First published in 2007

This title combines two volumes of work; fifty-eight chapters dissecting the history of Afghanistan with sketch maps and illustrations throughout.

Sykes argues that few countries present problems of greater interest to the historian than landlocked Afghanistan, the counterpart in Asia of Switzerland in Europe.

Their studies cover the prehistory in the Near East, going through the history of each dynasty up to the early 1900s.

A key text for historians, students and those interested in the complex history of the country.