Kandahar photo number 40 by Benjamin Simpson

This photograph was snapped outside the Kandahar Citadel (locally called "Arg"). The men sitting and standing are mostly camp followers of the British forces from then British India (now Pakistan, India and Bangladesh). This location is next to today's Kandahar Governor House, and the camera is pointed toward the direction of the Baba Saab area in Arghandab. The British military operation was conducted in that area on 1 September 1880 to defend Kandahar from the army of Ayub Khan (son of Sher Ali Khan and cousin of Abdur Rahman Khan), who was supported by then Persia and Russia against British India. Ayub Khan and his army had come from Herat. They believed that Ayub Khan was the rightful King of Afghanistan and not Abdur Rahman Khan. Based on original photo numbers, including how these men are dressed and their overall demoralized condition, this photo was likely created before the September 1 Battle of Kandahar and after the July 27 Battle of Maiwand in which the British suffered a major defeat. They appear to be taking refuge inside the fortified city from the military force of Ayub Khan, which was camped close by in Arghandab. This was the usual strategy of raiders and invaders wanting to capture the city, by besieging it. The raiders would camp at a certain distance, cut off all food and other vital supplies to the city so its residents become very weak, and then wait for the city to either surrender peacefully or get attacked.