Kabul[a] is the capital and largest city ofAfghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of theKabul Province. The city is divided for administration into22 municipal districts. In 2025 its population is estimated to be 7.17 million.[8] In contemporary times, Kabul has served as Afghanistan's political, cultural and economical center.[9] Rapid urbanisation has made it the country'sprimate city and the76th-largest city in the world.[10]
The modern-day city of Kabul is located high in a narrowvalley in theHindu Kush mountain range, and is bounded by theKabul River. At an elevation of 1,790 metres (5,873 ft), it is one of thehighest capital cities in the world. The center of the city contains its old neighborhoods, including the areas of Khashti Bridge, Khabgah, Kahforoshi, Saraji, Chandavel, Shorbazar, Deh-Afghanan and Ghaderdiwane.[11]
In the 16th century, theMughal Empire used Kabul as a summer capital, during which time it prospered and increased in significance.[13] It briefly came under the control of theAfsharids followingNader Shah's invasion of India, until finally coming under local rule by theAfghan Empire in 1747.[14] Kabul became the capital of Afghanistan in 1776 during the reign ofTimur Shah Durrani (a son ofAhmad Shah Durrani).[3] In the 19th century the city was occupied by theBritish: after establishing foreign relations and agreements, they withdrew fromAfghanistan and returned toBritish India.
Kabul was known by different names throughout its history.[23] Its meaning is unknown, but it is believed to originate in pre-Islamic times when the city lay on trade routes betweenIndia and theHellenic world.[24] InSanskrit, it was known asKubha, whereas Greek authors ofclassical antiquity referred to it asKophen,Kophes orKoa.[23] The Chinese travelerXuanzang (fl. 7th century CE) recorded the city asKoafu (高附).[23] The name "Kabul" was first applied to theKabul River before being applied to the area situated between theHindu-Kush andSindh (present-dayPakistan).[23][24] This area was also known asKabulistan.[23]Alexander Cunningham (died 1893) noted in the 19th century thatKaofu, as recorded by the Chinese was in all likelihood the name of "one of the five Yuchi or Tukhari tribes".[23] Cunningam added that this tribe gave its name to the city after it was occupied by them in the 2nd century BCE.[23] This "supposition seems likely" as the Afghan historianMir Ghulam Mohammad Ghobar (1898–1978) wrote that in theAvesta (sacred book ofZoroastrianism), Kabul was known asVaekereta, whereas the Greeks of antiquity referred to it asOrtospana ("High Place"), which corresponds to the Sanskrit wordUrddhastana, which was applied to Kabul.[23] The Greek geographerPtolemy (diedc. 170 CE) recorded Kabul as Καβουρα (Kabura).[23]
According to a legend, one could find a lake in Kabul, in the middle of which the so-called "Island of Happiness" could be found, where a joyous family of musicians lived.[23] According to this same legend, the island became accessible by the order of a king through the construction of a bridge (i.e. "pul" in Persian) made out of straw (i.e. "kah" in Persian).[23] According to this legend the name Kabul was thus formed as a result of these two words combined, i.e.kah +pul.[23] TheConcise Oxford Dictionary of World Place Names argues that the "suggestion that the name is derived from theArabic rootqbl 'meeting' or 'receiving' is unlikely".[24]
It remains unknown when the name "Kabul" was first applied to the city.[23] It "came into prominence" following the destruction ofKapisa and other cities in what is present-day Afghanistan byGenghis Khan (c. 1162–1227) in the thirteenth century.[23] The centrality of the city within the region, as well as its cultural importance as a nexus of ethnic groups in the region, caused Kabul to become known as the Paris of Central Asia in the late 20th century.
The origin of Kabul, who built it and when, is largely unknown.[25] The HinduRigveda, composed between 2000 and 1500 BC and one of the four canonical texts ofHinduism, and the Avesta, the primary canon of texts of Zoroastrianism, refer to theKabul River and to a settlement calledKubha.[25][26]
The Kabul valley was part of theMedian Empire (c. 678–549 BC).[27] In 549 BC, the Median Empire was annexed byCyrus The Great and Kabul became part theAchaemenid Empire (c. 550–330 BC).[28] During that period, Kabul became a center of learning for Zoroastrianism, followed byBuddhism andHinduism.[29] An inscription onDarius the Great's tombstone lists Kabul as one of the 29 countries of the Achaemenid Empire.[26]
WhenAlexander the Great annexed the Achaemenid Empire, the Kabul region came under his control.[30] After his death, his empire was seized by his generalSeleucus, becoming part of theSeleucid Empire. In 305 BC, the Seleucid Empire was extended to theIndus River which led to friction with the neighbouringMauryan Empire.[31]
During the Mauryan period, trade flourished because of uniform weights and measures. Irrigation facilities for public use were developed leading to an increased harvest of crops. People were also employed as artisans, jewelers, and carpenters.[32]
TheGreco-Bactrians took control of Kabul from the Mauryans in the early 2nd century BC, then lost the city to their successors in theIndo-Greek Kingdom around the mid-2nd century BC. Buddhism was greatly patronised by these rulers and the majority of people of the city were adherents of the religion.[33]Indo-Scythians expelled the Indo-Greeks by the mid 1st century BC, but lost the city to theKushan Empire about 100 years later.[34][35]
It is mentioned asKophes orKophene in some classical Greek writings. The Chinese Buddhist monkHsuan Tsang refers to the city asKaofu[36] in the 7th century AD, which is theappellation of one of the five tribes of theYuezhi who had migrated from across theHindu Kush into the Kabul valley around the beginning of theCommon Era.[37] It was conquered by Kushan EmperorKujula Kadphises in about 45 AD and remained Kushan territory until at least the 3rd century AD.[38][39] The Kushans wereIndo-European-speaking peoples related to the Yuezhi and based inBactria.[40]
Around 230 AD, the Kushans were defeated by theSassanid Empire and replaced by Sassanid vassals known as theIndo-Sassanids. During the Sassanian period, the city was referred to as "Kapul" inPahlavi scripts.[26] Kapol in thePersian language means Royal (ka) Bridge (pol), which is due to the main bridge on the Kabul River that connected the east and west of the city. In 420 AD, the Indo-Sassanids were driven out of Afghanistan by theXionite tribe known as theKidarites, who were then replaced in the 460s by theHephthalites. It became part of the survivingTurkShahiKingdom of Kapisa, also known asKabul-Shahan.[41] According toTáríkhu-l Hind byAl-Biruni, Kabul was governed by princes ofTurkic lineage.[41] It was briefly held by theTibetan Empire between 801 and 815.
