DOCSLIB.ORG

Tim11rid Herat

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

Tim11ridHerat by Terry Allen WIESBADEN 1983 DR. LUDWIG R EICH E RT VERLAG Cll'-Kurztitelauf11.d1me der lkt1tsd1rn Bil,/iothck Allen, Terry: Timurid I lcr,1t hy Terry ,\//en. - \Vicsh.1clcn : Rc·icl1,·:t, llJS.l. (lkihdtc zurn Tubingcr Atl,ts des \'"rdcrcn Orients. Reihe II, Cei,rcswiss. ; Nr. 5G) ISBN 3-~822i'i-175-0 NE: Tiihingcr ,\tlas des Vorucrrn Orients I Bcihcftc, B CO 1983 Dr. Ludwig Reichert Verlag \Viesb;idcn rhcit ist i111Sondcrforschungsbereich 19, Tiibingen, cnrstanden und wurde auf seine ;sung linter Vcrwcndung dcr il;m von der Deutschen Forsdrnngsgcmeinschafi zur Vcrfiigung gestelltcn Mittcl gcdr.uckr.. Cesamthcrstcllung: Hubert & Co., (;oningen · Printed in Cermany Contents Preface ....................... 7 Note on Transliteration, Transcr-i-ption, and Dates 10 Landsc:.1pe :.1nd History 11 Chronology of Development 17 Society and Economics . 36 The Timurids and Herat 46 Appendix: Sources ... -r- -- 56 'HanJlist of Toponyms and Mo11u111e11ts. 63 Bibliography 82 Figures 93 I I .. II "The whole habitable world has not such a town as Herat haJ become under Sultan Husayn l\firza, whose orJers and efforts had incrcascJ its splendor and beauty as ten to one, rather, as twenty to one." Zahir al-Din Mu~ammad Babur, 1506 1 "From (the] Musella [sic] extensive ruins stretch away for a considerable distance to the [no,thwest], skirting the foot of the mountains-the remains of mosques, sepulchres, baths, and other public eJifices. The tombs, which are in great numbers, are held in much veneration by the Heratians. Some of them are of immense proportions; others arc only great heaps of stones, or rough masonry, at the top of which a long pole is fixeJ surmounted by a ragged piece of linen for a flag, a signal that some sainted rnollah is there interred." J.P. Ferrier, 1845 2 "The city itself is, I should imagine, one of the dirtiest in the world. Many of the small strec!s, which branch from the main ones, arc built over, and form low dark tunnels, containing every offensive thing. No drains having been contrived to carry off the rain whi~h falls within the walls, it collects and stagnates in ponds which arc dug in Jiffercnt parts of the city. The residents cast out the refuse of their houses into the streets, and dead cats and dogs are commonly seen lying upon heaps of the vilest filth. In a street which we were obliged to pass through to get at the bazaar lay for many days a. dead horse, surrounded by bloated dogs, and poisoning the neighbourhood with its w1- wholcsome effluvia. !v1orc could be said about the bestiality of the citizens, but, as it is not a choice theme, I will not enlarge upon it.'' Arthur Conolly, 1830 3 1 B;ibor, trans., p. 300 (slightly emended). 2 Ferrier, pp. 179-80. 3 A. Conolly, v. 2, pp.3-4. • Preface Ir has been nearly five centuries since rhe lasr descrndanrs of T1mLir fled rhe • oasis ciry of Heriir, in western Afghanistan. They ldr behinJ rhem a capital rhar had been rhe center of poliric1I, financial, inrellecrual, and culrural life in • rhe eastern Islamic world since rhe sulranare of TimC1r's son giih Rob began . When Biibor, rhe emperor-to-be of India, came ro Hcriir rhe Ozbek invasion of 1507 and rhe Timurid ahandonment of rhe city were only seven months in • the future. Soltiin Hosein, a great-great-grandson of TimCir, had died just six month before, after a reign of thirty-eight years. The Herat that Biibor saw • and praised was largely a Timurid creation. Siih Rob, Solriin Hosein, and several less famed Soltiins restored pub.lie buildings, exrended biiziirs, dug 11ew canals, built religious shrines-and schools, and covered vast tracts of land • with grandiose estates enclosing elegant palaces. Heriit's TimuriJ form domi­ nated its shape until a half century ago, despite the city's progressive disinte­ • gration. Only a pitifol remnant of Timurid Hcriit has survived the successive depreda­ • tions of every power that has controlled the city since 1507. The low point / J came in the early 19th century, as Conolly's observations vividly suggest. By •• 1838 only six to seven thousand citizens were left within the square mud ,. walls of a city ravaged by a--year's siege. Even in the 1960's the population of rhe district that includes Her;it was estim;Hed ar only 86,000; 4 its growth certainly has been stopped by the present IZusso-Afghan war. While Timurid Heriit is a lost ciry, it cin be reconstructed in considerable det;1il, since in • many, and the most important, cases the location of monuments and even their plans and histories can be established. The "Musalla" area that Ferrier referred to has long been known to architectural historians, and outside the • city some of Ferrier's "extensive ruins" can still be seen, since the mounds formed by the collapse of Timurid palaces, colleges, and tombs have been • only partly effaced by modernization of the city's plan. This modernization has not extended to the customs remarked by Conolly: in the newly bid out streets of the gahr-e Nou fNew City), I observed the fixtures to be the same, • down to the dead horse. -,' • 4 Nancy l·btch Dupree, A11 /Iistorfr,,f G11idt' to A(gl1.111i:;/,111,f..:,ihul, 1971, unp3ginatl'J. \X'hile II Afghan census figures historically have bl'ell exaggerJteJ, 86,0UtJ is credible if it is taken to inclu,lc the populatioii of the entire oasis. ; __-, --- 8 l'rcf.1cc The Tirnurid rt1111sarc supplemented, for the purpose of historic1I topngra­ phy, by Timurid histories, biographic1! collections, citalogucs of the cin·".; religious monuments, .111dlegal documents that describe Hcrat, directly or in passing, from a local and contemporary point of view. From these sources, combined with 19th and 20th century maps and photographs, and ·obser\'J­ tions from my own visits in J 976, 1977, and 1978, I have constructed ;1 Catalogue of Toponyms and Monuments that deals with detailed topographic and historical matters. 5 The catalogue and map, however, contain only inar­ ticulate facts. This memoir is intended to set forth those facts in a compre­ hensible form and show how they can be understood by reference to Herat's urban history and cultural context. I am pleased to acknowledge my gratitude to the many persons who have given me their assistance, advice, and time during the years I have worked on - this study, which first appeared as lllf doctoral thesis. 6 Without the unstint­ ing intellectual and material support of Prof. Oleg Grabar and Dr. William Trousdale I would never have seen Herat, much less completed my investiga­ tion of it. Dr. Lisa Golombek, Prof. Renata Holod, and Mr. James Knudstad, too, have contributed systematically to my trnining as well as to my interpre­ tation of Herat. Whatever success this work enjoys is a result of their concern and insight. / My field work in 1978-79 was supported by a Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship ;ind c1n International Doctoral Research Fellowship (administered by the Social Science Research Council and the American Council of Learned Societies). For information on particular points and for their more general advice and · help, I thank Dr. Michelle de Angelis, Dr. Margaret Feary, Prof. Richard Frye, Prof. Heinz Gaube, Mr. Robert Hamilton, Ms. Beatrice Manz, Dr. Maria Subtelny, and Prof. Wheeler Thackston, Jr. Mr. A.S. Cook and Ms. Lesley Hall of the India Office Library and Records and Mrs. Christine Kelly of the Royal Geographie:i!I Society were both generous and ingenious in help­ ing me to find archival material in London. For their moral and personal support I thank Dr. Max Klimburg, Prof. Deborah Klimburg-Salter, Dean Elizabeth Pattullo, Dr. Ralph Pinder-Wilson, Ms. Margaret Scvcenko, and Dr. Jon Summers, as well as my other friends and travelling companions in Afghanistan. Despite the wise advice .rnd liberal assistance offered by these 5 A Cata!ogJ1e of tlJe Topo11yms ,md !v10111m1e11tso/ Timurid l/erat, Agh:i Kh:in Program fnr Islamic Architecture, Harvard University ~nd the /Vl:issJc!iusctts Institute of Technology, C1111bridgc,Mass., 1981. 1' "TimuriJ-Hcrat;" Harvard University, 198 i:-- --------- -_-_-------=----~--~ Prdace 9 kinJ persons, bLime for the errors ,rnJ vag:ui:.:s perpetratt:J here must rest • entirely with me. In the following pages I h:1Ve concerneJ rnyst:lf solely with Herat, srepping wiJely around most comparisons with other cities. I have become familiar • with Herat to the point that I feel uneasy about my understanJing of cities I cannot know nearly so well. Continually I have been maJc aware of how the • basic outlines of Herat's site, ancient plan: and water system have affected every aspect of its development. \Xlhere a dry list of water-tax assessments, • for example, can be induced to yielJ evidence on a dozen distinct issues, it is clear that the idiosync~atic influence of location must be adjusted for before comparisons can be made'. If I have succeeded, the reader will be able to • make that adjustment for Herat; I am too close to the trees for a good per- • spective on the forest . Gregory, Michigan • August 1981 • • • • • 4 •i Note on Transliteration, Transcrfption and Dates The system of transcription of Arabic and Persian names employed here is that of the Tubinger Atlas des .Vorderen Orients. For ri1y own transliteration, see Allen, Catalogue. Dates, where not specified, are according to the lunar hijrah calendar (A.H. or L. H.; S. H. denotes the solar hijrah calendar). ft is i111practical to g1ve Julian equivalents for all hijrah dates. ft will be sufficient for the reader to remember that the year 800 A.H.
Recommended publications
  • Victims of Downing Street: Popular Pressure and the Press in the Stoddart and Conolly Affair, 1838-1845 Sarah E

