Sha Suja Urmurk's palace pavilion in Kabul. In August 1839, Sujia was re-elected ascended to the throne by the British army and ascended the throne.
Sikh ruler Ranjit Singh is a strong enemy of Dost Muhammad, who created a powerful kingdom in Punjab .
Kabul Bazaar during the British occupation.
111840 Emildost Muhammad surrendered to British Minister Sir William Hay McNaughton.
"The King's Return: Afghanistan War"
Author: (British) William Dallinpur Translator: He Changwei, Li Biao
Version: Social Sciences Documentation Press March 2019
Afghanistan is a young country. From the overthrow of the imperial system and the establishment of a democratic republic in 1973, Afghanistan has become a country in the modern sense for only more than forty years; from the breaking away from British imperialism and gaining a complete independence in 1919, it has been exactly 100 years now; from the fact that the "Father of the Nation" Ahmed Sha ruled the world in 1747 and established the Durani Dynasty, it has not been more than three centuries.
Before this, there was no Afghanistan country or Afghan ethnic group in the world. There were only Pashtun , which accounted for the majority of the population, as well as minorities such as Tajik , Uzbek , etc. This land is full of tribes and there is no unified central government. Even if there is a unified regime, Afghanistan is only a province affiliated to a larger empire. Even the word "Afghanistan" does not exist. People collectively call it Khorasan (Khorasan), which means "where the sun rises."
For hundreds of years, all parties have regarded Afghanistan as an arena and have been fighting endlessly. However, in modern times, the pressure of saving the nation has forced the people to gradually gather together and began the process of national construction. The First British-Arab War (1839-1842) was the coming-of-age ceremony of the Afghan nation-state.
British writer William Dalrymple tells the story of this heart-wrenching epic battle. In 1809, Suja Khan, the last king of the Dulani Dynasty, went into exile due to civil strife. Thirty years later, he regained the treasure with the support of the British army. The throne is gained and lost again, and the loss is lost again, so the book is titled "The King's Return".
British-Arab War, subordinate to the tradition of religious war
1839, Suja Khan regained the royal power with the support of Lord Auckland, the governor of India of Britain. Dost Muhammad, who had reunified the Afghan region and created the new Barakzai dynasty, was captured, and his son Akbar Khan led the military and civilians across the country to persist in the war of resistance and defeated the Western colonists. Since the Sun never set, the Empire has suffered its biggest defeat since its Far East and has evacuated in a hurry. Although the British army successfully launched a retaliation later, it could not recover the loss of face and interests.
html The Empire has become the first superpower to fall in Afghanistan. The nickname of "Imperial Cemetery" spread like wildfire. Later, the Soviet and American troops failed here one after another. The Pashtuns boasted that they could not be conquered and that even the eagles could not fly here. In fact, Arabs, Mongols and Turks have been here before. They usually implement a ban system and only control a few military strategists, including Kabul, , Kandaha, , and leave the rest of the areas left unattended. Because Afghanistan has poor mountains and bad water, and there is no oil or water to squeeze out, what foreigners really desire is a wealthy India.From the Songhua River Plain to Khorasan, many nomadic tribes live in the vast inland Asia. They live by the water and grass. When the autumn is high and the horses are fat, they cross the Great Wall and the Xingdu Kush Mountains, and go south to invade the Han area, Jiuzhou and the Indian subcontinent.
html At the beginning of the 116th century, the founding king of the Mughal Dynasty, Babul , called himself the descendant of Genghis Khan and Timur. He took Kabul as a springboard and drove straight into the Ganma Ganges River. By 1739, the aristocratic class had a peaceful and military serene experience, and their combat effectiveness had deteriorated, and they could not even maintain the capital Delhi . Nadir Sha, nicknamed " Middle East Napoleon", rose and led his army south. He is more willing to plunder the agricultural civilization world than to rule the agricultural civilization world. After a lot of ravages in Delhi, the invaders returned home with gold, silver and treasures.Sha Suja Urmurk's palace pavilion in Kabul. In August 1839, Sujia was re-elected ascended to the throne by the British army and ascended the throne.
Sikh ruler Ranjit Singh is a strong enemy of Dost Muhammad, who created a powerful kingdom in Punjab .
Kabul Bazaar during the British occupation.
111840 Emildost Muhammad surrendered to British Minister Sir William Hay McNaughton.
"The King's Return: Afghanistan War"
Author: (British) William Dallinpur Translator: He Changwei, Li Biao
Version: Social Sciences Documentation Press March 2019
Afghanistan is a young country. From the overthrow of the imperial system and the establishment of a democratic republic in 1973, Afghanistan has become a country in the modern sense for only more than forty years; from the breaking away from British imperialism and gaining a complete independence in 1919, it has been exactly 100 years now; from the fact that the "Father of the Nation" Ahmed Sha ruled the world in 1747 and established the Durani Dynasty, it has not been more than three centuries.
