The Battle of Kafir Qala was fought in June 1818 between

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

and the

Durrani Empire The Durrani Empire ( ps, د درانيانو ټولواکمني; fa, امپراتوری درانیان) or the Afghan Empire ( ps, د افغانان ټولواکمني, label=none; fa, امپراتوری افغان, label=none), also know ...

. The

Persians The Persians are an Iranian ethnic group who comprise over half of the population of Iran. They share a common cultural system and are native speakers of the Persian language as well as of the languages that are closely related to Persian. ...

had captured

Herat Herāt (; Persian: ) is an oasis city and the third-largest city of Afghanistan. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains (''Selseleh-ye Safēd ...

in 1816 but were forced to abandon it when the

Afghans Afghans ( ps, افغانان, translit=afghanan; Persian/ prs, افغان ها, translit=afghānhā; Persian: افغانستانی, romanized: ''Afghanistani'') or Afghan people are nationals or citizens of Afghanistan, or people with ancestry f ...

resisted the occupation of the city with an intense guerrilla war on the countryside. In 1818 the

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

Shah Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...

Fath-Ali Shah Qajar Fath-Ali Shah Qajar ( fa, فتحعلى‌شاه قاجار, Fatḥ-ʻAli Šâh Qâjâr; May 1769 – 24 October 1834) was the second Shah (king) of Qajar Iran. He reigned from 17 June 1797 until his death on 24 October 1834. His reign saw the irr ...

, sent his son Prince Mohammad Ali Mirza, known as

Dowlatshah Mohammad Ali Mirza Dowlatshah (4 January 1789, in Nava – 22 November 1821, in Taq-e Gara) was a famous Iranian Prince of the Qajar dynasty. He is also the progenitor of the Dowlatshahi Family of Persia. He was born at Nava, in Mazandaran, a ...

, with a huge Persian army to recapture Herat. The Persians marched from

Khorasan Khorasan may refer to: * Greater Khorasan, a historical region which lies mostly in modern-day northern/northwestern Afghanistan, northeastern Iran, southern Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan * Khorasan Province, a pre-2004 province of Ira ...

and met the Afghan army shortly after crossing the border in the town of Kafir Qala.

Battle

Although the exact numbers are debatable, all sources agree that the Durrani forces outnumbered the Qajars more than 2 to 1. The battle were set up as follows: On Fateh Khan's right wing was Sherdil Khan with his Sistani,

Firozkohi The Firozkohi ( prs, فیروزکوهی) are a sub-tribe of the Chahar Aimaq ethnic group in Afghanistan, one of the four major Aimaq tribes, which also include the Jamshidi, Taymani, and Taimuri. In 1987, the Firozkohi were the second-largest ...

, and Jamshidi tribal forces. On the left side he placed Kohandil Khan with Herati,

Taymani The Taymani ( prs, تایمنی) are an Aimaq people in Ghor Province in central Afghanistan. They speak the Aimaq dialect of Persian, but some southern groups of Taymanis speak the Pashto language and feel an affinity with the Pashtuns ...

, and Darazi troops. The forces of Banyad Khan Hazara, chieftain of the Hazara tribesmen of

Bakharz Bakharz ( fa, باخرز, also known as Ostā-ye Bākharz ( fa, استای باخرز), Ostād, Ostād Bākharz, Ostay, and Usta) is a city and capital of Bakharz County, in Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 6 ...

and

Jam Jam is a type of fruit preserve. Jam or Jammed may also refer to: Other common meanings * A firearm malfunction * Block signals ** Radio jamming ** Radar jamming and deception ** Mobile phone jammer ** Echolocation jamming Arts and entertai ...

, were positioned on the right side with Sherdil Khan. Mohammad Khan Qara'i was positioned on the left side with Kohandil Khan. On the Iranian side, Mirza ʿAbd al-Wahhab Khan “Mutamid al-Daula” and FayzʿAli Khan Qowanlu-ye Qajar formed the right side with their Khwajawand and 'Abd al-Maliki cavalry. In front of the right wing, Astarabadi infrantry were placed with a single piece of artillery. The flank of the right wing included Husayn Qoli Khan Bayat Nishapuri with the infantry of Khorasan. The battle was inconclusive and both armies retreated. The Hazara forces looted the baggage from both sides.

References

Kafir Qala Kafir Qala Kafir Qala Kafir Qala History of Herat Province 1818 in Asia {{Afghanistan-battle-stub