Located at the intersection of Asia & the Middle East, Afghanistan has been strategically important for thousands of years. Its ancient trade routes & strategic position between India, Inner Asia, China, Persia & beyond has meant the region has been subject to frequent invasions. Modern Afghanistan is a culturally & ethnically diverse country, but one divided by conflict, political instability & by mass displacements of its people. Jonathan L. Lee places the current conflict in Afghanistan in its historical context & challenges many of the West`s preconceived ideas about the country. Lee chronicles the region`s monarchic rules & the Durrani dynasty, focusing on the reigns of each ruler & their efforts to balance tribal, ethnic, regional & religious factions, moving on to the struggle for social & constitutional reform & the rise of Islamic & Communist factions. He offers new cultural & political insights from Persian histories, the memoirs of Afghan government officials, British government & India Office archives, recently released cia reports & Wiki Leaks documents. Lee also sheds new light on the country`s foreign relations, its internal power struggles & the impact of foreign military interventions such as the ` War on Terror`.