Mughal Capture of Kandahar (1638)

Timeline

1. 1638Kandahar · AfghanistanAli Mardan Khan, the Safavid governor of Kandahar, fell under suspicion at the Persian court and saw his career blocked; he secretly sent envoys to Mughal emperor Shah Jahan expressing his willingness to submit. Shah Jahan swiftly dispatched troops to receive him and arranged the peaceful transfer of Kandahar.
2. 1638Kandahar · AfghanistanAli Mardan Khan opened the gates of Kandahar, surrendering the city and its dependent fortresses to the arriving Mughal army, with almost no fighting throughout the process. Shah Jahan was delighted, enfeoffed Ali Mardan Khan as a Mughal noble, and bestowed high office and rich rewards; the latter thereafter became an important Mughal general.
3. 1638Kandahar · AfghanistanThe Mughals appointed a new governor to hold Kandahar, strengthened its fortifications, incorporated it into the northwestern frontier defense system, and restored control over the Central Asian trade routes. Kandahar's strategic and commercial value made it a core zone of prolonged Mughal-Safavid contention; in 1649 the Safavids would recover the city once more.