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[[File:Ruins of old Kandahar Citadel in 1881.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Ruins of old Kandahar Citadel that was destroyed by the Persian army in 1738.]]
[[File:Ruins of old Kandahar Citadel in 1881.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Ruins of old Kandahar Citadel that was destroyed by the Persian army in 1738.]]






Revision as of 02:46, 25 October 2010

Siege of Kandahar (1738) new article content ...

Siege of Kandahar
DateApril 1737 to March 24, 1738
Location
Kandahar, Afghanistan
Result Decisive Afsharid victory: End of Hotaki Dynasty, Destruction of Kandahar
Belligerents
Afsharid forces Hotaki forces
Commanders and leaders
Nadir Shah Afshar
Reza Qoli Afshar
Mullah Adineh Mostafi
Tahmasp Qoli Khan Jalayer
 Hussain Hotaki
Mohammad Seidal Khan
Strength
80,000-100,000 [1] 30,000 [2]
Casualties and losses
Unknown All killed or captured [3]

The siege of Kandahar was a conflict between the Afsharid dynasty and the Hotaki dynasty that took place between April of 1737 and March of 1738.

The Siege

Much of the duration of the siege saw little fighting as the Afsharid forces' lack of heavy artillery forced them to settle into a blockade of the city [4]. As the Iranians became more impatient, they made several attempts to take the city by storm but the Afghans defiantly repulsed these attempts.

Bakhtiari Assualt

Finally, on March 23, 1738, Nader selected 3,000 men from among the Bakhtiari contingent of his troops to lead a human wave assault on Kandahar[5]. A Bakhtiari named Mullah Adineh Mostafi was selected to lead the assault party. Nader initially tried to dissuade the Mullah from taking part in the attack given the threat he faced but Adineh insisted on taking part. The night before the attack, Nader Shah personally addressed the Bakhtiaris and told them that would be each given 1,000 Rupees and a share of the spoils of the city if the assault succeeded [6]. On March 24, The assault commenced and the Bakhtiaris surged forth from their concealed positions on the cliffs Chehel Zina and charged towards the city. The Afghan gunners managed to kill some of the attackers but many of the Bakhtiaris reached the city walls and used their ladders to scale it. Mullah Adineh was the first to make it to the top and a fierce struggle took place atop the Kandahar city walls [7]. Gradually, the Bakhtiaris managed to take control of the walls and proceeded to take the inner fortifications of the city. The attackers then raised guns atop the walls and used them to bombard the city. The Afghans made several attempts to retake the city walls but they were beaten back by heavy fire from the Bakhtiari Jazayerchis. Realizing the hopelessness of the struggle, Hussain Hotaki and a few Afghans retreated into the Kandahar citadel, leaving the rest of the inhabitants of the city to be killed or captured [8] . The Iranians used the cannons installed on the city walls to bombard the citadel. Finally, the next day, on March 25 1738, Hussain Hotaki and the rest of those who had taken shelter in the citadel, surrendered [9]

Aftermath

Nader generously rewarded the Bakhtiaris and personally gave Adineh Mostafi a bag of gold. Hussain Hotaki was treated leniently and was exiled to Mazandaran along with the rest of the Hotaki royal family; it is presumed that he and his family were later killed during the Zand massacres of Afghans in Northern Iran [10]. On the other hand, Nader was suspicious of Hussain's main military commander, Mohammad Seidal Khan, and suspected him of being a troublemaker; Nader therefore ordered that he be blinded [11]. The city of Kandahar was systematically destroyed by artillery fire and the surviving inhabitants were transferred to a new city that the Afsharid forces had built about 6 miles to the west of the ancient city. Nader Shah named the city "Naderabad", after himself. The old city was not reoccupied but the ruins of the old Kandahar Citadel remain visible to this day. The capture of Kandahar is a resonant event in Bakhtiari oral traditions and in Lur culture in general; it is an event which has become a cultural touchstone. [12]

Ruins of old Kandahar Citadel that was destroyed by the Persian army in 1738.









References

  1. ^ "History of Afghanistan from the earliest to the outbreak of war of 1878". G.B. Malleson. London: Pall Mall. p. 260. Retrieved 2010-10-24.
  2. ^ "History of Afghanistan from the earliest to the outbreak of war of 1878". G.B. Malleson. London: Pall Mall. p. 261. Retrieved 2010-10-24.
  3. ^ Axworthy p.185
  4. ^ Axworthy p.185
  5. ^ Axworthy p.185
  6. ^ Axworthy p.185
  7. ^ Axworthy p.185
  8. ^ Axworthy p.185
  9. ^ Axworthy p.185
  10. ^ "The Cambridge history of Iran: From Nadir Shah to the Islamic Republic". William Bayne Fisher, Peter Avery, Gavin Hambly, Charles Melville. New York: Cambridge University Press. p. 77. Retrieved 2010-10-24.
  11. ^ Axworthy p.182
  12. ^ "Persa Revisted". Thomas Edward Gordon. London: BiblioBazar. p. 77. Retrieved 2010-10-24.

Sources

Michael Axworthy, The Sword of Persia: Nader Shah, from Tribal Warrior to Conquering Tyrant Hardcover 348 pages (26 July 2006) Publisher: I.B. Tauris Language: English ISBN 1-85043-706-8

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