Columbia University
Columbia University is a private Ivy League research university in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It was established in 1754 as Kings College by royal charter of George II of Great Britain, after the American Revolutionary War, Kings College briefly became a state entity, and was renamed Columbia College in 1784. Columbia is one of the fourteen founding members of the Association of American Universities and was the first school in the United States to grant the M. D. degree. The university has global research outposts in Amman, Istanbul, Mumbai, Rio de Janeiro, Asunción, Columbia administers annually the Pulitzer Prize. Additionally,100 Nobel laureates have been affiliated with Columbia as students, faculty, Columbia is second only to Harvard University in the number of Nobel Prize-winning affiliates, with over 100 recipients of the award as of 2016. In 1746 an act was passed by the assembly of New York to raise funds for the foundation of a new college. Classes were initially held in July 1754 and were presided over by the colleges first president, Dr.
Johnson was the only instructor of the colleges first class, which consisted of a mere eight students. Instruction was held in a new schoolhouse adjoining Trinity Church, located on what is now lower Broadway in Manhattan, in 1763, Dr. Johnson was succeeded in the presidency by Myles Cooper, a graduate of The Queens College, and an ardent Tory. In the charged political climate of the American Revolution, his opponent in discussions at the college was an undergraduate of the class of 1777. The suspension continued through the occupation of New York City by British troops until their departure in 1783. The colleges library was looted and its sole building requisitioned for use as a hospital first by American. Loyalists were forced to abandon their Kings College in New York, the Loyalists, led by Bishop Charles Inglis fled to Windsor, Nova Scotia, where they founded Kings Collegiate School. After the Revolution, the college turned to the State of New York in order to restore its vitality, the Legislature agreed to assist the college, and on May 1,1784, it passed an Act for granting certain privileges to the College heretofore called Kings College.
The Regents finally became aware of the colleges defective constitution in February 1787 and appointed a revision committee, in April of that same year, a new charter was adopted for the college, still in use today, granting power to a private board of 24 Trustees. On May 21,1787, William Samuel Johnson, the son of Dr. Samuel Johnson, was unanimously elected President of Columbia College, prior to serving at the university, Johnson had participated in the First Continental Congress and been chosen as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention. The colleges enrollment and academics stagnated for the majority of the 19th century, with many of the college presidents doing little to change the way that the college functioned. In 1857, the college moved from the Kings College campus at Park Place to a primarily Gothic Revival campus on 49th Street and Madison Avenue, during the last half of the 19th century, under the leadership of President F. A. P. Barnard, the institution assumed the shape of a modern university
Abdur Rahman Khan
Abdur Rahman Khan was Emir of Afghanistan from 1880 to 1901. He was the son of Mohammad Afzal Khan, and grandson of Dost Mohammad Khan. Abdur Rahman Khan re-established the writ of the Afghan government after the disarray that followed the second Anglo-Afghan war and he became known as The Iron Amir after defeating a number of rebellions by various tribes who were led by his relatives. At first, the new Amir was quietly recognized, but after a few months, Afzal Khan raised an insurrection in the north of the country, where he had been governing when his father died. This began a fierce internecine conflict for power between Dost Mohammads sons, which lasted for five years. The Musahiban are descendants of Dost Mohammad Khans older brother, Sultan Mohammad Khan Telai, Abdur Rahman distinguished himself for his ability and energetic daring. Sher Ali threw Afzal Khan into prison, and a serious revolt followed in southern Afghanistan, after some delay and desultory fighting, he and his uncle, Azam Khan, occupied Kabul in March 1866.
