The Unconquerable Afghanistan: A History Of Foreign Invasions

Afghanistan has been invaded and conquered by many empires throughout history, due to its strategic location between Central and South Asia. However, its rugged terrain and tribalism have made it notoriously difficult to govern, earning it the nickname Graveyard of Empires.

The earliest known conquest of the region was by the Achaemenid Empire under Darius I of Persia in the early fourth century BCE. Subsequent conquests include those by Alexander the Great, the Maurya Empire, the Rashidun Caliphate, the Mongol Empire, the Timurid Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Sikh Empire, the British Empire, the Soviet Union, and most recently, the United States and its allies. Despite these invasions, Afghanistan has never been truly occupied due to its remoteness and the challenges of controlling the diverse tribes and rugged terrain.

Alexander the Great's conquest of Afghanistan

Alexander the Great invaded what is now Afghanistan in 330 BC as part of his war against Persia. This campaign was particularly challenging due to the mountainous terrain and harsh weather conditions. Alexander's army suffered heavy casualties, with more soldiers lost to dehydration and overdrinking than in any of his major battles.

Alexander's conquest of Afghanistan was marked by brutality and destruction, with tens of thousands of civilians massacred and their towns destroyed. The young king, frustrated by the resistance of the native people, responded with fearful brutality, and his closest comrades and officers, as well as native peoples, fell victim to his rage. Alexander's moral and physical dissolution in the cold mountains and parched deserts of the northeast is well documented.

Despite the high cost of the campaign, Greek rule in Afghanistan survived for 150 years, and Greek settlements lasted for centuries. Alexander founded several cities in the region, including Alexandria Arachosia, now called Kandahar. He also adopted local customs and married Roxanne, the daughter of an Afghan warlord, making the Afghans full partners in his empire.

Alexander's imprint upon Afghanistan remained for two centuries, with the cultural values of Greece, Persia, and the Afghans merging to create a multicultural, diverse state. The key to his success in Afghanistan was his ruthless military force, his respect for local traditions, and his willingness to adopt Afghan customs.

The Islamic conquest of Afghanistan

In 637 CE, only five years after the death of the Prophet Muhammad, Arab Muslims defeated the Iranian Sassanids at the battle of Qadisiya, and began their invasion of the lands east of Iran. By 642 CE, they controlled all Sassanid domains except for Afghanistan and Makran. The Muslim conquest of Sistan began in 643-44 CE, and by the end of the first century of the Hijri calendar, the Muslim frontier in modern Afghanistan had become stabilised.

The conquest of Afghanistan was a long and drawn-out process, with constant revolts from the mountain tribes in the Afghan area. Kabul, in particular, offered stiff resistance to the early Muslim advance. Kabul was first captured in 652 CE, but the people rebelled and retook the city. Kabul was not fully conquered until 870 CE, when it was taken by Ya'qub bin Laith, a local ruler from Zaranj. Kabul and the Afghan area were the last parts of modern-day Afghanistan to be conquered by the Arabs.

The Ghaznavids, who ruled from 977 CE to 1186 CE, are credited with the fuller Islamisation of Afghanistan, which was achieved between the 10th and 12th centuries. The Ghaznavids were a rising Turkic dynasty in Afghanistan, and their leader, Mahmud of Ghazni, is known for encouraging mass conversions to Islam in India and Afghanistan.

Genghis Khan's invasion of Afghanistan

Afghanistan has been invaded many times throughout history, and Genghis Khan's invasion was one of the most brutal. From 1219 to 1221, Genghis Khan's Mongol forces invaded the Khwarazmian Empire in Central Asia, which included parts of modern-day Afghanistan. This invasion was part of Genghis Khan's campaign to create the vast Mongol Empire.

Genghis Khan's decision to invade the Khwarazmian Empire was sparked by a series of diplomatic provocations. The Khan was already unified with the Mongolic peoples and had conquered the Western Xia dynasty. Initially, relations between the Mongols and the Khwarazmshah Muhammad II were cordial, but tensions rose when a senior Mongol diplomat was executed by Muhammad II. Enraged, Genghis Khan mobilised a massive army, estimated between 90,000 and 200,000 men, and invaded the Khwarazmian Empire from the northeast.

The Khwarazmshah's forces were spread out and likely outnumbered. Recognising his disadvantage, Muhammad II chose to garrison his cities individually to slow down the Mongol advance. Despite this strategy, the Mongols, through excellent organisation and planning, were able to isolate and conquer key cities such as Bukhara, Samarkand, and Gurganj. Genghis Khan and his youngest son Tolui laid waste to Khorasan, destroying major cities like Herat, Nishapur, and Merv. Meanwhile, Muhammad II was forced to flee and eventually died on an island in the Caspian Sea.

Genghis Khan's invasion of the Khwarazmian Empire was marked by extreme brutality and devastation. The Mongol forces slaughtered thousands in the cities of Kabul, Kandahar, and Jalalabad. After Genghis Khan returned to Mongolia, his son and successor, Ogedei Khan, brutally suppressed a rebellion in the region of Helmand, killing all male residents of Ghazni and Helmand in 1222, while enslaving the women.

