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Foundation
Modern Afghanistan was founded by Ahmad Shah Durrani, who rose to power in 1747. -
British Invasion
During the 19th century, Great Britain and Russia competed for control over Afghanistan. British forces invaded the country in 1839. -
Independence
Although the British took control over large parts of Afghan territory, they were met with fierce resistance. Afghanistan gained independence from Great Britain in 1919. -
Communism
In 1973, the last king of Afghanistan was overthrown, and the country became a republic. Five years later, a Communist party seized control of the country in another coup. -
Soviet Union
In 1979, the Soviet Union invaded the Afghanistan in support of the failing Communist regime. The Soviet invasion was resisted by guerilla forces supported by the United States and other nations. -
Withdrawal
In 1989, the last Soviet troops withdrew from the country, but civil war continued. -
Talibanism
In 1996, Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, fell into the hands of the Taliban, a strict Islamic regime that surfaced in 1994 to put an end to the chaos of civil war. -
Tyranny
By 2001, the Taliban controlled 90 percent of the country. The Taliban provided a base of operations for the Islamic terrorist organization al-Qaeda, which was led by Osama Bin Ladin. -
Democricizing
In 2001, the Bonn Conference, sponsored by the United Nations, began the process of re-establishing a democratic government in Afghanistan. -
Downfall
After Al Qaeda launched a devastating series of terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, the United States and its allies, along with the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance forces, invaded the country and brought down the Taliban. -
Presidency
On December 7, 2004, Hamid Karzai became the country’s first democratically elected president. -
National Assembly
On December 19, 2005, the country’s National Assembly was inaugurated. -
Today
There still remains a U.S. military presence in Afghanistan. Skirmishes between Allied forces and Taliban forces continue today.