Historical Dictionary of Afghanistan

Adamec, Ludwig W. Historical Dictionary of Afghanistan, Third Edition. Lanham, MD: The Scarecrow Press, 2003. 584 pp.

Except for the Taliban's capture of Kabul in 1996 and the failed US cruise missile attack on terrorist camps in 1998, Afghanistan was out of the American public eye for over a decade following the Soviet withdrawal in 1989. The events of September 11th, the subsequent war to topple the Taliban, and efforts to install a new government renewed outside interest in that war torn country. Journalists and scholars have rushed to take advantage of the demand for information about Afghanistan. The resulting books and articles have been of uneven quality. However, the third edition of Ludwig Adamec's Historical Dictionary of Afghanistan is a laudable effort to provide an updated, scholarly quick reference volume.

The author's coverage of modern Afghanistan is quite good. Those interested in the Great Game will not be disappointed. Adamec includes many of the persons, events and places associated with relations between British India and Afghanistan in the 19th and early 20th centuries. His entries on the diplomacy of the period, the various expeditions into the region, and the three Afghan Wars are informative. Adamec's treatment of the turbulent period before, during and after the Soviet occupation is exceptional. He offers clear and concise descriptions of the various mujahedin groups and their leaders and includes useful information on their ethnic composition and Islamic orientation. The work is very helpful in sorting out the constantly shifting alliances among the mujahedin. Scenes of major battles are duly noted, as are most of the major Soviet military and administrative figures associated with the occupation.

In addition to its broad scope, the volume reflects scholarly depth as well. Adamec includes some seemingly esoteric entries. His lengthy discussion of the Afghan calendar (pp. 66-7) illustrates this point. Moreover, even on more conventional topics, Adamec's work is not a dry recitation of facts. Interesting details lend color to many entries. For example, Amir Habibullah (r. 1901-1919) was "five feet four inches in height and very powerfully built." Adamec clearly presents Afghanistan's complex ethnic mosaic. He lists the major ethnic groups and significant sub-groups within them. His coverage of the Pashtun tribes and their customs is more extensive than his treatment of the country's non-Pashtuns but this is understandable given the Pashtuns' dominant role in the country's history. A final credit to Adamec's work is that women are included. He includes an entry for the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan, RAWA (pp. 324-5) and several notable Afghan women.

As with any reference project, the Historical Dictionary of Afghanistan, Third Edition, has some faults. A number of entries could have been left out in favor of keeping the volume more focused. Adamec's inclusion of extraneous Islamic terms is probably a result of his also having published a Historical Dictionary of Islam. The author does place some terms in an Afghan context, such as SUFISM (p. 361), ISLAMIC LAW (p. 181-3) and MULLA (p. 267), thereby making them relevant, but users of his work on Afghanistan certainly know what the KORAN (p. 226) and a MOSQUE (p. 253) are. Similar problems exist elsewhere. The lengthy bibliography and detailed chronology are certainly useful but the appendices of documents and lists of officials associated with the transitional government of President Karzai will soon be outdated and are of questionable value. Beyond the issue of items that should have been excluded, the issue of clarity emerges in a few entries. The case of the Shia leader Abdul Karim Khalili illustrates this point. In one entry Khalili "joined" (p. 169) the Taliban while he is said to have "submitted" (p. 217) to them in another. Uninformed users might be confused or misled. However, this problem occurs in only a few places in the relatively large volume and does not undercut Adamec's overall contribution.

Ludwig Adamec has produced a valuable reference volume for scholars and policy makers working on Afghanistan, for faculty teaching about the country, and for journalists covering events there. Adamec's Historical Dictionary of Afghanistan, Third Edition should be in major university libraries and in the personal collection of anyone professionally involved with the country.

Jeffrey Key Sweet Briar College

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