Battle of Kafir Qala

The Battle of Kafir Qala was fought in June 1818 between Iran and the Durrani Empire.

Battle of Kafir Qala
Part of Herati-Qajar Wars
DateJune 1818
Location
Kafir Qala, Afghanistan
Result Inconclusive
Belligerents
Qajar Iran Durrani Empire
Commanders and leaders
Dowlatshah Fateh Khan Barakzai

The Persians had captured Herat in 1816 but were forced to abandon it when the Afghans resisted the occupation of the city with an intense guerrilla war on the countryside. In 1818 the Persian Shah, Fath-Ali Shah Qajar, sent his son Prince Mohammad Ali Mirza, known as Dowlatshah, with a huge Persian army to recapture Herat. The Persians marched from Khorasan and met the Afghan army shortly after crossing the border in the town of Kafir Qala.

Battle

Although the exact numbers are debatable, all sources agree that the Durrani forces outnumbered the Qajars more than 2 to 1.[1] The battle were set up as follows:

On Fateh Khan's right wing was Sherdil Khan with his Sistani, Firozkohi, and Jamshidi tribal forces.[2] On the left side he placed Kohandil Khan with Herati, Taymani, and Darazi troops. The forces of Banyad Khan Hazara, chieftain of the Hazara tribesmen of Bakharz and Jam, were positioned on the right side with Sherdil Khan. Mohammad Khan Qara'i was positioned on the left side with Kohandil Khan.[2]

On the Iranian side, Mirza ʿAbd al-Wahhab Khan “Mutamid al-Daula” and FayzʿAli Khan Qowanlu-ye Qajar formed the right side with their Khwajawand and 'Abd al-Maliki cavalry. In front of the right wing, Astarabadi infantry were placed with a single piece of artillery.[2] The flank of the right wing included Husayn Qoli Khan Bayat Nishapuri with the infantry of Khorasan.

The battle was inconclusive and both armies retreated. The Hazara forces looted the baggage from both sides.[3]

References
  1. Noelle-Karimi, Christine (2014). The Pearl in Its Midst: Herat and the Mapping of Khurasan (15th-19th Centuries). Austrian Academy of Sciences Press. ISBN 978-3-7001-7202-4.
  2. McChesney, Robert; Khorrami, Mohammad Mehdi (2012-12-19). The History of Afghanistan (6 vol. set): Fayż Muḥammad Kātib Hazārah's Sirāj al-tawārīkh. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-23498-7.
  3. Yusuf, Mohamed (1988). A History of Afghanistan, from 1793 A.D. to 1865 A.D. ISBN 1466222417.


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