Jews had a presence in Afghanistan from ancient times until 2021.[42] There are records of religious correspondence establishing the presence of Jews in Kabul since the 8th century, though it is believed that they were present centuries or even millennia earlier.[43][44] The 12th century Arab geographerMuhammad al-Idrisi wrote down his observations of a Jewish quarter in Kabul.[45] In the early 19th century, Kabul and other major Afghan cities became sites of refuge for Jews fleeing persecution in neighboring Iran.[46]
Jews were generally tolerated for most of their time in Afghanistan, up until the passage of anti-Jewish laws in the 1870s. Jews were given a reprieve under the rule of KingNadir Shah until his assassination in 1933. The influence of Nazi propaganda led to increased violence against Jews and theghettoization of their communities in Kabul andHerat. Most of Afghanistan's Jews fled the country or congregated in these urban hubs.[46]
After theestablishment of the state of Israel, the Jewish community requested permission from KingZahir Shah to migrate there. Afghanistan was the only country that allowed its Jewish residents to migrate to Israel without relinquishing their citizenship.[43] Most of those remaining, approximately 2,000 in number, left after theSoviet invasion in 1979.[42][44]
As of 1992, there were believed to be two Jews remaining in Afghanistan, both living in a synagogue in Kabul.[44] The congregation'sTorah scroll was confiscated during thefirst Islamic Emirate.Zebulon Simontov was believed and widely reported to be Afghanistan's last Jew, untilTova Moradi fled months after him, with her grandchildren. Moradi, who harbored a rabbi in her home throughout the first Islamic Emirate, lived inMorad Khane, Kabul for decades. While she was married to a Muslim man as a child, she still covertly attended synagogue and tried to teach her children what Hebrew prayers she could remember from her childhood. As of her departure in November 2021, there are believed to be no Jews in Afghanistan.[42]
Map showing names of the regions during the 7th century.
TheIslamic conquest reached modern-day Afghanistan in 642 AD, at a time when Kabul was independent.[47] Until then, Kabul was considered politically and culturally part of the Indian world.[48] A number of failed expeditions were made toIslamise the region. In one of them,Abdur Rahman bin Samara arrived in Kabul fromZaranj in the late 600s and converted 12,000 inhabitants toIslam before abandoning the city.Muslims were a minority untilYa'qub bin Laith as-Saffar of Zaranj conquered Kabul in 870 from theHindu Shahis and established the firstIslamic dynasty in the region. It was reported that the rulers of Kabul wereMuslims with non-Muslims living close by. Iranian traveller and geographerIstakhri described it in 921:
Kábul has a castle celebrated for its strength, accessible only by one road. In it there areMusulmáns, and it has a town, in which areinfidels fromHind.[49]
Over the following centuries, the city was successively controlled by theSamanids,Ghaznavids,Ghurids,Khwarazmshahs,Qarlughids, andKhaljis. In the 13th century, the invadingMongols caused major destruction in the region. Report of amassacre in the close byBamiyan is recorded around this period, where the entire population of the valley was annihilated by the Mongol troops as revenge for the death of Genghis Khan's grandson. As a result, many natives of Afghanistan fled south toward the Indian subcontinent where some establisheddynasties in Delhi. TheChagatai Khanate andKartids were vassals ofIlkhanate until the dissolution of the latter in 1335.
Following the era of the Khalji dynasty in 1333, the famousMoroccan scholarIbn Battuta was visiting Kabul and wrote:
We travelled on to Kabul, formerly a vast town, the site of which is now occupied by a village inhabited by a tribe of Persians called Afghans. They hold mountains and defiles and possess considerable strength, and are mostly highwaymen. Their principal mountain is calledKuh Sulayman.[50]
In the 14th century, Kabul became a major trading centre under the kingdom ofTimur (Tamerlane). In 1504, the city fell toBabur from the north and made into his headquarters, which became one of the principal cities of his laterMughal Empire. In 1525, Babur describedKabulistan inhis memoirs by writing that:
There are many differing tribes in theKābul country; in its dales and plains are Turks and clansmen and'Arabs; and in its town and in many villages,Sārts; out in the districts and also in villages are thePashāi,Parājī,Tājik,Bīrkī andAfghān tribes. In the western mountains are theHazāra andNikdīrī tribes, some of whom speak theMughūlī tongue. In the north-eastern mountains are the places of theKāfirs, such asKitūr and Gibrik. To the south are the places of theAfghān tribes.[51]
Mirza Muhammad Haidar Dughlat, a poet fromHindustan who visited at the time wrote:"Dine and drink in Kabul: it is mountain, desert, city, river and all else." It was from here that Babur began his 1526 conquest of Hindustan, which was ruled by theAfghanLodi dynasty and began east of theIndus River in what is present-dayPakistan.Babur loved Kabul due to the fact that he lived in it for 20 years and the people were loyal to him, including the weather that he was used to. His wish to be buried in Kabul was finally granted. The inscription on histomb contains the famous Persiancouplet, which states:
اگرفردوس روی زمین است همین است و همین است و همین است
Transliteration:
Agar fardus rui zameen ast, hameen ast, o hameen ast, o hameen ast.
