View source for Timeline of Afghan history

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{{History of Afghanistan}}
This is a '''timeline of [[Afghanistan|Afghan]] history''', comprising important legal and territorial changes and political events in Afghanistan and its predecessor states. To read about the background to these events, see [[History of Afghanistan]]. See also the [[list of heads of state of Afghanistan]] and the [[list of years in Afghanistan]].

{{Dynamic list}}
{{Horizontal TOC|nonum=yes}}

==Prehistory ==
{| class="wikitable" width="100%"
! style="width:6%" | Year || style="width:10%" | Date || Event
|-
|50,000 <small>BCE</small>
|
|First known evidences of humans living in Afghanistan, and that [[farming]] communities of the region were among the earliest in the world.<ref name="JFS">{{cite web |year=2009 |title=Afghanistan: VII. History (Archived) |url=http://encarta.msn.com/text_761569370___42/Afghanistan.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091031052339/http://encarta.msn.com/text_761569370___42/Afghanistan.html |archive-date=October 31, 2009 |access-date=2009-10-31 |work=John Ford Shroder |publisher=University of Nebraska}}</ref>
|-
|3300–2350 <small>BCE</small>
|
|The [[Bronze Age]] [[Helmand culture]] in the middle and lower valley of the [[Helmand River]], in southern Afghanistan ([[Kandahar Province|Kandahar]], [[Helmand Province|Helmand]] and [[Nimruz Province|Nimruz]] province) and eastern [[Iran]] ([[Sistan and Baluchestan province]]).<ref name="Vidale">{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDAJHf1w3H4 |title=A Warehouse in 3rd Millennium B.C. Sistan and Its Accounting Technology |date=2021-03-15 |last=Art and Archaeology of Southwest Asia |access-date=2024-08-03 |via=YouTube}}</ref>
|-
| 2400-1700 <small>BCE</small> || || The Bronze Age [[Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex|Oxus civilization]] in present-day northern Afghanistan, eastern Turkmenistan, southern Uzbekistan and western Tajikistan.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Vidale |first=Massimo |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QBiWDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA8 |title=Treasures from the Oxus: The Art and Civilization of Central Asia |date=21 June 2017 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-83860-976-4 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=The world of the Oxus Civilization |date=2020 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-138-72287-3 |editor-last=Lyonnet |editor-first=Bertille |series=Routledge worlds |location=New York |pages=1 |quote=The Oxus Civilization, also named the Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex (or Culture) (BMAC), developed in southern Central Asia during the Middle and Late Bronze Age and lasted for about half a millennium (ca. 2250–1700 BC)... |editor-last2=Dubova |editor-first2=N. A.}}</ref>
|}

==16th century BCE ==
{| class="wikitable" width="100%"
! style="width:6%" | Year || style="width:10%" | Date || Event
|-
| 1500 <small>BCE</small> || || The earliest textual mention of [[Gandhara]] civilization, in ancient Indian manuscripts the [[Rigveda]] and the [[Zoroastrian]] [[Avesta]].<ref name="sacred-texts.com">{{cite web | url= http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/rigveda/rv01126.htm | title= Rigveda 1.126:7, English translation by Ralph TH Griffith}}</ref><ref name="Macdonell1997">{{cite book|author=Arthur Anthony Macdonell|title=A History of Sanskrit Literature|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8wM-dNOa7fMC&pg=PA130|year=1997|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0095-3|pages=130–}}</ref>
|}

==6th century BCE ==
{| class="wikitable" width="100%"
! style="width:6%" | Year || style="width:10%" | Date || Event
|-
| 550 <small>BCE</small> || || [[Cyrus II]] captures [[Kabul]], which becomes a center of learning for [[Zoroastrianism]] and [[Buddhism]].
|-
| 516 <small>BCE</small> || || [[Darius I]] invades Afghanistan, makes it part of the [[Achaemenid Empire]].
|}

==4th century BCE ==
{| class="wikitable" width="100%"
! style="width:6%" | Year || style="width:10%" | Date || Event
|-
| 330-327 <small>BCE</small> || || [[Alexander III of Macedon]] conquers Afghanistan.
|-
| 312 <small>BCE</small> || || Afghanistan becomes part of the [[Seleucid Empire]] after the death of Alexander III and breakup of the Macedonian Empire.
|-
| 305-303 <small>BCE</small> || || The [[Hindu Kush]], [[Gandhara]], [[Arachosia]] (centered around ancient Kandahar) and areas south of [[Bagram]] become part of the [[Maurya Empire]] after [[Chandragupta Maurya]] defeats [[Seleucus I]] in the [[Seleucid–Mauryan war]].
Introduction of [[Buddhism]] to the region which becomes a major religion alongside [[Zoroastrianism]] and ancient [[Hinduism]].
|}

