Recently brought to the spotlight due to the events of September 11th, Afghanistan has played a crucial role in world affairs long before its controversial resurfacing. Afghanistan’s geographical location has made it the crossroad for armies, empires and trade routes. In the fourth century B.C. Alexander the Great crossed its rugged mountains. Centuries later Persian, Arab and Mongol conquerors came too. During the Middle Ages it was the hub of caravan trade between the East and the West. Its strong historical past is depicted in its flag, which is composed of a series of previous flags, each representing an important part of Afghan history. Its pre 20th century flag was entirely black with a mosque in the middle (black stripe.) In 1978, with the Communist Peoples Democratic Party taking control of the government the flag was changed to a red flag (red stripe). Lastly, as an Islamic nation-state, Islam has played a vital role in Afghanistan, long before the appearance of the Taliban. Green denotes Islam worldwide (green strip) and the Islamic creed ‘Shahada” can be found above the mosque on the nation emblem of the flag. Today Afghanistan is emerging from a rich historical past and unfortunately years of warfare to take its place in the modern world.