Yep, here just after the Taliban got into the presidential palace. Afghanistan was too hard for the US as well and NATO, I wonder if Russia will laugh at them during the next UNSC.
Cant really blame the US for this one. They spent 20 years training and arming the Afghans. I guess they didn’t want their freedom as badly as the US thought they did
I never thought that the "Graveyard of Empires" was called that because invading empires would collapse, but because because invading empires would suffer heavy, heavy losses while failing to conquer it.
Seems like that’s only true for the Brits and Ruskies. And for the Brits it’s not even really true since they only lost the first time and the second time they had no trouble conquering it and installing a puppet ruler. The Umayyads, Safavids, Mughals, Mongols, Seljuks, Achaemenids, etc. all did fine there. And not only did Alexander the Great conquer it, Greco-Bactria was also the last remnant of his empire to fall.
You guys are forgetting afghans only have AK 47, nowadays its much harder to fight without technology, the USSR suffered much more due to the technology being supplied to them by Americans.
"It's been fairly easy to conquer, and has been conquered many times, but holding onto it is another matter entirely." If you look at the way the U.S.'s war in Afghanistan has evolved since 2001, that's all too true.
@@AlfaGiuliaQV Probably China, if they're really intent with their "Belt and Road Initiative". Otherwise terrorists will keep derailing Chinese ambitions to achieve continental hegemony over commerce and trade in Asia.
considering the united states, I'd say that the withdrawal is a sign for the strength of the USA. The united states was smart enough to withdraw after 20 years and didn't fight until the end. They noticed that this is just a waste of time and money. In other words the USA always remained sane enough to not make decisions that would lead to their ultimate defeat. The USA lost a bit of her face because of Afghanistan. But ultimately it cuts its losses and keeps gong its way now. This is a clear sign that the USA will remain a superpower for probably the next 200 years. The opponents of the USA who watch this video will soon notice that the end of US-domination is very far away and you will have to deal with that.
Actually it is very difficult to conquer a nation where the concept of "nation" is diminished. It is essentially a geographical area with a set of tribesmen living in their own terms.
Nation is defined as: “a large body of people united by common descent, history, culture, or language, inhabiting a particular country or territory.” Afghanistan fits into that category.
@@jakecommonty2042 And how many years the history should span? ummm... 50 years? 10 years? or 2000 years? When you time travel through history you will see everything in Afghanistan is different - in terms of every dimension you mentioned - descent, culture, language.
It's like telling Switzerland to defend the very idea of a country at the UN 100 Years from now when people wknder why states even exist... They'd be the 1st country to be inhabitable non-state territory if they could be. Always fascinated me how differently The Swiss see the concept of a country & the thought that by no means is 1 framework the only form they take
Afghanistan is not the graveyard of empires, it is just the graveyard of imperial ideas of trying to make it into something else. The Persians tried to make it Persian, but didn't stick. The British tried to make it a happy commonwealth colony, but it didn't. The Soviets tried to make it into a communist utopia, but it didn't, and the Americans tried to make it into a capitalist democracy, which, fun fact... they didn't.
But this is the same as the cemetery of empires. For example, after the USSR-Afghan war, the USSR enters and splits. Why? Because all the countries occupied by the USSR saw the weakness of the USSR and all the countries decided to leave the USSR. And now the whole world does not trust the power of the USA as before because of the war lost in Afghanistan and this will cause big problems in the future and it has already appeared. Russia invaded Ukraine. Because Russia now looks down on America. And now that they see America's true weakness. The graveyard of empires does not mean that that empire is gone forever. In other words, because they could not reach their goals and for the Afghanistan they are dead and suffered heavy losses and fled from there. And these empires are cemeteries for Afghanistan. But these empires may exist outside Afghanistan, but they died in Afghanistan. I hope you understand what I mean.
@@gamedeveloper_1999 The Greeks, the Mauryans, Mongols conquered Afghanistan and held it. In modern history, the British ruled Afghanistan too. Islamic empires invaded and established themselves in Afghanistan too (which is why Afghanistan is Islamic today).
"We sought physical attrition; our opponents aimed for our psychological exhaustion. In the process we lost sight of one of the cardinal maxims of guerrilla war: the guerrilla wins if he does not lose. The conventional army loses if it does not win." - Henry Kissinger
Kissinger probably understood that his maxim applies best to modern industrial states operating as popular democracies. And, to some extent, tottering tyrannies losing public consent. A surprisingly large number of societies historically have seen conventional armies sustain centuries of warfare against sporadically rebelling peoples.
Maybe western nations need to learn how to operate as guerrilla armies. You put US and UK special forces in the Afghanistan and you can cause huge problems for the Taliban without huge expense.
Especially if used to confute and disprove a famed myth and cherry picked glory like the one of the ''tomb of empires'' when referring to Afghanistan even, of all countries.
I'm addicted to this channel. It clicks with me. I appreciate the effort put into the research, the topics which are sometimes lesser known facts of history, the animated presentation, and of course, the humour. Great work History Matters!
Key words is years later. And at what cost. That is why those empires collapsed after invading or part of the reason. They just keep fighting and fighting and fighting and fighting, etc....
Yeah the landscape of Tatooine look pretty similar to that of Afghanistan, the deserts and mountains. Not sure about who the Taliban are though, the Jawas or the Tusken Raiders?
@@TheGreatLiberator1209 had the Empire left them alone, maybe the Tusken wouldn’t have been so hostile, they could just enjoy their endless deserts and brood on their banthas all day.
@@supremturtle4491 agreed, it's a graveyard of it's own and a paradise for bandits and terrorists and other barbaric creatures. Tatooine should've been first, Alderaan second.
Alexander the Great letter to his mother about Afghanistan: I am involved in the land of a Leonine' (lion-like) and brave people, where every foot of the ground is like a wall of steel, confronting my soldier. You have brought only one Alexander into the world, but every mother in this land has brought an Alexander in the world.
Their goals was to topple the regime and kill BL. They succeeded there. The long term goal was added later. This is like saying the US lost the Korea war because the North was not taken.
@@JonatasAdoM The regime they toppled has just got back into power, and the -organization I cant name so the comment isnt deleted- is still active and operating, just under new leadership that has been there from the beggining too... How on earth is that a sucess in any way?
