Battle of Dilaram

Battle of Dilaram
DateAugust 1720
Location
Delaram, western Afghanistan
Result Hotaki victory
Belligerents
Hotak dynasty Sadozai Sultanate of Herat
Commanders and leaders
Mahmud Hotak Asadullah Khan †
Strength
Unknown Unknown
Casualties and losses
Unknown 3,000 killed

The Battle of Dilaram was fought near Farah between Mahmud Hotak and Abdali leader Asadullah Khan. Mahmud won decisively, killing Asadullah and 3,000 of his men.

Background

Main article: Battle of Kafir Qala (1719)

On the 19th of May 1719, a Persian force numbering about 30,000[1]–35,000[2][3] men including an artillery train commanded by European officers advanced on Herat under Safi Quli Khan. Mohammad Zaman Khan, commanding roughly 15,000 Afghan fighters,[1][3] chose to make his stand at Kafir Qala, a fortified outpost west of Herat near the frontier with Persia. Foreseeing the Persians' reliance on artillery, Asadullah placed his men behind orchard trees and in irrigation ditches to neutralize enemy fire. When the Persians commenced their bombardment, the Afghan positions held firm. As the Persian infantry advanced, they were met by concentrated flanking fire.[2]

After several hours of heavy fighting, a Persian gunner accidentally ignited a powder magazine, and the ensuing explosion engulfed the artillery park in smoke. In the confusion, Persian gunners began firing upon their own troops. Sensing the disarray, Mohammad Zaman Khan ordered a full cavalry charge. The Afghan horsemen swept through the shattered Persian lines, routing the enemy.[4] Safi Quli Khan was slain,[5] and according to contemporary accounts, the Persian general, realizing the battle was lost, mounted a barrel of gunpowder and blew himself up rather than be captured.[4][6]

Battle

Asadullah Khan then set out for the Helmand and in August 1720.[2] Asadullah Khan, leader of the Abdali Afghans attacked the fort of Farah from the Hotaks. Mahmud Hotak hearing this, gathered his men from Kandahar and met the rebel at Dilārām near Farah,[7] The outcome of the battle remained in the balance for many hours until Asad Allah was shot in the back by a man who was settling an old score with Sultan Abdallah Khan’s family.[2] in western Afghanistan. The battle was on favour of Mahmud Hotak and Asadullah was defeated and killed,[8] along with 3,000 of his men.[9][10][7]

Aftermath

Mahmud sent the head of Asadullah Khan and some of the Abdalis to Soltan Hosein as a gesture of loyalty. Shah Soltan Hosein, showing his usual simplicity and wishful thinking, accepted this ruse at face value.[11] Mahmud Hotak would later launch an invasion of Persia. The campaign targeted the city of Kerman, a strategically vital urban center in southeastern Safavid Iran. Mahmud Hotak's forces besieged and eventually captured the city, subsequently sacking it.[12][13]

References

  1. ^ a b Sykes, Percy (1921). A History Of Persia. Vol. 2. Macmillan and Company, Limited. p. 221.
  2. ^ a b c d Afghanistan A History From 1260 To The Present. p. 81.
  3. ^ a b Afghanistan, Past and Present. "Social Sciences Today" Editorial Board, USSR Academy of Sciences. 1981. p. 65.
  4. ^ a b Lee, Jonathan L. (2018). Afghanistan: A History from 1260 to the Present. Reaktion Books. p. 81. ISBN 9781789140101.
  5. ^ Noelle-Karimi, Christine (2014). The Pearl in Its Midst: Herat and the Mapping of Khurasan (15th-19th Centuries). Austrian Academy of Sciences Press. p. 252. ISBN 9783700172024.
  6. ^ Lockhart, Laurence (1958). The Fall of the Safavī Dynasty and the Afghan Occupation of Persia. University Press. p. 99.
  7. ^ a b Nejatie, Sajjad (2019-09-28). "Preview of "The Pearl of Pearls: The Abdālī-Durrānī Confederacy and Its Transformation under Aḥmad Shāh, Durr-i Durrān"". The Pearl of Pearls: The Abdālī-Durrānī Confederacy and its Transformation under Ahmad Shāh, Durr-i Durrān: 249–250.
  8. ^ Lee, Jonathan L. (1996-01-01). The "Ancient Supremacy": Bukhara, Afghanistan and the Battle for Balkh, 1731-1901. BRILL. pp. 60–61. ISBN 978-90-04-10399-3.
  9. ^ Jaques, Tony (2006-11-30). Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: A Guide to 8,500 Battles from Antiquity Through the Twenty-first Century [3 Volumes]. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 348. ISBN 978-0-313-33536-5.
  10. ^ Ghani, Abdul (1989). A Brief Political History of Afghanistan. Najaf Publishers. p. 171.
  11. ^ Axworthy, Michael (2010-03-24). Sword of Persia: Nader Shah, from Tribal Warrior to Conquering Tyrant. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-0-85773-347-4.
  12. ^ Matthee, Rudi (2021-07-21). The Safavid World. Routledge. p. 159. ISBN 978-1-000-39287-6.
  13. ^ Sykes, Percy (2014-07-10). History of Afghanistan. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-84586-7.
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