Research Article

An “Unimportant” Siege: The Siege of Kabul by Mirza Suleiman (1556)

Volume: 10 Number: Vakanüvis 10. Yıl Özel Sayısı October 31, 2025
TR EN

An “Unimportant” Siege: The Siege of Kabul by Mirza Suleiman (1556)

Abstract

This article examines the siege of Kabul in the early days of Akbar Shah's reign in terms of military, strategic and political aspects. The article is divided into two chapters. The first chapter focuses on the narration of Kabul siege, particularly by Bayazid Bayat. The second chapter contains an analysis of the siege from the perspective of military history. Factors such as military technology, siege methods, supply and geographical conditions, cunning and deception are identified and their impact on the outcome of the siege is discussed. The siege of Kabul provides a transitional example between traditional sieges and early modern methodical siege wars.

Keywords

References

  1. Abdul-Qadir Badaoni, Muntakhabu-t-Tawarikh, vol. 2, trans. George S.A. Ranking, Atlantic Publishers, New Delhi 1990.
  2. Abu-l-Fazl, The Akbar Nama, vol. 2, trans. H. Beveridge, The Asiatic Society, Calcutta 1907.
  3. Abul-Fazl-ı Mubarak-ı Allami, The Akbarnamah, Persian Text edited by Maulawi Abd-ur-Rahim, vol. 2, The Asiatic Society, Calcutta 1879.
  4. Albuquerque, Alfonso, The Commentaries of the Great Afonso Dalboquerque, Second Viceroy of India, vol. 2, trans. Walter de Gray Birch, Hakluyt Society, London 1877.
  5. Ansari, A.S. Bazmee, “Gulbadan Begam”, The Encyclopedia of Islam, vol. 2, Brill, Leiden 1991, pp.1134-1135.
  6. Babur Mirza, Zahiruddin Muhammad, Bâburnâma, Part One: Fergana and Transaxonia, Chaghatay Turkish Text with Abdul-Rahim Khankhanan’s Persian Translation, ed. and trans. Wheeler M. Thackston, The Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilisations, Harvard University, 1993.
  7. Babur Mirza, Zahiruddin Muhammad, Bâburnâma, Part Two: Kabul, Chaghatay Turkish Text with Abdul-Rahim Khankhanan’s Persian Translation, ed. and trans. Wheeler M. Thackston, The Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilisations, Harvard University, 1993.
  8. Bâbur Pâdshâh Ghâzî, Zahiru’d-dîn Muhammad, The Bâbur-nâma in English (Memoirs of Bâbur), vol. 1, trans. Annette Susannah Beveridge, Luzac and Co., London 1922.

Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

General Turkish History (Other)

Journal Section

Research Article

Publication Date

October 31, 2025

Submission Date

April 18, 2025

Acceptance Date

August 5, 2025

Published in Issue

Year 2025 Volume: 10 Number: Vakanüvis 10. Yıl Özel Sayısı

APA
Aslan, Y. (2025). An “Unimportant” Siege: The Siege of Kabul by Mirza Suleiman (1556). Vakanüvis - Uluslararası Tarih Araştırmaları Dergisi, 10(Vakanüvis 10. Yıl Özel Sayısı), 152-173. https://doi.org/10.24186/vakanuvis.1678732
AMA
1.Aslan Y. An “Unimportant” Siege: The Siege of Kabul by Mirza Suleiman (1556). VAKANUVIS. 2025;10(Vakanüvis 10. Yıl Özel Sayısı):152-173. doi:10.24186/vakanuvis.1678732
Chicago
Aslan, Yakup. 2025. “An ‘Unimportant’ Siege: The Siege of Kabul by Mirza Suleiman (1556)”. Vakanüvis - Uluslararası Tarih Araştırmaları Dergisi 10 (Vakanüvis 10. Yıl Özel Sayısı): 152-73. https://doi.org/10.24186/vakanuvis.1678732.
EndNote
Aslan Y (October 1, 2025) An “Unimportant” Siege: The Siege of Kabul by Mirza Suleiman (1556). Vakanüvis - Uluslararası Tarih Araştırmaları Dergisi 10 Vakanüvis 10. Yıl Özel Sayısı 152–173.
IEEE
[1]Y. Aslan, “An ‘Unimportant’ Siege: The Siege of Kabul by Mirza Suleiman (1556)”, VAKANUVIS, vol. 10, no. Vakanüvis 10. Yıl Özel Sayısı, pp. 152–173, Oct. 2025, doi: 10.24186/vakanuvis.1678732.
ISNAD
Aslan, Yakup. “An ‘Unimportant’ Siege: The Siege of Kabul by Mirza Suleiman (1556)”. Vakanüvis - Uluslararası Tarih Araştırmaları Dergisi 10/Vakanüvis 10. Yıl Özel Sayısı (October 1, 2025): 152-173. https://doi.org/10.24186/vakanuvis.1678732.
JAMA
1.Aslan Y. An “Unimportant” Siege: The Siege of Kabul by Mirza Suleiman (1556). VAKANUVIS. 2025;10:152–173.
MLA
Aslan, Yakup. “An ‘Unimportant’ Siege: The Siege of Kabul by Mirza Suleiman (1556)”. Vakanüvis - Uluslararası Tarih Araştırmaları Dergisi, vol. 10, no. Vakanüvis 10. Yıl Özel Sayısı, Oct. 2025, pp. 152-73, doi:10.24186/vakanuvis.1678732.
Vancouver
1.Yakup Aslan. An “Unimportant” Siege: The Siege of Kabul by Mirza Suleiman (1556). VAKANUVIS. 2025 Oct. 1;10(Vakanüvis 10. Yıl Özel Sayısı):152-73. doi:10.24186/vakanuvis.1678732


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