(If there is a paradise on earth, it is this, and it is this, and it is this!)[52]
Kabul remained in Mughal control for the next 200 years.[53] Though Mughal power became centred within theIndian subcontinent, Kabul retained importance as a frontier city for the empire;Abul Fazl, EmperorAkbar's chronicler, described it as one of the two gates to Hindustan (the other beingKandahar).[54] As part of administrative reforms under Akbar, the city was made capital of the eponymous Mughal province,Kabul Subah.[55] Under Mughal governance, Kabul became a prosperous urban centre, endowed with bazaars such as the non-extantChar Chatta.[53] For the first time in its history, Kabul served as a mint centre, producing gold and silver Mughal coins up to the reign ofAlamgir II.[56] It acted as a military base forShah Jahan'scampaigns inBalkh andBadakhshan. Kabul was also a recreational retreat for the Mughals, who hunted here and constructed several gardens. Most of the Mughals' architectural contributions to the city (such as gardens, fortifications, and mosques) have not survived.[53][57] During this time, the population was about 60,000.[13]
Nine years afterNader Shah and his forces invaded and occupied the city as part of the more easternmost parts of his Empire, he was assassinated by his own officers, causing its rapid disintegration.Ahmad Shah Durrani, commander of 4,000AbdaliAfghans, assertedPashtun rule in 1747 and further expanded his newAfghan Empire. His ascension to power marked the beginning of Afghanistan. By this time, Kabul had lost its status as a metropolitan city, and its population had decreased to 10,000.[58] Interest in the city was renewed when Ahmad Shah's sonTimur Shah Durrani, after inheriting power, transferred the capital of the Durrani Empire fromKandahar to Kabul in 1776.[3][53] Kabul experienced considerable urban development during the reigns of Timur Shah and his successorZaman Shah; several religious and public buildings were constructed, and diverse groups ofSufis, jurists, and literary families were encouraged to settle the city through land grants and stipends.[59][53] Kabul's first visitor from Europe was EnglishmanGeorge Forster, who described 18th-century Kabul as "the best and cleanest city in Asia".[60]
In 1826, the kingdom was claimed byDost Mohammad Khan, but in 1839Shujah Shah Durrani was re-installed with the help of theBritish Empire during theFirst Anglo-Afghan War. In 1841 a local uprising resulted in the killing of the British resident and loss of mission in Kabul and the1842 retreat from Kabul toJalalabad, in which 4,500 regular British troops and 14,000 civilians were killed by Afghan tribesmen. In 1842 the British returned to Kabul, demolishing the city's mainbazaar in revenge during theKabul Expedition (1842) before returning toBritish India (now Pakistan).Akbar Khan took to the throne from 1842 to 1845 and was followed by Dost Mohammad Khan.[61]
Etching of Kabul by an Italian artist, 1885
TheSecond Anglo-Afghan War broke out in 1879 when Kabul was underSher Ali Khan's rule, as the Afghan king initially refused to accept British diplomatic missions and later the British residents were again massacred. During the war, Bala Hissar was partially destroyed by a fire and an explosion.[62]
In Kabul, an establishedbazaar city, leather and textile industries developed by 1916.[63] The majority of the population was concentrated on the south side of the river.
The city was modernised throughout the regime of KingHabibullah Khan, with the introduction of electricity, telephone, and a postal service.[64] The first modern high school,Habibia, was established in 1903. In 1919, after theThird Anglo-Afghan War, KingAmanullah Khan announced Afghanistan's independence inforeign affairs atEidgah Mosque in Kabul. Amanullah was reform-minded and he had a plan to build a newcapital city on land 6 km from Kabul. This area, namedDarulaman, consisted of the famousDarul Aman Palace, where he later resided. Many educational institutions were founded in Kabul during the 1920s. In 1929 King Amanullah left Kabul after a local uprising orchestrated byHabibullah Kalakani, but he was imprisoned and executed after nine months in power by KingNader Khan. Three years later, in 1933, the new king was assassinated during an award ceremony in a school in Kabul. The throne was left to his 19-year-old son,Zahir Shah, who became the lastKing of Afghanistan. Unlike Amanullah Khan, Nader Khan and Zahir Shah had no plans to create a new capital city, and thus Kabul remained the country'sseat of government.
Dilkusha Palace, built in European style in the 1900s
During theinter-war period, France and Germany helped to develop the country and maintained high schools and lycees in the capital, providing education for the children of the city's elite families.[65]Kabul University opened in 1932, and by the 1960s the majority of teachers were western educated Afghans[66] and the majority of instructors at the university had degrees from Western universities.[66]
Kabul's only railway service, theKabul–Darulaman Tramway, operated for six years from 1923 to 1929.[67] When Zahir Shah took power in 1933, Kabul had the only 10 kilometers (6 miles) of rail and the country had few internal telegraphs, phone lines or roads. Zahir turned to the Japanese, Germans and Italians for help in developing a modern transportation and communications network.[68] A radio tower built in Kabul by the Germans in 1937 provided communication with outlying villages.[69] A national bank and state cartels were organised to allow for economic modernisation.[70] Textile mills, power plants, carpet and furniture factories were built in Kabul, providing much-needed manufacturing and infrastructure.[70]
The river bank in the centre of Kabul in the 1960s
During the 1940s and 1950s,urbanisation accelerated and thebuilt-up area was increased in size to 68 km2 by 1962, an almost fourteen-fold increase since 1925.[63] TheSerena Hotel opened in 1945 as the first Western-style luxury hotel. In the 1950s, under the premiership ofMohammad Daoud Khan, foreign investment and development increased. In 1955, the Soviet Union forwarded $100 million in credit to Afghanistan which financed public transportation, airports, a cement factory, a mechanised bakery, a five-lane highway from Kabul to the Soviet border and dams, including theSalang Pass to the north of Kabul.[71] During the 1960s, Soviet-stylemicrorayon housing estates were built, containing sixty blocks. The government also built many ministry buildings in thebrutalist architecture style.[72] In the 1960s the firstMarks & Spencer store inCentral Asia was built in the city.Kabul Zoo was inaugurated in 1967, which was maintained with the help of visiting Germanzoologists. During this time, Kabul experimented with liberalisation, notably the loosening of restrictions on speech and assembly, which led to student politics in the capital and demonstrations by Socialist, Maoist, liberal or Islamist factions.[73]
People and traffic in a part of Kabul, 1976
Foreigners flocked to Kabul as the nation's tourism industry expanded. To accompany the city's new-found tourism, western-style accommodations were opened in the 1960s, notably the Spinzar Hotel.[74] Western, American and Japanese tourists visited the city's attractions[75] includingChicken Street[76] and theNational Museum that contained some of Asia's finest cultural artifacts.[77]Lonely Planet called it an upcoming "tourist trap" in 1973.[78] Pakistanis visited to watch Indian movies that were banned in their own country.[74] Kabul was nicknamed theParis of Central Asia.[1][2] According toJ. Bruce Amstutz, an American diplomat in Kabul:
[Before the 1978 Marxist coup d'etat] Kabul was a pleasant city [..] Though poor economically, it was spared the eyesore slums so visible in other Asian cities. The Afghans themselves were an imposing people, the men tall and self-assured and the women attractive.[76]
Until the late 1970s, Kabul was a stop on theHippie trail fromBamyan to the west towardsPeshawar.[79] The city was known for its street sales ofhashish and became a major attraction for westernhippies.[18]
Centre of Kabul in 1979; the Pul-e Khishti bridge crosses theKabul River to the old city in the south bank
On 28 April 1978, President Daoud and most of his family were assassinated in Kabul'sPresidential Palace in what is called theSaur Revolution. Pro-Soviet PDPA underNur Muhammad Taraki seized power and slowly began to institute reforms.[80] Private businesses were nationalised in the Soviet manner.[81] Education was modified into the Soviet model, with lessons focusing on teachingRussian,Marxism–Leninism and learning of other countries belonging to the Soviet bloc.[81]
Amid growing internal chaos and heightened cold war tensions, the U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan,Adolph Dubs, was kidnapped on his way to work at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul on 14 February 1979 and killed during a rescue attempt at the Serena Hotel. There were conflicting reports of who abducted Dubs and what demands were made for his release. Several senior Soviet officials were in the lobby of the hotel during a standoff with the kidnappers, who were holding Dubs in room 117.[82][83] Afghan police, acting on the advice of Soviet advisors and over the objections of U.S. officials, launched a rescue attempt, during which Dubs was shot in the head from a distance of six inches and killed.[84] Many questions about the killing remain unanswered.
