arghandab River]] runs along the west of Kandahar. The city has 15 districts and a total land area of 27,337 hectares.<ref name="auto1">{{cite web|title=The State of Afghan Cities report 2015|url=http://unhabitat.org/books/soac2015_volume2/|ref=UN-Habitat|access-date=22 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151031111658/http://unhabitat.org/books/soac2015_volume2/|archive-date=31 October 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> The total number of dwellings in Kandahar is 61,902.<ref name="auto1"/> Only 64% of families in Kandahar have access to safe drinking water; 22% of households have access to safe toilet facilities; and 27% of households have access to electricity, with the remainder dependent on public power. Kandahar's transportation infrastructure is well-developed, with 76.8% of the province's roads capable of carrying car traffic in all seasons. However, there are no roads in a minor portion of the province (3.3 percent). In terms of telecommunications, Kandahar City and major roadways are covered by the three major mobile networks AWCC, Roshan, and MTN.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{Cite web|title=Afghanistan Provincial Reconstruction Handbook|date=February 2011|url=https://usacac.army.mil/sites/default/files/publications/11-16.pdf|pages=88|access-date=21 September 2023|archive-date=26 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230626151451/https://usacac.army.mil/sites/default/files/publications/11-16.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> ===Land use=== Kandahar is the regional hub in southern Afghanistan, close to the border with Pakistan.<ref name="auto1"/> Non-built up land use accounts for 59% of the total land area.<ref name="auto1"/> Within the built-up area, vacant plots occupy a slightly higher percentage of land (36%) than residential land (34%).<ref name="auto1"/> There is a significant commercial cluster along the road to Pakistan in District 5.<ref name="auto1"/> India, Iran and Pakistan have consulates here for trade, military and political links. ===Climate=== Kandahar has a [[hot semi-arid climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification|Köppen]] ''BSh''),<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.artofwar.net.ru/profiles/andreev_pavel_v/view_book/kandagrad|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100214001736/http://www.artofwar.net.ru/profiles/andreev_pavel_v/view_book/kandagrad|url-status=dead|title=Art Of War – Военно-исторический литературный портал|archive-date=14 February 2010|website=www.artofwar.net.ru}}</ref> that borders on a [[hot desert climate]] (''BWh''), 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 {{cvt|31.9|°C|1}}. 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, although nights are sharply cooler. Winter begins in December and sees most of its precipitation in the form of rain. Temperatures average {{cvt|5.1|°C|1}} in January, although lows can drop well below freezing. They end in early March and are followed by a pleasant spring until 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 {{cvt|18.6|°C|1}}. {{Weather box |width = auto |location = Kandahar (1964–1983) |metric first = Y |single line = Y |Jan record high C = 25.0 |Feb record high C = 26.0 |Mar record high C = 36.5 |Apr record high C = 37.1 |May record high C = 43.0 |Jun record high C = 45.0 |Jul record high C = 46.5 |Aug record high C = 44.5 |Sep record high C = 41.0 |Oct record high C = 37.5 |Nov record high C = 31.5 |Dec record high C = 26.0 |Jan high C = 12.2 |Feb high C = 14.8 |Mar high C = 21.6 |Apr high C = 28.1 |May high C = 34.1 |Jun high C = 39.1 |Jul high C = 40.2 |Aug high C = 38.2 |Sep high C = 34.0 |Oct high C = 27.5 |Nov high C = 21.0 |Dec high C = 15.4 |year high C = 27.2 |Jan mean C = 5.1 |Feb mean C = 7.8 |Mar mean C = 13.9 |Apr mean C = 20.2 |May mean C = 25.4 |Jun mean C = 30.0 |Jul mean C = 31.9 |Aug mean C = 29.4 |Sep mean C = 23.5 |Oct mean C = 17.5 |Nov mean C = 11.0 |Dec mean C = 7.3 |Jan low C = 0.0 |Feb low C = 2.4 |Mar low C = 7.1 |Apr low C = 12.3 |May low C = 15.8 |Jun low C = 19.5 |Jul low C = 22.5 |Aug low C = 20.0 |Sep low C = 13.5 |Oct low C = 8.5 |Nov low C = 3.3 |Dec low C = 1.0 |year low C = 10.5 |Jan record low C = −12.1 |Feb record low C = −10.0 |Mar record low C = −4.8 |Apr record low C = 2.0 |May record low C = 2.4 |Jun record low C = 8.5 |Jul record low C = 13.5 |Aug record low C = 9.0 |Sep record low C = 5.2 |Oct record low C = −2.2 |Nov record low C = −9.3 |Dec record low C = −11.4 |Jan precipitation mm = 54.0 |Feb precipitation mm = 42.0 |Mar precipitation mm = 41.1 |Apr precipitation mm = 18.7 |May precipitation mm = 2.2 |Jun precipitation mm = 0 |Jul precipitation mm = 2.3 |Aug precipitation mm = 1.0 |Sep precipitation mm = 0 |Oct precipitation mm = 2.3 |Nov precipitation mm = 7.0 |Dec precipitation mm = 20.0 |Jan precipitation days = 6 |Feb precipitation days = 6 |Mar precipitation days = 6 |Apr precipitation days = 4 |May precipitation days = 1 |Jun precipitation days = 0 |Jul precipitation days = 0 |Aug precipitation days = 0 |Sep precipitation days = 0 |Oct precipitation days = 1 |Nov precipitation days = 2 |Dec precipitation days = 3 |Jan sun = 198.4 |Feb sun = 183.6 |Mar sun = 235.6 |Apr sun = 255.0 |May sun = 347.2 |Jun sun = 369.0 |Jul sun = 341.0 |Aug sun = 337.9 |Sep sun = 324.0 |Oct sun = 306.9 |Nov sun = 264.0 |Dec sun = 217.0 |Jan humidity = 58 |Feb humidity = 59 |Mar humidity = 50 |Apr humidity = 41 |May humidity = 30 |Jun humidity = 23 |Jul humidity = 25 |Aug humidity = 25 |Sep humidity = 24 |Oct humidity = 29 |Nov humidity = 40 |Dec humidity = 52 |source 1 = NOAA (1964–1983)<ref name= NOAA>{{cite web|url=https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/data/normals/WMO/1961-1990/RA-II/AH/40990.TXT|title=Kandahar Climate Normals 1964–1983|publisher=[[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]]|access-date=26 December 2012|archive-date=20 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920044332/ftp://ftp.atdd.noaa.gov/pub/GCOS/WMO-Normals/RA-II/AH/40990.TXT|url-status=live}}</ref> |date=August 2010 }} ==Transport== {{Further|Transport in Afghanistan|Highway 1 (Afghanistan)}} [[File:Kam Air at Kandahar International Airport in 2012.jpg|thumb|A [[Kam Air]] passenger plane at [[Kandahar International Airport]] in 2012]] [[Kandahar International Airport]] serves as southern Afghanistan'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 to the UAE, Iran, India, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan. Kandahar is connected to [[Quetta]] [[Pakistan]] via [[Chaman]] and [[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 privately owned older-model [[Mercedes-Benz buses|Mercedes-Benz]] [[coach (bus)|coach]] buses are available to take passengers to most major cities of the country. Kandahar is also connected by road to [[Quetta]] in neighbouring 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.<ref>{{cite news|first=James|last=Cogan|title=Hundreds dead in fighting along Afghanistan-Pakistan border|url=http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/aug2008/afgh-a16.shtml|work=[[World Socialist Web Site]]|date=16 August 2008|access-date=25 August 2008|archive-date=2 September 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080902043919/http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/aug2008/afgh-a16.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Salih Muhammad|last=Salih|author2=Siddique, Abubakar|title=Death stalks the highway to hell|url=http://atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/JJ24Df03.html|work=[[Asia Times Online]]|date=23 October 2008|access-date=23 October 2008|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120707030314/http://atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/JJ24Df03.html|archive-date=7 July 2012|url-status=unfit}}</ref> Commuters in the city of Kandahar use the public bus system ([[Milli Bus]]), and taxicabs and [[Auto