==1st century BCE ==
{| class="wikitable" width="100%"
! style="width:6%" | Year || style="width:10%" | Date || Event
|-
| 15 <small>BCE</small> || || Buddhist [[Apracharajas]] dynasty with territory covering [[Swat (princely state)|Swat]], [[Gandhara]], [[Taxila]], and parts of eastern Afghanistan. (till 50 CE)
|}

==1st century CE ==
{| class="wikitable" width="100%"
! style="width:6%" | Year || style="width:10%" | Date || Event
|-
| 19 <small>CE</small> || || [[Suren kingdom]] founded by [[Gondophares]] with capitals in [[Kabul]] and [[Taxila]], and territory covering southern Afghanistan, eastern Iran and northwest regions of the Indian subcontinent. (till 226 CE)
|-
| 30 <small>CE</small> || 27 January || [[Kushan Empire]] founded by [[Kujula Kadphises]] in the [[Arghandab River]] valley.<ref name="OB">[[Osmund Bopearachchi]], 2007, [https://www.academia.edu/22821570/Some_observations_on_the_chronology_of_the_early_Kushans Some observations on the chronology of the early Kushans]</ref> (till 375 CE)
|}

==2nd century ==
{| class="wikitable" width="100%"
! style="width:6%" | Year || style="width:10%" | Date || Event
|-
| 120 || || [[Kanishka]] becomes emperor of the [[Kushan Empire]]. He extends his empire from present-day southern [[Uzbekistan]] and [[Tajikistan]], north of the [[Amu Darya]] (Oxus) in the north west to Northern India, as far as [[Pataliputra]] in the [[Gangetic Plains]]. A follower of [[Buddhism]], he encourages Buddhist teachings, art and architecture.
|-
| 151 || || [[Kanishka Stupa]] is built. Reported by modern archeologists and ancient Chinese pilgrim [[Xuanzang]] to have had a diameter of 87 metres, height of 180–210 metres and covered with jewels.<ref>Dobbins (1971).</ref>
|-
| 191 || || [[Vasudeva I]] becomes emperor of the Kushan Empire. His reign lasts till 232 CE.
|}

==4th century ==
{| class="wikitable" width="100%"
! style="width:6%" | Year || style="width:10%" | Date || Event
|-
| 320 || || [[Kidarites|Kidara Huns]] kingdom established,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Cribb |first=Joe |date=2010-01-01 |title=The Kidarites, the numismatic evidence.pdf |url=https://www.academia.edu/38112559 |journal=Coins, Art and Chronology II, Edited by M. Alram et Al. |pages=99}}</ref> lasts till about 467.
|}

==5th century ==
{| class="wikitable" width="100%"
! style="width:6%" | Year || style="width:10%" | Date || Event
|-
| 440 || || [[Hephthalite]] (White Huns) empire established with its capital at [[Kunduz]]. Buddhism, [[Manichaeism]] and [[Zoroastrianism]] were their major religions.
|}

==6th century ==
{| class="wikitable" width="100%"
! style="width:6%" | Year || style="width:10%" | Date || Event
|-
| 570 || || The smaller of the [[Buddhas of Bamiyan]], known as the "Eastern Buddha" built (approximate year based on carbon dating), during Hephthalite rule.
|}

