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Retreat from Kabul in 1842
The Retreat from Kabul in 1842 was one of the most notorious disasters in the history of the British Empire. An East India Company army had invaded Afghanistan but was obliged to withdraw. This army of 4,500 soldiers and 12,000 camp followers...
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First Anglo-Afghan War
The First Anglo-Afghan War (1838-42) was fought between the British East India Company (EIC) and, the Emirate of Afghanistan, the ultimate victor. The British were keen to control Afghanistan as they feared Russian expansion into South Asia...
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The Last Stand of the Retreat from Kabul
An 1898 painting by William Barnes Wollen, 'The Last Stand', depicting the last stand of the British East India Company's disastrous Retreat from Kabul, 1842.
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Coin of King Tigin
When General Jean-Baptiste Ventura opened the Buddhist monument (stupa) at Manikyala in 1830 CE, he found a coin depicting Tigin, a king of Kabul. The presence of the coin shows that the stupa was still being used in 700 CE. The coin was...
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Greek and Aramaic inscriptions by king Ashoka
Bilingual (Greek and Aramaic) inscriptions by king Ashoka at Kandahar (Shar-i-kuna). (3rd century BCE). Preserved at Kabul Museum. Today disappeared. Two-dimensional inscription. Greek (transliteration) 1. δέκα ἐτῶν πληρηεὺς...
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Remnants of an Army by Thompson
An 1879 painting titled 'Remnants of an Army' by Elizabeth Thomson showing Dr William Brydon, the sole European survivor of the Retreat from Kabul in 1842 during the First Anglo-Afghan War (1838-42). (Tate Britain)
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Silver Coin from Ancient Afghanistan
This silver coin was minted in Kabul, modern-day Afghanistan, about 500-450 BCE. (The British Museum, London).
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Major-General William Elphinstone
A portrait of Major-General William Elphinstone (1782-1842) who commanded the army of the British East India Company in its infamous retreat from Kabul in January 1842 during the First Anglo-Afghan War (1838-42). (National Portrait Gallery...
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The Jugdulluk Pass
An 1848 lithograph by James Rattray of the Jugdulluk Pass. The pass had to be negotiated during the notorious retreat from Kabul in 1842 by the East India Company army. (British Library, London)
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Cultural links between India & the Greco-Roman world
Cyrus the Great (558-530 BCE) built the first universal empire, stretching from Greece to the Indus River. This was the famous Achaemenid Dynasty of Persia. An inscription at Naqsh-i-Rustam, the tomb of his able successor Darius I (521-486...