Account of Sir Alexander Burnes' trip and diplomatic mission to Kabul on the eve of the tragic First Anglo-Afghan War (1838-1842). First translation of this fundamental text, supplemented by a preface and a historical dossier allowing an understanding of the conflicts in Afghanistan
 In 1836, the Afghan question was at the heart of the concerns of the British government, concerned about the Russian advance towards the Indian subcontinent. Officer of the East India Company, Alexander Burnes (1805-1841) was sent on a mission to Kabul. The objective of this trip, officially commercial, is above all political and diplomatic: to win the emir of Kabul to the interests of the crown. But the emir chooses to ally with the Russians. The British government then sent to Afghanistan a
 army which dismisses him. An emblematic figure of the British occupation, Alexander Burnes was lynched by the people of Kabul. The British contingent, forced to leave the Afghan capital, is mercilessly slaughtered on the way back and the country is delivered to anarchy.
 Burnes' story, a rich evocation of Afghanistan, alternates curiosities and very enlightening diplomatic and political considerations on the reasons for the debacle.
 From 1813 to 1907, Afghanistan was the scene of a game of influences where the Russian Empire and the British Empire clashed to extend their supremacy over Central Asia. Two centuries have passed, three modern world powers - Britain, the Soviet Union and the United States - have stuck there.
 We give here the first French edition of this fundamental text accompanied by a preface by Michael Barry and a historical dossier by Nadine André.
 Why are we not learning from past strategic mistakes? Why are regional experts consulted by governments of little use? How does the Afghan triumph over the British Empire during this first war nourish the morale of all subsequent resistance? What place do honor and death hold in traditional Afghan culture? This is what Michael Barry explains to us in a long preface which introduces the account of Sir Alexander Burnes' voyage.
 On the occasion of the translation of the text recounting the beginnings of the first Anglo-Afghan war, Nadine André offers, for her part, a large documentation allowing the reader to discover the Afghan history of the nineteenth century and to grasp the political issues that are played in Afghanistan.
 While we are talking about a "New Great Game" again and the Afghan capital has never been so much in the spotlight as it is today, the analysis provided by Nadine André and Michael Barry leaves see how little has changed in certain respects since the Burnes mission. As if history, in this entrenched part of the world, was doomed to repeat itself.