Archeological evidence indicates that, after migrating from the north approximately 50,000 years ago, Afghanistan’s earliest settlers lived as hunters in the caves of the northern Hindu Kush range. As they grew in number they relocated to the warmer plains, forming tiny villages and domesticating animals.

The subjugation of the wider region by Darius I of Persia in the 6th century BCE inaugurated a pattern of invasion and conquest which came to dominate Afghanistan’s long recorded history, ushering in a succession of ruling dynasties which included the Graeco-Bactrians, the Kushanas, the Sasanians, the Samanids, the Ghaznavids, the Ghorid, the Timurud and the Mogul. On each occasion traders and pilgrims followed the warriors and the inevitable flow of ideas that accompanied them bequeathed to the region a rich and varied culture. A variety of religious traditions were also adopted during this period, including Zoroastrianism, Buddhism and latterly Islam. During the medieval period the demand for luxury goods by kingdoms to the east and west allowed Afghanistan to become a centre of great cultural and economic importance that declined only in the 16th century with the development of faster sea routes and yet more invasions from neighbouring states. The country was finally unified in 1747 under Pashtun tribal leader Ahmad Shah Durrani. The country’s modern borders were shaped largely by competition between British and Russian imperialism during the 19th century.

By the early 1970s the country was beset by serious economic problems, and in 1973, following severe drought in the centre and northern parts of the country, the monarchy was overthrown by a group led by king’s cousin, former Prime Minister Mohammad Sardar Daoud Khan; Zahir Shah fled the country, eventually finding refuge in Italy. Daoud abolished the monarchy, abrogating the 1964 constitution and declaring Afghanistan a republic with himself as its first President and Prime Minister.

In April 1978 a Soviet-backed coup by the Communist PDPA resulted in the overthrow and murder of Daoud and most of his family. With Soviet support, PDPA Secretary General Nur Muhammad Taraki became President of the Revolutionary Council and Prime Minister of the newly-established Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. However, the PDPA’s subsequent attempts to introduce a Soviet-style reform programme, including the establishment of full women's rights and the implementation of land reform, provoked a violent backlash, leading to civil war. On 24 December 1979 the Soviet army invaded Afghanistan.

The Soviet occupation of Afghanistan lasted for nearly 10 years, during which time the Soviet army conducted military operations against Afghan Mujahideen rebels funded by the CIA, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. The occupation ended in February 1989 with a full withdrawal of Soviet troops under the terms of the 1988 Geneva Accords, but the Soviet-backed PDPA under President Mohammed Najibullah continued in power until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1992. On 18 April 1992 the Najibullah government was overthrown by the Mujihadeen under former PDPA general Abdul Rashid Dostum, and Professor Burhanuddin Rabbani was installed as president of the new Islamic Republic. However, the victory of the Mujahideen was soon soured by infighting, as different factions failed to agree on how to share power. In the conflict which followed tens of thousands of civilians lost their lives and much of Kabul was reduced to rubble.

In 1994 the Islamic ethnic Pashtun Taliban movement began in southern Afghanistan, making rapid military gains over the next two years. In 1996 they seized control of Kabul and set about implementing their own rigid interpretation of Islamic law and conduct.

Since December 2001 the UN-sanctioned International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), composed of NATO troops, has assisted the government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in establishing authority across the nation. ISAF currently numbers around 8,000 troops from 36 NATO, nine partner and two non-NATO/non-partner countries. In 2005 the United States and Afghanistan signed a strategic partnership agreement committing both nations to a long-term relationship. In the meantime, about 40 billion US dollars have also been provided by the international community for the reconstruction of the country.