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List of Afghans facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
This page is about notable Afghan people or people with Afghan ancestry . For others, see List of Pashtuns.

This page lists many famous people from Afghanistan. Afghanistan is a country with a rich history and many different ethnic groups. This list includes people from all these groups who have made a name for themselves. You'll find historical figures and modern-day heroes from within Afghanistan's current borders.

Leaders of the Past

Main article: List of monarchs of Afghanistan
Amenoelah van Afghanistan
Amanullah Khan was a King of Afghanistan.
  • Humayun (1530–1540) was the second Mughal emperor.
  • Demetrius I of Bactria (around 200–180 BCE) was a king of Bactria.
  • Eucratides I (171–145 BC) was a king of the Bactrian Empire.
  • Menander I (165/155–130 BC) was an Indo-Greek king.
  • Mahmud of Ghazni (998–1030) was a powerful Sultan of the Ghaznavid Empire.
  • Ghiyath al-Din Muhammad (1163–1203) was a Sultan of the Ghurid Empire.
  • Muhammad of Ghor (1173–1202) was another Sultan of the Ghurid Sultanate.
  • Muhammad Shah (1719–1748) was the 13th Mughal Emperor.
  • Abu Sa'id Mirza (1451–1469) ruled the Timiurd empire.
  • Alauddin Khalji (1296–1316) was a Turco-Afghan ruler of the Delhi Sultanate.
  • Sher Shah Suri (1537–1545) started the Suri Empire in India.
  • Sultan Husayn Bayqara (1469–1506) was an Amir of the Timurid Empire.
  • Ahmad Shah Durrani (1747–1772) founded the Durrani Empire. Some people see him as the founder of modern Afghanistan.
  • Jalal-ud-din Khalji (1290–1296) founded the Khalji dynasty.

Presidents of Afghanistan

Main article: List of Presidents of Afghanistan

Important Politicians and Diplomats

Further information: Politics of Afghanistan
See also: List of current provincial governors in Afghanistan
Abdul Rashid Dostum in September 2014
Abdul Rashid Dostum is a well-known Afghan politician.
Amrullah Saleh
Amrullah Saleh has held important political roles.
  • Muhammad Yunus Nawandish was the Mayor of Kabul starting in 2010.
  • Sayed Mansur Naderi was a former Vice-President of Afghanistan.
  • Sadat Mansoor Naderi used to be the State Minister for Peace.
  • Amrullah Saleh is known for his role in the Panjshir resistance.
  • Mahmud Tarzi was an Afghan politician and thinker. He is known as the founder of Afghan journalism.
  • Zalmay Khalilzad is an Afghan-American diplomat and expert in foreign policy.
  • Gulbuddin Hekmatyar is a prominent political figure.
  • Abdul Rahman Pazhwak was a diplomat, scholar, and poet.
  • Abdul Qadir (Afghan communist) was an Afghan politician, diplomat, and military officer.
  • Abdul Rashid Dostum is an Afghan political and military leader.
  • Farkhunda Zahra Naderi was a Member of Parliament and advisor to President Ashraf Ghani.
  • Kubra Noorzai was the first woman to become a government minister in Afghanistan.
  • Nasima Razmyar is an Afghan-Finnish politician. She was elected to the Finnish Parliament in 2015.
  • Abdul Ali Mazari was a political leader of the Hezb-e Wahdat party.
  • Shah Mahmud Khan was the Prime Minister of Afghanistan from 1946 to 1953.

Military Heroes

  • Kamal al-Din Gurg (died 1315 or 1316) was a general for the Delhi Sultanate.
  • Mullah Omar was a leader and co-founder of the Taliban.
  • Ahmad Shah Massoud was a famous military commander.
  • Jalaluddin Haqqani was an Afghan commander who started the Haqqani network.
  • Bairam Khan was a military commander for the Mughal army.
  • Wazir Akbar Khan was an Afghan prince, general, and Emir.
  • Habibullāh Kalakāni was a leader of the Saqqawists.
  • Commander Shafi Hazara was an ethnic Hazara military commander.
  • Abdul Rasul Sayyaf was a Mujahideen commander.
  • Abdul Raziq Achakzai was an Afghan Army Lieutenant General and Police Chief. He was a powerful security official.
  • Tahir ibn Husayn was a general and governor during the Abbasid caliphate.
  • Sardar Shah Wali Khan was an important political and military figure.
  • Mohammad Fahim (1957-2014) was a Marshal in the Afghan National Army.