@@ernestoglez6725 No, you fail to understand, but so did the US. Or maybe they just didn't care about anything but how much they could squeeze from the country. There are more to wars that simply military. The US needed to establish a stable and trustworthy alternative that didn't appear like just a puppet. With all their money and apparent know-how they just funded warlords and encouraged corruption. Then they killed indiscriminately with drones and negotiated with the Taliban without involving the Afghan government. The Taliban leader who looks like he's going to take over was in a Pakistani prison until the Americans made them release him, to try to make the Taliban "partners in peace". Is it any surprise that the government lacked credibility and their enemies could recruit so easily? You could even say this is a "victory" for the US, as it was of their making. They just betrayed everyone and everything they supposedly stood for to achieve it. This will have worse repercussions than Vietnam.
Its just that Aphganistan just isnt that important. And the US got osama bin laden so the missions over. Still they shouldnt have bailed like a bunch of sheep running from a loud noise.
@alias moose it doesn't necessarily mean that US will fall like USSR. This much can happen in upcoming decades that the USA's conventional military prowess will be deeply suppressed by missile loving nations like china
Rome/byzantium: oh THEY are the graveyard of empires huh? Rome/byzantium: **pulls out commically large list** **clears throat** Macedon, seleucids, egypt, etruria, carthage, pontus, bosporan kingdom, epirus , parthia, palmyrian empire(rebels), gaulic empire(rebels)×2, huns(to some extent), bulgarian empire, vandal kingdom, gothic italy, sultanate of rum, latin empire
The Byzantines are seriously an underrated empire considering their population center was at the confluence of three continents and they somehow managed to survive ten centuries.
@@alphagamer9505 Do you count it as a Roman until the 4th Crusade, or until the Fall of Constantinople in 1453? Because the ERE was roman absolutely for sure up until the 4th Crusade and it was debatable after the Palaiologos restoration.
I’ve never viewed the term “graveyard of empires” as the idea that empires collapsed due to failed military/political engagements in Afghanistan. Rather, to me it meant that this is where empires sent armies/soldiers to die.
Afghanistan: "Don't try it empire, I have the high ground!" Empire: "You underestimate my power..." Narrator: "Overconfidence is a slow and insidious killer."
@@nitroraptor5316 Well yea, you're right. We fought for 20 years against the Taliban and nothing happened, but we didn't totally lose to the Taliban, we just withdrew because our 20 years is done.
While in fight with pakhtuns in arachosia (now kandahar) and said, I am involved in the land of leonine (lion-like) and brave people, where every foot of the ground is like a well of steel, confronting my soldiers. You have brought only one son into the world but everyone in this land can be called an Alexander. "Alexander The Great" This is a letter Alexander himself wrote to his mother, you can check it in google too. here is a difference between invading and conquering. No one ever conquered it. It was allowed to rule their own area and make their own rules for giving some 🪙 or resources to the invaders. Alexander didn't lose the amount of the troops in his all campaigns than he lost just fighting Backtrians ( today's Pashtoon, Pakhtoon, Pathan, Batan....). . Same was with Mongol and other empires. It was left to rule as they wish and like.
TH-cam: in the name of patreon and all its HM channel members your wealth is confiscated mr bissonette James: are you threatening me TH-cam? YT: history matters will decide your fate James: I AM HISTORY MATTERS YT: Not yet James: it’s treason then...
USSR gor manhandled I guess they corrupted a generation with vodka (hadief) Britian conquered all afganistan for longer than Jerusalem was a kingdom and the USA had a 50 to one ratio in kills with the population suffering mightily when the terrorists took up spots in towns making each town push them to the mountains. to this day Afganistan stands free which shouldn't have happened due to all the factors against it. Also they lost like 20% of their population to migration and fled. The Germans in particular were so deadly they nearly killed the Drug trade making pakistan ask the US when the term of duty was the Germans would go home. Almost all of the Polish forces came home alive and the British accomplished all their objectives in a 1/3rd of the time. If we wage war for regime change know we will always go home, then how do we know if it succeeds. If the attacks dont make news and the regime stands...... so USA crushed Afganistan
I don’t think it would be fair to call Russia a graveyard of empires because it was it’s own empire and quite a large one at that, hence why it wouldn’t really fit them very well.
@@Quareque Yeah and our influence is rapidly fading. China is expected to the be the world's next superpower. Time will tell if the "American Empire" will last.
Peace be upon you. Greetings from the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan from Afghanistan. Greetings to all of you. My message to the world. Who wants good relations with us, we Afghans are welcome. Or whoever wants to approach our country or occupy it, we will bury him there as we buried Britain, the Russians and America. We are a nation that loves death as you love life. Our nation, our religion, Islam is number one, our dignity, freedom and honor number two, so we are 40 years old fighting for the independence of our country and the freedom of our nation. No one plays with us Afghans because he will regret it
A bit suprised to see an animated version of the Finnish painting "The Wounded Angel" by Hugo Simberg there at the end. Having been independent for only a 100 years, we are a bit lacking in the "famous historical painters" -departement. When asked about historical figures in Finnish culture, Sibelius is usually the only one foreigners are able to mention. But well done, and your animated version does the original painting justice :)
Well, I'm a foreigner (Swiss), and off the top of my head, I can at least mention Sibelius, Mannerheim, Paavo Nurmi, and Alvar Aalto. Oh, and some other composers than Sibelius, such as Kaija Saariaho, Kalevi Aho, or Aulis Sallinen, but that's probably not typical for a Swiss, I'm just particularly interested in classical music :-)
The answer to this question (in a paraphrased way) is sort of. Many empires did conquer the region but a close study of the place shows that this form of 'conquest' was basically paying/appointing a local representative to being their vassal and basically leaving them to their own affairs only to call on them in case of serious strife. That's what the Persians, Turkic empires and later on the British did; after the last ones learned the hard way. Any direct rule by foreigners resulted in well, you all know the Soviet and American experience. As far as I can recall only really two people broke that pattern, Alexander the Great (who married into the region) and the Mongols (who had to convert to Islam, after marrying into the region). So yeah.
