These showed that Shere Ali had been invited to form a
close alliance with the Russian Government. General Kaufmann had
advised Shere Ali to try and stir up disaffection among the Queen's
Indian subjects, promising to aid him, eventually, with troops.
Finding that this scheme was impracticable at the moment, Russia
dropped the Ameer, who fled from the scene of his misfortunes, and
died soon after.
For the moment England breathed more freely. There were still great
natural obstacles between the empires of Russia and of India. Not
only the friendly state of Afghanistan, but on its northwestern
border the neutral territory of Merv, hitherto an independent
province, and inhabited by warlike tribes of Turcomans difficult to
reach through their deserts and likely to harass a Russian advance
to Herat to an embarrassing extent. It was seen that the possession
of this territory would at once free Russia from much difficulty in
case of an advance and give her the means of threatening Herat as
well as Kabul from her base in Turkestan, and even to some extent to
carry forward that base beyond the Oxus.
On the part of Russia, the success of General Skobeleff in capturing
the fortified position of Geok Tepe, January 24, 1880, marked the
beginning of negotiations with the Turcomans for the acquisition of
Merv.
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