On 24 December 1979, theSoviet Union invaded Afghanistan and Kabul was heavily occupied bySoviet Armed Forces. In Pakistan,Director-General of the ISIAkhtar Abdur Rahman advocated for the idea of covert operation in Afghanistan by arming Islamic extremists who formed the mujahideen.[85] General Rahman was heard loudly saying: "Kabul must burn! Kabul must burn!",[86] and mastered the idea ofproxy war in Afghanistan.[85] Pakistani PresidentZia-ul-Haq authorised this operation under General Rahman, which was later merged withOperation Cyclone, a programme funded by theUnited States and carried out by theCentral Intelligence Agency.
Taj Beg Palace in 1987, the Soviet Army headquarters during the Soviet–Afghan War
The Soviets turned the city of Kabul into their command centre during theSoviet–Afghan War, and while fighting was mostly taking place in the countryside, Kabul was widely disturbed. Political crime and guerrilla attacks on military and government targets were common, and the sound of gunfire became commonplace at night in the outskirts. Large numbers ofPDPA party members and Soviet troops were kidnapped or assassinated, sometimes in broad daylight, with acts of terrorism committed by civilians, anti-regime militias and alsoKhalqists. By July 1980, as many as twelve party members were being assassinated on a daily basis, and the Soviet Army stopped patrolling the city in January 1981. A major uprising against the Soviet presence broke out in Kabul in February 1980 in what is called the3 Hut uprising. It led to a nightcurfew in the city that would remain in place for seven years.[87] The Soviet Embassy also, was attacked four times with arms fire in the first five years of the war. A Western correspondent revisiting Kabul in December 1983 after a year, said that the city was "converted into a fortress bristling with weapons".[88] Contrastingly, that same year American diplomat Charles Dunbar commented that the Soviet troops' presence was "surprisingly modest",[89] and an author in a 1983Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists article thought that the Soviet soldiers had a "friendly" atmosphere.[90]
The city's population increased from around 500,000 in 1978 to 1.5 million in 1988.[91] The large influx were mostly internal refugees who fled other parts of the country for safety in Kabul. During this time, women made up 40% of the workforce.[92] Soviet men and women were very common in the city's shopping roads, with the large availability of Western products.[89] Most Soviet civilians (numbering between 8,000 and 10,000) lived in the northeastern Soviet-styleMikrorayon (microraion) housing complex that was surrounded bybarbed-wire and armed tanks. They sometimes received abuse from anti-Soviet civilians on the streets.[93] The mujahideen rebels managed to strike at the city a few times—on 9 October 1987, a car bomb planted by a mujahideen group killed 27 people, and on 27 April 1988, in celebrations of the 10th anniversary of the Saur Revolution, a truck bomb killed six people.[94]
Kabul'sJada-e Maiwand in 1993, showing the destruction caused by the civilwar.
