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Afghanistan

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Afghanistan

BACKGROUND

Information: A country.

Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country in Asia, bordered by Pakistan to the east and south, Iran to the west, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan to the north, and China to the northeast. It is a mountainous country with plains in the north and southwest with plains in the north and southwest.

Human habitation in Afghanistan dates back to the Middle Paleolithic Era, and the country's strategic location along the Silk Road connected it to the cultures of the Middle East and other parts of Asia. The country has high levels of terrorism, poverty, child malnutrition, and corruption.

Excavations of prehistoric sites suggest that humans were living in what is now Afghanistan at least 50,000 years ago, and that farming communities in the area were among the earliest in the world. An important site of early historical activities, many believe that Afghanistan compares to Egypt in terms of the historical value of its archaeological sites.

Arab Muslims brought Islam to Herat and Zaranj in 642 and began spreading eastward; some of the native inhabitants they encountered accepted it while others revolted. Before Islam was introduced, people of the region were mostly Buddhists and Zoroastrians, but there were also Surya and Nana worshipers, Jews, and others. In 1219, Genghis Khan and his Mongol army overran the region. His troops are said to have annihilated the Khorasanian cities of Herat and Balkh as well as Bamyan. In December 2001, after the Taliban government was overthrown, the Afghan Interim Administration under Hamid Karzai was formed. By 2009, a Taliban-led shadow government began to form in parts of the country.

National Dance: Atan

Language: Dari and Pashto are the official languages of Afghanistan; bilingualism is very common.

Religions: Predominantly Muslim


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