1900 Langhans Map of Afghanistan and Environs, 'Great Game' Imperial Competition

An intriguing c. 1900 by Paul Langhans map of Central and South Asia, focusing on Afghanistan. It coincided with the last stage of the 'Great Game' competition between Russia and Great Britain, whose military forces throughout the region are meticulously cataloged.

A Closer Look

This map covers from the southern Russian Empire to Sri Lanka, focusing on Persia and Afghanistan. Territories (empires, emirates, khanates, Indian Princely States) are color-shaded and clarified in the legend at bottom-right, though the borders and exact sovereignty over some was not so clear cut, especially in the mountainous regions (Himalayas and Pamirs) where imperial claims butted up against one another. Throughout, the location of fortifications and troops are recorded in detail. Roads and railways of military significance are traced in red, while telegraph lines are traced in blue. Red overprint adds explanation and records areas of military significance not immediately relevant from the map itself, such as the summer capital of the British Raj at Simla and the maritime routes and ports that could be used for troop transport. Famine areas (hungergebiete) are also noted; there were, unfortunately, many of these in the late 19th century, particularly in western India, generally owing to drought caused by the failure of summer monsoons.

Three inset maps appear: a large one at bottom-left that focuses more closely on Afghanistan and records troops and fortifications, including those of the Emirate of Afghanistan, noting, in particular, the British military campaigns against the border tribes of North-West India in 1895 - 1898; a smaller inset at top-right displaying Eurasia with major railways, telegraph lines, and the year of imperial acquisition of various territories noted; and a smaller inset below that displaying southwestern Germany at the same scale as the main map for comparison.

The End of the 'Great Game'

'The Great Game' was a diplomatic confrontation between the British and Russian Empires over Afghanistan and other territories in Central and Southern Asia. There is considerable debate as to when the Great Game began, but it was most likely the 1813 Treaty of Gulistan between Russia and Persia, which ended the Russo-Persian War (1804 - 1813), opened Persia to further Russian intervention and set Russian and British regional interests at odds. The conflict, related to wider animosity between Russia and Britain, revolved around Afghanistan, which, while lacking significant resources of its own, was strategically situated. For its part, Russia feared Britain was making commercial and military inroads into Central Asia, an area increasingly coming under the control of St. Petersburg. Britain, conversely, feared Russia intended to challenge its predominance in India, 'the jewel in the crown' of British Asia. The escalating tensions led to several wars and proxy wars: The First Anglo-Afghan War (1839 - 1842), the First Anglo-Sikh War (1845 - 1846), the Second Anglo-Sikh War (1848 - 1849), and the Second Anglo-Afghan War (1878 - 1880), along with the Russian annexations of Khiva, Bukhara, and Kokand. Then, as now, Afghanistan proved a grinding stone upon which the world's great empires diminished themselves, none achieving a definitive victory despite committing staggering resources. Regarding the attitude of Afghans toward the British and Russians, the general assumption of the British was that 'Some will fight for us, some against us, but all will fight.'

The Great Game 'ended' on September 10, 1895, with the signing of the Pamir Boundary Commission Protocols, which stabilized the border between Afghanistan and the Russian Empire. Although the British maintained significant influence in the foreign policy decisions of the Emirate of Afghanistan, the country's internal affairs remained exactly that (at this time, the amir Abdur Rahman Khan, r. 1880 - 1901, was completing a series of brutal campaigns strengthening central rule, particularly over the regions of Turkistan, Hazaristan, and Kafiristan). Tensions between Russia and Britain remained, such as over the Russians securing a railway concession in Persia (noted here) that would, if constructed, traverse the country right up to the doorstep of India (it was never built). However, these issues were handled diplomatically, especially as Russia had more serious problems to attend to during and after the Russo-Japanese War (1904 - 1905).

Publication History and Census

This map was prepared by Paul Langhans and published by Justus Perthes in 1900 or soon afterward. A note at bottom left suggests that a reduced version of the map (without the information on military deployments) appeared in Stielers Hand-Atlas. As it is undated, and has been digitally reproduced in library catalogs, there are multiple false catalog listings for this map in the OCLC. But the map is definably rare, with the University of Pennsylvania holding the only physical example in North America, and with additional examples held by the British Library, the Bibliothèque nationale de France, the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, the Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Sachsen-Anhalt, the Universitätsbibliothek Erfurt, the Württembergische Landesbibliothek, and the Bibliotheek Universiteit van Amsterdam.