After the fall ofMohammad Najibullah's[95] government in April 1992, different mujahideen factions entered the city and formed a government under thePeshawar Accords, butGulbuddin Hekmatyar's party refused to sign the accords and started shelling the city for power, which soon escalated into a full-scale conflict. This marked the start of a dark period of the city: at least 30,000 civilians were killed in a period known locally as the "Kabul Wars."[96] About 80 percent of the city was devastated and destroyed by 1996.[97][98] The old city and western areas were among the worst-hit. ANew York Times analyst said in 1996 that the city was more devastated thanSarajevo, which was similarly damaged during theBosnian War at the time.[99]
The city suffered heavily under abombardment campaign between rival militias which intensified during the summer of 1992. Its geographic location in a narrow valley made it an easy target from rockets fired by militias who based themselves in the surrounding mountains.[100] Within two years' time, the majority of infrastructure was destroyed, a massive exodus of the population left to the countryside or abroad, and electricity and water was completely out. In late 1994, bombardment of the capital came to a temporary halt.[101][102][103] These forces took steps to restore law and order. Courts started to work again, convicting individuals inside government troops who had committed crimes.[104] On 27 September 1996, the hardlineTaliban militia seized Kabul and established theIslamic Emirate of Afghanistan. They imposed a strict form ofSharia (Islamic law), restricting women from work and education,[105] conducting amputations against common thieves, and hit-squads from the infamous "Ministry for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice" watching public beatings of people.[105]
In November 2001, theNorthern Alliance captured Kabul after the Taliban had abandoned the city following anAmerican invasion. A month later, anew government began to assemble under PresidentHamid Karzai. ANATO-ledInternational Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was deployed in Afghanistan and many expatriate Afghans returned to the country. Kabul's population grew from about 500,000 in 2001 to over 3 million. Foreign embassies re-opened. In 2008, responsibility for security began to shift from NATO to Afghan forces.[106] In 2001 rebuilding began[107] and many of the city's damaged landmarks were rebuilt or restored, including theGardens of Babur in 2005,[108] the arch ofPaghman, the Mahmoud Khan Bridgeclock tower in 2013[109] and theTaj Beg Palace in 2021.[110] Local community efforts repaired homes and dwellings.[111]
Modern high-rises built in the 2010s
With an increasing population the city experienced rapid urbanisation, and many informal settlements were built.[112] Numerous modern housing complexes were built after the late 2000s, many of them gated and secured, to serve a growing Afghanmiddle class.[113] These included the Aria City (in District 10) and Golden City (District 8).[114][115] Complexes were built out of town, such as the Omid-e-Sabztownship (District 13), Qasaba/Khwaja Rawash township (District 15), and Sayed Jamaludin township (District 12).[116][117][118]
A high-security "Green Zone" was formed in the centre of the city.[119] In 2010, a series of guarded checkpoints called theRing of Steel was put into operation. Concreteblast walls appeared throughout Kabul in the 2000s.[120]
The city wasseized during the2021 Taliban offensive on August 15, 2021. Under Taliban rule the city and the country experienced relative calm,[134] although terrorist attacks continued to be committed by theregional ISIL branch.[135]
Night scene in Kabul in 2016 looking northeast, with Koh-e 'Aliabad on the left andKoh-e Asamai on the rightQargha dam and lakeA view of some of the mountains that surround Kabul
Kabul was situated in the eastern part of the country, 1,791 meters (5,876 feet)above sea level in a narrow valley, wedged between theHindu Kush mountains along theKabul River. Immediately to the south of the old city are the ancient city walls and the Sher Darwaza mountain, with the Shuhadayi Salihincemetery behind it. A bit further east is the ancientBala Hissar fortress with the Kol-e Hasmat Khan lake behind it.
Its location has been described as a "bowl surrounded by mountains".[136] Some of the mountains (which are calledkoh) include: Khair Khana-e Shamali, Khwaja Rawash, Shakhi Baran Tey, Chihil Sutun, Qurugh, Khwaja Razaq and Sher Darwaza. There are also two mountains in between urban areas to the west:Koh-e Asamai (locally known as theTelevision hill) and Ali Abad. Hills within the city (which are calledtapa) include Bibi Mahro and Maranjan.
TheLogar River flows into Kabul from the south, joining the Kabul River not far from the city centre.
Kabul has a continental,cold semi-arid climate (BSk), with precipitation concentrated in the winter (almost exclusively falling assnow) and spring months. Summers have very lowhumidity, providing some relief from the heat. Autumns feature warm afternoons and sharply cooler evenings. Winters are very cold bySouth Asian standards, with a subzero January daily average temperature of −2.3 °C (27.9 °F), mainly due to the high elevation of the city. Spring is the wettest time of the year. Sunny conditions dominate year-round, and the annual mean temperature is only 12.1 °C (53.8 °F), much lower than that of Afghanistan's other large cities.
TheKabul River flows through the heart of the city, dividing the central bazaars. There are several bridges (pul) crossing the river, the major ones being Pul-e Shah-Do Shamshira, Pul-e Bagh-e Omomi, Pul-e Khishti, and Pul-e Mahmoud. Due toclimate change, since the 21st century, the river runs dry most of the year, only filling up in the wetter winter and spring seasons.[139]
A largelake andwetland was located just to the southeast from the old city calledKol-e Hashmat Khan.[140] The marsh provides a critical resting place to thousands of birds who fly between theIndian subcontinent andSiberia. In 2017 the government declared the lake aprotected area.[141] Some rare species of birds have been spotted at the lake, such as theEastern imperial eagle and theDalmatian pelican.[142] Kabul's other large lake isQargha, located some 9 km northwest from the centre. It is a major attraction for locals as well as foreigners.[143]
Air pollution is a major problem in the city during the winter season, when many residents burn low-quality fuels.[144][145]
Location of Kabul Municipality within Kabul Province
The city of Kabul located withinKabul District, one of the 15 districts ofKabul Province. As the provincial capital, it forms amunicipality (shārwāli) which is further divided into 22administrative districts called municipal districts or city districts (nāhia), which coincide with the official Police Districts (PD).[146] The number of city districts increased from 11 to 18 in 2005, and then to 22 by 2010 after the incorporation of Districts 14 and 19–22 which were annexed by Kabul Municipality from surrounding rural districts. Thecity limits have thus substantially increased. Due to demarcation disputes with the provincial administration, some of these new districts are more administered by the provincial districts than the municipality.
District 1 contains most of the old city. Downtown Kabul mostly consist of Districts 2, 4 and 10. In addition, Districts 3 and 6 house many commercial and governmental points of interests.[147] The city's north and west are the most urbanised, as opposed to the south and east.
The table below show the 22 city districts and their settlements, with information about its land size and usage, accurate as of 2011.[148]
Young Afghan men and women at a rock music festival inside theGardens of Babur
Kabul's population was estimated in 2023 at about 4.95 million.[149] The city's population has long fluctuated due to the wars. The lack of an up-to-datecensus means that there are various estimates of the population.
Kabul's population was estimated to have been about 10,000 in 1700, 65,000 by 1878, and 120,000 by 1940.[63] More recently, the population was around 500,000 in 1979, whilst another source claims 337,715 as of 1976.[150] This figure rose to about 1.5 million by 1988, before dramatically dropping in the 1990s. Kabul became one of the fastest-growing cities in the world, with its population growing fourfold from 2001 to 2014. This was partly due to the return of refugees after the fall of theTaliban regime, and partly due to Afghans moving from other provinces mainly due to war between Taliban insurgents and Afghan government forces in their native areas as well as looking for labor. This resulting rapidurbanisation means that many residents today live in informal settlements.[151] Shanty mud-brick homes on the mountainsides and steep hills have been built by them and these are usually poverty-stricken, not connected to the water and electricity grid. Although the settlements are illegal, they have been tolerated by authorities. In 2017 Kabul Municipality started a project to paint the homes in these settlements in bright colors in an effort to "cheer up" residents.[152][153]
Houses built on mountains
Kabul is and has historically been the most ethnically diverse city in the country, with the population including Afghans from all over the country.[154] Approximately 45% ofKabul's population is Tajik, 25% Hazara, another 25% is Pashtun, and minority ethnic groups include Qizilbash (counted to Tajiks), 1% Baloch, 2% Uzbek, 1% Turkmen, and 1% Afghan Hindu.[155] Almost three-quarters of the population of Kabul follow Sunni Islam, and around Twenty-five percent of residents are Shiites. Other religions in the city include Sikhism and Hinduism.