Notwithstanding the new Amirs incapacity, and some jealousy between the leaders, Abdur Rahman and his uncle, they again routed Sher Alis forces. When Afzal Khan died at the end of the year, Azam Khan became the new ruler, with Abdur Rahman installed as Governor in the northern province. But towards the end of 1868 Sher Alis return, and a rising in his favour, resulted in Abdur Rahman. Both sought refuge to the east in Central Asia, whence Abdur Rahman placed himself under Russian protection at Samarkand, Azam died eventually in Kabul in October 1869. Abdur Rahman lived in exile in Tashkent, the governor-general of Tashkent sent for Abdur Rahman and motivated him by bringing up the blessing of Jacob, Abdurs patriarch. He was being told to cross the Oxus and claim throne for Amir, after some negotiations, and an interview with Lepel Griffin, the diplomatic representative at Kabul of the Indian government. Griffin described Abdur Rahman as a man of middle height, with an exceedingly intelligent face and frank and courteous manners, the British evacuation of Afghanistan was settled on the terms proposed, and in 1881, the British troops handed over Kandahar to the new Amir.
However, Ayub Khan, one of Sher Ali Khans sons, marched upon that city from Herat, defeated Abdur Rahmans troops and this serious reverse roused the Amir, who had not at first displayed much activity. He led a force from Kabul, met Ayubs army close to Kandahar, the powerful Ghilzai tribe revolted against the severity of his measures several times. In that same year, Ayub Khan made a fruitless inroad from Persia, Abdur Rahmans attitude at this critical juncture is a good example of his political sagacity. He published his autobiography in 1885, which served more as a guide for princes than anything else
Kandahar
Kandahar or Qandahar is the second-largest city in Afghanistan, with a population of about 491,500 as of 2012. Formerly called Alexandria Arachosia, the city is named after Alexander the Great, Kandahar is the capital of Kandahar Province, located in the south of the country at an altitude of 1,010 m above sea level. The Arghandab River runs along the west of the city, the city of Kandahar has a population of 557,118. It has 15 districts and a land area of 27,337 hectares. The total number of dwellings in Kandahar is 61,902, Kandahar is one of the most culturally significant cities of the Pashtuns and has been their traditional seat of power for more than 200 years. It is a trading center for sheep, cotton, felt, food grains and dried fruit. The region produces fine fruits, especially pomegranates and grapes, and the city has plants for canning and packing fruit, the area is believed to be the birthplace of cannabis indica. The region around Kandahar is one of the oldest known human settlements, Alexander the Great had laid-out the foundation of what is now Old Kandahar in the 4th century BC and gave it the Ancient Greek name Αλεξάνδρεια Aραχωσίας.
Many empires have long fought over the city due to its location along the trade routes of southern, central. In 1709, Mirwais Hotak made the region an independent kingdom, in 1747, Ahmad Shah Durrani, founder of the last Afghan empire, made it the capital of modern Afghanistan. A temple to the deified Alexander as well as an inscription in Greek and Aramaic by Emperor Ashoka, Ibn Batutta mentions Kandahar in the 14th century by describing it as a large and prosperous town three nights journey from Ghazni. It has been mentioned extensively by Mughal Emperor Babur and others, an alternative story describes Khandahar as Gandhara in Mahabharata ruled by Suvala and by Shakuni. The princess of Hastinapur, Gandhari was born in Gandhara, a folk etymology offered is that the word kand or qand in Persian and Pashto means candy. The name Candahar or Kandahar in this form probably translates to candy area and this probably has to do with the location being fertile and historically known for producing fine grapes, apricots and other sweet fruits.