==7th century ==
{| class="wikitable" width="100%"
! style="width:6%" | Year || style="width:10%" | Date || Event
|-
| 618 || || The larger of the [[Buddhas of Bamiyan]], known as the "Western Buddha" built (approximate year based on carbon dating) during Hephthalite rule.
|-
| 630 || || Chinese monk, scholar and traveler [[Xuanzang]] visits [[Balkh]], reports about a 100 Buddhist convents, 30,000 monks, large number of [[stupas]] and other religious monuments. The most remarkable stupa was the [[Navbahara]], which possessed a gigantic statue of the Buddha.
|-
| 665 || || Establishment of the Buddhist [[Turk Shahi]] dynasty, with its capital in [[Kapisi]] near the present-day town of [[Bagram]].
|-
| 680 || || Establishment of the [[Zunbil]] dynasty in present southern Afghanistan region, with its capital in [[Ghazni]].
|-
| 683 || || Turk Shahi king routs the Arab army of the [[Umayyad Caliphate]] led by [[Yazid ibn Ziyad]], who is killed in battle and an Arab invasion is decisively repulsed.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kim |first1=Hyun Jin |title=The Huns |date=19 November 2015 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-34090-4 |page=58 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mcf4CgAAQBAJ&pg=PT61 |language=en}}</ref>
|-
| 698 || || [[Zunbil]] king defeats an Arab 'Army of Destruction' led by Ubayd Allah b. Abi Bakra, who is forced to offer a large tribute, give hostages including three of his sons and take an oath not to invade Zunbil again. Twenty five thousand of the thirty thousand strong Arab army killed.<ref name="Hugh Kennedy">{{cite book|author=Hugh Kennedy|title=The Great Arab Conquests: How the Spread of Islam Changed the World We Live In|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pk7BS9XC10QC&q=Hugh+Kennedy%2CThe+Great+Arab+Conquests%27+%22army+of+destruction%22&pg=PT128|publisher=Hachette UK|year= 2010|isbn=978-0-297-86559-9|pages=448}}</ref><ref name="S. Frederick Starr">{{cite book|author=S. Frederick Starr|title=Lost Enlightenment: Central Asia's Golden Age from the Arab Conquest to Tamerlane|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hWyYDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA107|publisher=Princeton University Press|year= 2015|isbn=9780691165851|location=107|pages=680}}</ref>
|}

==9th century ==
{| class="wikitable" width="100%"
! style="width:6%" | Year || style="width:10%" | Date || Event
|-
| 815 || || Defeat of the Turk Shahis by the Arab [[Abbasid Caliphate]]. The Turk Shah is forced to convert to [[Islam]] and pay an annual tribute.
|-
| 850 || || Overthrow of the unpopular Turk Shah Lagaturman by his minister Kallar and establishment of the [[Hindu Shahi]] dynasty.
|}

==10th century ==
{| class="wikitable" width="100%"
! style="width:6%" | Year || style="width:10%" | Date || Event
|-
| 964 || || [[Jayapala]] of the [[Hindu Shahi]] dynasty conducts a number of invasions of Ghazni, the capital city of the [[Ghaznavids]].
|}

==11th century ==
{| class="wikitable" width="100%"
! style="width:6%" | Year || style="width:10%" | Date || Event
|-
| 1001 || 27 November || [[Mahmud of Ghazni]]'s army defeats the Hindu Shahi army of [[Jayapala]] in the [[Battle of Peshawar (1001)]]
|}

==13th century ==
{| class="wikitable" width="100%"
! style="width:6%" | Year || style="width:10%" | Date || Event
|-
| 1219-1221 || || Mongol invasion of Afghanistan as part of the [[Mongol conquest of the Khwarazmian Empire]], resulting in thousands killed in the cities of Kabul, [[Kandahar]], [[Jalalabad]].
|-
| 1221 || || In pursuit of the fleeing [[Khwarazmian dynasty|Khwarazmian]] king [[Jalal al-Din Mangburni]], [[Genghis Khan]] massacres the entire population of Bamiyan after his favorite grandson [[Mutukan]] is killed in the [[Siege of Bamyan]], but leaves the Buddhas of Bamiyan unharmed.
|-
| 1259 || || [[Division of the Mongol Empire]] after [[Genghis Khan|Genghis's]] death. Afghanistan become part of the [[Chagatai Khanate]].
|}

==14th century ==
{| class="wikitable" width="100%"
! style="width:6%" | Year || style="width:10%" | Date || Event
|-
| 1383-1385 || || Invasion of Afghanistan by [[Timur]], leader of neighboring [[Transoxiana]] (roughly modern-day [[Uzbekistan]], [[Tajikistan]], and adjacent areas), becomes a part of the [[Timurid Empire]].
|}

==16th century ==
{| class="wikitable" width="100%"
! style="width:6%" | Year || style="width:10%" | Date || Event
|-
| 1504 || || [[Babur]], deposed ruler of [[Fergana]] and [[Samarkand]] captures [[Kabul]] ([[Siege of Kabul (1504)]]).
|}

