Afghanistan

"This is an expert yet accessible account that has much to tell any students or scholars interested in a more textured, nuanced understanding of Afghanistan extending beyond the last 200 years."—Journal of Military History

“Ali Ahmad Jalali has produced the first military history of ancient, medieval, and early modern Afghanistan on a scale commensurate with the subject. This work will be invaluable to military historians and area specialists; it combines sound scholarship and accurate translations from the full range of sources.”—Jeremy Black, author of Military Strategy: A Global History

“Afghan monarchy, Soviet communism, and American democracy have failed in Afghanistan. Before that, Afghanistan was caught between British-controlled India and an expanding Russia. Now Afghanistan must come up with a new model. Must it inevitably be another faltering religious dictatorship, or will it eventually go back into its history to examine how it was an influential regional power? Ali Jalali provides this background as the prehistory to his A Military History of Afghanistan: From the Great Game to the Global War on Terror. This excellent work provides the classical antiquity of Afghanistan to an English-speaking audience and may yet provide some direction to this war-and-dogma-wracked people.”—Jacob W. Kipp, Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies, University of Kansas

“It was Winston Churchill who coined the famous phrase ‘a riddle, wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma’ when describing the Soviet Union in 1939. But for those many would-be conquerors who have invaded Afghanistan during the past 2,500 years, this phrase is, indeed, uniquely apt. Just how apt it is emerges clearly from Ali Jalali’s new book, Afghanistan: A Military History from the Ancient Empires to the Great Game, a prequel to A Military History of Afghanistan: From the Great Game to the Global War on Terror that reveals why country after country have striven to tame Afghans only to fail consistently. In a period when the United States is turning its back on the problem after almost twenty years of active but frustrating involvement in Afghanistan, it would be prudent for the United States and other countries to understand why Churchill’s phrase is so apt to Afghanistan yesterday, today, and tomorrow.”—David M. Glantz, author of the Stalingrad Trilogy

“What do Cyrus the Great, Alexander the Great, several Muslim conquerors, Chinggis Khan, Tamerlane, and Babur have in common? They all fought in the region that became Afghanistan. Ali Jalali’s long-awaited prequel to A Military History of Afghanistan is finally available. Afghanistan: A Military History from the Ancient Empires to the Great Game covers 2,500 years of regional military history up to the period of European colonialism. Superbly crafted, quite readable, and authoritative, Jalali’s endurable scholarship illuminates regional and national facets that are still misunderstood despite the most recent decades of struggle. Highly recommended for the specialist and general reader.”—Lester W. Grau, senior analyst, Foreign Military Studies Office, US Army Combined and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, and author of twelve books on Afghanistan, including Operation Anaconda: America’s First Major Battle in Afghanistan