Kandahar

{{pp-pc|small=yes}} {{Short description|City in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan}} {{About|the city in Afghanistan}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}} {{Infobox settlement  | name = Kandahar | official_name = | native_name = {{lang|ps|{{nq|کندهار}}}} {{lang|prs|{{nq|قندهار}}}} | other_name = | settlement_type = Provincial capital | image_skyline = {{Photomontage | photo1a = Aerial view of a section of Kandahar in 2013.jpg | photo1b = | photo2a = KandaharUniversity-Mosque-2005.JPEG | photo2b = Mosque in Kandahar-2011.jpg | photo3a = Mausoleum of Baba Wali in Kandahar.jpg | photo3b = Toms of Ahamed Shah Abdali.jpg | photo4a = Women from 203rd Zone Afghan Border Police and TAAC-S attend shura at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan 150809-N-SQ656-227.jpg | photo4b = | photo5a = | photo5b = | color = white | color_border = white | position = center | spacing = 2 | size = 266 | foot_montage = }} | image_caption = ''Top to bottom and left to right'': Aerial view of Kandahar, Eidgah Mosque at Kandahar University, Khirka Sharif, Mausoleum of Baba Wali, Mausoleum of Ahmad Shah Durrani, Ahmad Shah Baba International Airport | image_flag = Flag of Kandahar Municipality.png | image_seal = Kandahar50fs.png | image_shield = | motto = City of the Power | image_map = | map_caption = | pushpin_map = Afghanistan#West Asia#South Asia#Asia | pushpin_relief = yes | pushpin_label_position = above | pushpin_mapsize = | pushpin_map_caption = Location in Afghanistan | coordinates = {{coord|31|37|12|N|65|42|57|E|region:AF|display=inline,title}} | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = {{Flag|Afghanistan}} | subdivision_type1 = Province | subdivision_name1 = Kandahar | subdivision_type2 = District | subdivision_name2 = Kandahar | subdivision_type3 = No. of municipal districts (''nahias'') | subdivision_name3 = 15 | established_title = | established_date =  | government_footnotes = <ref name="TOLO-186823" /> | government_type = Municipality | leader_title = Mayor | leader_name = Mullah Hekmatullah | leader_title1 = | leader_name1 =  | area_footnotes = <ref name="Volume-I" /> | area_total_km2 = | area_total_ha = | area_land_km2 = 273 | area_land_ha = | area_water_km2 = | area_water_percent = | elevation_footnotes = <ref name="Volume-II" /> | elevation_m = 1010  | population_footnotes = <ref name="population" /> | population_rank = 2nd | population_total = 732629 | population_as_of = 2025 | population_density_km2 = auto | population_density_sq_mi = | population_urban = 613462 | population_rural = 119167 | population_note = | population_demonyms = Kandahari  | timezone = Afghanistan Time | utc_offset = +04:30 | timezone_DST = | utc_offset_DST = | postal_code_type =  | postal_code = 38XX | area_code_type =  | area_code = | area_codes = | geocode = | iso_code = AF-KAN | registration_plate_type = | registration_plate = | code1_name = | code1_info = | website = {{URL|kandahar-m.gov.af}} | module = | footnotes = }} '''Kandahar'''{{efn|{{bulleted list|{{IPAc-en|lang|ˈ|k|æ|n|d|ə|ˌ|h|ɑ:r}} {{respell|KAND-ə-HAHR}}|{{langx|ps|کندهار|Kandahār}}, {{IPA|ps|kandaˈhɑr, kanˈdɑr|pron}}|{{langx|prs|قندهار|Qandahār}}, {{IPA|prs|qandaˈɦɑːɾ, qanˈdɑːɾ|pron}}}}}} is a city in southern Afghanistan, serving as the capital and largest city of Kandahar Province. It is within the jurisdiction of Kandahar District and has an estimated population of 732,629 settled residents.<ref name="population" /> Mullah Hekmatullah is the current mayor of the city.<ref name="TOLO-186823" /> His predecessor was Haji Nimatullah Hassan.<ref name="TOLO-182254" />

Kandahar is located between the Arghandab River and the Tarnak River, at an elevation of approximately {{cvt|1010|m}} above sea level.<ref name="Volume-II" /> It is the center of the larger cultural region called Loy Kandahar. The Kandahar Municipality is administratively divided into 15 city districts (''nahias''), covering a land area of {{cvt|273|km2}}.<ref name="Volume-I" /> It has a number of industrial parks, public parks, bazaars, business centers, banks, hotels, restaurants, mosques, hospitals, universities, tourist sites, and places to play sports or just relax. The Ayno Maina township is located in the northeastern part of the city, next to the Kabul–Kandahar Highway.

The region around Kandahar is one of the oldest known areas of human settlement. A major fortified city existed at the site of Kandahar, probably as early as {{circa}} 1000–750 BC,<ref name="books.google.com">F.R. Allchin (ed.), [https://books.google.com/books?id=Q5kI02_zW70C&pg=PA127 ''The Archaeology of Early Historic South Asia: The Emergence of Cities and States''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210501125746/https://books.google.com/books?id=Q5kI02_zW70C&pg=PA127|date=1 May 2021}} (Cambridge University Press, 1995), pp.127–130</ref> and it became an important outpost of the Achaemenid Empire in the 6th century BC.<ref name="Fussman" /> Alexander the Great laid the foundation of what is now Old Kandahar (in the southwestern area of the current city) in the 4th century BC and named it Alexandria Arachosia. Many empires have long fought over the city due to its strategic location along the trade routes of southern, central and western Asia. In 1709, Mirwais Hotak turned the region into an independent kingdom and made Kandahar the capital of the Hotak dynasty. In 1747, Ahmad Shah Durrani, founder of the Durrani dynasty, made Kandahar the capital of the Durrani Empire. It was briefly occupied by the British in the 19th century, the Soviets in the 1980s, and recently by NATO forces.

Kandahar is the founding city and spiritual center of the Taliban. Despite the nation's capital being Kabul, where all government ministries and institutions are based, Kandahar is the seat of power in Afghanistan as the supreme leader and his spiritual advisers are based there. Kandahar has therefore been called the ''de facto'' capital of Afghanistan, though the Taliban maintain Kabul as the official capital.<ref>{{cite news|author1=Ikramullah Ikram|author2=Abubakar Siddique|title=Southern Afghan City Becomes De Facto Capital As Taliban Chief Tightens Grip On Power|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/afghanistan-kandahar-taliban-akhundzada-capital/32369212.html|access-date=11 May 2023|work=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty|date=18 April 2023|archive-date=11 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230511031105/https://www.rferl.org/a/afghanistan-kandahar-taliban-akhundzada-capital/32369212.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Kandahar is one of the most culturally significant cities of the Pashtun community and has been their traditional seat of power for more than 300 years. It is a major industrial and trading center.<ref name="50 new factories added to Kandahar industrial park" /> The region produces some of the finest fruits, especially grapes and pomegranates,<ref name="TOLO-197227" /> and the city has plants for canning, drying, and packing fruits.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.avapress.com/en/news/277808/600-million-k_andahar-dried-fruit-will-_export-this-year|title=$600 Million Kandahar Dried Fruit Will Export This Year|work=Afghan Voice Agency|date=5 October 2023|access-date=21 January 2025}}</ref><ref>{{YouTube|LZZmtpuOUs8|Kandahar exports over $370 million dried fruits in 9 months}}, Ariana News, 20 January 2025.</ref>

==Name== The modern name of the city derives from the name of the original city built here, Alexandria. This city (often referred to as Alexandria in Arachosia to distinguish it from other Alexandrias) was founded after the invasion of Alexander the Great in 330 BC. The name "Alexander" in the local Pashto language is rendered as "Iskandar". It is believed that over time this transformed into ''"Scandar"'', and eventually the modern ''"Kandahar"''.<ref name="Hill2009">John E. Hill, ''Through the Jade Gate to Rome: A Study of the Silk Routes during the Later Han dynasty, 1st to 2nd centuries AD''. BookSurge, Charleston, South Carolina, 2009. {{ISBN|978-1-4392-2134-1}}, pp. 517–518. This derivation, as that from Gondophares, was characterised as "philologiquement impossible" by P. Bernard, "Un probleme de toponymie antique dans l'Asie Centrale: les noms anciens de Qandahar", ''Studia Iranica'', tome 3, 1974 and ''Afghanistan Quarterly'', vol.33, no.1, June 1980/Spring 1359, pp.49–62, p59, n.10.</ref> The change of the name from ''"Scandar"'' to Candar is mentioned by the 16th-century Portuguese historian João de Barros in his most famous work, ''Décadas da Ásia''.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Barros|first1=João de|title=Da Asia De Joāo De Barros: Dos Feitos, Que Os Portuguezes Fizeram No Descubrimento, E Conquista Dos Mares, E Terras Do Oriente. Decada Quarta. Parte Segunda|date=1552|publisher=Na Regia Officina Typografica|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BPlgAAAAcAAJ&q=Jo%C3%A3o+de+Barros+scandar&pg=PA6|language=pt|quote=Those who go from Persia, from the kingdom of Horaçam (Khorasan), from Bohára, and all the Western Regions, travel to the city which the natives corruptly call Candar, instead of Scandar, the name by which the Persians call Alexander.:ruptamente Candar, havendo de dizer Scandar, nome per que os Perfas chamam Alexandre, por elle (como efcreve Arriano ") edificar efia Cidade, e do feu nome fe chamou Alexandria fituada ...|access-date=2 October 2020|archive-date=1 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210501125637/https://books.google.com/books?id=BPlgAAAAcAAJ&q=Jo%C3%A3o+de+Barros+scandar&pg=PA6|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Those who go from Persia, from the kingdom of Horaçam (Khorasan), from Bohára, and all the Western Regions, travel to the city which the natives corruptly call Candar, instead of Scandar, the name by which the Persians call Alexander</ref>

A folk etymology offered is that the word "kand" or "qand" in Persian and Pashto (the local languages) is the origin of the word "candy". The name "Candahar" or "Kandahar" in this form probably translates to candy area. This probably has to do with the location being fertile and historically known for producing fine grapes, pomegranates, apricots, melons and other sweet fruits.{{Citation needed|date=June 2019}}

Ernst Herzfeld claimed Kandahar perpetuated the name of the Indo-Parthian king Gondophares, who re-founded the city under the name Gundopharron.<ref>Ernst Herzfeld, ''Archaeological History of Iran'', London, Oxford University Press for the British Academy, 1935, p.63; Ernst Herzfeld, ''The Persian Empire: Studies in Geography and Ethnography of the Ancient Near East'', Wiesbaden, Steiner, 1968, p.335.</ref> However, modern historians and linguists generally find this derivation implausible.<ref name="Hill2009"/>

