 Kabul, city in east central Afghanistan, capital of the country and Kabul Province. Kabul is on the Kabul River, situated1 at an elevation2 of about 1800 m (about 5900 ft) making it one of the highest capital cities in the World. The population is around 1 million people. The nation's chief economic and cultural center, it has long been of strategic importance because of its proximity3 （接近）to the Khyber Pass （开伯尔山口兴都库什山脉最大和最重要的山口。在巴基斯坦与阿富汗之间，穿行开伯尔山，东口距巴基斯坦白沙瓦16公里。历史上为连接南亚与西亚、中亚的最重要通道), an important pass in the mountains between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Manufactures of the city include textiles, processed food, chemicals, and wood products. Tajiks are the predominant population group of Kabul, and Pashtuns（阿富汗民族，几乎半数的阿富汗人属于普什图民族）are an important minority. Kabul University (founded in 1932) had been the country's most important institute of higher education prior to its closure due to war in 1992. The university was the best known in the region in the 1970 and 1980's. The university now is being partially4 reopened and only a few students are returning. The University needs much reconstruction5 in order to operate normally.
An ancient community, Kabul rose to prominence6 in 1504, when it was made the capital of the Moghul Empire（摩格尔帝国） by the conqueror7
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War-torn museums
During the past decade of turmoil8 in Afghanistan, Kabul Museum has been virtually emptied and in other areas of the country sites have been plundered9. |
Babur （回教君王巴布尔）. Delhi replaced it as the imperial capital in 1526, but Kabul remained an important Moghul center until it was captured, in 1738, by the Persian ruler Nadir10 Shah. In 1747 Kabul became part of an independent Afghan state, and in the 1770s it replaced Qandahar as the capital of Afghanistan. It was a focus of British, Persian, and Russian rivalry11 for control of the Khyber Pass in the 19th century, when it was twice occupied (1839-1842 and 1879-1880) by British troops. The city grew as an industrial center after 1940.
Kabul was occupied by troops of the Union of Soviet12 Socialist13 Republics (USSR) in 1979; the USSR withdrew from Afghanistan on Feb. 15, 1989. The city has gone through the toughest and most disastrous14 civil war in its history between 1992-1996. Over 50,000 people lost their lives during the Mujahideen (圣战) infightings on the streets of Kabul in 1992-1996 period. The city has been under the control of the Taliban government since 1996 and ended in 2001. The Northern Alliance took over the city as the Taliban withdrew from Kabul and retreated southwards. The fate of the city is yet to be known. The role of UN and World community is important in bringing a stable government in Kabul.
Infrastructures15 such as roads and traffic system, telephone system, electricity, water sanitation16, renovation17 of buildings are in shambles18 and the need for reconstruction is very much needed to bring back the city of Kabul to a better place for living.
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