Persian Campaigns of Ahmad Shah Durrani

The Persian Campaigns of Ahmad Shah Durrani were a series of conflicts fought in the mid to late-eighteenth century throughout Eastern Persia and primarily in Khorasan by Ahmad Shah Durrani

The first Durrani campaign to Khorasan took place between (1749–51). It saw Ahmad Shah Durrani, ruler of the Durrani Empire, invade the region of Khorasan to establish his supremacy in the region.

Intent on conquering Herat, Ahmad Shah besieged the city for a long period of time until it finally fell in late 1750.^[1][2][3]

With the fall of Herat, Ahmad Shah continued his campaign into Khorasan, invading the Afsharids and besieging Mashhad, where he remained until November 1750. Attempts to storm the city by the Afghans were unsuccessful, and Lee and Gupta state that Shahrokh Shah surrendered to Ahmad Shah personally so he could raise the siege. Shahrokh Shah accepted Afghan suzerainty, paying large tribute and releasing members of Ahmad Shah's family.^[4][5]

Noelle however, states that Ahmad Shah lifted the siege on 10 November, and was intent on returning years later. Shahrokh Shah had released a son of Ahmad Shah, possibly being Timur Shah Durrani, or Ahmad Shah's youngest son, Sanjar Mirza.^[1]

Nonetheless, after the siege of Mashhad, Ahmad Shah advanced to Nishapur, which was ruled by the Qara Bayat Amirdom. He besieged the city and demanded its surrender, which the governor, Jafar Khan, refused despite only having a few thousand men as garrison. Ahmad Shah ordered the walls to be breached, utilizing cannons, which the Afghans surged through. However, the defenders of the city had established defenses and a trap, which the Afghans fell into. Close-quarters combat began after, in which Jafar Khan was killed. His nephew, Abbas Quli, took command of the garrison and repulsed the Afghan forces, inflicting horrific casualties unto them, including some 12,000 dead, and thousands more wounded.^[6][1][7]

With his army seriously weakened, Ahmad Shah ordered a retreat to Herat. The harsh winter weather killed thousands while the Afghans retreated,^[1] and Ahmad Shah was forced to leave behind much of his baggage, including his artillery and food supplies. When the Afghans reached the Hari Rud river, it was completely frozen. Attempting to cross it caused much of the ice to break, killing even more men and sweeping away pack animals for the army.^[8][7]

Upon the armies return to Herat, Ahmad Shah faced an assassination conspiracy from Darwish Ali Khan Hazara, Ahmad Shah's governor of Herat. The conspiracy was quickly quelled and Darwish Ali was imprisoned, where in his stead, Ahmad Shah appointed Timur Shah as the new governor.^[6][7]

The second Durrani Campaign to Khorasan took place between 1754–1755. Ahmad Shah Durrani launched the campaign to avenge his defeat in the first campaign of Khorasan against the rulers of Nishapur, intending to advance on Mashhad and then Nishapur to bring the cities to submission.

Ahmad Shah began his campaign in May 1754. Afghan forces departed from Herat and made for Tun. Ahmad Shah dispatched Sardar Jahan Khan and Nasir Khan of Kalat, with them beginning their own campaign of devastating the countryside.^[9] Following this, they marched against the governor of Tabas, Ali Murad Khan, who also assembled his own army and met the Afghans in battle, with Singh describing the battle that took place as one of the most bloodiest battles in Persian history.^[10] Ammunition failed to gain any clear advantage for both sides, forcing both armies to draw swords and began clashing. The battle remained indecisive until Ali Murad Khan was killed, and the remaining Persian army was routed.^[10]

With their opposition defeated, Tabas and Tun were conquered in between of June and July 1754 by the Afghans.^[10] The Afghan armies continued their march unto Mashhad, arriving before the city on 23 July.^[1] A long siege protracted until the Afsharids finally submitted to Ahmad Shah on 1 December 1754. On the 4th, Ahmad Shah's name was read in the sermon, acknowledging his sovereignty and paramountcy over the Afsharids.^[1]

