Kabul, city in east central Afghanistan, capital of the country and Kabul Province. Kabul is on the Kabul River, situated at an elevation of about 1800 m (about 5900 ft). The nation's chief economic and cultural center, it has long been of strategic importance because of its proximity to the Khyber Pass, an important pass in the mountains between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Manufactures of the city include textiles, processed food, chemicals, and wood products. Tajiks are the predominant population group of Kabul, and Pashtuns are an important minority. Kabul University (founded in 1932) had been the country's most important institution of higher education prior to its closure due to war in 1992.
An ancient community, Kabul rose to prominence in 1504, when it was made the capital of the Mughal Empire by the conqueror Babur. Delhi replaced it as the imperial capital in 1526, but Kabul remained an important Mughal center until it was captured, in 1738, by the Persian ruler Nadir Shah. In 1747 Kabul became part of an independent Afghan state, and in the 1770s it replaced Kandahar as the capital of Afghanistan. It was a focus of British, Persian, and Russian rivalry for control of the Khyber Pass in the 19th century, when it was twice occupied (1839-1842 and 1879-1880) by British troops. The city grew as an industrial center after 1940.
