The Indian campaign of Ahmad Shah Durrani (1748–1769) was a series of invasions by the Afghan Emperor, Ahmad Shah Durrani against the declining Mughal Empire, the Maratha Empire, Sikh Confederacy, and numerous other Indian kingdoms. The primary basis of the invasions originated after the political independence of the Afghan Empire following the end of the Naderian Wars and persisted until Durrani's last invasion in 1769. The campaign is categorised into three wars: Afghan–Mughal War, Afghan–Maratha War, Afghan–Sikh War, and an array of local conflicts aimed at the subjugation of politically independent states such as Kalat and Kashmir.
Ahmad Shah led a total of nine invasions into India between 1748 and 1769. His objectives were met through the raids (taking the wealth and destroying sacred places belonging to the Indians) and deepening the political crisis in India. Of the invasions, the most significant attacks were in 1757 and 1761; sacking the city of Delhi in 1757, and defeating the Maratha confederacy at the decisive Third Battle of Panipat. His later invasions focused on conflicts with the Sikhs and stability of Durrani domains in Punjab.
Objectives of his Indian invasions
Afghanistan was a relatively poor country. As a result, Ahmad Shah, following in the footsteps of conquerors before him such as Mahmud of Ghazni, invaded India to plunder and obtain wealth. Relating as well from Muhammad of Ghor, Ahmad Shah invaded India to also establish his own political dominance, as the power vacuum following the decline of the Mughal Empire allowed him to repeat extensive campaigns, while also reviving the prominence of Afghans in India. Furthermore, by institutionalizing the casus belli of holy war, Ahmad Shah was able to direct the majority of his campaigns toward India.
Moreover, Ahmad Shah saw invasions as the proper way to propagate his strength. The Afghan chiefs and nobility initially saw him as an upstart, and as a result, Ahmad Shah sought victories to legitimize himself.
First Invasion (1747–1748)
Civil War in Lahore (1745–1747)
Following the death of Zakariya Khan the governor of Lahore in July 1745, the Mughal Wazier Qamaruddin Khan would appoint the two sons of Zakariya Khan as the governors of Lahore and Multan.Yahya Khan the son of Zakariya Khan was appointed governor of Lahore, and Shah Nawaz was appointed governor of Multan. Yahya Khan's administration over Lahore would soon be challenged by his brother Shah Nawaz, who soon arrived in Lahore on November 1746. Shah Nawaz demanded a complete division of their dead father's property.This dispute over Zakariya Khan's estate resulted in a war between the two brothers and their armies which lasted from November 1746 to March 1747.
On 17 March 1747, Shah Nawaz was able to defeat Yahya Khan and had held him in captivity. Shah Nawaz usurped the governorship over Lahore and appointed Kaura Mal as his diwan and recognized Adina Beg Khan as faujdar of the Jalandhar Doaba. Shah Nawaz began negotiating with the Delhi government to recognize his governorship over the province, and used his captive brother as a bargaining tool. However instead the Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah threatened direct military action against Shah Nawaz. Yahya Khan was also able to escape from Shah Nawaz's captivity and fled towards Delhi. Shah Nawaz soon began looking for foreign help. Shah Nawaz had heard of the military exploits of Ahmad Shah Durrani who had just taken Kabul and Peshawar from the Mughal governor Nasir Khan. After being advised by Adina Beg Khan, Shah Nawaz decided to invite Ahmed Shah for Military help. Ahmed Shah agreed to the request on the condition that Shah Nawaz accept Afghan suzerainty, and he soon began his invasion from Peshawar in December 1747.
Battle of Lahore (1748)
Adina Beg soon informed the Delhi government of Shah Nawaz's treachery. Qamaruddin Khan was disappointed at hearing the news and soon wrote a letter to Shah Nawaz. In this letter Qamaruddin Khan agreed to recognize Shah Nawaz's control over Lahore on the condition that he oppose Ahmad Shah's forces.Shah Nawaz agreed to the wazir's request and he now turned hostile towards the Afghans. Jahan Khan had crossed the Indus river with 8,000 of his men. Shah Nawaz fought the Afghan force and forced Jahan Khan to retreat towards Peshawar, where Jahan Khan waited for Ahmad Shah's forces to arrive. Ahmad Shah entered the Punjab and occupied the fort of Rohtas. When he heard news of Shah Nawaz changing his allegiance to the Mughals, he sent Sabir Shah and Muhammad Yar Khan to Lahore. However Shah Nawaz felt insulted by the remarks made by Sabir Shah and ordered him to be executed, while Muhammad Yar Khan was let go. Hearing news of Sabir Shah's execution, Ahmad Shah began his march towards the city of Lahore. He also confirmed the holdings of Rawalpindi to Muqarrab Khan a Gakkhar chief during Ahmad Shah's journey towards Gujrat.
Ahmad Shah Durrani had around 18,000 Afghan soldiers under his command, one third of which were from his own tribe. Durrani's army however lacked any artillery and was much smaller compared to the Mughals. Shah Nawaz had around 70,000 Soldiers under his command along with artillery. On 10 January 1748, Durrani and his army camped near the Shalamar gardens. The Afghan and Mughal Forces would fight one another on 11 January 1748.
