Siege of Shiraz

Siege of Shiraz
Part of Hotaki-Safavid War
Date Late 1723 – mid 1724 Location Shiraz, Fars Province, Safavid Iran Result Hotaki victory
Belligerents
Hotaki Empire	Safavid Empire
Commanders and leaders
Mahmud Hotak Nasrullah Khan † Zabardast Khan	Safavid Governor of Shiraz
Strength
3,000–5,000	Unknown
Casualties and losses
Unknown	100,000 killed

The Siege of Shiraz was a major engagement during the Hotak invasion of Persia, in which forces loyal to Mahmud Hotak besieged the Safavid stronghold of Shiraz in Fars Province. Beginning with the death in battle of the Afghan commander Nasrullah, the siege dragged on for nine months before famine compelled the city to surrender. Although exaggerated figures claim that over 100,000 people perished, the siege remains one of the bloodiest episodes of the Afghan occupation of Iran.

By mid-1723, Mahmud Hotak had consolidated his hold over much of central Persia. When the town of Qumisha surrendered to Zabardast Khan in July 1723, he gained full control of the country around his capital Isfahan.^[1]

At the same time, Mahmud dispatched his general Nasrullah, with 3,000 men to collect provisions in the north-west. Save for a repulse at Hamadan, Nasrullah met little resistance and returned with large stores of food. He also resettled some 4,000 Sunni Dargazin families in Isfahan, as Mahmud sought to replace the unreliable local population with elements more loyal to the Hotak regime. Families of Afghan officers were also brought from Kandahar to prevent desertion, including Mahmud’s own mother, whose ragged state upon arrival in Isfahan shocked contemporary observers.^[1]

With Isfahan relatively secure, Mahmud turned southward. His emissaries to Shiraz were insulted and dismissed, and he therefore resolved to bring Fars into obedience by force. Nasrullah was ordered to march on Shiraz in late summer 1723, supported by both Afghan troops and the transplanted Dargazins.^[2]

Nasrullah advanced without opposition until he reached Shiraz, where the governor rejected his summons to surrender. Leading the assault in person, Nasrullah was among the first to fall. His unexpected death, despite his reputation for invulnerability, was a severe blow to Afghan morale and authority. The Safavid defenders took courage from this loss, while surrounding towns and villages that had submitted to Nasrullah quickly revolted, exposing the fragility of Afghan rule. Despite this setback, Mahmud dispatched Zabardast Khan to take command and renew the siege. The defenders of Shiraz resisted strongly, and the city might have held indefinitely had its governor prepared adequate food supplies before the Afghan advance. Instead, famine gradually eroded the city’s strength.^[2][3]

After nine months, Shiraz capitulated in mid-1724. Contemporary sources claimed that as many as 100,000 inhabitants perished during the famine. Nasrullah’s death was widely mourned by Armenians and Zoroastrians, who regarded him as a tolerant protector, and even by some Persians, who found his rule humane compared to other Afghan commanders. His loss deprived Mahmud Hotak of one of his most capable generals. The fall of Shiraz extended Afghan authority over Fars, but it also underscored the dependence of Hotak power on sheer coercion. Resistance continued in other provinces, and Mahmud’s position remained precarious.^[2]