The Battle of Kafir Qala was fought in 1818 between the Qajar Dynasty of Iran and the forces of the Durrani Empire of Afghanistan. The Persians had captured Herat in 1816 but were forced to abandon it when the Afghans resisted the occupation of the city with an intense guerrilla war on the countryside. In 1818 the Persian Shah, Fat′h-Ali Shah Qajar, sent his son Prince Mohammad Vali Mirza with an army to recapture Herat. The Persians marched from Khorasan and met the Afghan army shortly after crossing the border in the town of Kafir Qala. The Afghans were victorious and the Persians retreated.