nadir shah and the afghans, 1732–47was owed to them before they were once more sent into battle, so their
families at least would have money to live on if they were killed. ‘Abd
al-Rahman Khan then weakened his army further by sending the Qataghan
cavalry back to Qunduz for he suspected their loyalty. Since he did not
have enough money to pay the troops or sufficient men to storm Maimana,
which was strongly fortified, ‘Abd al-Rahman Khan wrote to Amir ‘Azam
Khan requesting cash and reinforcements and called a halt until he received
a reply. ‘Azam Khan, however, refused his request, for the cash and troops
were needed for the defence of Kabul. Indeed, ‘Azam Khan ordered half
of ‘Abd al-Rahman Khan’s remaining force to return to the Afghan capital,
since Ya‘qub Khan was marching on Girishk and threatening Kandahar.
Yet despite weakening ‘Abd al-Rahman Khan’s fighting ability even further,
‘Azam Khan insisted he subdue Maimana and attack Herat.
‘Abd al-Rahman Khan set out for Maimana, but Husain Khan, the
wali of Maimana, stalled his advance for a couple more weeks by sending
his mother to the sardar’s camp and offering to pay one lakh of rupees
if he refrained from attacking Maimana. When the cash failed to appear
‘Abd al-Rahman Khan, by now in a state of profound anxiety and perplex-
ity, marched on the city. He sent troops to storm the city walls, but they
were ambushed by Turkman and Uzbek cavalry and forced to retreat.
Unwilling to risk a second assault, ‘Abd al-Rahman Khan placed the
The ruins of the Maimana citadel, a key town on Afghanistan’s northwest frontier and once
a major stopping point on the Balkh–Herat trade route. The fort was mostly pulled down
in the 1940s as part of the redevelopment. In the 1970s it was the site
of the local cinema and a tea house.