During the second half of the 19th and early 20th century diplomatic relations on the borders of Central Asia, South Asia and the Middle East were still shaped by the Great Game – a geopolitical rivalry between the Russian and the British Empires. Iran and Afghanistan did not formally become colonial states at this period, but played an extremely important role in the politics of both Moscow and London. While discus-sing Iran’s Constitutional Movement it is worth mentioning the events leading up to the establishment of the constitution in Afghanistan. Numerous Iranian influences and inspirations can be found in this process. A common figure in the discussion on the relations of these countries is Seyyed Jamalouddin al-Afghani, whose Iranian origin is widely contested by Afghans. Adopting the constitution was one of the ways that governments of Muslim states moved towards a modernization of the Muslim world in which al-Afghani saw a way out of dependency on the West.
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