The Second Herat War (Persian: جنگ دوم هرات, romanized: Jang-e Dovom-e Herāt; late March 1856–26 October 1856) was the invasion of the surrounding realm of Herat and the successful siege of its citadel by the Qajar army led by Morad Mirza Hesam o-Saltaneh. The 1856 siege was part of the concerted Qajar effort to conquer western Afghanistan, known as the Herat Question. The conflict was also a part of the broader Great Game between the British Empire and the Russian Empire.
The Persian expedition into Herat was contrary to an agreement with the United Kingdom signed by Naser al-Din Shah in January 1853. According to this agreement, the Persian Government would refrain from sending troops to or interfering in the internal affairs of Herat. The siege was a major point of contention in the breakdown of Anglo-Persian relations and eventually became the catalyst for the Anglo-Persian War. After successfully capturing Herat, British agents were either expelled from Persia or left on their own accord. Despite dispatching Farrokh Khan Ghaffari to negotiate a diplomatic solution, the British were already preparing military action against Persia by July 1856. The British would inevitably issue a declaration of war on Persia from Calcutta on 1 November 1856. The Persian army would continue to occupy Herat and would only leave in compliance with the Treaty of Paris that ended the Anglo-Persian War. However, the Persian government managed to install Sultan Ahmad Khan as the puppet ruler of Herat prior to the ratification of the peace treaty with Britain.
Background
In 1818, the Sadozai tribe ruled Herat semi-independently, while Kabul and Qandahar were ruled by the Barakzais and Mohammadzais, respectively. Herat had effectively been Independent since 1801. Persia had made several previous attempts to reconquer Herat with limited success. In 1807, 1811, 1814, and 1817 various attempts were made to conquer Herat, as it supported a rebellion in Khorasan at the time. The British ministers in Tehran had been vocal against the persistent efforts to conquer Herat in 1833, 1837, and 1852. Growing discontent was visible with the rise of Sa'id Mohammad Khan to the seat of power in Herat. In response, the Khanate of Qandahar led a renewed campaign against Herat. In early 1851, the Qandahari armies had occupied Farah, Lash wa Juwayn, and Sabzawar, closing within 100 kilometres of Herat. At the behest of Sayed Mohammad Khan, Persia intervened and occupied the city in late 1851, forcing Kohandel Khan of Qandahar to retreat. Faced with mounting British threats to break diplomatic relations and occupy Kharg island as they did during the 1837 campaign, the Persian army withdrew from Herat in January 1852. The subsequent Sheil-Nuri agreement of 1853 was aimed at curtailing Persia's influence over Herat.
Following the agreement, Sayed Mohammad Khan tilted his foreign policy away from Tehran in favor of the British. But with the backing of Persia, Mohammad-Yusuf Mirza Durrani replaced and later executed Sayed Mohammad in September 1855. With the death of Kohandel Khan in the same year, his brother and Emir of Kabul, Dost Mohammad Khan mobilized to seize Qandahar, capturing the city on 14 November 1855. Dost Mohammad Khan had made Tehran increasingly nervous about his intentions. In a treaty with Dost Mohammad in March 1855, the East India Company had considered him as the Emir of all of Afghanistan. With British backing, Dost Mohammad now declared his intention to march on Herat with the pretext of avenging the murder of his son-in-law, Sayed Mohammad. Given the political dynamic in Afghanistan, Naser al-Din Shah issued a royal order to begin troop mobilization across five provinces in December 1855. Mirza Malkam Khan's unequivocal call for the conquest of Herat was central to reaffirming the Shah's ambitions. Iran's strategic approach for Herat was also shaped by foreign minister Mirza Sai'd Khan, Farrokh Khan Ghaffari, and Nicolas Bourre, the French envoy in Tehran.