==18th century ==
{| class="wikitable" width="100%"
! style="width:6%" | Year || style="width:10%" | Date || Event
|-
| 1709 || 21 April || [[Mirwais Hotak]], an influential [[Afghans|Afghan]] tribal chief, gained independence at [[Kandahar]] after a successful revolution against the Persian [[Safavid dynasty]].<ref name=Browne29>{{cite web|url=http://persian.packhum.org/persian/pf?file=90001014&ct=29|title=AN OUTLINE OF THE HISTORY OF PERSIA DURING THE LAST TWO CENTURIES (A.D. 1722-1922)|page=29|work=[[Edward Granville Browne|Edward G. Browne]]|publisher=[[Packard Humanities Institute]]|location=London|access-date=February 10, 2012}}</ref>
|-
| 1709–1713 || || The Persian government sent two large armies to regain Kandahar Province but suffered defeat by the Afghans.<ref name=Browne29/>
|-
| 1715 || November || Mirwais died of a natural cause and his brother [[Abdul Aziz Hotak|Abdul Aziz]] inherited the throne until he was killed by [[Mahmud Hotaki]], son of Mirwais.<ref name=Browne29/>
|-
| 1722 || || ''[[Battle of Gulnabad]]'': Led by Mahmud, the [[Military of Afghanistan|Afghan army]] captured the Safavid capital of [[Isfahan]] and Mahmad was declared ''[[Shah]]'' of Persia.<ref name=Browne30>{{cite web|url=http://persian.packhum.org/persian/pf?file=90001014&ct=30|title=AN OUTLINE OF THE HISTORY OF PERSIA DURING THE LAST TWO CENTURIES (A.D. 1722-1922)|page=30|work=Edward G. Browne|publisher=Packard Humanities Institute|location=London|access-date=February 10, 2012}}</ref>
|-
| 1725 || 22 April || Mahmud was murdered by his cousin [[Ashraf Hotaki|Ashraf]], son of Abdul Aziz, and succeeded him as ''Shah of Persia''.<ref name=Browne31>{{cite web|url=http://persian.packhum.org/persian/pf?file=90001014&ct=31|title=AN OUTLINE OF THE HISTORY OF PERSIA DURING THE LAST TWO CENTURIES (A.D. 1722-1922)|page=31|work=Edward G. Browne|publisher=Packard Humanities Institute|location=London|access-date=February 10, 2012}}</ref>
|-
| 1729 || 29 September || ''[[Battle of Damghan (1729)|Battle of Damghan]]'': [[Afsharid dynasty|Afsharid]] forces led by [[Nader Shah]] defeated Ashraf and his forces.
|-
| 1738 || || Nader invaded and destroyed [[Kandahar]], and restored the [[Durrani|Abdali]] ethnic Pashtus to political prominence.
|-
| 1747 || 19 June || [[Ahmad Shah Durrani]] of the Abdali [[Pashtun people|Pashtun]] confederacy declared the establishment of an independent Afghanistan, with its capital at Kandahar.<ref name=Browne33>{{cite web|url=http://persian.packhum.org/persian/pf?file=90001014&ct=33|title=AN OUTLINE OF THE HISTORY OF PERSIA DURING THE LAST TWO CENTURIES (A.D. 1722-1922)|page=33|work=Edward G. Browne|publisher=Packard Humanities Institute|location=London|access-date=February 10, 2012}}</ref>

|}

==19th century ==
{| class="wikitable" width="100%"
! style="width:6%" | Year || style="width:10%" | Date || Event
|-
| 1809 || || [[Durrani]] signed a treaty of alliance with the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Husain |first=Farrukh |title=Afghanistan in the age of empires: the great game for South and Central Asia |date=2018 |publisher=Silk Road Books |isbn=978-1-5272-1633-4 |edition=1st |location=India |pages=7}}</ref>
|-
| 1819 || July|| ''[[Battle of Shopian]]'': [[Sikh Khalsa Army]] of [[Ranjit Singh]] defeated the Durrani force led by governor Jabbar Khan, annexing [[Kashmir]] into the [[Sikh Empire]].
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1823 || || [[Dost Mohammad Khan]] took the throne in [[Kabul]], where he proclaimed himself ''[[emir]]''.
|-
| March|| ''[[Battle of Nowshera]]'': Sikh Khalsa Army of Ranjit Singh defeated a Durrani force led by [[Azim Khan]], capturing the [[Peshawar Valley]].
|-
| 1837 || November || ''[[Siege of Herat (1838)|Siege of Herat]]'': A Persian force attempts to capture Herat but are defeated and leave in 1838.
|-
| rowspan="2" valign="top" | 1839 || March || ''[[First Anglo-Afghan War]]'': A [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|British]] expeditionary force captured [[Quetta]].
|-
| 23 July || British capture [[Ghazni]] in the [[Battle of Ghazni]] and install Shuja Shah Durrani as the puppet ruler of Afghanistan.
|-
| 1841 || November || ''First Anglo-Afghan War'': A mob killed the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|British]] envoy to Afghanistan.
|-
| 1842 || January || ''[[Massacre of Elphinstone's army]]'': A retreating [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|British]] With mostly [[Indian people|Indian]] regiment force of sixteen thousand was massacred by the Afghans.
|-
| rowspan="2" valign="top" | 1857 || || Afghanistan declared war on [[ajar dynasty|Persia]].
|-
| || Afghan forces re-captured [[Herat]].
|-
| 1878 || January || ''[[Second Anglo-Afghan War]]'': Afghanistan refused a [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|British]] diplomatic mission, provoking a second Anglo-Afghan war.
|-
| 1879 || May || ''Second Anglo-Afghan War'': To prevent [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|British]] occupation of a large part of the country, the Afghan government ceded much power to the United Kingdom in the [[Treaty of Gandamak]].
|-
| 1880 || 22 July || [[Abdur Rahman Khan]] was officially recognized as ''[[emir]]'' of Afghanistan.
|-
| 1893 || 12 November || [[Abdur Rahman Khan|Abdur Rahman]] and [[British Raj]] representative [[Mortimer Durand]] signed an agreement establishing the [[Durand Line]].
|}

