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TheAfghan–Sikh wars spanned from 1748 to 1837 in theIndian subcontinent, and saw multiple phases of fighting between theDurrani Empire and theSikh Empire (and its predecessors), mainly in and aroundPunjab region. The conflict's origins stemmed from the days of theDal Khalsa, and continued after theEmirate of Kabul succeeded the Durrani Empire.
TheSikh Confederacy had effectively achieved independence from theMughal Empire in 1716, and expanded at its expense in the following decades, despite theChhota Ghallughara. TheAfsharidPersian emperorNader Shah's invasion of the Mughal Empire (1738–40) dealt a heavy blow to the Mughals, but afterNader Shah's death in 1747,Ahmed Shah Abdali, the founder of theDurrani Empire declared independence fromPersia. Four years later, this new Afghan state came into conflict with the Sikh alliance.
On 12 January 1748,Ahmad Shah Durrani invaded and occupiedLahore,[4] after the Mughal governor of Lahore, Shah Nawaz Khan, fled to Delhi.[5] Establishing a governor over Lahore, Ahmad marched his army east taking more territory,[4] but was defeated at theBattle of Manupur by Mughals in alliance with Sikhs[6] and fled back to Kandahar.[5] Sikh bands underCharat Singh,Jassa Singh Ahluwalia andAla Singh continued to harass Durrani forces as they retreated. Thus, the first invasion of Shah proved a failure but it gave an opportunity to the Sikhs to organize themselves into theDal Khalsa, an army of the Sikh Confederacy, atAmritsar in March 1748.[7] The Sikhs retook Lahore only to lose it to the Afghans by 12 April 1752.[4]
The Sikhs usedguerilla warfare to try to oust the Afghans from Punjab.[8] In November 1757, the Sikhs were defeated by the Afghan army atBattle of Amritsar (also known as the Battle of Gohalwar), under the command ofTimur Shah Durrani, son of Ahmad Shah Durrani.[9] After witnessing the fall of Lahore, the Durrani commander-in-chief Jahan Khan and Timur Shah fled the city, and while trying to cross theChenab andRavi rivers, thousands of Afghan soldiers were drowned and much of the soldiers' baggage abandoned.[8] Sikhs took the captured Afghan prisoners to Amritsar to clean the sacred pool in Amritsar that was desecrated by the Afghans.[8] In 1758, the Sikhs defeated the Afghanfaujdar (military officer) Sa‘adat Khan Afridi, who fled fromJalandhar, followed with the defeat of Afghan army from all direction. Though the Sikhs captured and plundered Lahore,[10] the Afghans recaptured Lahore in 1761, but just within a couple of months, in May 1761, the Sikh army defeated the Afghan army, led by Ahmad Shah's governor of the Chahar Mahal, followed with defeat and surrender of relief party sent fromKandahar.[11] Thereafter, Sikhs captured Lahore.[11] In September 1761, nearGujranwala, Ahmad Shah Durrani's governor of the province of Lahore, was defeated by the Sikhs, continued with the defeat and ousting of the remaining commanders of Durrani's, eventually bringing the entire territories from the Satluj to the Indus, under Sikh occupation, along with Bist Jalandhar Doab, Sarhind, Rachna and the Chaj Doabs.[10] Ahmad Shah lost most of the Punjab to Sikhs.[11]
In October 1762, Ahmad Shah Durrani attacked Amritsar.[12] In December 1762, he fought a skirmish with Sikh forces at theBattle of the Ravi Ford in December 1762. In November 1763, Sikh forces had forced Durrani armies to advance upon them, which led to theBattle of Sialkot, where the Afghans were defeated, and were forced to leave their Punjab campaign in the wake of this defeat.[13][14] At Gujranwala, Jahan Khan was heavily defeated by the Sikhs, who then continued their victory by sacking the towns of Malerkotla and Morinda,[12] followed with the defeat of the commander of Rohtas Fortress, Sarbaland Khan Saddozai, who was captured and imprisoned but later released after consenting to the Sikh sovereignty.[12] The reports of catastrophe enraged Ahmad Shah and wrote to Nasir Khan, beglar begi of Khalat, to join him in jihad (holy war) against the Sikhs, to destroy them and to enslave their women and children, but Ahmad Shah's march to Punjab in 1764, resulted in failure of Jihad with the defeat, ambush and ousting of advance guards by the Sikhs outside of Lahore.[12] In 1765, Ahmad Shah marched again to Punjab with Qazi Mur Muhammad but his authority was only restricted within his camp as he remained on the defensive side with Sikhs swarming around the camp, which eventually resulted in Ahmad Shah's return to Kabul without pursuing even a single battle, where the Qazi noticed with disappointment that the country from Sirhind to Derajat was divided amongst the Sikhs with their sovereignty[10] The Sikh sovereignty was further acknowledged in Lahore by striking a coin which pierced the same inscription that fifty five years ago was used by Banda Singh Bahadur on his seal, followed with re-establishment of 13 Sikh rule.[10]
