Central Asia 1780

Central Asia: before the Great Game

Between 1660 and 1800 dramatic events were occurring that would change the history of the world forever. The steppe, the nursery of hordes and mass migrations, was about to be subjugated by the civilized.

In 1661, the Kangxi Emperor ascended the throne of the Qing Dynasty. In a series of bold military initiatives, he conquered southern China and the isle of Taiwan. He then defeated the mysterious northern barbarians known as the Russians, signing the Treaty of Nerchinsk in 1689. By combining the cavalry of the Manchus with the infantry of the Chinese, the Qing armies then achieved what no Chinese dynasty ever had before, the subjugation of Mongolia. Considering how epic all this was the Yongzheng Emperor (ascended 1722) decided to consolidate his father's conquests rather than do any of his own (though he did open up trade with the Russians under the 1727 Treaty of Kyakhta). His son, the Qianlong Emperor, ascended the throne in in 1735 and quickly began to make his name. He fought the Ten Great Campaigns [link] , in the process bringing Tibet and Dzungaria under Beijing rule for the first time. He ruled until 1795, thus giving him an exceptionally long reign of 60 years.

Simultaneous to these developments, Peter the Great was reigning in Russia (1682-1725). In 1699 he began the Great Northern War against Sweden to gain Russia a port on the Baltic coast. In 1703 he founded the city of St. Petersburg as his capital. In 1717 he decided to send an expedition to the Khanate of Khiva, because their Khan had requested an envoy to discuss a possible alliance with the Russians. An army departed under Alexander Bekovich-Cherkassky, a muslim prince loyal to the Tzar. After a brief skirmish with some Turkoman cavalry, they reached Khiva. Here they were received warmly by the Khan, who bid they rest in some local villages outside the city. The Russians were distrustful, but didn't wish to upset their potential ally. Sometime during the night the Khivans attacked the dispersed sleeping Russians, slashing into the soldiers with long sharp knives. Those who survived were sold into slavery, except for 10 individuals sent back to Russia to tell the tale. The Khan then had the head of Alexander placed atop a pike as a trophy of his achievements.

Peter the Great didn't have the troops to respond to the slaughter in Khiva, as he was still fighting the Great Northern War. By 1721 he had won the war and promptly proclaimed Russia an empire (formerly a Tzardom). The next year he launched the Russo Perisan War, occupying the key ports of Derbent and Baku on the Caspian Sea coast.

By 1735 however the situation had changed yet again. A charismatic new leader had risen to prominence in Persia, vowing to restore Persian greatness. The Russians responded by handed over all the territory they had taken from the Persians in exchange for their support in another Russo Turkish War.

That leader was Nadir Shah of Persia. Coming to the throne as the leader of an insurgency against an Afghan invasion, he brokered the peace with the russians, and launched campaigns against the Ottomans and the Afghans. He even conquered Oman, Bahrain, Khiva and subjugated the Turkomans. But that was not enough; he soon launched an epic invasion of the Mughal Empire, sacking Delhi in 1739. This act basically destroyed the Mughals, creating a massive power vacuum in India. The British moved swiftly to fill that vacuum, winning the Battle of Plassey in 1757 to plant the British flag in Bengal. But the Persians would be unable to capitalize on the vacuum. Nadir was assassinated in 1747, leading to a bitter struggle for power in Persia. In the chaos, Afghanistan and Khiva declared independence.

Afghanistan was united under Ahmad Shah Durrani, who began his reign much like Nadir Shah, as leader of an insurgency against the Persian invaders. He capitalized on the chaos going on in Persia and India by invading, sacking Delhi in 1757. His decision to leave a puppet ruler in Delhi as the Mughal Emperor left the Mughals discredited but not destroyed. Rebellions began to spring up across India. The chaos made it all the easier for the British East India Company to assert control over the Subcontinent. As numerous Sikh rebellions were sapping the strength of Afghanistan, Ahmad Shah died in 1773.

Central Asia series

1780
1850 [link]
1914 [link]

Black borders are modern

Map and flags courtesy of Wikipedia

map adapted from [link]

Edit: minor changes made to the map