ORDER OF BATTLE // July 23, 1839
Battle of Ghazni
Estimated force strength by side, with confidence labels per surviving record.
Forces engaged
2 sides catalogued · combined 24,000 estimated
Durranis
20,500
Medium-confidence figure
Barakzais
3,500
Medium-confidence figure
Battle context
The Battle of Ghazni was fought at the city of Ghazni in central Afghanistan on 23 July 1839, during the First Anglo-Afghan War. The engagement pitted a Durrani force of over 20,000 under Shuja Shah Durrani and John Keane against a Barakzai garrison of 3,500 commanded by Ghulam Haidar Khan. Barakzai casualties reached 1,600. Ghazni was a strategically positioned city in central Afghanistan, and its fall was a significant step in the British-backed effort to restore Shuja Shah Durrani to power against the Barakzai rulers.
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