The Panjdeh Incident (known in Russian historiography as the Battle of Kushka) was an armed engagement between the
Emirate of Afghanistan
The Emirate of Afghanistan also referred to as the Emirate of Kabul (until 1855) ) was an emirate between Central Asia and South Asia that is now today's Afghanistan and some parts of today's Pakistan (before 1893). The emirate emerged from t ...
and the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
in 1885 that led to a diplomatic crisis between the
British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...
and the Russian Empire regarding the Russian expansion south-eastwards towards the Emirate of Afghanistan and the
British Raj
The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
*
or Direct rule in India,
* Quote: "Mill, who was him ...
(India). After nearly completing the
Russian conquest of Central Asia (
Russian Turkestan
Russian Turkestan (russian: Русский Туркестан, Russkiy Turkestan) was the western part of Turkestan within the Russian Empire’s Central Asian territories, and was administered as a Krai or Governor-Generalship. It comprised the ...
), the Russians captured an Afghan border fort, threatening British interests in the area. Seeing this as a threat to India, Britain prepared for war but both sides backed down and the matter was settled diplomatically. The incident halted further Russian expansion in Asia, except for the
Pamir Mountains, and resulted in the definition of the north-western border of Afghanistan.
Background
After the
Battle of Geok Tepe
The Battle of Geok Tepe in 1881 was the main event in the 1880/81 Russian campaign to conquer the Teke Turkomans. Its effect was to give the Russian Empire control over most of what is now Turkmenistan, thereby nearly completing the Russian c ...
in January 1881 and the annexation of
Merv
Merv ( tk, Merw, ', مرو; fa, مرو, ''Marv''), also known as the Merve Oasis, formerly known as Alexandria ( grc-gre, Ἀλεξάνδρεια), Antiochia in Margiana ( grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐν τῇ Μαργιανῇ) and ...
in March 1884, Russia held most of what is now
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...
. To the south of Merv, towards
Herat
Herāt (; Persian: ) is an oasis city and the third-largest city of Afghanistan. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains (''Selseleh-ye Safē ...
in Afghanistan, the border was not clearly defined. The British were concerned because the Merv–Herat–
Kandahar
Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118. It is the c ...
–
Quetta
Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه) is the tenth most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in south-west of the country close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is the capital of ...
line was a natural invasion route to India. The Russians had commenced construction of the
Trans-Caspian Railway
The Trans-Caspian Railway (also called the Central Asian Railway, russian: Среднеазиатская железная дорога) is a railway that follows the path of the Silk Road through much of western Central Asia. It was built by ...
which would allow them to bring men and supplies to Merv and beyond.
Most of Turkmenistan is desert but irrigation supports a fairly dense population on the north slope of the
Kopet Dag
The Köpet Dag, Kopet Dagh, or Koppeh Dagh ( tk, Köpetdag; fa, کپهداغ), also known as the Turkmen-Khorasan Mountain Range, is a mountain range on the border between Turkmenistan and Iran that extends about along the border southeast o ...
(Geok Tepe and Ashgabat). East of this are the oases of
Tejen
Tejen (older spellings: Tedzhen, Tejend, Tejent) is an oasis city with district status in the Karakum Desert, in Ahal Province of Turkmenistan. It lies along the M37 highway, between Dushak and Mary, by road southeast of Ashgabat. It has a p ...
d and Merv, one of the great cities of central Asia. Tejend was much smaller and to the south of Tejend and Merv is a grassy region sometimes called Badghis which is bounded by the
Hari-Rud
The Hari River ( or prs, هری رود, translit=Harī Rōd; ps, د هري سیند) or Herat River is a river flowing from the mountains of central Afghanistan to Turkmenistan, where it forms the Tejend oasis and disappears in the Karakum Des ...
river on the west and the
Murghab River
The Marghab River ( Persian/Pashto: مرغاب, ''Morqâb''), anciently the Margiana (Ancient Greek: Μαργιανή, ''Margianḗ''), is an long river in Central Asia. It rises in the Paropamisus Mountains (''Selseleh-ye Safīd Kūh'') in Ghor ...
to the east. The Hari-Rud flows north along the modern Iranian border, enters Turkmenistan and spreads out forming the
Tejen
Tejen (older spellings: Tedzhen, Tejend, Tejent) is an oasis city with district status in the Karakum Desert, in Ahal Province of Turkmenistan. It lies along the M37 highway, between Dushak and Mary, by road southeast of Ashgabat. It has a p ...
d oasis before drying up in the desert. The Murghab flows north through what is now Afghanistan and Turkmenistan, reaches
Yoloten and spreads out, forming the Merv oasis. Where the Murghab crosses the current border, the irrigated area of Panjdeh (Five Villages) existed. Badghis was about wide and long from north to south, depending on where the boundaries are set. South of Badghis is the important Afghan city and border fort of
Herat
Herāt (; Persian: ) is an oasis city and the third-largest city of Afghanistan. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains (''Selseleh-ye Safē ...
