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Afghanistan: A History from 1260 to the Present Day
Located at the intersection of Asia and the Middle East, Afghanistan has been strategically important for thousands of years. Its ancient routes and strategic position between India, Inner Asia, China, Persia, and beyond has meant the region has been subject to frequent invasions, both peaceful and military. As a result, modern Afghanistan is a culturally and ethnically diverse country, but one divided by conflict, political instability, and by mass displacements of its people. In this magisterial illustrated history, Jonathan L. Lee tells the story of how a small tribal confederacy in a politically and culturally significant but volatile region became a modern nation state.
Drawing on more than forty years of study, Lee places the current conflict in Afghanistan in its historical context and challenges many of the West’s preconceived ideas about the country. Focusing particularly on the powerful Durrani monarchy, which united the country in 1747 and ruled for nearly two and a half centuries, Lee chronicles the origins of the dynasty as clients of Safavid Persia and Mughal India: the reign of each ruler and their efforts to balance tribal, ethnic, regional, and religious factions; the struggle for social and constitutional reform; and the rise of Islamic and Communist factions. Along the way he offers new cultural and political insights from Persian histories, the memoirs of Afghan government officials, British government and India Office archives, and recently released CIA reports and Wikileaks documents. He also sheds new light on the country’s foreign relations, its internal power struggles, and the impact of foreign military interventions such as the “War on Terror.”
Drawing on more than forty years of study, Lee places the current conflict in Afghanistan in its historical context and challenges many of the West’s preconceived ideas about the country. Focusing particularly on the powerful Durrani monarchy, which united the country in 1747 and ruled for nearly two and a half centuries, Lee chronicles the origins of the dynasty as clients of Safavid Persia and Mughal India: the reign of each ruler and their efforts to balance tribal, ethnic, regional, and religious factions; the struggle for social and constitutional reform; and the rise of Islamic and Communist factions. Along the way he offers new cultural and political insights from Persian histories, the memoirs of Afghan government officials, British government and India Office archives, and recently released CIA reports and Wikileaks documents. He also sheds new light on the country’s foreign relations, its internal power struggles, and the impact of foreign military interventions such as the “War on Terror.”
800 pages, Hardcover
First published December 15, 2018
42 people are currently reading
697 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
July 14, 2019
Just finished this extraordinary account of the contemporary history of what’s called “Afghanistan” today. Having read a handful of the primary sources used in this book, I am glad to see that finally someone dared to put all the events and occurrences in a relatively realistic and neutral way in English, as previous western authors failed in doing so. The work has much space for improvement, but could still be the best existing reference for the country’s recent years’ history. My main takeaway is that neither the Afghan/Pashtun rulers nor the great powers GB/USSR/USA who have been protegering/manipulating this mono ethnocentric system learn from their mistakes. There are much to say about this book, but I let the readers have their own judgement. I wish the way events are presented in this book had been taught in Afghan schools to educate the population based on realities, rather than those fictitious, extremely exaggerated dramatic scenarios and fairy tale-style stories of the heroism of traitors and outrageous rulers.
September 4, 2021
Denna var fullständigt värdelös för mig. Jag letade efter något som fokuserade på Afghanistan under perioden mellan Ghuriderna och Elphinstone. Dessa 500 år avhandlas på de första 200 sidorna. I och för sig välskrivna sidor, men lite för den period de omfattar. Därefter behandlas det stora spelet och Afghanistan under 1900-talet, till och med den amerikanskstödda regimen. Slutsatserna är likaledes värdelösa för att förstå Afghanistan som annat än ett militärt erövringsobjekt. I sig är inte boken dålig, därför kan jag inte med gott samvete ge den 1 stjärna, men Gud vet att jag vill.
July 14, 2023
A fascinating History of Afghanistan, he critiques imperial historians, afghan nationalist historians, pro monarchist historians.
The country had a very turbulent history. I find it interesting that no matter which country had Kings they have mostly been tyrants who opressed the people. Doesn't matter if it's in Europe, Sweden, England or in Afghanistan.
He shows clear examples how the Kings used religion to control and manipulate people for power and money.
If you are familiar with Ibn Khalduns Sociology and Ellen Meinskens wood marxist theory as to why Europe developed as it did it makes you appreciate this book even more.
The country had a very turbulent history. I find it interesting that no matter which country had Kings they have mostly been tyrants who opressed the people. Doesn't matter if it's in Europe, Sweden, England or in Afghanistan.