Smart Scientists

Jamāl-al-dīn Asadābādī
Jamal al-Din al-Afghani was a famous philosopher.
  • Jamal ad-Din al-Afghani was a philosopher.
  • Hedayat Amin Arsala is an economist.
  • Mohammad Amin Fatemi is a physician (doctor).
  • Abdul Ahad Mohmand is an astronaut. He was the first Afghan to visit space. He also made Pashto the fourth language spoken in space.
  • Mohammad Qayoumi is an engineer and former president of San Jose State University.
  • Sima Samar is a physician (doctor).
  • Habiba Sarobi is a hematologist (blood doctor).
  • Kabir Stori was a psychologist.
  • Zemaryalai Tarzi is an archeologist.
  • Sediq Afghan is a mathematician.
  • Abu Ma'shar al-Balkhi (787-886 AD) was an astrologer.
  • Abu Zayd al-Balkhi (850–934 AD) was a geographer and mathematician.
  • Al-Sijzi (945-1020 AD) was a Muslim astronomer, mathematician, and astrologer.

Successful Entrepreneurs

Historians and Storytellers

  • Hamid Naweed
  • Akram Assem
  • Ghulam Mohammad Ghobar (1898–1978)
  • Abdul Hai Habibi (1910–1984)
  • Faiz Mohammad Katib Hazara
  • Omara Khan Massoudi is a geographer and historian.
  • Abd al-Razzaq Samarqandi was a chronicler and Islamic scholar.
  • Khvandamir

Actors and Film Directors

NeloferPazira2017
Nelofer Pazira is an actress and filmmaker.
  • Latif Ahmadi is the director of Afghan Film, Afghanistan's state film company.
  • Leena Alam is an actress.
  • Siddiq Barmak (born 1962) directed the drama film Osama (2003).
  • Sonia Nassery Cole directed The Black Tulip (2010).
  • Zohre Esmaeli (born 1985) is a model, author, and designer.
  • Fahim Fazli is an actor and author.
  • Azita Ghanizada is an actress.
  • Kader Khan (1937–2018) was a Bollywood film actor and producer.
  • Celina Jaitly is an actress in Indian cinema.
  • Nelofer Pazira is an actress and filmmaker.
  • Soosan Firooz is an actress.
  • Atiq Rahimi is a French-Afghan filmmaker and writer.

Writers and Journalists

  • Mohammad Jan Fana (born 1932)
  • Nelufar Hedayat is a journalist.
  • Khaled Hosseini (born 1965) is a famous author.
  • Fariba Nawa (born 1973)
  • Nelofer Pazira
  • Mahmud Tarzi (1865–1933)
  • Sakena Yacoobi
  • Rahnaward Zaryab
  • Tamim Ansary
  • Homeira Qaderi
  • Yalda Hakim is a journalist.
  • Khushnood Nabizada is a journalist and entrepreneur.

Talented Poets

Mahmud Tarzi and his wife Asma Rasmiya
Mahmud Tarzi was a poet and journalist.
  • Jalāl ad-Dīn Mohammad Rūmī was a great Sufi mystic and poet from the 13th century.
  • Khwaja Abdullah Ansari
  • Rahman Baba (1650–1715)
  • Khalilullah Khalili (1907–1987)
  • Ghani Khan (1914–1996)
  • Khushal Khan Khattak (1613–1689)
  • Parween Pazhwak (born 1967)
  • Hakim Sanai (1080–1131)
  • Mahmūd Tarzī (1830–1900)
  • Nazo Tokhi
  • Rabia Balkhi was possibly the first female poet of Persian literature.
  • Abdul Bari Jahani wrote the national anthem of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.
  • Nadia Anjuman
  • Abdul Rahman Pazhwak (1919–1995)
  • Ali-Shir Nava'i (1441–1501) was a poet, writer, and painter.

Creative Artists

Painting - Google Art Project ( wGkOiyV0ojtRA)
Kamāl ud-Dīn Behzād was a famous painter.
Main articles: List of Afghan artists and List of Afghan women artists
  • Dust Muhammad was a Persian painter of miniatures and calligrapher.
  • Kamāl ud-Dīn Behzād (1455–1535) was a famous painter.
  • Mariam Ghani is a visual artist, photographer, and filmmaker.
  • Lida Abdul is a video and performance artist.
  • Malina Suliman is a graffiti artist, metalworker, and painter.
  • Abdul Ghafoor Breshna was a very talented Afghan artist.
  • Shamsia Hassani is a graffiti artist and a lecturer at Kabul University.