.
At the time of the Panjdeh Incident, it was generally agreed that the northern frontier of Afghanistan began from the Persian border at
Serakhs
Sarahs (, also written Saraghs, Serahs, Sarakhs, Saragt, or Serakhs, the last a backformation of russian: Серахс) is an oasis city in Ahal Province, Turkmenistan, and the administrative center of Sarahs district ( tk, Sarahs etraby). It is ...
, running about east-north-east to meet the
Oxus
The Amu Darya, tk, Amyderýa/ uz, Amudaryo// tg, Амударё, Amudaryo ps, , tr, Ceyhun / Amu Derya grc, Ὦξος, Ôxos (also called the Amu, Amo River and historically known by its Latin name or Greek ) is a major river in Central Asi ...
at Khoja Sale, an old name for the point where the Oxus now leaves Afghanistan. This border had never been properly defined.
Build-up
In 1882, Britain and Russia began discussions about the Afghan boundary. In the summer of 1884, they agreed to form an
Afghan Boundary Commission, the commissioners including Russian General Zelenoi and British General Sir
Peter Lumsden
General Sir Peter Stark Lumsden (9 November 1829 – 9 November 1918) was a British military officer who served in India. Born in Belhelvie, Aberdeenshire, he was the fourth son of Colonel Thomas Lumsden CB. He studied at Addiscombe Milit ...
. They were to meet at
Serakhs
Sarahs (, also written Saraghs, Serahs, Sarakhs, Saragt, or Serakhs, the last a backformation of russian: Серахс) is an oasis city in Ahal Province, Turkmenistan, and the administrative center of Sarahs district ( tk, Sarahs etraby). It is ...
in October but both were delayed. The Russians tried to push the border as far to the south as possible before it became fixed. General Komarov, governor of the
Transcaspian Oblast
The Transcaspian Oblast (russian: Закаспійская область), or just simply Transcaspia (russian: Закаспія), was the section of Russian Empire and early Soviet Russia to the east of the Caspian Sea during the second half of ...
, went south to Serakhs and expelled a Persian garrison on the east side of the Hari-Rud. The Russians then occupied Pul-i-Khatun south in Afghan territory. Later, they occupied the pass or canyon at Zulfikar and a place called Ak Robat about to the east. On the east side, the Sarik Turkomans of
Yoloten submitted to the Russians in May 1884 but their kinsmen at Panjdeh refused, saying that they were subjects of the Amir of Kabul.
The Afghans sent troops to Bala Murghab and in June began building a fort at the north end of Panjdeh at the mouth of the
Kushk River
The Kushk (known in Turkmenistan as ''Guşgy'') is a river which, for a portion of its course, forms the boundary between Afghanistan and Turkmenistan, and used to form the southernmost border of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. The Kushk ...
, which they called Ak-Tepe (White Hill; probably the old fort visible from space at ). The Russians thought that the Afghans had done this with British connivance but the Afghans and the British claimed that the people of Panjdeh had always paid tribute to the Afghans or whoever controlled Herat. The Russians claimed that Panjdeh had never been garrisoned and that its people were part of a tribe that had submitted to Russia.
On 8 November, Lumsden arrived at Serakhs with 250
Sepoys and 200
Bengal Lancers, having crossed little-known country in
Baluchistan. Komarov avoided meeting him, claiming he was "occupied with other affairs." In mid-November, Komarov made a move up the Murghab toward Panjdeh and more Afghan troops were shifted up to counter this. The Russians built an advanced post at Sanduk Kuchan (Sandykgachy?) on the Murghab. Alikhanov went to
parley
A parley (from french: link=no, parler – "to speak") refers to a discussion or conference, especially one designed to end an argument or hostilities between two groups of people. The term can be used in both past and present tense; in prese ...
with the Ak Tepe commander but was driven away with threats. The Afghans then sent a detachment to occupy Sary Yazy south of the Russian outpost.
Russian attack
For a few months there was a lull. Then in February 1885, the Russians occupied a post south of Sary Yazy. Lumsden advised the Afghans to withdraw further south. Russia next built a fort at Kazyl Tepe (Red Hill) about south of Ak Tepe and a mile south of Pul-i-Khishty (Brick Bridge) across the
Kushk. On 25 March, Komarov arrived at Kazyl Tepe with 1,500 men. Two days later, they advanced, apparently trying to provoke the Afghans into firing first.