rickshaw|rickshaws]] are common. Private vehicle use is increasing, partially due to road and highway improvements. Large dealerships are importing cars from [[Dubai]], [[UAE]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lonelyplanet.com/tonywheeler/my_lists/afghanistan_practicalities/|title=Afghanistan Practicalities|publisher=[[Lonely Planet]]|first=Tony|last=Wheeler|date=6 June 2006|access-date=9 January 2011|archive-date=7 January 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110107095118/http://www.lonelyplanet.com/tonywheeler/my_lists/afghanistan_practicalities/|url-status=live}}</ref> ==Demographics== {{Further|Demographics of Afghanistan}}{{Bar box|float=left|bars={{bar percent|[[Muslims]]|green|99.8}} {{bar percent|[[Hindus]]|orange|0.15}} {{bar percent|Others*|blue|0.05}}|caption=*{{small|includes [[Sikhs]], [[Baháʼí Faith|Baháʼí]] and [[Atheists]]}}|left1=Religion|right1=%|title=Religions in Kandahar}} Kandahar has a population of approximately 1,057,500 people in 2008. In the province, there are around 14,445 households, with an average of seven individuals per home. Around 68 percent of Kandahar's population resides in rural districts, with males accounting for 51 percent of the population. Pashtuns are the province's largest ethnic group. Major Pashtun tribes such as the [[Durrani]] including Barakzai, Popalzai, Alkozai, Noorzai, Ishaqzai, Achakzai, Maku, and Qizilbash Shia's and [[Ghilji|Khilji]] are included. More than 98 percent of the population speaks Pashtu. Only a small percentage of the population speaks [[Balochi language]] and [[Dari]]. [[Kochi people]] (Pashtun Nomads) also live in Kandahar province, and their numbers fluctuate depending on the season, with estimates stating approximately 79,000 in the winter and 39,000 in the summer.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> The population of Kandahar numbers approximately 651,484 {{As of|2021|lc=y}}.<ref name=nsia>{{cite web|url=https://www.nsia.gov.af:8080/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Estimated-Population-of-Afghanistan1-1400.pdf|title=Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2021–22|author=<!--Not stated-->|date=April 2021|website=|publisher=National Statistic and Information Authority (NSIA)|access-date=21 June 2021|quote=|archive-date=24 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624204559/https://www.nsia.gov.af:8080/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Estimated-Population-of-Afghanistan1-1400.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[Pashtuns]] make up the overwhelming majority population of the city and provice [[Pashto language|Pashto]] is the main language in the city and the region. [[Persian language|Persian]] is also understood by a few number of the city dwellers, especially those serving in the government. Both are the official [[languages of Afghanistan]]. A 2006 compendium of provincial data prepared by the Afghan [[Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development]] and [[United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan]] (UNAMA) states: {{blockquote|sign=|source=|"The major ethnic group living in Khandahar province is Pashtoons. This includes major tribes such as [[Durrani]] sub tribes including [[Barakzai]], [[Popalzai]], [[Alakozai|Alkozai]], [[Achakzai]], [[Ishaqzai]], [[Noorzai]] and [[Alizai (Pashtun tribe)|Alezai]]. [[Pashto language|Pashtu]] is spoken by more than 98% of population and in more than 98% of villages. [[Dari language|Dari]] is spoken in six villages by 4000 people and [[Balochi language|Balochi]] is spoken by 8000 people in two villages. 19000 people in nine villages speak some other unspecified language."