Afghan–Sikh wars
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The Afghan–Sikh wars were a series of wars between the Durrani Empire (centred in present-day Afghanistan), and the Sikh Empire (located in the Punjab region). The conflict had its origins stemming from the days of the Dal Khalsa.
Background
The Sikh Confederacy had effectively achieved independence from the Mughal Empire in 1716, and expanded at its expense in the following decades, despite the Chhota Ghallughara. The Afsharid Persian emperor Nader Shah's invasion of the Mughal Empire (1738–40) dealt a heavy blow to the Mughals, but after Nader Shah's death in 1747, the Durrani Empire (roughly covering modern Afghanistan and Pakistan) declared its independence from Persia. Four years later, this new Afghan state came into conflict with the Sikh alliance.
First Phase
In 1748, Ahmad Shah Durrani invades and occupies Lahore.[7] Establishing a governor over Lahore, Ahmad marched his army east taking more territory.[7] The Sikhs would retake Lahore only to lose it to the Afghans by 12 April 1752.[8]
Ahmad Shah Durrani would keep Lahore with Sikh raids occasional into the lands, as the Sikhs would commence in guerilla warfare to try and kick the Afghans out of Punjab.[9]
Second Phase
In late 1758, the Sikhs recapture Lahore, however the Afghans would return in the 1760's, recapturing Lahore back to Durrani rule, this victory was short lived however, as Sikh forces had forced Durrani armies to advance upon them, this would lead to the Battle of Sialkot, where the Afghans would be defeated, and would be forced to leave their Punjab campaign in the wake of this defeat.[10][11]
The Sikhs would also capture capture Multan in 1772.[2]
The period after this would be known as the "Sikh Interlude Period", from 1772-1780.[2]
Third Phase (Campaigns of Timur Shah)
After the death of Ahmad Shah, his son, Timur Shah Durrani would ascend to the throne. Sensing stability, the Sikh misls had led a combined effort against the Durrani Empire in this, advancing and capturing Multan, however Timur Shah would return, repulsing and halting the Sikh invasion of Punjab.
With his gains secured, Timur Shah set out to recapture Multan in 1779, consolidating his armies at Peshawar and arriving at Multan in early 1780, Timur Shah had recaptured Multan, and the Sikh army was defeated.[12]
This phase ended with the death of Timur Shah on 20 May 1793, leading his successor, Zaman Shah Durrani to ascend to the Durrani throne.[13]
Fourth Phase (Campaigns of Zaman Shah)
Zaman Shah Durrani ascended to the Durrani throne after his father, Timur Shah had died on 20 May 1793. Zaman Shah would lead multiple invasions of Punjab against the Sikhs, his first invasion would be in November 1796.[14]
Zaman Shah had invaded Punjab in 1796 against the Sikhs, and had captured Lahore in January 1797, however this victory was short-lived, as intelligence from Kabul had warned of a possible Persian invasion of main Afghanistan. As a result, Zaman Shah was forced to abandon his first Punjab campaign and return home to mobilize an army to combat this threat, headed by his own brother, Mahmud Shah Durrani. the Sikhs had recaptured Lahore as he left.[4]
Second Invasion of Punjab
Having dealt with Mahmud Shah Durrani for the time being, Zaman Shah returned to Punjab and resumed his campaign once again, recapturing Lahore. He also appointed Ranjit Singh as governor of Lahore to try and divide the Sikhs. Zaman Shah returned to Kandahar in late 1799 during the winter, exhausted from these campaigns.[15]
Third Invasion of Punjab
Zaman Shah lead his third invasion of Punjab in the spring of 1800, plotted to deal with a rebellious Ranjit Singh, the same governor he put in charge of Lahore years prior. However, having civil strife in Afghanistan, he was forced to cut his campaigns hort and leave Punjab. Having to deal with his brother, Mahmud Shah Durrani once again. Shah Zaman would not return to Punjab, and he would be deposed by Mahmud Shah.[16]
Fifth Phase
In 1813, after demanding the return of the fort at Attock, the Durrani prime minister Wazir Fateh Khan besieged Attock.[17] A Punjabi relief force arrived and for three months the two armies faced each other, neither side moving.[17] As the heat from summer started to affect the armies, Dewan Mokham Chand marched his army to block the Afghans from getting water from the river.[17] Without water the Afghan troops began to suffer dehydration, so they launched attack after attack towards the river, but were unable to break through.[17] Chand, realizing the Afghans were weakened, charged his cavalry at the Afghans who broke and ran, losing two thousand men.[17]
Accusing Ranjit Singh of treachery, Fateh Khan set off from Kashmir at the head of 15,000 cavalry[18] in April 1813 and invested Attock Fort.[19] At the same time Ranjit Singh rushed Dewan Mokham Chand and Karam Chand Chahal from Burhan with a force of cavalry, artillery, and a battalion of infantry to meet the Afghans.[20]
Dewan Mokham Chand Nayyar encamped 8 miles (13 km) from the Afghan camp,[21] unwilling to risk a decisive engagement, although both sides engaged in numerous skirmishes and took losses. On 12 July 1813, the Afghans' supplies were exhausted and Dewan Mokham Chand Nayyar marched 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) from Attock to Haidaru, on the banks of the Indus River, to offer battle. On 13 July 1813, Dewan Mokham Chand Nayyar split the cavalry into four divisions, giving command of one division to Hari Singh Nalwa and taking command of one division himself. The lone battalion of infantry formed an infantry square protecting the artillery, with Gouse Khan commanding the artillery.[20] The Afghans took up positions opposite the Sikhs, with a portion of their cavalry under the command of Dost Mohammad Khan.
