ټول حقوق د منډيګک بنسټ سره محفوظ دي
President, Historical Society of Afghanistan
Publisher: Book Publishing Institution
With Cooperation by the Historical Society of Afghanistan Kabul 1967
Preface
A SHORT HISTORY OF AFGHANISTAN In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful Preface Afghanistan has been at the crossroads of different civilizations and cultures from pre-historic times and has acted as the cradle of human thought and discipline. During its long history many empires have risen from its soil which strived to maintain their independence and nationality through the turmoil of history.
For several years there has been a need to publish the history of Afghanistan comprehensively in one or two short volumes taking into account millenniums of the past to the present century. A book which would be useful to students and the general public and highlight true historical facts.
اړوند پوسټونه
When I was appointed president of the Afghan Historical Society last year, Mr. Mohammed Osman Sedk Mr. Mohammed Osmani, the Minister of Information and Culture of the time, informed me of the need for such a book. I immediately embarked on the project and started writing A Short History of Afghanistan.
In writing this book I used a large number of references in the Eastern and Western languages which are included in the bibliography. However, during the publication of this work, I ran into difficulties and had to omit certain passages and references. I mention this to assert that all the facts in the book are based on authentic sources.
Included are figures from various sources. It is my hope that those who read this book will find it useful. The first volume deals with pre-Islamic history and the Islamic era up to 600 Hijera (1222 AD).
The second volume deals with the last 700 years until the independence of Afghanistan. (Both volumes are presented in this translation together). While writing this book I strived to present historical facts in as much detail as possible bearing in mind that they are not lengthy. It is hoped that in future the writing of this book will pave the way for preparing a detailed history of the country, a sample of which is The History of Afghanistan After Islam, which was published last year.
It is a comprehensive treatment of the history of Afghanistan during the first two centuries after the advent of Islam in the country in one thousand pages.
Abdul Hay Habibi
Kabul, Jamal Mena, 1 Sunbula 1346 (September, 1967)
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