Invasions of Afghanistan
Afghanistan is known as the “graveyard of
empires”.
Being historically “on the way” from the West to
India, Afghanistan has been invaded and occupied by myriad empires. Some were not trivial, and established a long-lasting
presence. Others were fleeting, and
relatively quickly displaced, like most recently, the USSR and the US/NATO.
The Persians (Medes)
While relatively little detail is known, parts of
the region of modern-day Afghanistan came under rule of the Median kingdom (part
of ancient Persia), for a short time.
Alexander and the Greeks (Macedonians)
Alexander the Great invaded what is today
Afghanistan in 330 BC as part of war against Persia. Comprising the easternmost
satrapies of Persia, Afghanistan provided some challenging battles in his
conquest of the remaining lands of Persia. Renamed Bactria, and settled with
his Ionian veterans, Alexander began his invasion of India from what is now
Jalalabad, attacking the Indus River basin through the Khyber Pass. Several
cities in Afghanistan are named for Alexander, including Alexandria Arachosia,
now called Kandahar (a contraction of Iskandahar).
The Islamic Caliphate
In the seventh to ninth centuries, following the
disintegration of the Sassanid Persian Empire and Roman Empire, leaders in the
world theatre for the last four centuries and archrivals, the area was again
invaded from the west, this time by Umar, second Caliph of the Rashidun
Caliphate, in the Islamic conquest of Afghanistan, eventually resulting in the
conversion of most of its inhabitants to Islam.
Genghis Khan and the Mongols
In the Mongol invasion of Khwarezmia (1219–1221),
Genghis Khan invaded the region from the northeast in one of his many conquests
to create the huge Mongol Empire. His armies slaughtered thousands in the
cities of Kabul, Kandahar, Jalalabad etc. Thereafter most parts of Afghanistan
other than the extreme south-eastern remained under Mongol rule as part of the
Ilkhanate and Chagatai Khanate.
Tamerlane (Timur) and Mughal Empire
From 1383 to 1385, the Afghanistan area was
conquered from the north by Timur, leader of neighboring Transoxiana (roughly
modern-day Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and adjacent areas), and became a part of
the Timurid Empire. Timur was from a Turko-Mongol tribe and although a Muslim,
saw himself more as an heir of Genghis Khan. Timur's armies caused great
devastation and are estimated to have caused the deaths of 17 million people.
The Sikh Empire
In the beginning of 1837, the Battle of Jamrud was
fought between the Sikhs under Maharajah Ranjit Singh and the Afghans under
Emir Dost Muhammad Khan. Since the consolidation of the Sikh Empire in Punjab,
Maharajah Ranjit Singh had tried a wave of invasions on Afghanistan. The
Afghans had been losing their long held territories to Sikhs over the preceding
years due to internal conflicts, and had seen their once mighty empire
disintegrating.
British invasions: 1838–1842, 1878–1880 and
1919
During the 19th and early 20th centuries,
Afghanistan was invaded three times from British India. The First Anglo-Afghan
War of 1838–1842 was conducted with the intention of limiting Russian influence
in the country and quelling raiding from across the border. Within four years
the British were expelled. The main British Indian force occupying Kabul along
with their camp followers, was almost completely annihilated during its 1842
retreat from Kabul. After the Indian
Mutiny, the British launched a second invasion, the Second Anglo-Afghan War of
1878–1880, for much the same reasons but did not attempt to maintain a
permanent presence. A third conflict broke out in 1919. It lasted for three
months, from May to August, 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.
Soviet invasions: 1929, 1930 and 1979
The Soviet Union successfully invaded Afghanistan
in 1929 against the Saqqawists and again in 1930 to fight the Basmachi
movement. The Soviet Union, along with
other countries, was a direct supporter of the new Afghan government after the
Saur Revolution in April 1978. However, Soviet-style reforms introduced by the
government such as changes in marriage customs and land reform were not
received well by a population deeply immersed in tradition and Islam. After continuing internal strife and
assassinations of several Soviet puppet leaders, on 24 January 1989 Gorbachev's
Politburo took the decision to withdraw most of the Soviet forces.
Invasion by the United States and NATO, October
2001
On October 7, 2001 the United States, supported by
some NATO countries including the United Kingdom and Australia, as well as
other allies, began an invasion of Afghanistan under Operation Enduring
Freedom. The invasion was launched to capture Osama bin Laden, who was the
mastermind of the September 11, 2001 attacks, and was being sheltered by the
Taliban.
After some success against the Taliban, they began
to regroup and to engage both NATO and Afghan National Army forces, starting a
protracted war that lasted till 2021, with the withdrawal of Western forces and
a Taliban victory.
“Status quo
ante”, except for the 2500 American lives lost, $2,4 trillion spent on the war,
and $80 billion plus worth of military equipment gifted to the Taliban by the
monumentally incompetent Joe Biden and minions.
Ray Gruszecki
August 31, 2021
