Page 67

Ortispana or Kapura was the name given to the present Kabul, the inhabitants of which "Ptolemy" called "Kabulti". When Alexander arrived in the valley of Kabul, he at once left for Kapisia (Kohidaman) without making a halt. Why he did not stay at Kabul is not clear. The city was inhabited in the Greek era. "Strabon" called it Ortispana, situated where the commercial routes towards Bactria, Arakozia and India crossed. After the death of Alexander the Greeco-Bactrian Empire was set up in Bactria (Palkh), after which the great empire of the "Koshani" dynasty was established. Through all those periods Kabul was a trade centre. When the Koshani dynasty became weak and the Kingdom of the Seto-Parts was established in Afghanistan, though the change was not without effect on the city, Kabul did not lose its commercial position. When the reign of Khord-Koshanis was once again restored in Kabul and the Kabul-Shahan (Kings of Kabul) wanted to reestablish their relations with other nations, the Arab invasions began. It was 28 or 38 A.H. (about 649 or 659 A.D.) when the Muslim Arabs under the command of Abdul Rahman bin Samrah bin Habib-el-Qarshi -5-