The Kite Runner Play Guide - Actors Theatre of Louisville

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Afghanistan Timeline6 th Century BCEThe Persians conquer ancientAfghanistan and introduce the Farsi/Dari language as well as epic poetry.Although The Shahnameh, the Persianpoem that Amir reads to Hassan,was not written until 1000 CE, itstems from the storytelling traditionestablished in this era.330 BCEAlexander the Great,in his conquest of thePersian Empire, invadesancient Afghanistan onhis way to the HinduKush mountains andIndia. Hellenistic(Greek) architectureis still found in somenorthern cities likeMazar-i-Sharif.652 CEThe Arab Conquest of the regionestablishes Islam as the dominantreligion.1st Century CEAfghan cities are stops alongthe Silk Road, a trade routethat reached from China to theMediterranean. Goods fromall over the known world travelthrough and are exchanged inAfghanistan.This mosque is a Muslim place of worship.Photo by Steve Evans1989The Soviets withdraw fromAfghanistan after a decade-longconflict that leaves the countrydevastated.1979The PDPA abolishment oftraditional Muslim customsinspires Mujahideenresistance groups to opposethe government. Fearingthey will be overthrown,the PDPA allows theSoviet Union to invadeAfghanistan to maintainCommunist dominance.1992The PDPA government collapsesand the country plunges into civilwar as rival Mujahideen factionsvie for control of the country. 1996The Talibanestablishes atheocracy basedon fundamentalistIslam.Under Taliban rule, women could be violently punished if theydid not wear the burqua.
18 th CenturyThe Durrani Empire, foundedand led by Pashtun tribal leaders,establishes Kabul as the capitaland unites many regions into amodern Afghan state.1220 CEGenghis Khan’s Mongol armyinvades Afghanistan as itsraids travel westward from theMongolian homeland in the east.At its height, the Mongol Empirestreches from the Sea of Japan tothe Danube River in Europe.19 th CenturyFearing thatAfghanistan wouldinvade their colony,India, the British adopta containment policytowards the country thatresults in frequent warsand occupations.1893The Durand Line Treaty defines theboundaries between Afghanistanand British-controlled India (whichthen includes Pakistan). Thismountainous location serves asthe basis for the modern Afghan-Pakistani border and makespolicing movement between the twocountries difficult.1978In the Saur Revolution, thecommunist People’s Democratic Partyof Afghanistan (PDPA) violentlyoverthrows the Daoud government,killing the prime minister.1973King Zahir’s cousin,Mohammad Daoud Khan, stagesa bloodless coup while the kingis abroad in Italy and declaresAfghanistan a republic.1946Kabul University becomesoperational as the first moderninstitution for higher education inAfghanistan and includes facultiesin Law, Agriculture, IslamicStudies, Literature, Economicsand Pharmacology.The flag of the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan2001Due to the Taliban’s refusal to handover Al-Qaeda operatives responsiblefor the September 11 th attacks onthe World Trade Center in NewYork City, the U.S. launches aninvasion of Afghanistan to oustthe Taliban and capture Al-Qaedaleaders. Hamid Karzai is selected asthe transitional leader and eventuallyis elected President of Afghanistan.The war in Afghanistan continuestoday and is now the longestrunningwar in U.S. history.2010Large deposits of minerals in Afghanistan,including lithium and copper, are estimatedto be worth nearly a trillion dollars. Whilethe full effects of this development remainto be seen, this could potentially transformthe Afghan economy and the country’sstanding in international politics.9
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The Kite Runner Play Guide - Actors Theatre of Louisville

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