# Timeline of Afghan history

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History of Afghanistan :
The palace of the emir in 1839 :
Timeline :
Ancient Indus Valley civilisation 2200–1800 BC Oxus civilization 2100–1800 BC Gandhara kingdom 1500–535 BC Median Empire 728–550 BC Achaemenid Empire 550–330 BC Macedonian Empire 330–312 BC Seleucid Empire 312–150 BC Maurya Empire 305–180 BC Greco-Bactrian kingdom 256–125 BC Parthian Empire 247 BC–224 AD Indo-Greek kingdom 180–90 BC Indo-Scythian kingdom 155–80? BC Kushan Empire 135 BC – 248 AD Indo-Parthian kingdom 20 BC – 50? AD Sasanian Empire 230–651 Kidarite kingdom 320–465 Rob Alchon Huns 380–560 Hephthalite Empire 410–557 Nezak Huns 484–711 :
Medieval Kabul Shahi 565–879 Principality of Chaghaniyan 7th–8th centuries Rashidun Caliphate 652–661 Tang China 660–669 Tibetan Empire 660–842 Umayyads 661–750 Zunbils 680–870 Lawik750-977 Abbasids 750–821 Tahirids 821–873 Saffarids 863–900 Samanids 875–999 Ghaznavids 963–1187 Ghurids before 879–1215 Seljuks 1037–1194 Khwarezmids 1215–1231 Mongol Invasion 1219–1226 Chagatai Khanate 1226–1245 Qarlughids 1224–1266 Ilkhanate 1256–1335 Kartids 1245–1381 Timurids 1370–1507 Arghuns 1520–1591 :
Modern Mughals 1501–1738 Safavids 1510–1709 Kunduz Khanate ?–1859 Hotak dynasty 1709–1738 Sadozai Sultanate 1716–1732 Afsharid Iran 1738–1747 Durrani Empire 1747–1823 Maimana Khanate 1747–1892 Herat 1793–1863 Principality of Qandahar1818–1855 Emirate 1823–1926 Saqqawist Emirate 1929 Kingdom 1926–1973 Daoud coup 1973 Republic 1973–1978 Saur Revolution 1978 Democratic Republic 1978–1992 Tanai coup attempt 1990 Islamic State 1992–1996 Islamic Emirate 1996–2001 US invasion 2001 Islamic State (reinstated) 2001 Interim/Transitional Administration 2001–2004 Islamic Republic (politics) 2004–2021 Islamic Emirate (reinstated) since 2021 :
Related historical regions
Arachosia
Aria
Ariana
Bactria
Gandhara
Iran
Kabulistan
Kafiristan
Khorasan
Kushanshahr
Paropamisadae
Sistan
Zabulistan :
Related topics
Political history
Political violence
Culture
Economic history
Name
Afghan (ethnonym)
List of years
List of heads of state
Wars
List of wars
Hinduism history
Hindu and Buddhist heritage
Jewish history
Muslim conquests :
Category
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This is a timeline of Afghan history, comprising important legal and territorial changes and political events in Afghanistan and its predecessor states. To read about the background to these events, see History of Afghanistan. See also the list of heads of state of Afghanistan and the list of years in Afghanistan.

## Prehistory

| Year | Event |
| 50,000 BCE | First known evidences of humans living in Afghanistan, and that farming communities of the region were among the earliest in the world. |
| 3300–2350 BCE | The Bronze Age Helmand culture in the middle and lower valley of the Helmand River, in southern Afghanistan (Kandahar, Helmand and Nimruz province) and eastern Iran (Sistan and Baluchestan province). |
| 2400-1700 BCE | The Bronze Age Oxus civilization in present-day northern Afghanistan, eastern Turkmenistan, southern Uzbekistan and western Tajikistan. |

## 16th century BCE

| Year | Date | Event |
| 1500 BCE | | The earliest textual mention of Gandhara civilization, in ancient Indian manuscripts the Rigveda and the Zoroastrian Avesta. |

## 6th century BCE

| Year | Date | Event |
| 550 BCE | | Cyrus II captures Kabul, which becomes a center of learning for Zoroastrianism and Buddhism. |
| 516 BCE | | Darius I invades Afghanistan, makes it part of the Achaemenid Empire. |