==20th century==
{| class="wikitable" width="100%"
! style="width:6%" | Year || style="width:10%" | Date || Event
|-
| valign="top" | [[1901 in Afghanistan|1901]] || 1 October || [[Habibullah Khan]], son of [[Abdur Rahman Khan|Abdur Rahman]], became ''[[emir]]'' of Afghanistan.
|-
| rowspan="3" |[[1919 in Afghanistan|1919]]
| 20 February || [[Habibullah Khan|Habibullah]] was assassinated. His son [[Amanullah Khan]] declared himself King of Afghanistan.
|-
| May || ''[[Third Anglo-Afghan War]]'': [[Amanullah Khan|Amanullah]] led a surprise attack against the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|British]].
|-
| 19 August || Afghan Foreign Minister [[Mahmud Tarzi]] negotiated the [[Treaty of Rawalpindi]] with the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|British]] at [[Rawalpindi]].
|-
| [[1922 in Afghanistan|1922]] ||  ||  [[Solar Hijri calendar]] officially adopted in Afghanistan.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Iranica]] |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/calendars |title= Calendars |year=1990}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="2" valign="top" | [[1929 in Afghanistan|1929]] || January|| [[Amanullah Khan|Amanullah]] was forced to abdicate in favor of [[Habibullāh Kalakāni]] in the face of a popular uprising.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Muḥammad |first1=Fayz̤ |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qJpXJXOno9IC |title=Kabul Under Siege: Fayz Muhammad's Account of the 1929 Uprising |last2=Hazārah |first2=Fayz̤ Muḥammad Kātib |date=1999 |publisher=Markus Wiener Publishers |isbn=9781558761551 |pages=1 |language=en}}</ref>
|-
| 15 October|| Former General [[Mohammad Nadir Shah]] took control of Afghanistan.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last1=Muḥammad |first1=Fayz̤ |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qJpXJXOno9IC |title=Kabul Under Siege: Fayz Muhammad's Account of the 1929 Uprising |last2=Hazārah |first2=Fayz̤ Muḥammad Kātib |date=1999 |publisher=Markus Wiener Publishers |isbn=9781558761551 |pages=275 |language=en |quote=Nadir received word of the victory in Ali Khayl and immediately set out for the capital, arriving in the city on the 15th.}}</ref>
|-
| [[1933 in Afghanistan|1933]] || 8 November || [[Mohammad Nadir Shah|Nadir]] was assassinated. His son, [[Mohammad Zahir Shah]], was proclaimed King.
|-
| [[1964 in Afghanistan|1964]] || October|| [[1964 Constitution of Afghanistan|A new constitution]] was ratified which instituted a democratic legislature.<ref name="cs">{{cite book |author=Richard S. Newell |title=Afghanistan: A Country study |date=1997 |editor=Peter R. Blood |section=The Constitutional Period, 1964-73}}</ref>
|-
| [[1965 in Afghanistan|1965]] || 1 January || The [[Marxism|Marxist]] [[People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan|People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA)]] held its first congress.
|-
| [[1973 in Afghanistan|1973]] || 17 July ||  [[Mohammad Daoud Khan]] declares himself President in a [[1973 Afghan coup d'état|coup]] against the king, [[Mohammad Zahir Shah]].
|-
| rowspan="4" valign="top" | [[1978 in Afghanistan|1978]] || 27 April || ''[[Saur Revolution]]'': Military units loyal to the [[People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan|PDPA]] assaulted the [[Arg, Kabul|Afghan Presidential Palace]], killing President [[Mohammad Daoud Khan]] and his family.
|-
| 1 May || ''Saur Revolution'': The [[People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan|PDPA]] installed its leader, [[Nur Muhammad Taraki]], as President of Afghanistan.
|-
| July || A rebellion against the new Afghan government began with an uprising in [[Nuristan Province]].
|-
| 5 December || A treaty was signed which permitted deployment of the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] military at the Afghan government's request.
|-
| rowspan="3" valign="top" | [[1979 in Afghanistan|1979]] || 14 September || [[Nur Muhammad Taraki|Taraki]] was murdered by supporters of Prime Minister [[Hafizullah Amin]].
|-
| 24 December || ''[[Soviet–Afghan War]]'': Fearing the collapse of the [[Hafizullah Amin|Amin]] regime, the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] army invaded Afghanistan.
|-
