| Battle of Sirhind | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Mughal-Sikh Wars | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Dal Khalsa |  Mughal Empire | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 Baghel Singh |  Mirza Shafi Khan | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Unknown | 40,000 [1] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown | 10,000-15,000 [1] | ||||||
The Battle of Sirhind was fought on 10 June 1781 by Sikh forces led by Baghel Singh and Mughal forces led by Mirza Shafi Khan.
After Abdul Ahad Khan's expedition against the Patiala State in the Siege of Patiala (1779) failed, Mirza Najaf Khan needed to think of something to do against the Sikhs, who had become sovereign over the Northern India region. [2] [3] Therefore, he sent the Mughal imperial army under Mirza Shafi Khan who was the grandnephew of the Mirza. [4] [5] Shafi started his campaign in January 1780. [6]
A Marathi letter stated that " From Delhi Najaf Khan has sent his assistant Ambar Shah (Shafi) with 40,000 troops and artillery against the Sikhs. He went to Sirhind district and confronted the Sikhs.; The Sikhs defeated the imperial army, slew ten to fifteen thousand soldiers and seized all their guns. The imperial army fled back to Panipat." [1] [7]
The entire campaign ended in June 1781 as an expensive loss after failing to stop the Sikhs. [2] [8]
Shah Alam II, also known by his birth name Ali Gohar, or Ali Gauhar, was the seventeenth Mughal emperor and the son of Alamgir II. Shah Alam II became the emperor of a crumbling Mughal Empire. His power was so depleted during his reign that it led to a saying in the Persian language, Sultanat-e-Shah Alam, Az Dilli ta Palam, meaning, 'The empire of Shah Alam is from Delhi to Palam', Palam being a suburb of Delhi.
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.
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Baghel Singh was a Military general in the Punjab region in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century. He rose to prominence in the area around Sutlej and Yamuna. Singh joined the Singh Krora Misl, one of the misls during Sikh Confederacy. In 1765, Singh became the leader of the misl.
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The Sikh Rule in Lahore initiated from the conquest and rule of the Sikh Misls and extended till the Sikh Empire of Ranjit Singh which ended in 1849. The Sikhs began gaining power following the decline of the Mughal Empire in Punjab and consisted of a collection of autonomous Punjabi Misls, which were governed by Misldars, mainly in the Punjab region.
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The Battle of Chappar Chiri, also called Battle of Sirhind, was fought between Mughal Empire and the Sikhs on 12 May 1710 at Chappar Chiri, located 20 kilometers from Sirhind.
The Battle of Rahon was fought between Sikhs and Mughal Empire on 11 October 1710.
Fateh Singh was a warrior in Sikh history. He is known for beheading Wazir Khan who was the Mughal Governor of Sirhind, administering a territory of the Mughal Empire between the Sutlej and Yamuna rivers. Wazir Khan was infamous for ordering the execution of the two young sons of Guru Gobind Singh, Sahibzada Fateh Singh and Sahibzada Zorawar Singh in 1704.
Sikh attacks on Delhi were common in the second half of the 18th century. The Sikhs attacked Delhi 19 times between 1766 and 1788.
The Khalsa Fauj were the military forces of the Khalsa order of the Sikhs, established by the tenth guru, Guru Gobind Singh, in 1699. It replaced the Akal Sena that had been established by the sixth guru, Guru Hargobind.
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The Raid of Panipat (1770) was a raid on 4 January 1770 by the Sikh forces led by Jassa Singh Ahluwalia against the Mughal forces led by Zabita Khan.
The First Sikh State was a breakaway and short lived sovereign Sikh state during the 18th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent that existed from 1709 to 1715. It was established by Banda Singh Bahadur after the Battle of Samana and lasted until his defeat in the Battle of Gurdas Nangal.
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