## 4th century BCE

| Year | Event |
| 330-327 BCE | Alexander III of Macedon conquers Afghanistan. |
| 312 BCE | Afghanistan becomes part of the Seleucid Empire after the death of Alexander III and breakup of the Macedonian Empire. |
| 305-303 BCE | The Hindu Kush, Gandhara, Arachosia (centered around ancient Kandahar) and areas south of Bagram become part of the Maurya Empire after Chandragupta Maurya defeats Seleucus I in the Seleucid–Mauryan war. Introduction of Buddhism to the region which becomes a major religion alongside Zoroastrianism and ancient Hinduism. |

## 1st century BCE

| Year | Date | Event |
| 15 BCE | | Buddhist Apracharajas dynasty with territory covering Swat, Gandhara, Taxila, and parts of eastern Afghanistan. (till 50 CE) |

## 1st century CE

| Year | Date | Event |
| 19 CE | | Suren kingdom founded by Gondophares with capitals in Kabul and Taxila, and territory covering southern Afghanistan, eastern Iran and northwest regions of the Indian subcontinent. (till 226 CE) |
| 30 CE | 27 January | Kushan Empire founded by Kujula Kadphises in the Arghandab River valley. (till 375 CE) |

## 2nd century

| Year | Event |
| 120 | Kanishka becomes emperor of the Kushan Empire. He extends his empire from present-day southern Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, north of the Amu Darya (Oxus) in the north west to Northern India, as far as Pataliputra in the Gangetic Plains. A follower of Buddhism, he encourages Buddhist teachings, art and architecture. |
| 151 | Kanishka Stupa is built. Reported by modern archeologists and ancient Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang to have had a diameter of 87 metres, height of 180–210 metres and covered with jewels. |
| 191 | Vasudeva I becomes emperor of the Kushan Empire. His reign lasts till 232 CE. |

## 4th century

| Year | Date | Event |
| 320 | | Kidara Huns kingdom established, lasts till about 467. |

## 5th century

| Year | Date | Event |
| 440 | | Hephthalite (White Huns) empire established with its capital at Kunduz. Buddhism, Manichaeism and Zoroastrianism were their major religions. |

## 6th century

| Year | Date | Event |
| 570 | | The smaller of the Buddhas of Bamiyan, known as the "Eastern Buddha" built (approximate year based on carbon dating), during Hephthalite rule. |

## 7th century

| Year | Event |
| 618 | The larger of the Buddhas of Bamiyan, known as the "Western Buddha" built (approximate year based on carbon dating) during Hephthalite rule. |
| 630 | Chinese monk, scholar and traveler Xuanzang visits Balkh, reports about a 100 Buddhist convents, 30,000 monks, large number of stupas and other religious monuments. The most remarkable stupa was the Navbahara, which possessed a gigantic statue of the Buddha. |
| 665 | Establishment of the Buddhist Turk Shahi dynasty, with its capital in Kapisi near the present-day town of Bagram. |
| 680 | Establishment of the Zunbil dynasty in present southern Afghanistan region, with its capital in Ghazni. |
| 683 | Turk Shahi king routs the Arab army of the Umayyad Caliphate led by Yazid ibn Ziyad, who is killed in battle and an Arab invasion is decisively repulsed. |
| 698 | Zunbil king defeats an Arab 'Army of Destruction' led by Ubayd Allah b. Abi Bakra, who is forced to offer a large tribute, give hostages including three of his sons and take an oath not to invade Zunbil again. Twenty five thousand of the thirty thousand strong Arab army killed. |

## 9th century

| Year | Date | Event |
| 815 | | Defeat of the Turk Shahis by the Arab Abbasid Caliphate. The Turk Shah is forced to convert to Islam and pay an annual tribute. |
| 850 | | Overthrow of the unpopular Turk Shah Lagaturman by his minister Kallar and establishment of the Hindu Shahi dynasty. |

## 10th century

| Year | Date | Event |
| 964 | | Jayapala of the Hindu Shahi dynasty conducts a number of invasions of Ghazni, the capital city of the Ghaznavids. |

