Battle of Phagwara | |||||||
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Part of Early Mughal-Sikh Wars | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Akal Sena (Sikhs) | Mughal Empire | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Guru Hargobind Bidhi Chand Tegh Bahadur Baba Gurditta Bhai Desu † Bhai Sohela † | Ahmad Khan † Fateh Khan † Zafat Khan Jamal Khan | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Minor to heavy losses [1] [2] | Unknown |
The Battle of Phagwara was fought between the Akal Sena forces led by Guru Hargobind and the Mughal forces led by Ahmad Khan.
After the Battle of Kartarpur, Guru Hargobind along with some devotees left the plains and set out for Kiratpur Sahib which would be safer for the Sikhs as they expected revenge by the Mughals for their defeat. [3] The Guru had already suffered high amount of losses in men and material before during the Battle of Kartarpur. [4] [5]
When the Guru and his troops were passing through Phagwara, they were attacked by a contingent of royal Mughal forces under the command of Ahmad Khan, the grandson of Abdulla Khan who was killed by Guru Hargobind in the Battle of Rohilla. [6] The Mughal forces failed to cause any major damage to the Sikhs. [3] Ahmad Khan and Fateh Khan were killed by the Sikh forces while Zafat Khan and Jamal Khan managed to survive. [7] As for the Sikhs, Bhai Desa and Bhai Sohela were killed in battle. [6]
This battle was the last major battle between the Sikhs and the Mughals during Guru Hargobind’s time. Guru Hargobind finally after reached Kiratpur. [3]
On the Sikh side, Bhatt Sona and Bhatt Sohela (sons of Balu Bhatt and grandsons of Mula Bhatt) were killed in the battle. [2]
Guru Hargobind was the sixth of ten Gurus of the Sikh religion. He had become Guru at the young age of eleven, after the execution of his father, Guru Arjan, by the Mughal emperor Jahangir.
Baba Gurditta was the son of Guru Hargobind, and the father of Guru Har Rai of Sikhism. There is a gurudwara in Kiratpur Sahib, Punjab which is in remembrance of Baba Gurditta.
Dal Khalsa was the name of the combined military forces of 11 Sikh misls that operated in the 18th century (1748–1799) in the Punjab region. It was established by Nawab Kapur Singh in late 1740s.
Bhai Mani Singh was an 18th-century Sikh scholar and martyr. He was a childhood companion of Guru Gobind Singh and took the vows of Sikhism when the Guru inaugurated the Khalsa in March 1699. Soon after that, the Guru sent him to Amritsar to take charge of Harmandir Sahib, which had been without a custodian since 1696. He took control and steered the course of Sikh destiny at a critical stage in Sikh history. He was also a teacher of the Gianian Bunga, later becoming known as the "Amritsari Taksal", currently located in Sato Ki Gali.
Mata Gujri, also spelt as Mata Gujari, was the wife of Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Guru of Sikhism, and the mother of Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Guru of Sikhism. She played a central role in the history of Sikhism and is one of the four consorts bestowed with the title of Guru-Mahal.
Guru Nanak founded the Sikh religion in the Punjab region of the northern part of the Indian subcontinent in the 15th century and opposed many traditional practices like fasting, janeu, idolatry, caste system, ascetism, economic materialism, and gender discrimination.
Bidhi ChandChhina was a Sikh religious preacher and military commander, from Chhina Bidhi Chand village, 37 kilometers south of Amritsar and Chhina Bidhi Chand was part of Amritsar District not Lahore. His birth place temple is situated in his own village Chhina Bidhi Chand, which was built by the residents with the help of Baba Daya Singh. Baba Daya Singh laid foundation with his own hands. Every year on his birthday Baba Daya Singh, and now Baba Avtar Singh, would go to village Chhina Bidhi Chand and celebrate it there to date. He was a disciple of Guru Arjan and served Guru Hargobind for most of his life.
