The Shah of Persia, having laid claim to a considerable portion of Afghanistan after Shah Shoojah had been driven from his throne and his kingdom divided among a number of chieftains, sent an army to besiege Herat. The Indian Government then decided to effect the restoration of Shah Shoojah, and sent forward the "army of the Indus" under the command of Sir John (afterwards Lord) Keane. The Persians had meanwhile raised the siege of Herat, and retired toward their capital. Fighting their way against almost insuperable obstacles, short of food for man and beast, the divisions of the British army pushed their way through to Candahar, which they reached on April 27th, 1839. In the meantime Hyderabad had been captured, the Ameers of Scinde compelled to submit, the erstwhile rulers of Afghanistan forced from their thrones, and the deposed ruler restored, but considerable fighting had to be done ere he could settle down peaceably, and several important battles were fought.

Ghuznee, 1839.—The army of the Indus left Candahar at the end of June 1839, and arrived before Ghuznee, which Prince Mahomed Hyder Khan had strongly fortified; leaving only one gate unblocked by masonry. He had with him a garrison of 3,000 Afghans. As the British force possessed no means of breaching the walls, it was determined to take the place by storm, and in order to effect this the gate was blown in by the 13th (now Somerset Light Infantry), and the troops entered the fort, only 5 men being killed, and 6 officers (including Brigadier-General Sale, severely) and 63 men wounded out of Her Majesty's Regiments. On the fall of the fortress the Afghan cavalry outside fled in the direction of Cabul, the British forces following. At Ughundee Dost Mahomed Khan had resolved to try conclusions, but dissatisfied with the morale of his troops he decamped, and on August 7th Shah Shooja regained his throne, which, however, he did little to strengthen. The British losses were 18 men and 20 officers killed, and 153 men wounded. The force engaged in this comparatively bloodless campaign was composed of 8 companies of Her Majesty's 2nd (Queen's Royal); 13th Light Infantry; 17th (Leicestershire); two squadrons 4th Light Dragoons; 16th Lancers; and the following regiments of the H.E.I. Co.'s army: 1st Bengal Fusiliers (Europeans); Bengal Sappers and Miners; 1st Bombay Light Cavalry; 2nd and 3rd Bengal Light Cavalry; 2nd Skinner's Horse; 300 Poona Horse; Bengal Horse and Foot Artillery; two troops Bombay Horse Artillery; Bombay Foot Artillery; 16th, 19th, 35th, and 48th Native Infantry.

Order of DooranÉe.—To reward the British officers who had been instrumental in restoring him to his throne, Shah Shooja instituted the Order of the DooranÉe Empire, the first installation taking place at Cabul on September 13th, 1839, when Sir John Keane, the commander of the British army, received the First-Class Order from the Shah. There are three classes of the Order, which is not unlike the Guelphic Order of Hanover. Three of the first class, nineteen of the second, and thirty-six of the third were to be presented. The badge consists of a gold Maltese cross, the borders of which are raised, with eight points terminating in gold beads, resting upon two crossed swords. On a blue and green enamelled ground, which forms the centre, are two sentences in Persian characters; above "Authority is from God alone," and below "Every brave man recognises his sway." This translation, as Dr. Payne states, is very different from the usual one of Duri-i-Dauran, "Pearl of the Age." The enamelled centre is surrounded by a circle of pearls. The star is of cut silver shaped like a Maltese cross, overlaid with a smaller one of gold, in the centre of which is the same decoration as on the badge, except that a diamond is set in each arm of the gold cross, and the enamelled circle is surrounded by seventeen pearls. The star of the second class has rays between the arms, and the small gold cross which rests upon it has crossed swords between the arms; the centre is enamelled with a green flower on a blue ground, surrounded by eighteen pearls set in a gold band. The badge of the second class has twenty pearls set round the centre, and on the reverse a red enamelled centre circled by a green enamelled border decorated with gold tracery. The third-class badge has only fourteen pearls. The badges of each class were suspended from a half red and green ribbon, like that used for the Ghuznee medal.

Ghuznee Medal, 1839.—Shah Shoojah had also determined to decorate the ordinary soldiers who had taken part in the campaign, but his assassination prevented the realisation of his desire, and subsequently—November 23rd, 1842—the Governor-General decided that the medals which had been struck at Calcutta in commemoration of the capture of Ghuznee should be given to the officers and men who had participated in the capture. This, the first Indian medal to be issued with a bar for suspension, is of silver, and, with the exception of the medal for Seringapatam, the first to be given to all the troops engaged, the previous medals having been bestowed upon native troops only. It is 1½ in. in diameter, with broad flat edge, bearing on the obverse a view of the gateway of the citadel, with GHUZNEE on an ornamental panel underneath, running with the lines of the medal. On the reverse, within a laurel wreath, a mural crown above 1839, and between the terminals of the wreath the date of the capture of the fortress, 23^D. JULY, a space being left in the centre for the recipient's name, which had to be placed there at his expense. The medals are occasionally found with the names engraved or impressed upon the edge. Two dies were used for the obverse, and one has a much wider border. The medal was originally suspended from a half green and yellow ribbon, but it was changed to crimson and green 1? in. wide.

Governor-General's Medal.—Dr. Payne has kindly enabled me to reproduce the unique silver medal presented to the Right Honourable the Earl of Auckland, G.B.C., Governor-General of India and Governor of the Presidency of Fort William. The medal is 1? in. wide, has no bar for suspension, and is enamelled. On the obverse is represented the fortress of Ghuznee—a very different rendering to that on the medal just referred to—with the victorious army marching through the gate. On the reverse is the inscription AFGHANISTAN-GHUZNEE—23^r.d. JULY 1839. This striking is the only one known to exist. (See facing page 88.)