Afghanistan - A graveyard or vassal of empires? افغانستان: سلطنتوں کا قبرستان یا غلام؟ تاریخ جانیے
You have often heard that Afghanistan has not been conquered by anyone and it has been a graveyard of empires. Whoever attacked him perished. Etc. etc. Let's take a dip in history and find out what the truth is.
The first great empire in human history was that of Cyrus the Great of Iran. Two and a half thousand years ago, he was the first king to take the title of emperor, the king of kings. See a map of his kingdom. Hopefully in the Achaemenid Empire you will also see on the right all the present Afghanistan which was a province of the Achaemenid Empire of Cyrus. That is, the present Afghan territory was the conquered slave of the Iranian Empire.
Let us then look at the kingdom of Alexander the Great of Macedonia. Here, too, you will have no difficulty in finding Afghanistan. Alexander and his later successors, the Seleucids and other Greek kings, enslaved Afghanistan for a long time.
This is followed by a map of the kingdom of Chandra Gupta Moriah and his successors. You will see again that present day Afghanistan was an open territory of the Maurya kings of Taxila and Patlipatra.
Let's look at the next great empire a few hundred years later. The Sassanid kings also appear to have occupied Afghanistan.
https://www.humsub.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/03-Maurya_Empire_c.250_BCE_2.jpg
Islam appears. Khurasan was conquered during the time of the Rightly Guided Caliphs. But we show you this map of the Umayyad Caliphate. Afghanistan is also an open territory.
https://www.humsub.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/05-Ummayad-Caliphate_750.jpg
The Umayyads fell. Abbasi also lost power. The Samanid kings of Samarkand and Bukhara now occupy Afghanistan. This is again an open area.
The Samanid Empire is in decline. Its Turkish governor, Alpatin, is currently ruling Ghazni province. He declares independence. The Ghaznavid Empire is established. Alpatgin's successor and son-in-law, Sabkatgin, is at war with the Hindu Shahi Rajas of Lahore, who own the Kabul and Mazar-e-Sharif areas. All of these areas are part of the Ghazni Empire. Mahmud Ghaznavi spread a series of conquests on all sides and extended his empire to Ray in Iran, Trans-Canal in Central Asia and Lahore in India. This Turkish government occupies many areas beyond present-day Afghanistan. But then the Seljuk Turks of Central Asia defeated him and drove him out of Afghanistan. Now their center is Lahore.
Meanwhile, for a short period of fifty years, the Ghauri Empire emerged from the remote Afghan region of Ghor, which rose to prominence after Sultan Ghias-ud-Din Ghauri became king in 1163 and occupied the rest of the Ghaznavid Empire. But in 1215 it came to an end. Regarding the Ghurids, the Afghan Nationalists claim to be Pashtuns, but researchers generally agree that they were of Tajik descent and belonged to Iran. He called himself Shansbani. Historians say that the Sassanid name was changed from Vishnu to Al-Shansab in Arabic and Shansbani in Persian. That is, it was not a local Afghan family.
Now a Tatar named Amir Timur arose from the cities of Sabz and Samarkand, and Afghanistan became a province of his empire. Uzbek Sultan Sheibani Khan also occupied it.
Then the area of Kabul was conquered by Zaheer-ud-Din Babar, the ruler of Fergana and thus it became a part of the Mughal Empire. From Babar to Aurangzeb the Mughals ruled over it.
When the Mughals weakened, the Iranian king Nadir Shah Afshar took control of Afghanistan.
After the assassination of Nadir Shah Afshar, a country called Afghanistan came into being for the first time when Sardar Ahmad Shah Abdali of Nadir Shah Afshar claimed to rule the Afghan territories in 1747. Earlier, Kabul and Kandahar were generally part of the Indian throne, Herat and other Iranian empires, and Mazar-e-Sharif, etc., were provinces of the Central Asian empires. Ahmad Shah Abdali's empire included the Iranian city of Nishapur, present-day Afghanistan, present-day Pakistan, and parts of Rajasthan.
