The Hindu Kush range region was a historically significant center of Buddhism, with sites such as the Bamiyan Buddhas. [ 11 ][ 12 ] The range and communities settled in it hosted ancient monasteries, important trade networks and travelers between Central Asia and South Asia. [ 13 ][ 14 ] While the vast majority of the region has been majority- Muslim for several centuries now, certain portions of the Hindu Kush only became Islamized relatively recently, such as Kafiristan, [ 15 ] which retained ancient polytheistic beliefs until the 19th century when it was converted to Islam by the Durrani Empire and renamed Nuristan ("land of light"). [ 16 ]