Short answers, pulled from the story.
Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is situated high in a narrow valley within the Hindu Kush mountain range and serves as a strategic meeting point between Tartary, Hindustan, and Persia.
The Taliban seized Kabul on the 15th of August 2021 during the 2021 Taliban offensive. The city was previously under the control of the Afghan National Security Forces until this date.
The city is now home to over 5 million people. The population has fluctuated significantly due to wars, exoduses, and repatriations throughout its history.
The name Kabul is believed to be a combination of the Persian words for straw and bridge. This refers to a mythical island of happiness where musicians lived according to legend.
President Daoud and most of his family were assassinated in Kabul's Presidential Palace on the 28th of April 1978. This event is known as the Saur Revolution and led to the seizure of power by the Pro-Soviet PDPA.
Kabul has been controlled by the Achaemenid Persian Empire, the Seleucid Empire, the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom, the Kushan Empire, the Mongols, the Mughal Empire, and the Taliban. It served as a crossroads of Asia for over 3,500 years.