The siege of Kandahar lasted from November 1605 to January 1606 and was led by the Persians to capture 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 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 ...

Background

The Mughals had obtained the city of

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 ...

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 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 ...

at their westernmost territories, he abstained from military action, preferring to negotiate a settlement.

Battle

When 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 ...

died on October 27, 1605, the Safavid 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, moved to recapture the city on behalf of the Safavids by the order of Shah Abbas while the Indians 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 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 ...

, sent an army that lifted the siege.

Aftermath

Kandahar was surrendered to the Mughals. 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

Wars involving Afghanistan History of Kandahar 1605 in India 1606 in India 1600s in the Mughal Empire {{battle-stub