    Victims of Downing Street: Popular Pressure and the Press in the Stoddart and Conolly Affair, 1838-1845 Sarah E

    The College of Wooster Libraries Open Works Senior Independent Study Theses 2016 Victims of Downing Street: Popular Pressure and the Press in the Stoddart and Conolly Affair, 1838-1845 Sarah E. Kendrick The College of Wooster, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://openworks.wooster.edu/independentstudy Recommended Citation Kendrick, Sarah E., "Victims of Downing Street: Popular Pressure and the Press in the Stoddart and Conolly Affair, 1838-1845" (2016). Senior Independent Study Theses. Paper 6989. https://openworks.wooster.edu/independentstudy/6989 This Senior Independent Study Thesis Exemplar is brought to you by Open Works, a service of The oC llege of Wooster Libraries. It has been accepted for inclusion in Senior Independent Study Theses by an authorized administrator of Open Works. For more information, please contact [email protected]. © Copyright 2016 Sarah E. Kendrick The College of Wooster Victims of Downing Street: Popular Pressure and the Press in the Stoddart and Conolly Affair, 1838-1845 by Sarah Emily Kendrick Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of Senior Independent Study Supervised by Professor Johnathan Pettinato Department of History Spring 2016 Abstract During the summer of 1842, Emir Nasrullah of Bukhara, in what is now Uzbekistan, beheaded Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Stoddart and Captain Arthur Conolly, two British officers sent to his kingdom on a diplomatic mission. Reports of the officers’ deaths caused an uproar across Britain, and raised questions about the extent to which Britons abroad were entitled to government protection. Historians have generally examined the officers’ deaths exclusively in the context of the Great Game (the nineteenth century Anglo-Russian rivalry over Central Asia) without addressing the furor the crisis caused in England.
  • Politics of Notables’

    Politics of Notables’

    SHIVAN MAHENDRARAJAH AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF AFGHANISTAN STUDIES, KABUL TAMERLANE’S CONQUEST OF HERAT AND THE ‘POLITICS OF NOTABLES’ SUMMARY Jean Aubin (1963) analyzed Tamerlane’s (Temür’s) capture of cities. This paper extends his study by focusing on the actions of notables (a‘yān) of Khurasan, and Herat specifically, to the existential threat posed by Temür. Boaz Shoshan (1986), the “politics of notables,” offers an analytical framework. Led by Sufis, Zayn al-Dīn Taybādī and heirs of Aḥmad-i Jām, notables secretly communicated with Temür to offer him support for the conquest of Khurasan. They feared that the Kart king’s decision to resist Temür would lead to rapine and ruin, as happened with Chinggis Khan in 619/1222. Moreover, the Sufis of Jām, sensing the demise of their Kartid patrons, sought a new patron in Temür. Taybādī and the Kartid vizier, Mu‘īn al-Dīn Jāmī, were instrumental in the plans to surrender Herat; and to attract Temür to Aḥmad-i Jām’s saint cult. Their letters to Temür, and Taybādī’s hagiography, offer insights into how a‘yān acted during a crisis, fostered the commonweal, and prevented a “general massacre” (qaṭl-i ‘āmm). Keywords: Kart; Tamerlane; Timurid; Taybādī; Herat; notables. RÉSUMÉ Jean Aubin (1963) a analysé « comment Tamerlan (Temür) prenait les villes ». Cet article porte la question plus loin en se focalisant sur les actions des notables (a‘yān) du Khura- san, et notamment de Hérat, en face de la menace existentielle posée par Temür. Boaz Shoshan (1986), avec sa « politique des notables », offre un cadre analytique pour cette étude.
  • Iran's Balancing Act in Afghanistan