Religious Figures

  • Sufis Mystics and Attendants
    Ibrahim ibn Adham was an early Sufi saint.
  • Ibrahim ibn Adham was an early ascetic Sufi saint.
  • Asif Mohseni was an Afghan Shi'a Marja' (religious authority).
  • Muqatil ibn Sulayman was an Islamic scholar who wrote early commentaries on the Quran.
  • Ali Hujwiri was an 11th-century Sunni Muslim mystic and preacher.
  • Ali al-Qari was an Islamic scholar.
  • Sultan Balkhi was a 14th-century Muslim saint known for spreading Islam in Bengal.

Amazing Sportspeople

Nadia Nadim 20170803 WEURO DEN AUT 1716 (cropped)
Nadia Nadim is a professional footballer.
  • Rashid Khan is a cricketer. He was named the ICC Men's T20I Player of the Decade.
  • Mohammad Nabi is a cricketer and ranked first in all-rounder rankings.
  • Mujeeb Ur Rahman is a cricketer.
  • Hamid Hassan is a cricketer.
  • Hazratullah Zazai is a cricketer. He helped Afghanistan achieve a very high T20I score.
  • Rohullah Nikpai was the first Afghan Taekwondo Olympic winner in 2008 and 2012.
  • Mustafa Amini is an Afghan-Australian footballer.
  • Nadia Nadim is a professional footballer.
  • Shamila Kohestani is a footballer and former captain of the Afghanistan women's national football team.
  • Hussain Sadiqi is an Afghan-Australian martial artist.

Talented Musicians

See also: List of Afghan singers
  • Omar Akram is a Grammy Award-winning Afghan-American composer and pianist.
  • Aryana Sayeed is a popular singer.
  • Naghma is a well-known singer.
  • Dawood Sarkhosh is a singer.
  • Farhad Darya is a singer.
  • Soosan Firooz is an actress and rapper.
  • Mozhdah Jamalzadah is a singer.
  • Ahmad Zahir was a very famous singer.
  • Nashenas is one of the oldest surviving musicians from Afghanistan.
  • Rukhshana was one of the first Afghan female singers.
  • Abdul Rahim Sarban was a singer.
  • Nainawaz was an artist, poet, and composer. He created many iconic Afghan songs.

Brave Female Activists

  • Sima Samar is a human rights and democracy activist. She was nominated for a Nobel award.
  • Aryana Sayeed is a women's rights activist and famous singer.
  • Sitara Achakzai was a women's rights activist.
  • Jamila Afghani founded the Noor Educational and Capacity Development Organization.
  • Khadija Ahrari helped women get the right to vote.
  • Fatema Akbari
  • Farkhunda Zahra Naderi is a women's rights activist.
  • Farida Azizi advocates for peace and women's rights.
  • Marzia Basel advocates for women's education.
  • Mariam Ghani is an artist and advocate for women's rights.
  • Malalai Joya (born 1978) is a well-known activist.
  • Fawzia Koofi is a politician and women's rights activist.
  • Asila Wardak is a women's rights activist.

Other Notable Afghans

  • Safi Rauf (born 1994)
  • Ahmad Massoud (born 1989)
  • Sharbat Gula (born 1972) is famous for her portrait on the National Geographic cover.
  • Mir Masjidi Khan (died 1841) was an Afghan resistance leader.
  • Youssof Kohzad is a writer, painter, playwright, artist, poet, and actor.
  • Abdul Majid Zabuli (1896–1998) founded Bank-e-Melli Afghanistan.
  • Zallascht Sadat is a model.
  • Vida Samadzai is a model.
  • Al-Farabi (872–950) was an early Islamic philosopher and scholar.
  • Nur Jahan was an Empress consort of the Mughal Empire.
  • Robert Joffrey was a choreographer and dancer. His father was Afghan.
  • Malalai of Maiwand is a national folk hero of Afghanistan. She helped rally fighters against the British in the Battle of Maiwand.
  • Trapusa and Bahalika were the first two lay followers of the Buddha.
  • Roxana was a princess from Bactria (Balkh) or Sogodia who married Alexander the Great.

See also

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