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After occupying the city of Merv (Mary) in 1884, Russian forces crossed the
disputed Afghan border and drove Afghan troops out of the Penjdeh district in
1885. The British, already alramed because Russia had halted negotiations by the
Anglo-Russian boundary commission to establish peaceably the Afghan-Russian
border, began military preparations to protect the city of Herat, which was
considered vital to India's protection. In a temporary settlement, Russia agreed
to proceed no farther until a border was fixed, but Russian troops, in violation
of their orders, waged a fierce battle at Ak-Teppe on March 30, 1885, severely
defeating the Afghans. War seemed likely between Britain and Russia, but British
prime minister William Gladstone (1809-98) resisted militaristic sentiment at
home and managed, through negotiations, to reach an agreement on September 10,
1885, whereby Russia was granted the Penjdeh district, with Afghanistan securing
the Zulfkar Pass. The rest of the border was fixed in 1887.
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