The Sikhs would also captureMultan in 1772.[15][16] The period after this would be known as the "Sikh Interlude Period", from 1772 to 1780.[17]
Timur Shah ascended to the throne of theDurrani Empire after his father,Ahmad Shah Durrani's death.[18] Timur Shah consolidated his rule through multiple attempts, and also attempted an earlier campaign in 1775, however realizing the weakness of his army in view of smaller in number, Timur Shah retired toPeshawar which proceeded with rebellion by Faizullah Khan,[19] who plotted to assassinate Timur Shah but was cunningly executed.[20] In late 1779, Timur Shah decided to conquerMultan.[21] Due to Sikhs having been in possession of the provinces ofLahore and Multan, these provinces served as a barrier for any attempt by Timur Shah to invade, many chiefs and nobility, dependencies of Durranis, paid no respect to the Durrani sovereignty, such asSind which reduced the amount of tribute and hardly paid it, mostly due to its concurrent civil war between theTalpurs, and theKalhoras;Nasir Khan Balouch, the ruler of the Khanate of Kalat under Timur Shah did not acknowledge the authority of Afghan monarch, as a result, inducing other Durrani chiefdoms to do the same, including the chief ofBahawalpur, who treated the authority of Timur Shah with no respect.[22] Timur Shah thereupon tried to recover Multan by diplomacy and therefore sent Haji Ali Khan, as his agent, along with companions, to the Bhangi Sikh Chiefs to negotiate, with advice to behave and be polite, but instead, Haji Ali Khan threatened the Bhangi Chiefs to retire from Multan or face the royal wrath. The Bhangis tied Haji to the tree and shot him dead whereas his companions were left unharmed and sent back to report to Timur.[22] Upon the news of death of his agent, Timur Shah detached a force of 18,000 men that includedYusafzais,Durranis,Mughals andQizalbashes under general Zangi Khan,[23] with orders to march by less known routes and fall upon the Sikhs unaware and Zangi Khan gave strict orders to his army to keep the movement secret. Zangi Khan halted 25 km from the Sikh camps with orders to imprison anyone who goes in the direction of the Sikh camp to make the Sikhs aware of their presence. Timur Shah positioned himself in the centre, at the head of 5,000 Yusafzai men.[24] Little before daybreak, early morning, the Sikhs completely unaware of Afghan army's presence, were attacked, and though unorganized, the Sikhs gave tough resistance but were eventually overwhelmed. About 3000 Sikhs were killed, and 500 others drowned in riverJhelum in trying to cross it during the Sikh retreat, while 2000 escaped by successfully reaching the opposite bank of the river.[25] Following the victory, Timur Shah Durrani captured Multan after meeting the relieving Sikh force inShujabad where a severe battle was fought on 8 February 1780. The Sikhs lost 2,000 men in killed and wounded and proceeded to flee towards Lahore. Timur sent a large army in pursuit of them and managed to overtake them at Hujra Muqim Khan, 64 km south west of Lahore. After this successful juncture, Timur hurried from Shujabad to Multan and ordered a general massacre in the city and besieged the fort in which the Sikh army was residing.[24] Negotiations were held and with the acceptance of conditions, Timur took over the fort on 18 February 1780, following which Timur Shah appointed Muzaffar Khan as theNazim of Multan and Abdul Karim Khan Babar, a defected Muslim general of the Sikh army was appointed as Naib (Chief officer) of Muzaffar Khan.[26] Multan would remain under Afghan rule until its loss in 1818 to the Sikh Empire, during theSiege of Multan.
