During the 1990s southern Afghanistan was in even greater chaos than it is now. The Russians, who had occupied the country throughout the 1980s, were long gone. The famous mujahideen were at each other's throats. For the rural poor of Kandahar province, life was almost impossible. Then, on 12 October 1994, a small group of religious students decided to take matters into their own hands. Some 200 of them surrounded and took Spin Boldak, a trucking stop on the border with Pakistan. From this short and unremarkable border skirmish a legend was born. The Taloban, as they now call themselves, fought with a religious zeal that the warring mujahideen could not match and soon the country was effectively theirs...