Ernst Herzfeld claimed Kandahar perpetuated the name of the Indo-Parthian king Gondophares, excavations of prehistoric sites by archaeologists such as Louis Dupree and others suggest that the region around Kandahar is one of the oldest human settlements known so far. Early peasant farming villages came into existence in Afghanistan ca.5000 B. C. or 7000 years ago, deh Morasi Ghundai, the first prehistoric site to be excavated in Afghanistan, lies 27 km southwest of Kandahar. Another Bronze Age village mound site with multiroomed mud-brick buildings dating from the same period sits nearby at Said Qala, Bronze Age pottery and bronze horse trappings and stone seals were found in the lowermost levels in the nearby cave called Shamshir Ghar. In the Seistan, southwest of these Kandahar sites, two teams of American archaeologists discovered sites relating to the 2nd millennium B. C, while the Diadochi were warring amongst themselves, the Mauryan Empire was developing in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent
Sher Ali Khan
Sher Ali Khan was Amir of Afghanistan from 1863 to 1866 and from 1868 until his death in 1879. He was the son of Dost Mohammed Khan, founder of the Barakzai Dynasty in Afghanistan. Sher Ali Khan initially seized power when his father died, but was ousted by his older brother. Internecine warfare followed until Sher Ali defeated his brother and regained the title of Emir and his rule was hindered by pressure from both Britain and Russia, though Sher Ali attempted to keep Afghanistan neutral during their conflict. In 1878, the neutrality fell apart and the Second Anglo-Afghan War erupted, as British forces marched on Kabul, Sher Ali Khan decided to leave Kabul to seek political asylum in Russia. He died in Mazar-e Sharif, leaving the throne to his son Mohammad Yaqub Khan, Sher Ali was closely affiliated to the modern-day region of the Pothohar Plateau in Pakistan. He married one of his daughters to a prominent tribal chief of the Gakhars, after independence, the Gakhars tribe became part of Pakistan.
List of leaders of Afghanistan The Great Game Profile, Amir Sher Ali Khan
Barakzai dynasty
The two branches of the Barakzai dynasty ruled modern day Afghanistan from 1826 to 1973 when the monarchy ended under Musahiban Mohammad Zahir Shah. The Barakzai dynasty was established by Dost Mohammad Khan after the Durrani dynasty of Ahmad Shah Durrani was removed from power. During this era, Afghanistan saw much of its territory lost to the British in the south and east, Persia in the west, there were many conflicts within Afghanistan, including the three major Anglo-Afghan Wars and the 1929 civil war. The Barakzai dynasty was the line of rulers in Afghanistan in the 19th and 20th centuries, following the fall of the Durrani Empire in 1826, chaos reigned in the domains of Ahmed Shah Durranis Afghan Empire as various sons of Timur Shah struggled for supremacy. The Afghan Empire ceased to exist as a nation state. Dost Mohammad Khan gained preeminence in 1826 and founded the Barakzai dynasty in about 1837, his descendants ruled in direct succession until 1929, when King Amanullah Khan abdicated and his cousin Mohammed Nadir Shah was elected king.
The most prominent & powerful sub-clan of the Barakzai Pashtun tribe is the Mohamedzai clan, Gul Agha Sherzai is the Khan of the Barakzai tribe. He is Senior Advisor to the President of Afghanistan and Governor of Nangarhar Province, a family of Barakzai Tribe is residing in village Tordher of District Swabi of Khyber PukhtoonKhwa. Mohammadzai are the most prominent & powerful sub-tribe of Barakzai, they belong to the branch of the Durrani confederacy and they can be found in other provinces throughout Afghanistan as well across the border in the Pakistans Balochistan Province. Musahiban are the descendants of Sultan Muhammed Khan, ruler of Peshawar, Mohammadzai Barakzai are closely related to Amanullah Khan. The family of Nadir and Zahir Shah, the Tarzi family is a branch of the Mohammadzai of Afghanistan. Although a smaller branch of the Barakzai ruling dynasty, the Tarzi family has produced some of the most famous, Dari Persian was used as the language for records and correspondence, until the late nineteenth century tombstones were inscribed in Dari.
The language of the Barakzai tribes in Pishin, Quetta and those who have settled away from Pishin speak local languages, such as Multani or Saraiki in Multan, Hindko in Hazara, Urdu in Bhopal and Sindhi in Sindh. Barakzai, a dialect of Pashto, is the language spoken by Harnai Barakzai
Mohammed Zahir Shah
Mohammed Zahir Shah was the last King of Afghanistan, reigning from 8 November 1933 until he was deposed on 17 July 1973. He established friendly relations with countries and tried to modernize his country. While staying in Italy for medical treatment, Zahir Shah was overthrown in a coup by his cousin and former prime minister. He remained in exile near Rome until 2002, returning to Afghanistan after the end of the Taliban and he was given the title Father of the Nation, which he held until his death in 2007. Zahir Shah was born on 15 October 1914, in Kabul, Nadir Shah assumed the throne after the execution of Habibullah Ghazi on 10 October 1929. Mohammed Zahirs father, son of Sardar Mohammad Yusuf Khan, was born in Dehradun, British India, Nadir Shah was a descendant of Sardar Sultan Mohammed Khan Telai, half-brother of Amir Dost Mohammad Khan. His grandfather Mohammad Yahya Khan was in charge of the negotiations with the British resulting in the Treaty of Gandamak, during the reign of Amir Habibullah they received the title of Companions of the King.