==History== {{Further|History of Afghanistan}} {{Quote box |width=25em |align=right |title_bg=#B0C4DE |title=Timeline of Kandahar (Alexandria Arachosia) Historical affiliations |fontsize=80% |quote={{Noflag|Macedonia}} 330 BC–312 BC {{Noflag|Seleucid Empire}} 312 BC–304 BC {{Noflag|Maurya Empire}} 304 BC–204 BC {{Noflag|Seleucid Empire}} 204 BC–c. 180 BC {{Noflag|Greco-Bactrian Kingdom}} 180 BC – c. 150 BC {{Noflag|Yavana Kingdom}} c. 150 BC–142 BC {{Noflag|Indo-Scythians}} 142 BC–32 BC {{Noflag|Parthian Empire}} 32 BC–19 CE {{Noflag|Indo-Parthian Kingdom}} 19–36 {{Noflag|Kushan Empire}} 36–230 {{Noflag|Sasanian Empire}} 230–645 {{Noflag|Rashidun Caliphate}} 645–661 {{Noflag|Umayyad Caliphate}} 661–750 {{flagicon image|Abbasid banner.svg}} Abbasid Caliphate 750–861 {{Noflag|Saffarid dynasty}} 861–977 {{Noflag|Ghaznavid Empire}} 977–1175 {{Noflag|Ghurid dynasty}} 1175–1207 {{Noflag|Khwarazmian Empire}} 1207–1222 {{Noflag|Mongol Empire}} 1222–1256 {{flagicon image|Flag of the Ilkhanate.svg}} Ilkhanate 1256–1347 {{Noflag|Kart dynasty}} 1347–1382 {{flagicon image|Catalan Atlas, Flag of Cathay.svg}} Timurid Empire 1382–1507 {{flagicon image|Alam of the Mughal Empire.svg}} Mughal Empire 1507–1649 {{flagicon image|Safavid Flag.svg}} Safavid Empire 1649–1711 {{flagicon image|Black flag.svg}} Hotak dynasty 1711–1738 {{flagicon image|Afsharid Imperial Standard (3 Stripes).svg}} Afsharid Empire 1738–1747 {{Noflag|Durrani Empire}} 1747–1818 {{flagicon image|Flag of Afghanistan (1880–1901).svg}} Principality of Kandahar 1818–1839 {{flagicon image|Flag of the United Kingdom (1-2).svg}} United Kingdom (Company Raj) 1839–1842 {{flagicon image|Flag of Afghanistan (1880–1901).svg}} Principality of Kandahar 1842–1855 {{flag|Afghanistan}} 1855–present }}

===Prehistory=== {{Further|Pre-Islamic period of Afghanistan}} Excavations of prehistoric sites by archaeologists such as Louis Dupree and others suggest that the region around Kandahar is one of the oldest known human settlements known so far. {{Blockquote|Early peasant farming villages came into existence in Afghanistan ca. 5000 B.C., or 7000 years ago. Deh Morasi Ghundai, the first prehistoric site to be excavated in Afghanistan, lies {{cvt|27|km|0}} southwest of Kandahar (Dupree, 1951). Another Bronze Age village mound site with multiroomed mud-brick buildings dating from the same period sits nearby at Said Qala (J. Shaffer, 1970). Second millennium B.C. Bronze Age pottery, copper and bronze horse trappings and stone seals were found in the lowermost levels in the nearby cave called Shamshir Ghar (Dupree, 1950). In the Seistan, southwest of these Kandahar sites, two teams of American archaeologists discovered sites relating to the 2nd millennium B.C. (G. Dales, University Museum, University of Pennsylvania, 1969, 1971; W, Trousdale, Smithsonian Institution, 1971 – 76). Stylistically the finds from Deh Morasi and Said Qala tie in with those of pre-Indus Valley sites and with those of comparable age on the Iranian Plateau and in Central Asia, indicating cultural contacts during this very early age.<ref Name=Dupree3>{{Cite book|title=An Historical Guide to Afghanistan|last1=Dupree|first1=Nancy Hatch|volume=First Edition|year=1970|publisher=Afghan Air Authority, Afghan Tourist Organization|location=Kabul|page=492|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T__DHAAACAAJ|access-date=17 June 2012|archive-date=7 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210507050410/https://books.google.com/books?id=T__DHAAACAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref>|N. Dupree|1971}}

British excavations in the 1970s discovered that Kandahar existed as a large fortified city during the early 1st millennium BC; while this earliest period at Kandahar has not been precisely dated via radiocarbon, ceramic comparisons with the latest period at the major Bronze Age city of Mundigak have suggested an approximate time-frame of 1000 to 750 BC.<ref name="books.google.com"/> This fortified city became an important outpost of the Achaemenid Empire in the 6th to 4th centuries BC, and formed part of the province of Arachosia.<ref name="Fussman">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Fussman |first=Gerard |date=December 15, 2010 |title=KANDAHAR ii. Pre-Islamic Monuments and Remains |url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kandahar-pre-islamic-monuments-and-remains/ |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |access-date=2020-03-09}}</ref>

===Ancient history=== {{Further|Alexandria in Arachosia}}

The main inhabitants of Arachosia were the ''Pakhtas'',<ref>Map of the Median Empire from the University of Texas in Austin, showing ''Pactyans'' in what is now Kandahar, Afghanistan ... [http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/shepherd/oriental_empire.jpg Link] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031004232323/http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/shepherd/oriental_empire.jpg|date=4 October 2003}}</ref> an ancient Indo-Iranian tribe, who might have been among the ancestors of today's Pashtuns. Mundigak served as the provincial capital of Arachosia and was ruled by the Medes followed by the Achaemenids until the arrival of the Macedonians. The now called "Old Kandahar" was founded in 330 BC by Alexander the Great, near the site of the ancient city of Mundigak (established around 3000 BC era). Kandahar was named ''Alexandria'', a name given to some cities that Alexander founded during his conquests.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.livius.org/aj-al/alexandria/alexandria_arachosia.html|title=Alexandria in Arachosia|first=Jona|last=Lendering|publisher=LIVIUS – Articles on Ancient History|access-date=9 January 2011|archive-date=15 June 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100615230642/http://www.livius.org/aj-al/alexandria/alexandria_arachosia.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Kandahar was a frequent target for conquest because of its strategic location in Asia, controlling the main trade route linking the Indian subcontinent with the Middle East and Central Asia.<ref>Mentioned in Bopearachchi, "Monnaies Greco-Bactriennes et Indo-Grecques", p52. Original text in paragraph 19 of [http://www.parthia.com/parthian_stations.htm#PARTHIAN_STATIONS Parthian stations] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200531124126/http://www.parthia.com/parthian_stations.htm#PARTHIAN_STATIONS |date=31 May 2020 }}</ref> The territory became part of the Seleucid Empire after the death of Alexander. The city eventually became part of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom (250 BC – 125 BC), and continued that way for two hundred years under the later Indo-Greek Kingdom (180 BC – 10 AD).  [[File:AsokaKandahar.jpg|thumb|upright|Kandahar Bilingual Rock Inscription (Greek and Aramaic) by Emperor Ashoka, from the Chilzina Complex in Kandahar, 3rd century BC]]

It is mentioned by Strabo that a treaty of friendship was established eventually between the Greeks and the Mauryas (Indians).<ref name="Dupree2">{{cite web |author=Nancy Hatch Dupree / Aḥmad ʻAlī Kuhzād |year=1972 |title=An Historical Guide to Kabul – The Story of Kabul |url=http://www.aisk.org/aisk/NHDAHGTK05.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100830031416/http://www.aisk.org/aisk/NHDAHGTK05.php |archive-date=30 August 2010 |access-date=18 September 2010 |publisher=American International School of Kabul}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Lendering |first=Jona |title=Maurya dynasty |url=https://www.livius.org/man-md/mauryas/mauryas.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120226183742/https://www.livius.org/man-md/mauryas/mauryas.html |archive-date=26 February 2012 |access-date=9 January 2011 |publisher=LIVIUS – Articles on Ancient History}}</ref> While the Diadochi were warring amongst themselves, the Mauryas were developing in the northern part of Hindustan. The founder of the empire, Chandragupta Maurya, confronted a Macedonian invasion force led by Seleucus I in 305 BC and following a brief conflict, an agreement was reached as Seleucus ceded Gandhara and Arachosia and areas south of Bagram to the Mauryas. During the 120 years of the Mauryas in southern Afghanistan, Buddhism was introduced and eventually become one of the major religions alongside Zoroastrianism.

Inscriptions made by Emperor Ashoka, a fragment of Edict 13 in Greek, as well as a full Edict, written in both Greek and Aramaic has been discovered in Kandahar. It is said to be written in excellent Classical Greek, using sophisticated philosophical terms. In this Edict, Ashoka the great used the word Eusebeia ("Piety") as the Greek translation for the ubiquitous "Dharma" of his other Edicts written in Prakrit.

===Medieval history=== {{Further|Muslim conquests of Afghanistan}}

'''Muslim conquest'''

In the 7th century AD, Arab armies conquered the region but failed to convert the entire population to Islam. The leader of the expedition was Abbad ibn Ziyad, who governed Sijistan between 673 and 681.<ref>{{EI2|article=ʿAbbād b. Ziyād|last=Zetterstéen|first=K. V.|volume=1|page=5}}</ref> In AD 870, Yaqub ibn Layth Saffari, a local ruler of the Saffarid dynasty, made Islam the official religion of the area. During that time, the Kandahar region was between Persia and Hindustan and ruled by the Zunbil dynasty,<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wink|first=André|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g2m7_R5P2oAC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA114|title=Al-Hind, the Making of the Indo-Islamic World: Early Medieval India and the Expansion of Islam 7th–11th Centuries|date=2002|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-0-391-04173-8|page=114|language=en|access-date=5 April 2023}}</ref><ref>Excavations at Kandahar 1974 & 1975 (Society for South Asian Studies Monograph) by Anthony McNicoll.{{blockquote|The Zunbils ruled in the Kandahar area for nearly 250 years until the late 9th century AD.}}</ref> while others claim it was an Eastern Persian realm where the inhabitants practiced Zurvanism.