While in fight with pakhtuns in arachosia (now kandahar) and said, I am involved in the land of leonine (lion-like) and brave people, where every foot of the ground is like a well of steel, confronting my soldiers. You have brought only one son into the world but everyone in this land can be called an Alexander. "Alexander The Great" This is a letter Alexander himself wrote to his mother, you can check it in google too. here is a difference between invading and conquering. No one ever conquered it. It was allowed to rule their own area and make their own rules for giving some 🪙 or resources to the invaders. Alexander didn't lose the amount of the troops in his all campaigns than he lost just fighting Backtrians ( today's Pashtoon, Pakhtoon, Pathan, Batan....). . Same was with Mongol and other empires. It was left to rule as they wish and like.
The British paid Afghanistan money to be it's protectorate. While Indian princes had to pay tribute to the British. That says alot. And after ww1 Afghanistan started a war to win it's independence off of Britain, which arguably hurt it because they lost alot of revenue and lost good relations with Britain which is fairly important, considering how large UK was after ww1.
@@operez6519 It's the graveyard of Empires in that their dreams and soldiers go there to die for nothing, not necessarily that it causes the Empire to collapse.
Imagine if instead they'd just divided that money between the Afghan population, or spent it on infrastructure. I seriously doubt it would have cost so much blood.
@@antiochus87 They did give money to the government, and infraestructure was built. The same is happening with Palestine and North Korea, the USA sends them help every year.
@@alexblackhills4752 Where do you think most of that money actually went though? As for North Korea and Palestine, those are two totally different situations so not comparable in how directly connected the US was/is involved.
@@antiochus87 Where the money goes is not America's responsibility. The fact is America and other Western countries have been helping other nations for some time. People just don't know about it because the leaders of these nations don't want to give credit to the West. The Taliban themselves refused help from the UN in 1900's and let over 100.000 people starve to death.
@@alexblackhills4752 So if you spend money on something, you don't care where it goes? Maybe this situation wouldn't have happened if the US did care more. Of course it's the US responsibility when the money goes towards bribes to warlords that undermine the supposed state they they claimed they were trying to build. In fact that's an ironic claim considering how in much of the world the US wields its economic clout as a club to batter critics in the Global South into submission, and forcing them to meet their demands to support the US' corporate interests. Lots of this money comes with demands attached. But we should also distinguish between countries that are occupied and countries that are at least nominally independent. As for the Taliban, I assume you mean the 1990s. That is in line with what I'd expect from them, but I wouldn't include the now-deceased US-supported Afghan government or Palestine (occupied by Israel) with the likes of Taliban Afghanistan or North Korea.
1:58 You forgot to mention, that...Before that coup, there was another in 1973 which established a Republican one-party autocracy under Daud Khan's command. Daud had some socialist views and even nationalized banks, but he wasn't exactly fond of Communists, this would be a catalyst to the 1978 coup itself. Also, there isn't much evidence that the Soviet Union actually helped in the "Saur Revolution", although I can't blame the speculation considering that USSR was paranoid even then, thinking Kabul will have influence from NATO. Considering all this, you could argue that Daud's government wasn't exactly legit, neither was PDPA. But if you argue that it is, then we go back to...Invasion of USSR, it was actually not an invasion at all if PDPA is a legit government. The whole history of Afghanistan is just a proof of "Time is Chaos" and "Destiny is Unreal", in other words, what should have been predictable might have been but it wasn't. I love the history of Afghanistan because of how chaotic it is, but for the people that suffer it, I know it's terrible.
The Achaemenid Empire held on to Afghanistan for 200 years or so, and the Sassanid Empire held on for a good 300 years. The Umayyad Caliphate held on to it for about 100 years, along with the Abbasid Caliphate, which had it for another 100 years or so. Then the Mughals had control of it for a good 100 years too. So it's not IMPOSSIBLE to keep Afghanistan for a while in one's empire. Just that one had to do it the right way. Which the British did not, the Russians did not, and the Americans did not.
Yeah but they werent tho lol they got what they wanted nobody cares to own a peace of uncivilised land in the middle of asia of course after you take its minerals like America did
Here in Hungary we have a saying that goes something like this: We'll be at the funeral of anyone who tries to bury us. Checked out with the Ottomans, Hapsburgs and Soviets so far
Let's hope, despite the explanation in this video, the US-Empire dies soon enough though. Maybe the PRC can then invade and then also have their empire die.
the Taliban rose to power and staged their own coup and held the state until 2001 in the wake of 9/11 the group is still a thorn in the Afghans' sides.
@@JakubNaceradsky it didn't work because Pakistan didn't want peace to be present . They backed gulbuddin hekmatyar and then the Taliban .plain and simple
TH-cam decided to include the last twenty seconds of the video this time. Which was nice of them.
Lol
Oh okay
Lol
TH-cam, ruining my notifications 1 video at a time
Lol
Well this aged very well, bless the algorithm's sense of humour
Yep, here just after the Taliban got into the presidential palace. Afghanistan was too hard for the US as well and NATO, I wonder if Russia will laugh at them during the next UNSC.
"humor" yeah people get raped is humor
Cant really blame the US for this one. They spent 20 years training and arming the Afghans. I guess they didn’t want their freedom as badly as the US thought they did
@@25fpslagger81 Lmao, this guy think taliban rape woman. Rape in America is the same thing in Afghanistan.
@@thesauce1682 well America doesn't behead people.
I never thought that the "Graveyard of Empires" was called that because invading empires would collapse, but because because invading empires would suffer heavy, heavy losses while failing to conquer it.
Seems like that’s only true for the Brits and Ruskies. And for the Brits it’s not even really true since they only lost the first time and the second time they had no trouble conquering it and installing a puppet ruler. The Umayyads, Safavids, Mughals, Mongols, Seljuks, Achaemenids, etc. all did fine there. And not only did Alexander the Great conquer it, Greco-Bactria was also the last remnant of his empire to fall.
No Afganisthan suffered way more lose agaisnt pretty much every empire even US. It's not graveyard of empjre, it's itself a. Graveyard.
You guys are forgetting afghans only have AK 47, nowadays its much harder to fight without technology, the USSR suffered much more due to the technology being supplied to them by Americans.
@toki hiko
Yeah, counting opium overdose and veteran suicides. How non-biased of you
@toki hiko the thing about the Taliban and every other terrorist group is, even when they're dead you wouldn't know if he was civilian or combatant.
"It's been fairly easy to conquer, and has been conquered many times, but holding onto it is another matter entirely."
If you look at the way the U.S.'s war in Afghanistan has evolved since 2001, that's all too true.
