ABSTRACT
Afghan history begins sometime during the second half of the second millenium B.C., when a tribe of Aryans passed through Afghanistan from their homeland Eranvej, between the Syr Darya and Amu Darya Rivers. The Aryans were most probably the first of many peoples who passed through and settled in Afghanistan. The civilized empires of the ancient world also expanded through Afghanistan via conquest and annexation. Afghanistan held a key northeastern position in the empires of Cyrus and Alexander. Some claim that the area around the Hindu Kush served as a buffer in the days of Alexander. Afghanistan had yet to become a true buffer state, but from the late eighteenth century, it served as the center of a large territory separating British India from potential enemies. Britain arid Russia made Afghanistan a buffer state; the Afghans had little say in the matter. Afghanistan's establishment as a buffer state was assisted by its physical geography.
