A recently uncovered letter written by Captain Arthur Conolly, the British officer who coined the term “Great Game,” has captivated historians and scholars of 19th-century geopolitics. The correspondence offers a rare glimpse into the mind of the officer whose ill-fated expedition to Central Asia would become emblematic of the imperial rivalry between the British and Russian empires.
The letter dates from April 1841, when Conolly stopped on the bank of the Amu Darya River, the northern boundary of Afghanistan, en route to Bukhara. Partly written in code, the missive, addressed to the Austrian General, August Giacomo Jochmus, commander of the combined forces of the Ottoman Empire, Britain, and Austria during the Syrian War of 1839–1841, reveals new details about Conolly’s observations regarding Central Asia’s complex power dynamics. The letter was discovered in the Russian State Archive of Literature and Art in Moscow.
While the term “Great Game” would only gain prominence much later through Rudyard Kipling’s Kim, Conolly’s writings shine a light on the precarious nature of imperial ambitions. His correspondence often reflected a mix of hope and foreboding, as he championed diplomatic engagement to win influence in the region while recognizing the human cost of such rivalry.
The newly discovered letter includes remarks on the state of local governance, tribal allegiances, and the risks posed by Russian territorial advances. These insights could reshape the contemporary understanding of British intelligence operations and frontier policies at the height of imperial competition.
“Travel has its charms and excitements, but it also has its disenchantment,” Conolly wrote, “and if I get safely back from Peshawar, I shall be glad to spend a quiet month with you in your Divan upon the shore of the Bosporus.”
Conolly’s fate remains a tragic footnote to his legacy. Captured and executed in 1842 by the Emir of Bukhara while attempting to negotiate the release of fellow British officer, Charles Stoddart, he became both a cautionary tale and a symbol of imperial zeal. This rediscovered letter serves as a poignant reminder of the personal stakes involved in the sprawling global chessboard that defined 19th-century diplomacy.
