Kandahar

Kandahar کندهار قندهار
City
Top to bottom and left to right: Friday Mosque of Kandahar, The Eidgah Jaami Jumat at Kandahar University, Tomb of Ahmad Shah Durrani, aerial view over the Mausoleum of Baba Wali, a Mosque in Kandahar
Flag Seal
Motto:  City of the War
Kandahar Location in Afghanistan Show map of Afghanistan Kandahar Kandahar (West and Central Asia) Show map of West and Central Asia Kandahar Kandahar (South Asia) Show map of South Asia Kandahar Kandahar (Asia) Show map of Asia
Coordinates: 31°37′12″N 65°42′57″E / 31.62000°N 65.71583°E / 31.62000; 65.71583
Country	Afghanistan
Province	Kandahar
District	Kandahar
Government
• Type	Municipality
• Governor	Mullah Shirin Akhund
Area
• Total	273.37 km2 (105.55 sq mi)
Elevation	1,010 m (3,310 ft)
Population  (2015)
• Total	614,118[1]
• Density	2,400/km2 (6,200/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+04:30 (Afghanistan Time)
Postal Code	38XX
Website	kandahar-m.gov.af

Kandahar (English: /ˈkændəhɑːr/; Pashto: کندهار, romanized: Kandahār; Dari: قندهار, romanized: Qandahār) is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on Arghandab River, at an elevation of 1,010 m (3,310 ft). It is Afghanistan's second largest city, after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118 in 2015.^[1] It is the capital of Kandahar Province and the centre of the larger cultural region called Loy Kandahar.

The region around Kandahar is one of the oldest known areas of human settlement. A major fortified city existed at the site of Kandahar, probably as early as c. 1000–750 BC,^[2] and it became an important outpost of the Achaemenid Empire in the 6th century BC.^[3] Alexander the Great laid the foundation of what is now Old Kandahar (in the southern section of the city) in the 4th century BC and named it Alexandria Arachosia. Many empires have long fought over the city due to its strategic location along the trade routes of southern, central and western Asia. In 1709, Mirwais Hotak made the region an independent kingdom and made Kandahar the capital of the Hotak dynasty. In 1747, Ahmad Shah Durrani, founder of the Durrani dynasty, made Kandahar the capital of the Afghan Empire.^[4][5]

Kandahar is the founding city and spiritual center of the Taliban. Despite the capital of Afghanistan being Kabul, where the government administration is based, Kandahar is the seat of power in Afghanistan as the supreme leader and his spiritual advisers are based there. Kandahar has therefore been called the de facto capital of Afghanistan, though the Taliban maintain Kabul as the official capital.^[6]

Kandahar is one of the most culturally significant cities of the Pashtuns community and has been their traditional seat of power for more than 300 years. It is a major trading center for fresh and dried fruit, including food grains, sheep, wool, cotton, silk, and felt. The region produces fine fruits, especially pomegranates and grapes, and the city has plants for canning, drying, and packing fruits.^[7][8]