Captain Charles Yate was the most senior British officer present, with only two other Europeans, and they futilely attempted to defuse the situation by talking to the Russian officers.
On 30 March 1885, the Russians captured Ak Tepe with a reported loss of 900 Afghans and 11 Russians. The news reached England on 7 April and preparations for war began. On 27 April,
William Gladstone asked the Commons for a credit of £11 million (£4.5 million for Sudan and the rest for Russia).
Alexander III of Russia
Alexander III ( rus, Алекса́ндр III Алекса́ндрович, r=Aleksandr III Aleksandrovich; 10 March 18451 November 1894) was Emperor of Russia, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Finland from 13 March 1881 until his death in 18 ...
suggested arbitration and negotiations which the British accepted. The crisis was partly averted by the initiative of
Abdur Rahman Khan
Abdur Rahman Khan GCSI (Pashto/Dari: ) (between 1840 and 1844 – 1 October 1901) was Emir of Afghanistan from 1880 to his death in 1901. He is known for uniting the country after years of internal fighting and negotiation of the Durand Line Ag ...
, the Amir of Afghanistan, who was then at
Rawalpindi engaged in talks with the British. Having no desire to see two foreign armies fighting in his country, when told of Panjdeh, he pretended to regard it as a mere border skirmish.
In mid-summer,
Lord Salisbury
Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (; 3 February 183022 August 1903) was a British statesman and Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom three times for a total of over thirteen y ...
replaced Gladstone, which may have made British threats more credible. By 10 September, it was roughly agreed that Russia would keep Panjdeh, give up Zulfikar, and that the border would be approximately where it is now. The border commissioners started at Zulfikar on 10 November, reached the Murghab by Christmas, and went into winter quarters. In 1886, the line was run from the Murghab to the Oxus. Some minor problems had to be resolved by diplomats and the final protocol was signed on 22 July 1887. Persia somehow retained the Atak country north-west of Serakhs into which Russian patrols had penetrated.
Aftermath
The absence of British aid to Afghanistan was seen as a violation of the
Treaty of Gandamak
The Treaty of Gandamak (Dari: معاهده گندمک, Pashto: د گندمک تړون) officially ended the first phase of the Second Anglo-Afghan War. Mohammad Yaqub Khan ceded various frontier areas to Britain while retaining full control of ...
. This led the Amir to believe that he could not rely on the British in the face of Russian aggression. Tensions between Russia and Britain eased when the Russian foreign minister
Nikolay Girs
Nikolay de Girs or Giers (russian: Никола́й Ка́рлович Гирс ''Nikolay Karlovich Girs'')
( – ) was the Russian Foreign Minister, 1882-1895, during the reign of Alexander III. He was one of the architects of the Franco-Rus ...
and the ambassador to London
Baron de Staal set up an agreement in 1887 that established a buffer zone in Central Asia. Russian diplomacy thereby won grudging British acceptance of its expansionism.
In 1890, Russia founded Kushka (
Serhetabat
Serhetabat (formerly Gushgy) ( tk, Guşgy; russian: Кушка, Kushka) is a city in Tagtabazar District, Mary Province, Turkmenistan. Serhetabat lies in the valley of the Kushka River. The population was 5,200 in 1991. It is immediately opposit ...
) at the south end of the new territory and, in 1901, connected Kushka by rail to Merv. Kushka remained the southernmost settlement in the Russian Empire and later the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
. The 1921, Afghan-Soviet Treaty of Friendship was the first international agreement made by the Soviet Union. Although "the Soviets agreed to return to Afghanistan, subject to plebiscites, territories in the Panjdeh area ceded under duress by Afghanistan to Russia or Bukhara in the nineteenth century," this was not done.
Afghanistan: The First Five Years of Soviet Occupation by
J. Bruce Amstutz, Pg. 12
References
*
* (stops at November 1884)
* Salisbury, Robert (2020). ''William Simpson and the Crisis in Central Asia, 1884-5''.
Notes
External links
* {{Cite EB1911 , wstitle=Panjdeh , volume=20 , pages=679–680 , short=x
1885 in Asia
1885 in Afghanistan
Afghanistan–Russia relations
Military history of Afghanistan
Battles involving Russia
Conflicts in 1885
History of Turkmenistan
Russia–United Kingdom relations
The Great Game
Central Asia in the Russian Empire