This phase ended with the death of Timur Shah on 20 May 1793, leading his successor,Zaman Shah Durrani to ascend to theDurrani throne.
Zaman Shah Durrani ascended to theDurrani throne after his father, Timur Shah died on 20 May 1793. Zaman Shah lead multiple campaigns of Punjab against the Sikhs. His first campaign was in November 1796.[27]
Zaman Shah's campaign of Punjab in 1796 against the Sikhs, led to capture ofLahore in January 1797,[28] without any opposition as the Sikh chiefs retired to Amritsar to protect the holy city.[29] Zaman Shah progressed towards Amritsar on 13 January 1797, where he was defeated by the Sikhs, 10 km away from the city.[30] As intelligence from Kabul had warned of a possible Persian invasion of mainAfghanistan, 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 recaptured Lahore as he left.[28] After retreat, he left his deputy general, Ahmad Khan Shahanchi-bashi in charge, along with Afghan soldiers but he too was defeated and killed by the Sikhs.[31]
Having dealt withMahmud Shah Durrani for the time being, Zaman Shah returned toPunjab and resumed his campaign once again, occupyingLahore[32] in autumn of 1798, without opposition, as it was strategy of Ranjit Singh to drive them into Lahore and then lay siege to the city.[33] Zaman Shah intended to march on Delhi but the Sikhs laid waste around 150 km of his camp to stop supplies and engaged in skirmishes. Facing determined foe who could cut off his communication with Kabul, Shah Zaman exercised discretion and returned to Afghanistan with his troops on 4 January 1799.[29] Bhangi Sikh Misl recaptured Lahore.[34] Zaman Shah then appointed 19 yr oldRanjit Singh as governor of Lahore to try to divide the Sikhs and returned to Peshawar where Sikhs all along harried the Afghans to river Jhelum. While crossing the river, Zaman Shah lost most men, supplies and heavy artillery due to upsurge. Eventually, Shah Zaman and his remaining army reachedKandahar in late 1799, exhausted from the campaign.[32]
Zaman Shah set out his third campaign ofPunjab in the spring of 1800, plotted to deal with a rebelliousRanjit Singh. However, having civil strife in Afghanistan, he was forced to cut his campaign short, 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.[35]
In 1813, after demanding the return of the fort at Attock, the Durrani prime minister Wazir Fateh Khan besieged Attock.[36] A Punjabi relief force arrived and for three months the two armies faced each other, neither side moving.[36] 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.[36] Without water the Afghan troops began to suffer dehydration, so they launched attack after attack towards the river, but were unable to break through.[36] Chand, realizing the Afghans were weakened, charged his cavalry at the Afghans who broke and ran, losing two thousand men.[36]
Accusing Ranjit Singh of treachery, Fateh Khan set off from Kashmir at the head of 15,000cavalry[37] in April 1813 andinvested Attock Fort.[38] At the same time Ranjit Singh rushed Dewan Mokham Chand and Karam Chand Chahal fromBurhan with a force of cavalry, artillery, and abattalion of infantry to meet the Afghans.[39]
Dewan Mokham Chand Nayyar encamped 8 miles (13 km) from the Afghan camp,[40] 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 aninfantry square protecting the artillery, with Gouse Khan commanding the artillery.[39] The Afghans took up positions opposite the Sikhs, with a portion of their cavalry under the command ofDost Mohammad Khan.