In Punjab, Maharaja Ranjit Singh conquered Lahore in 1799 and took the title of Maharaja in 1801 and ascended the Lahore court. Ranjit Singh expelled the Abdalis from the Punjab with successive defeats. In 1813, Maharaja Ranjit Singh defeated the Abdalians and captured Attock. Conquered Multan in 1818. In the same year, Kashmir was taken over by the Abdalians. In 1819, Dost Muhammad Khan, the Abdali governor of Peshawar, agreed to become part of his empire by paying an annual tribute to Maharaja Ranjit Singh, but soon revolted. After the battle of Nowshera in 1823, the area from Peshawar to the Khyber Pass became part of the empire of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Maharaja Ranjit Singh's intentions to capture Dzhalal-Abad and Kabul were thwarted when Hari Singh, a prominent general with a small army, was killed defending the fort of Nalwa Jamrud. After the death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1839, the Punjab Empire fell into disarray and in 1849 came under British rule.
https://www.humsub.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/12-Sikh_Empire_tri-lingual.jpg
Britain also took vast territory from Afghanistan. In the First Anglo-Afghan War, the British garrison in Kabul signed a peace treaty. He was attacked on his return. At first it was thought that only one soldier, Dr. William Bryden, had survived out of XNUMX. Lady Butler made a famous painting on it. After this war, the misconception that Afghanistan was a graveyard of empires spread.
Afghanistan was defeated in the Second Anglo-Afghan War from 1878 to 1880. The whole of Afghanistan was occupied by Britain. In deciding the future of Afghanistan, it was also thought that its parts should be divided and a separate ruler should be appointed for each part. But then Amir Abdul Rehman was made the ruler. Under the agreement, many areas including Quetta, Kurram and Pishin valleys, Sibi, Khyber Pass were ceded to the British Raj. Afghanistan's foreign affairs were also handed over to Britain. In return, Britain took on the responsibility of assisting Afghanistan in the event of a foreign invasion. Only one thing saved Afghanistan. And that was that the British wanted to have a buffer state between their Indian Empire and the Russian Empire.
So this was the shortest history of foreign occupation of Afghanistan. We have not yet mentioned the many empires that have occupied the region, such as the White Huns, the Kushans, the Mongols, and so on.
Now if you hear someone claiming that Afghanistan is a graveyard of empires and no one has been able to occupy it, remind them that whatever great power they want to occupy and establish their government, they Has been successful in doing so. It should also be noted that neither the Russians intended to make Afghanistan part of the Soviet Union, nor did the United States want to make it their state, nor did the British want to make it part of their Indian rule.
Those who are bent on spreading this delusion by bringing various world powers to Afghanistan and killing and displacing millions of Pashtuns will continue to propagate this delusion with all their might, but this is the real history. Showing the maps above. The fact is that Afghanistan has not been the graveyard of empires but their slaves.
By the way, listen to the fact that the total population of Pashtuns in the world is estimated at XNUMX million. Of these, only about XNUMX million live in Afghanistan, while about XNUMX million live in areas that were once part of Afghanistan, but first conquered by Maharaja Ranjit Singh and then by the British Empire. Made part of what is called Pakistan today.
Yet if anyone thinks that Afghanistan has been the graveyard of empires and not their slaves, then we have to change the history of two and a half thousand years to make this claim come true. To clear up any such misunderstanding, it is enough to look at the map of Pakistan from Peshawar to Quetta. The Durand Line is shining there.
In this last picture you can see the list of rulers of different periods in different parts of Afghanistan.
In this last picture you can see the list of rulers of different periods in different parts of Afghanistan.