Fateh Khan opened the battle by sending his Pathans on a cavalry charge which was repulsed by heavy fire from the Sikh artillery.[20] The Afghans rallied under Dost Mohammad Khan, who led the Ghazis on another cavalry charge which threw one wing of the Sikh army into disarray and captured some artillery.[19] When it appeared the Sikhs had lost the battle, Dewan Mokham Chand led a cavalry charge atop a war elephant that repulsed the Afghans "at all points",[21] and routed the remaining Afghan troops.[22] Fateh Khan, fearing his brother, Dost Mohammad Khan, had died, escaped to Kabul and the Sikhs captured the Afghan camp, including the lost artillery pieces.[23]
Two months after the victory at Attock, Ranjit Singh launched a campaign to take Kashmir from the Durrani Empire.[24] A late Autumn start postponed the campaign until the next spring.[24] By June, an army of 30,000 men under the command of Ram Dyal, grandson of Dewan Mokham Chand, marched toward Baramulla, with a pincer attack of 20,000 men led by Ranjit Singh marching to Poonch.[24]
Ranjit's force was delayed by torrential rains, while Ram Dyal's army took the fortress of Baramulla on 20 July 1814.[24] When Dyal's army reached Shupaiyan, the governor of Kashmir, Azim Khan blocked his advance.[25] Fighting a delaying action, Dyal waited on a reinforcement of 5,000 men from Ranjit.[26] These reinforcements were forced to a standstill by Afghan snipers.[26]
Ranjit Singh's force made little progress.[26] Faced with a scorched earth from the fleeing populace, food supplies became a major issue for his army, followed by a cholera outbreak.[26] Meanwhile, Ram Dyal, who was entrenched near Srinagar, received a proposal from Azim Khan for a negotiated peace and was able to extricate himself from a difficult situation.[26] Ranjit Singh's campaign ended in failure.[26]
Amritsar, Lahore, and other large cities across the Sikh Empire were illuminated for two months afterwards in rejoicing over the victory.[27] After his defeat at Attock, Fateh Khan fought off an attempt by Ali Shah, the ruler of Persia, and his son Ali Mirza to capture the Durrani province of Herat, which left their newly captured province of Kashmir open to attack.[28]
Siege of Multan
In early January the Sikh force began their campaign with the capture of Nawab Muzaffar Khan's forts at Muzaffargarh and Khangarh. In February, the Sikh force under Kharak Singh reached Multan and ordered Muzaffar to pay the large tribute he owed and to surrender the fort, but Muzaffar refused. The Sikh forces won an engagement near the city but were unable to capture Muzaffar before he retreated into the fort. The Sikh army asked for more artillery and Ranjit Singh sent them the Zamzama and other large artillery pieces, which commenced fire on the walls of the fort. In early June, Sadhu Singh and a small band of other Akalis attacked the fort walls and discovered a breach in the wall. As they ran in to battle the unaware garrison the larger Sikh army was alerted and entered the fort through the breach. Muzaffar and his sons attempted a sortie to defend the fort but were killed in the battle.
