end to the uprising, but as it took a while for this news to spread through the countryside, the levy tribesmen continued to arrive in the capital. Siege of Jabal al-Siraj Amanullah presumably welcomed the news of the reconciliation. However, any feeling of relief would have been very temporary – forces led by a Tajik leader, Habibullah Kalakani, were moving toward Kabul from the north. Kalakani was a native of Kalakan, a village thirty kilometers north of Kabul. In late November, they besieged Jabal al-Siraj, north of Kabul, and on either 11 or 12 December, after 18 days of siege, Ahmad Ali Lodi peacefully surrendered the citadel, handing over all government funds as well as 18 machine guns, and an unspecified number of heavy weapons and rifles. First Battle of Kabul Emboldened by the victory, Kalakani attacked Kabul with 2000 men (only 200 of which were armed with rifles, and the rest armed with sticks and axes) on 14 December 1928. He and his forces entered the Murad Beg Fort on the northern slopes of the Kuh-i Kutal, nearby the village of Khayr Khanah. The rebels, feeling that deposing an emir would be against the shariah, performed a ritual and declared Kalakani the new emir, and then passed through the village of Dih-i Kupak at 3:00 PM. Around 3:15 PM, they reached the Bagh-i Bala park. They also occupied Bagh-i Bala palace, formerly the summer residence of Abdur Rahman Khan, which had now been turned into a military hospital for the Emir's personal guard and the residence of a Turkish physician, Bahjet Beg. After disarming and dismissing the guards and the embassy, they stationed their own guards, reassuring the employees of the embassy that they were guests of the nation and as such no harm would come to them. The rebels also managed to enter the house and fortress tower of Shahr Ara, which was defended by Shawkat Beg, a Turkish officer who was the son of Muhammad Akbar Khan. His small force, as well as a group of cavalry officers, managed to prevent the Rebels from entering the old city. As the battle continued, the whole city was filled the sounds of artillery and gunfire. However, only the cavalry of the Emir's personal guard and a few other loyal soldiers actually put up a fight against Kalakani's forces. The rest of the army was in a mutinous mood, as