The Khyber Pass: A History of Empire and Invasion

Paddy Docherty

Union Square Press, Apr 1, 2008 - History - 261 pages

Thirty miles long, and in places no more than sixteen meters wide, the Pass is the principal route through the great mountain borderlands between India and Central Asia -- and the path of invasion for generations of conquerors.
In this ground-breaking book, Paddy Docherty charts its remarkable story -- one which involves so many of the world's great leaders and civilizations, from the influential Persian kings to Alexander the Great, from the White Huns to Genghis Khan, not to mention the Ancient Greeks and countless tribes of nomads and barbarians. He paints an illuminating picture of mountain warriors and religious visionaries, artists, poets and scientists as well as describing how around the Pass emerged three of the great world religions -- Buddhism, Sikhism and Islam.
He also depicts the Pass' more modern significance as a lawless region of gunsmiths, drug markets and as a terrorist hideout. Just a few years after the Soviet Union was defeated by the Afghan Mujahideen, many thousands of soldiers from the United States, Britain and other nations are struggling to control Afghanistan. Through his own travels in this true frontier region Paddy Docherty brings this epic history into the twenty-first century.

What people are saying

Review: The Khyber Pass: A History of Empire and Invasion

User Review  - Craig Fiebig - Goodreads

If you've read Green on Alexander or Steve Coll on Ghost Wars you have a sense for the course of 'Khyber Pass'. The book is worth reading to appreciate the vastness of the conflict passing the narrow ...

Review: The Khyber Pass: A History of Empire and Invasion

User Review  - Matt - Goodreads

I love history books that focus on a geographical region (or food or an object...) rather than military history and sovereign nations. I couldn't resist a book about one of the oldest and most ...

Contents

• Chapter1: 1
• Chapter2: 21
• Chapter3: 43
• Chapter4: 59
• Chapter5: 77
• Chapter6: 93
• Chapter7: 113
• Chapter8: 141
• Chapter9: 163
• Chapter10: 189
• Chapter11: 217
• Index: 251
• BackFlap: 263
• BackCover: 264

About the author

Paddy Docherty was educated at Brasenose College, Oxford. He has been a chef, oil and gas consultant, internet entrepreneur, shipbroker, and investment banker, and has lived in Africa and the Middle East.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Khyber Pass: A History of Empire and Invasion
• Author: Paddy Docherty
• Edition: illustrated, reprint
• Publisher: Union Square Press, 2008
• ISBN: 1402756968, 9781402756962
• Length: 261 pages
• Subjects: History / Asia / Central Asia; Travel / Essays & Travelogues