The Bactra Review   Afghanistan: The Soviet Invasion and the Afghan Response

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A similar pattern could be observed in other mountainous parts of the Islamic world, e.g. Albania and among the Atlas Berbers. The classic account of the workings of such societies was given by Ibn Khaldûn over six hundred years ago in his Muqaddimah; generally speaking, Afghan history conforms nicely to the Khaldunian pattern until about the time of Abdurrahman Khan, when serious efforts at modernization began. So far as I know, however, no one has written a study to document this in any detail.