Zahir Shah was educated in a class for princes at Habibia High School in Kabul. He continued his education in France where his father had served as an envoy, studying at the Pasteur Institute. When he returned to Afghanistan he helped his father and uncles restore order and he was enrolled at an Infantry School and appointed a privy counsellor. Zahir Shah served in the government positions of deputy war minister and minister of education, Zahir Shah was fluent in Pashto and French. Zahir Khan was proclaimed King on 8 November 1933 at the age of 19, after his ascension to the throne he was given the regnal title He who puts his trust in God, follower of the firm religion of Islam. For the first thirty years he did not effectively rule, ceding power to his uncles, Mohammad Hashim Khan. By the end of the 1930s, agreements on foreign assistance and trade had reached with many countries, most notably with the Axis powers, Italy. Zahir Shah provided aid and Afghan fighters to the Uighur, all the Afghan volunteers were killed by the Chinese Muslim troops, who abolished the First East Turkestan Republic, and reestablished Chinese government control over the area.
After the end of the Second World War, Zahir Shah recognised the need for the modernisation of Afghanistan, during this period Afghanistans first modern university was founded. During his reign a number of advances and reforms were derailed as a result of factionalism. The title AlMutawakkil ala Allah, The leaner on Allah is taken from the Quran, Sura 8, by the time he returned to Afghanistan during the twenty-first century, his rule was characterized by a lengthy span of peace, but with no significant progress
Soraya Tarzi
Soraya Tarzi, known mostly as Queen Soraya, was the Queen consort of Afghanistan in the early 20th century and the wife of King Amanullah Khan. Born in Syria, she was educated by her father, who was the Afghan leader and she belonged to the Mohammadzai Pashtun tribe, a powerful sub-tribe of the Barakzai dynasty. Soraya Tarzi was born on November 24,1899, in Damascus and she was the daughter of the Afghan political figure Sardar Mahmud Tarzi, and granddaughter of Sardar Ghulam Muhammad Tarzi. She studied in Syria, learning Western and modern values there and this is because the Tarzi family promoted the modernization of Afghanistan. Upon her familys return to Afghanistan, Soraya Tarzi would meet, after the Tarzis returned to Afghanistan, they were received at Court as wished by the Amir Habibullah Khan. This is where Soraya Tarzi met Prince Amanullah, son of the Amir Habibullah Khan, the prince, who was a sympathiser of Mahmud Tarzis liberal ideas, married Soraya Tarzi in August 1913. Soraya Tarzi was King Amanullah Khans only wife, which broke centuries of tradition and it was when she married into the monarchy that she grew to be one of the regions most important figures.
When the prince became Amir in 1919 and subsequently King in 1926 and he had her take part in all national events. He was said, ”I am your king, but the Minister of Education is my wife—your Queen”, Queen Soraya was the first Muslim consort who appeared in public together with her husband, something which was unheard of at the time. She participated with him in the parties, riding on horseback. She was present at military parades with the king, during the war of Independence, she visited the tents of wounded soldiers, talked to them, offered them presents and comfort. She accompanied the king even in some provinces of the country. In 1928 Queen Soraya received an Honorary Degree from University of Oxford, as Queen of Afghanistan, she was not only filling a position – but became one of the most influential women in the world at the time. Because of the reforms King Amanullah Khan instituted, the religious sects grew violent. In 1929, the King abdicated in order to prevent a civil war, the king and queens first stop was India, which was part of the British Empire.
