Invasions of Afghanistan

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
See also: History of Afghanistan
Not to be confused with the United States invasion of Afghanistan, nor with the ensuing War in Afghanistan.

Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
.

Purpose

From a geopolitical perspective, controlling Afghanistan is vital in controlling the rest of Southern Asia, or getting a passage through Central Asia, reflecting its geographic position in the region. Afghanistan played an important part in the Great Game power struggles. Historically, the conquest of Afghanistan has also played an important role in the invasion of India from the west through the Khyber Pass.

History of Afghanistan

Persian conquests

While relatively little detail is known, parts of the region of modern day Afghanistan came under rule of the

Median kingdom
for a short time.

Afghanistan fell to the

Bactriana (Balkh); and Gandhara (Kabul and Peshawar
).

Greek, Indian and Kushan invasions

Greco-Bactrian kingdom, which lasted for more than three centuries in Afghanistan. This Greek kingdom called Bactria carried on Greek culture while completely cut off from Europe for three centuries. One of the cities, Ai-Khanoum was excavated in 1970s, showing a complete Greek city with an acropolis, amphitheater, temples, and numerous statues. Greek art has been found in Bactria showing influence from Indian Buddhist art creating something of an hybrid artistic style. Bactrian King Menander I converted to Buddhism after staging multiple theological and philosophical debates between his Greek priests and Indian Buddhist monks. Menander I is remembered in Buddhist Sutras as "King Milinda of the Yunani." The Ionian origin of the Greek veterans who settled Bactria is remembered to this day by the Afghan word for Greeks, which is "Ionani." Bactrian Greeks left a legacy of coinage, architecture, and Buddhist art, which comprised the Gandhara culture, especially the Greco-Buddhist art affecting all of East Asia to this day. The last Greek Kingdom in Afghanistan was conquered by the Kushan
invaders in the first century AD, a full three centuries after Alexander. But Greek language continued to be used by the Kushans in their coinage for the next several centuries.

Conquest by Arab Caliphate

In the seventh to ninth centuries, following the disintegration of the

Islamic prophet Muhammad. At its height, Muslim control - during the period of the Umayyad Caliphate - extended from the borders of China to the Iberian Peninsula (modern day Spain and Portugal), the Middle East, North Africa
, parts of southern Europe, parts of south East Europe, parts of central Asia, and parts of South Asia.

Mongol Conquests

In the

Turko-Mongol Chagatai Khanate
.

The

Kandahar province, named after Batu.[4]

Conquest by Tamerlane and Mughal Empire

From 1383 to 1385, the Afghanistan area was conquered from the north by

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. He brought great destruction on Afghanistan's south, slaughtering thousands and enslaving an equal number of women. Allied with the Uzbeks, Hazaras and other Turkic communities in the north his dominance over Afghanistan was long-lasting, allowing him for his future successful conquests in Central Anatolia against the Ottomans.[4]

In the next period,[clarification needed] no part of Afghanistan ever came under rule of various Delhi Sultanate. After the slow disintegration of the Timurid Empire in 1506, the Mughal Empire was later established in Afghanistan, [non sequitur]Pakistan, and India by Babur in 1526, who was a descendant of Timur through his father and possibly a descendant of Genghis Khan through his mother. By the 17th century, the Mughal Empire ruled most of India, but later declined during the 18th century.

The Sikh Empire invasion, 1837–1838

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.

Battle of Peshawar (1834). The Maharajah appointed Jahan Dad Khan, ex-governor of Attock as the new governor of Peshawar in November 1838. Nalwa was killed at the Battle of Jamrud,From there the Sikhs in alliance with the British in 1839 invaded the Khyber and ruling it till 1849, and left a small garrison of 5,000 Sikhs in the city of Jalalabad, as well as this in 1842 a force of Sikhs sacked Kabul and looted the treasury of Dost Mohamad Khan.[5]

British invasions: 1838–1842, 1878–1880 and 1919

During the 19th and early 20th centuries, Afghanistan was invaded three times from

British India
.