| 27 December || ''[[Operation Storm-333]]'': [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] troops occupied major governmental, military and media buildings in [[Kabul]], including the [[Tajbeg Palace]], and executed Prime Minister [[Hafizullah Amin|Amin]].
|-
| [[1988 in Afghanistan|1988]] || 14 April || ''Soviet–Afghan War'': The [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] government signed the [[Geneva Accords (1988)|Geneva Accords]], which included a timetable for withdrawing [[Soviet Armed Forces|their armed forces]].
|-
| [[1989 in Afghanistan|1989]] || 15 February || ''Soviet–Afghan War'': The last [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] troops left the country.
|-
| rowspan="4" valign="top" | [[1992 in Afghanistan|1992]] || rowspan="2" valign="top" | 24 April || ''[[Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)]]'': Afghan political parties signed the [[Peshawar Accord]] which created the [[Islamic State of Afghanistan]] and proclaimed [[Sibghatullah Mojaddedi]] its interim President.
|-
| [[Gulbuddin Hekmatyar]]'s [[Hezbi Islami]], with the support of neighboring [[Pakistan]], began a massive bombardment against the Islamic State in the capital [[Kabul]].
|-
| 28 June || As agreed upon in the Peshawar Accord, [[Jamiat-e Islami]] leader [[Burhanuddin Rabbani]] took over as President.
|-
| || [[Taliban]] attacks and looting of the [[National Museum of Afghanistan]] result in loss of 70% of the 100,000 artifacts of Afghan culture and history.
|-
| [[1994 in Afghanistan|1994]] || August || The [[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (1996–2001)|Taliban government]] began to form in a small village between [[Lashkargah]] and [[Kandahar]].
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[1995 in Afghanistan|1995]] || January || The Taliban, with [[Pakistan]]i support, initiated a military campaign against the Islamic State of Afghanistan and its capital [[Kabul]].
|-
| 13 March|| Taliban tortured and killed [[Abdul Ali Mazari]] leader of the [[Hazara people]].
|-
| rowspan="3" valign="top" | [[1996 in Afghanistan|1996]] || 26 September || ''[[Afghan Civil War (1996–2001)]]'': The forces of the Islamic State retreated to northern Afghanistan.
|-
| 27 September || ''Afghan Civil War (1996–2001)'': The Taliban conquered Kabul and declared the establishment of the [[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (1996–2001)|Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan]]. Former President [[Mohammad Najibullah]], who had been living under [[United Nations]] protection in Kabul, was tortured, castrated and executed by Taliban forces.
|-
| 30 September || Taliban pass decree that all women should be banned from employment.<ref>{{cite web |author=United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees |title=UNHCR - Chronology of Events January 1995 - February 1997 |url=http://www.unhcr.org/home/RSDCOI/3ae6a84d0.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061021170235/https://www.unhcr.org/home/RSDCOI/3ae6a84d0.html |archive-date=2006-10-21 |access-date=2015-11-01 |work=UNHCR}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="3" valign="top" | [[1998 in Afghanistan|1998]] || August || ''Afghan Civil War (1996–2001)'': The [[Taliban]] captured [[Mazar-i-Sharif]], forcing [[Abdul Rashid Dostum]] into exile.
|-
| 11 August || Destruction of the [[Puli Khumri]] Public Library by the Taliban. The library contained over 55,000 books and old manuscripts and was considered by Afghans as one of the most valuable and beautiful collections of their nation and their culture.<ref name="Acta Academia">{{cite web |last= Civallero|first= Edgardo|date= 2007|title=When memory is turn into ashes|url=https://www.aacademica.org/edgardo.civallero/113.pdf|publisher=Acta Academia|access-date=2 January 2021}}</ref><ref name="antoon">''[https://books.google.com/books?id=4DlMSrtOGLIC Censorship of historical thought: a world guide, 1945–2000]'', Antoon de Baets</ref>
|-
| 20 August || ''[[Operation Infinite Reach]]'': Cruise missiles were fired by the [[United States]] [[United States Navy|Navy]] into four militant training camps in the [[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (1996–2001)|Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan]].
|}

