Siege of Kandahar (1648–1649)
| Siege of Kandahar (1648–1649) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Mughal–Persian wars | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Safavid Empire |
 Mughal Empire | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Shah Abbas II Mihrab Khan |
Daulat Khan Mayi  | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| 40,000[1] | 7,000[2] | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| 2,000, including 600 Qizilbash[3] | 400[3] | ||||||||
The siege of Kandahar, also known as the Kandahar campaign, was led by Shah Abbas II of Safavid Empire against the Mughal-held city of Kandahar, in modern day Afghanistan. It lasted from 28 December 1648 to 22 February 1649, and ended in the permanent loss of Kandahar by the Mughals.
Background
[edit]Kandahar had been under Mughal control since 1638 when the Safavid commander Ali Mardan Khan handed it over to the Mughals. Safavids did not make a move over the city until 1648, when the Mughals were engaged in the campaigns in Balkh and Badakhshan, which proved to be a disaster. In the summer of 1648 Shah Abbas II led an army numbering 40,000 and after taking the city of Bost besieged Kandahar.[1]
Siege
[edit]The 7000-men strong Mughal garrison under Daulat Khan fortified their positions but made a fatal mistake of not safeguarding the two watch towers on the top of a nearby hill from which guns could be fired into the fort. Persians at once seized them and opened fire into the fort's interior. Due to winter, the Mughal garrison did not expect any reinforcement to arrive before spring. A portion of army under two Tartar chiefs who had entered the Mughal service after the end of the Balkh war, mutinied and opened negotiations with the Persians. Daulat Khan failed to maintain discipline within the troops and consequently, surrendered the fort to the Persians on 22 February 1649, on the promise of safe passageway to India.[4][3]
Aftermath
[edit]Shah Abbas II appointed Mihrab Khan as the governor, and returned to Isfahan. The siege cost Safavids 2000 men including 600 Qizilbash while Mughals suffered 400 casualties. Subsequently Mughals besieged Kandahar thrice between 1649 and 1653, but failed to re-capture it, making the loss of Kandahar permanent.[5][3]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Iranica 2010.
- ^ Roy 2014, pp. 113–114.
- ^ a b c d Roy 2014, pp. 112–113.
- ^ Sarkar 1912, pp. 134–136.
- ^ Sarkar 1912, pp. 138–.
Sources
[edit]- Roy, Kaushik (2014). Military Transition in Early Modern Asia, 1400–1750: Cavalry, Guns, Government and Ships. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-78093-813-4.
- Matthee, Rudi; Mashita, Hiroyuki (2010). "KANDAHAR iv. From The Mongol Invasion Through the Safavid Era". In Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.). Encyclopædia Iranica. Vol. XV/5: Ḵamsa of Jamāli–Karim Devona. London and New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul. pp. 478–484. ISBN 978-1-934283-28-8.
- Sarkar, Sir Jadunath (1912). "First siege of Qandahar". History of Aurangzib: Reign of Shah Jehan. M.C. Sarkar & sons. OCLC 5733274.