'''Ghanavids'''

The region fell to Mahmud of Ghazni in the 11th century followed by Muhammad of Ghor. Kandahar appears to have been renamed ''Teginābād'' in the 10th–12th centuries, but the origin of the new name is unclear. During this period, nearby Panjwayi served as the administrative center for the area. However, Kandahar was of much more strategic importance, to the extent that Minhaj-i-Siraj attributes the downfall of the Ghaznavids to the loss of Kandahar. The city's name was changed back to Kandahar by the 13th century, after Ala ad-Din Husayn Jahansuz sacked Lashkari Bazar, near Bost. Again, the reason for the name change is not clear.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Inaba |first1=Minoru |date=December 15, 2010 |title=KANDAHAR iii. Early Islamic Period |url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kandahar-early-islamic-period/ |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica |access-date=2020-03-09}}</ref>

'''Mongols''' [[File:The Siege of Kandahar. Attributed to Payag Mughal, mid-17th century. Opaque watercolor on paper. The Knellington Collection, Courtesy Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, Massachusetts.jpg|thumb|The failed Mughal Siege of Kandahar in 1649. Attributed to Payag. Mughal, mid-17th century. ''Padshahnama''. Opaque watercolor on paper. The Knellington Collection, Courtesy Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, Massachusetts.<ref name="Metro">{{cite book |last1=Welch |first1=Stuart Cary |title=India: art and culture, 1300-1900 |date=1985 |publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art : Holt, Rinehart, and Winston |location=New York |isbn=978-0030061141 |page=248 |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/met-publications/india-art-and-culture-1300-1900 |quote=If Murad's siege raised the spirits of his imperial patron, Payag's view of an episode in 1649, during the unsuccessful attempts to recapture strategic Kandahar must have lowered them. Although Murad was noted for his cheerful portrayals of grand events at court-and, we suspect, as a designer of architectural ornament, which he painted so inventively-Payag is admired for portraits of holy men and ravaged old soldiers, and for views of war in all its horror.}}</ref>]] Kandahar was besieged by a Mongol army in 1221, although Jalal al-Din Mangburni defeated them. In 1251, upon accession to the Mongol throne, Möngke Khan granted Kandahar, along with other lands in Afghanistan, to Shams ad-Din Mohammad Kart of the Kart dynasty. However, the city is mentioned as being under Chagatai control in 1260–61; Kandahar did not come under Kart control until 1281. Later, in 1318, a Chagatai prince raised an army from Kandahar against the Ilkhanid governor of Sistan.<ref name="Matthee">{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Matthee |first1=Rudi |last2=Mashita |first2=Hiroyuki |date=December 15, 2010 |title=KANDAHAR iv. From The Mongol Invasion Through the Safavid Era |url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kandahar-from-the-mongol-invasion-through-the-safavid-era/ |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica |access-date=2020-03-09}}</ref> Kandahar was described by Ibn Battuta in 1333 as a large and prosperous town three nights journey from Ghazni.<ref name=Batutta>{{Cite book|title=Travels in Asia and Africa, 1325–1354|author=Ibn Battuta|edition=reprint, illustrated|year=2004|publisher=Routledge|isbn=0-415-34473-5|page=179|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zKqn_CWTxYEC&pg=PA179|access-date=4 August 2012|archive-date=2 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210702020838/https://books.google.com/books?id=zKqn_CWTxYEC&pg=PA179|url-status=live}}</ref>

Timur, founder of the Timurid Empire, captured Kandahar in 1383 and later made his grandson Pir Muhammad the governor of the region.<ref name="Matthee" /> Following his death in 1405, the region was ruled by other Timurid governors. Kandahar was entrusted to the Arghuns in the late 15th century, who eventually achieved independence from the Timurids. Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, is believed to have visited the town (c. 1521 AD) during his journey between Hindustan and Mecca in Arabia.

'''Mughals and Safavids'''

Timur's descendant, Babur, the founder of the Mughal Empire, annexed Kandahar in 1508. In 1554, Babur's son, Humayun, handed it over to the Safavid Shah Tahmasp in return of 12,000 soldiers he received from the Shah to reconquer India. In 1595, Humayun's son Akbar the Great took back the city by diplomacy. When news about Akbar's death reached the Persian court, Shah Abbas ordered his army to besiege the city which finally failed due to the reinforcements sent by the Mughal Emperor Jahangir that forced the Safavid retreat. In the Mughal–Safavid War, Kandahar was once again lost to the Safavids. In 1698, Balochs under Samandar Khan and Mir Abdullah Khan Ahmadzai of Kalat State recaptured Kandahar. The city was important to Delhi because it was one of the gateways to Hindustan, and Mughal control over Kandahar helped to prevent foreign intrusions.<ref name="sen2">{{Cite book|last=Sen|first=Sailendra|title=A Textbook of Medieval Indian History|publisher=Primus Books|year=2013|isbn=978-93-80607-34-4|pages=151, 162, 169–170}}</ref> The memory of the wars fought over Kandahar at this time is preserved in the epic poem ''Qandahār-nāma'' ("The Campaign Against Qandahār"), a major work of Saib Tabrizi which is a classic of Persian literature.

===Formation of the current city=== {{Further|Hotak dynasty|Durrani Empire}} [[File:KandaharMosque02.JPG|thumb|Mausoleum of Mirwais Hotak next to the Kandahar–Herat Highway]] Mirwais Hotak, chief of the Ghilji tribe, revolted in 1709 by killing Gurgin Khan, an ethnic Georgian subject and governor of the Shia Safavid Persians. After establishing the Hotak dynasty in Kandahar, Mirwais and his Afghan army successfully defeated subsequent expeditions by Kay Khusraw and Rustam Khán. It has been said that Mirwais resisted attempts by the Persian government who was seeking to convert the people of Kandahar from Sunni to the Shia sect of Islam. He died of a natural death in November 1715 and was succeeded by his brother Abdul Aziz, but after being suspected of giving Kandahar's sovereignty back to the Persians he was killed by his nephew Mahmud Hotak.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ia801501.us.archive.org/34/items/in.ernet.dli.2015.107177/2015.107177.Excavation-Of-Gezer-Vol3.pdf#page=150 |title=A History of Persian Literature in Modern Times |page=125 |website=Internet Archive |last=Browne |first=Edward G. |date=1924 |access-date=2026-01-23}}</ref><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|publisher=Packard Humanities Institute|location=London|access-date=24 September 2010|archive-date=11 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011103441/http://persian.packhum.org/persian/pf?file=90001014&ct=29|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Malleson">{{Cite book|title=History of Afghanistan, from the Earliest Period to the Outbreak of the War of 1878|last1=Malleson|first1=George Bruce|orig-year=1878|year=1999|publisher=Elibron.com|location=London|isbn=1-4021-7278-8|page=227|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pqNGBEmHUd4C&pg=PA227|access-date=27 September 2010|archive-date=16 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170416125629/https://books.google.com/books?id=pqNGBEmHUd4C&pg=PA227|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1722, Mahmud led an army of Afghans to the Safavid capital Isfahan and proclaimed himself King of Persia. The Hotak dynasty was eventually removed from power by a new Persian ruler, Nader Shah. In 1738, Nader Shah invaded Afghanistan and destroyed the now Old Kandahar, which was held by Hussain Hotak and his Ghilji tribes.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/7798/Afghanistan/21392/Last-Afghan-empire|title=Last Afghan empire|encyclopedia=Louis Dupree, Nancy H. Dupree and others|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica Online|access-date=24 September 2010|archive-date=30 November 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101130150119/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/7798/Afghanistan/21392/Last-Afghan-empire|url-status=live}}</ref> In the meantime, Nader Shah freed Ahmad Khan (later Ahmad Shah Durrani) and his brother Zulfikar who were held prisoners by the Hotak ruler. Before leaving southern Afghanistan for Delhi in India, Nader Shah laid out the foundation for a new town to be built next to the destroyed ancient city, naming it "Naderabad". His rule ended in June 1747 after being murdered by his Persian guards.<ref>''The Afghans'' (2002) by Willem Vogelsang. Page 228.</ref> [[File:Kandahar fourthcity durrani.jpg|thumb|This lithograph is taken from plate 23 of ''Afghaunistan'' by Lieutenant James Rattray, 1848. He sketched Kandahar in December 1841 from the rooftop of the former residence of the province's governor, Sirdar Meer Dil Khaun, who was brother to the Emir. Pictured on the left is the Mausoleum of Ahmad Shah Durrani and on the right the Bala Hissar (fort) and citadel.]] [[File:Coronation of Ahmad Shah Durrani in 1747 by Breshna.jpg|left|thumb|Painting by Abdul Ghafoor Breshna depicting the 1747 coronation of Ahmad Shah Durrani, who is regarded as the founding father of Afghanistan (Father of the Nation)]] Ahmad Shah Durrani, chief of the Durrani tribe, gained control of Kandahar and made it the capital of his new Afghan Empire in October 1747. Initially, Ahmad Shah had trouble finding land on which to build his city. His own tribe had no extensive lands and others who had, such as the Alikozai and Barakzai, refused to give up their lands. Only the Popalzai finally offered him his pick of their lands. The foundations for the city were laid in June 1761.<ref>{{cite book|last=Dupree|first=Nancy|date=1977|title=An Historical Guide to Afghanistan|publisher=Jagra, Ltd.|page=281}}</ref> Once begun, the city was built with grand proportions. It was laid out in the form of a regular rectangle with a circumference of three miles; walls 30 feet thick at the bottom and 15 feet at the top, rose 27 feet high to enclose it. Outside, the walls were ringed by a moat 24 feet wide. Six mammoth gateways pierced these walls: the Eid Gah Gate on the north, the Shikarpur Gate on the south; the Herat and Top Khana Gates on the west; and, the Bar Durrani and Kabul Gates on the east. At its peak, Ahmad Shah's empire included present-day Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Khorasan and Kohistan provinces of Iran, along with Punjab in India. In October 1772, Ahmad Shah retired and died from a natural cause.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/10162/Ahmad-Shah-Durrani|title=Aḥmad Shah Durrānī|publisher=Britannica.com|access-date=9 January 2011|archive-date=4 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140404104909/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/10162/Ahmad-Shah-Durrani|url-status=live}}</ref> A new city was laid out by Ahmad Shah and is dominated by his mausoleum, which is adjacent to the Mosque of the Cloak in the centre of the city. By 1776, his eldest son Timur Shah had transferred Afghanistan's main capital, due to several conflicts with various Pashtun tribes, from Kandahar to Kabul, where the Durrani legacy continued.<ref Name=Dupree3/> upright|thumb|1839 map of Kandahar From 1818 to 1855, Kandahar was ruled by half-brothers of Dost Mohammad Khan as an independent principality. In September 1826, Syed Ahmad Shaheed's followers arrived to Kandahar in search of volunteers to help them wage jihad against the Sikh invaders to what is now Pakistan. Led by Ranjit Singh, the Sikhs had captured several of Afghanistan's eastern territories, including parts of what is now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Kashmir. More than 400 local Kandahar warriors assembled themselves for the jihad. Sayed Din Mohammad Kandharai was appointed as their leader.

