The Taliban phenomenon created a new and puzzling reality when it first appeared in 1994, gathered momentum and grew into a force that dominated the Afghan landscape. War-hardened adversaries either joined the Taliban or fell back in disarray. Some observers saw them as militant reformists with sword in one hand and the Koran in the other. The rapidity with which they brought large tracts of war-ravaged territory under control, putting an end to crime and disorder, attracted world attention until their draconian measures and fundamentalism raised alarm in the world.