==21st century==
{| class="wikitable" width="100%"
! style="width:6%" | Year || style="width:10%" | Date || Event
|-
| rowspan="7" valign="top" | [[2001 in Afghanistan|2001]] || 2 March || Destruction of the [[Buddhas of Bamiyan]] by the Taliban with dynamite, on orders from its leader [[Mullah Omar]].

|-
| 9 September || Resistance leader [[Ahmad Shah Massoud]] was killed in a suicide bomb attack by two Arabs who were disguised as [[France|French]] news reporters.
|-
| 20 September || After the [[September 11 attacks]] in the [[United States]], [[President of the United States|U.S. President]] [[George W. Bush]] demanded the Taliban government to hand over [[al-Qaeda]] head [[Osama bin Laden]] and close all terrorist training camps in the country, which the Taliban refuses the following day for lack of evidence connecting bin Laden to 9/11 attacks.<ref>{{cite web |title=Why Did the United States Invade Afghanistan? |url=http://fff.org/explore-freedom/article/united-states-invade-afghanistan/ |access-date=27 July 2015 |work=fff.org |date=12 October 2011 }}</ref>
|-
| 7 October || ''[[Operation Enduring Freedom]]'': The United States and the [[United Kingdom]] began an aerial bombing campaign against al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
|-
| October || Reports of Taliban having destroyed at least 2,750 ancient works of art at the [[National Museum of Afghanistan]] during the year.
|-
| 5 December || The [[United Nations Security Council]] authorized the creation of the [[International Security Assistance Force]] (ISAF) to help maintain security in Afghanistan and assist the [[Presidency of Hamid Karzai|Karzai administration]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nps.edu/Academics/centers/ccc/publications/OnlineJournal/2006/Feb/johnsonFeb06-figure1-bonnagreement.pdf |title=United Nations Security Council |access-date=October 6, 2010 |work=UN |publisher=[[Naval Postgraduate School]] |date=December 5, 2001}}</ref>
|-
| 20 December || ''[[International Conference on Afghanistan, Bonn (2001)|International Conference on Afghanistan in Germany]]'': [[Hamid Karzai]] chosen as head of the [[Afghan Interim Administration]].
|-
| 2002 || July || ''[[2002 loya jirga]]'': Hamid Karzai appointed as President of the [[Afghan Transitional Administration]] in [[Kabul]], Afghanistan.
|-
| 2003 || 14 December || ''[[2003 loya jirga]]'': A 502-delegate ''[[loya jirga]]'' was held to consider a new [[Constitution of Afghanistan|Afghan constitution]].
|-
| 2004 || 9 October || [[Hamid Karzai]] was elected President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan after winning the [[Afghan presidential election, 2004|Afghan presidential election]].
|-
| 2005 || || ''[[Taliban insurgency]]'': An insurgency began after a Pakistani decision to station around 80,000 soldiers next to the porous [[Durand Line]] border with Afghanistan.
|-
| 2006 || 1 March || [[George W. Bush|Bush]] and wife visited Afghanistan to inaugurate the renovated [[Embassy of the United States, Kabul|Embassy of the United States in Kabul]].
|-
| 2007 || 13 May || ''[[Afghanistan–Pakistan border skirmishes]]'': Skirmishes began with Pakistan.<ref name="di">{{cite web |date=13 May 2007 |title=Up to 7 Afghan troops killed in Pakistan clash |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pakistan-afghan/up-to-7-afghan-troops-killed-in-pakistan-clash-idUSISL1707720070513?mod=related&channelName=worldNews |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309005933/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pakistan-afghan/up-to-7-afghan-troops-killed-in-pakistan-clash-idUSISL1707720070513?mod=related&channelName=worldNews |archive-date=9 March 2021 |access-date=3 May 2019 |work=Reuters}}</ref>
|-
| 2010 || || U.S. President [[Barack Obama]] sent additional 33,000 U.S. soldiers to Afghanistan, with the total international troops reaching 150,000.
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2011 || || After the [[death of Osama bin Laden]] in Pakistan, many high-profile Afghan officials were assassinated, including among them were [[Mohammed Daud Daud]], [[Ahmed Wali Karzai]], [[Jan Mohammad Khan]], [[Ghulam Haider Hamidi]], and [[Burhanuddin Rabbani]].
|-
| || [[National Front of Afghanistan]] was created by [[Tajiks|Tajik]] leader [[Ahmad Zia Massoud]], [[Hazaras|Hazara]] leader [[Muhammad Mohaqiq]] and [[Uzbeks|Uzbek]] leader [[Abdul Rashid Dostum]]
