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First Anglo-Afghan War
The First Anglo-Afghan War () was fought between the British Empire and the Emirate of Kabul from 1838 to 1842. The British initially successfully invaded the country taking sides in a succession dispute between emir Dost Mohammad Khan ( Barakzai) and former King Shah Shujah (Durrani), whom they reinstalled upon occupying Kabul in August 1839. The main British Indian force occupied Kabul and endured harsh winters. The force and its camp followers were almost completely massacred during the 1842 retreat from Kabul. The British then sent what was widely termed an " Army of Retribution" to Kabul to avenge the destruction of the previous forces. After recovering prisoners, they left Afghanistan by the end of the year. Dost Mohammed returned from exile in India to resume his rule. It was one of the first major conflicts during the Great Game, the 19th century competition for power and influence in Central Asia between Britain and Russia. Background Causes The 19th century wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Ghazni
The Battle of Ghazni took place in the city of Ghazni in central Afghanistan on Tuesday, 23 July 1839, during the First Anglo-Afghan War. Prelude In the 1830s, the British were firmly entrenched in India but by 1837, feared a Russian invasion through the Khyber and Bolan Passes as the Russian Empire had expanded towards the British dominion. The British sent an envoy to Kabul to form an alliance with Afghanistan's emir, Dost Muhammad against Russia. The Emir was in favour of an alliance but wanted British help in recapturing Peshawar which the Sikhs had captured in 1834. The British refused to help. Dost Muhammad then started negotiating with the Russians who had also sent an envoy to Kabul. This led the Governor General of India, Lord Auckland to conclude that Dost Muhammad was anti-British. British fears of a Russian invasion of India took one step closer to becoming a reality when negotiations between the Afghans and Russians broke down in 1838. This led to Persian tro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Eden, 1st Earl Of Auckland
George Eden, 1st Earl of Auckland, (25 August 1784 – 1 January 1849) was an English people, English Whig (British political faction), Whig politician and colonial administrator. He was thrice First Lord of the Admiralty and also served as Governor-General of India between 1836 and 1842. The province of Auckland, which includes the present regions of Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty and Gisborne along with the city of Auckland, in New Zealand, was named after him. Lord Auckland signed the Tripartite Treaty in June 1838 with Maharaja Ranjit Singh of the Sikh Empire and Shah Shujah Durrani, Shah Shuja of Afghanistan. Background and education Born in Beckenham, Kent, Auckland was the second son of William Eden, 1st Baron Auckland, and Eleanor, daughter of Sir Gilbert Elliot, 3rd Baronet, of Minto, Sir Gilbert Elliot, 3rd Baronet. His sister was the traveller and author Emily Eden, who accompanied her brother to India and wrote about her experiences there. He was e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barakzai Dynasty
The Barakzai dynasty (, "Sons of Barak"), also known as the Muhammadzai dynasty ("the ruling sub-clan of the Barakzai"), ruled what is now Afghanistan from 1823 to 1978, when the monarchy ended de jure under Musahiban Mohammad Zahir Shah and de facto under his cousin Mohammad Daoud Khan. The Barakzai dynasty was established by Dost Mohammad Khan after the Durrani Empire of Ahmad Shah Durrani was removed from power. As the Pahlavi era in Iran, the Muhammadzai era was known for its progressivist modernity, practice of Sufism, peaceful security and neutrality, in which Afghanistan was referred to as the "Switzerland of Asia". History and background Ancestral background The Barakzai claim descent from the children of Israel in a direct line through the first Israeli King Saul, whose family intermarried with the family of his successor King David. King Saul's grandson the Prince (Malak) Afghana was grown up by King Solomon, acting as his commander in chief and Manager ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
War Of Succession
A war of succession is a war prompted by a succession crisis in which two or more individuals claim to be the Order of succession, rightful successor to a demise of the Crown, deceased or deposition (politics), deposed monarch. The rivals are typically supported by Political faction, factions within the Court (royal), royal court. Foreign powers sometimes Interventionism (politics)#Foreign interventionism, intervene, alliance, allying themselves with a faction. This may widen the war into one between those powers. Wars of succession were some of the most prevalent types of Casus belli#Categorisation, wars by cause throughout human history, but the replacement of absolute monarchy, absolute monarchies by an international order based on democracy with constitutional monarchy, constitutional monarchies or republics ended almost all such wars by 1900. Terminology Descriptions In historiography and literature, a ''war of succession'' may also be referred to as a ''succession ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the English overseas possessions, overseas possessions and trading posts established by Kingdom of England, England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, and colonisation attempts by Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland during the 17th century. At its height in the 19th and early 20th centuries, it became the List of largest empires, largest empire in history and, for a century, was the foremost global power. By 1913, the British Empire held sway over 412 million people, of the world population at the time, and by 1920, it covered , of the Earth's total land area. As a result, Westminster system, its constitutional, Common law, legal, English language, linguistic, and Culture of the United Kingdom, cultural legacy is widespread. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alexander Burnes
Captain Sir Alexander Burnes (16 May 1805 – 2 November 1841) was a Scottish explorer, military officer and diplomat associated with the Great Game. He was nicknamed Bokhara Burnes for his role in establishing contact with and exploring Bukhara. His memoir, ''Travels into Bokhara'', was a bestseller when it was first published in 1835. Early life Burnes was born on 16 May 1805 in Montrose, Scotland, as the fourth son of James Burnes (1780–1852) the local provost, who was first cousin to the poet Robert Burns. His brother was the doctor and surgeon James Burnes. At the age of sixteen, Alexander joined the army of the East India Company and while serving in India, he learned Urdu and Persian, and obtained an appointment as an interpreter at Surat in 1822. He was transferred to Kutch in 1826 where he was based at Bhuj for three years. As assistant to the political agent, he took an interest in the history and geography of north-western India and the adjacent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Shelton (British Army Officer)