He shows clear examples how the Kings used religion to control and manipulate people for power and money.
If you are familiar with Ibn Khalduns Sociology and Ellen Meinskens wood marxist theory as to why Europe developed as it did it makes you appreciate this book even more.
September 19, 2025
An excellent survey of Afhgan history beginning with the decline of the Mongol suzerainty in the 13th century.
July 21, 2022
Afghanistan - The land of the Afghan Tribes.
A gigantic diversified area of land, mountains, rivers, cultural/religious/linguistic ethnicity and tribal way of governing, comprises the mere
introduction of ancient and contemporary Afghanistan.
.
The country holds a strategic position in respect to territory, neighbourhood, security paradigm and a political myth or somewhat reality, a passage to warm water ports for few of its neighbouring states. This myth created a paranoia for state powers to invade ruthlessly and most of the time, meeting obstructions to hold a tight loop of power governance on indigenous tribalism.
.
Afghanistan had its time of prosperity, good governance, power, influnce, wealth, and wealthy trade routes abetted by the conflicting yet tremendously powerful dynasties. The route towards the nation-state from tribalism and jirga system was the most bloodiest for the populace of Afghanistan despite the class, language and religious affiliations. But this only took few years to topsy-turvy change the course of Afghanistan.
.
Religious extremism, terrorist organisations, foreign political involvement, military interventions , weak economical structure and policies and most of them all the poor governing and tumultuous political parties system, can be ascribed as the few of the reasons Afghanistan is as it appears today.
.
Jonathan L. must have spent his precious time to compile this overarching account of Afghanistan's HISTORY in 600-700 pages from 13th to 21st century. I didn't want to write a comprehensive review of this book as this hold already the gigantic approach towards every possible aspect. And i think it can not be possible to summarise this book in 2-3 passages, its just not possible.
.
Anyways, so rich and detailed, especially for the history students and researchers. But for a common man, this book will take your time, energy, and stamina. I would recommend it to everyone, even if i have to force people to read this, i would. That's how much i have enjoyed and liked this book .
.
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 /5 without any doubt.
A gigantic diversified area of land, mountains, rivers, cultural/religious/linguistic ethnicity and tribal way of governing, comprises the mere
introduction of ancient and contemporary Afghanistan.
.
The country holds a strategic position in respect to territory, neighbourhood, security paradigm and a political myth or somewhat reality, a passage to warm water ports for few of its neighbouring states. This myth created a paranoia for state powers to invade ruthlessly and most of the time, meeting obstructions to hold a tight loop of power governance on indigenous tribalism.
.
Afghanistan had its time of prosperity, good governance, power, influnce, wealth, and wealthy trade routes abetted by the conflicting yet tremendously powerful dynasties. The route towards the nation-state from tribalism and jirga system was the most bloodiest for the populace of Afghanistan despite the class, language and religious affiliations. But this only took few years to topsy-turvy change the course of Afghanistan.
.
Religious extremism, terrorist organisations, foreign political involvement, military interventions , weak economical structure and policies and most of them all the poor governing and tumultuous political parties system, can be ascribed as the few of the reasons Afghanistan is as it appears today.
.
Jonathan L. must have spent his precious time to compile this overarching account of Afghanistan's HISTORY in 600-700 pages from 13th to 21st century. I didn't want to write a comprehensive review of this book as this hold already the gigantic approach towards every possible aspect. And i think it can not be possible to summarise this book in 2-3 passages, its just not possible.
.
Anyways, so rich and detailed, especially for the history students and researchers. But for a common man, this book will take your time, energy, and stamina. I would recommend it to everyone, even if i have to force people to read this, i would. That's how much i have enjoyed and liked this book .
.
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 /5 without any doubt.
August 22, 2024
Don't waste your money on this book if you're a serious researcher. It's intended for casual readers and is a cash grab. I found numerous glaring inaccuracies in this book, some of which I'm sharing on my blog post to give you an idea of how poor a researcher and historian Jonathan L. Lee is : https://pashtunhistory.com/afghanista...
February 28, 2025
Jonathan L. Lee’s Afghanistan: A History from 1260 to the Present takes readers through Afghanistan’s long and complex history, shaped by dynasties, empires, and foreign powers. The book covers centuries of struggle, but the number of tribes, kings, and dynasties—many with similar names—made the first few chapters difficult to follow. I often lost track of names as I continued reading.
