Qandahar Coin Pendant

Kandahar was founded by Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC. India and Persia long fought over the city, which was strategically located on the trade routes of Central Asia. It was conquered by Arabs in the 7th century and by the Turkic Ghaznavids in the 10th century, and Jenghiz Khan, commonly called “Genghis Khan”, sacked it in the 12th century. In the 18th century it was made the capital of the newly emerging Afghan Kingdom.

The old city of Qandahar was laid out by Ahmad Shah and is dominated by his octangular, domed mausoleum. Ahmad Shah pronounced as, Akhmad ShA was the Afghan ruler from 1747 until 1773. He became the founder of the Durani Dynasty following the death of his mentor, Nadir Shah of Iiran. As dynasties go, his was short, but he united and strengthened Afghanistan, and is therefore often considered its modern founder.