The Afghan Hound has been identified as a basal breed that predates the emergence of the modern breeds in the 19th century. It is most closely related to the Saluki.Today's modern purebred Afghan Hound descends from dogs brought to Great Britain in the 1920s which King Amanullah of the Afghan Royal Family gave away as gifts. Some had been kept as hunting dogs, others as guardians.Verifiable written or visual records that tie today's Afghan Hound breed to specific Afghan owners or places are absent. There is much speculation about the breed's origin and possible connections with the ancient world among fanciers and in non-scientific breed books and breed websites. Connections with other types and breeds from the same area may provide clues to the history. A name for a desert coursing Afghan hound, Tazi (sag-e-tazi), suggests a shared ancestry with the very similar Tasy breed from the Caspian Sea area of Russia and Turkmenistan. Other types or breeds of similar appearance are the Taigan from the mountainous Tian Shan region on the Chinese border of Afghanistan, and the Barakzay, or Kurram Valley Hound.