Traces the historic struggles and the nature of political authority in Afghanistan, from the Mughal Empire in the sixteenth century. This book introduces readers to the bewildering diversity of tribal and ethnic groups in this region, explaining what unites them as Afghans despite the regional, cultural, and political differences that divide them.
Author Biography
Thomas Barfield is professor of anthropology at Boston University. His books include "The Perilous Frontier: Nomadic Empires and China, 221 BC to AD 1757"; "The Central Asian Arabs of Afghanistan"; and "Afghanistan: An Atlas of Indigenous Domestic Architecture".