First published: 25/02/2017
Adnan Khan Kakar
Adnan Khan Kakar likes to write serious satire. Sometimes they even get their hands dirty on humor. Rarely is there any writing in which their words have the same meaning as they seem at first glance.
https://www.humsub.com.pk/en/45637/adnan-khan-kakar-389/
You have often heard that Afghanistan has not been conquered by anyone and it has been a graveyard of empires. Whoever attacked him perished. Etc. etc. Let's take a dip in history and find out what the truth is.
The first great empire in human history was that of Cyrus the Great of Iran. Two and a half thousand years ago, he was the first king to take the title of emperor, the king of kings. See a map of his kingdom. Hopefully in the Achaemenid Empire you will also see on the right all the present Afghanistan which was a province of the Achaemenid Empire of Cyrus. That is, the present Afghan territory was the conquered slave of the Iranian Empire.
Let us then look at the kingdom of Alexander the Great of Macedonia. Here, too, you will have no difficulty in finding Afghanistan. Alexander and his later successors, the Seleucids and other Greek kings, enslaved Afghanistan for a long time.
This is followed by a map of the kingdom of Chandra Gupta Moriah and his successors. You will see again that present day Afghanistan was an open territory of the Maurya kings of Taxila and Patlipatra.
Let's look at the next great empire a few hundred years later. The Sassanid kings also appear to have occupied Afghanistan.
https://www.humsub.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/03-Maurya_Empire_c.250_BCE_2.jpgIslam appears. Khurasan was conquered during the time of the Rightly Guided Caliphs. But we show you this map of the Umayyad Caliphate. Afghanistan is also an open territory.
https://www.humsub.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/05-Ummayad-Caliphate_750.jpgThe Umayyads fell. Abbasi also lost power. The Samanid kings of Samarkand and Bukhara now occupy Afghanistan. This is again an open area.
The Samanid Empire is in decline. Its Turkish governor, Alpatin, is currently ruling Ghazni province. He declares independence. The Ghaznavid Empire is established. Alpatgin's successor and son-in-law, Sabkatgin, is at war with the Hindu Shahi Rajas of Lahore, who own the Kabul and Mazar-e-Sharif areas. All of these areas are part of the Ghazni Empire. Mahmud Ghaznavi spread a series of conquests on all sides and extended his empire to Ray in Iran, Trans-Canal in Central Asia and Lahore in India. This Turkish government occupies many areas beyond present-day Afghanistan. But then the Seljuk Turks of Central Asia defeated him and drove him out of Afghanistan. Now their center is Lahore.
Meanwhile, for a short period of fifty years, the Ghauri Empire emerged from the remote Afghan region of Ghor, which rose to prominence after Sultan Ghias-ud-Din Ghauri became king in 1163 and occupied the rest of the Ghaznavid Empire. But in 1215 it came to an end. Regarding the Ghurids, the Afghan Nationalists claim to be Pashtuns, but researchers generally agree that they were of Tajik descent and belonged to Iran. He called himself Shansbani. Historians say that the Sassanid name was changed from Vishnu to Al-Shansab in Arabic and Shansbani in Persian. That is, it was not a local Afghan family.
Now a Tatar named Amir Timur arose from the cities of Sabz and Samarkand, and Afghanistan became a province of his empire. Uzbek Sultan Sheibani Khan also occupied it.
Then the area of Kabul was conquered by Zaheer-ud-Din Babar, the ruler of Fergana and thus it became a part of the Mughal Empire. From Babar to Aurangzeb the Mughals ruled over it.
When the Mughals weakened, the Iranian king Nadir Shah Afshar took control of Afghanistan.
After the assassination of Nadir Shah Afshar, a country called Afghanistan came into being for the first time when Sardar Ahmad Shah Abdali of Nadir Shah Afshar claimed to rule the Afghan territories in 1747. Earlier, Kabul and Kandahar were generally part of the Indian throne, Herat and other Iranian empires, and Mazar-e-Sharif, etc., were provinces of the Central Asian empires. Ahmad Shah Abdali's empire included the Iranian city of Nishapur, present-day Afghanistan, present-day Pakistan, and parts of Rajasthan.
