Britannica Student Encyclopedia - 2010

Afghans, are a mixture of many different

groups. The Pashtuns make up about

half of the population. Tajiks make up

about a fifth of the population. Other

ethnic groups include the Hazara,

Uzbeks, Chahar Aimaks, and Turkmen.

Pashto, the language of the Pashtuns,

and Dari (Persian) are the two official

languages, but others are spoken. Almost

all Afghans are Muslims.

Kabul is the largest city, but most

Afghans live in rural areas. Farmers live

in villages along the rivers. Nomads live

in tents and move from place to place.

Few people live in the mountains or the

deserts.

Economy

Afghanistan is one of the poorest countries

in the world. Most people grow

crops and raise animals for their own

use. The main food crops are wheat,

rice, grapes, barley, and corn. Sheep,

goats, and cattle are the main livestock.

Some farmers grow opium poppies,

which are used to make illegal drugs.

36 Afghanistan BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

 

Manufacturers make processed foods,

leather, fur, and textiles. The country has

deposits of natural gas, but warfare has

prevented Afghans from using them.

History

Major trade routes crossed what is now

Afghanistan thousands of years ago. The

Persians and Macedonian king Alexander

the Great ruled the land more

than 2,300 years ago. In the AD 600s

Arab invaders introduced the religion of

Islam. In 1219 Genghis Khan made the

area part of his Mongol Empire. Beginning

in the 1300s Turkic peoples, the

Mughal Empire, and the Persians ruled

parts of the land.

Ahmad Shah Durrani, a Pashtun leader,

unified Afghanistan under his rule in

1747. Great Britain invaded in the

1800s. After winning independence

from Britain in 1919, Afghanistan continued

as a monarchy. In 1973 Afghans

overthrew the king. The country’s new

leaders made Afghanistan a republic, led

by a prime minister.

Soviet Invasion

In 1978 Communists seized control of

Afghanistan’s government. The Soviet

Union invaded in December 1979. For

nearly a decade Islamic forces known as

mujahideen fought the Soviets. Millions

of Afghans left the country for Pakistan

and Iran. The Soviet Army left in 1989.

The Taliban

Various Afghan groups then fought for

control. By the late 1990s a group called

the Taliban had gained control over

most of Afghanistan. The Taliban ruled

according to a strict version of Islamic

law.

The Taliban angered other countries by

allowing terrorists to live in Afghanistan.

When the Taliban refused to hand over

suspected terrorist Osama bin Laden,

the United States and its allies bombed

Afghanistan in October 2001.Within

months the Taliban abandoned Kabul.

In 2004 Afghanistan adopted a new

constitution and elected a president. But

fighting continued between U.S. forces

and the Taliban.

..More to explore

Alexander the Great • bin Laden, Osama

• Communism • Islam • Kabul

• Mongol Empire • Mughal Empire

• Persia • Union of Soviet Socialist

Republics

The blue-tiled mosque in Mazar-e Sharif,

Afghanistan, is important to all Muslims. It

marks the tomb of !Ali, the son-in-law of the

prophet Muhammad.

Facts About

AFGHANISTAN

Population

(2008 estimate)

28,266,000

Area

249,347 sq mi

(645,807 sq km)

Capital

Kabul

Form of

government

Islamic republic

Major cities

Kabul, Kandahar

(Qandahar),

Herat, Mazar-e

Sharif

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Afghanistan 37

 

Africa

Africa is the world’s second largest continent.

More than 50 countries make up

the continent. More than one eighth of

the world’s population lives there.

Land and Climate

Africa’s landscape is varied. The northern

and western parts of the continent

are generally lower and more level than

the eastern and southern areas. Africa is

the oldest continent. Therefore most of

its mountains are not as high as those on

other continents. They have been worn

down over millions of years by wind and

water.

Africa’s most striking feature is a series

of great rifts, or troughs, in the east

known as the Rift Valley system. These

rifts span two continents, from western

Asia through eastern Africa. In Africa

they are deep, long, narrow valleys.

The world’s longest river, the Nile, flows

through northern Africa. The continent’s

other long rivers include the

Congo in central Africa, the Niger in the

west, and the Zambezi in the south.

Eastern Africa has a chain of lakes

known as the great lakes.

The continent is crossed midway by the

equator. This means that most of

Africa—the middle portion—lies within

the tropics, an area where it is hot yearround.

In the lowlands near the equator,

rain falls throughout the year. To the

north and south of this rainy area are

large regions that have a rainy season

followed by a dry season. It is very hot

A pair of giraffes is at home near Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.

38 Africa BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

 

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Africa 39

 

and dry year-round in Africa’s major

deserts—the Sahara in the north and the

Kalahari and the Namib in the south.

Plants and Animals

The vegetation growing in each region

depends on the rainfall it receives. Near

the equator, where it rains year-round,

there are dense rain forests. These forests

contain thousands of different types of