Mughal–Safavid war for Kandahar (1649–1653)

01Kandahar lost again

Kandahar had come back to the Mughals in 1638 when Ali Mardan Khan handed it over. Ten years later the young Shah Abbas II marched on it in winter, when snow closed the passes from India. The Mughal garrison held for about two months and surrendered in February 1649 before any relief arrived. Shah Jahan, stung, sent Aurangzeb with a large army that summer. The Persian garrison was well supplied and the Mughal guns too light; after four months Aurangzeb withdrew.

02Three failures

In 1652 Aurangzeb tried again with heavier guns, and again failed after two months; Shah Jahan rebuked him bitterly. In 1653 Dara Shikoh, Aurangzeb’s elder brother and rival, asked for the command, promising success. He brought great guns and a host of officers, and after five months he too gave up. The three sieges cost the empire enormous sums. They also sharpened the hatred between Dara and Aurangzeb that broke into war five years later.