The siege of Multan ended significant Afghan influence in the Peshawar region and led to multiple Sikh attempts at capturing and the final capture of Peshawar.[29]
Battle of Shopian
The battle took place in the Shopian region in the Kashmir region. This battle included the 1819 Kashmir expedition, which led to Kashmir being annexed to the Sikh Empire.[30]
When the Sikh army entered the city of Srinagar after the battle, Prince Kharak Singh guaranteed the personal safety of every citizen and ensured the city was not plundered. The peaceful capture of Srinagar was important as Srinagar, besides having a large Shawl-making industry, was also the center of trade between Panjab, Tibet, Iskardo, and Ladakh.[31]
After taking Srinagar, the Sikh army faced no major opposition in conquering Kashmir. However, when Ranjit Singh installed Moti Ram, the son of Dewan Mokham Chand, as the new governor of Kashmir, he also sent a "large body of troops" with him to ensure tribute from strongholds within Kashmir that might attempt to resist Sikh rule.[32] The capture of Kashmir set the boundaries and borders of the Sikh Empire with Tibet. The conquest of Kashmir marked an "extensive addition" to the Sikh Empire and "significantly" increased the empire's revenue and landmass.[31]
Sixth Phase
The Battle of Jamrud was the fifth and foremost battle within the third Afghan–Sikh war. The result of the battle is disputed amongst historians. Some contend the failure of the Afghans to take the fort and the city of Peshawar or town of Jamrud as a victory for the Sikhs. On the other hand, some state that the killing of Hari Singh Nalwa resulted in an Afghan victory. James Norris, Professor of Political Science at Texas A&M International University, states that the battle's outcome was inconclusive.
See also
Notes
References
- ^ Sughra, Bibi (1994). "Peshawar under the AFGHANS (1753-1819)" (PDF). PRR: 103. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
- ^ a b c Sughra 1994, p. 162.
- ^ Drahm 2020, p. 150.
- ^ a b Drahm 2020, p. 160.
- ^ https://archive.org/details/Book_1094/mode/2up
- ^ https://archive.org/details/Book_1094/mode/2up
- ^ a b Lansford 2017, p. 20.
- ^ Sughra 1994, p. 133.
- ^ Drahm 2020, p. 126.
- ^ https://archive.org/details/Book_1094/mode/2up
- ^ http://prr.hec.gov.pk/jspui/bitstream/123456789/5209/1/188.pdf
- ^ Sughra 1994, p. 159.
- ^ Drahm, Abdel (2020). "Afghanistan A History From 1260 To The Present". AAF: 155. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
- ^ Drahm 2020, p. 159.
- ^ Drahm 2020, p. 161.
- ^ Drahm 2020, p. 162.
- ^ a b c d e Singh 1999, p. 235.
- ^ Prakash 2002, p. 329
- ^ a b Griffin 1892, p. 192
- ^ a b c Prakash 2002, p. 330
- ^ a b M'Gregor 1846, p. 170
- ^ Jaques 2006, p. 81
- ^ Prakash 2002, pp. 330–331
- ^ a b c d Singh 1999, p. 238.
- ^ Singh 1999, p. 238-239.
- ^ a b c d e f Singh 1999, p. 239.
- ^ M'Gregor 1846, p. 171
- ^ "The English in Afghanistan". The North American Review. 277–230 (2). Cedar Falls, Iowa: University of Northern Iowa: 54. 1929.
- ^ Sandhu, Autar Singh (1935). General Hari Singh Nalwa 1791–1837. p. 10.
- ^ Chopra, Gulshan Lall. The Panjab as a Sovereign State, Lahore: Uttar Chand Kapur and Sons. p. 26.
- ^ a b Chopra (1928), p. 26
- ^ Prinsep & Prinsep (1846), p. 53
Sources
- Chopra, Gulshan Lall (1928), The Panjab as a Sovereign State, Lahore: Uttar Chand Kapur and Sons
- Dupree, Louis (1980). Afghanistan. Princeton University Press.
- Glover, William J. (2008). Making Lahore Modern: Constructing and Imagining a Colonial City. University of Minnesota Press.
- Grewal, J.S. (1990). The Sikhs of the Punjab. Cambridge University Press. p. 91. ISBN 0-521-63764-3. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
- Griffin, Lepel Henry (1892). Ranjit Singh. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
- Jaques, Tony (2006). Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: A-E. Greenwood Press. ISBN 978-0-313-33537-2.
- Lansford, Tom (2017). Afghanistan at War: From the 18th-Century Durrani Dynasty to the 21st Century. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781598847604.
- M'Gregor, William Lewis (1846). The history of the Sikhs; containing the lives of the Gooroos; the history of the independent Sirdars, or Missuls, and the life of the great founder of the Sikh monarchy, Maharajah Runjeet Singh. London: J. Madden.
- Mehta, Jaswant Lal (2005). Advanced Study in the History of Modern India 1707-1813. New Dawn Press, Inc.
- Prakash, Om (2002). Encyclopaedic History of Indian Freedom Movement. Anmol Publications. ISBN 978-81-261-0938-8.
- Singh, Khushwant (1999). A History of the Sikhs. Vol. 1, 1469–1839. Oxford University Press.
- Prinsep, Henry Thoby; Prinsep, James (1846), History of the Punjab: And of the Rise, Progress, and Present Condition of the Sect and Nation of the Sikhs (Volume II), Wm. H. Allen and Co., ISBN 978-1-142-34278-4