The siege of Kandahar lasted from November 1605 to January 1606 and was led by Safavids to take the Mughal frontier city of Kandahar. After two months of constant assaults, the relief army forced the Persians to retreat. Thus, resulted in a decisive victory for 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 ...
.
Background
The Mughals had obtained the city of
Kandahar
Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a 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 of about 614,118. It is the c ...
in 1595, after the Mughal army advanced to the city's governor, Moẓaffar-Ḥosayn Mirzā, and negotiated with him a surrender.
[Iranica 2011] The Safavid ruler,
Shah Abbas, was shocked by the loss of the important fortress but as main Iranian concerns lay with the equally powerful
Ottomans at their westernmost territories, he abstained from military action, preferring to negotiate a settlement.
Battle
When Emperor
Akbar died on October 27, 1605, the Safavid 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 Safē ...
, Hosayn Khan, moved to recapture the city on behalf of the Safavids while the Mughals were distracted with other matters. The city, defended by governor
Šāh Beg Khan, held out against the Safavid siege until the next year when the new emperor,
Jahangir, sent an army that lifted the siege.
Aftermath
Abbas repudiated Hosayn's actions in a letter to Jahangir, and both sides reestablished normal relations, though Kandahar would remain a controversial affair between both parties.
Notes
Sources
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Kandahar
Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a 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 of about 614,118. It is the c ...
Kandahar
Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a 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 of about 614,118. It is the c ...
Kandahar
Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a 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 of about 614,118. It is the c ...
Kandahar
Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a 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 of about 614,118. It is the c ...
Wars involving Afghanistan
History of Kandahar
1605 in Asia
1606 in Asia
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