Editing Aurangzeb (section)

====Governor of Balkh====
In 1647, Shah Jahan moved Aurangzeb from Gujarat to be governor of [[Balkh]], replacing a younger son, [[Murad Baksh]], who had proved ineffective there. The area was under attack from [[Uzbeks|Uzbek]] and [[Turkmen people|Turkmen]] tribes. The Mughal artillery and muskets were matched by the skirmishing skills of their opponents which led to a stalemate. Aurangzeb discovered that his army could not live off the land, which was devastated by war.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}} It is recorded that during the battle against the Uzbeks during this campaign, Aurangzeb dismounted from his elephant ride to recite prayer to the surprise of the opposing force commander.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Munis D. Faruqui |title=The Princes of the Mughal Empire, 1504–1719 |date=2012 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-107-02217-1 |page=175 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2vhbDSXbbksC |access-date=15 March 2024 |language=En |format=Hardcover}}</ref>

With the onset of winter, he and his father had to make an unsatisfactory deal with the Uzbeks. They had to give away territory in exchange for nominal recognition of Mughal sovereignty.<ref name="Richards 1996 132–133">{{harvtxt|Richards|1996|pp=132–133}}</ref> The Mughal force suffered still further with attacks by Uzbeks and other tribesmen as it retreated through the snow to [[Kabul]]. By the end of this two-year campaign, into which Aurangzeb had been plunged at a late stage, a vast sum of money had been expended for little gain.<ref name="Richards 1996 132–133"/>

Further unsuccessful military involvements followed, as Aurangzeb was appointed governor of [[Subah of Multan|Multan]] and [[Sind State|Sindh]]. His efforts in 1649 and 1652 to [[Mughal sieges of Kandahar (1649–53)|dislodge the Safavids]] at [[Kandahar]] which they had recently retaken after a decade of Mughal control, both ended in failure as winter approached. The logistical problems of supplying an army at the extremity of the empire, combined with the poor quality of armaments and the intransigence of the opposition have been cited by John Richards as the reasons for failure. A third attempt in 1653, led by Dara Shikoh, met with the same outcome.<ref>{{harvtxt|Richards|1996|pp=134–135}}</ref>