Shah Abbas had desired to capture the strategic fortress in Kandahar since he had lost it in 1595.

[1] In 1605 the governor of Herat, Husein Khan, besieged the city but the tenacious defense of the Mughal governor, Shah Beg Khan, and the arrival in the next year of a relieving Mughal army to Kandahar forced the Safavids to retreat.

[1] After celebrating the Iranian New Year at Tabas Gilaki in southern Khorasan, Abbas joined with his army and marched on Kandahar where he arrived on 20 May and immediately began the siege.

[1] Though Jahangir had information of the Persian's movements he was slow to respond,[1] and without reinforcements, the small garrison of 3,000 men could not hold for long.

[4] The Emperor asked his son and heir apparent Khurram who was at Mandu in the Deccan to lead the campaign and move the Barha Sayyids, the Indian Bukhari Sayyids, the Shaikhzadas, and the Rajputs back to the north,[5] but Khurram evaded the assignment fearing to lose his political power while he was away from court.