    Iran's Balancing Act in Afghanistan

    CHILDREN AND FAMILIES The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and EDUCATION AND THE ARTS decisionmaking through research and analysis. ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT HEALTH AND HEALTH CARE This electronic document was made available from www.rand.org as a public service INFRASTRUCTURE AND of the RAND Corporation. TRANSPORTATION INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS LAW AND BUSINESS Skip all front matter: Jump to Page 16 NATIONAL SECURITY POPULATION AND AGING PUBLIC SAFETY Support RAND SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Browse Reports & Bookstore TERRORISM AND Make a charitable contribution HOMELAND SECURITY For More Information Visit RAND at www.rand.org Explore the RAND National Defense Research Institute View document details Limited Electronic Distribution Rights This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law as indicated in a notice appearing later in this work. This electronic representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for non- commercial use only. Unauthorized posting of RAND electronic documents to a non-RAND website is prohibited. RAND electronic documents are protected under copyright law. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of our research documents for commercial use. For information on reprint and linking permissions, please see RAND Permissions. This product is part of the RAND Corporation occasional paper series. RAND occa- sional papers may include an informed perspective on a timely policy issue, a discussion of new research methodologies, essays, a paper presented at a conference, a conference summary, or a summary of work in progress. All RAND occasional papers undergo rigorous peer review to ensure that they meet high standards for research quality and objectivity.
  • British Interventions in Afghanistan and the Afghans' Struggle To

    British Interventions in Afghanistan and the Afghans' Struggle To

    University of Oran 2 Faculty of Foreign Languages Doctoral Thesis Submitted in British Civilization Entitled: British Interventions in Afghanistan and the Afghans’ Struggle to Achieve Independence (1838-1921) Presented and submitted Publicaly by by: Mr Mehdani Miloud in front of a jury composed of Jury Members Designation University Pr.Bouhadiba Zoulikha President Oran 2 Pr. Lahouel Badra Supervisor Oran 2 Pr. Moulfi Leila Examiner Oran 2 Pr. Benmoussat Smail Examiner Tlemcen Dr. Dani Fatiha Examiner Oran 1 Dr. Meberbech Fewzia Examiner Tlemcen 2015-2016 Dedication To my daughter Nardjes (Nadjet) . Abstract The British loss of the thirteen colonies upon the American independence in 1783 moved Britain to concentrate her efforts on India. Lying between the British and Russian empires as part of the Great Game, Afghanistan grew important for the Russians, for it constituted a gateway to India. As a result, the British wanted to make of Afghanistan a buffer state to ward off a potential Russian invasion of India. Because British-ruled India government accused the Afghan Amir of duplicity, she intervened in Afghanistan in 1838 to topple the Afghan Amir, Dost Mohammad and re-enthrone an Afghan ‗puppet‘ king named Shah Shuja. The British made their second intervention in Afghanistan (1878-1880) because the Anglo-Russian rivalry persisted. The result was both the annexation of some of the Afghans‘ territory and the confiscation of their sovereignty over their foreign policy. Unlike the British first and second interventions in Afghanistan, the third one, even though short, was significant because it was instigated by the Afghan resistance. Imbued with nationalist and Pan-Islamist ideologies, the Afghans were able to free their country from the British domination.
  • The Taliban, Foreign Occupation, and Afghan

