Fall of Kandahar (1638)

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Fall of Kandahar (1638)
Part of the Mughal–Safavid War (1637–1638)

View of the fortress of Old Kandahar
DateFebruary–March 1638
Location
Kandahar, modern day Afghanistan
Result Mughal victory
Territorial
changes
Kandahar falls to the Mughals
Belligerents
Safavid Iran Mughal Empire
Commanders and leaders
Shah Safi
Alimardan Khan  
Siyavush Qullar-aqasi
Shah Jahan
Sa‘id Khan

The Fall of Kandahar (1638) refers to the recovery of the Kandahar fortress by the Mughal Empire from the Safavids, following the betrayal of Alimardan Khan, Safavid Governor of the region. After the formal remittance of the fortress to the Mughals on March 11 without a fight, a battle ensued in the region of Kandahar on open ground between Mughal forces and Safavid forces about a month later on April 11, resulting in a Safavid defeat. The fall of Kandahar was part of the Mughal–Safavid War (1637–1638), giving control of Kandahar to the Mughals for a period of about 10 years, until the Safavids recaptured it in the Siege of Kandahar (1648–1649), never to return again in the possession of the Mughals. The Siege of Bost (1638) followed in the summer of the same year 1638, ending in an important Mughal victory.