Political rights to the citizens and women’s education. In the middle of 20 th century the then king ofĪfghanistan Zahir Shah brought in modern reforms in 1960s like elections, Independence Afghanistan remained neutral in the second world war as well as In 1919 a treaty was signed between the ruler of Afghanistan and the British Empire, declaring Afghanistan as an independent nation. And Afghanistan became a buffer zone between both the powers. With the consent of both, the British as well as the Soviets a border was decided, which came to be known as the Durrand Line. Eventually this conflict came to a haul towards the end of the 19 th century. In short, the great game was nothing but a conflict of supremacy in the central Asia between the Brits and the Ruskies. As a result many wars were fought between the British and the Soviet Union in the Afghanistan region. But obviously, being a rival the British couldn’t let that happen. Soviet wanted to control Afghanistan so than it could get a sea access via Pakistan or Iran which would’ve been great for the Soviet trade business. On the other hand the Indian subcontinent included the modern day Pakistan was a British territory and Afghanistan was in the middle of these rivals. Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan all came under the Soviet Union. Soviet Union had control over majority of the Asian continent. In contemporary times also, Afghanistan holds more than it’sįair share of miseries. Reasons why so many external powers tried to establish themselves inĪfghanistan but could not succeed. The reasons for these causes are the geography again (the desert and mountainous terrain) and the tribal as well as ethnic divisions. It was literally the “crossroads of the world” for trade and commerce. Located in the middle of all the traditional powerhouses, the geopolitical advantage that Afghanistan enjoyed was unmatched. It also acted as a trade link between Europe and Asia. Afghanistan occupies a central location in the map of Asia. So why is it so that a dessert like Afghanistan had so much of an “empire appeal”. Yet major world powers from Alexander The Great to the British empire everyone wanted to attack or conquer Afghanistan. The south is a dessert and the north and middle is occupied by the Hindukush Mountains which roughly bifurcate the country. It is a land locked country with only 12% of the land being arable i.e, suitable for farming. This article will explain you in detail about why Afghanistan is called However, no one certainly knows that who coined this exact phrase.Īnyways, the interest is not in the “who” but in the “why”. “The Graveyard of Empires” is used for Afghanistan since the 19thĬentury.

Afghanistan graveyard of empires