Before this, there was no Afghanistan country or Afghan ethnic group in the world. There were only Pashtun , which accounted for the majority of the population, as well as minorities such as Tajik , Uzbek , etc. This land is full of tribes and there is no unified central government. Even if there is a unified regime, Afghanistan is only a province affiliated to a larger empire. Even the word "Afghanistan" does not exist. People collectively call it Khorasan (Khorasan), which means "where the sun rises."
For hundreds of years, all parties have regarded Afghanistan as an arena and have been fighting endlessly. However, in modern times, the pressure of saving the nation has forced the people to gradually gather together and began the process of national construction. The First British-Arab War (1839-1842) was the coming-of-age ceremony of the Afghan nation-state.
British writer William Dalrymple tells the story of this heart-wrenching epic battle. In 1809, Suja Khan, the last king of the Dulani Dynasty, went into exile due to civil strife. Thirty years later, he regained the treasure with the support of the British army. The throne is gained and lost again, and the loss is lost again, so the book is titled "The King's Return".
British-Arab War, subordinate to the tradition of religious war
1839, Suja Khan regained the royal power with the support of Lord Auckland, the governor of India of Britain. Dost Muhammad, who had reunified the Afghan region and created the new Barakzai dynasty, was captured, and his son Akbar Khan led the military and civilians across the country to persist in the war of resistance and defeated the Western colonists. Since the Sun never set, the Empire has suffered its biggest defeat since its Far East and has evacuated in a hurry. Although the British army successfully launched a retaliation later, it could not recover the loss of face and interests.
html The Empire has become the first superpower to fall in Afghanistan. The nickname of "Imperial Cemetery" spread like wildfire. Later, the Soviet and American troops failed here one after another. The Pashtuns boasted that they could not be conquered and that even the eagles could not fly here. In fact, Arabs, Mongols and Turks have been here before. They usually implement a ban system and only control a few military strategists, including Kabul, , Kandaha, , and leave the rest of the areas left unattended. Because Afghanistan has poor mountains and bad water, and there is no oil or water to squeeze out, what foreigners really desire is a wealthy India.From the Songhua River Plain to Khorasan, many nomadic tribes live in the vast inland Asia. They live by the water and grass. When the autumn is high and the horses are fat, they cross the Great Wall and the Xingdu Kush Mountains, and go south to invade the Han area, Jiuzhou and the Indian subcontinent.
html At the beginning of the 116th century, the founding king of the Mughal Dynasty, Babul , called himself the descendant of Genghis Khan and Timur. He took Kabul as a springboard and drove straight into the Ganma Ganges River. By 1739, the aristocratic class had a peaceful and military serene experience, and their combat effectiveness had deteriorated, and they could not even maintain the capital Delhi . Nadir Sha, nicknamed " Middle East Napoleon", rose and led his army south. He is more willing to plunder the agricultural civilization world than to rule the agricultural civilization world. After a lot of ravages in Delhi, the invaders returned home with gold, silver and treasures.After Nadir Sha was assassinated, his general Ahmed Sha founded the Durani dynasty and invaded South Asia four times. The barbarians with skillful bows and horses invaded the Central Plains, occupied land as kings, and then became corrupt in the rich and gentle village, and were defeated by the new barbarians. Such plots continued to be staged on the historical stage. After modern colonialism came to the Far East, foreigners relied on their strong ships and cannons to easily sweep the cavalry and shooting tactics into the garbage dump of history.1842, during the war in Afghanistan, the British army deliberately searched for the royal tomb of Mahmoud (971-1030). He was the first foreign invader to penetrate deep into the hinterland of South Asia. According to unofficial historical records, the gate of the royal tomb came from the Sumonad Temple. Mahmoud sent Muslim troops to fight south, captured the most magnificent and magnificent temple of Hinduism, and stole the sandalwood door in front of the temple.
The British government tried to explain to the public that the attack on the enemy in the north was not only for itself, but also for the Indian people, and bloodshed their national humiliation for more than 800 years. British officer Rollinson found and removed the wooden door of Mahmoud's tomb and transported it back to India to conduct exhibitions in various provinces.
The first British-Arab War was not only a modern colonial aggression action, but also subordinate to a longer tradition of religious warfare. From the fall of Constantinople to the Spanish land regaining movement, from the Battle of Poitiers in 732 to the siege of Vienna in 1683, the crescent flag and the cross alternated. The Franks (the name of the Middle Ages for all Christian nations) and the Saracens (the name of the Middle Ages for all Islamic nations) fought for thousands of years.
In the fight against Britain, Afghanistan has emerged its own Saladin - Akbar prince. The bard praised his chivalrous spirit and noble character. These poems were compiled into "Akbar's Bible", which are both heroic epics, namely " Song of Roland " and "Song of Sid".
