Afghanistan's+History,+Years+1800+to+1919

=Afghanistan's History At A Glance =

The Great Game was a rivalry between the British Empire and the Russian Empire for supremacy in Central Asia. The Great Game started in the early 1800's when the British Empire was trying to take over India but feared that Afghanistan would become a staging post for the Russian invasion of India. In 1813 there was a peace treaty called the Gulistan treaty. It was a peace treaty between Imperial Russia and Persia as a result of the Russo-Persian war. One of the major names that you hear about from the Great Game is Conolly. He is the one that came up with the name the Great Game. Conolly is from Britian and traveled through Central Asia to get a good story about the war to write in a book. He traveled by the secret name Khan Ali and was eventually caught by Russians and executed. The Great Game eventually ended in 1907 in St. Petersburg Russia at the Anglo-Russian Convention. At the convention they solidified the boundaries of Persia, Afghanistan and Tibet. {AK}

 The Durrani Empire was a monarchy in modern Afghanistan established in Kandahar in 1747 by a Pasthun military commander named Ahmad Shah Durrani. After he died the empire was passed onto his children. The Durrani Empire was considered the origin of Afghanistan and Durrani is credited with establishing Afghanistan. In 1803 Shuja Shah Durrani signed a treaty with the British to oppose foreign troops to pass through his territories. This was the first Afghan pact with a European country. Other rulers through the years were Mahmud Shah, Sultan Ali Shah and Ayub Shah. Mahmud Shah alienated the Barakzai and revenge was taken out by Dost Mahommed Khan. Ayub Shah came into rule after he killed Sultan Ali Shah and was later killed in 1823 which ended the Durrani Empire. {AK}

 In 1826 Dost Mohammed Khan became the Emir of Afghanistan. The rivalry between the expanding British and Russian Empires influenced Afghanistan during the 1900's. This rivalry is known as the Great Game. This rivalry climaxed in the two Anglo-Afghan wars and "The Siege of Heart." In 1838 the first Anglo-Afghan war took place, the British were angry because of the presence of one Russian diplomat in Kabul and demanded that Afghanistan cut off contact with Russia and Iran and that they give up land occupied by Pashtun's. Afghanistan agreed but the British still invaded. The people of Afghanistan fought back and were able to destroy the British army. The second Anglo-Afghan war started in 1878 over the arrival of another Russian diplomat in Kabul, the British, outraged, were able to occupy all of the major cities and crush the rebellion in a preemptive move. The British withdraw took place after putting in a puppet leader, Amir Abdur Rahman. In 1917 the Bolshevik Revolution took place and Amanullah, the king of Afghanistan declared Afghanistan's full independence and war on Britain. In 1919 the treaty of Rawalpindi was signed and the British relinquished their control over Afghan foreign affairs. {EB}

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 This part of Afghanistan's history that we researched show a lot about its people. In the book, The Kite Runner, Amir said something about Afghans always being there when you need them to be. This shows, because in every take over attempt there was always a rebellion that was ready to fight back, and they stayed loyal to their country, even after the British controlled it for half a century. Through several wars and numerous take overs Afghanistan was still able to keep its rich culture. This shows int the book by the traditions that we read about, like Kite Fights. Even after it was banned they still continued to do it. Another tradition that was in the book was the wedding ceremony between Amir and Soraya. The strife that this country has gone through shows the courage of these people, which comes out in Amir when he goes back to a war ridden Afghanistan to get his half brothers son from the sociopathic Assef. {EB}

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Works Cited: (both)

"http://en.wikipedia.org". Wikipedia. February 27 .

"http://www.state.gov". U.S. Department of State. February 27 <@http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5380.htm>.