====British invasions and withdrawals==== {{Further|First Anglo-Afghan War|Second Anglo-Afghan War}} [[File:Kandahar photo number 40 by Benjamin Simpson-cropped.tif|thumb|left|British-Indian invading forces taking refuge at Kandahar after their defeat in the July 1880 Battle of Maiwand, during the Second Anglo-Afghan War.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://commons.library.stonybrook.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1412&context=stony-brook-theses-and-dissertations-collection#page=23 |title=Da Shahidano Chawk: Martyrs' Square in Kandahar City, Afghanistan |last=Donovan |first=William E. |publisher=Stony Brook University |date=2012 |access-date=2026-01-23}}</ref> The large defensive wall around the city was removed in the early 1930s by the order of King Nader Khan, the father of King Zahir Shah.]] British-led Indian forces from neighboring British India invaded the city in 1839, during the First Anglo-Afghan War, but withdrew in 1842. In November 1855, Dost Mohammad Khan took control of Kandahar. The British-led Indian forces (under LTG Stewart) returned in January of 1879 during the Second Anglo-Afghan War. They emerged from Chaman to confront the forces of Ayub Khan, but were defeated at the Battle of Maiwand in July 1880. They were again forced to withdraw several months later, despite winning the Battle of Kandahar.

Kandahar remained peaceful for the next 100 years, except during 1929 when loyalists of Habibullah Kalakani placed the fortified city on lock-down and began oppressing its population. Nobody was allowed to enter or leave from within the city's tall defensive walls, and as a result of this many people suffered after running out of food supplies. This lasted until October 1929 when Nadir Khan and his Afghan army came to eliminate Kalakani, known as the Tajik bandit from the village of Kalakan in Kabul Province.

During the Kingdom of Mohammad Zahir Shah, the city slowly began expanding by adding modern style streets and housing schemes. Although Kandahar remained less international than Kabul, with fewer foreigners in residence and thus no market for coffee, jam or other European products, a modest German community took root there in the 1930s. Engineers and factory managers, accompanied by their spouses, arrived to supervise wool-processing plants. Some American families began arriving to Kandahar in the 1950s.<ref name="Helmand's Golden Age">{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/2014/newsspec_8529/index.html |title=Helmand's Golden Age |work=BBC News |date=7 August 2014 |access-date=2026-01-23}}</ref><ref>{{YouTube|naHWKSpjZGI|Afghanistan in the 1950s: Back to the Future [Full Documentary] - BBC News}}</ref> A Siemens electrical station powered these emerging industries, signaling a step toward the broader modernization taking shape across Afghanistan during this period.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Crews|first=Robert D.|title=Afghan Modern: The History of a Global Nation|date=2015|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-49574-6|edition=|location=Cambridge, MA|pages=161|chapter=Seduced by Capital}}</ref> thumb|upright|Street scene in the historical part of the city, 1973 In the 1960s, during the rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union, the United States built the Kandahar International Airport. The U.S. also completed several other major projects in Kandahar and in other parts of southern Afghanistan.<ref name="Helmand's Golden Age" /> In the meantime, Soviet engineers were busy building major infrastructures in other parts of the country, such as Bagram Airfield and Kabul International Airport. Kandahar had become a major stop on the Hippie trail from Herat to Kabul. In 1972 the city was in shock after four citizens of France were kidnapped and brutally murdered by local criminals, who were later publicly hanged in front of the victims' family after confessing to their crimes.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/07/31/archives/afghans-hang-2-for-killings.html |title=Afghans Hang 2 for Killings |publisher=The New York Times |date=July 31, 1972 |access-date=2026-01-23}}</ref>

====Soviet invasion and withdrawal==== {{Further|Soviet–Afghan War}} During the 1980s Soviet–Afghan War, Kandahar witnessed heavy fighting between the Afghan mujahideen and the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan.<ref name="theguardian.com">{{Cite web|date=9 December 2001|title=Kandahar on brink of chaos as warlords ready for battle|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/dec/09/afghanistan.peterbeaumont|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190104175515/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/dec/09/afghanistan.peterbeaumont|archive-date=4 January 2019|access-date=4 January 2019|website=TheGuardian.com}}</ref> Soviet troops surrounded the city and subjected it to heavy air bombardment in which many civilians were killed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lib.unb.ca/Texts/JCS/bin/get5.cgi?directory=fall99%2F&filename=WESTERMA.htm#39|title=The Limits of Soviet Airpower: The Failure of Military Coercion in Afghanistan, 1979–89|work=Edward B. Westermann|publisher=University of New Brunswick|access-date=9 January 2011|archive-date=5 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605194158/http://www.lib.unb.ca/Texts/JCS/bin/get5.cgi?directory=fall99%2F&filename=WESTERMA.htm#39|url-status=live}}</ref> In January 1982 indiscriminate shelling and bombing by the Soviets killed hundreds.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.heritage.org/node/22652/print-display|title=The Heritage Foundation|access-date=11 January 2018|archive-date=12 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180112100834/http://www.heritage.org/node/22652/print-display|url-status=unfit}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/03/08/world/soviet-reprisals-on-afghans-called-fierce.html|title=Soviet Reprisals on Afghans Called Fierce|newspaper=The New York Times|date=8 March 1982|last1=Middleton|first1=Drew|access-date=29 January 2018|archive-date=12 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180112044330/http://www.nytimes.com/1982/03/08/world/soviet-reprisals-on-afghans-called-fierce.html|url-status=live}}</ref> 300 civilians were killed during Soviet bombings in July 1984.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/07/24/Soviet-forces-bombed-the-city-of-Kandahar-in-southern/5417459489600/|title=Soviet forces bombed the city of Kandahar in southern|access-date=11 January 2018|archive-date=12 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180112042626/https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/07/24/Soviet-forces-bombed-the-city-of-Kandahar-in-southern/5417459489600/|url-status=live}}</ref> It was under siege again in April 1986.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://apnews.com/19a6eb5d553820d0143d100366f9cee1|title=Soviet-Afghan Offensive Destroys Rebel Stronghold|website=Associated Press|access-date=7 June 2020|archive-date=7 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200607155106/https://apnews.com/19a6eb5d553820d0143d100366f9cee1|url-status=live}}</ref> The city's population was reduced from 200,000 before the war to no more than 25,000 residents in 1987.{{sfn|Kaplan|2008|p=188}} Most have fled to neighboring Pakistan and Iran.

Kandahar underwent a complete sociopolitical collapse in the early 1990s, driven in part by the divide-and-rule tactics of the communist governor-general, Nur ul-Haq Ulumi, who manipulated rival mujahideen factions against each other, and by the rampant greed within both the communist and mujahideen militias.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Moiz|first=Ibrahim|title=The True Story of the Taliban: Emirate and Insurgency, 1994–2021|date=2024|publisher=The Other Press|isbn=979-8-3360-4226-9|location=Kuala Lumpur|pages=47–53|oclc=1458059551}}</ref> After the Soviet withdrawal and the collapse of Mohammad Najibullah's government in 1992, Kandahar fell to local mujahideen commander, Gul Agha Sherzai. However Sherzai lacked authority against other local commanders which led to lawlessness in the city,<ref name="theguardian.com" /> and fighting in 1993.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Zaeef|first1=Mohammad|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zfGlVzNltF8C&pg=PT377|title=My life with the Taliban|date=7 August 2012|publisher=Hachette India|isbn=978-93-5009-413-6|access-date=7 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210501130520/https://books.google.com/books?id=zfGlVzNltF8C&pg=PT377|archive-date=1 May 2021|url-status=live}}</ref> During this time, banditry, rape, and murder became rampant in Kandahar, creating a demand for a more moral and unified alternative. This led to the rise of the ''talibs'' (students), who eventually formed the Taliban movement. By the spring of 1994, the nucleus of the Taliban emirate had begun to take shape, and that year, they launched operations to dismantle warlord militia checkpoints around the city. The talibs gained considerable popularity and legitimacy during this period by defeating these predatory warlords.<ref name=":0" />

In August 1994, Mullah Omar and his Taliban forces turned the city into their headquarters after Mullah Naqib and his forces surrendered.<ref name="theguardian.com" /> The capture of Afghanistan's second-largest city marked the Taliban's transformation from a fledgling militia into an Islamic emirate, solidifying their legitimacy as a governing authority through the imposition of a strict interpretation of Islamic law.<ref name=":0" /> Formal education for girls was banned as well as the consumption of TV, films, music with instrumental accompaniments, and the playing of sports. In December 1999, a hijacked Indian Airlines Flight 814 plane by Pakistani militants loyal to Harkat-ul-Mujahideen landed at Kandahar International Airport and kept the passengers hostage as part of a demand to release three Pakistani militants from prison in India.

====NATO invasion and withdrawal==== {{Further|War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)}} [[File:KANDAHAR TEN-MILER.jpg|thumb|U.S. Army troops in 2009 passing by the starting point of the Army Ten-Miler run at their base next to Kandahar International Airport]] In October 2001, as part of Operation Enduring Freedom, the United States Navy began hitting targets inside the city by precision-guided cruise missiles that were fired from the Persian Gulf. These targets were the Kandahar International Airport and buildings that were occupied by the Taliban, including Arab families who had arrived several years earlier and were residing in the area.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7193579.stm |title=Kandahar's cemetery of 'miracles' |publisher=BBC News |date=17 January 2008 |access-date=2008-01-20}}</ref> About a month later, the Taliban began surrendering in mass numbers to a private militia that had been formed by Gul Agha Sherzai and Hamid Karzai.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/asia/2003/journey/afghanistan.html |title=Home Free|quote=''Hamid Karzai dreamed for years of his eventual homecoming. But for both him and his newly reborn nation, the journey has only begun''|magazine=Time|access-date=9 January 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090724022555/http://www.time.com/time/asia/2003/journey/afghanistan.html|archive-date=24 July 2009}}</ref> Kandahar once again fell into the hands of Sherzai, who had control over the area before the rise of the Taliban. He was transferred to Nangarhar Province in 2003 and replaced by Yousef Pashtun until Asadullah Khalid took the post in 2005.

