The Mughal–Persian Wars were a series of wars fought in the 17th and 18th centuries between the

Safavid Safavid Iran or Safavid Persia (), also referred to as the Safavid Empire, '. was one of the greatest Iranian empires after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Persia, which was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often conside ...

and Afsharid Empires of Persia, and the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

, over what is now Afghanistan. The Mughals consolidated their control of what is today India and Pakistan in the 16th century, and gradually came into conflict with the powerful Safavids and Afsharids, led by

Abbas the Great Abbas I ( fa, ; 27 January 157119 January 1629), commonly known as Abbas the Great (), was the 5th Safavid Shah (king) of Iran, and is generally considered one of the greatest rulers of Iranian history and the Safavid dynasty. He was the third son ...

and Nader Shah respectively. Aside from

Nader Shah's invasion of the Mughal Empire Emperor Nader Shah, the Shah of Iran (1736–47) and the founder of the Afsharid dynasty, invaded Northern India, eventually attacking Delhi in March 1739. His army had easily defeated the Mughals at the Battle of Karnal and would eventually c ...

, most of the conflict between the two powers were limited to battles for control over Kandahar. From a Safavid point of view, the Mughal army counted as "far less formidable" than that of their arch rivals the

Ottomans The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...

War of 1622–23

The Mughal–Safavid War of 1622–23 was fought over the important fortress city of

Kandahar Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a List of cities in Afghanistan, city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population ...

, in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

, between the Safavid empire of Persia and the Mughal empire of India. It resulted in a clear

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 ...

victory.

Having secured crushing victories against the Ottomans, Shah Abbas desired to capture the strategic fortress on Kandahar since he had lost it in 1595.Burton 1997, p. 159 In 1605 the governor of

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 ...

, Hosayn Khan, besieged the city but the tenacious defense of the Mughal governor, Shah Beg Khan, and the arrival in the next year of a relieving Mughal army to Kandahar forced the Safavids to retreat.Iranica 2011Kohn 2007, p. 337 With the conclusion of the

Ottoman–Safavid War (1603–1618) The Ottoman–Safavid War of 1603–1618 consisted of two wars between Safavid Persia under Abbas I of Persia and the Ottoman Empire under Sultans Mehmed III, Ahmed I, and Mustafa I. The first war began in 1603 and ended with a Safavid victo ...

, Shah Abbas was secure enough for a war on his eastern frontier, so in 1621 he ordered an army to gather at

Nishapur Nishapur or officially Romanized as Neyshabur ( fa, ;Or also "نیشاپور" which is closer to its original and historic meaning though it is less commonly used by modern native Persian speakers. In Persian poetry, the name of this city is wr ...

. After celebrating the new year at Tabas Gilaki in southern

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 ...

, Abbas joined with his army and marched on Kandahar where he arrived on 20 May and immediately began the siege. Though

Jahangir Nur-ud-Din Muhammad Salim (30 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was the fourth Mughal Emperor, who ruled from 1605 until he died in 1627. He was named after the Indian Sufi saint, Salim Chishti. Ear ...

already had information of the Persian's movements, he was too slow to respond, and without reinforcements the small garrison of 3,000 men could not hold for long against the superior Persian army.Chandra 2005, p. 221 The Emperor asked his son and heir apparent Khurram who was at Mandu in the

Deccan The large Deccan Plateau in southern India is located between the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats, and is loosely defined as the peninsular region between these ranges that is south of the Narmada river. To the north, it is bounded by the ...

to lead the campaign, but Khurram evaded the assignment fearing to lose his political power while he was away from court.Chandra 2005, p. 242 The relief force the Mughal's could assembled proved too small to raise the siege, so after a 45-day siege the city fell on 22 June followed shortly after by

Zamindawar Zamindawar is a historical region of Afghanistan. It is a very large and fertile valley the main sources for irrigation is the Helmand River. Zamindawar is located in the greater territory of northern Helmand Province, Helmand and encompasses the ap ...

.Burton 1997, p. 160 After fortifying the city and appointing

Ganj Ali Khan Ganj Ali Khan ( fa, گنج علی خان or گنجعلیخان) was a military officer in Safavid Iran of Kurdish origin, who served as governor in various provinces and was known for his loyal service to king (shah) Abbas I. Ganj Ali Khan cont ...

as governor of the city, Abbas returned to

via

Ghur Ghōr (Dari: ), also spelled Ghowr or Ghur, is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It is located in the western Hindu Kush in central Afghanistan, towards the northwest. The province contains eleven districts, encompassing hundreds ...