Western colonialism invaded objectively strengthened the cohesion within the Islamic world. The Pashtuns did not recognize the spiritual leadership of the Ottoman caliph. After the war, the king swore to the Caliph, recited his name and prayed for him on Fridays' Day.
lacks resources, but it has become the distribution center of Nei Asia. Afghanistan has barren land. Even King Dost Mohammed said: "We only have men and rocks here." Afghanistan has no resources worth fighting for by Western colonists. 80% of the area here is mountains and plateaus. In the 1980s, a veteran who had participated in the fight against the Soviet Union mocked himself: "When Allah was born, the world had been created. However, there were still a lot of remaining materials and residual gravel at hand, which was inappropriate to place anywhere. So he pinched the garbage into pieces and threw it on the ground, and Afghanistan was found."
In terms of cultural geography, Afghanistan is connected with the Muslim residential areas in the south. Kashmir is rich in wool, Sindh financial industry is developed, Punjab has wheat and cotton, these three provinces form most of the territory of Pakistan today.
Caravan caravan transports textiles from the south to nomadic tribes with backward handicrafts, and transports specialty goods from the north to the outlet of Pakistan. Kabul is located at the intersection of the trade route and is the largest cargo distribution center in the inland Asia. The Chalchata Grand Bazaar (in Turkic language, bazaar) is the most magnificent shopping mall building in Nei Asia.
Since ancient times, the strong men who possessed Khorasan must be greedy for the sake of the river. From the lame Timur to Ahmed Shah, they conquered and occupied the fertile land of the south; and the weak and powerless monarch will definitely lose the south and the land of Afghanistan. The last king Suja Khan obviously belonged to the latter category. In the late years of the Dulani Dynasty, heroes competed for the victory. Sindhi was divided into many states, and the Sikh (an emerging religion founded in the 15th century) religious order occupied Kashmir and Punjab, creating a country that integrates politics and religion, which can be called the Papal State in South Asia. Although Dost Muhmed won the throne of Kabul, he failed to restore his former dominance.
Knight's martial ethics and business spirit constitute the two driving forces for modernization, neither of which is indispensable. Japan can become one of the very few countries with modern transformation, and is based on the Edo feudal decentralization system, and the Kansai Industrial and Commercial Group competes with the Kanto Samurai.The Sindhi financiers approved loans and controlled the money bags of Afghan princes, which was like a copy of "the Osaka businessman was angry and the princes in the world were frightened." The experience of Italian city-states such as
Florence shows how the proletariat corrupted and fell into tyrants and foreign enemies without the protection of feudal knights; Afghanistan shows how the warriors were violent and unrestrained in the situation of stagnation of economic production. A flat society that lacks both knightly morality and business spirit, the modernization process is even more painful.
Flat society breeds fundamentalist fanatics, and fundamentalists incite bandit wars, promote property egalitarianism, eliminate the proletariat, and in turn promote social flattening. The deeper the patriarchal system of patriarchy is, the more stable the community is. Business freedom competition and the atmosphere of showing off wealth and luxury are suppressed at the same time, and the rich have the obligation to help poor relatives and neighbors. Potential rogue proletariat are provided for relief and the hidden dangers of class riots are eradicated.
The princes and nobles follow the value of valuing righteousness over wealth, and their enemies are no exception. After receiving help from British prisoners, Prince Akbar took out 1,000 rupees without hesitation. The other party wrote an IOU, and he immediately tore it to pieces and said: Only small vendors need these things, and gentlemen do not need to establish a document between gentlemen and gentlemen.
The so-called dynasty change in Afghanistan, by Chinese historical standards, is actually a clan and tribal battle, similar to the replacement of Tatars by the Mongolian Oirat. In terms of taxation, the Kabul regime is not as good as the Ottomans and Mughals, and even goes against some chiefs to pay for money and grain to appease the places. When he arrived at the Hindu Kush Mountains, even the strongest man with a strong iron fist had to restrain himself. In 1739, Nadir Sha returned from robbery from Delhi and paid to the tribes in the mountains to get safe passage.
supports the puppet regime, but Britain still fails
It is precisely because Dost Muhammad is too strong and is too powerful to be a militaristic. The tribal leaders are watching from the wall and are happy to see Suja Khan restore the throne and become a puppet king. The British army invaded armed invasion and encountered almost no obstacles, and they conquered the two capitals without any effort (Kandahar, Kabul). When the new government implemented modernization reforms and strengthened centralization, even the most loyal ministers of the Durani royal family turned against each other and the British army fell into a situation of being surrounded by enemies.
