The Panjdeh Incident or Panjdeh Scare (Russian: Афганский кризис, Afghan Crisis or Бой за Кушку, Battle of Kushka) was a military skirmish that occurred in 1885 when Russian forces seized Afghan territory south of the Oxus River around an oasis at Panjdeh. Competing Russian and British interests in Central and South Asia had for years been the cause of a virtual cold war known euphemistically as The Great Game, and the Panjdeh Incident came close to triggering full scale armed conflict. 1885 (MDCCCLXXXV) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... The Amu Darya (in Persian آمودریا; Darya means river in Persian) rises in the Pamirs and flows mainly north-west through the Hindu Kush, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan to join the Aral Sea in a large river delta. ... For the English rock band, see Oasis (band). ... Pandeh, or Penjdeh is a village of Russian Turkestan that was rendered famous by the Panjdeh Incident of 1885. ... A cold war is a state of battle between nations that does not involve direct military action but is pursued primarily through economic and political actions, acts of espionage or conflict through surrogates (proxy wars). ... Central Asia, circa 1848. ...

An Afghan force was encamped on the west bank of the Kushk River, with a Russian force on the east bank. On 29 March 1885, the leader of the Russian forces, General Komarov, sent an ultimatum demanding an Afghan withdrawal. On their refusal, the Russians attacked them at 3 a.m. on 30 March and drove them across the Pul-i-Khishti Bridge with a loss of some 600 men. Afghan troops were reported to have been 'wiped out to a man' in their trenches. The Kushk is a river in Afghanistan and Turkmenistan, which also gives its name to the chief town in the Afghan province of Herat, and to a military post on the border of Turkmenistan. ... is the 88th day of the year (89th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1885 (MDCCCLXXXV) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... is the 89th day of the year (90th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

The incident nearly gave rise to war between Britain and Russia, but the emir Abdur-Rahman, who was present at the Rawalpindi conference with Lord Dufferin at the time, regarded the matter as a mere frontier scuffle. However, members of Gladstone's cabinet, namely Lord Ripon (the new Indian Viceroy), believed withdrawal could lead to a breakdown in law and order and possible intervention from Russia. Outright war was averted with diplomacy, and Lord Dufferin managed to secure a settlement in which Russia kept the Merv Oasis, but relinquished further territories taken in their advance, and promised to respect Afghan territorial integrity in the future. Entrance to the emirs palace in Bukhara. ... Amir Abdur Rahman Khan Abdur Rahman Khan Abdur Rahman Khan (1844 - October 1, 1901), Emir of Afghanistan, was the third son of Afzul Khan, who was the eldest son of Dost Mahommed Khan, who had established the Barakzais family dynasty in Afghanistan. ... Rawalpindi (Urdu: راولپنڈی) is a city in the Potwar Plateau near Pakistans capital city of Islamabad, in the province of Punjab. ... Frederick Temple Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 1st Marquess of Dufferin and Ava, (June 21, 1826 – February 12, 1902) was a prominent member of Victorian society. ... Gladstone is the name of several places: Gladstone, Queensland, Australia Gladstone, South Australia, Australia Gladstone, Michigan, United States of America Gladstone, Missouri, USA Gladstone, New Jersey, USA Gladstone, Oregon, USA Gladstone, Virginia, USA William Ewart Gladstone was repeatedly the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from the 1860s through the... George Frederick Samuel Robinson, 1st Marquess of Ripon ( 24 October 1827 - 9 July 1909) was a British politician who served in every Liberal cabinet from 1861 until his death forty-eight years later. ... This article is about negotiations. ... Merv (Russian: Мерв, from Persian: مرو, Merw, sometimes transliterated Marw or Mary; cf. ...

Following the incident, the Anglo-Russian Boundary Commission was established to delineate the northern frontier of Afghanistan. The commission did not have any Afghan involvement, and effectively led to Afghanistan becoming a buffer state between British India and the Russian Empire. The incident brought the southward expansion of Imperial Russia to a halt. The Russians founded the border town of Kushka in the conquered territory; it was the southernmost settlement of both the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. A frontier is a political and geographical term referring to areas near or beyond a boundary, or of a different nature. ... A buffer state is a country lying between two rival or potentially hostile greater powers, which by its sheer existence is thought to prevent conflict between them. ... Anthem God Save The Queen/King British India, circa 1860 Capital Calcutta (1858-1912), New Delhi (1912-1947) Language(s) Hindi, Urdu, English and many others Government Monarchy Emperor of India  - 1877-1901 Victoria  - 1901-1910 Edward VII  - 1910-1936 George V  - January-December 1936 Edward VIII  - 1936-1947 George... The subject of this article was previously also known as Russia. ... Kushka (Кушка in Russian) is a small town in the Mary Province in Turkmenistan, located in the valley of the Kushka River. ... The subject of this article was previously also known as Russia. ...

References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
• R.A.Johnson, The Penjdeh Incident, 1885 in Archives: The Journal of the British Records Association, volume XXIV, 100, (April 1999): 28-48.