    The Taliban, Foreign Occupation, and Afghan

    1 RESISTANCE BY OTHER MEANS: THE TALIBAN, FOREIGN OCCUPATION, AND AFGHAN NATIONAL IDENTITY A dissertation presented by Mariam Atifa Raqib to The Law, Policy and Society Program In partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the field of Law, Policy and Society Northeastern University Boston, Massachusetts April, 2011 2 RESISTANCE BY OTHER MEANS: THE TALIBAN, FOREIGN OCCUPATION, AND AFGHAN NATIONAL IDENTITY by Mariam Atifa Raqib Policy analysts frequently portray the Taliban resistance as an exclusively Islamic movement. Culturally deterministic notions regarding Islamic societies have negatively influenced western governments’ policies towards Muslim states. The research here advances the hypothesis that the current conflict in Afghanistan is not about “Islam.” At its core the Taliban resistance is a nationalist challenge to foreign forces and their Afghan allies. Furthermore, the roots of this movement are foreign occupation, continued years of war and violence, and a lack of genuine effort on the part of the incumbent regime to implement necessary socio-economic and political reforms. This work claims that the success of the Taliban movement is firmly rooted in their appropriation of religious symbols, discourse and terminology — particularly Shariat, or Islamic law — to channel the frustrations of a grieving population. Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the field of Law, Policy and Society in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences of Northeastern University, April 2011 3 Acknowledgements This dissertation has culminated from many years of research. I am privileged to have a group of people who have been supportive to me.
  • NAIMI, Mohammed Omar, 1927- DECISION-MAKING in the DISRAELI GOVERNMENT in REGARD to ARMED INTERVENTION in AFGHANISTAN: an ANALYTICAL APPROACH

    NAIMI, Mohammed Omar, 1927- DECISION-MAKING in the DISRAELI GOVERNMENT in REGARD to ARMED INTERVENTION in AFGHANISTAN: an ANALYTICAL APPROACH

    71-27,633 NAIMI, Mohammed Omar, 1927- DECISION-MAKING IN THE DISRAELI GOVERNMENT IN REGARD TO ARMED INTERVENTION IN AFGHANISTAN: AN ANALYTICAL APPROACH. The University of Oklahoma, Ph.D., 1971 Political Science, international law and relations University Microfilms, A XEROX Company, Ann Arbor, Michigan THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA GRADUATE COLLEGE DECISION-MAKING IN THE DISRAELI GOVERNMENT IN REGARD TO ARMED INTERVENTION IN AFGHANISTAN: AN ANALYTICAL APPROACH A DISSERTATION Su b m i t t e d t o t h e g r a d u a t e f a c u l t y in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY BY M. OMAR NAIMI Norman, Oklahoma 1971 DECISION-MAKING IN THE DISRAELI GOVERNMENT IN REGARD TO ARMED INTERVENTION IN AFGHANISTAN; AN ANALYTICAL APPROACH APPROVED BY </7- 1/ V DISSERTATION COMMITTEE \ TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS...................................... iv LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.................................. vii Chapter I. INTRODUCTION ................................ 1 II. THE HISTORICAL SETTING ...................... 12 III. ORGANIZATIONAL S E T T I N G ...................... 35 IV. THE ACTORS .................................. 61 V. THE DECISION .................................. 108 VI. DETERMINAÎÏTS OF DECISION; COmUNICATION AND INFORMATION..................................... 168 VII. DETERMINANTS OF DECISION: MOTIVATION ......... 199 VIII. DETERMINANTS OF DECISION: CAPABILITY ......... 245 IX. ANALYSIS OF THE SITUATION ..................... 26 8 X. CONCLUSION .................................... 305 GLOSSARY ............................................... 331 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................ 333 111 ACKNOWLEDGMENT S The writer wishes to acknowledge that without the help and encouragement of others, this work would not have been completed. The writer is especially indebted to Dr. Rufus G. Hall, Jr., Professor of Political Science at the University of Oklahoma, who served both as his advisor and chairman of his committee.
  • Qawm: Tribe-State Relations in Afghanistan from Darius to Karzai

