IT IS INTERESTING THAT WESTERNERS THINK OF AFGHANISTAN AS A BACKWARD PLACE...A PLACE THAT NEVER HAD AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN WORLD HISTORY...
THIS IS NOT THE CASE...
HERAT IN AFGHANISTAN WAS ONCE THE GREATEST CITY IN THE MUGHAL EMPIRE...AND AFGHANISTAN WAS THE PLACE FROM WHICH THE MUGHALS CONQUERED THE UNTOLD WEALTH OF INDIA IN THE 14TH CENTURY...
CURIOUSLY IT WAS ANOTHER GROUP OF MUGHALS FROM AFGHANISTAN THAT DESTROYED THE INDIAN BRANCH OF THE MUGHAL EMPIRE IN THE LATE 16TH CENTURY...WHICH ALLOWED THE BRITISH TO MANAGE THE PITIFUL REMNANT INDIAN MUGHALS... AS THEIR PUPPETS... UNTIL THE RAJ WAS FINALLY ESTABLISHED IN THE 1850s....
THE LAST PUPPET MUGHAL KING WAS THEN KICKED OUT OF INDIA...AND HIS FAMILY MASSACRED...
AFGHANS WHERE THE DIRECT DECENDANTS OF TAMERLANE...WHO WAS THE MONGOL/TURK WAR LORD WHO ESTABLISHED WHAT WE CALL ...THE "-STANS"...ESPECIALLY UZBEKISTAN...
BUT ALSO AFGHANISTAN... THE PLACE FROM WHERE LATER "TAMERLANE" MUGHALS STARTED THEIR CONQUEST OF INDIA...
IT IS TRUE THAT TAMERLANE WAS A VICIOUS MONSTER IN WAR...OFTEN KILLING FOR THE SAKE OF KILLING...
BUT HIS HEIRS WERE GREAT LOVERS OF BOOKS AND ART...! THAT IS HOW HERAT AND DEHLI BECAME THE CULTURAL CENTERS OF CENTRAL ASIA... THINK: TAJ MAHAL...!
IT'S INTERESTING THAT THE BRITISH ALSO SUPPORTED THE OTHER "SICK MAN" ISLAMIC EMPIRE IN THE 18TH CENTURY...THE OTTOMANS...
ODDLY THE BRITISH WERE SUPPORTERS OF TWO "SICK MAN" EMPIRES IN THE 19TH CENTURY...
NAMELY: THE INDIAN MUGHALS ...AND THE TURKISH OTTOMANS
THEY SUPPORTED THESE DYING AUTOCRATS AND THE "EMPIRES" FOR ONE REASON...
TO STOP THE RUSSIANS FROM MOVING INTO CENTRAL ASIA...!
THUS, THE RUSSIANS WERE FORCED TO EXPAND ALWAYS TO THEIR EAST...EVENTUALLY TO ALASKA...
WHICH IS HOW WE ENDED UP WITH SARAH PALIN...!
YOU SEE...ITS' ALL CONNECTED...!