There, the sovereigns were applauded everywhere they went by thousands of Indian people, there was ovation from the Indian women who were crying and shouting the name of Soraya without mentioning Queen. Amanullah drew up the first constitution, establishing the basis for the structure of the government. Amanullah was influenced and encouraged by Mahmud Tarzi in his endeavors, Tarzi was specifically instrumental in designing and implementing changes pertaining to women through his personal example of monogamy
International Standard Book Number
The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay.
The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces.
Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
Pashtun tribes
The Pashtun tribes or Afghan tribes are the large family units of the Eastern Iranian ethnic groups who use the Pashto language and follow Pashtunwali code of conduct. They are found primarily in Afghanistan and Pakistan and form the worlds largest tribal society, comprising over 49 million people and they are traditionally divided into four tribal confederacies, the Sarbani, the Bettani, the Gharghashti, and the Karlani. There are several levels of organisation of Pashtun tribes, the tribe is subdivided into kinship groups, each of which is a khel and zai. A khel or Zai is further divided into Plarina each of which consists of extended families. Tarbur refers to a split into two or more clans and Tarbur mean cousin in Pashto so Tarbur could be enemy as well in the Pashtun culture that they can occupy your land or property. Every Pashtun tribe is divide into subtribes, called khel or zai, in Avestan it is similar to Pashto Zoi meaning son or offspring. William Crooke has said that khel is from an Arabic word meaning association or company, a khel is often based in a single village, but it may be based on a larger area including several villages, or part of a town.
Plarina is related to the Bactrian term plār, which derives from Old Iranian piðar, the plural form of plār is plārina. A plārina is considered only when the 7th generation is born, the 7th forefather is assumed to take from one-and-a-half century to two centuries. Kul is the smallest unit in Pashtun tribal system, named after an ancestor of 1, once the fourth generation is born, it would be labelled a family or kūl. The Bettani speak various Pashto dialects, the Ghilji or of the central region around Paktika speak Central Pashto, a dialect with unique phonetic features, transitional between the southern and the northern dialects of Pashto. The Sheerani tribe of the Bettani confederacy speaks another southern dialect, the northern Bettani clans speak the northern or hard Pashto variety. Some of the Bettani lineages, including clans of the Niazi, Tanoli. Today they speak other languages, like Hindko, Punjabi, the Gharghashti Kakar and Musakhel and other minor settled in the region around Quetta speak dialect, which is a soft Pashto dialect very similar to Kandahari Pashto.
The Safi, some of the Jaduns, and some other minor northern Gharghashti tribes speak the northern or hard Pashto variety, the Jaduns, living on the Mahabun mountain slopes around Swabi speak Pashto, while those living in Hazara speak Pashto and Hindko. Some clans of the Safi tribe speak the Pashayi languages but are mostly bilingual in Pashto, the Karlani speak some of the most distinctive Pashto dialects which are lexically different from standard Pashto varieties, and phonetically very varied. Furthermore, the Karlani dialects have a tendency towards a change in the pronunciation of vowels, depending on the particular dialect, the standard Pashto, may change into, respectively. In the Karlani dialects of Waziristan and Tani, which follow the vowel shift to the greatest extent, these four vowels normally change into, respectively
Durrani
Durrani or Abdali is the name of a prominent Sarbani Pashtun tribal confederation in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Originally known by their ancient name Abdali & Madhyaal, which may derive from the more ancient Ebodalo and they have been called Durrani since the beginning of the Durrani Empire in 1747. The number of Durrani is estimated to be roughly 16% of the population of Afghanistan or 5 million individuals. Durrani are found throughout Afghanistan and Pakistan, although large concentrations are found in southern Afghanistan, they are found to a lesser extent in east, west. Many Durranis are found in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab provinces of Pakistan, the Durrani Pashtuns of the Afghan capital Kabul are usually bilingual in Pashto and Dari Persian. The ruling Sadozai and Barakzai dynasties of Afghanistan were originally from the Durrani, the Pashtuns believe that they are descended from the common ancestor Qais Abdur Rashid. In the case of the Tareen, they believe they are descended from his first son, his son Sharkhbun, and his son Tareen, Tareen had a number of sons, who correspond with the major divisions of the tribe.
