Explain why Qandhar was a bone of contention between the Safavids and the Mughals.

Qandhar was a bone of contention between the Safavids and the Mughals due to following reasons:

1.    Iran and Turan : The political and diplomatic relations between the Mughal kings and the neighbouring countries of Iran and Turan hinged on the control of the frontier defined by the Hindukush mountains that separated Afghanistan from the regions of Iran and Central Asia.

2.    To control strategic out-posts (such as Kabul and Qandhar) : All conquerors who sought to make their way into the Indian subcontinent had to cross the Hindukush to have access to north India. A constant aim of Mughal policy was to ward off this potential danger by controlling strategic outposts - notably Kabul and Qandhar.

3.    Qandhar as a bone of contention between the Safavids and the Mughals : Qandhar, a fortress town had initially been in the possession of Humayun, conquered in 1595 by Akbar. While the Safavid court retained diplomatic relations with the Mughals, it continued to stake claims to Qandhar. In 1613 Jahangir sent a diplomatic envoy to the court of Shah Abbas to plead the Mughal case for retaining Qandhar, but the mission failed. In the winter of 1622 a Persian army besieged Qandhar. The ill-prepared Mughal garrison was defeated and had to surrender the fortress and the city to the Safavids.