They now join the club of humiliation together with the brits and the russians. Who will be next in line to get shafted by mujahedin?
@@AlfaGiuliaQV
Probably China, if they're really intent with their "Belt and Road Initiative". Otherwise terrorists will keep derailing Chinese ambitions to achieve continental hegemony over commerce and trade in Asia.
@@jome2284 China really underestimating the power of Afghanistan war lords. They will fight until the bitter end
@@jome2284
I believe they are using Afghans to complete their deals and making amends with Taliban as well...
You can't control it
Perhaps it's more useful to see failed Afghanistan occupations as a symptom of a declining empire rather than a cause.
Exactly, an empire in its Peak would have no problem occupying Afghanistan
Perhaps
Bingo. Divided national policy lead to divided war effort, which ultimately doomed the American project in Afghanistan.
considering the united states, I'd say that the withdrawal is a sign for the strength of the USA. The united states was smart enough to withdraw after 20 years and didn't fight until the end. They noticed that this is just a waste of time and money. In other words the USA always remained sane enough to not make decisions that would lead to their ultimate defeat.
The USA lost a bit of her face because of Afghanistan. But ultimately it cuts its losses and keeps gong its way now.
This is a clear sign that the USA will remain a superpower for probably the next 200 years. The opponents of the USA who watch this video will soon notice that the end of US-domination is very far away and you will have to deal with that.
@@Osterochse The Americans withdraw means the government is broke. Collapse is coming soon.
He fixed it, who else remembered when the only supporter was James bisonette
I honestly thought he did it on purpose 😂
I miss Partyboiko
@@akaJughead what about Danny Melony?
I thought I was having deja vu but then I got to the end.
Those were the days
Only legends will remember that once James Bizonette became the only patreon
ye man
I always quit at jame so didn't even notice the first time lmao.
Initially he was the only patron wasn't he?
Well, he is the only patreon of our hearts
@@Robert399 Nope, he was the only mentioned verbally, Christian S. Trenk was mentioned in written.
James Bisonette received the ransom and finally allowed HM to include the other sponsors
And now he will simply reinvest all the ransom back into HM as patronage
It’s a vicious cycle
@@jamesbissonette8002 Holy shit, it’s James Bissonette
@@jamesbissonette8002 king
@@jamesbissonette8002 oh my goodness, it's the legend himself!
Actually it is very difficult to conquer a nation where the concept of "nation" is diminished. It is essentially a geographical area with a set of tribesmen living in their own terms.
Now non-Afghans know more about Afghanistan that actual Afghan
@@amazingamx1255 I am not talking about Afghan food, the statements are specific to socio-political situation.
Nation is defined as:
“a large body of people united by common descent, history, culture, or language, inhabiting a particular country or territory.”
Afghanistan fits into that category.
@@jakecommonty2042 And how many years the history should span? ummm... 50 years? 10 years? or 2000 years? When you time travel through history you will see everything in Afghanistan is different - in terms of every dimension you mentioned - descent, culture, language.
It's like telling Switzerland to defend the very idea of a country at the UN 100 Years from now when people wknder why states even exist...
They'd be the 1st country to be inhabitable non-state territory if they could be. Always fascinated me how differently The Swiss see the concept of a country & the thought that by no means is 1 framework the only form they take
It’s more like the soap bar of empires, you can’t keep a hold of it
That seems better
Same for farts.
Hahaha funny
@@animalanimal7939 haha
True
I’m disappointed, History Matters. James Bisonette was *clearly* in the right eating all the other patrons!
PRECISELY
James bizonette will annex all other patreons, and later, humanity. All Will become James bizonette
In the end of the video it’s James Bisonette
The Jamesian empire of Bissonettea will rise above the competition, and shall rule humanity using it's god emperor's endless fortune.
Why doesn’t James Bisonette,the largest of the patrons,not simply eat the others?
Next episode: How James Bissonette's coup d'etat failed within a few hours.
"Well, kind of"
All loyalist!!! We must rally for our Lord, Emperor James Bissonette. Duke of Spinnign three plates is trying to take over the empire.
Who is James Bissonatte?
@@beratopcu8474 HERESY!
@@cliodeo what the hell is heresy?
Afghanistan is not the graveyard of empires, it is just the graveyard of imperial ideas of trying to make it into something else. The Persians tried to make it Persian, but didn't stick. The British tried to make it a happy commonwealth colony, but it didn't. The Soviets tried to make it into a communist utopia, but it didn't, and the Americans tried to make it into a capitalist democracy, which, fun fact... they didn't.
I mean it will be capitalist still.
But this is the same as the cemetery of empires. For example, after the USSR-Afghan war, the USSR enters and splits. Why? Because all the countries occupied by the USSR saw the weakness of the USSR and all the countries decided to leave the USSR. And now the whole world does not trust the power of the USA as before because of the war lost in Afghanistan and this will cause big problems in the future and it has already appeared. Russia invaded Ukraine. Because Russia now looks down on America. And now that they see America's true weakness. The graveyard of empires does not mean that that empire is gone forever. In other words, because they could not reach their goals and for the Afghanistan they are dead and suffered heavy losses and fled from there. And these empires are cemeteries for Afghanistan. But these empires may exist outside Afghanistan, but they died in Afghanistan. I hope you understand what I mean.
@@gamedeveloper_1999 The Greeks, the Mauryans, Mongols conquered Afghanistan and held it. In modern history, the British ruled Afghanistan too. Islamic empires invaded and established themselves in Afghanistan too (which is why Afghanistan is Islamic today).
@Shah Lomyon mountain ⛰ for fight 💪 and also afghan always ready for fight 💪
@@Vivenk88
British never rule Afghanistan even in Second Afghan Anglo war.
1:14 _“This war will be over by Christmas!”_
*Y’know, I feel like I’ve heard this before...*
Looooll
In fairness, it would have been a new idea at the time. :)
Enemy at the gates?
@@शंभुनाथ-स1च French and German soldiers mobilizing for WWI.
@@Lusitanean and WWII
Everybody knows James bisonette but everyone forgets Kelly moneymaker...
Spinning 3 Plates, Oink Oink and Copper Tone disagree.
well, she is nowhere near as memorable as James Bissonette
And Moe... I remember when his name was last and some about how HM said it was funny to me.
