Ten years of USSR occupation, 20 years of US occupation and a dangerous interregnum of devastation caused by hidden landmines and militia infighting. A brutal 42 years. It is impossible for anyone to comprehend how Afghanistan resisted for so long.

Since all three superpowers with vested interests, Britain in the 19th century and USSR and USA in the 20th and 21st centuries, failed to subdue Afghanistan, one hopes that the Afghans will be left at last, to find their own equilibrium.

The main actors of resistance during the two occupations — the Mujahidin and the Taliban — have come to represent the image of Afghanistan. They are, in effect armies, while it is civilians who determine society and culture.

Tamin Ansary, author of Games without Rules: The Often-Interrupted History of Afghanistan recognises that there is a nostalgia for a past that can never be restored. However, he says, “That does not mean we should ignore what that nostalgia craves.”

So, what is Afghanistan when you peel back the layers of war and occupation? The Rigveda mentions the Pakta (which may be Pakhtun), the Greek historian Herodotus refers to Pakteus, the Sassanians called them Abgan, and the traveler Hiuen-Tsang uses the name Avakan. The Indus Civilisation extended into Afghanistan. The Aryans, like many others after, entered India through Afghanistan, once called Ariana.

The Kushan kingdom extended from Bactria (Balkh) to Mathura in Northern India. The region was conquered by Darius II, Alexander, Turkic tribes, Genghis Khan, Timur, Mauryas, Hindu Shahi rulers and even Babar, who is buried in his beloved Kabul. Until the Muslims arrived in the 7th and 8th centuries, the people were largely Buddhist.

These culturally diverse conquerors contributed to the complex demography as they settled in this land. For centuries, the Silk Route established connections from the Mediterranean to China. The earliest mention of the name Afghanistan was in the 13th century, as a country between Khorasan and Hind.

The oasis of Balkh, a key stop on the Silk Route, became a Hellenistic capital, and was renowned as the cradle of Sufism. Balkh, along with Merv in Turkmenistan, became a centre for Arab settlers and a hub of commerce, learning and culture. It was called Umm al-Bilaad (Mother of Cities) and Qubbat-ul-Islam (Dome of Islam). Balkh was home to Rbi’a Balkh, the first woman poet of Persian poetry. It was the birthplace of Rumi and possibly where Zoroaster began preaching.

Herat, was a thriving city of culture with its own poets, such as Jami, as well as Sufis, including the 11th century Sufi saint Abdullah Ansari, known as Pir-i-Herat [The Saint of Herat]. Rumi called Herat “the pearl of Khorasan.” It had its most creative period under Timurid rule. Both Balkh and Herat had branches of the famous Nizamiyyah University. When Herat was conquered by the Uzbeks, many scholars fled. When another Timurid, Babar, conquered Kabul, they flocked there and followed him to India. It has been said Herat was reborn in the Mughal court of India.

Beautiful hand-blown Herat glass preserves the 2,700-year-old Mesopotamian formula. And although the years of war have tragically disrupted the local industry, it has discovered a market in Japan via Pakistan.

The now infamous Bagram (Kapisa) may perhaps be once again known as an archaeological site — the summer capital of the Kushans.

Afghanistan is known the world over for its beautiful rugs and kilims woven by Turkman and Afghan Baluch women. The women weavers even created war carpets expressing the horrors of the Soviet invasion, inserting subtle designs of tanks, machine guns, helicopters and landmines. An Afghan carpet trader in Karachi said US cluster bombs destroyed many herds of sheep, halting the production of rugs till new herds could be formed.

The most fascinating export from Afghanistan is lapis lazuli, mined in the remote Sar-i-Sang valley, the only source for the exquisite blue stone till the 18th century. It was used by the ancient Egyptians and Babylonians for jewellery and amulets as a defence against the evil eye. Cleopatra used it as eyeshadow. Renaissance artists ground it to create the brilliant blue reserved for the clothing of the Madonna. An ounce of lapis costs the same as an ounce of gold.

As scholar Arezou Azad says, “Place is not a static thing. It is created and recreated over time.” One can only hope the Afghan people can put war behind them and restore the rich and diverse culture of their land.

Durriya Kazi is a Karachi-based artist. She may be reached at durriyakazi1918@gmail.com

Published in Dawn, EOS, September 19th, 2021