First Herat War

First Herat War
	Part of The Great Game
	; A Qajar lacquer book cover depicting preparations for the Siege of Herat.
Date	13 November 1837 – 9 September 1838; (9 months, 2 weeks and 3 days)
Location	Herat, Afghanistan34°22′26″N 62°10′45″E / 34.37385°N 62.17918°E
Result	Iranian withdrawal
Belligerents
Principality of Herat; Supported by:; British Empire East India Company; ; Aimaq tribesmen; Maimana Khanate; Andkhui Khanate; Sheberghan Khanate; Sar-i Pul Khanate; Bukhara Emirate; Khiva Khanate	Qajar Iran; Supported by:; Russian Empire; Principality of Kandahar
Commanders and leaders
Yar Mohammad Khan	Mohammad Shah Qajar; Izydor Borowski †; Asef al-Dowleh;
Strength
~ 45,000 total troops Bombay Army: 500; Afghan Army: 22,000; Sunni Confederacy: 15,000; Ships: HMS Semiramis;	40,000 total troops Persian Army (Oct. 1837): 30,000+; Reinforcements (Jan. 1838): 10,000;
Casualties and losses
Unknown	Unknown
	Location within Afghanistan

The First Herat War (Persian: جنگ اول هرات, romanized: Jang-e Avval-e Herāt; 1837–1838) was an attack on the Principality of Herat by Qajar Iran during the Great Game. Herat was held by Kamran Shah and his vizier Yar Mohammad Khan Alakozai. The Shah of Iran was Mohammad Shah Qajar. Four Europeans were involved: the British, Sir John McNeill and Eldred Pottinger as well as the Russians, Count Simonich and Jan Prosper Witkiewicz. Sher Mohammad Khan Hazara, an ally of Kamran and chieftain of the Qala-e Naw Hazaras, helped form a Sunni confederacy of Aimaq, Turkmen, and Uzbek tribes and played a crucial role in defending Herat when the city was besieged. The siege ended when neither side gained a clear advantage, the British threatened to take military action and the Russians withdrew their support.