In 1525,Babur described the region inhis memoirs by writing that:
Along withPashtun,Tajik andHazara communities, who make up the majority of the population of the city, there was a significant population ofUzbek,Turkmen,Kuchi,Qizilbash,Hindu,Sikh and other groups. The broader province of Kabul however, is dominated byPashtun andTajik groups.[157][158] TheDari (Persian) andPashto languages are widely used in the region, although Dari serves as thelingua franca.Multilingualism is common throughout the area, particularly among the Pashtun people.
The term "Kabuli" (کابلی) is referred to the urbanites of the city. They were ethnic-neutral, typically speak Dari (Persian), were generally secularly educated, and favor Western fashion. Many Kabulites (especially elites and the upper class) left the country during the civil war and are now outnumbered by rural people who moved in from the countryside, mostly refugees but also labor-seekers.[159][160]
About 68% of the city's population followSunni Islam while 30% areShiites (mainly the Hazaras and Qizilbash). The remaining 2% are followers ofSikhism andHinduism, as well as one knownChristian resident (First LadyRula Ghani) and oneJewish resident (Zablon Simintov) in the 2010s. It is estimated that there were 500–8,000 Afghan Christians in the country as a whole; due to restrictions on religious freedom, they often worship in secret, rendering it difficult to estimate the number of Christians in Kabul specifically.[161] Hundreds of non-Muslims still remain after the Taliban retakeover Afghanistan.[162] Kabul also has smallSindhi andPunjabi merchant community (which most of theSikhs and Hindus belong to)[163] andTurkish communities (mostly business-owners and investors), and in the 1980s had a sizableRussian community during the Soviet campaign in the country.
The municipality's administrative structure consisted of 17 departments under amayor. Like other provincial municipalities in Afghanistan, the municipality of Kabul dealt with city affairs such as construction and infrastructure. The city districts (nāhia) collected certain taxes and issued building licenses. Each city district had a district head appointed by the mayor, and lead six major departments in the district office. The neighbourhood organisation structure at thenahia level was called agozar. Kabul has been Divided in to 630 Gozars. Awakil-e gozar was a person chosen to represent a community within a city district.
Kabul's Chief of Police was Lt. Gen. Abdul Rahman Rahimi. The police were part of theAfghan National Police (ANP) under theMinistry of Interior and were arranged by city districts. The Police Chief was selected by the Interior Minister and is responsible for alllaw enforcement activities throughout the Kabul province.
Kabul's main products includedfresh anddried fruit,nuts, beverages,Afghan rugs,leather and sheep skin products, furniture,antiquereplicas, and domestic clothes. TheWorld Bank authorisedUS$25 million for the Kabul Urban Reconstruction Project which closed in 2011.[165] Over the last decade, the United States has invested approximately $9.1 billion into urban infrastructure in Afghanistan.[166][167]The wars since 1978 have limited the city's economic productivity but after the establishment of the Karzai administration since late 2001, local economic developments have included a number ofindoor shopping malls. The first of these was theKabul City Center, opened 2005. Others have also opened in recent years includingGulbahar Center,City Walk Mall andMajid Mall.[168]
Mandawi Road on the south side of the river, located between Murad Khani and Shur Bazaar neighbourhoods, is one of the main bazaars of Kabul. This wholesale market is very popular amongst locals. Nearby is the Sarai Shahzada money exchange market.[169]Chicken Street is perhaps best known to foreigners.[170]
Kabul's largest industrial hub was located in District 9, on the north banks of the River Kabul and near the airport.[147] About 6 km (4 mi) from downtown Kabul, inBagrami, a 9-hectare (22-acre) industrial complex had been completed with modern facilities, which allowed companies to operate businesses there. The park had professional management for the daily maintenance of public roads, internal streets, common areas, parking areas, 24 hours perimeter security, access control for vehicles and people.[171] A number of factories operated there, including the $25 million Coca-Cola bottling plant and the Omaid Bahar juice factory.
Inside an antiquity shop in Kabul's famousChicken Street (Kochi Murgha)
According toTransparency International, the government of Afghanistan was the third most-corrupt in the world, as of 2010.[172] Experts believe that the poor decisions of Afghan politicians contributed to the unrest in the region. This also prevented foreign investment in Afghanistan, especially by Western countries. In 2012, there were reportedly $3.9 billion paid to public officials inbribes which contributed to these issues.[173]
A US$1 billion contract was signed in 2013 to commence work on the "Kabul New City" (sometimes reported as "New Kabul City"), which is a major residential scheme that would accommodate 1.5 million people.[176][177][178][179] Construction was delayed due to instability in the region, but construction broke ground in August 2023 after a new contract was signed between the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing and Khawar Company. The new agreement is expected to modernize the city, address overpopulation, and incentivize the return ofexpatriates by adding housing to accommodate 3 million people and modern amenities.[180][181][182] The construction is planned to occur in two phases over the span of about 30 years.
Another development is the Qatar Township in Kabul.[183] Construction was halted for the COVID-19 pandemic, but resumed in May 2023. The township—which is planned to include 12 blocks with 768 flats, three business blocks, one mosque, two schools, and an orphanage—could become operational in 2024.[184]
As of November 2015, there were more than 24 television stations based out of Kabul.[185] Terrestrial TV transmitters were located at the summit of theKoh-e Asamai.