In 2002, members of the United States armed forces took control of the Kandahar International Airport. Years later NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) began training members of the new Afghan National Security Forces and provided security for the city. The military of Afghanistan, backed by ISAF, gradually expanded its authority and presence throughout most of the country. The 205th Corps of the Afghan National Army was based at Kandahar and provided military assistance to the south of the country. The Canadian Forces maintained their military command headquarters at Kandahar, heading the Regional Command South of ISAF in Kandahar Province. The Taliban also had supporters inside the city reporting on events.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8203830.stm |title=Kandahar dreamers test Taliban edicts |date=16 August 2009 |access-date=2009-08-18}}</ref>

ISAF gradually expanded the Afghan police force as part of a larger effort that also aimed to deliver services such as electricity and clean drinking water. The most significant battle between ISAF and the Taliban lasted throughout the summer of 2006, culminating in Operation Medusa. The Taliban failed to defeat the Western troops in open warfare, which marked a turn in their tactics towards IED emplacement. In June 2008, it was reported that over 1,000 inmates had escaped from Sarposa prison. In Spring 2010, the province and the city of Kandahar became a target of American operations following ''Operation Moshtarak'' in the neighbouring Helmand Province.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/27/world/asia/27kandahar.html|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220103/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/27/world/asia/27kandahar.html|archive-date=3 January 2022|url-access=subscription|url-status=live|title=Kandahar, a Battlefield Even Before U.S. Offensive|date=27 March 2010|work=The New York Times|access-date=6 May 2016}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In March 2010, U.S. and NATO commanders released details of plans for the biggest offensive of the war against the Taliban insurgency.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://in.reuters.com/article/southAsiaNews/idINIndia-47354120100331|title=Q+A – NATO sees Kandahar battle as Afghan turning point|work=Reuters Editorial|date=31 March 2010|agency=Reuters India|access-date=6 May 2016|archive-date=20 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920044331/https://www.reuters.com/?edition-redirect=in|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[File:Governor's courtyard in Kandahar.jpg|thumb|The Governor's Complex in the center of the city, across from Khirka Sharif]] [[File:Mosque in Kandahar-2011.jpg|thumb|Mausoleum of Ahmad Shah Durrani, next to Khirka Sharif]] In May 2010, Kandahar International Airport became subject of a combined rocket and ground attack by insurgents, following similar attacks on Kabul and Bagram in the preceding weeks. Although this attack did not lead to many casualties on the side of ISAF, it did show that the militants were still capable of launching multiple, coordinated operations in Afghanistan. In June 2010, a shura was held by then-Afghan President Hamid Karzai with tribal and religious leaders of the Kandahar region. The meeting highlighted the need for support of NATO-led forces in order to stabilize parts of the province.

In July 2011 Ahmad Wali Karzai, brother of President Hamid Karzai, was killed by one of his close bodyguards. The next day the mullah of the famous Red Mosque and a number of other people were killed by a Taliban suicide bomber who had hidden explosives inside his turban. On 27 July 2011, the mayor of the city, Ghulam Haider Hamidi, was assassinated by another Taliban militant who had hidden explosives in his turban. Two deputy mayors had been killed in 2010,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/07/27/afghanistan.mayor.killed/index.html|title=Kandahar mayor killed in suicide attack; Taliban claim responsibility|access-date=6 May 2016|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304111007/http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/07/27/afghanistan.mayor.killed/index.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> while many tribal elders and Islamic clerics have also been assassinated in the last several years. The overwhelming majority of the victims in the attacks were ordinary civilians.<ref name=civilians>[http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2011/10/10/challenges-remain-despite-reduced-rebel-attacks-isaf Challenges remain despite reduced rebel attacks: ISAF] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130612004042/http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2011/10/10/challenges-remain-despite-reduced-rebel-attacks-isaf |date=12 June 2013 }}. Pajhwok Afghan News. 10 October 2011.</ref> On 6 June 2012, at least 21 civilians were killed and 50 others injured when two Taliban suicide bombers on motorcycles blew themselves up in a market area near Kandahar International Airport.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://pajhwok.com/2012/06/06/21-killed-50-injured-twin-suicide-blasts/ |title=21 killed, 50 injured in twin suicide blasts |publisher=Pajhwok Afghan News |date=6 June 2012 |access-date=2012-06-08}}</ref>

On 4 May 2020, a policewoman was assassinated in the centre of Kandahar, making her the fifth policewoman to be killed during the previous two months in Kandahar. No group claimed responsibility for the killing of the policewomen by the end of the day of the reported event.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/south-central-asia_taliban-claim-attack-afghan-army-base/6188667.html |title=Taliban Claim Attack on Afghan Army Base |date=4 May 2020 |publisher=Voice of America |access-date=2020-05-28}}</ref>

On or about 12 August 2021, the Taliban recaptured Kandahar.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-174207 |title=Kandahar, Helmand and Zabul Also Fall to Taliban |work=TOLOnews |date=13 August 2021 |access-date=2026-01-23 |language=en}}</ref> After days of fighting the NATO-trained Afghan National Army retreated from the city.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Akhgar|first1=Tameem|title=Taliban take Kandahar, Herat in major Afghanistan offensive|url=https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-afghanistan-taliban-26d485963b7a0d9f2107afcbc38f239a|website=Apnews|date=12 August 2021|access-date=12 August 2021|archive-date=12 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210812043017/https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-afghanistan-taliban-26d485963b7a0d9f2107afcbc38f239a|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Goldbaum|first1=Christina|title=Afghanistan Collapse Accelerates as 2 Vital Cities Near Fall to Taliban|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/12/world/asia/kandahar-afghanistan-taliban.html|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211228/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/12/world/asia/kandahar-afghanistan-taliban.html|archive-date=28 December 2021|url-access=limited|newspaper=The New York Times|date=12 August 2021|access-date=12 August 2021}}{{cbignore}}</ref> It became the twelfth provincial capital to be retaken as part of the wider 2021 Taliban offensive. On 15 October 2021, four suicide bombers killed dozens at a Shia mosque in the city.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-175050 |title=Kandahar Mosque Attack Victims Buried |work=TOLOnews |date=16 October 2021 |access-date=2026-01-23 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.ariananews.af/iea-pledges-to-increase-security-at-shiite-mosques-after-2nd-deadly-bombing/ |title=IEA pledges to increase security at Shi'ite mosques after 2nd deadly bombing |work=Ariana News |date=October 17, 2021 |access-date=2026-01-23 |language=en}}</ref>

==Geography== {{Further|Geography of Afghanistan}} [[File:View of Arghandab Valley.jpg|thumb|Arghandab Valley]] Kandahar is in southern Afghanistan, connecting South Asia with Central Asia and Western Asia with Eastern Asia. It is between the Arghandab River and the Tarnak River, and has 15 city districts (''nahias''), covering a land area of {{cvt|273|km2}} or {{cvt|27337|ha}}.<ref name="Volume-I">{{cite web |title=State of Afghan Cities report 2015 (Volume-I English) |pages=8, 130 |url=https://unhabitat.org/soac2015 |publisher=UN-Habitat |access-date=2015-10-21}}</ref><ref name="Volume-II">{{cite web |url=https://unhabitat.org/soac2015_volume2 |title=State of Afghan Cities report 2015 (Volume-II) |page=54 |publisher=UN-Habitat |access-date=2015-10-22}}</ref>

Kandahar is connected by a road network with Tarinkot to the north, Qalat to the northeast, Spin Boldak to the southeast, and Grishk and Lashkargah to the west. It is the regional hub in southern Afghanistan, close to the border with Pakistan. Non-built up land use accounts for 59% of the total land area. Within the built-up area, vacant plots occupy a slightly higher percentage of land (36%) than residential land (34%). There is a significant commercial cluster along the road to Pakistan in District 5. In 2015 there were 61,902 dwelling units in the city.<ref name="Volume-II" />

===Climate=== Kandahar has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen ''BSh''),<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.artofwar.net.ru/profiles/andreev_pavel_v/view_book/kandagrad|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100214001736/http://www.artofwar.net.ru/profiles/andreev_pavel_v/view_book/kandagrad|url-status=dead|title=Art Of War – Военно-исторический литературный портал|archive-date=14 February 2010|website=www.artofwar.net.ru}}</ref> that borders on a hot desert climate (''BWh''), characterised by little precipitation and high variation between summer and winter temperatures. Summers start in mid-May, last until late September, and are extremely dry. Temperatures peak in July with a 24-hour daily average of around {{cvt|31.9|°C|1}}. They are followed by dry autumns from early October to late November, with days still averaging in the 20s °C (above 68 °F) into November, although nights are sharply cooler. Winter begins in December and sees most of its precipitation in the form of rain. Temperatures average {{cvt|5.1|°C|1}} in January, although lows can drop well below freezing. They end in early March and are followed by a pleasant spring until late April with temperatures generally in the upper 10s °C to lower 30s °C (65–88 °F) range. Sunny weather dominates year-round, especially in summer, when rainfall is extremely rare. The annual mean temperature is {{cvt|18.6|°C|1}}. {{Weather box |width = auto |location = Kandahar (1964–1983) |metric first = Y |single line = Y |Jan record high C = 25.0 |Feb record high C = 26.0 |Mar record high C = 36.5 |Apr record high C = 37.1 |May record high C = 43.0 |Jun record high C = 45.0 |Jul record high C = 46.5 |Aug record high C = 44.5 |Sep record high C = 41.0 |Oct record high C = 37.5 |Nov record high C = 31.5 |Dec record high C = 26.0 |Jan high C = 12.2 |Feb high C = 14.8 |Mar high C = 21.6 |Apr high C = 28.1 |May high C = 34.1 |Jun high C = 39.1 |Jul high C = 40.2 |Aug high C = 38.2 |Sep high C = 34.0 |Oct high C = 27.5 |Nov high C = 21.0 |Dec high C = 15.4 |year high C = 27.2 |Jan mean C = 5.1 |Feb mean C = 7.8 |Mar mean C = 13.9 |Apr mean C = 20.2 |May mean C = 25.4 |Jun mean C = 30.0 |Jul mean C = 31.9 |Aug mean C = 29.4 |Sep mean C = 23.5 |Oct mean C = 17.5 |Nov mean C = 11.0 |Dec mean C = 7.3 |Jan low C = 0.0 |Feb low C = 2.4 |Mar low C = 7.1 |Apr low C = 12.3 |May low C = 15.8 |Jun low C = 19.5 |Jul low C = 22.5 |Aug low C = 20.0 |Sep low C = 13.5 |Oct low C = 8.5 |Nov low C = 3.3 |Dec low C = 1.0 |year low C = 10.5 |Jan record low C = −12.1 |Feb record low C = −10.0 |Mar record low C = −4.8 |Apr record low C = 2.0 |May record low C = 2.4 |Jun record low C = 8.5 |Jul record low C = 13.5 |Aug record low C = 9.0 |Sep record low C = 5.2 |Oct record low C = −2.2 |Nov record low C = −9.3 |Dec record low C = −11.4 |Jan precipitation mm = 54.0 |Feb precipitation mm = 42.0 |Mar precipitation mm = 41.1 |Apr precipitation mm = 18.7 |May precipitation mm = 2.2 |Jun precipitation mm = 0 |Jul precipitation mm = 2.3 |Aug precipitation mm = 1.0 |Sep precipitation mm = 0 |Oct precipitation mm = 2.3 |Nov precipitation mm = 7.0 |Dec precipitation mm = 20.0 |Jan precipitation days = 6 |Feb precipitation days = 6 |Mar precipitation days = 6 |Apr precipitation days = 4 |May precipitation days = 1 |Jun precipitation days = 0 |Jul precipitation days = 0 |Aug precipitation days = 0 |Sep precipitation days = 0 |Oct precipitation days = 1 |Nov precipitation days = 2 |Dec precipitation days = 3 |Jan sun = 198.4 |Feb sun = 183.6 |Mar sun = 235.6 |Apr sun = 255.0 |May sun = 347.2 |Jun sun = 369.0 |Jul sun = 341.0 |Aug sun = 337.9 |Sep sun = 324.0 |Oct sun = 306.9 |Nov sun = 264.0 |Dec sun = 217.0 |Jan humidity = 58 |Feb humidity = 59 |Mar humidity = 50 |Apr humidity = 41 |May humidity = 30 |Jun humidity = 23 |Jul humidity = 25 |Aug humidity = 25 |Sep humidity = 24 |Oct humidity = 29 |Nov humidity = 40 |Dec humidity = 52 |source 1 = NOAA (1964–1983)<ref name= NOAA>{{cite web|url=https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/data/normals/WMO/1961-1990/RA-II/AH/40990.TXT|title=Kandahar Climate Normals 1964–1983|publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|access-date=26 December 2012|archive-date=20 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920044332/ftp://ftp.atdd.noaa.gov/pub/GCOS/WMO-Normals/RA-II/AH/40990.TXT|url-status=live}}</ref> |date=August 2010 }}