The Battle of Rohilla, also known as Battle of Hargobindpur, was a 1621 campaign by the Mughal Empire against the growing influence of the Sikhs.
The Battle of Amritsar was fought during Mukhlis Khan's campaign against Guru Hargobind and the Sikhs on 14 April 1634. The battle took place over two days and was a result of increasing tensions between the Mughal government and Guru Hargobind.
The Battle of Kartarpur occurred on 25 April 1635 It started when the Mughal Empire attacked the town of Kartarpur. The Mughal force was repulsed by the Sikh defenders. The battle occurred in the locality of Kartarpur in present-day Jalandhar district of Indian Punjab.
Banda Singh Bahadur, was a Sikh warrior and a general of the Khalsa Army. At age 15, he left home to become an ascetic, and was given the name Madho Das Bairagi. He established a monastery at Nānded, on the bank of the river Godāvarī. In 1707, Guru Gobind Singh accepted an invitation to meet Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah I in southern India, he visited Banda Singh Bahadur in 1708. Banda became disciple of Guru Gobind Singh and was given a new name, Gurbaksh Singh(as written in Mahan Kosh), after the baptism ceremony. He is popularly known as Banda Singh Bahadur. He was given five arrows by the Guru as a blessing for the battles ahead. He came to Khanda, Sonipat and assembled a fighting force and led the struggle against the Mughal Empire.
Bhatt Kirat was a Brahmin bard in the court of Guru Arjan, whose eight hymns are present in Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of Sikhs. The title Bhatt is given to learned Brahmins.
The siege of Sirhind was fought between the Mughal Empire and Sikh forces in 1710. The Sikhs besieged, stormed, captured, plundered and razed the city of Sirhind after defeating and beheading Wazir Khan in the Battle of Chappar Chiri.
The Battle of Mahilpur was fought between the Sikh Misls and Adina Beg Khan against the Durrani Empire in December 1757.Following the 4th invasion of Ahmad Shah Durrani, he would appoint Timur Shah as the viceroy of Punjab with Jahan Khan as his deputy.The Afghans would appoint Adina Beg Khan as the faujdar of the Jalandhar Doaba and exempted him from attending court at lahore, on the condition that Adina Beg pay revenue to the Afghan government.Soon a dispute regarding the payment of revenue occurred between Adina Beg and the Afghans.This dispute soon escalated which resulted in Jahan Khan sending an Afghan force to arrest Adina Beg.Adina Beg formed a military alliance with the Sikhs under the command of Jassa Singh Ahluwalia and Vadbhag Singh Sodhi.Adina Beg also gained the support of Sadiq Beg Khan, Khwaja Mirza Khan, and Raja Bhup Singh.Adina Beg along with the Sikh forces fought the Afghans at Mahilpur.The battle resulted in a victory for Adina Beg and the Sikhs and resulted in the entire Jalandhar Doaba being occupied and sacked by the Sikh forces.
The Battle of Sutlej was fought by Guru Har Rai's Sikhs and Muhammad Yarbeg Khan's Mughal forces in 1652. Muhammad Yarbeg Khan was the grandson of Mukhlis Khan, a Mughal general who was killed by Guru Hargobind during Battle of Amritsar (1634).
The Akal Sena was the Sikh military force established by the sixth Sikh Guru, Guru Hargobind. It was the first standing Sikh army. It was also known as the Akali Dal.
The Hill States–Sikh wars, also known as the Sikh–Pahari Raja wars, was a set of battles and conflicts fought by the Sikhs and the rajas (kings) of the Hill States located in the Sivalik Hills.
Bhai Gaura was the eldest son of Bhai Bhagtu, and was a devotee of Guru Arjan, warrior, and native of Vinjhu, 14 km north of Bathinda, India.
The Battle of Sangrana was fought in 1628 by the Sikh forces led by Guru Hargobind and the Mughal forces commanded by Hakim Alim-ud-din.