And Charles I
I see once again no mention of The Pastry Section.
Famous last words: "This war will be quick and easy"
"We'll be home by Christmas!"
@@rune.theocracy See they never said which Christmas you'll be home for and in what state of being. That's how they get ya.
"You will be home before the leaves fall from the trees."
"We're sorry James, but Kellymoneymaker offered us a deal we simply couldn't refuse" - History Matters
Also, Spinning Three Plates threatened to drop one of them
So, it is Treason!!!!!
@@slewone4905 patreon will decide your fate...
@@njb1126 I am the patreon
@@cianseeck8917 not yet
Look at the events in Afghanistan today. History repeats itself.
Waiting for the us to split into 12 different pieces
@@rayh6118 that could actual be a good thing.
@@rayh6118 what about 50 different pieces?
@@Stormchoirs no it wouldn't.
@@Dylan-bc2po well kinda
One the one hand The US is bad on as it is very imperialistic on the other hand Russia and especially China are way worse
"We sought physical attrition; our opponents aimed for our psychological exhaustion. In the process we lost sight of one of the cardinal maxims of guerrilla war: the guerrilla wins if he does not lose. The conventional army loses if it does not win." - Henry Kissinger
Kissinger probably understood that his maxim applies best to modern industrial states operating as popular democracies. And, to some extent, tottering tyrannies losing public consent. A surprisingly large number of societies historically have seen conventional armies sustain centuries of warfare against sporadically rebelling peoples.
Maybe western nations need to learn how to operate as guerrilla armies. You put US and UK special forces in the Afghanistan and you can cause huge problems for the Taliban without huge expense.
The guerilla army loses if it doesn't pussy out in tunnels for 20 years not fighting
@@dickmonkey-king1271 Western armies have proven to fundamentally underestimate the importance of stratagem over technology.
@@apollo1694 Do whatever it takes to win the war.
Me an American: starts sweating
@عبدالرحمن yeah but he has private mercenaries there so it ain't changing anything
The Netherlands already left we knew it would be a lost cause
USSR collapsed 2 years after withdraw, so the clock is ticking.
@@Real-1 they aint gonna do shit afghan troops are already surrendering to taliban rn
@@Real-1 Preach the good word
"But fun fact, no." best quote ever.
Especially if used to confute and disprove a famed myth and cherry picked glory like the one of the ''tomb of empires'' when referring to Afghanistan even, of all countries.
The wit of a guillotine.
2:35 when the USSR collapses but there is no glass splintering sound - my disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined
From now on, when countries fall apart you should totally get a breaking-glass sound effect in there!
laziness on full display
@@skeetrix5577 how is it lazy
Good
Afghanistan: i'm the graveyard of empires
Vietnam: *finally a good opponet*
Vietnam was under multiple empires. You can't claim them to be that.
@@seanbrummfield448 afganistan also
@@funnyclips4550 Not really. At some points in history, Afghanistan, or at least their region has stood alone.
TH-cam: "I'll cut this video short so that Patrons do not get recognized!!"
James Bisonette: "There can be ONLY ONE!!"
Your telling me James bissonette isn't the only patreon member?
You're*
@Big Guy Y’oure
@@ehansalman8461 y'o'u'r'e
@@The_Gerry_Man y͜͡o͜͡u͜͡’͜͡’͜͡r͜͡e͜͡
@@Shuja_Khyber Yer'
I'm addicted to this channel. It clicks with me. I appreciate the effort put into the research, the topics which are sometimes lesser known facts of history, the animated presentation, and of course, the humour. Great work History Matters!
America: (Begins the War on Terror.)
(Years Later)
America: (nervous) "Uh..."
Key words is years later. And at what cost. That is why those empires collapsed after invading or part of the reason. They just keep fighting and fighting and fighting and fighting, etc....
Laugh at America club,
Based in Cambridge
And Kabul
Sorry, American hemogeny is here to stay
Sorry but America isn’t like other old empires, we will stay.
@@Jay-qb9gi For them opium and hashish.
The Empire also has its own "Afghanistan", it's called Tatooine.
Yeah the landscape of Tatooine look pretty similar to that of Afghanistan, the deserts and mountains. Not sure about who the Taliban are though, the Jawas or the Tusken Raiders?
@@azazel688 I can care less about Tatooine.
It's located in the Outer Rim territories.
Why bother? It'll be a waste of resources.
Edit: About*
@@TheGreatLiberator1209 had the Empire left them alone, maybe the Tusken wouldn’t have been so hostile, they could just enjoy their endless deserts and brood on their banthas all day.
Should’ve been the Death Star’s first target.
@@supremturtle4491 agreed, it's a graveyard of it's own and a paradise for bandits and terrorists and other barbaric creatures.
Tatooine should've been first, Alderaan second.
Alexander the Great letter to his mother about Afghanistan:
I am involved in the land of a Leonine' (lion-like) and brave people, where every foot of the ground is like a wall of steel, confronting my soldier. You have brought only one Alexander into the world, but every mother in this land has brought an Alexander in the world.
Who's watching this again today, when America has officially lost (according to its long term goals), and the Taliban have taken full control.
The guerrilla wins if he does not lose. The conventional army loses if it does not win
I am, even Biden himself said that Afghanistan is the graveyard of empires.
Their goals was to topple the regime and kill BL. They succeeded there.
The long term goal was added later.
This is like saying the US lost the Korea war because the North was not taken.
@@JonatasAdoM The regime they toppled has just got back into power, and the -organization I cant name so the comment isnt deleted- is still active and operating, just under new leadership that has been there from the beggining too... How on earth is that a sucess in any way?
@@ernestoglez6725 No, you fail to understand, but so did the US. Or maybe they just didn't care about anything but how much they could squeeze from the country.
There are more to wars that simply military. The US needed to establish a stable and trustworthy alternative that didn't appear like just a puppet. With all their money and apparent know-how they just funded warlords and encouraged corruption. Then they killed indiscriminately with drones and negotiated with the Taliban without involving the Afghan government. The Taliban leader who looks like he's going to take over was in a Pakistani prison until the Americans made them release him, to try to make the Taliban "partners in peace". Is it any surprise that the government lacked credibility and their enemies could recruit so easily?
You could even say this is a "victory" for the US, as it was of their making. They just betrayed everyone and everything they supposedly stood for to achieve it. This will have worse repercussions than Vietnam.