According to tradition, the Central Guard was provided by the Pashtun tribe and now recruited new recruits from the Uzbek and Hazara tribes. The British also tried to advance northward, setting the border on the banks of the Amur River. Strangely, Suja Khan himself has not increased much power, but only acts as a political vase. British Minister McNaughton interfered in Afghanistan's internal affairs, like the Supreme Emperor.
In the early stages of military operations, the Indian Governor considered permanent annexation of Afghanistan and wanted to migrate the Xia capital from Siram (English islanders are not adapted to the subtropical climate of India. Every summer, the British and Indian governments moved to the cool and clean Siram) to the Kabul River Valley. After repeated measurements, London decided to avoid naked direct domination or seek agents to cooperate. Suja Khan's closeest prime minister was dismissed for his insistence on independence and was replaced by a corrupt, incompetent, but meek and obedient candidate.
The ideal Anglo-Afghan alliance, Kabul must be strong enough to defend its own safety, but cannot be strong enough to disobey the West. The tricky part of the Afghan problem today is that it cannot achieve this ideal state. If the United States increases its military, then the democrats are very unfavorable in public opinion and are easily accused of being a puppet government; if the troops are withdrawn, then the Taliban may make a comeback.
Realist diplomats simply claim that backward countries like Afghanistan are not suitable for democratic systems, and attempts to promote American democracy are doomed to be futile. In fact, the key is not freedom or autocracy. The first British-Arab War supported Suja Khan to restore the throne on the grounds of expelling usurpers and defending the orthodox monarchy, but it still failed.
In the agenda of the London authorities discussing the Afghan issue, the Duke of Wellington naturally recalled his past achievements.According to Burke's conservative philosophy, the anti-French war was not against France, but against the usurper Napoleon, who assisted the restoration of the orthodox Bourbon royal family and brought about "peace under Britain" (Pax Britannica). After Wellington's army occupied southern France, it took peace of mind to levy local taxes and establish ruling institutions. After Napoleon fell, it would hand over the regime to Louis XVIII.
The British governance in Afghanistan should have been like this. What is embarrassing is that nomadic tribes obviously do not recognize orthodoxy, but only recognize that "the emperor is better than a genius, and those with strong soldiers and horses should do it." The conquerors dare not collect taxes and have to pay out of their own pockets to maintain daily expenses.
From 1841, the war cost 15 million pounds (which is far more than 50 billion pounds to modern currency), and the comprehensive expenses during the occupation period reached 2 million pounds per year. The Indian Governor asked London to be anxious: "Money, money, money is our primary, secondary and ultimate problem."
In order to save funds, McNauton's traditional allowance to the Pashtun tribe was greatly reduced, and the funds for repairing the mosque were reduced, arousing a joint rebellion between the samurai and the priest class. On November 2, 1841, the civil unrest broke out, and the Mullah issued a jihad order, and conferred the leader of the rebel organization as "the imam of the holy warrior." The radical degree of this uprising ended here, which was completely different from the Mahdi movement in Egyptian . The rebel army did not want to make a revolution, equalize the rich and poor, nor did they intend to establish a kingdom on earth, but only resisted the rule of foreign pagans.
The Pashtuns have always been a religious fanatic nation. They do not abide by the rules and regulations and do not stick to factional disputes. It is common for Sunni and Shiite intermarriages. During his reign, Dost Muhammad actively attracted investment, with Jews, Georgians, Armenians and Hindu businessmen spread throughout the capital. The king treated the Ulaima class (scholars of Islamic religion), but he was never allowed to override the power of religion. In the great game, the hawks and doves competed with each other
. While the British Empire used troops to Afghanistan, they occupied New Zealand , expelled the South African Boers from their homes, and used gunboats to open the door of the Qing Dynasty to lock the country at the estuary of the Pearl River.
The British army of more than 4,000 people came to the city of Nanjing, forcing Emperor Daoguang to sign a treaty, but the Afghans defeated the British army and asked the other party to settle their compensation. On November 2, 1841, an uprising broke out in Kabul. The British army was unable to suppress it and signed a ceasefire agreement with Akbar and withdrew it back to India. Then the retreat turned into a defeat, which was even more embarrassing than the withdrawal of the United States during the Vietnam War.
The mountain road is rugged, and it is winter, and the road conditions are even worse. Under the double blow of guerrillas and extreme cold weather, the British army suffered heavy casualties. Only 750 of the more than 4,000 soldiers of the regular army remained, while more than 12,000 logistics personnel with the army died in more than 2/3.
The tribes near the main road of the Hindu Kush Mountains have long been holding grudges because of the reduction of allowances and ambushed and attacked on the side of the British evacuation route. The reduction of allowances is the main cause of anti-Britishness, and the two are cause and effect. The doves in London did not support the war from the beginning, and raising troops and officials in Afghanistan was extremely unprofitable. England's overseas interests should be limited to doing business. Adam Smith advocated simply abandoning the colony. After the trade barriers were demolished, goods were widely circulated, and colonial expansion seemed unnecessary. The liberals repeatedly obstructed the ideological construction of the empire and adopted indirect rule as much as possible, forming "absent minded imperialism".
