The Most Invaded Places On Earth

In light of the various conflicts going on in the Middle East I’ve been curious about what is the most invaded or conquered country or territory in the world throughout history.  Iraq and Afghanistan would both be high on the list along with other Middle Eastern countries.  Iraq (or historical Mesopotamia) has been invaded or occupied by the Macedonians (under Alexander the great) the Persians, Romans, Mongols, Ottoman Turks, British and Americans, not to mention lesser known invasions in classical antiquity and the middle ages.   Afghanistan has been invaded by many of the same powers as well as an invasion by the Soviet Union in the 1970s and 1980s.  Other countries that come to mind that would be high on the list of most invaded country/territory are Egypt, Poland, the Balkans, Vietnam (or historical Indochina) and Korea.

What do most of these countries have in common?  Location.  The majority of these countries are small strips of land located in strategic positions historically between much larger powers.  Poland is crammed between Germany (or historical Prussia) and Russia.  Egypt, Iraq and other Middle Eastern countries have locations that have been between or on the outskirts of various empires throughout history- the Greeks, the Romans, the Persians, the Ottomans etc.  Certainly there are other reasons as well that some of these countries have been invaded, including oil and other resources.

On searching this topic out, it appears that there isn’t a clear winner for “most invaded country or territory”.  Partially this is because it would have to be defined exactly what constitutes an invasion and what would be considered a territory or country throughout history as many countries and territories have changed names and borders over time.  You could include many African countries if you consider colonization as invasion.  Despite the question of definition it is clear that there are a number of countries which have historically changed hands multiple times throughout history and who’s histories are filled with warfare, foreign occupation, oppression, political and civil unrest. 

It is interesting (and tragic) that many of these locations have unrest to this day.  There are tribal, sectarian and political tensions in Iraq, Afghanistan and specifically Egypt most recently.  Korea, Vietnam, several Middle Eastern and Balkan territories have had civil wars, the splitting and breaking up of territories and genocides as recently as the 20^th and 21^st centuries.  Wars or revolutions are ongoing in many of these areas to this day.  Despite the death of Bin Laden, there is no end in sight for the War in Afghanistan and the future is still questionable in Iraq and Egypt and several other Middle Eastern and Arab countries.  History does repeat itself on many levels and the effects of the past continue to linger in these much fought over parts of the world. 

For more information on this topic, check out the links below:

http://faroutliers.wordpress.com/2003/12/27/the-most-invaded-territory-sweepstakes/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_invasions

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Iraq

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Afghanistan

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Balkans

2011: The Most Eventful Year Since?

We are living in an exciting time in 2011.  Big news has been the norm for the past few months and much of it is ongoing.  Lately, I’ve been finding myself reading and watching the news and asking “what’s next?”  Beginning with the Arab uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa, both Tunisia and Egypt have gone through regime change.  Libya and Syria have ongoing civil unrest and warfare and a number of other countries have had various levels of violent and non-violent protests from Algeria to Iran.  The US and NATO have been engaged in a no-fly zone and conducted numerous airstrikes on Gaddafi’s forces in Libya.  There have been huge natural disasters over the past few months as well- the earthquake/tsunami in Japan which led to thousands of deaths and a nuclear crisis and the record tornado outbreak in the south and midwestern US.  Then there was the raid that finally killed Osama Bin Laden.  Oh... and lets not forget about the once in a generation royal wedding.  We are presently witnessing history in the making around the world.  In a few years, teachers will be lecturing on these present events alongside other events in history that have already shaped the world.

The full impact of most of these events remains to be fully understood.  Specifically, it will be interesting to see how the death of Bin Laden will affect the democratic protests in the Middle East over the coming days and weeks.  Yesterday, ABC news showed members of the Muslim Brotherhood celebrating Bin Laden’s death- a surprising response from such a fundamentalist Islamic group.  Pakistani citizens have openly thanked the US and Obama for ridding the world of the man many have accused of hijacking Islam for the sake of hatred and violence. 

We can’t know for sure if there will be more natural disasters in the near future, but there is more predictability with many of these other events and we can watch them unfold and evolve.  There is hope for the Middle East and North Africa, but with Gaddafi still in power, violence still ongoing in the Syria and other Arab countries, wars ongoing in Libya, Afghanistan and Iraq, there is still much to be concerned about in the world.  We will continue to see history unfold throughout the rest of 2011 and further into the future during this fascinating time.  I for one will be trying to take it all in and trying to understand the implications of these events for the near and distant future with the limited foresight that the knowledge of the present and past can give.