In Punjab, Maharaja Ranjit Singh conquered Lahore in 1799 and took the title of Maharaja in 1801 and ascended the Lahore court. Ranjit Singh expelled the Abdalis from the Punjab with successive defeats. In 1813, Maharaja Ranjit Singh defeated the Abdalians and captured Attock. Conquered Multan in 1818. In the same year, Kashmir was taken over by the Abdalians. In 1819, Dost Muhammad Khan, the Abdali governor of Peshawar, agreed to become part of his empire by paying an annual tribute to Maharaja Ranjit Singh, but soon revolted. After the battle of Nowshera in 1823, the area from Peshawar to the Khyber Pass became part of the empire of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Maharaja Ranjit Singh's intentions to capture Dzhalal-Abad and Kabul were thwarted when Hari Singh, a prominent general with a small army, was killed defending the fort of Nalwa Jamrud. After the death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1839, the Punjab Empire fell into disarray and in 1849 came under British rule.
https://www.humsub.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/12-Sikh_Empire_tri-lingual.jpgBritain also took vast territory from Afghanistan. In the First Anglo-Afghan War, the British garrison in Kabul signed a peace treaty. He was attacked on his return. At first it was thought that only one soldier, Dr. William Bryden, had survived out of XNUMX. Lady Butler made a famous painting on it. After this war, the misconception that Afghanistan was a graveyard of empires spread.
Afghanistan was defeated in the Second Anglo-Afghan War from 1878 to 1880. The whole of Afghanistan was occupied by Britain. In deciding the future of Afghanistan, it was also thought that its parts should be divided and a separate ruler should be appointed for each part. But then Amir Abdul Rehman was made the ruler. Under the agreement, many areas including Quetta, Kurram and Pishin valleys, Sibi, Khyber Pass were ceded to the British Raj. Afghanistan's foreign affairs were also handed over to Britain. In return, Britain took on the responsibility of assisting Afghanistan in the event of a foreign invasion. Only one thing saved Afghanistan. And that was that the British wanted to have a buffer state between their Indian Empire and the Russian Empire.
So this was the shortest history of foreign occupation of Afghanistan. We have not yet mentioned the many empires that have occupied the region, such as the White Huns, the Kushans, the Mongols, and so on.
Now if you hear someone claiming that Afghanistan is a graveyard of empires and no one has been able to occupy it, remind them that whatever great power they want to occupy and establish their government, they Has been successful in doing so. It should also be noted that neither the Russians intended to make Afghanistan part of the Soviet Union, nor did the United States want to make it their state, nor did the British want to make it part of their Indian rule.
Those who are bent on spreading this delusion by bringing various world powers to Afghanistan and killing and displacing millions of Pashtuns will continue to propagate this delusion with all their might, but this is the real history. Showing the maps above. The fact is that Afghanistan has not been the graveyard of empires but their slaves.
By the way, listen to the fact that the total population of Pashtuns in the world is estimated at XNUMX million. Of these, only about XNUMX million live in Afghanistan, while about XNUMX million live in areas that were once part of Afghanistan, but first conquered by Maharaja Ranjit Singh and then by the British Empire. Made part of what is called Pakistan today.
Yet if anyone thinks that Afghanistan has been the graveyard of empires and not their slaves, then we have to change the history of two and a half thousand years to make this claim come true. To clear up any such misunderstanding, it is enough to look at the map of Pakistan from Peshawar to Quetta. The Durand Line is shining there.
In this last picture you can see the list of rulers of different periods in different parts of Afghanistan.
In this last picture you can see the list of rulers of different periods in different parts of Afghanistan.
First published: 25/02/2017
Adnan Khan Kakar
Adnan Khan Kakar likes to write serious satire. Sometimes they even get their hands dirty on humor. Rarely is there any writing in which their words have the same meaning as they seem at first glance.
https://www.humsub.com.pk/en/45637/adnan-khan-kakar-389/
