afghanistanBaghlan he was joined by the Mir Wali of Khulm, who persuaded him to
first attack Qataghan, rather than relieve the beleaguered force in Balkh.
Despite its size, Timur Shah’s army proved no match for the Qataghan
cavalry and in the end Timur agreed to allow Mizrab Bi to remain as ataliq
in return for acknowledging Durrani sovereignty and the payment of an
annual nazrana.
Having settled the affairs of Qataghan, Timur Shah finally marched
on Balkh, but on his approach the Bukharans broke off the siege of Balkh,
abandoned Aqcha and withdrew deep into the Chahar Wilayat, hoping
to extend Timur Shah’s already overstretched supply line. Shah Murad
Khan then sent two columns of cavalry, some 30,000 strong, across the
Amu Darya in the dead of night, in an attempt to trap Timur Shah’s army
in a pincer movement. The Mir Wali’s spies, though, got wind of the plan
and Timur Shah placed the whole of his army across the line of attack. In
the battle that ensued some 6,000 Bukharans were killed. Shah Murad
Khan sent senior religious figures to negotiate a peace deal and recon-
firmed the 1768 agreement with Ahmad Shah. Timur Shah reciprocated
by acknowledging Bukharan sovereignty over Shahr-i Sabz and Merv.
Timur Shah marched back to Kabul but left around 4,000 cavalry
to garrison Aqcha and Balkh under the command of Muhammad Khan
Qizilbash. The march across the Hindu Kush was a disaster, for winter
had come early in the mountains and snow had already blocked the upper
valleys and passes. Timur’s men were not equipped with winter clothing
and thousands died from exposure. When news of the disaster reached
the amirs of the Chahar Wilayat, they threw off the Durrani yoke and
inserted the name of Shah Murad Khan of Bukhara in the khutba. Thus,
apart from regaining a degree of control over Balkh and Aqcha, Timur
Shah had little to show for his campaign. Despite this, or perhaps because
of it, Timur Shah was determined to maintain a token presence north of
the Hindu Kush, even though it cost the state treasury more than half a
million rupees annually.
The real winner of this Bukharan–Durrani war was Mir Qilij ‘Ali Beg
of Khulm. In the aftermath of Timur Shah’s campaign he overran southern
Qataghan, while Timur Shah reinforced his power further by conducting
all his dealings with the amirs of the wilayat of Balkh solely through him.
Following Timur Shah’s death, the Mir Wali went to war with the Durrani
hakim in Balkh and brought all of the region from Kahmard and Saighan in
the south to Balkh and to the Amu Darya in the north under his authority.
Shah Zaman was unable to do anything about this, but since the Mir Wali
continued to profess his loyalty to the Durrani crown and read the khutba