Fateh Khan opened the battle by sending hisPathans on acavalry charge which was repulsed by heavy fire from the Sikh artillery.[39] 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.[38] When it appeared the Sikhs had lost the battle, Dewan Mokham Chand led a cavalry charge atop awar elephant that repulsed the Afghans "at all points",[40] androuted the remaining Afghan troops.[41] 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.[42]
Two months after the victory at Attock, Ranjit Singh decided to capitalize on instability in the Durrani Kingdom, and launched a campaign to takeKashmir from the Durrani Empire.[43] A late Autumn start postponed the campaign until the next spring.[43] By June, an army of 30,000 men under the command of Ram Dyal, grandson ofDewan Mokham Chand, marched toward Baramulla, with a pincer attack of 20,000 men led by Ranjit Singh marching to Poonch.[43]
Ranjit's force was delayed by torrential rains, while Ram Dyal's army took the fortress of Baramulla on 20 July 1814.[43] When Dyal's army reached Shupaiyan, the governor of Kashmir,Azim Khan blocked his advance.[44] Fighting a delaying action, Dyal waited on a reinforcement of 5,000 men from Ranjit.[45] These reinforcements were forced to a standstill by Afghan snipers.[45]
Ranjit Singh's force made little progress.[45] Faced with a scorched earth from the fleeing populace, food supplies became a major issue for his army, followed by a cholera outbreak.[45] Meanwhile, Ram Dyal, who was entrenched nearSrinagar, received a proposal from Azim Khan for a negotiated peace and was able to extricate himself from a difficult situation.[45] Ranjit Singh's campaign ended in failure.[45]
Amritsar, Lahore, and other large cities across the Sikh Empire were illuminated for two months afterwards in rejoicing over the victory.[46] After his defeat at Attock, Fateh Khan fought off an attempt byAli Shah, the ruler ofPersia, and his sonAli Mirza to capture theDurrani province ofHerat, which left their newly captured province of Kashmir open to attack.[47]
In early January the Sikh force began their campaign with the capture ofNawab Muzaffar Khan's forts atMuzaffargarh andKhangarh. In February, the Sikh force underKharak Singh reached Multan and ordered Muzaffar to pay the largetribute 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 theZamzama and other large artillery pieces, which commenced fire on the walls of the fort. In early June, Sadhu Singh and a small band of otherAkalis 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 asortie to defend the fort but were killed in the battle.
The siege of Multan ended significantAfghan influence in thePeshawar region and led to multiple Sikh attempts at capturing and the final capture of Peshawar.[48]
The battle took place in theShopian region in theKashmir region. This battle included the 1819 Kashmir expedition, which led to Kashmir being annexed to theSikh Empire.[49]
When the Sikh army entered the city ofSrinagar 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 largeShawl-making industry, was also the center of trade betweenPanjab,Tibet,Iskardo, andLadakh.[50]
After taking Srinagar, the Sikh army faced no major opposition in conqueringKashmir. 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.[51] The capture of Kashmir set the boundaries and borders of the Sikh Empire withTibet. The conquest of Kashmir marked an "extensive addition" to the Sikh Empire and "significantly" increased the empire's revenue and landmass.[50]
The battle took place on 14 March 1823, in the bloody battle of Nowshera, Ranjit Singh led Sikh force's defeatedYusufzai Afghan supported by the Peshawar sardars.Azim KhanBarakzai died shortly after the battle fromcholera.[52]
TheBattle of Jamrud was the 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 ofPeshawar or town ofJamrud as a victory for the Sikhs. On the other hand, some state that the killing ofHari 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.[53][54]
During the life time of Ahmad Shāh Abdali, the Sikhs under Jhanda Singh and Lahna Singh succeeded in capturing Multan on 5th January 1772
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