If it is a simple military defeat, the London authorities may quit the war with Afghanistan and settle the situation. However, Prince Akbar won by tricks, and a series of actions reached a point that even doves could not tolerate. He made an appointment with the British representative, but suddenly attacked, shot the unarmed McNaughton, and dismembered his body and hung it in the market for public display. The two armies signed a ceasefire agreement, and the British paid compensation for safe evacuation. Akbar promised to send people to escort along the way, but he was untrustworthy and allowed the guerrillas to attack the British army. What's worse, Akbar also seized more than 90 British officials and civilians (including women and children) as hostages.
11 In February 11842, the London cabinet was reorganized, and the hawks came to power to plan a counterattack plan against Afghanistan.There are three main goals: rescue hostages, defeat Akbar, and revenge. The troops carrying out the mission have a very straightforward name - "Punishment Division". Fighting is characterized by rapid and fierceness, and does not seek to completely eliminate the enemy and avoid falling into protracted war. This mode of combat evolved into today's "surgical strike", and Israel often takes similar actions against Arab countries to punish the other party for not complying with the treaty.
The British army was strict in the early stage of the war. The hawks believed that the reason for the public uprising was not that we were too fierce, but that we were not fierce enough and were too kind and rude. If you don’t teach the Oriental people a lesson, you really think that the British came to Afghanistan from thousands of miles to help them.
The British-Arab War belongs to a broader stage. From the Caucasus covered with ice and snow, to the deserts of Khorasan, to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau on the roof of the world, Britain and Tsarist Russia use Asia as a battlefield, fighting openly and secretly, known in history as the "Great Game".
The Russian army's double-headed eagle faces Europe and Asia. Since the Grand Duchy of Moscow has escaped the Tartar Yoke, it has been moving towards the east. Tsarist Russia occupied Kazakhstan and Wairou Persia, showed goodwill to Dost Muhmed and weaved a siege against British India. The Sikh leaders defected to the British and Indian governments as vassals, defended the northwest barrier, and did not teach Huma to cross the Yin Mountains.
Doster has no grudges with the British, but as long as he does not forget to recover the lost lands in Punjab, Sindh, Kashmir, etc., he will not be able to live in peace with the British. The doves in London and Kolkata are trying to maintain peace and friendship between the Pashtuns, the Sikh Order and Persia. The difficulty is no less than that in today's war on terrorism, the Washington authorities maintained peace and friendship between India, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia.
President Bush promoted unilateralism precisely because maintaining diplomatic balance is too complicated and he was restricted. The hawks of the British Empire held the same view. They first subverted Dost and helped Suja Khan for national interests, and then abandoned Suja Khan for national interests. During the brief restoration period, British officers took care of the face of their allies, strictly restricted the discipline of soldiers, and did not disturb the people, but were in return for rebellion everywhere.
1842, the British "punishment army" went to Afghanistan and adopted scorched earth tactics, burning, killing and looting along the way. In a tribal village, soldiers massacred all adult men and raped all women. Prince Akbar thought that the British were gentle and kind, but he did not expect that they would have a cruel side. When defending the capital, he abandoned the city and fled.
The British army took advantage of the victory and occupied the Istarif Palace 35 miles north of Kabul. This is a resort for princes and ministers, with beautiful views of vineyards and orchards. The soldiers robbed the palace of high-end furniture, gold, silver and jewelry. The British claimed that the revenge was only aimed at the Barakzai dynasty, not all Afghan citizens, so they robbed the palace. Twenty years later, they robbed the Old Summer Palace with the same excuse.
The leader of the Pashtun tribe who guarded more than 90 British hostages saw that Akbar had a desperate situation, he made a private deal with the enemy, accepted a bribe of 20,000 rupees, and returned the hostages to the UK. After the news of their safe release came back to Europe, London was immersed in comfort and joy. The "Punishment Army" has basically completed its target mission and returned with a full load of spoils.
"The King's Return" abandons ideological disputes and is committed to describing military and political struggles. The author William Dallinpur was born in a military family. His father joined the oldest regiment of the British Guards - the Guards Grenadiers Regiment. Dallinpur himself visited the battlefield in Afghanistan, so his writing style is completely different from that of the academic experts.
The author has collected a large number of official archives, private letters, memoirs, diaries, especially non-English literature materials, and has also specially found assistant translations who are proficient in Arabic, Persian and Urdu. Many historical materials have never been adopted by Western scholars before, such as Akbar Khan's long Persian epic and the battlefield reports of the Afghan uprisingers. Darlingpur also found a large amount of non-English material in writing "The Last Mughal" and "The City of the Elf: Delhi One".