## 11th century

| Year | Date | Event |
| 1001 | 27 November | Mahmud of Ghazni's army defeats the Hindu Shahi army of Jayapala in the Battle of Peshawar (1001) |

## 13th century

| Year | Event |
| 1219-1221 | Mongol invasion of Afghanistan as part of the Mongol conquest of the Khwarazmian Empire, resulting in thousands killed in the cities of Kabul, Kandahar, Jalalabad. |
| 1221 | In pursuit of the fleeing Khwarazmian king Jalal ad-Din Mingburnu, Genghis Khan massacres the entire population of Bamiyan after his favorite grandson Mutukan is killed in the Siege of Bamiyan, but leaves the Buddhas of Bamiyan unharmed. |
| 1259 | Division of the Mongol Empire after Genghis's death. Afghanistan become part of the Chagatai Khanate. |

## 14th century

| Year | Date | Event |
| 1383-1385 | | Invasion of Afghanistan by Timur, leader of neighboring Transoxiana (roughly modern-day Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and adjacent areas), becomes a part of the Timurid Empire. |

## 16th century

| Year | Date | Event |
| 1504 | | Babur, deposed ruler of Fergana and Samarkand captures Kabul (Siege of Kabul (1504)). |

## 18th century

| Year | Date | Event |
| 1709 | 21 April | Mirwais Hotak, an influential Afghan tribal chief, gained independence at Kandahar after a successful revolution against the Persian Safavid dynasty. |
| 1709–1713 | | The Persian government sent two large armies to regain Kandahar Province but suffered defeat by the Afghans. |
| 1715 | November | Mirwais died of a natural cause and his brother Abdul Aziz inherited the throne until he was killed by Mahmud Hotaki, son of Mirwais. |
| 1722 | | Battle of Gulnabad: Led by Mahmud, the Afghan army captured the Safavid capital of Isfahan and Mahmad was declared Shah of Persia. |
| 1725 | 22 April | Mahmud was murdered by his cousin Ashraf, son of Abdul Aziz, and succeeded him as Shah of Persia. |
| 1729 | 29 September | Battle of Damghan: Afsharid forces led by Nader Shah defeated Ashraf and his forces. |
| 1738 | | Nader invaded and destroyed Kandahar, and restored the Abdali ethnic Pashtus to political prominence. |
| 1747 | 19 June | Ahmad Shah Durrani of the Abdali Pashtun confederacy declared the establishment of an independent Afghanistan, with its capital at Kandahar. |

## 19th century

| Year | Date | Event |
| 1809 | | Durrani signed a treaty of alliance with the United Kingdom. |
| 1819 | July | Battle of Shopian: Sikh Khalsa Army of Ranjit Singh defeated the Durrani force led by governor Jabbar Khan, annexing Kashmir into the Sikh Empire. |
| 1823 | | Dost Mohammad Khan took the throne in Kabul, where he proclaimed himself emir. |
| 1823 | March | Battle of Nowshera: Sikh Khalsa Army of Ranjit Singh defeated a Durrani force led by Azim Khan, capturing the Peshawar Valley. |
| 1837 | November | Siege of Herat: A Persian force attempts to capture Herat but are defeated and leave in 1838. |
| 1839 | March | First Anglo-Afghan War: A British expeditionary force captured Quetta. |
| 1839 | 23 July | British capture Ghazni in the Battle of Ghazni and install Shuja Shah Durrani as the puppet ruler of Afghanistan. |
| 1841 | November | First Anglo-Afghan War: A mob killed the British envoy to Afghanistan. |
| 1842 | January | Massacre of Elphinstone's army: A retreating British With mostly Indian regiment force of sixteen thousand was massacred by the Afghans. |
| 1857 | | Afghanistan declared war on Persia. |
| 1857 | | Afghan forces re-captured Herat. |
| 1878 | January | Second Anglo-Afghan War: Afghanistan refused a British diplomatic mission, provoking a second Anglo-Afghan war. |
| 1879 | May | Second Anglo-Afghan War: To prevent British occupation of a large part of the country, the Afghan government ceded much power to the United Kingdom in the Treaty of Gandamak. |
| 1880 | 22 July | Abdur Rahman Khan was officially recognized as emir of Afghanistan. |
| 1893 | 12 November | Abdur Rahman and British Raj representative Mortimer Durand signed an agreement establishing the Durand Line. |