<ref name=demography>{{cite web|url=http://www.mrrd-nabdp.org/Provincial%20Profiles/Kandahar%20PDP%20Provincial%20profile.pdf|title=B. Demography and Population|work=[[United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan]] and Afghanistan Statistical Yearbook 2006, Central Statistics Office|publisher=Afghanistan's [[Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development]]|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120321120424/http://www.mrrd-nabdp.org/Provincial%20Profiles/Kandahar%20PDP%20Provincial%20profile.pdf|archive-date=21 March 2012}}</ref>}} The [[Pashtun culture]], [[Pashtuns|history]], traditions, [[Pashtun clothing|clothing]] and [[Pashtunwali]] is dominant in this region. ==Education== {{Further|Education in Afghanistan}} [[File:School children watch members of Afghan National Security Force and Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team.jpg|thumb|Children from the Zarghona Ana High School watch members of [[Afghan National Security Force]] and Kandahar [[Provincial Reconstruction Team]] prepare for the Kandahar Nursing and Midwifery Institute grand opening ceremony in 2012.]] Before the 1978 coup in Kabul, majority of the city's population were enrolled in schools.{{citation needed|date=May 2014}} Nearly all of the elite class of the city fled to neighboring Pakistan during the early 1980s, and from there they began immigrating to North America, Europe, [[Afghan Australian|Australia]] and other parts of the world. The two oldest known schools are Ahmad Shah Baba High School and Zarghona Ana High School. There are a number of new schools that opened in the last decade, with more being built in the future as the city's population grows with the large returning Afghans from neighboring countries. [[Afghan Turk High Schools]] is one of the top private schools in the city. The main university is the [[Kandahar University]]. A number of private higher education institutions have also opened in the last decade such as Benawa Institute of Higher Education, Mirwais Neeka Institute of Higher Education, Malalay Institute of Higher Education and Saba Institute of Higher Education.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://counselorcorporation.com/benawa-institute-of-higher-education/|title=Benawa Institute of Higher Education | Tuition | Admission – Counselor Corporation|date=8 July 2020|access-date=28 July 2021|archive-date=28 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210728173647/https://counselorcorporation.com/benawa-institute-of-higher-education/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://counselorcorporation.com/mirwais-neeka-institute-of-higher-education/|title=Mirwais Neeka Institute of Higher Education – Counselor Corporation|date=19 September 2020|access-date=28 July 2021|archive-date=28 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210728173650/https://counselorcorporation.com/mirwais-neeka-institute-of-higher-education/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://counselorcorporation.com/saba-institute-of-higher-education/|title=Saba Institute of Higher Education | Fee & Academics – Counselor Corporation|date=27 September 2020|access-date=28 July 2021|archive-date=28 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210728173644/https://counselorcorporation.com/saba-institute-of-higher-education/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://counselorcorporation.com/malalay-university/|title=Malalay University | Tuition and Fees | Academics – Counselor Corporation|date=19 September 2020|access-date=28 July 2021|archive-date=28 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210728173644/https://counselorcorporation.com/malalay-university/|url-status=live}}</ref> The adult literacy rate ratio was 16.8% in 2012.