Battle of Lahore (1764)

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Battle of Lahore
Part of Afghan-Sikh wars and The Indian campaign of Ahmad Shah Durrani
DateDecember 1764
Location
Near Lahore
Result Inconclusive [1] [2]
Belligerents
Abdali flag.png Durrani Empire
FlagofKalat.svg Khanate of Kalat 		Kattar Dhal Talwar.jpg Sukerchakia Misl
Commanders and leaders
Abdali flag.png Ahmad Shah Durrani
FlagofKalat.svg Nasir Khan
Gahram Khan  †
Ahmad Khan  †
Pir Abdul Nabi (WIA)
Mir Mazar  †
Muhammad Husain
Mir Manga
Haji  †
Jalli  †
Ghulam Husain
Bahadur Sasuli  †
Jalal Alhari  †
Mir Barfi
Mullandar Darogha
Fatuhi Darogha		 Charat Singh
Strength
30,000 Unknown
Casualties and losses
Unknown Unknown

TheBattle of Lahore took place in December 1764 near Lahore, between the Durranis and the Sikh Misls as part of the Afghan-Sikh wars which ended indecisively with both parties retiring due to nightfall. [3] [4]

Contents

Background

Ahmad Shah Abdali marched his seventh campaign into India after hearing reports about the Sikh triumphs, [5] with 18,000 Afghans and adding another 12,000 soldiers under the chief of Qalat, Nasir Khan Baluch. [6] [7] When the united army marched from Eminabad to Lahore, the team of Durrani scouts or advance guards called Qarawal [lower-alpha 1] , commanded by Gahram Khan Magasi and Ahmad Khan Balidi, were attacked near Lahore by the Sikhs, commanded by Charat Singh where both Ahmad Shah and his son were killed. [1] [2] After Abdali was informed about the attack, he immediately had Nasir Khan and Mir Abdul Nabi Keisani, march with armies from all sides to assist the scout party. [1] [2]

Battle

A long furious and bitter battle took place where both the Afghans and the Sikhs fought with equal intensity. [1] In the melee, a Sikh shot down Nasir Khan's horse with Khan falling down, causing panic among his soldiers, and Nur Muhammad barely making an escape. [1] [2] Nasir Khan was saved and rescued by his servants Muhammad Husain and Mir Mangah after shooting down the Sikh and his horse dead. [2] According to historian Hari Ram Gupta and Ganda Singh, the battle ended at night fall with retirement of both parties. [1] [lower-alpha 2] [2] [lower-alpha 3] Qazi Nur Muhammad who was brought along by Ahmad Shah Abdali to write down accounts of his master's campaign, compiled as Jang Namah, written in poetry of Persian verses, praised the bravery of Mazhar Mohammad, Ghulam Husain Bangalzei, Bahadur Sasuli, Mir Barfi, Fatuhi Darogha and Mulla Dar. [2] [9] [10]

Aftermath

After the retirement of both parties at nightfall, the Sikhs moved to Amritsar, also known as Chak Guru or Guru Chak and when Ahmad Shah Abdali was notified about the movement of the Sikhs, he marched towards Amritsar with Nasir Khan and the united army, but upon reaching the town, they didn't find anyone except for 30 Sikhs who came out of their religious temple and were killed in a close combat after fearlessly fighting against thousands of Afghans and Baluchis in the Battle of Darbar Sahib (1764). [11] [12] [13]

Notes

  1. ↑ When the army went to the battle-field, their camps, kitchens, families and servants known as Bahir-o-Bungah were left in charge of a strong contingent, which was called Qarawal. [8]
  2. ↑ The fight went on till nigthfall when both the parties retired for rest.
  3. ↑ It was a bitter contest and came to a close only by nightfall.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Gupta 1999, p. 216.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Singh 1959, p. 299.
  3. ↑ Singh, Ganda (1959). Ahmad Shah Durrani: Father of Modern Afghanistan. Asia Publishing House and online by Cambridge University Press. pp. 298–300.
  4. ↑ Gupta, Hari Ram (1999). Evolution of Sikh Confederacies. Munshiram Manoharlal. pp. 215–217. ISBN   9788121502481.
  5. ↑ Gandhi, Surjit Singh (1999). Sikhs of the Eighteenth Century. Singh Bros. p. 292. ISBN   9788172052171.
  6. ↑ Gupta 1999, p. 215.
  7. ↑ Singh, Khushwant (2004). History of the Sikhs. Oxford University Press. pp. 157–158. ISBN   9780195673081.
  8. ↑ Gupta, Hari Ram (1944). Studies In Later Mughal History Of The Punjab 1707-1793. Minerva book shop. p. 201.
  9. ↑ Gupta 1999, p. 365.
  10. ↑ Singh 1959, p. 462.
  11. ↑ Singh 1959, p. 300.
  12. ↑ Singh 2004, p. 158.
  13. ↑ Singh, Harbans (2011). The Encyclopedia of Sikhism Volume II E-L (3rd ed.). Punjabi University,Patiala. pp. 131–132. ISBN   81-7380-204-1.
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