(doesn't even watch video) Of course, no country stands a chance against the great state of West Virginia.
Lol. Afghanistan's panhandle is soo jarring, like both of west Virginia's
Damn looks like every history fan boy watches the same videos
Go make a mars video. You know the one.....
Indeed, not even the dead CSA.
As a current West Virginian there is another. Wyoming
1. The British Empire. 19th century 2. The Soviet Union. 20th century 3 The United States of America. 21st century.
Let's see if China want to have a go in 22nd century.
@@ProjectEkerTest33 and iran 2300s
It's kinda like "only an American can rule America."
Only an Afghan can rule Afghanistan. Or at least a Muslim.
Its just that Aphganistan just isnt that important. And the US got osama bin laden so the missions over. Still they shouldnt have bailed like a bunch of sheep running from a loud noise.
@@edwelndiobel1567 so the US is suppose to stay for another 20 years?? Gtfo of here.
More like *" the BACKyard of Empires "*
Hell yeah
Kinda true. It was the backyard of persian, indian, and other center asian empires
a
Nioce
@@firstnamelastname.7749 indian? Indians never conqurered afghanistan lol. Its the opposite
Now that US has withdrew in Afghanistan, let's put them in the list already.
What does that even mean? All foreign nations have to withdraw unless the annex.
In 40 years, China is going to invade Afeghanistan and the cycle repeats
@@pleudumes china is more likely to pay their way out of everything
@alias moose it doesn't necessarily mean that US will fall like USSR. This much can happen in upcoming decades that the USA's conventional military prowess will be deeply suppressed by missile loving nations like china
@@Seriona1 They withdrew without having completed their goal or defeated the enemy.
Rome/byzantium: oh THEY are the graveyard of empires huh?
Rome/byzantium: **pulls out commically large list**
**clears throat**
Macedon, seleucids, egypt, etruria, carthage, pontus, bosporan kingdom, epirus , parthia, palmyrian empire(rebels), gaulic empire(rebels)×2, huns(to some extent), bulgarian empire, vandal kingdom, gothic italy, sultanate of rum, latin empire
The Byzantines are seriously an underrated empire considering their population center was at the confluence of three continents and they somehow managed to survive ten centuries.
@@jreiland07 15 centuries, there is no such thing as a byzantine empire, that was the Roman empire
@@alphagamer9505 Do you count it as a Roman until the 4th Crusade, or until the Fall of Constantinople in 1453? Because the ERE was roman absolutely for sure up until the 4th Crusade and it was debatable after the Palaiologos restoration.
@@jreiland07 Byzantines saved Europe multiple times. Its a shame that the crusaders destroyed the capital...
@@akronym4439 "why let the sacking of the greatest cristhian city get in the way of a good crusade"
I’ve never viewed the term “graveyard of empires” as the idea that empires collapsed due to failed military/political engagements in Afghanistan.
Rather, to me it meant that this is where empires sent armies/soldiers to die.
Afghanistan: "Don't try it empire, I have the high ground!"
Empire: "You underestimate my power..."
Narrator: "Overconfidence is a slow and insidious killer."
All empires die from within, outside factors are important, but not the determining factor.
"Afghanistan is fairly easy to conquer, stop being weak" - History Matters
Easy to conquer But hard to hold
U can't control a country but never their people
James Bizzonnette personally paid for the last 20 seconds to recognise his fellow patrons
Britain ✅
Soviet ✅
USA ✅
Afghanistan (Republic) ✅
Afghanistan (Emirate)
China
Rusia
WHO'S NEXT?
YOU DECIDE!
You forgot Alexander the Great and Genghis Kahn
Afghanistan did not exist back then @@DelPiero10x1991
The way this man explains history is wonderful.
Me, realizing that the US just lost in Afghanistan: Aww shit, hear we go again
Nah, they didn't, they just withdrew because the 20 years is done.
Spinning_ice we absolutely lost, Biden is going to leave people behind, and we didn’t achieve our goal of eliminating the Taliban.
@@nitroraptor5316 Well yea, you're right. We fought for 20 years against the Taliban and nothing happened, but we didn't totally lose to the Taliban, we just withdrew because our 20 years is done.
@@spinning_ice1487 Retreat is a defeat condition.
@@lalehiandeity1649 Do you even know why US helped Afghanistan?
Yeah, but is Afghanistan the Empire of Graveyards?
(Seriously, lots of people have been killed there.)
don't
Its more like the graveyard of.... Pretty much everyone.
@@theanglo-lithuanian1768 Lithuanians are very nice
Ooh, way to be edgy and have an original opinion
While in fight with pakhtuns in arachosia (now kandahar) and said, I am involved in the land of leonine (lion-like) and brave people, where every foot of the ground is like a well of steel, confronting my soldiers. You have brought only one son into the world but everyone in this land can be called an Alexander.
"Alexander The Great"
This is a letter Alexander himself wrote to his mother, you can check it in google too. here is a difference between invading and conquering. No one ever conquered it. It was allowed to rule their own area and make their own rules for giving some 🪙 or resources to the invaders. Alexander didn't lose the amount of the troops in his all campaigns than he lost just fighting Backtrians ( today's Pashtoon, Pakhtoon, Pathan, Batan....). . Same was with Mongol and other empires. It was left to rule as they wish and like.
Afganistan: graveyard of empires
Vietnam: i can see
*"I am the Channel."*
-James Bissonnette
Any form of opposition to his supremacy is treason then.
TH-cam: in the name of patreon and all its HM channel members your wealth is confiscated mr bissonette
James: are you threatening me TH-cam?
YT: history matters will decide your fate
James: I AM HISTORY MATTERS
YT: Not yet
James: it’s treason then...
@@njb1126 James:"pulls out credit card"
@@corv3007 money talks
This video aged like a fine wine. God bless the algorithm.
I try to understand if it's a good or a bad thing.
1:44 The dude on the left lost his arm
Glad you finally found a chance to cover the topic of Afghanistan.
You can tell it is the graveyard of empires when even History Matters was forced to take the video down about Afghanistan
Afghanistan comin in guns blazing.
Afghanistan to become graveyard of youtube channels?
Yeah Britain, USSR and now the USA all got their asses handed to them after they invaded.