One was named Bor Tareen, renamed Abdali, who is the founder of the Durrani tribe. Thus, the Abdali/Durrani are in effect descended from the elder Tareen lineage and they were known in the past as Abdalis, from approximately the 7th century until the mid-18th century when Ahmad Shah Durrani was chosen as the new Emir and the Durrani Empire was established. One of Ahmad Shahs first acts as Emir was to adopt the title padshah durr-i durran and he united the Pashtun tribes following a loya jirga in western Kandahar and changed his own name from Ahmad Shah Abdali to Ahmad Shah Durrani. Since that period, the kings of Afghanistan have been of Durrani extraction, the origin of the Abdali is probably the Hephthalites. The Zirak line begins with Sulaiman Zirak Khan, Zirak was father of Popalzai and Alakozai. The Durranis were the most divided Pashtun tribe during the rule of the Ghilji, according to Hayat Khans history of Afghanistan from their progenitor Bor Tarin, otherwise known as Abdal, are descended their two main divisions the Zirak and the Panjpai.
The term Abdal, gradually superseded that of Bor Tareen and came into prominence when Ahmad Shah Abdali Sadozai/Popalzai commonly known as Durrani. Since then, their organization has remained distinct and it is still used, though sparingly, for the Achakzai, who have become localised in Toba and are regarded as a separate political unit from the rest of the Tarin/Tareens. The Musahiban branch from Durrani, Sadozai Abdali tribe is the tribe Ahmad Shah Abdali was from. The Durrani Tareen tribe is divided into two branches Panjpai and Zirak, Durrani tribes of the Zirak branch include Popalzai, Barakzai, Bamozai and Achakzai. The Panjpai branch are mainly found in the western Kandahar and Farah area, and they include Alizai, Ishakzai or Sakzai, and Maku
Pakistan
Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a federal parliamentary republic in South Asia on the crossroads of Central Asia and Western Asia. It is the sixth-most populous country with a population exceeding 200 million people, in terms of area, it is the 33rd-largest country in the world with an area covering 881,913 square kilometres. It is separated from Tajikistan by Afghanistans narrow Wakhan Corridor in the north, Pakistan is unique among Muslim countries in that it is the only country to have been created in the name of Islam. As a result of the Pakistan Movement led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah and it is an ethnically and linguistically diverse country, with a similarly diverse geography and wildlife. Initially a dominion, Pakistan adopted a constitution in 1956, becoming an Islamic republic, an ethnic civil war in 1971 resulted in the secession of East Pakistan as the new country of Bangladesh. The new constitution stipulated that all laws were to conform to the injunctions of Islam as laid down in the Quran.
Pakistan has an economy with a well-integrated agriculture sector. The Pakistani economy is the 24th-largest in the world in terms of purchasing power and it is ranked among the emerging and growth-leading economies of the world, and is backed by one of the worlds largest and fastest-growing middle classes. The post-independence history of Pakistan has been characterised by periods of military rule, the country continues to face challenging problems such as illiteracy and corruption, but has substantially reduced poverty and terrorism and expanded per capita income. It is a member of CERN. Pakistan is a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol, the Paris Agreement, the name Pakistan literally means land of the pure in Urdu and Persian. It is a play on the word pāk meaning pure in Persian and Pashto, the letter i was incorporated to ease pronunciation and form the linguistically correct and meaningful name. Some of the earliest ancient human civilisations in South Asia originated from areas encompassing present-day Pakistan, the earliest known inhabitants in the region were Soanian during the Lower Paleolithic, of whom stone tools have been found in the Soan Valley of Punjab.