GSM/GPRS mobile phone services are provided byAfghan Wireless,Etisalat,Roshan,MTN andSalaam. They provide4G and3G services. In November 2006, theAfghan Ministry of Communications signed a US$64.5 million deal withZTE on the establishment of a countrywide fibre optical cable network to help improve telephone, internet, television and radio broadcast services not just in Kabul but throughout the country.
Kabul has many hotels for domestic and foreign travelers.Guest houses are also found in the city. The better and safer ones are located in theShahr-e Naw andWazir Akbar Khan neighbourhoods (the Green Zone). The following are some of the hotels in Kabul (in alphabetical order).
Maranjan Hill (Tappe-i-Maranjan) was a nearby hill where Buddhiststatues and Graeco-Bactriancoins from the 2nd century BC have been found. Outside the city proper lied the BuddhistGuldara stupa and another stupa atShewaki.Paghman andJalalabad were interesting valleys west and east of the city. On the latter road, about 16 miles east of the city, was theTang-e Gharu gorge.
Kabul used to have as many as 23 cinemas, but currently only had four, including the state ownedAriana Cinema. The decline ofcinema of Afghanistan since the 1990s, both due to war and oppressive regimes, had meant many of these have closed.[186] The Nandari, or Kabul National Theater, was one of the largest theaters in Asia before it was destroyed in the civil war and has not been restored.[187] The lack of investment meant that the sector did not recover after 2001, and notably the rundown Park Cinema was controversially demolished in 2020.[186]
TheMinaret of Knowledge and Ignorance,[188] built in the 1920s on a hill inDeh Mazang, commemorating king Amanullah's victory over the Mullah-e Lang in theKhost rebellion
Kabul's various architectural designs reflected the various links it has had with empires and civilisations, particularly being on the ancient trade route connecting India and China with Persia and the West.[189]
The BuddhistChakari minaret was likely built in theKushan era and had traces ofGreco-Bactrian andGandhara Art. It had Buddhistswastika and bothMahayana andTheravada qualities. Following the Islamic conquest, a new age of architectural realms appeared in the Kabul region. TheGardens of Babur was perhaps the best preserved example of Islamic andMughal architecture. EmperorBabur had also built seven other big gardens in Kabul at the time. The present Gardens of Babur also reflect Afghanistan's traditional architecture by the wooden carving, pressed stucco, decorative stone masonry and other features. Another fine example of the Babur era is theId Gah Mosque, using stones from thePunjab andSindh and designed by Persians.[189]
Ahmad Shah Durrani's rise as the Afghan ruler brought changes to Kabul and the nation, with a more inward-looking and self-protecting society reflecting the architecture that were no different between the rich and poor peoples. mausoleum ofTimur Shah Durrani, the Afghan ruler until his death in 1793, was another example of Islamic design, built in an octagonal structure. It followedCentral Asian traditions of decorative brick masonries along with a colorless appearance.[189] After theSecond Anglo-Afghan War, the country's emirAbdur Rahman Khan brought European styles for the first time. TheBagh-e Bala Palace was designed in a mixed Mughal and British Indian style, the first significant change from traditional Afghan and Islamic styles. However, palaces were still built with Central Asian Islamic design at heart. Numerous lavish buildings were created during this time, combined with large gardens. The Dilkusha Palace within theArg was the first created by a British architect.[189] Its accompanyingclock tower,c. 1911, was also a British creation.[190]
Houses in Kabul during this time were generally made up of walled compounds, built around courtyards and having narrow passageways to places.[191]
In the 1920s, new styles were strongly influenced by European architectural styles due to kingAmanullah Khan's visits to Europe, particularly Berlin and Paris.Darul Aman Palace was the best known example of modern Western design. TheShah-Do Shamshira Mosque was built in an unusual style for a mosque in Western and Italian stylebaroque. TheTaq-e Zafar inPaghman and other landmarks there were also based on European designs.[189] Houses also became more open, without having many of the walls.[191] Later in the century, severalSoviet inspired designs made its way into Kabul. Most notable of these were the variousmicroraions built in the city in the 1960s and afterwards. A different flavor of modern style was seen on theHotel Inter-Continental Kabul andSerena Hotel.[189]
In the 21st century, modern designs based on glass facades became popular. Examples of this modern Western style were theKabul City Center andGolbahar Center. TheNational Assembly building opened in 2015 had elements of modern IslamicMughal architecture, considered to have the largest dome in Asia. The Indian architecture could also be influenced by the fact it was built by the government of India, but its carving and large porch represent Afghan traditional architectural forms.[189] The newMinistry of Defense building followed traditional, Islamic and Western designs inspired bythe Pentagon. Another mix of these designs appeared on thePaghman Hill Castle completed in 2014.[189] Increasing numbers of high rises have been built in this period, with the Kabul Markaz tower in 2020 becoming the city's first to break the 100 metres (330 ft) tall barrier.[192] The construction boom with modernhigh-rises throughout the 2010s had led to a major change in the city's skyline.[191]
Traditional hill dwellings
"Old Mikroyan", 1960s built
Ministry of Finance and Khyber Restaurant (1966)
Pamir Cinema building (Agricultural Development Bank)
TheAH76 highway (or Kabul-Charikar Highway) connected Kabul north towardsCharikar,Pol-e Khomri andMazar-i-Sharif (310 km (190 mi) away), with leading roads toKunduz (250 km (160 mi) away). TheAH77 highway went west towardsBamiyan Province (150 km (93 mi) away) andChaghcharan in the central mountains of Afghanistan. To the south-west, the Kabul-Ghazni Highway went toGhazni (130 km (81 mi) away) andKandahar (460 km (290 mi) away). To the south, the Kabul-Gardez Highway connected it toGardez (100 km (62 mi) away) andKhost. To the east, the Kabul-Jalalabad Highway went toJalalabad (120 km (75 mi) away) and across the border toPeshawar.
