Mughal campaign in Balkh and Badakhshan

01Balkh taken

Babur’s family had come from Fergana and Samarkand, and Shah Jahan longed to rule there. When the Uzbek ruler of Bukhara and Balkh, Nazar Muhammad Khan, was troubled by his son’s revolt, Shah Jahan sent Prince Murad Bakhsh with a large army over the Hindu Kush in 1646. Balkh was taken in July with little fighting, and Nazar Muhammad fled to Persia. But Murad hated the cold, poor country and came home against his father’s orders.

02Aurangzeb’s retreat

Aurangzeb was sent in 1647. He beat the Uzbek and Turkman horsemen in hard running fights near Balkh, and is remembered for dismounting to say his prayers in the middle of the battle. But the Mughals could not feed an army in Balkh, and the Uzbeks would not submit. Shah Jahan gave the province back to Nazar Muhammad. In October 1647 Aurangzeb began the retreat; snow caught the army in the passes, and great numbers of men and animals died.