, subduing on the way troubling emirs in Chaghcharan and

Gharjistan Gharchistan or Gharjistan also known as Gharj Al-Shar was a medieval region on the north bank of the Murghab River, lying to the east of Herat and north of Hari River, Afghanistan, Hari River. It corresponds roughly to the modern Badghis Province o ...

.Burton 1997, p. 161 The rebellion of Khurram absorbed the Mughal's attention, so in the spring of 1623 a Mughal envoy arrived at the Shah's camp with a letter from the Emperor accepting the loss of Kandahar and putting an end to the conflict.Burton 1997, p. 162

War of 1649–53

The Mughal–Safavid War of 1649-53 was fought between the Mughal and

empires in the territory of modern

. The war began after a Persian army, while the Mughals were at war with the Janid Uzbeks, captured the fortress city of

and other strategic cities that controlled the region. The Mughals attempted unsuccessfully to regain the city from the Persians, thus the war resulted in a Persian victory. Abbas II of Persia and the Mughal ambassador

Abbas II of Persia and the Mughal ambassador

Nadir Shah's invasion of India

Attracted by its wealth and knowing that the victim was much weaker, Emperor

Nadir Shah Nader Shah Afshar ( fa, نادر شاه افشار; also known as ''Nader Qoli Beyg'' or ''Tahmāsp Qoli Khan'' ) (August 1688 – 19 June 1747) was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran and one of the most powerful rulers in Iranian h ...

, the

Shah of Iran This is a list of monarchs of Persia (or monarchs of the Iranic peoples, in present-day Iran), which are known by the royal title Shah or Shahanshah. This list starts from the establishment of the Medes around 671 BCE until the deposition of th ...

(1736–47) and founder of the

Afsharid dynasty The Afsharid dynasty ( fa, افشاریان) was an Iranian Iranian may refer to: * Iran, a sovereign state * Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan eth ...

, invaded Northern India with a fifty-five thousand strong army, eventually attacking

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

in March 1739 where he completely sacked and looted the city, after issuing orders for a general massacre to take place. Marshman, P. 200 His army had defeated the Mughal emperor

Muhammad Shah Mirza Nasir-ud-Din Muḥammad Shah (born Roshan Akhtar; 7 August 1702 – 26 April 1748) was the 13th Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1719 to 1748. He was son of Khujista Akhtar, the fourth son of Bahadur Shah I. After being chosen by the ...

at the battle at

Karnal Karnal ( is a city located in the state of Haryana, India and is the administrative headquarters of Karnal District. It was used by East India Company army as a refuge during the Indian Rebellion of 1857 in Delhi. The Battle of Karnal between ...

in less than three hours and had taken over control of northern India. The Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah had to beg Nader to grant him and his people mercy, after ceding the keys of the city and royal treasury to him. (Which included the legendary

Peacock throne The Peacock Throne ( Hindustani: ''Mayūrāsana'', Sanskrit: मयूरासन, Urdu: تخت طاؤس, fa, تخت طاووس, ''Takht-i Tāvūs'') was a famous jewelled throne that was the seat of the emperors of the Mughal Empire in India ...

, the symbol of Iranian imperial might, and the fabulous

Darya-e noor The Daria-i-Noor ( fa, , lit=Sea of light), also spelled ''Darya-ye Noor'', is one of the largest cut diamonds in the world, weighing an estimated 182 carats (36 g). Its colour, pale pink, is one of the rarest to be found in diamonds. The diamond ...

and

Koh-i-Noor The Koh-i-Noor ( ; from ), also spelled Kohinoor and Koh-i-Nur, is one of the largest cut diamonds in the world, weighing . It is part of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom. The diamond is currently set in the Crown of Queen Elizabeth The ...

). The

Battle of Karnal The Battle of Karnal (24 February 1739), was a decisive victory for Nader Shah, the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran, during his invasion of India. Nader's forces defeated the army of Muhammad Shah within three hours, paving the way fo ...

(13 February 1739), was a decisive victory for Nader Shah, the emperor of the

during his invasion of India. The Shah's forces defeated the numerically superior army of

, the Indian emperor of the Mughal dynasty, in little more than three hours thus paving the way for the Persian

sack of Delhi Emperor Nader Shah, the Shah of Iran (1736–47) and the founder of the Afsharid dynasty, invaded Northern India, eventually attacking Delhi in March 1739. His army had easily defeated the Mughals at the Battle of Karnal and would eventually cap ...

. The battle took place at

, north of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

References and notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mughal-Persian Wars Wars involving Safavid Iran