As I read, I kept wondering: is there a way to unite a country like Afghanistan without forcing its people to assimilate? China for instance, have pursued aggressive policies to enforce national unity, often at the expense of minority cultures, languages, and religions. While that approach is controversial, it does raise the question—without it, do nations like Afghanistan remain divided, with different groups constantly in conflict?
The author also discusses why Afghanistan couldn’t follow Turkey’s path to modernisation. He argues that its geography and lack of strong ties to the West made it harder to embrace reforms or democracy. But is that really the whole story? Other countries, like South Korea and Singapore, managed to modernise and adopt aspects of Western governance. So why not Afghanistan? Is religion the root cause of “backwardness”? Or are history, foreign interference, and deep-rooted traditions to blame? We are yet to find an answer for this.
One thing is clear—foreign intervention has done Afghanistan no favours. Russia, the UK, and the US have repeatedly meddled in its affairs with their interventionist policies, in all cases making things worse. And this isn’t unique to Afghanistan. History is full of powerful countries redrawing borders and making decisions for others, often with devastating consequences. The partition of India, the British-imposed borders of Myanmar, and the division of Mongolia between Russia and China are just a few examples, where decisions were made with no consideration for the people affected, leading to conflicts that still persist today.
It's hard to be optimistic about Afghanistan’s future. Whether foreign powers get involved or not, the country seems trapped in a cycle of war, poverty, and instability. Lee’s book doesn’t offer easy solutions, but it helps explain why Afghanistan’s struggles have lasted so long.
As I read, I kept wondering: is there a way to unite a country like Afghanistan without forcing its people to assimilate? China for instance, have pursued aggressive policies to enforce national unity, often at the expense of minority cultures, languages, and religions. While that approach is controversial, it does raise the question—without it, do nations like Afghanistan remain divided, with different groups constantly in conflict?
The author also discusses why Afghanistan couldn’t follow Turkey’s path to modernisation. He argues that its geography and lack of strong ties to the West made it harder to embrace reforms or democracy. But is that really the whole story? Other countries, like South Korea and Singapore, managed to modernise and adopt aspects of Western governance. So why not Afghanistan? Is religion the root cause of “backwardness”? Or are history, foreign interference, and deep-rooted traditions to blame? We are yet to find an answer for this.
One thing is clear—foreign intervention has done Afghanistan no favours. Russia, the UK, and the US have repeatedly meddled in its affairs with their interventionist policies, in all cases making things worse. And this isn’t unique to Afghanistan. History is full of powerful countries redrawing borders and making decisions for others, often with devastating consequences. The partition of India, the British-imposed borders of Myanmar, and the division of Mongolia between Russia and China are just a few examples, where decisions were made with no consideration for the people affected, leading to conflicts that still persist today.
It's hard to be optimistic about Afghanistan’s future. Whether foreign powers get involved or not, the country seems trapped in a cycle of war, poverty, and instability. Lee’s book doesn’t offer easy solutions, but it helps explain why Afghanistan’s struggles have lasted so long.
January 3, 2022
Enempi varmaan kurssikirjaksi tai kattavaksi handbookiksi. Hallitsijoissa ja suurvaltapolitiikan tasolla kulkeva kirja. Millään ei pysynyt mukana nimissä ja toisaalta välillä oli vaikea pysyä mukana isommassa kuvassa, koska käsittely pohjautui niin paljon nimiin. Ja kun uusi hallitsija tulee 1-5 sivun välein melkeinpä, huonomuistinen putoaa kärryltä. Mutta ei se ole kirja vika, jos lukija on huolimaton ja tarkkaamaton.
August 29, 2021
So topical and relevant to today. If policy makers has read this the US Intervention in Aghanistan would be totally different, if not not at all!
Some parts of this history are very detailed in regards to events and tribal politics, I did skipp some of this. The rest is fascinating
Some parts of this history are very detailed in regards to events and tribal politics, I did skipp some of this. The rest is fascinating
October 21, 2022
Great book
Great read ! Learned a lot about the country i was born and raised in.
Thanks a lot for the exceptional work.
Great read ! Learned a lot about the country i was born and raised in.
Thanks a lot for the exceptional work.
May 11, 2023
This is a massive tome. I only read a few selected parts . Suffice to say the more things change the more they stay the same !
Read
April 27, 2019Brillant & Insightful.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews