Battle of Kamarej
1754 battle
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Battle of Kamarej took place in Late 1754 [1] between the forces of Karim Khan Zand and those of Azad Khan Afghan's lieutenant Fath-Ali Khan Afshar during the power struggles in western Iran following the collapse of the Afsharid dynasty.
| Battle of Kamarej | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Persian–Afghan Wars | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Zand dynasty | forces of Azad Khan Afghan | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Karim Khan Zand Mirza Ali Beg Khurmuji Raʾis Ahmad Shah Tangestani | Fath-Ali Khan Afshar | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
|
6,000–8,000 4,000 musketeers | 12,000 | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Unknown | Heavy | ||||||||
Background
In 1754, Karim Khan Zand was attempting to rebuild his forces in the Garmsir after being denied entry to Shiraz. At the same time, Azad Khan Afghan marched on Shiraz and defeated local tribal forces near Persepolis, capturing the city with an army of around 12,000 men. Karim Khan then established his base in Kazerun, with support from the townsmen under Ali Qoli Khan Kazaruni and levies from Dashtestan. He also sought assistance from Nasir Khan of Lar, who cautiously maintained neutrality while commanding a sizeable force.[2]
Battle
On November 29th, Azad Khan’s forces advanced on Kazerun. Karim Khan’s smaller army, consisting of Zand troops, townsmen, and Dashtestan levies, was forced to evacuate the town and retreat westward to the village of Khesht near the Kamarej Pass. There, Karim was reinforced by around 4,000 musketeers under Mirza Ali Beg Khurmuji and Raʾis Ahmad Shah Tangestani. The villagers, led by Rostam Soltan, provided supplies and support. Meanwhile, Fath-Ali Khan Afshar, commanding the bulk of Azad’s army, set out against the Zand forces in the narrow Kamarej Pass, where he was ambushed and defeated by the efforts of Karim and the Kheshti musketeers.[3][4][1]