    Qawm: Tribe-State Relations in Afghanistan from Darius to Karzai

    Qawm: Tribe-State Relations in Afghanistan from Darius to Karzai Author: Alexander Charles Guittard Persistent link: http://hdl.handle.net/2345/1975 This work is posted on eScholarship@BC, Boston College University Libraries. Boston College Electronic Thesis or Dissertation, 2011 Copyright is held by the author, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise noted. BOSTON COLLEGE QAWM: TRIBE-STATE RELATIONS IN AFGHANISTAN FROM DARIUS TO KARZAI A Senior Thesis Submitted to The College of Arts and Sciences Islamic Civilizations and Societies Program By ALEXANDER GUITTARD 11 May 2011 © ALEXANDER CHARLES GUITTARD 2011 “All politics is local” Thomas Phillip “Tip” O’Neill, ’36 Table of Contents List of Figures iii Acknowledgements iv Maps v 1 Questions in Kabul: An Introduction to the Political Geography of Afghanistan 1 2 The State-Society Balance of Power: Theoretical Approaches to Tribe-State Relations in Afghanistan 10 3 Foreign Invaders and Tribal Confederacies: Tribe-State Relations from Prehistory to the Nineteenth Century 21 4 “A beautiful monument without a foundation”: State Building in Afghanistan from 1880 to 1978 45 5 Invasion, Civil War, and Extremism: The Collapse of Central Power in Afghanistan from 1978 to 2001 73 Tribal Democracy: Contemporary Developments and a New Approach to Governance 102 Glossary 118 Bibliography 123 ii List of Figures Provinces of Afghanistan v Map of Nuristan vi Map of Panjsher vii Macro Distribution of Ethnicities of Afghanistan 4 Strong Societies and Weak States 16 The Durrani Dynasty (1747-1973) 39 Fusion and Fission in Modern Afghanistan 104 Estimates of Taliban Strength (2002-2006) 113 iii Acknowledgements This thesis is the product of almost two years of research, interviews, and drafts compiled in the midst of completing my undergraduate coursework and Army officer training.
  • North-West Frontier of India. "

    North-West Frontier of India. "

    TITLE. "Anglo-Afghan Relations, 1798 - 1878, with particular reference to British Policy in Central Asia and on the North-West frontier of India. " Theis submitted for the degree _ of Doctor of;,,,Philosophy in the University of Durham. January 1950. Munawtivar Khan, B. A. ACENOWLEDGEMENT. I wish to place on record my sincere appreciation of the guidance, the constructive criticism, and the very helpful suggestiors that Professor W. L. Burn has given me in carrying out this research. Without this and the continual encouragement that he gave me I feel that the completion of this work would have remained but a wishful dream. Thanks are also due to the Commonwealth Relations Office and the .Public Records office, for the use I have made of their material. Extensive use has been made of the Indian Section of the King's College library, Newcastle upon Tyne. MUNAYMAR KHAN. INDEX OF CHAPTERS. Chapter 1. Introduction. pp. 1-5. to 2. British Relations with Persia and Afghanistan 1798-1838. pp. 6-48. It 3. Anglo-Russian Relations 1815-1836. pp. 49-64. it 4. The Liquidation of Lord Auckland's Policy. pp. 65-91. it 5. Anglo-Afghan Relations 1853-1863. pp. 92-120. _ " 6. The Foreign Policy of Lord Lawrence. pp. 121-153. It 7. Lord Mayo and the Broadening of Policy. pp. 154-177. It B. Foreign Office Negotiations 1869-1874. pp. 178-192. 9. Sheer Ali: The Kaufmann Correspondence and the Simla Conference. pp. 193-214. It 10. The Conaxvative Government and Lord Northbrook 1874-1876. pp. 215-232. it 11.
  • War and Peace in Qajar Persia: Implications Past and Present / Edited by Roxane Farmanfarmaian

    War and Peace in Qajar Persia: Implications Past and Present / Edited by Roxane Farmanfarmaian

    War and Peace in Qajar Persia Persia Felix could never have been a phrase coined to describe modern Iran. Her lot since the period of the Qajars has been to stand in the crossfire of great power politics. In this collection, a new debate takes place on the approach of the Qajar system (1796–1925) within the context of the wars that engulfed it and the quality of the peace that ensued. Consistent with the pattern of history, much of the material avail- able until now on the Qajar era, particularly as regards its responses to crisis, its military preparedness and the social organization of its borderlands, was written by the victors of the wars. This volume, in contrast, throws new light on the decision- making processes, the restraints on action and the political, economic and social exigencies at play through analysis that looks at the Persian question from the inside looking out. The results are often surprising, as what they reveal is a Persia more astute politically than previous analysis has allowed, strategically more adept at spurning the multiple interventions and intrigues on all sides in the heat of the Great Game, and shrewd at negotiating in the face of the severe economic pressures being brought to bear by the Great Powers. Although history reconceived does not paint a purely rosy picture of the Qajars, it does offer a reassessment based on Persia’s geopolitical position, the frequently unpalatable options it had to choose from, and the strategic need to protect its resources. Today, events in Iran and Western Asia appear to echo many of the power plays of the nineteenth-century’s Great Game.
  • Afghanistan: Sources in the India Office Records

