Hindu and Buddhist heritage of Afghanistan

By the mid ninth century the whole region from the fortress city of Kabul to at least Udhabanadpura (Waihind or Ohind) in the East was held by the dynasty called by later writers the Shahis.

In addition to the natural products of the Gandhara region, the Shahi kings drew revenue from the constant caravan trade passing through their dominions.

On the western periphery of the Afghan area the princes of Herat and Seistan gave way to rule by Arab governors but in the east, in the mountains, cities submitted only to rise in revolt and the hastily converted returned to their old beliefs once the armies passed.

The harshness and avariciousness of Arab rule produced such unrest, however, that once the waning power of the Caliphate became apparent, native rulers once again established themselves independent.

The fanatic founder of this dynasty, the coppersmith's apprentice Yaqub ibn Layth Saffari, came forth from his capital at Zaranj in 870 AD and marched through Bost, Kandahar, Ghazni, Kabul, Bamyan, Balkh and Herat, conquering in the name of Islam.".

[21]By the 11th century, when the Ghaznavids were in power, the entire population of Afghanistan was practicing Islam, except the Kafiristan region (Nuristan Province) which became Muslim in the late 1800s.