==Transport== {{Further|Transport in Afghanistan}} [[File:Kam Air at Kandahar International Airport in 2012.jpg|thumb|Passengers exiting from a Kam Air MD-83 at the Ahmad Shah Baba International Airport]] The Ahmad Shah Baba International Airport is southern Afghanistan's main airport for domestic and international flights. Next to the airport is the now-abandoned United States military base. Most international flights are to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, Iran, and Saudi Arabia.

Kandahar is connected to Kabul by the Kabul-Kandahar Highway and to Herat by the Kandahar-Herat Highway. The city is also connected to Spin Boldak by the Kandahar-Spin Boldak Highway. The bus terminals in Ayno Maina and Bagh-e-Pul have Mercedes-Benz buses that take passengers to other cities. For the first time the city is being connected by a railroad with Herat to the northwest and Spin Boldak to the southeast.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-193099 |title=Mujahid: Afghanistan Will Become Global Trade Hub Through Railway |work=TOLOnews |date=16 February 2025 |access-date=2026-01-23}}</ref>

The government-run Milli Bus had a number of buses in Kandahar in the 1970s. The service ended in the 1990s. Most people in the city own a vehicle or have access to one. Others use taxis, rickshaws, motorcycle, scooters, and bicycles.<ref>{{YouTube|SpoL_tZagb4|برقی موټرسیکلان Electric motorcycles}}</ref> There are many dealerships on Airport Road importing cars from Dubai, UAE.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lonelyplanet.com/tonywheeler/my_lists/afghanistan_practicalities/|title=Afghanistan Practicalities|publisher=Lonely Planet|first=Tony|last=Wheeler|date=6 June 2006|access-date=9 January 2011|archive-date=7 January 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110107095118/http://www.lonelyplanet.com/tonywheeler/my_lists/afghanistan_practicalities/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Demographics== {{Further|Demographics of Afghanistan}}{{Bar box|float=left|bars={{bar percent|Muslims|green|99.8}} {{bar percent|Hindus|orange|0.15}} {{bar percent|Others*|blue|0.05}}|caption=*{{small|includes Sikhs, Baháʼí and Atheists}}|left1=Religion|right1=%|title=Religions in Kandahar}} The city of Kandahar has an estimated population of 732,629 settled residents.<ref name="population">{{cite web |url=https://nsia.gov.af:8443/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%AF-%D9%86%D9%81%D9%88%D8%B3-%DA%A9%D8%B4%D9%88%D8%B1-%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%84-1404.pdf#page=117 |title=Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2025-26 |page=94 |work=National Statistics and Information Authority |date=September 2025 |access-date=2026-01-21}}</ref> This estimated figure does not include the large number of recent returnees from neighboring countries,<ref name="Nearly seven million Afghan refugees return home since Islamic Emirate's takeover">{{cite news |url=https://www.ariananews.af/nearly-seven-million-afghan-refugees-return-home-since-islamic-emirates-takeover/ |title=Nearly seven million Afghan refugees return home since Islamic Emirate's takeover |work=Ariana News |date=December 22, 2025 |access-date=2026-01-23}}</ref><ref name="6.8m refugees return home, 1.3m displaced internally: Minister">{{cite news |url=https://pajhwok.com/2025/12/22/6-8m-refugees-return-home-1-3m-displaced-internally-minister/ |title=6.8m refugees return home, 1.3m displaced internally: Minister |work=Pajhwok Afghan News |date=22 December 2025 |access-date=2026-01-23}}</ref><ref name="TOLO-197685">{{cite news |url=https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-197685 |title=Afghanistan's Population Surges by 12% After Return of 4.8 Million Migrants |work=TOLOnews |date=27 January 2026 |access-date=2026-02-10}}</ref> nor does it include the large number of workers and visitors from other areas of the country. thumb|People at a park in 2011 Most people in Kandahar are Pashtuns while some are Baloch, Tajiks, Uzbeks and other. In 2015 there were 61,902 dwelling units in the city.<ref name="Volume-I" /><ref name="Volume-II" /> Pashto is the most widely used language and Dari is understood by a number of residents. Both are the official languages of Afghanistan. A 2007 government document stated the following: {{blockquote|The major ethnic group living in [the] province is Pashtoons. This includes major tribes such as Barakzai, Popalzai, Alkozai, Noorzai and Alezai. Pashtu is spoken by more than 98% of population and in more than 98% of villages. Dari is spoken in six villages by 4000 people and Balochi is spoken by 8000 people in two villages. 19000 people in nine villages speak some other unspecified language.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mrrd-nabdp.org/Provincial%20Profiles/Kandahar%20PDP%20Provincial%20profile.pdf|title=B. Demography and Population|work=United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan|publisher=Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120321120424/http://www.mrrd-nabdp.org/Provincial%20Profiles/Kandahar%20PDP%20Provincial%20profile.pdf|archive-date=21 March 2012}}</ref>}}

The Pashtun culture, history, traditions, clothing and Pashtunwali is dominant in this region.

==Economy== {{Further|Economy of Afghanistan}} thumb|Al-Jadeed Market in Shahr-e Naw Kandahar's economy is mainly based on agriculture, trade, transport, and tourism. The province is famous for grapes and pomegranates, which are also exported to other countries.<ref name="TOLO-197227">{{cite news |url=https://tolonews.com/business-197227 |title=Kandahar's Pomegranates Reach Qatar for the First Time |work=TOLOnews |date=28 December 2025 |access-date=2026-01-23}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://rta.af/en/for-the-first-time-20-tons-of-kandahar-pomegranates-exported-to-qatar/ |title=For the first time, 20 tons of Kandahar Pomegranates exported to Qatar |work=Radio Television Afghanistan |date=December 28, 2025 |access-date=2026-01-23}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://pajhwok.com/2025/12/11/over-10-5m-pomegranates-exported-from-kandahar-this-year/ |title=Over $10.5m pomegranates exported from Kandahar this year |work=Pajhwok Afghan News |date=11 December 2025 |access-date=2026-01-23}}</ref> Many residents of the city work in the industrial park in the Shorandam area, which has about 300 factories.<ref name="50 new factories added to Kandahar industrial park">{{cite news |url=https://pajhwok.com/2023/05/30/50-new-factories-added-to-kandahar-industrial-park/ |title=50 new factories added to Kandahar industrial park |work=Pajhwok Afghan News |date=30 May 2023 |access-date=2026-01-23}}</ref> More are being built in the near future.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.ariananews.af/500-jeribs-of-land-allocated-for-industrial-park-in-kandahar/ |title=500 Jeribs of land allocated for industrial park in Kandahar |work=Ariana News |date=January 16, 2026 |access-date=2026-01-23}}</ref> The city also has several pharmaceutical companies.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://pajhwok.com/2023/06/06/pharmaceutical-factory-inaugurated-in-kandahar/ |title=Pharmaceutical factory inaugurated in Kandahar |work=Pajhwok Afghan News |date=6 June 2023 |access-date=2026-01-23}}</ref>

There are a number of banks and shopping areas in the city. The following are some of the popular hotels and shopping places. {{div col|colwidth=15em}} *Afghan Continental Guest House in Ayno Maina *Al-Jadid Rahat Hotel next to Madad Chowk (Madad Square)<ref>{{YouTube|DrvgLf3JZiw|Guest house میلمستون}}</ref> *Al-Jadeed Market in Shahr-e Naw *Charsoo *China Bazaar in center of city *Dubai Inn in Ayno Maina *Herat Bazaar *Haji Baba Restaurant and Hotel on Airport Road *Kabul Bazaar *Kandahar Mobile Center<ref>{{YouTube|69NGxWHOzVM|د ټکنالوجۍ نړۍ جاوید خزانه - World of Technology at Kandahar Afghanistan}}</ref> *Kandahar Super Store *NFC Hotel & Restaurant in Ayno Maina *Piaroz Super Store *Roh Supermarket in Ayno Maina<ref>{{YouTube|WOzYz-en8s0|نوی سوپر مارکېټ New supermarket}}</ref> *Samimi Super Store *Sarposh Bazaar (Covered Market) in center of city *Shah Bazaar *Shkar Pur Bazaar {{div col end}}

===Tourism=== {{Further|Tourism in Afghanistan}} [[File:Ruins of old Kandahar Citadel in 1881.jpg|thumb|upright|An 1881 photo showing the ruined Old Kandahar citadel of Shah Hussain Hotak that was destroyed by the Afsharid forces of Nader Shah in 1738. This destroyed fortress is still standing today.]]

