Battle of Sialkot (1789)
It is proposed that this article be deleted because of the following concern:
If you can address this concern by improving, copyediting, sourcing, renaming, or merging the page, please edit this page and do so. You may remove this message if you improve the article or otherwise object to deletion for any reason. Although not required, you are encouraged to explain why you object to the deletion, either in your edit summary or on the talk page. If this template is removed, do not replace it. The article may be deleted if this message remains in place for seven days, i.e., after 06:21, 17 June 2024 (UTC). Find sources: "Battle of Sialkot" 1789 – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR |
Battle of Sialkot | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of Afghan-Sikh Wars | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
Dal Khalsa | Durrani Empire | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Natha Singh |
Timur Shah Durrani Ataullah Khan † | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
Unknown | 120,000[1] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Unknown |
|
The Battle of Sialkot was fought in January 1789 by the Sikh forces led by Natha Singh and Afghan forces led by Timur Shah Durrani.
Background[edit]
In 1788, Timur Shah Durrani attempted to annex parts of Punjab to his empire. His army numbered 120,000 and he started his campaign in Punjab during the winter of 1788.[1] He marched towards Bahawalpur, trying to avoid the Sikhs at all costs.[2] During the campaign, the Shah was supported by Jodhpur and Jaipur.[3]
Battle[edit]
However, Giani Gian Singh is against this claim. He says that there were many skirmishes between the Sikhs and the Shah, one of them being near Sialkot. Here the two parties fought and the Afghan commander Ataullah Khan was slain by Natha Singh.[4]
Aftermath[edit]
The Afghans had looted 6,000,000 rupees in this campaign. The Shah realized that his brother-in-law Shah Alam II was blinded by Ghulam Qadir, who had been plundering Delhi for a long time.[5] Therefore, he prepared an operation in order to return Shah Alam II to the throne. He was however informed that the Marathas had already crowned him the emperor, which made him retreat.[6]
References[edit]
- ^ a b Hari Ram Gupta (1982). History Of The Sikhs Vol. IV The Sikh Commonwealth Or Rise And Fall Of Sikh Misls. p. 445.
- ^ Shahāmat Álī (1848). The History of Bahawalpur. p. 189.
- ^ Patwant Singh (2000). The Sikhs. p. 97. ISBN 9780375407284.
- ^ Singh, Giani Gian (1898). Panth Prakash. pp. 914–925.
- ^ Varma, Birendra (1969). "Afghan Ambassadors in India (1773–1800)". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 31: 335–343. ISSN 2249-1937. JSTOR 44138392.
- ^ Gandhi, Rajmohan (14 September 2013). Punjab: A History from Aurangzeb to Mountbatten. Aleph Book Company. ISBN 9789383064410.[permanent dead link]