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army suffered reverse after reverse at the hands of Assadullah Khan, the Abdalis' leader. At last a decisive battle was fought at Kafir Killa (modern Islam Killa), on the Perso-Afghan border, which resulted in the complete rout of the Persian forces and the Abdalis of Herat were left to look after their affairs themselves.
Shah Mahmud was not content with the possession of Kandahar. Being young and ambitious he aspired to be a great king. In 1720 he entered the Persian territory and advanced as far as Kerman. Encouraged by these initial successes, he resolved to plunge right into the heart of Persia and strike at once at the centre of the Government, which had oppressed his people for many years. In 1722, at the head of some 20,000 men, he made straight for Isfahan, the Persian capital. No serious resistance was offered until he reached the suburbs of that city. The degenerate Persian Government was under the impression that the Afghans, after raiding some of the frontier posts, would return to their native land. But now they were disillusioned and realized the seriousness of the situation. An army, some 60,000 in number, admirably
Roughly two thirds of characters agree with a modern printed edition of the same text. Much of the disagreement is editorial, not misreading. Treat the transcription as a finding aid and read the page image before quoting. How this was measured.