Kandahar and Ghazni
قندهار و غزنیAncient Arachosia and the Pashtun south, from Kandahar to the Ghaznavid capital of Ghazni.
As Arachosia, this was an Achaemenid province, and Alexander founded a city here. Ghazni, to the north-east, was the capital of the Ghaznavid sultans, whose court welcomed Persian poets; according to tradition, Ferdowsi presented the Shahnameh to Sultan Mahmud and left disappointed.
The region's main language is Pashto, an Eastern Iranian language. Ahmad Shah Durrani made Kandahar the first capital of modern Afghanistan in 1747.
Cities and towns
Kandaharقندهار
The first capital of modern Afghanistan
Ghazniغزنی
The Ghaznavid capital
Landmarksبناها و نشانهها
Minarets of Ghazni
منارههای غزنیTwelfth-century minarets of the Ghaznavid capital
