The Durrani Gate (1878-1880)

This photograph of the Durrani Gate in Kandahar is from an album of rare historical photographs depicting people and places associated with the Second Anglo-Afghan War. Ahmad Shah Durrani made Kandahar his capital when became the ruler of an Afghan empire in 1747. The heavy wooden doors of the gate, one of the entrances to the Kandahar citadel, can be seen in the back center of the photograph. Soldiers in pith helmets stand guard, regarding a scene that includes camels and herdsmen who have just emerged from the gate, civilians visible in the foreground, and a boy minding his sheep. The photograph most likely was taken during the British occupation of Kandahar, which lasted from September 1880 to April 1881.

Source: Library of Congress