[https://knoema.com/atlas/Afghanistan/Kandahar] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230317222205/https://knoema.com/atlas/Afghanistan/Kandahar |date=17 March 2023 }} ==Communications== {{Further|Communications in Afghanistan}} Telecommunication services in the city are provided by [[Afghan Wireless]], [[Roshan (Telecom)|Roshan]], [[Etisalat]], [[MTN Group]] and [[Afghan Telecom]]. In November 2006, the [[Ministry of Communications (Afghanistan)|Afghan Ministry of Communications]] signed a $64.5 million agreement with [[ZTE]] for the establishment of a countrywide fibre optical cable network. This was intended to improve telephone, internet, television and radio broadcast services not just in Kandahar but throughout the country. ==Places of interest== [[File:Ruins of old Kandahar Citadel in 1881.jpg|thumb|upright|An 1881 photo showing the ruined [[Old Kandahar]] [[citadel]] of Shah [[Hussain Hotak]] that was destroyed by the [[Afsharid dynasty|Afsharid forces]] of [[Nader Shah]] in 1738. This destroyed fortress is still standing today.]] The tomb of [[Ahmad Shah Durrani]] is located in the city centre, 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.<ref>Lamb, Christina (2002). ''[https://archive.org/details/sewingcirclesofh00chri The Sewing Circles of Herat: A Personal Voyage Through Afghanistan]''. Harper Collins. First Perennial edition (2004), p. 38 and n. {{ISBN|0-06-050527-3}}.</ref> The village of ''Sher Surkh'' is located southeast of the city, in the suburbs of the old city of [[Naderabad, Kandahar|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]]'', {{cvt|23|ft|m|order=flip}} 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 centre of Kandahar's main square, called ''Da Shahidanu Chawk'', which was built in the 1940s. [[File:Old Kandahar and Chil Zena.jpg|thumb|Ancient city of [[Old Kandahar]] (red) and [[Chilzina]] mountainous outcrop (blue) on the western side of Kandahar.]] 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''. This is here that [[Ashoka]]'s [[Kandahar Bilingual Rock Inscription]] was found. Forty steps, about, lead to the chamber, which is guarded by two chained lions, defaced, and inscribed with an account of [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] 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 Ghiljai chieftain who declared Kandahar's independence from the Persians in 1709. The shrine of [[Baba Wali Kandhari]]<ref name="wondersofpakistan.wordpress.com">{{cite web|url=http://wondersofpakistan.wordpress.com/2009/04/13/punja-sahib-the-miracle-at-hassan-abdal/|title=Punja Sahib: The Miracle at Hassan Abdal|work=Wonders of Pakistan|date=13 April 2009|access-date=6 May 2016|archive-date=13 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313232015/https://wondersofpakistan.wordpress.com/2009/04/13/punja-sahib-the-miracle-at-hassan-abdal/|url-status=live}}</ref> (Baba Sahib), its terraces shaded by pomegranate groves beside the [[Arghandab River]], is also very popular for picnics and afternoon outings.<ref Name=Dupree3/> He was a Muslim [[Pir (Sufism)|pir]] who had a strange encounter with [[Guru Nanak]] at [[Hasan Abdal]] in what is now [[Attock District]] of Pakistan. The shrine of Baba Wali is important to Muslims and [[Sikh]]s. Close to Baba Wali's shrine is a military base established by the [[United States armed forces]] in about 2007. ==Development and modernization== [[File:Aino Mina housing model.jpg|thumb|The original model plan of the ''Aino Mina'' neighbourhood, which began in 2003 by [[Mahmud Karzai]] and associates.<ref name=Cusak/>]] Decades of war left Kandahar and the rest of the country destroyed and depopulated, but in recent years billions of dollars began pouring in for construction purposes and millions of expats have returned to Afghanistan. New residential areas have been established around the city, and a number of modern style buildings have been constructed. Some residents of the city have access to clean drinking water and electricity, and the government is working to extend these services to every home.<ref>South Asian News Agency, [http://www.sananews.com.pk/news.php?netwire=8219&cwire=8219 ''30 Power Generators to Be Installed in Kandahar'']{{Dead link|date=August 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The city relies on electricity from the [[Kajaki Dam|Kajaki]] [[hydroelectricity]] plant in neighbouring [[Helmand Province|Helmand]], which is being upgraded or expanded. About {{cvt|20|mi|km|sigfig=1|order=flip}} north of the city is the [[Dahla Dam]], the second largest [[list of dams and reservoirs in Afghanistan|dam in Afghanistan]]. The ''Aino Mina'' is a new housing project for up to two million people on the northern edge of the city.