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The first American to visit Afghanistan was Josiah Harlan (1799–1871), a strapping six-footer from Pennsylvania.
Affairs of the heart often determine the future.
In 1820, the woman to whom Harlan was engaged severed the engagement. Reason? She had changed her mind and married another.
Like some others (including some writers of memorable songs), he seems to have never gotten over the rejection.
Harlan vowed to remain in Central Asia and, having tasted misfortune, find his fortune. Having been pricked by a thorn, he now searched for a rose.
In 1838 he hoisted an American flag atop a summit in the Hindu Kush, highest mountains in the world, and, atop an elephant, declared himself Prince Ghor, heir of Alexander the Great.
Soldier, spy, (untrained) doctor, naturalist, and writer, he was an extraordinary mixture. Eccentric, inquisitive and brave, and an acute observer, he understood the Afghan people as few foreigners had.
He first served as surgeon in the East India Company’s army, then joined the court of deposed Afghan monarch Shah Shujah.
He then entered Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, disguised as an Islamic priest, with the intent of fomenting rebellion.
He went on to become commander of the Afghan army and the first general since Alexander the Great to lead an army across the Hindu Kush.
