Battle of Khamchan, 1507

The battle of Khamchan of 1507 saw Babur's younger brother Nasir Mirza expelled from Badakhshan after a short reign of only two years. In 1505 Nasir had failed to support Babur's first expedition into Hindustan, and seems to have been looking for a way to avoid facing his brother. When news reached him that a rebellion against the Uzbek conqueror Shaibani Khan had broken out in Badakhshan Nasir decided to intervene, and after a short campaign established himself as ruler of the area (now the northern part of modern Afghanistan).

During his brief reign Nasir managed to fight off one Uzbek invasion, winning a battle at Shakdan, but by 1507 he had argued with the most important local leaders (listed by Babur as the begs Muhammad the armourer, Mubarak Shah, Zubair and Jahangir). The begs raised an army that contained a mix of infantry and cavalry then advanced along the Kotcha River towards Khamchan (now known as Kuri, about three miles to the west of the city of Faizabad).

Nasir's own army appears to have been strong in cavalry, but he made the mistake of attacking the begs on uneven ground in the low hills around Kjamchan. Repeated cavalry charges failed to break the begs' infantry, and eventually Nasir's horsement broke and fled. Nasir managed to escape from the battlefield, but by the time he reached safety with Babur at Kabul he only had 70 or 80 followers left.

Although Babur described Nasir's actions at Khamchan as 'thoughtless and unobservant' he still took him back into his service, and later in 1507 appointed him as his governor of Kandahar,

How to cite this article: Rickard, J (26 April 2010), Battle of Khamchan, 1507 , http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_khamchan.html

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