Land and People

Abstract

The history of Afghanistan has, since ancient times, been marked by the military expeditions of numerous conquerors to whom the struggles for a few mountain passes which opened the way to India were the pre-condition for the foundation of their empires. The expeditions of the legendary Bactrian kings in the Iranian- Turanian area, of the Achaemenians advancing towards India by way of the “Ariana” as were the Greeks to do at a later stage under Alexander’s leadership, the invasions of the Scythian peoples in the second century B. C. and those of the Yue-chi or Tochars arriving in Bactria from the east and pressing on from there to the south east—all of these events demonstrate how even in ancient times the Afghan territory was exposed to frequent conquests.