Unlike scholars sitting in their study, Darlingpur personally experienced the Third World and lived in a farm near the ancient capital of India for a long time. He grew his own vegetables and made goat cheese. He sympathized with the Asian people and repeatedly exposed the stupidity and arrogance of British officials in "The King's Return", but he would not cater to anti-imperialist patriotic historiography because of political factors. At the end of the book, it is objectively pointed out that Akbar and most of his contemporaries do not have a sense of national identity for "Afghanistan" and will not use this geographical term. The Pashtun people felt that the two places were inseparable from the people on the other side of the Xingdu Kush Mountains, "the same book and the same carriage" as the people on the other side of the Xingdu Kush Mountains.
In the next half century, Britain launched two wars against Afghanistan, compressing the border to what it is now. Pakistan is a Muslim area that surrenders to Britain, and Afghanistan is a Muslim area that Britain failed to conquer.
National Saving Map Survival Movement has shaped the national identity consciousness. In just a generation, Westerners identified the word "Afghanistan" on the map, and the people in that geographical space gradually accepted this title.
□Liu Zhanxiong
The Sindhi financiers approved loans and controlled the money bags of Afghan princes, which was like a copy of "the Osaka businessman was angry and the princes in the world were frightened." The experience of Italian city-states such asFlorence shows how the proletariat corrupted and fell into tyrants and foreign enemies without the protection of feudal knights; Afghanistan shows how the warriors were violent and unrestrained in the situation of stagnation of economic production. A flat society that lacks both knightly morality and business spirit, the modernization process is even more painful.
Flat society breeds fundamentalist fanatics, and fundamentalists incite bandit wars, promote property egalitarianism, eliminate the proletariat, and in turn promote social flattening. The deeper the patriarchal system of patriarchy is, the more stable the community is. Business freedom competition and the atmosphere of showing off wealth and luxury are suppressed at the same time, and the rich have the obligation to help poor relatives and neighbors. Potential rogue proletariat are provided for relief and the hidden dangers of class riots are eradicated.
The princes and nobles follow the value of valuing righteousness over wealth, and their enemies are no exception. After receiving help from British prisoners, Prince Akbar took out 1,000 rupees without hesitation. The other party wrote an IOU, and he immediately tore it to pieces and said: Only small vendors need these things, and gentlemen do not need to establish a document between gentlemen and gentlemen.
The so-called dynasty change in Afghanistan, by Chinese historical standards, is actually a clan and tribal battle, similar to the replacement of Tatars by the Mongolian Oirat. In terms of taxation, the Kabul regime is not as good as the Ottomans and Mughals, and even goes against some chiefs to pay for money and grain to appease the places. When he arrived at the Hindu Kush Mountains, even the strongest man with a strong iron fist had to restrain himself. In 1739, Nadir Sha returned from robbery from Delhi and paid to the tribes in the mountains to get safe passage.
supports the puppet regime, but Britain still fails
It is precisely because Dost Muhammad is too strong and is too powerful to be a militaristic. The tribal leaders are watching from the wall and are happy to see Suja Khan restore the throne and become a puppet king. The British army invaded armed invasion and encountered almost no obstacles, and they conquered the two capitals without any effort (Kandahar, Kabul). When the new government implemented modernization reforms and strengthened centralization, even the most loyal ministers of the Durani royal family turned against each other and the British army fell into a situation of being surrounded by enemies.
According to tradition, the Central Guard was provided by the Pashtun tribe and now recruited new recruits from the Uzbek and Hazara tribes. The British also tried to advance northward, setting the border on the banks of the Amur River. Strangely, Suja Khan himself has not increased much power, but only acts as a political vase. British Minister McNaughton interfered in Afghanistan's internal affairs, like the Supreme Emperor.
In the early stages of military operations, the Indian Governor considered permanent annexation of Afghanistan and wanted to migrate the Xia capital from Siram (English islanders are not adapted to the subtropical climate of India. Every summer, the British and Indian governments moved to the cool and clean Siram) to the Kabul River Valley. After repeated measurements, London decided to avoid naked direct domination or seek agents to cooperate. Suja Khan's closeest prime minister was dismissed for his insistence on independence and was replaced by a corrupt, incompetent, but meek and obedient candidate.
The ideal Anglo-Afghan alliance, Kabul must be strong enough to defend its own safety, but cannot be strong enough to disobey the West. The tricky part of the Afghan problem today is that it cannot achieve this ideal state. If the United States increases its military, then the democrats are very unfavorable in public opinion and are easily accused of being a puppet government; if the troops are withdrawn, then the Taliban may make a comeback.
