Old Kandahar

It is thought that the foundation of the citadel was laid out during the Iron Age, and it became a major fortress of the Achaemenid Empire.[2] It was conquered and refounded by Alexander the Great in 330 BC under the name Alexandria Arachosia.[2][3][4] and served as the local seat of power for many rulers in the last 2,000 years. It became part of many empires, including the Mauryans (322 BC–185 BC), Indo-Scythians (200 BC–400 AD), Sassanids, Arabs, Zunbils, Saffarids, Ghaznavids, Ghorids, Timurids, Mughals, Safavids, and others. It was one of the main cities of Arachosia, a historical region sitting in Greater Iran's southeastern lands and was also in contact with the Indus Valley Civilization. The city has been a frequent target for conquest because of its strategic location in Southern Asia and Central Asia, controlling the main trade route linking the Indian subcontinent with the Middle East, the rest of Central Asia and the Persian Gulf.[5]

The city was often fought over by the Safavids and the Mughals until 1709, when Mirwais Hotak made the region an independent kingdom and turned Kandahar into the capital of the Hotak dynasty. The city was destroyed by Nader Shah Afshar and his Afsharid forces in 1738 after defeating Shah Hussain Hotak, the last Hotak ruler. After the destruction of this old city all the remaining inhabitants were relocated to a nearby area which became known as "Naderabad" for a short time, named after Nader Shah Afshar. By 1750, Ahmad Shah Durrani had laid out the current city of Kandahar and turned it into the capital of his Durrani Empire.[6]

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  Plan of the citadel. This destroyed fortress is still standing today.
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  A miniature from Padshahnama depicting the surrender of the Safavids in 1638 to the Mughal army of Shah Jahan commanded by Kilij Khan.
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  An 1881 photo showing the ruined Old Kandahar citadel of Shah Hussain Hotak that was destroyed by the Afsharid forces of Nader Shah Afshar in 1738.
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  The citadel in 2018.

Important inscriptions in Greek, dating to the 3rd-2nd century BCE were discovered in or around the site of Old Kandahar, including the Kandahar Greek Edict of Ashoka, the Kandahar Bilingual Rock Inscription also from the time of the Indian ruler Ashoka, and the Kandahar Sophytos Inscription.

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  Kandahar Greek Edict of Ashoka
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  Kandahar Bilingual Rock Inscription
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  Kandahar Sophytos Inscription

• Kandahar
• Kandahar Province

Media related to Old Kandahar at Wikimedia Commons