<p> <br /><b>AFGHANISTAN: WAR WITHOUT END PART 1 OF 3</b> <br /><br />Veteran broadcaster Sandy Gall recounts the history of Afghanistan from the time of Alexander the Great to the Taliban. A long and turbulent journey of invasion and resistance. <br /><br />It is probable that there were well-developed civilizations in S Afghanistan in prehistoric times, but the archaeological record is not clear. Certainly cultures had flourished in the north and east before the Persian king Darius I (c.500 BC;) conquered these areas. Later, Alexander the Great conquered (329-327 BC;) them on his way to India. <br /><br />After Alexander's death (323 BC;) the region at first was part of the Seleucid empire. In the north, Bactria became independent, and the south was acquired by the Maurya dynasty. <br /><br />Bactria expanded southward but fell (mid-2d cent. BC;) to the Parthians and rebellious tribes (notably the Saka). Buddhism was introduced from the east by the Yüechi, who founded the Kushan dynasty (early 2d cent. BC;). Their capital was Peshawar. <br /><br />The Kushans declined (3d cent. AD;) and were supplanted by the Sassanids, the Ephthalites, and the Turkish Tu-Kuie. <br /></p><p></p>
