In one instance, a British official deduced the pre-arrival of the Russians in a village by a pair of European dogs owned by a native but clearly inherited from a foreigner, most probably of military occupation. This would often be indicated by the extent to which the manufactured goods of either side appeared in the still traditional and agrarian markets of the region. Above all, the mutually paranoid rival officials would be most interested in trying to gauge the influence that the other side had been able to achieve amongst the Emirates. Their purpose would be to explore and sometimes map the hitherto unknown terrain, especially strategic mountain passes and rivers of the region, and also to gather intelligence about the political inclinations and motives of the Emirs. They would navigate the treacherous towns and bazaars under the disguise of pilgrims, doctors and merchants, using their knowledge of local tongues like Persian and Pashto to their advantage. The game was characterized by reconnaissance missions undertaken by officers of either side, often in a private and unofficial capacity while on long leaves from duty, seeking glory and advancement in their careers. The region at that time was dotted with widely scattered Khanates and Emirates where modernity was yet to dawn and whose cultures were laced with medieval brutality, vengeance and deceit. The theatre of the Great Game was the vast, dusty and untamed Central Asian region lying between the expansive Russian empire in the north and British India in the south. The British sought to shield this jewel from the covetous Russian gaze, while the Russians endeavored to wrest it decisively from the British. The Great Game was the name given to the century-long tactical maneuvers of Great Britain and Tsarist Russia, two mighty imperial powers of the 19 th century, whose efforts were centered on the most glimmering and enviable jewel of the colonial times: India. In fact, it was one of the earliest players of the ‘game’ Arthur Conolly - a valiant soldier and explorer in the service of the British East India Company, who coined the phrase. The Great Game is a phrase often attributed to Rudyard Kipling who immortalized it through his classic spy novel Kim.
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