    Afghanistan: Sources in the India Office Records

    Afghanistan: Sources in the India Office Records A wealth of archival resources can be found in the India Office records for the study of the modern history of Afghanistan. They document the Anglo-Afghan relationship from the contacts made by the agency of the East India Company in the early 17th century, to the administration of the British Legation at Kabul in the mid-20th century. This Guide outlines a general framework of the India Office Records, India Office Private Papers, and the publications of primary sources corresponding to major historical events. Chronology ........................................................................................................................... 3 The first contacts: from the establishment of the East India Company to the election of Ahmad Shah Durrani as King of the Afghans, 1600-1747. ................................................. 3 Sources 1600-1747 ........................................................................................................ 4 The emergence of the Afghan Kingdom to the mission of Mountstuart Elphinstone, 1747- 1809. ................................................................................................................................. 5 Sources 1747-1809 ........................................................................................................ 6 The overthrow of Shah Shuja to the eve of the First Anglo-Afghan War, 1809-1838........ 10 Sources 1809-1838 .....................................................................................................
  • 3. Figurations of Power in Eighteenth-Century Transoxania

    3. Figurations of Power in Eighteenth-Century Transoxania

    3. Figurations of Power in Eighteenth-Century Transoxania The political order established by the Chingizid dynasties and their Uzbek supporters underwent an incremental change. As has been discussed in the previous chapter, this process gained speed after the takeover by the Tuqay- Timurids around 1600, and accelerated in the time of Subḥān Qulī Khān (r. 1680–1702) and his successor ʿUbaidullah Khān. By 1711, the appanages had dissolved into a setting not unlike other Turko-Mongol empires. This chapter tells the (hi-)story of eighteenth-century Mā Warāʾ al-Nahr and the various shifts of power, the ups and downs of an ongoing political game. It starts with the events under the late Tuqay-Timurids and continues through the conquest by Nādir Shāh and its consequences up to the establishment of Muḥammad Raḥīm Khān as new king. Since we still know very little about Central Asian history beneath the level of the rulers, I endeavor to write a local history, or rather, local histories of Bukhara and its dependencies. In doing so, I adhere to Beisembiev’s dictum that eighteenth- century Central Asian history should be explored “as the interrelations of different Uzbek and other tribal groups and clans controlling definite sedentary economic zones.”1 To overcome the dynastic focus of the sources, I will read them against the grain. The emphasis will be on the relationship between the kings and the tribal groups they sought to control and balance. Further attention will be paid to the relations among the amirid elite and the typical forging and breaking of alliances.
  • Preventing Strategic Defeat a Reassessment of the First Anglo-Afghan War

    Preventing Strategic Defeat a Reassessment of the First Anglo-Afghan War

    Preventing Strategic Defeat A Reassessment of the First Anglo-Afghan War Adam George Findlay A thesis in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Humanities and Social Sciences University of New South Wales Canberra September 2014 i Table of Contents Acknowledgements ii List of Maps v Explanatory Note: Thesis Mapping Conventions and Military Abbreviations vi List of Figures viii Introduction 1 Chapter 1: Britain’s Afghanistan Strategy to 1838 21 Chapter 2: The First Anglo-Afghan War: 1838–1842 67 Chapter 3: Ellenborough’s Strategic Deliberations: February – April 1842 122 Chapter 4: Ellenborough’s Strategic Deliberations: May – July 1842 159 Chapter 5: The Advance of the ‘Army of Retribution’: August – September 1842 194 Chapter 6: Kabul Operations and Withdrawal of the ‘Army of Retribution’: 242 September – December 1842 Conclusion 293 Bibliography 301 ii Acknowledgements This thesis began in 2009 as part of my preparation for the first of my two operational deployments to Afghanistan with the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). Reading the accounts of previous British and Russian Wars in Afghanistan, I was initially disconcerted with the prevailing view that any outside intervention in Afghanistan constituted a ‘graveyard of empires’. My reservation was reinforced with the brutal experiences of the ‘fighting season’ during the summer of 2009 in southern Afghanistan. ISAF’s Coalition Force operations were, at best, in a strategic stalemate against a resilient enemy in many of the locations that feature in this thesis – Kandahar, Gereshk, Qalat, Panjwa’i and the Arghandab River Valley. However to my surprise, upon reading Stocqueler’s biography of the British commander of the Kandahar Garrison in the First Anglo-Afghan War, Major-General Sir William Nott, I concluded that Britain’s Kandahar Campaign had indeed been an outstanding success.