Zain-ud-Din Khan known as Zain Khan Sirhindi (died 14 January 1764) was the Mughal Faujdar of Sirhind,a serviceman of Shah Alam II, and an ally of Najib-ud-Daula and Ahmad Shah Durrani. Zain Khan Sirhindi fought during the Third Battle of Panipat and strengthened Mughal rule in the region.
Zain Khan was sipahsalar and a great noble at the court of Ahmed Shah Durrani. After the conquest of Delhi by Durrani, he held the subahdarship of Sirhind[ citation needed ].
Zain Khan however soon grew notorious for plundering villages within his own territory as well as refusing to pay his own soldiers.Tahmas Khan was disgusted by Zain Khan's actions and he soon left his services and predicted that Zain Khan along with the city of Sirhind would fall. [1]
Zain Khan supported the Durranis and participated in the Vadda Ghallughara genocide of Sikhs that occurred on 5 February 1762. [2]
In January 1764, Ahmad Shah Durrani led his sixth expedition to assist Sadat Yar Khan of Doab and Zain Khan Sirhindi and his Mughal Army which was later overrun outside Sirhind, by 36,000 Sikh rebels led by Jassa Singh Ahluwalia, who plundered Lahore and the upper Doab. [3] [4]
Zain Khan Sirhindi was defeated and killed by the Sikhs in the Battle of Sirhind (1764). [5] [6]
Zain Khan was originally from the Khan Khel (family) of Lalpura Mohmands. His direct descendants are traced in the book "The Mohmands" by W. R. H. Merk. Most influential of them are the ones descended from the four sons of Nauroz Khan, who migrated to Peshawar.
Most influential member of the family is Khan Tahir Zaman Khan, who is living in Peshawar and has khani over lalpura. [ citation needed ]
The Mohmand or Momand is a prominent tribe of Pashtun people.
The Durrani dynasty was founded in 1747 by Ahmad Shah Durrani at Kandahar, Afghanistan. He united the different Pashtun tribes and created the Durrani Empire. which at its peak included the modern-day Afghanistan, Pakistan, as well as some parts of northeastern Iran, eastern Turkmenistan, and northwestern India including the Kashmir Valley.
Jassa Singh Ahluwalia was a Sikh leader during the period of the Sikh Confederacy, being the supreme leader of the Dal Khalsa. He was also Misldar of the Ahluwalia Misl. This period was an interlude, lasting roughly from the time of the death of Banda Bahadur in 1716 to the founding of the Sikh Empire in 1801. He founded the Kapurthala State in 1772.
Sirhind is the older name of Fatehgarh Sahib, a city and Sikh pilgrimage site in Punjab, India. It is situated on the Delhi to Lahore Highway. It has a population of about 60,851 . It is now a district headquarters in the state of Punjab; the name of the district is Fatehgarh Sahib.
Vadda Ghalughara was the mass murder of Sikhs by the Afghan forces of the Durrani Empire during the years of Afghan influence in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent owing to the repeated incursions of Ahmad Shah Durrani in February 1762. It is distinguished from the Chhota Ghalughara. Mostly non-combatants were killed in the event, and an estimated that 50,000 to 80,000 Sikhs were killed on 5 February 1762.
Feroze Jung III or Nizam Shahabuddin Muhammad Feroz Khan Siddiqi Bayafandi also known by his sobriquet Imad-ul-Mulk, was the grand vizier of the Mughal Empire when it was under Maratha suzerainty, making them the de facto rulers.
Sardar Charat Singh, also romanised as Charhat Singh, was the founder of Sukerchakia Misl, father of Mahan Singh, and the grandfather of Ranjit Singh, the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire. He distinguished himself at an early age in campaigns against Ahmad Shah Abdali and along with 150 horsemen split from the Singhpuria Misl to establish the Sukerchakia Misl, a separate grouping with its distinct guerilla militia.
The Afghan–Sikh wars spanned from 1748 to 1837 in the Indian subcontinent, and saw multiple phases of fighting between the Durrani Empire and the Sikh Empire, mainly in and around Punjab region. The conflict's origins stemmed from the days of the Dal Khalsa, and continued after the Emirate of Kabul succeeded the Durrani Empire.
