Afghanistan

## Eulogy 1

*By Cam Cain*

Afghanistan is a country in central Asia

Though the writing on the flag is in Arabic, the most common language in the country is Pashto

Afghanistan had 18 different flags in the 20th century

Around the turn of the most recent century much of the country was controlled by the Taliban

The breathtaking Hindu Kush Mountains dominate the Afghan landscape

## Eulogy 2

*By Gregory Severin*

Afghanistan is a landlocked country in southeast Central Asia

Thanks to the Paropamisus and Hindu Kush mountain ranges bisecting the country, its various regions have strong regional identities and a lot of ethnic diversity, with Uzbek and Tajik majorities in the north and Pashto majorities in the south

Afghanistan has earned the nickname "The Graveyard of Empires." Why? Ask Alexander's Macedonians, the Achaemenids, the Timurids, the Mughals, or George W. Bush. I'm sure any of them could tell you

Of course, this hasn't stopped empires from trying to make their mark in the country. For several centuries there was a fun thing going on where the Brits and Russians would try to install a puppet state favorable to their interests. What followed was a series of leaders installing secularizing reforms, Islamist leaders overthrowing the secular leaders and undoing their reforms before being overthrown again by secular leaders

Afghanistan is currently in the "Islamist leaders overthrowing the secular leaders" stage thanks to a fiercely militant book club known as the Taliban. These guys grouped up in the eighties to fight the Soviets and Soviet-aligned leader of the country at the time, and once the Russians left they took advantage of the power vacuum to seize territory and influence. They stopped for a while after a certain post-9/11 invasion, but after the Americans left they got right back up to their old tricks

## Bonus Eulogy

*By Cam Cain*

Afghanistan is a landlocked nation in central and southern Asia

Due to its strategic location on the Silk Road, it was known as the ‘roundabout of the ancient world.’ I presume they mean rotary.

It is also known as the ‘graveyard of empires’ as many historical emperors from Genghis Khan to George W Bush have tried and failed to conquer Afghanistan.

The Hindu Kush Mountains cut through the northern part of the country. The mountains were created 55 million years ago when the Indian subcontinent collided with the Eurasian plate, the same event that created the Himalayas. The highest Afghan peak in the range is Noshaq, which is also a list of people who have beaten Aaron Carter at basketball

According to an AI I asked, Afghanistan is home to the world’s oldest university, the University of Balkh, which was founded in the early 8th century. Unfortunately, this fact is made up. There is a Balkh University in Afghanistan, but it was founded in 1986

This flag was replaced by the Taliban last year with a much less cool one

## Tournament

Afghanistan was defeated by Papua New Guinea in Round 2 Matchup 35 of FlagVote after previously defeating Palestine. As the 330 seed, it was defeated by Honduras in Round 1 Matchup 219 of FlagVote 2. As the 603 seed, it was defeated by the United Nations in Round 3 Matchup 239 of FlagVote 3 after previously defeating Chechnya.

## Results

### FlagVote

**Round 1:** Win over Palestine 5-1

**Round 2:** Loss to Papua New Guinea 4-2

### FlagVote 3

**Round 1:** Win over (422) Chechnya 6-5

**Round 2:** Loss to (91) United Nations 8-1