The Vedic Civilization, characterised by Indo-Aryan culture, laid the foundations of Hinduism, Multan was an important Hindu pilgrimage centre. The Vedic civilisation flourished in the ancient Gandhāran city of Takṣaśilā, the Indo-Greek Kingdom founded by Demetrius of Bactria included Gandhara and Punjab and reached its greatest extent under Menander, prospering the Greco-Buddhist culture in the region. Taxila had one of the earliest universities and centres of education in the world. At its zenith, the Rai Dynasty of Sindh ruled this region, the Pala Dynasty was the last Buddhist empire, under Dharampala and Devapala, stretched across South Asia from what is now Bangladesh through Northern India to Pakistan. The Arab conqueror Muhammad bin Qasim conquered the Indus valley from Sindh to Multan in southern Punjab in 711 AD, the Pakistan governments official chronology identifies this as the time when the foundation of Pakistan was laid
Dost Mohammad Khan (Emir of Afghanistan)
Dost Mohammad Khan was the founder of the Barakzai dynasty and one of the prominent rulers of Afghanistan during the First Anglo-Afghan War. With the decline of the Durrani dynasty, he became Emir of Afghanistan from 1826 to 1839, an ethnic Pashtun, he was the 11th son of Sardar Payendah Khan who was killed in 1799 by Zaman Shah Durrani. Dost Mohammads grandfather was Hajji Jamal Khan, the Musahiban family started with his older brother, Sultan Muhammad Khan, nicknamed Telai, meaning golden, a nickname he was given because of his love of fine clothing. This brother was the ruler of Peshawar, Dost Mohammad Khan was born to an influential family on 23 December 1793 in Kandahar, Durrani Empire. His father, Payindah Khan, was chief of the Barakzai tribe and their family can be traced back to Abdal, through Hajji Jamal Khan, Yaru, Omar Khan, Khisar Khan, Nek, Daru and Barak. Abdal had Four sons, Barak, Dost Mohmmad Khans mother is believed to have been a Shia from the Persian Qizilbash group. His elder brother, the chief of the Barakzai, Fatteh Khan, took an important part in raising Mahmud Shah Durrani to the sovereignty of Afghanistan in 1800 and in restoring him to the throne in 1809.
Dost Mohammad accompanied his brother and Prime Minister of Kabul Wazir Fateh Khan to the Battle of Attock against the invading Sikhs. Mahmud Shah repaid Fatteh Khans services by having him assassinated in 1818, after a bloody conflict, Mahmud Shah was deprived of all his possessions but Herat, the rest of his dominions being divided among Fatteh Khans brothers. Of these, Dost Mohammad received Ghazni, to which in 1826 he added Kabul, in 1834 Shah Shujah made a last attempt to recover his kingdom. He was defeated by Dost Mohammad Khan under the walls of Kandahar, Dost Mohammad sent his son Akbar Khan to defeat the Sikhs at the Battle of Jamrud in 1837. The non- recovery of the Jamrud Fort became the Afghan Amirs worst concern, at the intersection of British, Russian and, to a lesser degree, French imperial interests, political maneuvering was necessary. Rejecting overtures from Russia, he endeavoured to form an alliance with Great Britain, however, was unable to prevail on the governor-general, Lord Auckland, to respond to the emirs advances.
Dost Mohammad was enjoined to abandon the attempt to recover Peshawar and he replied by renewing his relations with Russia, and in 1838 Lord Auckland set the British troops in motion against him. To enable such an action, the British manufactured the evidence needed to justify the overthrow of the Afghan ruler, Dost Muhammad erected a fort at Ali Masjid at the other end. In the beginning of 1837, as Prince Nau Nihal Singh returned to Lahore to get married, Dost Muhammad Khan sent a 25,000 strong force, including a large number of local irregulars and equipped with 18 heavy guns, to invest Jam rud. The Sikh garrison there had only 600 men and a few artillery pieces. The Afghans besieged the fort and cut off its water supply, mahan Singh Mirpuri, the garrison commander of Jamrud, kept the invaders at bay for four days and managed meanwhile to send a desperate appeal for help to Hari Singh Nalva at Peshawar
