The Mughal–Persian wars were a series of wars fought in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries between the

Safavid The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the begi ...

and

Afsharid Empire The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly referred to as Afsharid Iran or the Afsharid Empire, was an Iranian empire established by the Turkoman Afshar tribe in Iran's north-eastern province of Khorasan, establishing the Afsharid dynasty that w ...

s of Persia, and the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to ...

of India, 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 (; 27 January 1571 – 19 January 1629), commonly known as Abbas the Great (), was the fifth Safavid Iran, Safavid shah of Iran from 1588 to 1629. The third son of Mohammad Khodabanda, Shah Mohammad Khodabanda, he is generally considered ...

and

Nader Shah Nader Shah Afshar (; 6 August 1698 or 22 October 1688 – 20 June 1747) was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran and one of the most powerful rulers in Iranian history, ruling as shah of Iran (Persia) from 1736 to 1747, when he was a ...

respectively. Aside from

Nader Shah's invasion of the Mughal Empire In May 1738, Nader Shah, the ruler of Iran (1736–1747) and the founder of the Afsharid dynasty, invaded Northern India, eventually attacking Delhi in March 1739. His army easily defeated the Mughals at the Battle of Karnal and then occupied ...

, 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 Ottoman may refer to: * Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire * Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II" * Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empir ...

War of 1557–1558

Shah Tahmasp Tahmasp I ( or ; 22 February 1514 – 14 May 1576) was the second shah of Safavid Iran from 1524 until his death in 1576. He was the eldest son of Shah Ismail I and his principal consort, Tajlu Khanum. Tahmasp ascended the throne after the d ...

of Persia tried to exploit the inexperience of the young Mughal Emperor

Akbar Akbar (Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar, – ), popularly known as Akbar the Great, was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Humayun, under a regent, Bairam Khan, who helped the young emperor expa ...

, then an adolescent. He sent an army to lay siege to

Kandahar Kandahar is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city, after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118 in 2015. It is the capital of Kandahar Pro ...

, a vital southern Afghan city held by Shah Muhammad, a governor appointed by the Mughal regent Bairam Khan. With no way to offer military assistance,

was compelled to surrender

to the Persians. The

Persians Persians ( ), or the Persian people (), are an Iranian ethnic group from West Asia that came from an earlier group called the Proto-Iranians, which likely split from the Indo-Iranians in 1800 BCE from either Afghanistan or Central Asia. They ...

held the city on and off for almost four decades before the Mughals recovered it.

War of 1605–1606

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 victory for the Mughal Empire of India. With the unsuccessful siege, Kandahar remained in the hands of the Mughals.

War of 1622–1623

The Mughal–Safavid war of 1622–1623 was fought over the important fortress city of

, in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

, 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 (; Dari/Pashto: هرات) is an oasis city and the third-largest city in 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 (''Se ...

, 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), 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 Neyshabur (, also ) is a city in the Central District (Nishapur County), Central District of Nishapur County, Razavi Khorasan province, Razavi Khorasan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Ni ...

. After celebrating the new year at Tabas Gilaki in southern

Khorasan KhorasanDabeersiaghi, Commentary on Safarnâma-e Nâsir Khusraw, 6th Ed. Tehran, Zavvâr: 1375 (Solar Hijri Calendar) 235–236 (; , ) is a historical eastern region in the Iranian Plateau in West and Central Asia that encompasses western and no ...

, 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 (31 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was List of emperors of the Mughal Empire, Emperor of Hindustan from 1605 until his death in 1627, and the fourth Mughal emperors, Mughal ...

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 Mandu may refer to: Geographic toponyms * Mandu River, a river in Minas Gerais, Brazil * Mandu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, a village * Mandu, Madhya Pradesh, a ruined city in Dhar district, Madhya Pradesh, India * Mandu, Jharkhand, ...

in the

Deccan The Deccan is a plateau extending over an area of and occupies the majority of the Indian peninsula. It stretches from the Satpura and Vindhya Ranges in the north to the northern fringes of Tamil Nadu in the south. It is bound by the mount ...

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 and encompasses the approximate area of ...

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

Ganj Ali Khan Ganj Ali Khan (; died 1624) was a military officer in Safavid Iran, who served as governor in various provinces and was known for his loyal service to king (shah) Abbas I. Ganj Ali Khan continuously aided the shah on almost all of his military c ...

as governor of the city, Abbas returned to

via

Ghur Ghōr, 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 of vil ...

, subduing on the way troubling emirs in

Chaghcharan Chaghcharān ( Dari/Pashto: ), also called Firozkoh ( Dari/Pashto: ), is a town and district in central Afghanistan, which serves as the capital of Ghor Province. It is located on the southern side of the Hari River, at an altitude of 2,230 m ab ...

and Gharjistan.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 1638

The Mughal-Safavid war of 1638 took place over the city of

in present day Afghanistan. The war resulted in a victory for the Mughals, and Ali Mardan Khan surrendered the keys of Kandahar to the Mughals.

War of 1649–1653

The Mughal–Safavid war of 1649–1653 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 (; 6 August 1698 or 22 October 1688 – 20 June 1747) was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran and one of the most powerful rulers in Iranian history, ruling as shah of Iran (Persia) from 1736 to 1747, when he was a ...

, the

Shah of Iran The monarchs of Iran ruled for over two and a half millennia, beginning as early as the 7th century BC and enduring until the 20th century AD. The earliest Iranian king is generally considered to have been either Deioces of the Median dynasty () ...

(1736–47) and founder of the

Afsharid dynasty The Afsharid dynasty () was an Iran, Iranian dynasty founded by Nader Shah () of the Qirqlu clan of the Turkoman (ethnonym), Turkoman Afshar people, Afshar tribe, ruling over the Afsharid Empire. List of Afsharid monarchs Family tree ...

, 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, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

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 thirteenth Mughal emperor from 1719 to 1748. He was son of Khujista Akhtar, the fourth son of Bahadur Shah I. After being chosen by the Sayyid ...

at the battle at

Karnal Karnal () is a city located in the state of Haryana, India and is the administrative headquarters of Karnal District. The city is well connected as it lies on National Highway 01, in the south of the city lies the cities of Panipat and Sonipa ...

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, , ''Takht-i Tāvūs'') was the imperial throne of Hindustan. The throne is named after the dancing peacocks at its rear and was the seat ...

, the symbol of Iranian imperial might, and the fabulous Darya-e noor and

Koh-i-Noor The ; ), also spelled Koh-e-Noor, Kohinoor and Koh-i-Nur, is one of the largest cut diamonds in the world, weighing . It is currently set in the Crown of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. The diamond originated in the Kollur mine in present ...

). The

Battle of Karnal The Battle of Karnal (Persian Language, Persian: نبرد کرنال) (24 February 1739) was a decisive victory for Nader Shah, the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Persian Empire, Iran, during his Nader Shah's invasion of India, invasion of ...

(13 February 1739), was a decisive victory for

, 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. The battle took place at

, north of

References and notes

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