--- title: "How Afghanistan got its bizarre panhandle" date: "2020-02-05" modified: "2020-10-22" authors: - name: "Blake Stilwell" job_title: "Editor-In-Chief, Air Force Veteran" link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/blake/" url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-trending/how-afghanistan-got-its-bizarre-panhandle/" categories: - "Afghanistan War" - "History" - "War History" --- # How Afghanistan got its bizarre panhandle ![]() For a country that hasn't been conquered since Tamerlane rolled through, Afghanistan has sure been shaped by all those who tried to control it. Today, there's even a little strip of land in the country's northeast that forms a panhandle – strange for such a small strip considering the major powers who fought for control of the area. --- ![]() *Good luck getting there.* It was those major powers who created the panhandle in the first place. Today it borders China, Tajikistan, and Pakistan. But during a period of time in Afghan history known as "The Great Game," those countries were parts of China, the Russian Empire, and the British Empire, respectively. It was [Britain's way of containing]() a quickly-growing Russia. A treaty between Russia and Great Britain in 1873 made the Panj and Pamir Rivers the border between the Russian Empire and Afghanistan's northern border. In 1893, the Durand Line became Afghanistan's border with British India. A mostly independent Afghanistan was [a buffer zone between the two growing empires](). ![]() *The red line through the center represents the British-imposed Durand Line.* The resulting narrow strip of land [became known as the Wakhan Corridor](). It's an area even more ungovernable than the rest of Afghanistan. At elevations as high as 17,000 feet in some areas, the area is inaccessible to most Afghans – and even the Taliban and the Soviet Union were unable (or unwilling) to fully move into the area. The form of Islam practiced in the Wakhan is very hostile to the Taliban, a further explanation of the lack of central interference from Kabul. ![]() *A valley in the Wakhan Corridor.* The 3,500-mile area used to be a route along the Silk Road and was traversed by great historical figures like Alexander the Great and Marco Polo. People there still depend on trade, but this remote part of Afghanistan's Badakhshan Province sees little in the way of tourists or even Afghan visitors. Today the area has few roads, no government, and is home to roughly 12,000 nomadic and semi-nomadic people. ## Author Blake Stilwell is We Are The Mighty's Editor-in-Chief, covering military news, entertainment, and history, along with veteran education, employment and entrepreneurship. He is a former U.S. Air Force combat cameraman with degrees in Graphic Design, Television and Film, International Relations, Public Relations, Business Management and Middle Eastern Affairs. After leaving the military, he began working in film and television production in New York and Los Angeles, work that included ABC News, NBC Olympics, and HBO Sports. He then spent two years in Washington with White House Communications, before joining the Near East Foundation. At NEF he served as an International Development Fellow, then Communications Officer, and finally, Media Officer for the Middle East and Africa. Based in the Palestinian Territory, he coordinated strategic communications between eight country offices, international media, and government and NGO partners. He began a career focused on writing and editing in 2015 with We Are The Mighty. He left in 2019 for Military.com, but returned as Editor-in-Chief in 2025. Blake’s work has been seen on CBS News, Fox News, CBC, The Chicago Tribune, Task & Purpose, Military Times, Recoil, Skillset, American History, and was shockingly even used in a Supreme Court argument. He is an avid traveler and small business owner in Ohio, where he spends most of his energy fixing up a very old house. ### Author social links [Facebook]() [Twitter]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()