The only remaining historical city gate is at Eidgah Gate Square, on Kandahar's main road.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.daryaexpeditions.com/shkarpur-darwaza-gate-kandahar-city-afghanistan/ |title=Shkarpur Darwaza Gate, Kandahar City, Afghanistan |website=daryaexpeditions.com |access-date=2026-01-23}}</ref> The Mausoleum of Ahmad Shah Durrani is located near there, which also houses Durrani's brass helmet and other personal items.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.daryaexpeditions.com/tomb-of-ahmad-shah-durrani-kandahar-city-afghanistan/ |title=Tomb of Ahmad Shah Durrani, Kandahar City, Afghanistan |website=daryaexpeditions.com |access-date=2026-01-23}}</ref> In front of the mausoleum is the Khirka Sharif, which contains the Cloak of Muhammad.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://koryogroup.com/blog/visiting-kandahar-afghanistan-s-most-conservative-city#chapter-4 |title=Tomb of Ahmad Shah and the Sacred Cloak - |website=koryogroup.com |date=25 November 2024 |access-date=2026-01-23}}</ref> The cloak is kept locked away, taken out only at times of great crisis. Mullah Omar took it out in November 1996 and displayed it to a crowd of ''ulema'' of religious scholars to have himself declared Amir al-Mu'minin (Commander of the Faithful).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.daryaexpeditions.com/shrine-of-the-cloak-kherqa-sharif-kandahar-city-afghanistan/ |title=Shrine of the Cloak Kherqa Sharif, Kandahar City, Afghanistan |website=daryaexpeditions.com |access-date=2026-01-23}}</ref> Prior to that it was taken out when the city was struck by a cholera epidemic in the 1930s.<ref>Lamb, Christina (2002). ''[https://archive.org/details/sewingcirclesofh00chri The Sewing Circles of Herat: A Personal Voyage Through Afghanistan]''. Harper Collins. First Perennial edition (2004), p. 38 and n. {{ISBN|0-06-050527-3}}.</ref> Durrani's historical residence is also in the city.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://tolonews.com/arts-culture-197380 |title=Ministry of Culture: Protecting Ahmad Shah-Era Heritage a National Priority |work=TOLOnews |date=6 January 2026 |access-date=2026-01-21}}</ref><ref>{{YouTube|1qm9ZJ4ctKQ| Ahmad Shah Baba's house renovated in Kandahar....}}</ref>

Just to the north of the city, there is a shrine dedicated to a saint who lived in Kandahar more than 300 years ago. The grave of Hazratji Baba, {{cvt|23|ft|m|order=flip}} long to signify his greatness, but otherwise covered solely by rock chips, is undecorated save for tall pennants at its head. The ''Shahidano Chawk'' (Martyrs' Square) is located in the center of the city. It was built in the 1940s in honor of the Afghan fighters who died during an attack on British-Indian forces at the Herat Gate. [[File:Old Kandahar and Chil Zena.jpg|thumb|left|Old Kandahar (red) and Chilzina Complex (blue) in the southwestern part of the city]]

The Chilzina Complex and Old Kandahar are two other tourists attractions.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.daryaexpeditions.com/chilzina-complex-kandahar-city-afghanistan/ |title=Chilzina Complex, Kandahar City, Afghanistan |website=daryaexpeditions.com |access-date=2026-01-23}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.daryaexpeditions.com/old-kandahar-city-ruins-kandahar-city-afghanistan/ |title=Old Kandahar City Ruins, Kandahar City, Afghanistan |website=daryaexpeditions.com |access-date=2026-01-23}}</ref> The Chilzina Complex contains a rock-cut chamber above the plain at the end of the rugged chain of mountains forming the western defense of Old Kandahar, where Ashoka's Kandahar Bilingual Rock Inscription was found. A forty steps climb leads to the chamber, which is inscribed with an account of Babur's conquest. [[File:Baba Saab.JPG|thumb|Mausoleum of Baba Wali next to the Arghandab Valley in the northwestern part of the city]] A short distance from the Chilzina Complex, going west on the main road, the Mausoleum of Mirwais Hotak appears on the right after passing the Mirwais Maina neighborhood.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.daryaexpeditions.com/mirwais-hotak-mausoleum-kandahar-city-afghanistan/ |title=Mirwais Hotak Mausoleum, Kandahar City, Afghanistan |website=daryaexpeditions.com |access-date=2026-01-23}}</ref> The Mausoleum of Baba Wali is also popular for afternoon outings.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.daryaexpeditions.com/baba-wali-shrine-kandahar-district-afghanistan/ |title=Baba Wali Shrine, Kandahar District, Afghanistan |website=daryaexpeditions.com |access-date=2026-01-23}}</ref> He was a Muslim pir who had a strange encounter with Guru Nanak at Hasan Abdal in what is now Attock District of Pakistan. The Mausoleum of Baba Wali is important to both Muslims and Sikhs.<ref Name=Dupree3/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://wondersofpakistan.wordpress.com/2009/04/13/punja-sahib-the-miracle-at-hassan-abdal/|title=Punja Sahib: The Miracle at Hassan Abdal|work=Wonders of Pakistan|date=13 April 2009|access-date=6 May 2016|archive-date=13 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313232015/https://wondersofpakistan.wordpress.com/2009/04/13/punja-sahib-the-miracle-at-hassan-abdal/|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Sarpuza Fortress in the Old Kandahar area is said to be originally built by Maurya Emperor Ashoka in the 3d century BC.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.daryaexpeditions.com/sarpuza-fortress-kandahar-district-afghanistan/ |title=Sarpuza Fortress, Kandahar District, Afghanistan |website=daryaexpeditions.com |access-date=2026-01-23}}</ref> Sher Surkh village is where Ahmad Shah Durrani's corronation took place. It is located southeast of the city,<ref>{{YouTube|c0c9DxoFl2k|شیر سرخ زیارت Shir Surkh Shrine}}</ref> near what was once called Nadirabad. The Kandahar Museum is located at the western end of the third block of buildings lining the main road east of Eidgah Gate. It has many artifacts, including paintings by the now famous Ghiyassuddin. He is acknowledged among Afghanistan's leading artists. There are numerous mosques, shrines, mausoleums, gardens, and public parks in and around the city. The following are only a few of them. {{div col|colwidth=15em}} *Abu Hanifa Mosque in Ayno Maina (under construction) *Ahmad Shah Baba Mosque in Ayno Maina *Bagh-e-Pul Park<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20161014053819/http://www.panoramio.com/photo/25270245 Panoramio – Photo of Baghi Pul Park Swimming Pool only for Male]</ref> *Chilzina Complex (Babur's inscription site and a park)<ref>{{YouTube|-TRGvCJBIDI|کندهار چهل زینې Kandahar Chehel Zina}}</ref> *Eidgah Mosque next to Kandahar University *Hazrat Muhammad Mustafa Mosque in Ayno Maina *Hazrat Osman Mosque in Ayno Maina *Kandahar Shahi Park *Kandahar Museum *Khirka Sharif *Kokaran Park *Omar Al-Farooq Mosque in the center of the city *Mosque of the Hair of the Prophet *Mausoleum of Ahmad Shah Durrani *Mausoleum of Baba Wali in Arghandab *Mausoleum of Zarghona Anaa in Arghandab *Red Mosque in Shahr-e Naw *Tomb of Malalai of Maiwand in neighboring Maiwand District<ref>{{YouTube|qEn5Jr74h9M|د ملالۍ میوندۍ مقبره The tomb of Malalai of Maiwand}}</ref> {{div col end}}

==Education== {{Further|Education in Afghanistan}} thumb|Children from the Zarghona Ana High School watching American soldiers in 2012 There are a number of public and private schools in the city. Some of the oldest schools are Ahmad Shah Baba High School, Malalai High School, Mirwais Neeka High School, Shah Mahmud High School, Zahir Shah High School and Zarghona Ana High School. Many new schools opened in the last two decades, and more are being built as the city's population is rapidly growing with the large returns of Afghans from neighboring countries.<ref name="Nearly seven million Afghan refugees return home since Islamic Emirate's takeover" /><ref name="6.8m refugees return home, 1.3m displaced internally: Minister" /><ref name="TOLO-197685" /> Afghan Turk High Schools is one of the top private schools in the city.

There are also a number of universities in the city. Kandahar University was established in 1990 in the northwestern part of the city. It is a public university under the Ministry of Higher Education. A number of private higher education institutions have also opened in the last decade such as Benawa Institute of Higher Education, Malalay Institute of Higher Education, Mirwais Neeka Institute of Higher Education, and Saba Institute of Higher Education.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://counselorcorporation.com/benawa-institute-of-higher-education/|title=Benawa Institute of Higher Education | Tuition | Admission – Counselor Corporation|date=8 July 2020|access-date=28 July 2021|archive-date=28 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210728173647/https://counselorcorporation.com/benawa-institute-of-higher-education/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://counselorcorporation.com/mirwais-neeka-institute-of-higher-education/|title=Mirwais Neeka Institute of Higher Education – Counselor Corporation|date=19 September 2020|access-date=28 July 2021|archive-date=28 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210728173650/https://counselorcorporation.com/mirwais-neeka-institute-of-higher-education/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://counselorcorporation.com/saba-institute-of-higher-education/|title=Saba Institute of Higher Education | Fee & Academics – Counselor Corporation|date=27 September 2020|access-date=28 July 2021|archive-date=28 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210728173644/https://counselorcorporation.com/saba-institute-of-higher-education/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://counselorcorporation.com/malalay-university/|title=Malalay University | Tuition and Fees | Academics – Counselor Corporation|date=19 September 2020|access-date=28 July 2021|archive-date=28 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210728173644/https://counselorcorporation.com/malalay-university/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Healthcare== {{Further|Healthcare in Afghanistan}} Kandahar has a number of hospitals and clinics. The following is a list of some of the hospitals in the city. Those seeking advanced medical care travel to faraway cities such as Kabul, Herat or Mazar-i-Sharif. Some apply for medical visa to visit hospitals in foreign countries. *Afghan National Army Regional Hospital *Bilal Hospital *Mirwais Hospital *Momand Hospital *Sial Curative Hospital *Sydal Hospital

==Communications== {{Further|Communications in Afghanistan}} Telecommunication services in the city are provided by Afghan Wireless, Roshan, Etisalat, MTN Group and Afghan Telecom.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{Cite web|title=Afghanistan Provincial Reconstruction Handbook|date=February 2011|url=https://usacac.army.mil/sites/default/files/publications/11-16.pdf|pages=88|access-date=21 September 2023|archive-date=26 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230626151451/https://usacac.army.mil/sites/default/files/publications/11-16.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> In November 2006, the Afghan Ministry of Communications signed a $64.5 million agreement with ZTE for the establishment of a countrywide fibre optical cable network.

==Law and government== {{Further|Law of Afghanistan|Government of Afghanistan}} The city of Kandahar is within the jurisdiction of Kandahar District and administratively divided into 15 municipal districts (''nahias'').<ref name="Volume-II" /> Every nahia has a police station and a number of neighborhoods. Mullah Hekmatullah serves as the current mayor of the city.<ref name="TOLO-186823">{{cite news |url=https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-186823 |title=Islamic Emirate Brings New Appointments |work=TOLOnews |date=5 January 2024 |access-date=2026-01-21}}</ref> His predecessor was Haji Nimatullah Hassan.<ref name="TOLO-182254">{{cite news |url=https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/provincial-182254 |title=World Bank Starts Two Projects in Kandahar |work=TOLOnews |date=27 February 2023 |access-date=2026-01-21}}</ref> The Kandahar Municipality's structure consists of several departments under the mayor. Like other provincial municipalities in Afghanistan, the Kandahar Municipality deals with city affairs such as infrastructure developments. The city districts collect certain taxes and issue building licenses. Each city district has a district head appointed by the mayor.