|-
| 2016 || 31 December || United States troops [[Withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan (2011–2016)|withdraw]] from Afghanistan after 15 years.<ref>{{cite news |last=Sennott |first=Charles M. |date=May 5, 2015 |title=The First Battle of the 21st Century |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/05/war-afghanistan-spann-qala-i-jangi/392402/ |newspaper=The Atlantic |access-date=May 15, 2015 |quote=Even after 14 years of war in Afghanistan, the U.S. military has not fully succeeded in restoring security to the country or defeating the Taliban. Now, at the request of the new Afghan government, the United States has delayed the completion of its troop withdrawal from the country until 2016 at the earliest. |archive-date=July 30, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190730101144/https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/05/war-afghanistan-spann-qala-i-jangi/392402/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
|2020
|29 February
|U.S. signs [[United States–Taliban deal|peace agreement with Taliban]], committing the U.S. to a drawdown of troops and conditional full withdrawal by 1 May 2021. The agreement further required the Afghan government to release 5,000 Taliban prisoners in exchange for 1,000 Afghan soldiers held by the Taliban.
|-
| rowspan="4" |2021
|15 January
|U.S. completes the final Afghanistan troop drawdown of the [[first presidency of Donald Trump|first Trump administration]], reducing the U.S. troop level to 2,500.<ref>{{cite web|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|date=2021|title=US War in Afghanistan: 1999–2021|url=https://www.cfr.org/timeline/us-war-afghanistan|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|publisher=Council on Foreign Relations}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Burns |first1=Robert |title=Pentagon says US has dropped to 2,500 troops in Afghanistan |url=https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-donald-trump-afghanistan-taliban-united-states-16cc1dd5b2f74d463311d212ad0d215a |publisher=Associated Press |date=January 15, 2021}}</ref>
|-
|14 April || US President [[Joe Biden]] orders complete withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan by 11 September 2021 (later revised to 31 August 2021).
|-
|1 July || US forces leave [[Bagram Airfield]], its largest base in Afghanistan after nearly 20 years.
|-
| 15 August || [[Kabul]] falls to [[Taliban]] ([[Fall of Kabul (2021)|Fall of Kabul]]).
|-
|2023
|October - December
|Pakistani government ordered the [[expulsion of Afghans from Pakistan]].<ref>{{cite news |date=22 November 2023 |title='What's wrong?': The silence of Pakistanis on expulsion of Afghan refugees |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/22/whats-wrong-the-silence-of-pakistanis-on-expulsion-of-afghan-refugees |work=Al Jazeera}}</ref> Iran also decided to deport [[Afghan refugees]] back to Afghanistan a few months later.<ref>{{cite news |date=4 December 2023 |title=Afghans Banned From 16 Provinces In Iran As Forced Exodus Continues |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-afghans-banned-provinces/32713320.html |work=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty}}</ref>
|}

== See also ==
* [[List of years in Afghanistan]]
* [[Solar Hijri calendar#In Afghanistan]]

Cities in Afghanistan:
* [[Timeline of Kabul]]
* [[Timeline of Herat]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite book|publisher=Europa Publications|title= Political Chronology of Central, South and East Asia|year= 2003|isbn=978-1-135-35680-4 |chapter=Afghanistan |chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=f5wcH0abSQcC&pg=PA1 }}

== External links ==
* {{cite news |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-12024253 |title=Afghanistan Profile: Timeline |work=BBC News |date=17 December 2010 }}
* {{cite web |last1=Ratnikas |first1=Algis |url= http://timelines.ws/countries/AFGHAN_A.HTML |title=Afghanistan Profile: Timeline |publisher=Timelines of History }}

{{Years in Afghanistan}}
{{Asian topic|prefix=Timeline of|suffix=history}}

[[Category:Years in Afghanistan]]
[[Category:Timelines by country|Afghan]]
[[Category:Afghanistan history-related lists| Timeline]]