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.burohappold.com/projects/project/aino-mina-development-138/|title=Aino Mina Development|access-date=6 May 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304031905/http://www.burohappold.com/projects/project/aino-mina-development-138/|archive-date=4 March 2016}}</ref> Originally called the ''Kandahar Valley'' and started by [[Mahmud Karzai]],<ref name=Cusak>{{cite news|url=http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/19/spending-time-with-the-karzais-in-parts-of-kandahar/|title=Spending Time With the Karzais in (Parts of) Kandahar|work=The New York Times|date=19 July 2011|access-date=20 October 2012|first=Jake|last=Cusack|archive-date=8 August 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120808095610/http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/19/spending-time-with-the-karzais-in-parts-of-kandahar/|url-status=live}}</ref> it was announced that the project would build up to 20,000 single-family homes and associated infrastructure such as roads, water and sewer systems, and [[community building]]s, including schools.<ref>[[U.S. Department of State]], [http://www.usinfo.state.gov/sa/Archive/2004/Jan/29-5307.html ''U.S. Government Agency Grants $3 Million to Build Afghan Homes''] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061004135535/http://usinfo.state.gov/sa/Archive/2004/Jan/29-5307.html |date=4 October 2006 }}</ref> It recently won 2 awards, the ''Residential Project'' and ''Sustainable Project'' of the Year at the Middle East Architect Awards.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.designmena.com/portfolio/aino-mina|title=Case study: Aino Mina|work=Design Middle East|access-date=6 May 2016|archive-date=6 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140106003655/http://www.designmena.com/portfolio/aino-mina|url-status=dead}}</ref> Many of the high-ranking government employees and civil servants as well as wealthy businessmen live in this area, which is a more secured community in Kandahar. Work on the next $100 million scheme was initiated in 2011. Also, construction of Hamidi Township in the Morchi Kotal area of the city began in August 2011. It is named after [[Ghulam Haider Hamidi]], the mayor of Kandahar who was assassinated by militants in late July 2011.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.afghanpanorama.com/?p=457|title=Kandahar mayor killed by suicide bomber with explosives in turban}}{{Dead link|date=March 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2011/08/16/construction-hameedi-township-starts-kandahar|title=Construction of Hameedi township starts in Kandahar|date=16 August 2011|first=Bashir Ahmed|last=Naadem|access-date=16 August 2011|archive-date=8 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120908074140/http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2011/08/16/construction-hameedi-township-starts-kandahar|url-status=dead}}</ref> About {{cvt|10|km|0}} 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.<ref>Afghanistan Investment Support Agency, [http://www.aisa.org.af/ipda/kandahar.html ''Afghanistan Industrial Parks Development Authority''] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060721180455/http://www.aisa.org.af/ipda/kandahar.html |date=21 July 2006 }}</ref> [[File:Baba Saab.JPG|thumb|The [[mausoleum]] of [[Baba Wali Kandhari]]<ref name="wondersofpakistan.wordpress.com"/> next to the Arghandab Valley, in the northern outskirts of the city.]] [[File:Mosque in Kandahar-2011.jpg|thumb|The mausoleum of [[Ahmad Shah Durrani]] in the centre of the city, which also serves as the [[Congregational Mosque]] and contains a sacred [[cloak]] that used to be worn by Islam's Prophet [[Muhammad]].]] [[File:Governor's