Siege of Kasan, late 1499 or early 1500

The siege of Kasan, (late 1499 or early 1500) saw Sultan Mahmud Khan of Tashkent intervene in the civil war between Babur and his brother's supporter Sultan Ahmad Tambal. In the aftermath of the battle of Khuban Babur had a strong position, but while the two sides were in winter quarters Tambal entered into negotiations with the Khan, taking advantage of family connections at his court.

The Khan decided to sent 5,000-6,000 men under his son Sultan Muhammad Khanika and Ahmed Beg (one of Tambal's relatives)  to support Tambal. This army advanced from Tashkent into Fergana, and besieged the fort of Kasan, close to the kingdom's second city of Akhsi.

Babur reacted quickly, taking that part of his army that was still with him in his winter quarters on a rapid march towards Kasan. They reached Akhsi at dawn of the second day of their march, and continued straight on towards Kasan. When the Khan's men discovered that Babur was approaching them they withdrew from the siege. Tambal, who had been advancing to join up with his new allies, now arrived on the scene only to find that they had already gone. Babur had a brief chance to attack and capture his chief enemy, but his advisors suggested that he should wait until the next day to attack. Overnight Tambal escaped from the trap and reached safety in the fort of Arcbian.

After a stand-off that lasted just over a month Babur was forced by some of his main supporters to make peace with his brother. Jahangir was to be given all of Fergana on the Akhsi side of the River Syr Darya, while Babur kept the southern part of the kingdom, which contained the capital of Andijan.

How to cite this article: Rickard, J (21 April 2010), Siege of Kasan, late 1499 or early 1500 , http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/siege_kasan.html

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