The Mughal-Safavid Wars for Qandahar

Credits: Science Source

Wednesday, 29 January 2025 The Persio-Mughal War for Qandahar The nascent Mughal Empire established by Babur fell into disarray after his death, as his sons began vying for the throne. To Hindal went Mewat, adjoining Delhi. Askari established his hold over Sambhal. Humayun declared himself the Padshah at Court. Kamran’s Dominion consisted of the Western Front of the Empire: Kabul and Qandahar. Kamran then marched his forces to Lahore, capturing the city. Humayun, also faced with the looming threat of Bahadur Shah of Gujarat, and the resurgence of an Afghan Empire, led by Sher Khan in Bihar, was left with little choice other than to surrender Lahore to his brother. 

Sher Khan continued his conquests in Bengal whilst Humayun was occupied with fighting off Bahadur Shah of Gujarat. The Siege of Champaner, followed by the Battle for Teliyagarhi Pass, at Chausa, the Mughal forces were decimated, after which, Humayun’s dominion was effectively reduced to Agra and Delhi. 

Simultaneously, Sher Khan declared himself as Sher Shah of Bihar; Hindal marched to Agra and established himself as the Emperor in all but name. His men were apparently brought in to help the Emperor, but should Humayun lose, his second line of action would have likely been to negotiate better terms with Sher Shah. However, when Kamran led his men into Delhi, Hindal decided to submit to Kamran. 

As foes threatened to rip the empire apart, the brothers reunited briefly. Kamran returned to Lahore, and Hindal and Askari fought with Humayun. However, after the Battle of Kannauj, in 1540, whatever was left of the imperial Mughal entourage and soldiers was forced to flee. 

Humayun then fled to Sindh, where the Raja of Umerkot was rather unwelcoming. Naturally, he had no reason to aid a Mughal Padshah, in the face of a potential invasion from Gujarat. It is during this time that Bairam Khan, a noble, joined Humayun. Bairam would later on prove himself a loyalist time and again, and play a key role in establishing Humayun’s Sultanate. 

Akbar was born in Umerkot, after which Humayun and his party, which comprised of less than fifty people, on Bairam Khan’s insistence, moved towards Persia. Humayun’s battles were far from over Shah Hussain of Sindh, allied with Kamran and Askari, sought to capture Humayun. 

Bairam urged Humayun to make haste, and also composed a letter for Humayun, which was dispatched to the Safavid King of the time, Shah Tahmasp. Whilst Humayun waited for permission to enter Safavid Persia, encamped at Mashtang, modern-day Balochistan, Askari lead an assault at Humayun’s routed camp, pushing Humayun into modern-day Sistan, into Safavid Territory.

Shah Tahmasp agreed to give Humayun refuge, and twelve thousand men. However, the alliance was not without its challenges. Whilst Humayun was given a grand welcome, first at Herat, and then at Qazwin, and allowed to stay at Court for some fifteen months, Tahmasp did not take to him too kindly. 

Records suggest that the day after Humayun’s reception, when he came to pay his respects to the Shah, Tahmasp ignored him. Tahmasp is also believed to have ask Humayun to accept the tenets of Shi’ite Islam in exchange for help. It was also recorded that Tahmasp taunted Humayun for losing to an enemy as weak as the Afghans, and not treating his brothers as they ought to be treated. 

It was Tahmasp’s sister, Sultana Begum, and his Wazir, Qazi Jahan, who urged Tahmasp to be nicer to Humayun. Sultana Begum also read Qasida’s and couplets Humayun had penned in honour of Ali. She went as far as claiming that the hostility of his brothers was the result of his “true” faith - Shi’ite Islam. 

Tahmasps father, Shah Ismail, had earlier aided Babur to take back Samarkand from the Uzbeks, which failed. However, it did highlight a Shia-Sunni rift between the Safavids and the Mughals. 

As for Qandahar - to the Persians, as rulers of Herat, and as a matter of former glory, Qandahar belonged to them. It was the Crown Jewel of Khorasan. To the Mughals, securing Qandahar was essential to defend Kabul and Badakhshan, and to control trade routes to Sindh and Balochistan - the empire could not exist without it. 

Bairam played the role of the intermediary once again, and it was decided that Humayun would wrestle Qandahar from Askari, and hand it over to Tahmasp. It was the price Humayun was going to pay for a desperately needed victory, and for a base to take back Kabul. 

However, when the Persian Forces, led by Humayun, reached the city walls, Askari fought tooth and nail to defend it. The Siege of Qandahar lasted six months. The Persians were described as weary by the time they made their way into the city. It was largely owing to falling morale amongst Askari’s men - amid news from Kabul. During the Siege, Bairam was instrumental in a series of successful diplomatic moves to convince nobles to side with Humayun instead - which led to Kamran’s isolation. 

The final terms of the treaty and Qandahar’s handover in 1545 were negotiated by Khanzada Begum, one of the most powerful Timurid princesses the region has ever seen. Askari pleaded guilty, and was forgiven Hindal too, switched sides and pledged allegiance to Humayun after his victory at Qandahar. The Conquest of Qandahar marked the end of Humayun’s exile. It also served as the base for the Battles for Kabul and Badakhshan, between Kamran and Humayun, until Kamran was finally defeated and blinded in 1553. 

Soon after, Persian troops took charge of the fort, and Humayun sent the riches as a gift to Tahmasp. He also denied handing Askari over to the Safavids. Many of the troops deserted and left for Persia. A subsequent siege followed, with Persians cutting off supplies to the Mughal camp. To make matters worse, Humayun was denied residence in the city. The Commander-in-Chief of the Persian forces asked Humayun and his party to leave - for only those permitted by the Shah could be allowed to stay. 

Amid these tensions, the Persian Prince accompanying Humayun passed away. Bairam Khan and other nobles urged Humayun to wrestle back control of Qandahar from Tahmasp, by any means necessary. In a turn of events, Persian troops eventually left Qandahar, when Bairam Khan, previously bestowed with the Title of Khan by Tahmasp, was made Governor. 

Perhaps, Tahmasp believed Bairam to not be hostile to the Safavids, on account of his Persian ancestry and being Shia. It may very well also be argued that this arrangement was the only possible face-saving for the Shah in light of the premature return of Persian Troops. 

However, the battle did not stop there. The Mughals and the Safavids fought for Qandahar for the next century which followed. Bairam Khan, over the years, became close to Shah Tahmasp. Humayun took back Qandahar from Bairam sometime later, on the account of suspected rebellion. 

The Mughal-Safavid Wars for Qandahar did not end there. In 1558, the Safavids took Qandahar once more, and ruled it until 1594, until Akbar the Great conquered it once more. Nearly four decades later, in 1622, Jahangir lost Qandahar to the Safavids once more, until Shah Jahan conquered it in 1638. However, in 1649, the Safavids established Qandahar as their territory once again, after which the city never became a part of the Mughal Empire again.

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References: Attendant Lords, T.C.A. Raghavan