The Taliban created the first iteration of the Emirate's armed forces in 1997 after taking over Afghanistan following the end of the Afghan Civil War which raged between 1992 and 1996.

In April 1978 there was a coup, known as the Saur Revolution, orchestrated by members of the government loyal to the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA).

The rebel groups were fighting to force the Soviet Union to withdraw from Afghanistan as well as to remove the Soviet-backed government of President Mohammad Najibullah.

[7] Under the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (1978–1992), weapon deliveries by the Soviets were increased and included Mi-24 helicopters, MiG-23 fighter aircraft, ZSU-23-4 Shilka and ZSU-57-2 anti-aircraft self-propelled mounts, MT-LB armored personnel carriers, BM-27 Uragan and BM-21 Grad multiple-launch rocket systems and 9K52 Luna-M and Scud missile launchers.

[10] For several years the Afghan Armed Forces had actually increased their effectiveness past levels ever achieved during the Soviet military presence.

But the government was dealt a major blow when Abdul Rashid Dostum, a leading general, switched allegiances to the mujahideen forces in 1992 and together they captured the city of Kabul.

Bits and pieces of the fragmented military either disappeared or joined the warring factions that were locked in a drawn-out power struggle.

The warring factions were composed of odd assortments of armed groups with varying levels of loyalties, political commitment, professional skills, and organizational integrity.

[12]After the fall of Mohammad Najibullah's regime in 1992, the various Afghan political parties began to assemble their own more formal armed forces.

"[13] On 16 January 1993 Jane's Defence Weekly reported that "a special assembly of 1335 delegates elected from across Afghanistan" had both elected Professor Burhanuddin Rabbani as President of the Islamic State of Afghanistan for two years, and agreed to "establish a regular army with soldiers mostly drawn from Mojahedin groups."

The militia formations they command are composed of odd assortments of armed groups with varying level of loyalties, political commitment, professional skills, and organizational integrity.

On 3 August 1995, Taliban Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 fighters forced a Russian Ilyushin-76 cargo plane carrying arms from Albania to Afghanistan to land at Kandahar.

[20][21] Negotiations between the Russian government and the Taliban to free the men stalled for over a year and efforts by American senator Hank Brown to mediate between the two parties broke down over a prisoner exchange.

Approximately 2,000 vehicles fell into Taliban hands after the Fall of Kabul, including the Humvee, M1117 Guardian, MaxxPro MRAP and Oshkosh ATV.

The conventional land warfare corps of the Islamic Emirate Army were renamed in November 2021 by Mullah Yaqoob, Acting Minister of Defense.

During the civil war that preceded the Taliban regime, thousands of orphaned boys joined various militia for "employment, food, shelter, protection and economic opportunity."