Afghanistan The Graveyard of Empires

Afghanistan: The Graveyard of Empires?
medium.com/history-of-yesterday/afghanistan-the-graveyard-of-empires-c8162d1ae5c7
January 22,
2020
A cursed country which doomed every empire that tried to

conquer it or just a myth?
You might have heard some people referring to Afghanistan as the “Graveyard of
Empires”. This saying has come about due to the suggestion that several empire’s
collapses came about as a result of their invasion of Afghanistan.
What does this actually mean and why is this term used? To discover the provenance of
this we must look at two key examples from which this term mainly stems from.
The USSR
Although the collapse of the USSR came about as a result of many factors we cannot
discredit the impact that the invasion of Afghanistan had on the stability of the country.
The invasion resulted in massive economic and political impacts on the already unstable
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union.
Afghanistan has always been notoriously hard to conquer. Even with the technological
might of the USSR the invasion still failed. Mountainous terrain combined with guerilla
tactics meant that the vehicle based army had a tough time making progress within
Afghanistan’s borders. Even safeguarding the minimal holdings that the Red Army did
gain became a hard feat.
CIA backing of Islamic insurgents further made the guerilla warfare tactics of the locals
even more ferocious. Now armed with American technology such as shoulder-launched
anti-air rockets and combined with excellent knowledge of the local landscape the locals
left little leeway for the invading force
By the end of the war in 1989, the cost of maintaining the huge war machine of the USSR
got so high that it put the union on the brink of bankruptcy. It would only take 2 more
years for the USSR to officially dissolve, putting an end to the communist experiment for
the foreseeable future.
The British Empire

At one point in history, at its height, the British Empire owned or controlled ⅓ of the
whole world. Therefore it might surprise many that the empire’s eventual downfall came
about due to its inability to take over the region of Afghanistan.
The British invasion of Afghanistan is broken up into 3 distinct campaigns. All three
ending with the Afghani people as victors in some way. The goal of the First Anglo-Afghan
War (1839–1842) was to placate Afghanistan, putting it under British influence.
Keeping Afghanistan under British control was vital as Russia had ambitions to conquer
India. Not safeguarding Afghanistan could mean the loss of India and all of her
resources, something the Empire could not afford.
By the time of the Third Anglo-Afghan War (1919), it would become clear that Britain
could not subdue the people of the region. This war only lasted 4 months ending with a
decisive Afghani victory. The ensuing peace treaty signed at Rawalpindi guaranteed
Afghani independence. The fall of British influence on Afghanistan inspired many under
British rule.
Many dominions looked upon the Afghani wars as a case study of what they could also
do. Those unhappy with their overlord now had hope that they also could break their
shackles and become independent.
With the dominions escaping the grasp of the empire Westminster would be forced to
give them constitutional autonomy in 1931. By 1947 the once-great empire lost most of
its significant colonies with the final nail in the coffin being Indian independence in 1947.
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Correlation and causation
As a rule, correlation doesn’t always equal causation and thus this all should be taken
with a grain of salt. Although in both cases the invasion of Afghanistan played a definitive
part in their collapse, events of such scale cannot be analysed by only looking at one
factor.
There are always two sides to a story and this is especially true in history. As a result it is
important to look at the other factors that affected the fall of these empires.
The USSR
In the 1980s, the USSR was their rife economic, political and national problems. The war
put pressure on the already failing economic system. A system first put in place under
Stalin’s First 5 Year Plan in 1928.
Outdated and outmatched by the west the Soviet economy could not keep up with the
demand placed on it by war. On top of this political instability would also grow to a
boiling point due to a range of reforms introduced by Gorbachev.
The culmination of all of these factors and more were to blame for the collapse of the
Soviet Union. Placing the blame solely on the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan would be
doing history injustice.
The British Empire

Similarly, for the British Empire, a range of factors played a role in its collapse. The world
wars, most notably World War Two weakened the empire. During the Second World War,
the once-great world-power found itself unable to protect even its home island from
attack.
Concessions were made with the dominions to ensure its survival. Most notably, in the
case of India, in return for their support Britain would guarantee them their
independence.
Such sayings as “Afghanistan is the Graveyard of Empires” can spread very quickly. As a
result, those who do not read into the facts that create the fiction can easily be misled. In
our example, although some evidence leads us to agree with the statement if we look
deeper we discover that the claim is made with no factual basis.
For any enquiries or comments make sure to contact me at [email protected]
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History of Yesterday
From the times that the pyramids were raised to the end of the cold war
in this publication you will find it all. This is a publication that has been
created to tell the stories of forgotten battles and fortunes that have
crafted the world that we live in today.
Written by
Calin Aneculaesei
Student of History and Economics with an interest in Politics and

Psychology. Contact: [email protected]
History of Yesterday
From the times that the pyramids were raised to the end of the cold war
in this publication you will find it all. This is a publication that has been
created to tell the stories of forgotten battles and fortunes that have
crafted the world that we live in today.
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What were the two key examples that led to the term 'Graveyard of Empires' being used?

What factors led to the eventual collapse of the Soviet Union and British Empire besides the invasion of Afghanistan?

Afghanistan: The Graveyard of Empires?

A cursed country which doomed every empire that tried to

The British Empire

The British Empire

For any enquiries or comments make sure to contact me at [email protected]

Student of History and Economics with an interest in Politics and

See responses (2)

Make Medium yours

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