#Warfare

Carpet sellers in Afghanistan call it a “Tup-e-Tung” in Dari, or what we know of in the United States as the “Afghan War Rug” in popular conception. This style of carpet initially became prevalent among tribal Baluchi women who weaved low profile designs into their carpets to signify the Soviet invasion and occupation thereafter beginning in December of 1979. The designs became more overt and wide spread after numerous years and started gaining interest among foreign buyers for their unique character displaying the Soviet occupation. The carpets themselves are a break from traditional Afghan carpet weaving. Afghan carpets are mostly based on certain designs or themes that are named after their designs or locales that they originated from. These don’t depict scenes or objects like the Tup-e-Tung carpets do, but instead intricate designs. In fact, Tup-e-Tungs are unique in that they are the only type of Afghan (or Persian/Iranian for that matter) carpet that portrays specific objects or people on the scale that they do.