RECAP: What I learned about Afghanistan

I learned many different aspects of Afghanistan in this unit and seeing other students informative projects. But I specifically know a lot about the religions of the area. I learned that Afghanistan has an extensive history with many different religions being prevalent in its past. A religion called Zoroastrianism originated in the Afghan area. I learned that it was the first religion that was monotheistic, meaning belief in one god. It was a precursor to the Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The religion of Zoroastrianism thrived in ancient times until the advent of Buddhism and Hinduism. There the region had many Buddhist landmarks and even giant statues of Buddhas were carve into the mountain ranges. There was a presence of Jewish settlements in Afghanistan. The Jews were exiled in Assyria which was then taken over by the Persians. These Jews circulated with in the Persian empire which contained modern day Afghanistan with in its borders. When Christianity appeared around 2000 years ago it slowly migrated to Afghanistan. When Christianity reached present day Afghanistan, the communities were small and Christianity was a minority. Then in the late 600's and early 700's Islam swept the middle east and many converted to Islam. The few Christians and the reigning Buddhists were gone almost over night. The Buddhist temples were defiled and destroyed by the Muslims. Since the 800's Islam is the dominant religion in the Afghan area.