1803 anti-Shia riots in Kabul

1803 Anti-Shia riots in Kabul
	Part of Afghan Civil War (1793–1823)
Date	June – July 1803
Location	Kabul (Chindawol & Bala Hissar), Durrani Empire
Result	Riot suppressed by Durrani Empire
Belligerents
Sunni coalition of Kabul Followers of Sher Mohammad Khan Bamizai; Followers of Mirwais (Khwaja Khanji); Sunni mobs from Kabul Shahar and Bazar; Ghilji tribes; Safi tribes; Kohistanis; Logaris; Forces loyal to Shuja Shah Durrani; ;	Anti-riot faction Forces of the Durrani Empire; Qizilbash militia; ;
Commanders and leaders
Shuja Shah Durrani; Sher Mohammad Khan; Sayyid Mir Ahmad Agha; Sardar Ahmad Khan	Mahmud Shah Durrani; Fateh Khan Barakzai; Jawansher Qizilbash leadership
Strength
Kabul mobs: Several thousand Kohistan, Logar, Tagab reinforcements: 20,000; Tribal levies (Ghilji, Safi): several thousand; ;	Qizilbash defenders in Chindawol: Well-armed urban militia Fateh Khan’s returning army: 10,000; ;
Casualties and losses
Hundreds killed	Hundreds killed
	Estimated 400+ total dead

The 1803 anti-Shia riots in Kabul was a major sectarian uprising in the Durrani capital of Kabul, instigated by radical Sunni clerics and tribal levies against the Qizilbash population of Kabul's Chindawol quarter. The violence evolved into a full-scale siege of the Qizilbash mahalla and pushed Kabul into factional collapse, accelerating the political downfall of Mahmud Shah Durrani, and reshaping power dynamics across the Durrani state.