List of castles in Afghanistan

This is a list of fortifications in Afghanistan, including fortresses and castles, arranged alphabetically.

List

[edit]
Castle Location Type Constructed/
earliest mention 		Notes Image
Arg Kabul Presidential palace 1880 The Arg means 'citadel' in Pashto. The Arg was built after the destruction of the Bala Hissar in 1880 by the British Indian troops.
Bagh-e Bala Palace Kabul Palace 1893 Former royal palace built by Emir Abdur Rahman Khan.
Bala Hissar Kabul Fort 5th century The estimated date of construction is around the 5th century AD.[1]
Chihil Sutun Kabul Palace 1888 Historic maps also refer to the palace as Hendaki.[2]
Citadel of Ghazni Ghazni Citadel 13th century It was built in the 13th century surrounding Ghazni to form a walled city.[3]
Darul Aman Palace Kabul Palace 1927 In 2019, the palace was fully renovated for the 100th year of Afghan Independence, which was on the 19th of August, 2019.[4][5]
Farah Citadel Farah Citadel Also known as the Citadel of Alexander, and locally known as Shar-e-Farahdun. Some claim it was built by Alexander the Great. Others say the citadel is to have been built by Zoroastrian warriors in the time of Darius the Great (reigned 522-486 BC). Some renovations built atop the ancient foundation may add to the confusion regarding the age of the Citadel.[6]
Herat Citadel Herat Citadel 330 BC Also known as the Citadel of Alexander, and locally known as Qala Iktyaruddin. Many empires have used it as a headquarters in the last 2,000 years, and was destroyed and rebuilt many times over the centuries.
Lashkari Bazar Bost Palace
Paghman Hill Castle Paghman Palace 2014 It was planned to be used for major festivals.[7] The castle and surrounding areas are used as a presidential retreat and a location to host foreign guests.[8]
Palace of Sultan Mas'ud III Ghazni Palace 1112 Ghaznavid palace.
Qala-e-Bost Bost Fort
Qala-e-Seraj Mihtarlam Palace 1912–13 Built by Amir Habibullah Khan.
Qala-i-Jangi Mazar-i-Sharif Fort 1889 The Afghans built the fort in 1889 for defense against potentially invading British after the Second Anglo-Afghan War. It took 18,000 workers 12 years to complete it.[9]
Qalat-e Gilzay Qalati Ghilji Fort 4th century BC The fortress constructed by the forces of Alexander the Great.[10]
Tajbeg Palace Kabul Palace 1795 Inaccurately called the Queen's Palace. According to some historians, the palace seems to have been renovated by Zaman Shah Durrani in 1795 (1210 AH), which was subsequently destroyed in military conflicts, and the ruins from ancient times remain.[11]
Ibrahim Khan Sanjrani Fort Chakhansur District Fort 13th/19th century The seat of a local baloch chiefs at the beginning of the 13th/19th century.[12]

References

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  1. ^ The British Library, Upper Bala Hissar from west Kabul. Archived 2019-09-10 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 28 May 2012.
  2. ^ electricpulp.com. "ČEHEL SOTŪN, KABUL – Encyclopaedia Iranica". www.iranicaonline.org.
  3. ^ "Ghaznī". britannica.com. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  4. ^ Reconstruction of the Palace of the Darulaman on YouTube, Jan. 5, 2019, National Defense and Operations Directorate chaired by JHA
  5. ^ "Saving an Afghan Symbol, With Afghans Only". The New York Times. 2017-04-05. Retrieved 2017-04-06.
  6. ^ "Peter Church - Letter from Afghanistan". Archipelago.org. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  7. ^ "Afghan Zariza • in Pictures: Newly-built Paghman palace becomes the cynosure of all eyes". Archived from the original on 2019-07-04. Retrieved 2018-01-02.
  8. ^ "Afghans Criticize Government's Handling Of International Norouz Event". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  9. ^ Stanton, Doug (2018). 12 Strong (previously published as "Horse Soldiers". New York City: Pocket Books. ISBN 978-1-5011-7995-2.
  10. ^ The Economist, v. 376 - 2005
  11. ^ http://afghanistanmylasttour.com/tag/tajbeg-palace/ Archived 2015-01-09 at the Wayback Machine 14th century Mongol ruins, the historical Taj Beg Palace
  12. ^ "ČAḴĀNSŪR". Encyclopædia Iranica.
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