THE NATIONS OF AFGHANISTAN AND CENTRAL ASIA: COMMONWEALTH OF HISTORICAL DESTINY

Abstract

This paper is devoted to the analysis of the main stages of the emergence and development of contacts, as well as of the active interaction of the nations of Afghanistan and Central Asia (CA), from antiquity to the present. Due to its geographical position, complicated internal political situation and ethno-confessional mosaic, Afghanistan and the Central Asian states for a long time have been in the area of close attention of both global and regional powers. The relevance of the selected topic is due to the call to strengthen the CIS southern borders and create a culture of mutual neighborly co-operation, which is one of the priority tasks not only of the states of Central Asia, but also of Russia and China. As the most important factor that can largely determine the future, the commonwealth of the historical destinies of Afghanistan and Central Asia is pointed out, with respect to the fact that representatives of ethnoses residing on both sides of the Panj and Amu Darya rivers has been interconnected for many centuries—and most of them are related. It is emphasized, that in the ancient period and the Middle Ages Afghanistan ties with Central Asia (including Kazakhstan and East Turkestan) had comprehensive and systematic character; thus, material culture, beliefs and customs—all formed, albeit peculiar, but in many respects similar or even identical complexes. A comparison of the archaeological, anthropological and historical-ethnographic materials of these regions suggests that already in the early antiquity they were pooled by the same model of the economy and general ethno-linguistic, cultural and historical traditions. Economic and cultural recovery, both of Afghanistan and Central Asia, from antiquity and the Middle Ages, until the XV century (the era of the Great Geographical Discoveries) were promoted by the routes of the Great Silk Road. It is concluded that through research and analysis of contacts and experience of interaction of various nations inhabiting the center of the Eurasian continent one can look at the deep roots of historical processes and find solutions to various contemporary problems taking into account the historical past.