With their victory, the domains Torshiz, Bakharz, Jam, Khaf, and Turbat-e Haidari were annexed from the Afsharids into the Durranis.^[11][1] Following this, Ahmad Shah then began his march on Nishapur in the following spring of 1755, while Shah Pasand Khan set out to march to Mazandaran against the Qajars.^[1][12]

On 17 June 1755, the Afghan armies arrived at Nishapur, and immediately, Abbas Qoli Khan submitted without opposition and sought to be pardoned for giving resistance during Ahmad Shah's first campaign in Khorasan.^[1] Not long after, however, Nishapur raised in rebellion due to news that Shah Pasand Khan had possibly been defeated by the Qajars.

As a result, the gates of the city were closed on Ahmad Shah's troops.^[12][1] This began a one-week siege.^[13] During the siege, Ahmad Shah lacked important siege equipment, and as a result, every mounted soldier carried many kilograms of gunmetals.^[14] As the siege began, Armenian cannon makers melted down the metal the soldiers carried, and forged a large cannon. The first shot of the cannon blasted through the city walls, and even caused havoc in the city through houses and bazaars.^[14]

The weapon forced the submission of the cities elders, and they opened the gates despite Abbas Qoli Khan's opposition.^[15] The city was then subsequently plundered, with the populace of the city spared if they went to mosques and didn't take anything with them. Afghan forces went to houses and then began tearing down the defenses of the city, with a large part of the city being entirely razed.^[16][17]

Following the victory at Nishapur, Ahmad Shah defeated the Qajars and followed up that victory by sacking the cities of Tun and Tabas, also instilling massacres in their cities.^[16] On 9 May 1755, Shahrokh Shah was officially re-instated as ruler over Mashhad, effectively as a Durrani protectorate.^[3]

Durrani Campaign to Khorasan (1769–1770) was a military campaign led by Ahmad Shah Durrani against the Afsharids.

Upon hearing of Afghan difficulties in the Punjab, Nasrullah Mirza, son of the Afsharid ruler Shahrokh Shah, began preparing to declare independence. He first attempted to secure aid from Karim Khan Zand to no avail, before receiving support from the Kurds and raising an army in Chenaran. Ahmad Shah began marching from Herat to Khorasan between 1769 and 1770, occupying Torbat-e Jam and Langar. Nasrullah immediately rushed back to Mashhad, while Ahmad Shah arrived and besieged the city.^[18][19]

Nasrullah dispatched Nader Mirza Afshar to try and seek aid, which he successfully did so from the chief of Tabas, Ali Mardan Khan. The siege at Mashhad persisted, and sortie attempts against the Afghans were made. Reinforcements under Nadir Mirza and Ali Mardan began arriving, however, and Ahmad Shah dispatched his general, Rasul Khan to battle against them. The Afghan contingent was repelled at Gonabad, leading to Ahmad Shah sending a second army under Jahan Khan and Nasir Khan, which defeated the Persians, slaying Ali Mardan Khan and pursuing Nader Mirza as far as Soltanabad.^[20] The Afsharids had made an attack on the Afghans and Timur Shah in Mashhad 1769^[21][3]

Not wishing to fire upon the city as it contained the Imam Reza shrine, negotiations were opened and successfully saw Shahrokh submit again to Afghan suzerainty. Shahrokh also offered his daughter, Gauhar-Shad in marriage to Timur Shah Durrani, which was accepted, with the marriage completed in the Afghan camp.^[22] Despite the surrender of Shahrokh and Nasrullah, Ahmad Shah had no intention of directly annexing Khorasan, and instead left Shahrokh to rule under Afghan suzerainty, who also furnished troops to the Afghan army.^[19] To ensure loyalty, one of Shahrokh's sons, Yazdan Bakhsh, was taken as hostage. Ahmad Shah began the march back to Kandahar on 9 June, ending his final military campaign.^[3]