😂😂😂
USSR gor manhandled I guess they corrupted a generation with vodka (hadief) Britian conquered all afganistan for longer than Jerusalem was a kingdom and the USA had a 50 to one ratio in kills with the population suffering mightily when the terrorists took up spots in towns making each town push them to the mountains. to this day Afganistan stands free which shouldn't have happened due to all the factors against it. Also they lost like 20% of their population to migration and fled. The Germans in particular were so deadly they nearly killed the Drug trade making pakistan ask the US when the term of duty was the Germans would go home. Almost all of the Polish forces came home alive and the British accomplished all their objectives in a 1/3rd of the time. If we wage war for regime change know we will always go home, then how do we know if it succeeds. If the attacks dont make news and the regime stands...... so USA crushed Afganistan
I would say Russia deserves the title of graveyard of empires more as it was Russia who ended Napoleons and Hitlers Empire
ehm more like Napoleon and Hitler shotthemselves in the foot by invading Russia when they didn't have to
Don't forget King Charles the 7th of Sweden
Only because Hitler split the troops Moscow would have fallen.
The Mongols made pretty easy work of it. Poland and Napoleonic France both captured Moscow as well.
I don’t think it would be fair to call Russia a graveyard of empires because it was it’s own empire and quite a large one at that, hence why it wouldn’t really fit them very well.
Well now USA is added to the list as well(2023)
US still exist.
@@Quareque Yeah and our influence is rapidly fading. China is expected to the be the world's next superpower. Time will tell if the "American Empire" will last.
Peace be upon you. Greetings from the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan from Afghanistan. Greetings to all of you. My message to the world. Who wants good relations with us, we Afghans are welcome. Or whoever wants to approach our country or occupy it, we will bury him there as we buried Britain, the Russians and America. We are a nation that loves death as you love life. Our nation, our religion, Islam is number one, our dignity, freedom and honor number two, so we are 40 years old fighting for the independence of our country and the freedom of our nation. No one plays with us Afghans because he will regret it
America: *sweats anxiety*
this may need a update
A bit suprised to see an animated version of the Finnish painting "The Wounded Angel" by Hugo Simberg there at the end. Having been independent for only a 100 years, we are a bit lacking in the "famous historical painters" -departement. When asked about historical figures in Finnish culture, Sibelius is usually the only one foreigners are able to mention. But well done, and your animated version does the original painting justice :)
Well, I'm a foreigner (Swiss), and off the top of my head, I can at least mention Sibelius, Mannerheim, Paavo Nurmi, and Alvar Aalto. Oh, and some other composers than Sibelius, such as Kaija Saariaho, Kalevi Aho, or Aulis Sallinen, but that's probably not typical for a Swiss, I'm just particularly interested in classical music :-)
Even Alexander the Great was humbled by that region, he took a wife there to make peace!!!!
Plot twist:he invaded because he wanted a girl from that region
@@funnyclips4550 Did he win?
@@funnyclips4550 how to get a gf?
Google: Tinder ad
Bing: Invade Afghanistan
@@rameenaayan3248
ok man that is seriously dark humour......
What about Chandragupta ?
Only the OGs will remember the first upload of this video
Oh algorithm, for a bunch of code you sure have a sense of humor.
The reign of James Bizonette as the only Patreon is over, may the rest rise to the occasion!
I've seen this one this one is a classic
Shut up.
@@jakecommonty2042 Stop being rude.
0:28 I know how large the Mongol Empire is but I just loved this part
It ages well.
Reupload for the patreons at the end?
Edit: Yup
The TH-cam recommended it to me right now damn
...
So that means how much time left for USA?
It won’t effect the USA just as it didn’t effect anyone
Well Britain still exist
"Holding on to it was another matter entirely" could be the subtitle of any book about any empire.
The answer to this question (in a paraphrased way) is sort of. Many empires did conquer the region but a close study of the place shows that this form of 'conquest' was basically paying/appointing a local representative to being their vassal and basically leaving them to their own affairs only to call on them in case of serious strife. That's what the Persians, Turkic empires and later on the British did; after the last ones learned the hard way. Any direct rule by foreigners resulted in well, you all know the Soviet and American experience. As far as I can recall only really two people broke that pattern, Alexander the Great (who married into the region) and the Mongols (who had to convert to Islam, after marrying into the region). So yeah.
While in fight with pakhtuns in arachosia (now kandahar) and said, I am involved in the land of leonine (lion-like) and brave people, where every foot of the ground is like a well of steel, confronting my soldiers. You have brought only one son into the world but everyone in this land can be called an Alexander.
"Alexander The Great"
This is a letter Alexander himself wrote to his mother, you can check it in google too. here is a difference between invading and conquering. No one ever conquered it. It was allowed to rule their own area and make their own rules for giving some 🪙 or resources to the invaders. Alexander didn't lose the amount of the troops in his all campaigns than he lost just fighting Backtrians ( today's Pashtoon, Pakhtoon, Pathan, Batan....). . Same was with Mongol and other empires. It was left to rule as they wish and like.
The British paid Afghanistan money to be it's protectorate. While Indian princes had to pay tribute to the British. That says alot. And after ww1 Afghanistan started a war to win it's independence off of Britain, which arguably hurt it because they lost alot of revenue and lost good relations with Britain which is fairly important, considering how large UK was after ww1.
The US didn’t want to directly rule Afghanistan. What the fuck 😂
@@LuisBrito-ly1ko we have a million bases over there.
@@LuisBrito-ly1ko the soldiers acted arrogant you don't do that to an afghan without consequences.
who is here after taliban just seized KABUL and the US totally evacuated. surely Afghanistan yet again proved they are the graveyard of empires.
Not really
Did you not watch the video or just posted for attention?
@@operez6519 It's the graveyard of Empires in that their dreams and soldiers go there to die for nothing, not necessarily that it causes the Empire to collapse.
@@cow_tools_ That can be said in just about anywhere where a war was lost
@@operez6519 In strategy game terms, 'Afghanistan' would be synonymous with 'Max Difficulty'.
It’s a huge trap for superpowers 😂
For 21 years, the US has spent $2.26 trillion on this war. All for them to get fully encircled in 2 weeks.
Imagine if instead they'd just divided that money between the Afghan population, or spent it on infrastructure. I seriously doubt it would have cost so much blood.