Realist diplomats simply claim that backward countries like Afghanistan are not suitable for democratic systems, and attempts to promote American democracy are doomed to be futile. In fact, the key is not freedom or autocracy. The first British-Arab War supported Suja Khan to restore the throne on the grounds of expelling usurpers and defending the orthodox monarchy, but it still failed.
In the agenda of the London authorities discussing the Afghan issue, the Duke of Wellington naturally recalled his past achievements.According to Burke's conservative philosophy, the anti-French war was not against France, but against the usurper Napoleon, who assisted the restoration of the orthodox Bourbon royal family and brought about "peace under Britain" (Pax Britannica). After Wellington's army occupied southern France, it took peace of mind to levy local taxes and establish ruling institutions. After Napoleon fell, it would hand over the regime to Louis XVIII.
The British governance in Afghanistan should have been like this. What is embarrassing is that nomadic tribes obviously do not recognize orthodoxy, but only recognize that "the emperor is better than a genius, and those with strong soldiers and horses should do it." The conquerors dare not collect taxes and have to pay out of their own pockets to maintain daily expenses.
From 1841, the war cost 15 million pounds (which is far more than 50 billion pounds to modern currency), and the comprehensive expenses during the occupation period reached 2 million pounds per year. The Indian Governor asked London to be anxious: "Money, money, money is our primary, secondary and ultimate problem."
In order to save funds, McNauton's traditional allowance to the Pashtun tribe was greatly reduced, and the funds for repairing the mosque were reduced, arousing a joint rebellion between the samurai and the priest class. On November 2, 1841, the civil unrest broke out, and the Mullah issued a jihad order, and conferred the leader of the rebel organization as "the imam of the holy warrior." The radical degree of this uprising ended here, which was completely different from the Mahdi movement in Egyptian . The rebel army did not want to make a revolution, equalize the rich and poor, nor did they intend to establish a kingdom on earth, but only resisted the rule of foreign pagans.
The Pashtuns have always been a religious fanatic nation. They do not abide by the rules and regulations and do not stick to factional disputes. It is common for Sunni and Shiite intermarriages. During his reign, Dost Muhammad actively attracted investment, with Jews, Georgians, Armenians and Hindu businessmen spread throughout the capital. The king treated the Ulaima class (scholars of Islamic religion), but he was never allowed to override the power of religion. In the great game, the hawks and doves competed with each other
. While the British Empire used troops to Afghanistan, they occupied New Zealand , expelled the South African Boers from their homes, and used gunboats to open the door of the Qing Dynasty to lock the country at the estuary of the Pearl River.
The British army of more than 4,000 people came to the city of Nanjing, forcing Emperor Daoguang to sign a treaty, but the Afghans defeated the British army and asked the other party to settle their compensation. On November 2, 1841, an uprising broke out in Kabul. The British army was unable to suppress it and signed a ceasefire agreement with Akbar and withdrew it back to India. Then the retreat turned into a defeat, which was even more embarrassing than the withdrawal of the United States during the Vietnam War.
The mountain road is rugged, and it is winter, and the road conditions are even worse. Under the double blow of guerrillas and extreme cold weather, the British army suffered heavy casualties. Only 750 of the more than 4,000 soldiers of the regular army remained, while more than 12,000 logistics personnel with the army died in more than 2/3.
The tribes near the main road of the Hindu Kush Mountains have long been holding grudges because of the reduction of allowances and ambushed and attacked on the side of the British evacuation route. The reduction of allowances is the main cause of anti-Britishness, and the two are cause and effect. The doves in London did not support the war from the beginning, and raising troops and officials in Afghanistan was extremely unprofitable. England's overseas interests should be limited to doing business. Adam Smith advocated simply abandoning the colony. After the trade barriers were demolished, goods were widely circulated, and colonial expansion seemed unnecessary. The liberals repeatedly obstructed the ideological construction of the empire and adopted indirect rule as much as possible, forming "absent minded imperialism".
If it is a simple military defeat, the London authorities may quit the war with Afghanistan and settle the situation. However, Prince Akbar won by tricks, and a series of actions reached a point that even doves could not tolerate. He made an appointment with the British representative, but suddenly attacked, shot the unarmed McNaughton, and dismembered his body and hung it in the market for public display. The two armies signed a ceasefire agreement, and the British paid compensation for safe evacuation. Akbar promised to send people to escort along the way, but he was untrustworthy and allowed the guerrillas to attack the British army. What's worse, Akbar also seized more than 90 British officials and civilians (including women and children) as hostages.
11 In February 11842, the London cabinet was reorganized, and the hawks came to power to plan a counterattack plan against Afghanistan.There are three main goals: rescue hostages, defeat Akbar, and revenge. The troops carrying out the mission have a very straightforward name - "Punishment Division". Fighting is characterized by rapid and fierceness, and does not seek to completely eliminate the enemy and avoid falling into protracted war. This mode of combat evolved into today's "surgical strike", and Israel often takes similar actions against Arab countries to punish the other party for not complying with the treaty.