Hesam o-Saltaneh
Soltan Morad Mirza was an ideal candidate to lead the Qajar army. One of Abbas Mirza's 26 sons, Morad Mirza was a notably proud Qajar Prince. Of note among his characteristics, Soltan Morad Mirza's anti-British sentiments supported his candidacy given Tehran's diplomatic fallout with London at the time. He was a seasoned commander in the aftermath of the Revolt of Hasan Khan Salar. Amid the scramble to retake Mashhad, Soltan Morad Mirza was declared the new Governor-General of Khorasan. He was dispatched at the head of one of two armies with a force of 7,000 and four artillery pieces. The war with Salar, who was Morad Mirza's cousin, would soon turn into one of attrition and the commander would remain behind Mashhad's walls until March 1850. Following the revolt, Naser al-Din Shah bestowed the title of Hesam o-Saltaneh (Sword of the Kingdom) upon his uncle. Thus, the Qajar Imperial Court decided that an army under Morad Mirza Hesam o-Saltaneh was to push forward with all speed to secure Herat and avoid its potential capture by Dost Mohammad Khan. The Persian government tried to justify this action with a manifesto published through the Tehran Gazette. The manifesto proclaimed that Dost Mohammad would march on Herat and later invade Khorasan. With this narrative, Tehran claimed that its actions were only in defense of its own institutions and the maintenance of its territorial integrity and that the army dispatched to Herat was to "rescue that Kingdom from the grasp of Dost Mohammad."
Order of Battle
In Fātiḥ-i Harāt: Sulṭān Murād Mīrzā Ḥusām al-Salṭanah, Najmi listed the regiments (Persian: افواج) raised in the initial deployment of the Persian expeditionary force to Herat, and those units mentioned in the siege of its citadel. Standish cites the total size of the Persian army at 20,000 strong during the siege. Amanat references an irate letter from Chancellor (Sadr-e A'zam) Mirza Aqa Khan Nuri to Hesam o-Saltaneh, in which he berates the siege's slow progress despite an army of 15,000 at the general's disposal. According to this letter, the Persian army set out with 10,000 troops and 10,000 tomans, to which Nuri sent an additional 80,000 tomans and dispatched 5,000 reinforcements. David Charles Champagne cites the Persian army as 24,000 strong, with 14,000 infantry and the rest being matchlockmen and irregular cavalry. He also cites Morad Mirza's forces as being in possession of 26 cannons. Mohammad Yusuf cites the Persian army as 25,000 strong with 30 cannons. The Persian cannons had little effect on the siege however, since they got stuck in Herat's mud walls.
Persian Army
General Hesam o-Saltaneh, Soltan Morad Mirza
Capture of Ghurian
Battle of Zendeh Jan
Amid the organization of the Persian expeditionary force, Hesam o-Saltaneh dispatched Col. Allahverdi Khan to lead an artillery detachment with 70 rounds of ordnance towards Ghurian to commence the bombardment of its fort. Mohammad Yusuf ordered the commander of the fort at Ghurian, Ahmad Khan Qale-Kahi to avoid the bombardment and sortie to meet Hesam o-Saltaneh's incoming army at its encampment. Commander Ahmad Khan marched towards the Persian army with 2,000 Afghan cavalry. Hesam o-Saltaneh ordered Sam Khan Ilkhani Zafaranlu to lead the Cavalry of Khorasan and Cavalry of Hazara Afghans and Sofrali Khan at the head of the Shahsavan Cavalry and Cavalry Regiment of Torshiz with two artillery pieces to form against the encroaching enemy. The next day, the Afghan riders under Ahmad Khan engaged Sam Khan Ilkhani's cavalry at Zendeh Jan. The Cavalry Regiment of Torshiz and the Zaferanlu cavalry similarly charged the Afghan riders, while the Persian cannons fired to break the enemy's formation. Under artillery fire and pressure from the Persian cavalry, the remaining forces under Ahmad Khan eventually fled eastward.