[[File:Aino Mina housing model.jpg|thumb|The original miniature of the Ayno Maina neighbourhood, which began in 2003 by Mahmud Karzai and associates.<ref name=Cusak/>]]

The decades of war left Kandahar depopulated and with outdated infrastructure, but in recent years large amount of funds poured in for construction purposes. New townships have been established around the city, and a number of modern style buildings have been constructed. Nearly all residents have access to clean drinking water and electricity, and the government is working to extend these services to every home. The city currently gets electricity from the several power plants in the area. Many homes also have solar panels. About {{cvt|20|mi|km|sigfig=1|order=flip}} north of the city is the Dahla Dam, the second largest dam in Afghanistan.

The Ayno Maina is a new township in the northeastern part of the city.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.burohappold.com/projects/project/aino-mina-development-138/|title=Aino Mina Development|access-date=6 May 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304031905/http://www.burohappold.com/projects/project/aino-mina-development-138/|archive-date=4 March 2016}}</ref> Started by Mahmud Karzai,<ref name=Cusak>{{cite news|url=http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/19/spending-time-with-the-karzais-in-parts-of-kandahar/|title=Spending Time With the Karzais in (Parts of) Kandahar|work=The New York Times|date=19 July 2011|access-date=20 October 2012|first=Jake|last=Cusack|archive-date=8 August 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120808095610/http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/19/spending-time-with-the-karzais-in-parts-of-kandahar/|url-status=live}}</ref> the project includes building up to 20,000 single-family homes and associated infrastructure such as roads, water and sewer systems, and community buildings, including schools.<ref>U.S. Department of State, [http://www.usinfo.state.gov/sa/Archive/2004/Jan/29-5307.html ''U.S. Government Agency Grants $3 Million to Build Afghan Homes''] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061004135535/http://usinfo.state.gov/sa/Archive/2004/Jan/29-5307.html |date=4 October 2006 }}</ref> It has won 2 awards, the ''Residential Project'' and ''Sustainable Project'' of the Year at the Middle East Architect Awards.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.designmena.com/portfolio/aino-mina|title=Case study: Aino Mina|work=Design Middle East|access-date=6 May 2016|archive-date=6 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140106003655/http://www.designmena.com/portfolio/aino-mina|url-status=dead}}</ref> Many high-ranking government employees and civil servants as well as wealthy businessmen began living there, which is a more secured community in Kandahar. Work on the next $100 million scheme was initiated in 2011. Construction of Hamidi Township in the Morchi Kotal area of the city also began in August 2011. It is named after Ghulam Haider Hamidi, the mayor of Kandahar who was assassinated in late July 2011.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-14635978 |title=An Afghan mayor, mourned in the US |publisher=BBC News |date=25 August 2011}}</ref> Situated along the Kandahar-Uruzgan Highway in the northeast of the city, the new township will have 2,000 residential and commercial plots. Including new roads, schools, commercial markets, clinics, canals and other facilities.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2011/08/16/construction-hameedi-township-starts-kandahar|title=Construction of Hameedi township starts in Kandahar|date=16 August 2011|first=Bashir Ahmed|last=Naadem|access-date=16 August 2011|archive-date=8 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120908074140/http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2011/08/16/construction-hameedi-township-starts-kandahar|url-status=dead}}</ref>

About {{cvt|10|km}} southeast of Kandahar is the Shorandam industrial park, which was established nearly two decades ago.<ref>Afghanistan Investment Support Agency, [http://www.aisa.org.af/ipda/kandahar.html ''Afghanistan Industrial Parks Development Authority''] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060721180455/http://www.aisa.org.af/ipda/kandahar.html |date=21 July 2006 }}</ref> The following is a short and incomplete neighborhood list.

{{div col|colwidth=15em}} *Ayno Maina *Ayubi *Charsoo *Chawney *Deh Khoja *Haji Aziz Maina *Hamidi Maina (under development since 2011) *Malajat *Mirwais Maina *Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan Maina *Sarpuza *Shahr-e Naw *Topkhana *Old Kandahar {{div col end}}

==Sports== {{Further|Sport in Afghanistan}} Cricket, football, futsal and volleyball are the most popular sports in Kandahar. ;Professional sports teams from Kandahar {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! scope="col" | Club ! scope="col" | League ! scope="col" | Sport ! scope="col" | Venue ! scope="col" | Established |- ! scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;" | Kandahar Knights | Afghanistan Premier League | Cricket | Sharjah Cricket Stadium | 2018 |- ! scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;" | Boost Defenders | Shpageeza Cricket League | Cricket | Kandahar International Cricket Stadium | 2013 |- ! scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;" | De Maiwand Atalan F.C. | Afghan Premier League | Football | Kandahar Stadium | 2012 |}

===Stadiums=== *Kandahar International Cricket Stadium *Kandahar Stadium

== Notable people == {{div col|colwidth=20em}} *Kandahari Begum, wife of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan *Nur Jahan – Empress of the Mughal Empire, chief wife of Mughal emperor Jahangir *Mirwais Hotak – founder of the Hotak dynasty *Abdul Aziz Hotak – ruler of the Hotak dynasty *Mahmud Hotak – ruler of the Hotak dynasty and Shah of Persia *Ashraf Hotak – Shah of Persia *Hussain Hotak – ruler of the Hotak dynasty *Ahmad Shah Durrani – founding father of Afghanistan, buried in the city *Dost Mohammad Khan – Emir of Afghanistan and son of Payandah Khan *Sher Ali Khan – Emir of Afghanistan and son of Dost Mohammad Khan *Abdur Rahman Khan – Emir of Afghanistan and son of Dost Mohammad Khan *Ghulam Muhammad Tarzi – leader of Tarzi family who played an important part in Afghan history during the late 19th century onward *Abdul Rehman Khan, father of Bollywood actor Kader Khan *Mohammad Ibraheem Khwakhuzhi *Maryam Durani an Afghan activist and women's advocate *Ubaidullah Jan – Pashto music king of southern Afghanistan *Naghma – Afghan musician in the United States *Nashenas – Afghan musician in the United Kingdom *Abdul Hai Habibi – scholar, former professor at Kabul University and author of many books *The Karzais – the family of Afghan President Hamid Karzai *Gul Agha Sherzai – served as the governor of Kandahar Province followed by as governors of Nangarhar Province *Said Tayeb Jawad – former Afghanistan Ambassador to the United States *Yousef Pashtun – Afghan politician *Nasrat Haqparast – UFC Lightweight Fighter *Khan Mohammad Mujahid – Alokozai tribe leader *Malalai of Maiwand – National folk hero of Afghanistan *Hibatullah Akhundzada – Supreme leader of Afghanistan as of 2021 *Akhtar Mansour – Second supreme leader of the Taliban *Faizullah Kakar - Former deputy minister of health for Karzai government and former chief of staff for Ashraf Ghani

==See also== {{div col|colwidth=25em}} *List of cities in Afghanistan *Operation Dreamseed {{div col end}}

==Notes== {{notelist}} ==Footnotes== {{Reflist}}

==References== *{{Cite book|last=Dupree|first=Nancy Hatch|title=An Historical Guide to Afghanistan|orig-year=1st Edition: 1970|edition=2nd Edition, Revised and Enlarged|year=1977|publisher=Afghan Tourist Organization|ref=none}} *Hill, John E. 2004. [http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/weilue.html ''The Peoples of the West from the Weilue''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171223070446/http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/weilue.html |date=23 December 2017 }} 魏略 ''by Yu Huan'' 魚豢'': A Third Century Chinese Account Composed between 239 and 265 CE.'' Draft annotated English translation. *Hill, John E. (2009) ''Through the Jade Gate to Rome: A Study of the Silk Routes during the Later Han dynasty, 1st to 2nd centuries CE''. BookSurge, Charleston, South Carolina. {{ISBN|978-1-4392-2134-1}}. *Frye, Richard N. (1963). ''The Heritage of Persia''. World Publishing company, Cleveland, Ohio. Mentor Book edition, 1966. * {{cite book|last=Kaplan|first=Robert D.|author-link=Robert D. Kaplan|title=Soldiers of God: With Islamic Warriors in Afghanistan and Pakistan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r3TLByMXsJkC|year=2008|publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-307-54698-2|oclc=48367823}} *Toynbee, Arnold J. (1961). ''Between Oxus and Jumna''. London. Oxford University Press. *Willem Vogelsang (1985). "Early historical Arachosia in South-east Afghanistan; Meeting-place between East and West." ''Iranica antiqua'', 20 (1985), pp. 55–99. *Wood, Michael (1997). ''[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9790520231923 In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great: A Journey from Greece to Asia]''. University of California Press. {{ISBN|0-520-23192-9}}

==Further reading== '''Published in the 19th century''' *{{Citation|publisher=B. Quaritch|location=London|author=Edward Balfour|author-link=Edward Balfour|title=Cyclopaedia of India|edition=3rd|date=1885|chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/cyclopaediaofind02balfuoft#page/490/mode/2up|chapter=Kandahar}} *Boulger, Demetrius Charles. ''[http://www.wdl.org/en/item/11800/ Ought We to Hold Candahar?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131226030557/http://www.wdl.org/en/item/11800/ |date=26 December 2013 }}''. London: William H. Allen and Company (1879).

'''Published in the 20th century''' *{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Kandahar |volume=15 |last=Holdich |first=Thomas Hungerford |author-link=Thomas Hungerford Holdich |pages=648–649 |short=1 }}

'''Published in the 21st century''' *{{cite book|title=Historic Cities of the Islamic World|editor=C. Edmund Bosworth|year=2007|publisher=Koninklijke Brill|location=Leiden|chapter=Kandahar}}

==External links== {{Commons category}} {{Wikivoyage}} *{{YouTube|xmfeE6EKXc0|گزارش ویژه تخریب هزاران خانه دوکان بلند منزل ساخت سرک های جدید در ولایت قندهار}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20051027130028/http://www.aims.org.af/maps/urban/kandahar.pdf Map of Kandahar], from Afghanistan Information Management Services

Category:Kandahar Category:Populated places established in the 4th century BC Category:330s BC establishments Category:Populated places in Kandahar Province Category:Cities founded by Alexander the Great Category:Populated places along the Silk Road Category:Cities in Central Asia Category:Cities in Afghanistan Category:Provincial capitals in Afghanistan