## 20th century

| Year | Date | Event |
| 1901 | 1 October | Habibullah Khan, son of Abdur Rahman, became emir of Afghanistan. |
| 1919 | 20 February | Habibullah was assassinated. His son Amanullah Khan declared himself King of Afghanistan. |
| 1919 | May | Third Anglo-Afghan War: Amanullah led a surprise attack against the British. |
| 1919 | 19 August | Afghan Foreign Minister Mahmud Tarzi negotiated the Treaty of Rawalpindi with the British at Rawalpindi. |
| 1922 | | Solar Hijri calendar officially adopted in Afghanistan. |
| 1929 | January | Amanullah was forced to abdicate in favor of Habibullāh Kalakāni in the face of a popular uprising. |
| 1929 | 15 October | Former General Mohammad Nadir Shah took control of Afghanistan. |
| 1933 | 8 November | Nadir was assassinated. His son, Mohammad Zahir Shah, was proclaimed King. |
| 1964 | October | A new constitution was ratified which instituted a democratic legislature. |
| 1965 | 1 January | The Marxist People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) held its first congress. |
| 1973 | 17 July | Mohammad Daoud Khan declares himself President in a coup against the king, Mohammad Zahir Shah. |
| 1978 | 27 April | Saur Revolution: Military units loyal to the PDPA assaulted the Afghan Presidential Palace, killing President Mohammad Daoud Khan and his family. |
| 1978 | 1 May | Saur Revolution: The PDPA installed its leader, Nur Muhammad Taraki, as President of Afghanistan. |
| 1978 | July | A rebellion against the new Afghan government began with an uprising in Nuristan Province. |
| 1978 | 5 December | A treaty was signed which permitted deployment of the Soviet military at the Afghan government's request. |
| 1979 | 14 September | Taraki was murdered by supporters of Prime Minister Hafizullah Amin. |
| 1979 | 24 December | Soviet–Afghan War: Fearing the collapse of the Amin regime, the Soviet army invaded Afghanistan. |
| 1979 | 27 December | Operation Storm-333: Soviet troops occupied major governmental, military and media buildings in Kabul, including the Tajbeg Palace, and executed Prime Minister Amin. |
| 1988 | 14 April | Soviet–Afghan War: The Soviet government signed the Geneva Accords, which included a timetable for withdrawing their armed forces. |
| 1989 | 15 February | Soviet–Afghan War: The last Soviet troops left the country. |
| 1992 | 24 April | Afghan Civil War (1989–1992): Afghan political parties signed the Peshawar Accord which created the Islamic State of Afghanistan and proclaimed Sibghatullah Mojaddedi its interim President. |
| 1992 | 24 April | Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's Hezbi Islami, with the support of neighboring Pakistan, began a massive bombardment against the Islamic State in the capital Kabul. |
| 1992 | 28 June | As agreed upon in the Peshawar Accord, Jamiat-e Islami leader Burhanuddin Rabbani took over as President. |
| 1992 | | Taliban attacks and looting of the National Museum of Afghanistan result in loss of 70% of the 100,000 artifacts of Afghan culture and history. |
| 1994 | August | The Taliban government began to form in a small village between Lashkargah and Kandahar. |
| 1995 | January | The Taliban, with Pakistani support, initiated a military campaign against the Islamic State of Afghanistan and its capital Kabul. |
| 1995 | 13 March | Taliban tortured and killed Abdul Ali Mazari leader of the Hazara people. |
| 1996 | 26 September | Afghan Civil War (1996–2001): The forces of the Islamic State retreated to northern Afghanistan. |
| 1996 | 27 September | Afghan Civil War (1996–2001): The Taliban conquered Kabul and declared the establishment of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Former President Mohammad Najibullah, who had been living under United Nations protection in Kabul, was tortured, castrated and executed by Taliban forces. |
| 1996 | 30 September | Taliban pass decree that all women should be banned from employment. |
| 1998 | August | Afghan Civil War (1996–2001): The Taliban captured Mazar-i-Sharif, forcing Abdul Rashid Dostum into exile. |
| 1998 | 11 August | Destruction of the Puli Khumri Public Library by the Taliban. The library contained over 55,000 books and old manuscripts and was considered by Afghans as one of the most valuable and beautiful collections of their nation and their culture. |
| 1998 | 20 August | Operation Infinite Reach: Cruise missiles were fired by the United States Navy into four militant training camps in the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. |