Siege of Ghurian
Simultaneously on the 20th of Rajab (27 March 1856), Hassan Ali Khan Garroosy led his veteran Regiment of Gerrus to the Persian camp. That same day, Hesam o-Saltaneh ordered a four-pronged assault on Ghurian's fort to commence at dawn. The Persian army mobilized and commenced the siege, which proceeded quickly. Commander Majid Khan, the ruler of Ghurian, interceded on behalf of the Afghan defenders. Carrying a copy of the Quran, he surrendered at the Persian camp. The news of the capture of Ghurian had an impact on the already-fractured resolve of the administration in Herat. Ataullah Khan, the leader of the Timuri sub-tribe, decided to abandon Herat with 4,000 tribesmen and 400 Timuri guards. The Afghan commander surrendered to Hesam o-Saltaneh who allowed them to settle at the Persian encampment.
March to Sang-e Sefid
The Persian army mobilized a detachment of its most veteran regiments from Ghurian towards Herat. Khorasan's elite cavalry of 500 riders with two artillery pieces and another contingent of 1,200 riders and one gun from Arak marched eastward. Amir Hossein Khan, Sam Khan Ilkhani's brother, led these regiments to within one farsang of Mosalla, where the troops were to await orders for an assault. Sam Khan was ordered to lead 500 Khorasani and Kurdish carabiniers. Pasha Khan Mokri commanded the Regiment of Semnan, Regiment of Damghan, a veteran Turco-Kurdish cavalry unit, and four pieces of siege artillery. These detachments were instructed to create a perimeter around the field of Sang-e Sefid, which left Herat's citadel within firing distance of the Persian cannons.
Siege of Herat
Beginning of the siege
Once the Persian detachments reached Sang-e Sefid, an Afghan infantry contingent sortied from Herat's keep. Armed with rifles and arquebuses, they fired on the Qajar troops from elevated ground. Once the Persian force was within range, the Afghan artillery bombarded their positions from Herat's towers. The Persian detachment responded with their own volleys and engaged the Afghan infantry in melee combat. The remainder of the Persian force had also reached the field and Hesam o-Saltaneh orchestrated the Persian regiments to advance on the left and right flanks. Once the scrimmage at the front line turned critical for the Qajar troops, Hesam o-Saltaneh ordered Hassan Ali Khan Garroosy to group with Abolfath Khan leading the Shaqaqi Regiment and Regiment of Nishapur. A veteran cavalry squadron followed this division. This detachment launched a multi-pronged attack on the Afghan front, managing to break their lines. The Persian general then ordered his artillery to relocate on a hillside overlooking the field and fire on the Herati defenders. After an arduous hour, the Afghan infantry finally wavered, retreating back to Herat's citadel. Despite the Persian victory, the standard of the Regiment of Nishapur was lost to the Afghans, and the standard-bearer who had been injured in the onslaught was expelled from the army. With the successful diversion of the Afghan assault, the Persian army closed in and surrounded Herat's walls.
Breakdown of negotiations
In a letter to Hesam o-Saltaneh, Mohammad Yusuf Khan petitioned that he had been a long-time servant under the Qajar government and that his hesitation at welcoming the Persian army was due to the opposition of Herat's elders and clergy. Mohammad Yusuf offered his younger brother, Mohammadreza as a hostage, along with two of the city's cannons. In return, the ruler of Herat requested that the Persian army fall back sufficiently from the city's walls so that the prince could safely visit the Iranian general in person. Contingent on Mohammad Yusuf's timely abdication, Hesam o-Saltaneh agreed to these terms and withdrew his forces seven farsangs from Herat. However, the government of Herat was vying for time and increasingly delaying negotiations. In response, the Iranian general arrested Majid Khan, a Herati official previously loyal to the Qajar government. Majid Khan was eventually transferred to Tehran. Likewise, the Mufti of Herat was arrested in Mashhad while on a peacemaking mission to the Shah. The back-and-forth petitions clarified that Mohmmad Yusuf had no intentions of surrendering Herat, and so Hesam o-Saltaneh ordered his troops to besiege the citadel once again. The Persian army began developing earthworks around Herat's walls, entrenching their position and chipping its defenses. With the threat of Dost Mohammad Khan mobilizing against Herat earlier in the campaign, the Shah had reached out to Dost Mohammad with proposals of a coalition against the British government. The British consul in Tehran, Richard Stevens, deduced that this proposal was a little more than an attempt to delay the Afghan Emir from marching on Herat himself.