Colonel John Shelton (1790/91 – 13 May 1845) was an officer of the British Army who commanded the 44th (East Essex) Regiment of Foot during the First Anglo-Afghan War and was second-in-command to Major General Sir William Elphinstone. He was one of only a small number of British soldiers to survive the disastrous 1842 retreat from Kabul, in which a British army column of 4,500 men and 12,000 civilians was massacred by Afghan tribesmen as it attempted to march to Jalalabad. He was widely disliked as a tyrannical and ineffective commander whose failures led to the annihilation of his regiment and whose accidental death was cheered by his men, but he also had a deserved reputation for great physical bravery. Early career Shelton was commissioned into the army as an ensign in the 9th (East Norfolk) Regiment of Foot on 21 November 1805. Two years later he became a lieutenant. In 1808 he saw action at the battles of Roliça, Vimiero and Corunna in Portugal. The regiment was sub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Sale
Major-General Sir Robert Henry Sale (19 September 1782 – 21 December 1845) was a British Army officer who commanded the garrison of Jalalabad during the First Afghan War and was killed in action during the First Anglo-Sikh War. Biography He entered the 36th Regiment of Foot in 1795, and went to India in 1798, as a lieutenant of the Suffolk Regiment, 12th Foot. His regiment formed part of David Baird (soldier), Baird's brigade of Harris's army operating against Tippoo Sahib, and Sale was present at Malavalli and the Battle of Seringapatam, subsequently serving under Colonel Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley in the campaign against Dhondia Wagh, Dhundia. A little later the 12th was employed in the difficult and laborious attack on Paichi Raja. Promoted captain in 1806, Sale was engaged in 1808–1809 against the Raja of Travancore, and was at the two actions of Quilon, the storm of Travancore lines and the battle of Killianore. In 1810 he accompanied ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henry Marion Durand
Major-General Sir Henry Marion Durand, (6 November 1812 – 1 January 1871) was a British military officer in the Bengal Army and served as Lieutenant Governor of Punjab from 1870 until his death in 1871. Early life Durand was one of two illegitimate sons of Major Henry Percy, a cavalry officer who served in the Peninsular War and later at the Battle of Waterloo, and Marion Durand, a French woman he met while prisoner-of-war in the Napoleonic Wars. Born in Coulandon, France, both his parents died whilst he was young, and he was placed in the care of a family friend Mr. Deans. He was educated at the East India Company Military Seminary at Addiscombe where he was a contemporary of the future Lord Napier of Magdala who passed out two years before him. Career Durand sailed for India in 1829. On-board he developed a friendship with fellow passenger Alexander Duff, however the ship was wrecked on Dassen Island and the friends separated. On his arrival in India in May 1830, h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sir George Pollock, 1st Baronet
Field Marshal Sir George Pollock, 1st Baronet, (4 June 1786 – 6 October 1872) was a British Indian Army officer. He first saw action at the Battle of Deeg and at the Siege of Bhurtpore during the Second Anglo-Maratha War before taking part in the Anglo-Nepalese War. He also commanded the British artillery at the Battle of Prome and at Bagan during the First Anglo-Burmese War. Following a disastrous retreat from Kabul in January 1842 during the First Anglo-Afghan War, the retreating forces became stranded at the small British garrison at Jalalabad and Pollock was appointed Commander of the Force sent to relieve the garrison: he advanced through the Khyber Pass and relieved the garrison in April 1842. He then set about an unauthorised but ultimately successful mission to rescue the British hostages who had been left behind in Kabul prior to the retreat. In 1844 the Pollock Medal was created to commemorate Pollock's achievements: this medal was to be awarded to the "best cade ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Willoughby Cotton
Lieutenant-General Sir Willoughby Cotton (1783 – 4 May 1860) was an English soldier in the British Army. Family Willoughby Cotton was born in 1783, to Vice-Admiral Rowland Cotton and Elizabeth Aston. They also had a daughter, Sydney Arabella Cotton. Rowland Cotton was from a well-established Chester family, was the second son of Sir Lynch Cotton, 4th Baronet, while Elizabeth was the eldest daughter of Sir Willoughby Aston, 5th Baronet Aston, of Aston, Chester. Cotton married Lady Augusta Maria Coventry on 16 May 1806 in Marylebone, London. They had three children together, Augusta Mary Cotton, Willoughby Cotton and Maj.-Gen. Corbet Cotton. School years Willoughby Cotton entered Rugby School at the age of 12 in 1795. Cotton, aged 14, was a ringleader in the " Great Rebellion" of November 1797. Aggrieved by the attitude of the Head Master, Dr. Henry Ingles (1794–1806), following the breaking of a window, students blew his classroom door off with gunpowder and followed th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Keane, 1st Baron Keane
Lieutenant-General John Keane, 1st Baron Keane (6 February 1781 – 24 August 1844) was an Irish soldier, whose military exploits in the First Anglo-Afghan War led to him being created Baron Keane of Ghuznee. Early life John Keane was born in Waterford, Ireland, on 6 February 1781; he was the second son of John Keane of Cappoquin, and his wife Sarah Kelly. Keane's father would be created the Keane baronet in 1801. He was the younger brother of the future Lt.-Col. Sir Richard Keane, 2nd Baronet and the elder of Col. Edward Keane. Military service French Revolutionary Wars While there is some confusion as to when this occurred, Keane most likely joined the British Army on 11 October 1794, becoming an ensign in the 122nd Regiment of Foot. He was quickly promoted, becoming a lieutenant on 30 October. With the speed of Keane's promotions, it is likely that he never actually reported for duty with the 122nd. His father then purchased his promotion to captain in the 124th Regi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