## 21st century

| Year | Date | Event |
| 2001 | 2 March | Destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan by the Taliban with dynamite, on orders from its leader Mullah Omar. |
| 2001 | 9 September | Resistance leader Ahmad Shah Massoud was killed in a suicide bomb attack by two Arabs who were disguised as French news reporters. |
| 2001 | 20 September | After the September 11 attacks in the United States, U.S. President George W. Bush demanded the Taliban government to hand over al-Qaeda head Osama bin Laden and close all terrorist training camps in the country, which the Taliban refuses the following day for lack of evidence connecting bin Laden to 9/11 attacks. |
| 2001 | 7 October | Operation Enduring Freedom: The United States and the United Kingdom began an aerial bombing campaign against al-Qaeda and the Taliban. |
| 2001 | October | Reports of Taliban having destroyed at least 2,750 ancient works of art at the National Museum of Afghanistan during the year. |
| 2001 | 5 December | The United Nations Security Council authorized the creation of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to help maintain security in Afghanistan and assist the Karzai administration. |
| 2001 | 20 December | International Conference on Afghanistan in Germany: Hamid Karzai chosen as head of the Afghan Interim Administration. |
| 2002 | July | 2002 loya jirga: Hamid Karzai appointed as President of the Afghan Transitional Administration in Kabul, Afghanistan. |
| 2003 | 14 December | 2003 loya jirga: A 502-delegate loya jirga was held to consider a new Afghan constitution. |
| 2004 | 9 October | Hamid Karzai was elected President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan after winning the Afghan presidential election. |
| 2005 | | Taliban insurgency: An insurgency began after a Pakistani decision to station around 80,000 soldiers next to the porous Durand Line border with Afghanistan. |
| 2006 | 1 March | Bush and wife visited Afghanistan to inaugurate the renovated Embassy of the United States in Kabul. |
| 2007 | 13 May | Afghanistan–Pakistan border skirmishes: Skirmishes began with Pakistan. |
| 2010 | | U.S. President Barack Obama sent additional 33,000 U.S. soldiers to Afghanistan, with the total international troops reaching 150,000. |
| 2011 | | After the death of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, many high-profile Afghan officials were assassinated, including among them were Mohammed Daud Daud, Ahmed Wali Karzai, Jan Mohammad Khan, Ghulam Haider Hamidi, and Burhanuddin Rabbani. |
| 2011 | | National Front of Afghanistan was created by Tajik leader Ahmad Zia Massoud, Hazara leader Muhammad Mohaqiq and Uzbek leader Abdul Rashid Dostum |
| 2016 | 31 December | United States troops withdraw from Afghanistan after 15 years. |
| 2020 | 29 February | U.S. signs peace agreement with Taliban, committing the U.S. to a drawdown of troops and conditional full withdrawal by 1 May 2021. The agreement further required the Afghan government to release 5,000 Taliban prisoners in exchange for 1,000 Afghan soldiers held by the Taliban. |
| 2021 | 15 January | U.S. completes the final Afghanistan troop drawdown of the first Trump administration, reducing the U.S. troop level to 2,500. |
| 2021 | 14 April | US President Joe Biden orders complete withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan by 11 September 2021 (later revised to 31 August 2021). |
| 2021 | 1 July | US forces leave Bagram Airfield, its largest base in Afghanistan after nearly 20 years. |
| 2021 | 15 August | Kabul falls to Taliban (Fall of Kabul). |
| 2023 | October - December | Pakistani government ordered the expulsion of Afghans from Pakistan. Iran also decided to deport Afghan refugees back to Afghanistan a few months later. |