The Afghan–Maratha War was fought between the Afghan Empire under Ahmad Shah Durrani and the Maratha Confederacy and the Sikh Confederacy between 1758 and 1761. It took place in north-west India, primarily the region around Delhi and Punjab.
Timur Shah Durrani, also known as Timur Shah Abdali or Taimur Shah Abdali was the second ruler of the Afghan Durrani Empire, from November 1772 until his death in 1793. An ethnic Pashtun, he was the second eldest son of Ahmad Shah Durrani.
The Battle of Sialkot took place on 12 November 1763, between the Durrani Empire, led by Jahan Khan, and the Sukerchakia Misl, led by Charat Singh, as part of the Afghan-Sikh wars which concluded with Sikh victory.
Ahmad Shah Durrani, the founder of the Durrani Empire, invaded Indian subcontinent for eight times between 1748 and 1767, following the collapse of Mughal Empire in the mid-18th century. His objectives were met through the raids and deepened the political crisis in India.
The Battle of Manupur was fought between the Mughal Empire and the Durrani Empire in March 1748 near Sirhind which ended in victory for the Indian coalition.
The Battle of Sirhind was fought between Durrani Empire and Sikh Misls on 14 January 1764.
The Battle of Harnaulgarh was fought between the Durrani Empire and the Sikh Misls of Dal Khalsa in 1762.
The Battle of Amritsar, also known as the Battle of Gohalwar, was fought between the Durrani Empire and Shaheedan Misl of the Dal Khalsa on 11 November 1757. Following the fourth invasion of Ahmad Shah Durrani, his army was attacked by Sikh bands under the command of Ala Singh and Baba Deep Singh. Following the attacks, Ahmad Shah desecrated the Sikh holy site known as the Shri Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar. The news of the desecration reached Baba Deep Singh who vowed to liberate the holy site from the Afghans. This resulted in a pitched battle being fought in the village of Gohalwar, near Amritsar. The battle resulted in Baba Deep Singh being killed and an Afghan victory.
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 appointed Timur Shah as the viceroy of Punjab with Jahan Khan as his deputy. The Afghans appointed 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.
Isa Khan Manj, was a Punjabi Muslim warlord from the Manj tribe of the cis-Sutlej territory in the Mughal Empire. He is credited with the killing of the Mughal prince Azam Shah during the Battle of Jajau, and for establishing an independent territory that defied Mughal authority.
The Battle of Lahore was fought between Afghan forces under Ahmad Shah Durrani and Mughal forces under Shah Nawaz on 11 January 1748. Zakriya Khan, the Mughal Governor of Lahore, died in 1745 and was succeeded by his son, Yahya Khan. Yahya Khan's governorship over Lahore was soon challenged by his brother, Shah Nawaz, who was the governor of Multan. This resulted in a war between the two brothers, lasting from November 1746 to March 1747. The war was won by Shah Nawaz, who soon usurped the governorship of Lahore. Shah Nawaz would go on to appoint Kaura Mal as his diwan and recognized Adina Beg Khan as the Faujdar of the Jalandhar Doaba. Shah Nawaz used his captive brother as a bargaining tool in order to get recognition from the Delhi government. However, following Yahya Khan's escape from captivity, Shah Nawaz sought help from abroad. He turned to Ahmad Shah Durrani, who had just taken the city of Kabul from the Mughals. Ahmad Shah agreed to assist him, and left Peshawar in December 1747. However, Shah Nawaz then changed his allegiance back to the Mughals, and fought a battle against Ahmad Shah near Lahore. The battle was won by the Afghans, who briefly occupied the city of Lahore.
The Battle of Qarawal was fought between the Sikhs under the command of Charat Singh against the Afghan forces led by Ahmad Shah Abdali and his Kalat ally Mir Nasir Khan I.The battle resulted in a victory for the Afghan forces and forced the Sikhs to withdraw to Amritsar.
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5. The Sikh Encyclopedia
6. A Glossary of the Tribes and Castes of the Punjab and North-West ..., Volume 3 Page 126
7. W R H Merk - "The Mohmands"
8. Captain E.G.G. Hastings - Page 112 of Report of the regular settlement of the Peshawar district of the Punjab 1878
9. State and Tribe in Nineteenth-Century Afghanistan
10. Hari Ram Gupta - Page 168 of History of the Sikhs: Evolution of Sikh confederacies, 1708-1769 (3rd rev. ed. 1978)