@@antiochus87 They did give money to the government, and infraestructure was built. The same is happening with Palestine and North Korea, the USA sends them help every year.
@@alexblackhills4752 Where do you think most of that money actually went though? As for North Korea and Palestine, those are two totally different situations so not comparable in how directly connected the US was/is involved.
@@antiochus87 Where the money goes is not America's responsibility. The fact is America and other Western countries have been helping other nations for some time. People just don't know about it because the leaders of these nations don't want to give credit to the West. The Taliban themselves refused help from the UN in 1900's and let over 100.000 people starve to death.
@@alexblackhills4752 So if you spend money on something, you don't care where it goes? Maybe this situation wouldn't have happened if the US did care more. Of course it's the US responsibility when the money goes towards bribes to warlords that undermine the supposed state they they claimed they were trying to build.
In fact that's an ironic claim considering how in much of the world the US wields its economic clout as a club to batter critics in the Global South into submission, and forcing them to meet their demands to support the US' corporate interests. Lots of this money comes with demands attached.
But we should also distinguish between countries that are occupied and countries that are at least nominally independent.
As for the Taliban, I assume you mean the 1990s. That is in line with what I'd expect from them, but I wouldn't include the now-deceased US-supported Afghan government or Palestine (occupied by Israel) with the likes of Taliban Afghanistan or North Korea.
1989: us laughs at ussr for losing a war in Afghanistan.
3 decades later: Instant karma
I love the breaking glass sound effect everytime he mentions the fall of Empires
2:39 "no other contributing factors"
Stinger missiles that takes down countless Mi-24 Hind: *sad American noise
History Matters: They became friends,
History Matters: Just kidding.
You can't fool us, we know that James Bissonette was the only patron here!
1:58
You forgot to mention, that...Before that coup, there was another in 1973 which established a Republican one-party autocracy under Daud Khan's command.
Daud had some socialist views and even nationalized banks, but he wasn't exactly fond of Communists, this would be a catalyst to the 1978 coup itself.
Also, there isn't much evidence that the Soviet Union actually helped in the "Saur Revolution", although I can't blame the speculation considering that USSR was paranoid even then, thinking Kabul will have influence from NATO.
Considering all this, you could argue that Daud's government wasn't exactly legit, neither was PDPA. But if you argue that it is, then we go back to...Invasion of USSR, it was actually not an invasion at all if PDPA is a legit government.
The whole history of Afghanistan is just a proof of "Time is Chaos" and "Destiny is Unreal", in other words, what should have been predictable might have been but it wasn't.
I love the history of Afghanistan because of how chaotic it is, but for the people that suffer it, I know it's terrible.
US : withdrawal
Me : this didn’t age well
USA runned away from Afeghanistan recently that probably means the USA empire is about to colapse, fortunately.
Never gonna happen
@@deprogramm All empires die, it's just a matter of time. The Roman empire took centuries to die but it did.
"But fun fact: No" That delivery makes me believe HM is a child of Rogal Dorn
0:10 😐 Well…….. it’s was a good 240yr run
Now add US to the list
The U.S. didn’t collapse
@@thejedicouncilofficalin the future they colapse. Bismillah, Allahu akbar.
@@Hispano-Mexicano We will see about that.
The Achaemenid Empire held on to Afghanistan for 200 years or so, and the Sassanid Empire held on for a good 300 years. The Umayyad Caliphate held on to it for about 100 years, along with the Abbasid Caliphate, which had it for another 100 years or so. Then the Mughals had control of it for a good 100 years too. So it's not IMPOSSIBLE to keep Afghanistan for a while in one's empire. Just that one had to do it the right way. Which the British did not, the Russians did not, and the Americans did not.
Yea it's because the Persians don't try to make their Iranian brothers more Persian
the ummayad and abbasid didnt have them entirely and second of all afg had other empires in some of these periods too lol
Props for using the finnish work of art "haavoittunut enkeli" in your outro.
I'm here from 5 months in the future and the US has withdrawn troops. They too were defeated in Afghanistan
Our so called leaders need to be held accountable
@@michelleburkholder2547 Biden did god with the quiting of the troops out of there ,that US invading Afganistan shouldn't have hapend to beging with
Yeah but they werent tho lol they got what they wanted nobody cares to own a peace of uncivilised land in the middle of asia of course after you take its minerals like America did
@@michelleburkholder2547 how? They did good , the taliban would have taken control anyway the sooner the better
u can also America to this list of U.S.S.R and britan
Great Britain
Add the US of A please to this animation.
And NATO
Here in Hungary we have a saying that goes something like this: We'll be at the funeral of anyone who tries to bury us. Checked out with the Ottomans, Hapsburgs and Soviets so far
And Nazi Germany.
@@MsLogjam Nah, the germans were allies
Ottomans live a lot after leaving Hungary Ottoman Empire end in 1923.
@@Darklord4665tr But we are still here and they are not, saying stands.
@@miklosszabo4551 So what about the turks? They’re ottomans under a new name
Here’s a really good question:
How did the Kingdom of Hawaii maintain independence until US annexation?
man this didn't age well, wait no it did
Afghanistan be like
I’m not here with you
Your in here with me
Let's hope, despite the explanation in this video, the US-Empire dies soon enough though. Maybe the PRC can then invade and then also have their empire die.
2:56 Me, an American: “haha, must suck to be broke, to have tribal factions, and distrust on government”
Dark
“To Begin” and it’s just Yuri Gagarin floating in space
Well.....here we are boyos.
That sash at 1:18 is gold lol. Stay well out there everybody, and God bless you friends.😊
Add the US to that list
I've already watched this, but the algorithm is... funny like that.
It has not become graveyard of empires but Graveyard of its own people sadly...
Any people that invent something like bacha bazi is hard to feel sorry for.
*VIDEO SUGGESTION:*
What the heck exactly happened in Afghanistan after The Soviets left?
They tried Democracy Alliance (North Alliance), but then traditional tribes fighted back and Taliban happened...
the Taliban rose to power and staged their own coup and held the state until 2001 in the wake of 9/11 the group is still a thorn in the Afghans' sides.
@@JakubNaceradsky it didn't work because Pakistan didn't want peace to be present . They backed gulbuddin hekmatyar and then the Taliban .plain and simple
some say that James Bisonette is the true graveyard of empires
Here after US withdrawal