The Great Game describes the rivalry between the British and Russian empires through the 19th century. The game was primarily concerned with the control of certain regions in Central Asia and the defence of British India. The rivalry, although sometimes overimagined and exaggerated, took the form of international diplomacy, troop movements and invasions, espionage, and one instance of open warfare. The game had indirect consequences, too, in other areas of the world, such as in the Scramble for Africa. The Great Game effectively ended following Russia's embarrassing loss to Japan in 1905 and the arrival of the much more real and dangerous threat posed by Imperial Germany's ambitions in Europe.
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Timeline
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c. 1820 - 1907The Great Game imperial rivalry between the British and Russian empires.
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1838 - 1842The First Anglo-Afghan War between the Emirate of Afghanistan and the British East India Company.
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1845 - 1846The First Anglo-Sikh War.
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1848 - 1849The Second Anglo-Sikh War.
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1853 - 1856The Crimean War between Russia and the Ottoman Empire and its allies.
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1864Khiva becomes part of the Russian Empire.
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1865Tashkent becomes part of the Russian Empire.
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1868Samarkand becomes part of the Russian Empire.
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1901The expression 'the Great Game' becomes more widely known following mention in Rudyard Kipling's novel Kim.
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1901The phrase 'the Great Game' is popularised after appearing in Rudyard Kipling's novel Kim.
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1907The Anglo-Russian Convention is signed which settles Anglo-Russo claims to Afghanistan, Tibet, and Persia.
