IlkhanateThe Ilkhanate or Il-khanate, also known as the Ilkhanids (ایل خانان), and known to the Mongols as Hülegü Ulus (people or state of Hülegü), was a Mongol khanate established from the southwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. The Ilkhanid realm was officially known as land of Iran or simply Iran. It was established after Hulagu Khan, the son of Tolui and grandson of Genghis Khan, inherited the Southwest Asian part of the Mongol Empire after his brother Möngke Khan died in 1259.
GhiljiThe Ghiljī (غلجي, ɣəlˈd͡ʒi; Xelji) also spelled Khilji, Khalji, or Ghilzai or Ghilzay (غلزی), are one of the largest Pashtun tribes. Their traditional homeland is Ghazni and Qalati Ghilji in Afghanistan but they have also settled in other regions throughout the Afghanistan-Pakistan Pashtun belt. The Khilji dynasty was a dynasty in Delhi Sultanate founded by Jalaluddin Khalji and expanded by Alauddin Khalji who were from Ghilji tribe. The modern nomadic Kochi people are predominantly made up of Ghilji tribes.
HazarajatHazaristan (Hazāristān), or Hazarajat (Hazārajāt) is a mostly mountainous region in the central highlands of Afghanistan, among the Kuh-e Baba mountains in the western extremities of the Hindu Kush. It is the homeland of the Hazara people who make up the majority of its population. Hazarajat denotes an ethnic and religious zone. Hazarajat is primarily made up of the provinces of Bamyan, Daykundi and large parts of Ghor, Ghazni, Uruzgan, Parwan, Maidan Wardak and more.
DariDari (ˈdɑːri,_ˈdæ-; endonym: دری d̪ɐˈɾiː), also known as Dari Persian (Dari: فارسی دری, , fʌːɾˈsiːjɪ d̪ɐˈɾiː or , fʌːɾˈsiːjɛ d̪ɐˈɾiː), is the variety of the Persian language spoken in Afghanistan. Dari is the term officially recognised and promoted since 1964 by the Afghan government for the Persian language; it is known as Afghan Persian or Eastern Persian in many Western sources. As Professor Nile Green remarks, "the impulses behind renaming of Afghan Persian as Dari were more nationalistic than linguistic" in order to create an Afghan state narrative.
Bamyan ProvinceBamyan Province (ولایت بامیان) also spelled Bamiyan, Bāmīān or Bāmyān is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan with the city of Bamyan as its center, located in central parts of Afghanistan. The terrain in Bamyan is mountainous or semi-mountainous, at the western end of the Hindu Kush mountains concurrent with the Himalayas. The province is divided into eight districts, with the town of Bamyan serving as its capital.
Demographics of AfghanistanThe population of Afghanistan is around 41 million as of 2023. The nation is composed of a multi-ethnic and multilingual society, reflecting its location astride historic trade and invasion routes between Central Asia, South Asia, and Western Asia. Ethnic groups in the country include Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbeks as well as smaller groups such as Nuristanis, Aimaq, Turkmen, Baloch and some others which are less known. Together they make up the contemporary Afghan people.
TalibanThe Taliban ('taelᵻbaen,_'ta:lᵻba:n; ṭālibān or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist and Pashtun nationalist militant political movement in Afghanistan. It ruled approximately three-quarters of the country from 1996 to 2001, before being overthrown following the American invasion. It recaptured Kabul on 15 August 2021 following the departure of most coalition forces, after nearly 20 years of insurgency, and currently controls all of the country.
HazarasThe Hazaras (Həzārə; Āzrə) are an ethnic group and a principal component of the population of Afghanistan, native to, and primarily residing in, the Hazaristan region in central Afghanistan and the northern regions of the Baluchistan province in Pakistan. They are one of the largest ethnic groups in Afghanistan, and a significant minority group in Pakistan, mostly in Quetta, as well as in Iran. They speak the Dari and Hazaragi dialects of Persian. Dari is one of the two official languages in Afghanistan.
PashtunsPashtuns (ˈpʌʃˌtʊn, ˈpɑːʃˌtʊn, ˈpæʃˌtuːn; پښتانه, pəx̌tānə́), also known as Pakhtuns, Pashteens or Pathans, are an Eastern Iranian ethnic group primarily residing in southern and eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. They historically were also referred to as Afghans until the 1970s, after the term's meaning had become a demonym for members of all ethnic groups in Afghanistan. The group's native language is Pashto, an Iranian language in the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family.
HeratHerāt (hɛˈrɑːt; Pashto ; هرات) is an oasis city and the third-largest city in Afghanistan. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains (Selseleh-ye Safēd Kōh) in the fertile valley of the Hari River in the western part of the country. An ancient civilization on the Silk Road between West, Central and South Asia, it serves as a regional hub in the country's west. Herat dates back to Avestan times and was traditionally known for its wine.