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

Main articles: Red Army intervention in Afghanistan (1929), Red Army intervention in Afghanistan (1930), and Soviet–Afghan War

The Soviet Union 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.[6] The oppressive nature of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, which executed political prisoners and purged the government of any opposition, was also seen unfavorably by the Afghan population. By 1979, fighting between the Afghan government and various other factions within the country, some of which were supported by the United States and other countries, led to a virtual civil war and in a phone call to the Kremlin in March 1979 Afghan prime minister Nur Muhammad Taraki requested military assistance. This was refused by Soviet prime minister Alexei Kosygin on behalf of the Politburo.[7]

After Taraki was murdered the new Afghan Prime Minister Hafizullah Amin repeated requests for Soviet military support, at least to protect his residence. Finally, in December the Politburo decided to deal with the situation in Afghanistan,[8] and in early December sent special forces which attacked Amin's palace and killed him, putting the exiled Babrak Kamal in his place. These forces were subsequently reinforced by the 40th Army which entered Afghanistan on 24 December 1979. As the Kremlin foresaw, this intervention would cause problems around the world for the USSR, with the policy of détente and, not least, at the forthcoming Olympic Games due to take place in summer 1980 in Moscow.[9] The result was a far-reaching boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, supported not only by the United States but by many of the 65 other invited countries that did not take part.

At its greatest extent the Soviet military contingent in Afghanistan numbered 100,000 personnel. This presence remained for a decade and kickstarted U.S. and Saudi funding for

Arab nations (Pathan tribes from across the border also participated in the war; they were supported by the Pakistani ISI), fought the Soviet forces to a standstill. On 24 January 1989 Gorbachev's Politburo took the decision to withdraw most of the Soviet forces,[10] while continuing to provide military assistance to the Afghan government.[11] Eventually, in-fighting within the Mujahideen led to the rise of warlords in Afghanistan, and from them emerged the Taliban.[12] The Soviets left behind the only highway in the country as well as many concrete structures built in the major cities, and airfields that are still in use (e.g. at Bagram
).

American invasion and counterinsurgency: October 2001 – August 2021

Main article: United States invasion of Afghanistan
US military forces did not capture him, though they toppled the Taliban government and disrupted bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network. On May 2, 2011, bin Laden was shot and killed by United States Armed Forces in Pakistan. The Taliban leadership persisted by hiding throughout Afghanistan, largely in the southeast, and launched guerrilla attacks against forces of the United States, its allies, and the government of President Ashraf Ghani
.

In 2006, the US forces turned over security of the country to

withdrawal of Western forces and the Taliban takeover of Kabul
.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Composition of macro geographical (continental) regions, geographical sub-regions, and selected economic and other groupings". UNdata. 26 April 2011. Archived from the original on 13 July 2011. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
  2. ^ "Afghanistan". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 25 February 2010. Retrieved 17 March 2010.
  3. ^ "HAZĀRA: ii. HISTORY". Alessandro Monsutti (Online ed.). United States: Encyclopædia Iranica. December 15, 2003. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
  4. ^ a b Tareekh e Afghanistan - Usman Barakzai
  5. ^ Suri, Lala (1961). UMDAT-UT-TAWARIKH. Vol. 3. Mumbai: S. Chand & Co. p. 436.
  6. ^ See Wilson Center, International History declassified: The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
  7. ^ "18 March 1979* (No 242) Kosygin-Taraki". July 8, 2016.
  8. ^ "6 December 1979* (Pb 176/82) Afghanistan". July 9, 2016.
  9. ^ "28 January 1980* (Pb 181/34) Afghanistan". July 9, 2016.
  10. ^ "Wilson Center Digital Archive". digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org.
  11. ^ "21 March 1990** (No 318/2/0354) Military assistance". June 2, 2017.
  12. ^ Arbabzadah, Nushin (April 28, 2011). "The 1980s mujahideen, the Taliban and the shifting idea of jihad". The Guardian.
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