This interesting article traces the formation history of Afghanistan. In general, the Durrānī dynasty, founded in 1747, has been considered to build a prototype of the country, while, according to the author, its territory did not cover that of today’s Afghanistan and it had to take many years of twists and turns until modern Afghanistan was actually formed. Mainly based on Persian (darī) historical materials, the author discusses in detail part of this complex political process, focusing on the contest over the control of Herat among domestic forces and the two foreign powers, the Great Britain and the Qajars. The Durrānīs conquered the city in early 1750s and nominated princes to be governor in the city until 1790s, when the Qajars emerged in Iran and began to meddle in the local affairs in Afghanistan, aiming for the annex of Herat. The British, in their part, keenly sought to thwart the Persian ambition, judging it to benefit the Russian interests. In 1842, killing Kāmrān Mīrzā, a Durrānī prince and then governor of Herat, Yār Muḥammad Ḫān took the helm of the city and succeeded to stabilize the situation in the place for several years. His sudden death in 1851 caused a further political turmoil in the city, which led to its occupation by the Qajars in 1856. Obliging them to abandon Herat in the Treaty of Paris (1857), the British helped Dūst Muḥammad Ḫān, ruler of Kabul and Qandahar, to capture the city of Herat in 1863. It is, argues the author, at this moment that modern Afghanistan was substantially formed.