courtyard in Kandahar.jpg|thumb|Governor's Mansion]] [[File:Buildings in Kandahar2.jpg|thumb|Al-Jadeed Market]] [[File:Park in Kandahar.jpg|thumb|Local children watching a football match at the playground of Ahmad Shah Baba High School.]] ===Airports=== *[[Kandahar International Airport]] ===Neighborhoods=== {{div col|colwidth=15em}} *[[Aino Meyna]] (under development since 2003) *Hamidi Meyna (under development since 2011) *[[Share Naw]] (meaning ''New City'') *Dand *[[Karz, Kandahar|Karz]] *Mirwais Meyna *Daman *Sarpuza *Malajat *[[Old Kandahar]] (Zorr Shar) *[[Arghandab Valley]] {{div col end}} ===Cultural sites and parks=== {{div col|colwidth=15em}} *Kandahar Shahhi Park *Baba Saab *Kokaran Park *Baghi Pul Park [https://web.archive.org/web/20161014053819/http://www.panoramio.com/photo/25270245 Panoramio – Photo of Baghi Pul Park Swimming Pool only for Male] *Chilzina View (Moghul Emperor [[Babur]]'s [[inscription]] site) *[[Kandahar Museum]] {{div col end}} === Mosques and shrines === {{div col|colwidth=15em}} *[[Friday Mosque of Kandahar]] *[[Mosque of the Hair of the Prophet]] *[[Omar Al-Farooq Mosque]] *[[Shrine of the Cloak]] *Mosque at [[Kandahar University]] (Eidgah Jaami Jumat) {{div col end}} === Mausoleums === *Mausoleum of [[Ahmad Shah Durrani]] *Mausoleum of [[Mirwais Hotak]] *Mausoleum of Baba Wali ===Shopping=== {{div col|colwidth=15em}} *Al-Jadeed Market *Herat [[Bazaar]] *Kabul Bazaar *Shah Bazaar *Shkar Pur Bazaar *Piaroz Super store *Kandahr Super Store *Samimi Super Store {{div col end}} ===Hospitals=== {{div col|colwidth=15em}} *[[Afghan National Army Regional Hospital]] *[[Mirwais Hospital]] *[[Sial Curative Hospital]] *[[Bilal Hospital]] *[[Momand Hospital]] *[[Sydal Hospital]] {{div col end}} ===Banks=== *[[Afghanistan International Bank|AIB Bank]] *[[Kabul Bank]] *[[Azizi Bank]] ==Sports== ;Professional sports teams from Kandahar {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! scope="col" | Club ! scope="col" | League ! scope="col" | Sport ! scope="col" | Venue ! scope="col" | Established |- ! scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;" | [[Kandahar Knights]] |[[Afghanistan Premier League]] |[[Cricket]] |[[Sharjah Cricket Stadium]] |2018 |- ! scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;" | [[Boost Defenders]] | [[Shpageeza Cricket League]] | [[Cricket]] | [[Kandahar International Cricket Stadium]] | 2013 |- ! scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;" | [[De Maiwand Atalan F.C.]] | [[Afghan Premier League]] | [[Association football|Football]] | [[Kandahar Stadium]] | 2012 |} ===Stadiums=== *[[Kandahar International Cricket Stadium]] *[[Kandahar Stadium]] == Notable people == {{div col|colwidth=20em}} *[[Kandahari Begum]], wife of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan *[[Nur Jahan]] – Empress of the [[Mughal Empire]], chief wife of Mughal emperor Jahangir *[[Mirwais Hotak]] – founder of the [[Hotak dynasty]] *[[Abdul Aziz Hotak]] – ruler of the Hotak dynasty *[[Mahmud Hotak]] – ruler of the Hotak dynasty and Shah of Persia *[[Ashraf Hotak]] – Shah of Persia *[[Hussain Hotak]] – ruler of the Hotak dynasty *[[Ahmad Shah Durrani]] – founding father of Afghanistan, buried in the city *[[Dost Mohammad Khan]] – Emir of Afghanistan and son of Payandah Khan *[[Sher Ali Khan]] – Emir of Afghanistan and son of Dost Mohammad Khan *[[Abdur Rahman Khan]] – Emir of Afghanistan and son of Dost Mohammad Khan *[[Ghulam Muhammad Tarzi]] – leader of [[Tarzi]] family who played an important part in Afghan history during the late 19th century onward *Abdul Rehman Khan, father of [[Bollywood]] actor [[Kader Khan]] *[[Mohammad Ibraheem Khwakhuzhi]] *[[Maryam Durani]] an Afghan activist and women's advocate *[[Ubaidullah Jan]] – Pashto music king of southern Afghanistan *[[Naghma (singer)|Naghma]] – Afghan singer *[[Nashenas]] – [[Music of Afghanistan|Afghan musician]] *[[Abdul Hai Habibi]] – scholar, former professor at [[Kabul University]] and author of many books *The [[Karzai (surname)|Karzais]] – the family of Afghan President [[Hamid Karzai]] *[[Gul Agha Sherzai]] – served as the [[List of governors of Kandahar|governor of Kandahar Province]] followed by as [[List of governors of Nangarhar|governors of Nangarhar Province]] *[[Said Tayeb Jawad]] – former [[Ambassadors of Afghanistan|Afghanistan Ambassador]] to the United States *[[Yousef Pashtun]] – Afghan politician *[[Nasrat Haqparast]] – UFC Lightweight Fighter *[[Khan Mohammad Mujahid]] – Alokozai tribe leader *[[Malalai of Maiwand]] – National folk hero of Afghanistan *[[Hibatullah Akhundzada]] – Supreme leader of Afghanistan as of 2021 *[[Akhtar Mansour]] – Second supreme leader of the [[Taliban]] {{div col end}} ==See also== {{div col|colwidth=25em}} *[[Kandahar Province]] *[[Old Kandahar]] *[[Arachosia]] *[[Alexandria Arachosia]] *[[Operation Dreamseed]] {{div col end}} ==Notes== {{notelist}} ==Footnotes== {{Reflist}} ==References== *{{Cite book|last=Dupree|first=Nancy Hatch|title=An Historical Guide to Afghanistan|orig-year=1st Edition: 1970|edition=2nd Edition, Revised and Enlarged|year=1977|publisher=Afghan Tourist Organization}} *Hill, John E. 2004. [http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/weilue.html ''The Peoples of the West from the Weilue''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171223070446/http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/weilue.html |date=23 December 2017 }} 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}}. *Frye, Richard N. (1963). ''The Heritage of Persia''. World Publishing company, Cleveland, Ohio. Mentor Book edition, 1966. * {{cite book|last=Kaplan|first=Robert D.|author-link=Robert D. Kaplan|title=Soldiers of God: With Islamic Warriors in Afghanistan and Pakistan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r3TLByMXsJkC|year=2008|publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-307-54698-2|oclc=48367823}} *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). ''[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9790520231923 In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great: A Journey from Greece to Asia]''. University of California Press. {{ISBN|0-520-23192-9}} ==Further reading== '''Published in the 19th century''' *{{Citation|publisher=B. Quaritch|location=London|author=Edward Balfour|author-link=Edward Balfour|title=Cyclopaedia of India|edition=3rd|date=1885|chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/cyclopaediaofind02balfuoft#page/490/mode/2up|chapter=Kandahar}} *Boulger, Demetrius Charles. ''[http://www.wdl.org/en/item/11800/ Ought We to Hold Candahar?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131226030557/http://www.wdl.org/en/item/11800/ |date=26 December 2013 }}''. London: William H. Allen and Company (1879). '''Published in the 20th century''' *{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Kandahar |volume=15 |last=Holdich |first=Thomas Hungerford |author-link=Thomas Hungerford Holdich |pages=648–649 |short=1 }} '''Published in the 21st century''' *{{cite book|title=Historic Cities of the Islamic World|editor=C. Edmund Bosworth|year=2007|publisher=[[Koninklijke Brill]]|location=Leiden|chapter=Kandahar}} ==External links== {{Commons category}} {{Wikivoyage}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20051027130028/http://www.aims.org.af/maps/urban/kandahar.pdf Map of Kandahar], from [[Afghanistan Information Management Services]] {{AfghanistanLargestCities}} {{Kandahar Province}} {{Authority control}} [[Category:Kandahar| ]]<!--empty space as standard for catmain--> [[Category:Populated places established in the 4th century BC]] [[Category:330s BC establishments]] [[Category:Populated places in Kandahar Province]] [[Category:Cities founded by Alexander the Great]] [[Category:Populated places along the Silk Road]] [[Category:Cities in Central Asia]] [[Category:Cities in Afghanistan]] [[Category:Provincial capitals in Afghanistan]]
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