The British army was strict in the early stage of the war. The hawks believed that the reason for the public uprising was not that we were too fierce, but that we were not fierce enough and were too kind and rude. If you don’t teach the Oriental people a lesson, you really think that the British came to Afghanistan from thousands of miles to help them.
The British-Arab War belongs to a broader stage. From the Caucasus covered with ice and snow, to the deserts of Khorasan, to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau on the roof of the world, Britain and Tsarist Russia use Asia as a battlefield, fighting openly and secretly, known in history as the "Great Game".
The Russian army's double-headed eagle faces Europe and Asia. Since the Grand Duchy of Moscow has escaped the Tartar Yoke, it has been moving towards the east. Tsarist Russia occupied Kazakhstan and Wairou Persia, showed goodwill to Dost Muhmed and weaved a siege against British India. The Sikh leaders defected to the British and Indian governments as vassals, defended the northwest barrier, and did not teach Huma to cross the Yin Mountains.
Doster has no grudges with the British, but as long as he does not forget to recover the lost lands in Punjab, Sindh, Kashmir, etc., he will not be able to live in peace with the British. The doves in London and Kolkata are trying to maintain peace and friendship between the Pashtuns, the Sikh Order and Persia. The difficulty is no less than that in today's war on terrorism, the Washington authorities maintained peace and friendship between India, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia.
President Bush promoted unilateralism precisely because maintaining diplomatic balance is too complicated and he was restricted. The hawks of the British Empire held the same view. They first subverted Dost and helped Suja Khan for national interests, and then abandoned Suja Khan for national interests. During the brief restoration period, British officers took care of the face of their allies, strictly restricted the discipline of soldiers, and did not disturb the people, but were in return for rebellion everywhere.
1842, the British "punishment army" went to Afghanistan and adopted scorched earth tactics, burning, killing and looting along the way. In a tribal village, soldiers massacred all adult men and raped all women. Prince Akbar thought that the British were gentle and kind, but he did not expect that they would have a cruel side. When defending the capital, he abandoned the city and fled.
The British army took advantage of the victory and occupied the Istarif Palace 35 miles north of Kabul. This is a resort for princes and ministers, with beautiful views of vineyards and orchards. The soldiers robbed the palace of high-end furniture, gold, silver and jewelry. The British claimed that the revenge was only aimed at the Barakzai dynasty, not all Afghan citizens, so they robbed the palace. Twenty years later, they robbed the Old Summer Palace with the same excuse.
The leader of the Pashtun tribe who guarded more than 90 British hostages saw that Akbar had a desperate situation, he made a private deal with the enemy, accepted a bribe of 20,000 rupees, and returned the hostages to the UK. After the news of their safe release came back to Europe, London was immersed in comfort and joy. The "Punishment Army" has basically completed its target mission and returned with a full load of spoils.
"The King's Return" abandons ideological disputes and is committed to describing military and political struggles. The author William Dallinpur was born in a military family. His father joined the oldest regiment of the British Guards - the Guards Grenadiers Regiment. Dallinpur himself visited the battlefield in Afghanistan, so his writing style is completely different from that of the academic experts.
The author has collected a large number of official archives, private letters, memoirs, diaries, especially non-English literature materials, and has also specially found assistant translations who are proficient in Arabic, Persian and Urdu. Many historical materials have never been adopted by Western scholars before, such as Akbar Khan's long Persian epic and the battlefield reports of the Afghan uprisingers. Darlingpur also found a large amount of non-English material in writing "The Last Mughal" and "The City of the Elf: Delhi One".
Unlike scholars sitting in their study, Darlingpur personally experienced the Third World and lived in a farm near the ancient capital of India for a long time. He grew his own vegetables and made goat cheese. He sympathized with the Asian people and repeatedly exposed the stupidity and arrogance of British officials in "The King's Return", but he would not cater to anti-imperialist patriotic historiography because of political factors. At the end of the book, it is objectively pointed out that Akbar and most of his contemporaries do not have a sense of national identity for "Afghanistan" and will not use this geographical term. The Pashtun people felt that the two places were inseparable from the people on the other side of the Xingdu Kush Mountains, "the same book and the same carriage" as the people on the other side of the Xingdu Kush Mountains.
In the next half century, Britain launched two wars against Afghanistan, compressing the border to what it is now. Pakistan is a Muslim area that surrenders to Britain, and Afghanistan is a Muslim area that Britain failed to conquer.
National Saving Map Survival Movement has shaped the national identity consciousness. In just a generation, Westerners identified the word "Afghanistan" on the map, and the people in that geographical space gradually accepted this title.
□Liu Zhanxiong