Much of the road network in downtown Kabul consisted of square or circle intersections (char-rahi). The main square in the city was Pashtunistan Square (named afterPashtunistan), which had a largefountain in it and was located adjacent to the presidential palace, theCentral Bank, and other landmarks.[193] TheMassoud Circle was located by theU.S. Embassy and had the road leading to the airport. In the old city, Sar-e Chawk roundabout was at the center of Maiwand Road (Jadayi Maiwand). Once all roads led to it, and in the 16th century was called the "navel of Kabul".[194] In theShahr-e Naw district there were several major intersections: Ansari, Haji Yaqub, Quwayi Markaz, Sedarat, and Turabaz Khan. The latter, named afterTurabaz Khan, connected Flower Street andChicken Street. There were also two major intersections in western Kabul: theDeh Mazang Circle andKote Sangi. Salang Watt was the main road to the north-west, whereas Asamayi Watt and Seh Aqrab (also called Sevom Aqrab) was the main road to western Kabul.
The steep population rise in the 21st century had caused major congestion problems for the city's roads.[195] In efforts to tackle this issue, a 95 km outerring road costing $110 million was approved in 2017.[196][197] Construction would have taken five years and it will run fromChar Asiab viaAhmad Shah Baba Mina,Deh Sabz ("Kabul New City" development area), the AH76 highway,Paghman and back to Char Asyab.[198] A new buspublic transport service was also planned to be opened in 2018 (see below).[199] In September 2017, the head of the Kabul Municipality announced that 286 meters of pedestrian overpassfootbridges will be built in eight busy areas "in the near future".[200]
Under the Kabul Urban Transport Efficiency Improvement Project that was signed in 2014 and backed by theWorld Bank, the city has seen widespread improvements in road conditions, including the building of new pedestrian sidewalks, drainage systems, lighting andasphalted road surfaces. The project runs until 31 December 2019.[201][202]
Private vehicles had been on the rise in Kabul since 2002, with about 700,000 cars registered as of 2013 and up to 80% of the cars reported to beToyota Corollas.[203][204][205] The number of dealerships had also increased from 77 in 2003 to over 550 by 2010.[206] Gas stations were mainly private-owned. Bicycles on the road were a common sight in the city.
Thetaxicabs in Kabul were painted in a white and yellow livery. The majority of these were older model Toyota Corollas. A few Soviet-era Russian cabs were also still in operation.
Long-distance road journeys were made by privateMercedes-Benz coach buses or vans, trucks and cars. Although a nationwide bus service was available from Kabul, flying was safer, especially for foreigners. The city's public bus service (Milli Bus / "National Bus") was established in the 1960s to takecommuters on daily routes to many destinations. The service had about 800 buses. The Kabul bus system had discovered a new source of revenue in whole-bus advertising fromMTN similar to "bus wrap" advertising on public transit in more developed nations. There was also an express bus that runs from downtown to Hamid Karzai International Airport forSafi Airways passengers.
An electrictrolleybus system operated in Kabul from February 1979 to 1992 usingŠkoda fleet built by aCzechoslovak company (seeTrolleybuses in Kabul for more). The trolleybus service was highly popular mainly due to its low price compared to the Millie Bus conventional bus service. The last trolleybus came to a halt in late 1992 due to warfare – much of thecopperoverhead wires were later looted but a few of them, including the steel poles, can still be seen in Kabul today.[150][207]
In June 2017 Kabul Municipality unveiled plans for anew bus rapid transit system, the first major urban public transportation scheme. It was expected to open by 2018,[208][209] but its construction had been hampered. In March 2021, a new city bus service was launched in Kabul using American vehicles built byIC Bus, and accompanied by newly builtbus stops throughout the city. Five buses entered service on one route which is expected to be expanded to a fleet of 200 buses on 16 different routes.[210][211]
Kabul city announced open calls through the Kabul municipality's HP and its Facebook page, to participate in town meeting and planning processKabul mayorMohammad Daud Sultanzoy speaking with league management during the inauguration ceremony of first ever internet-based solid waste discussion league in 2021Amemorandum of understanding signed by Kabul Citymayor Ahmad Zaki Sarfaraz andNagoya Institute of Technologyexecutive director in 2019
In 2019, theNagoya Institute of Technology, in partnership with the Kabul city Municipality, jointly agreed to deploy a digital platform, called D-Agree in urban planning to provide support for stakeholders to promote meaningful public participation and help reach consensus in Kabul city planning process.[212]
From September 2019 until theFall of Kabul (2021) in August 2021, the platform was used on behalf of Kabul Municipality to moderate more than 300 Kabul city-related planning discussions.[213][214][215][216][217][218][219]In these discussions, more than 15,000 citizens participated in planning activities hosted by D-Agree and generated more than 71,000 opinions which catalogued intoissue-based information system regarding urban-related thematic areas.[212]Despite theTaliban take-over, D-Agree will continue to play an important role in facilitating urban planning and infrastructure-related consultations.[220]
D-Agree, is a discussion support platform withartificial intelligence–based facilitation.[222] The discussion trees in D-Agree, inspired byissue-based information system, contain a combination of four types of elements: issues, ideas, pros, and cons.[222] The software extracts a discussion's structure in real time based on IBIS, automatically classifying all the sentences.[222]
TheMinistry of Education led byGhulam Farooq Wardak was responsible for the education system in Afghanistan.[223]Public andprivate schools in the city have reopened since 2002 after they were shut down or destroyed during fighting in the 1980s to the late 1990s. Boys and girls were strongly encouraged to attend school under theKarzai administration but many more schools were needed not only in Kabul but throughout the country. TheAfghan Ministry of Education had plans to build more schools in the coming years so that education was provided to all citizens of the country. High schools in Kabul included:
Abu Hanifa (born 7th century), prominent Islamic scholar and the founder of theHanafi school of jurisprudence, one of the four majorSunni legal schools, whose ancestors hailed from the Kabul region
Mir Zahid Harawi (born 17th century), religious scholar and historian, worked and died in Kabul
Saib Tabrizi (born c. 1592) Persian poet who spent several years in Kabul under the patronage of Mirzā Aḥsan-Allāh Ẓafar Khan, the governor of Kabul at the time
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^abcEverett-Heath, John, ed. (2020)."Kabul".Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Place Names (6 ed.). Oxford University Press.ISBN978-0-19-190563-6.Archived from the original on 3 May 2021. Retrieved13 February 2021.
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^"قصر تاجبیگ پس از بازسازی" (in Persian). 10 December 2020.Archived from the original on 29 June 2021. Retrieved1 September 2021 – via www.darivoa.com.
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