The Mongol conquest of the Khwarazmian Empire, including parts of Afghanistan, was a pivotal moment in the growth of the Mongol Empire. After the invasion, Genghis Khan divided his army into two forces. He led one force on a destructive campaign through Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India, while the other force, under his top generals Jebe and Subutai, marched through Russia and the Caucasus. The campaign resulted in the subjugation of vast territories, including Persia, and the establishment of Mongol rule in the region.

The British invasions of Afghanistan

Afghanistan has been invaded three times by British India: in 1838, 1878, and 1919.

The First Anglo-Afghan War (1838-1842)

The First Anglo-Afghan War was conducted with the intention of limiting Russian influence in the country and quelling cross-border raids. The British invaded Afghanistan in 1839, ousting ruler Dost Mohammad Khan and replacing him with Shah Shuja, who had been king from 1803-1809. Initially, the campaign was successful, and the British captured Kandahar without a fight after Dost Mohammad's brother fled to Kabul. However, insurrections broke out, and the British garrison was forced to flee Kabul. In January 1842, a large contingent of British and Indian forces attempted a retreat, but they were ambushed by Afghan troops, leading to the deaths of around 18,000 soldiers. The British forces recaptured Kabul later that year and laid waste to the countryside, but they eventually decided to withdraw from the country altogether. Dost Mohammad returned to Kabul in 1843, and his dynasty remained in power until the 1970s.

The Second Anglo-Afghan War (1878-1880)

The Second Anglo-Afghan War was fought between the British Raj and the Emirate of Afghanistan, which was ruled by Sher Ali Khan of the Barakzai dynasty, the son of former Emir Dost Mohammad Khan. The war was part of the Great Game between the British and Russian empires. The war was split into two campaigns. The first campaign began in November 1878 with the British invasion of Afghanistan from India. The British were quickly victorious and forced Sher Ali Khan to flee. However, opposition to British rule was successfully fomented by Sher Ali Khan's son, Ayub Khan, following his father's capture. This resulted in the death of British political agent Alexander Burnes, and so another British political agent, William Hay Macnaghten, was forced to negotiate the British withdrawal from Afghanistan in December. As the troops made their way to Jalalabad, Afghan tribesmen attacked and harassed the force, and only a small number were able to make it alive to Jalalabad. The British launched an Army of Retribution that re-entered Afghanistan in the spring of 1842 to retrieve the hostages and raze the Kabul bazaar.

The Third Anglo-Afghan War (1919)

A third conflict broke out in 1919, lasting for three months and ending in a compromise that saw Afghanistan reassert its independence and control over its relations with other countries. This conflict also resulted in the creation of the Durand Line, which forms the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan today.

The Soviet invasions of Afghanistan

The Soviet-Afghan War was a protracted armed conflict fought in the Soviet-controlled Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (DRA) from 1979 to 1989. The war was a major conflict of the Cold War as it saw extensive fighting between the DRA, the Soviet Union, and allied paramilitary groups against the Afghan Mujahideen and their allied foreign fighters. The war resulted in the deaths of approximately 3,000,000 Afghans, while millions more fled the country as refugees.

The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan began in late December 1979 when troops from the Soviet Union entered Afghanistan to support the local pro-Soviet government in its conflict with anti-communist Muslim guerrillas during the Afghan War (1978-1992). The Soviets intervened to prop up their new but faltering client state, now headed by Babrak Karmal, but Karmal was unable to attain significant popular support. Backed by the United States, the Mujahideen rebellion grew, spreading to all parts of the country.

The Soviets initially left the suppression of the rebellion to the Afghan army, but the latter was beset by mass desertions and remained largely ineffective throughout the war. The war quickly settled into a stalemate, with more than 100,000 Soviet troops controlling the cities, larger towns, and major garrisons, and the Mujahideen moving with relative freedom throughout the countryside. The Soviets tried to crush the insurgency by various tactics, but the guerrillas generally eluded their attacks. The Soviets then attempted to eliminate the Mujahideen's civilian support by bombing and depopulating rural areas. These tactics sparked a massive flight from the countryside; by 1982, some 2.8 million Afghans had sought asylum in Pakistan, and another 1.5 million had fled to Iran.

The Soviets held the view that their presence would be accepted after having rid Afghanistan of the "tyrannical" Khalq regime, but this was not to be. In the first week of January 1980, attacks against Soviet soldiers in Kabul became common, with roaming soldiers often assassinated in broad daylight by civilians. In the summer of that year, numerous members of the ruling party would be assassinated in individual attacks. The Soviet Army quit patrolling Kabul in January 1981 after their losses due to terrorism, handing the responsibility over to the Afghan army.

The Soviets withdrew their troops from Afghanistan in February 1989, and Afghanistan returned to non-aligned status. The war caused grave destruction throughout Afghanistan and has also been cited by scholars as a significant factor that contributed to the dissolution of the Soviet Union, formally ending the Cold War.

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