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The Afghan–Sikh wars were a series of wars between the Islamic 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 Shad Durrani invades, sacks and occupies Lahore. Establishing a governor over Lahore, Ahmad marched his army east taking more territory. The Sikhs would retake Lahore only to lose it to the Afghans by 12 April 1752.
Ahmad raids India in 1757, and at battle of Amritsar, his son Timur Durrani, is defeated by the Sikhs. By February 1758, the Durrani governor of Lahore, General Jahan Khan, is defeated by the Sikhs.
Second Phase
In 1766, Ahmad Shah Durrani, again invaded India, taking Lahore without a fight. The Sikhs withdrew, resorting to guerrilla warfare against the Afghans. Ahmad marched on to Amritsar, massacring the population and destroying the city, however his campaign was short-lived. Faced with unpaid troops and internal strife back home in Kandahar, Ahmad was forced to march back to Afghanistan. Ahmad Shah died in 1772, and by 1799, Sikhs were back in possession of Lahore.
Third Phase
Battle of Attock
Main article: Battle of AttockSiege of Multan
Main article: Siege of Multan (1818)Battle of Shopian
Main article: Battle of ShopianBattle of Nowshera
Main article: Battle of NowsheraBattle of Jamrud
Main article: Battle of JamrudSee also
Notes
- According to Grewal the battle was indecisive.
References
- Mehta 2005, p. 303.
- ^ Dupree 1980, p. 339.
- ^ Lansford 2017, p. 20.
- Grewal 1990, p. 91.
- Glover 2008, p. 12.
Sources
- 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.
- Lansford, Tom (2017). Afghanistan at War: From the 18th-Century Durrani Dynasty to the 21st Century. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781598847604.
- Mehta, Jaswant Lal (2005). Advanced Study in the History of Modern India 1707-1813. New Dawn Press, Inc.
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