afghanistanbut the Governor General replied that such a change was not legally pos -
sible. However, he reassured the Amir that he would interpret the terms
of the treaty to include ‘whatever territories may be in the Ameer’s posses-
sion’, provided he upheld its other stipulations. 5 In effect, Dalhousie gave
Dost Muhammad Khan carte blanche to annex other regions including,
by implication, Herat.
Dalhousie’s liberal interpretation of the Anglo-Afghan Treaty marked
a shift in British policy in respect of Herat that was due in part to the
death of Yar Muhammad Khan, which had taken place shortly before the
fall of Kandahar. Yar Muhammad Khan was succeeded by his son Sayyid
Muhammad Khan, but when he showed signs of mental instability he was
killed in a coup d’état led by Shahzada Muhammad Yusuf, son of Hajji Firoz
al-Din, the former Saddozai ruler of Herat. Shahzada Yusuf then proceeded
to remove the name of the Shah of Persia from the khutba, and in response
a Persian army was sent to besiege the city. Eventually Firoz al-Din’s wazir,
‘Isa Khan, handed the unfortunate prince over to the Persian commander
and he was sent to Tehran for execution. ‘Isa Khan then promptly reneged
on his promise to surrender Herat and the siege dragged on for another
six months. Finally in October 1856 the Persian army took Herat by storm,
put ‘Isa Khan to death and replaced him with Sultan Ahmad Khan, son of
Sardar Muhammad ‘Azim Khan.
The siege of Herat brought Persia into conflict with Britain yet again,
for Britain suspected that Russia had incited the attack. When a British
naval expedition occupied the key port of Bushire, Shah Nasir al-Din Qajar
capitulated and in March 1857 a new Anglo-Persian Treaty was signed.
Under its terms all Persian forces were to be withdrawn uncondition-
ally from Herat and Ghuriyan, and the Shah formally recognized Herat
and Afghanistan as independent, sovereign states. A British officer, Major
Taylor, was sent to Herat to ensure the terms of the treaty were upheld,
while in the city he established a relief programme to alleviate the suffer-
ing of hundreds of Mashhadi Jews, who had fled to Herat after the Shah
or dered they either convert to Islam or be put to death.
In response to the siege of Herat and another Bukharan incursion into
the Chahar Wilayat, the Governor General gifted Dost Muhammad Khan
4,000 muskets, together with ammunition and gunpowder, and five lakh
rupees. He also began discussions about a second, more detailed, treaty.
Dost Muhammad Khan was more than happy to accept the weapons,
cash and a treaty that would strengthen his own position and legitimacy.
The Anglo-Afghan Treaty of January 1857 was indeed markedly more
favourable to the Amir, for the preamble specifically referred to Balkh