The Graveyard Of Empires: A History Of Fallen Powers In Afghanistan

Afghanistan has long been known as the graveyard of empires due to its reputation for defeating ambitious military ventures and humiliating would-be conquerors. The country's strategic location along the historic Silk Road has made it the battleground of empires, with many empires falling in its mountainous landscape.

Empires that have fallen in Afghanistan include the Maurya Empire, the ancient Macedonian Empire of Alexander the Great, the Rashidun Caliphate, the Mongol Empire led by Genghis Khan, the Timurid Empire of Timur, the Mughal Empire, various Persian Empires, the British Empire, the Soviet Union, and most recently, the United States.

Afghanistan's rugged terrain, harsh winters, and complex tribal system have made it a difficult country to conquer and rule. The country's history demonstrates how difficult it is to occupy and govern, with empire after empire failing to pacify the region.

The Greco-Bactrian Kingdom

The region had a considerable Greek community, which expanded after Alexander the Great's conquest in 328 BC. The Persian Empire had a policy of exiling rebelling Greek communities to that region long before it fell to Greek conquest.

The Greco-Bactrians were known for their high level of Hellenistic sophistication, and kept regular contact with both the Mediterranean and neighbouring India. They were on friendly terms with India and exchanged ambassadors.

The city of Ai-Khanoum in northeastern Afghanistan is one of the most notable remnants of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom. It was founded around 280 BC and had a theatre that hosted 5,000 spectators, a gymnasium, a propylaeum, and two mausoleums. The city was arranged along a main street that ran its length, from north to south, and included an upper and lower city, typical of Greek urbanism.

In 171 BC, Eucratides overthrew the Greco-Bactrian king and waged war against the Indo-Greek kings. He was initially successful until an Euthydemid called Menander forced him to retreat west of the Hindu Kush in Bactria. This marked the beginning of the rivalry between the Euthydemid and the Eucratid dynasties, which lasted for a long time. This rivalry weakened the Greco-Bactrian kingdom, and in 145 BC, Eucratides was murdered by his own son, leading to political instability and the kingdom's fall in 130 BC.

The Maurya Empire

Chandragupta Maurya expanded the Maurya Empire north and west as he conquered the Macedonian Satrapies and won the Seleucid-Mauryan war. In its time, the Maurya Empire was one of the largest empires in the world.

In 305 BCE, Chandragupta Maurya led a series of campaigns to retake the satrapies left behind by Alexander the Great when he returned westward. Seleucus I, a Macedonian general from Alexander's army, fought to defend these territories but lost the Seleucid-Mauryan War. The two rulers made peace in 303 BCE.

As part of the peace treaty, the Maurya Empire gained five territories in exchange for 500 war elephants. The territories included the satrapies of Paropamisade (modern-day Kamboja and Gandhara), Arachosia (modern-day Kandhahar), and Gedrosia (modern-day Balochistan). The treaty also included a marriage alliance, with Chandragupta likely marrying the daughter of Seleucus.

Chandragupta Maurya was succeeded by his son, Bindusara, in 298 BCE, and then by Bindusara’s son, Ashoka the Great, in 272 BCE. Under Ashoka the Great, the Maurya Empire expanded into the southern part of the Indian subcontinent.

The Mughal Empire

During the Mughal Empire, Afghanistan was divided into three major areas. The north was ruled by the Khanate of Bukhara, the west was under the rule of the Iranian Shia Safavids, and the eastern section was under the Sunni Mughals of northern India. The Kandahar region in the south served as a buffer zone between the Mughals and the Safavids, with the native Afghans often switching support between the two sides.

The Mughals sought to block the historical western invasion routes into India and control the fiercely independent tribes in the Hindu Kush region. The strategically important Kabul-Qandahar axis was the primary source of competition between the Mughals and the Safavids, and Qandahar changed hands several times during the 16th and 17th centuries. The Mughals also had to contend with the Uzbeks of Central Asia, who fought for control of Herat in western Afghanistan and the northern regions.

The British Empire

The First Anglo-Afghan War was fought between the British Empire and the Emirate of Kabul. The British initially invaded the country and took sides in a succession dispute between emir Dost Mohammad Khan and former King Shah Shujah. The British successfully invaded Kabul and reinstated Shah Shujah in August 1839. However, the main British Indian force occupying Kabul endured harsh winters and was almost completely massacred during the 1842 retreat from Kabul. The British then sent an Army of Retribution to Kabul to avenge the destruction of the previous forces. After recovering prisoners, they left Afghanistan by the end of the year. Dost Mohammed returned from exile in India to resume his rule.

The Second Anglo-Afghan War was fought between the British Raj and the Emirate of Afghanistan. The war was split into two campaigns. The first began in November 1878 with the British invasion of Afghanistan from India. The British were quickly victorious and forced the Amir, Sher Ali Khan, to flee. Ali's successor, Mohammad Yaqub Khan, immediately sued for peace and the Treaty of Gandamak was signed on 26 May 1879. The British sent an envoy and mission led by Sir Louis Cavagnari to Kabul, but on 3 September this mission was massacred and the conflict was reignited by Ayub Khan, which led to the abdication of his brother Yaqub. The second campaign ended in September 1880 when the British decisively defeated Ayub Khan outside Kandahar. Abdur Rahman Khan, who had been an opponent of the British, was invited to be the new Amir and accepted. He ratified and confirmed the Gandamak treaty once more. Having created the buffer the British wanted between the Raj and the Russian Empire, British and Indian soldiers then withdrew from Afghanistan.

The Third Anglo-Afghan War lasted from May to August 1919 and ended in a compromise that saw Afghanistan reassert its independence and control over its relations with other countries while agreeing to a border with British India known as the Durand Line. This line is still the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan today.

The Soviet Union

The Soviet invasion was a watershed event of the Cold War, marking the only time the Soviet Union invaded a country outside the Eastern Bloc. The invasion was a strategic decision met by worldwide condemnation. The Soviets sent thousands of troops into Afghanistan and immediately assumed complete military and political control of Kabul and large portions of the country. The invasion was an attempt to subdue the Afghan civil war and maintain a friendly and socialist government on its border.

The invasion was also an attempt to uphold the Brezhnev Doctrine, which held that once a country became socialist, Moscow would never permit it to return to the capitalist camp. The Soviet Union feared that Afghanistan's instability would allow Afghan leaders to turn to the United States for help. The invasion was also motivated by the desire to uphold Soviet influence in Central Asia, which had been a geopolitical hotspot since the 19th century.

The invasion was ordered by Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev, who decided that military force was necessary to prop up the faltering Afghan communist government. 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 Soviet Union also attempted to eliminate the mujahideen's civilian support by bombing and depopulating rural areas. These tactics sparked a massive flight from the countryside, with millions of Afghans seeking asylum in Pakistan and Iran.

The war in Afghanistan became a quagmire for the Soviet Union, with the Soviets suffering some 15,000 dead and many more injured. The war was unpopular in the Soviet Union, and when Mikhail Gorbachev became leader in 1985, he put forth a plan to reform Soviet society, a plan that was incongruous with the war in Afghanistan. Finally, in February 1989, Soviet forces withdrew from Afghanistan, ending the Soviet-Afghan war. However, a civil war between Afghan factions continued.

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