The siege secured Herat and Mashhad for Ulugh Beg during the Timurid succession wars, extending Samarkand's control over Khurasan.
Key Facts
- Year of siege
- 1448
- Duration before Ulugh Beg arrived
- 17 days after siege began
- Coins captured in citadel
- 4,000 Iranian toman toman
- Key fortifications contested
- Qila Ikhtiyar-al-Din and Fort Neretu
- City taken after Herat
- Mashhad
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Following Ala al-Dawla Mirza's defeat at the Battle of Tarnab and his flight to Quchan, Ulugh Beg and his son Abdal-Latif Mirza marched from Samarkand in spring 1448 to seize Khurasan, which Ala al-Dawla had held as part of the ongoing Timurid succession conflict.
Ulugh Beg's advance troops easily entered Herat but faced stubborn resistance from Bakharz Tajik archers at the Qila Ikhtiyar-al-Din citadel and Fort Neretu. Seventeen days after the siege began, Ulugh Beg himself arrived and the remaining defenses collapsed. Abdal-Latif Mirza captured the citadel, seizing 4,000 Iranian toman in coins.
Following the fall of Herat, Ulugh Beg's forces took Mashhad, consolidating Timurid control over the region. Unable to pursue his nephews further, Ulugh Beg returned to Herat and left Abdal-Latif Mirza in command at Mashhad, temporarily extending Samarkand's authority across Khurasan.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Ulugh Beg, Abdal-Latif Mirza.
Side B
1 belligerent