Khwajah Asmatullah Khan, one of the Mughal commanders, had around 10,000 cavalry and 5,000 Musketeers, while Lachin beg another commander had around 5,000 soldiers. According to Historian Sir Jadhunath Sarkar, Asmatullah and Lachin Beg had around 16,000 soldiers under their command. Shah Nawaz sent Jalhe Khan, a Pashtun commander from Kasur, to oppose Durrani's forces. However instead Jalhe Khan defected to the Afghan side and Joined Ahmad Shah Durrani. Ahmad Shah sent 1,000 of his musketeers to fire upon the Mughal forces and to retreat beyond the enemies range. Shah Nawaz soon consulted a astrologer to know the result of the battle.The astrologer told Shah Nawaz that there should not be any fighting that day and to instead attack the Afghans the next day. Shah Nawaz agreed to this advice and told his officers Adina Beg and Diwan Kaura mal not to move out and oppose the Afghan forces and to only fight the Afghans within the Mughal entrenchments.
Ahmad Shah was able to overpower the Qizilbash soldiers of the Mughal army and began pursuing them into their entrenchments. Asmatullah Khan began calling in for reinforcements.Adina Beg failed in properly reinforcing Asmatullah and Adina Beg soon fled towards Lahore. Some of the Mughal soldiers took this as a sign of a ceasefire, and retreated to their trenches in complete disorder. The Afghans now launched a full-scale attack on the Mughal forces which forced Asmatullah Khan to retreat. The various guns and artillery that was stored in the fort of Hazrat Ishan fell in the hands of the Afghan forces. Adina Beg fired cannons and rockets onto the Afghan forces, however the Afghans were able to overpower the resistance offered by the Mughals. Shah Nawaz escaped Lahore and fled towards Delhi. Asmatullah Khan was killed during the battle.
Ahmad Shah Durrani and the Afghan forces entered Lahore on 12 January 1748. The previous members of the Lahore government that had been imprisoned by Shah Nawaz were released by the Afghans. Mir Momin Khan, Lakhpath Rai and Surat Singh all pleaded to Durrani to spare the city from plunder and paid a ransom to the Afghans. Ahmad Shah accepted the ransom and ordered his officers to make sure the Afghan soldiers wouldn't subject the city to plunder. Despite this, some parts of the city were looted by the Afghan forces. Various Guns, artillery, treasure and other goods all fell in the hands of the Afghan forces following their conquest of Lahore. Coins were also minted in the name of Ahmad Shah Durrani. Thousands of Women and Children were enslaved by the Afghans after their conquest of Lahore. The Afghans also conscripted thousands of Punjabis into the Afghan army. Ahmad Shah appointed Jalhe Khan of Kasur as the new governor of Lahore, with Mir Momin Khan as his deputy and Lakhpath Rai as his Diwan. Ahmad Shah stayed in the city of Lahore for 5 weeks and began his plans to advance towards Delhi.
Battle of Manupur
Durrani attacked India in 1748. He had faced Mughal, Rajput and Sikh coalitions in Sirhind, Ahmad Shah's Afghan troops swept aside the Mughal army's left flank (of Rajput stock) and raided their baggage train but a fire beginning in a captured rocket cart went on to ignite the Durrani artillery store, roasting thousands of soldiers alive and forcing Ahmad Shah Durrani's retreat. After the retreat of Durrani, Sikh bands under Charat Singh continued to harass them as they retreated to Kabul. he had to return home in failure. He lost to the Mughal soldiers, Rajput force's and Sikhs of the Phulkian Misl (also known as the Patiala State).
Second invasion (1748)
In November 1748, Ahmad Shah began his second invasion of India. Moin-ul-Mulk, the new governor of the Punjab, urgently requested reinforcement from the Mughals in Delhi. Moin-ul-Mulk, wishing to not fight the Afghans on open plains, remained on the defensive at Sodhra, as an ongoing power struggle with the former Mughal governor of Kabul, Nasir Khan, threatened his position. As a result, Jahan Khan was able to raid the countryside, including the Chaj Doab, whilst a party of Sikhs raided Lahore.
Ahmad Shah advanced to Kopra, and engaged in skirmishes with Moin-ul-Mulk's army. Overwhelmed with the rising power of the Sikhs and the Afghan invasion, Moin-ul-Mulk opened negotiation, ceding the revenues of Gujrat, Aurangabad, Sialkot, and Pasrur, which all amounted to revenues worth 1.4 million rupees yearly. Ahmad Shah returned to Afghanistan following the treaty, crossing through Peshawar, Dera Ismail Khan, and Dera Ghazi Khan. The regions of Dera Ismail Khan and Dera Ghazi Khan fell as he returned to Afghanistan, confirming the former tribal chiefs as governors in the region under his suzerainty.
Third Invasion (1751–1752)
Possibly due to Ahmad Shah's struggle in Khorasan, Moin-ul-Mulk failed to pay the agreed tribute to Ahmad Shah from his second invasion on the revenues of Gujrat, Aurangabad, Sialkot, and Pasrur. Inducing Ahmad Shah to invade again, he began in November 1751, leading his forces to invade the Punjab. Moin-ul-Mulk immediately sent 900,000 rupees forward as tribute, which Ahmad Shah seized and continued his march. With the advance guard under Jahan Khan, Ahmad Shah led his forces through Rohtas, Gujrat, and Shahdara. Jahan Khan's forces pillaged the countryside while skirmishes began with Moin-ul-Mulk, who raised his own force to meet the Afghans in battle. The advance of Ahmad Shah triggered mass panic in Lahore, with many fleeing to Delhi or Jammu for safety.
In January 1752, Ahmad Shah forded the Ravi in secrecy at Ghazipur, before advancing on Lahore. Jahan Khan began advancing on Lahore as well, initially being driven out of Faiz Bagh, and instead establishing himself at the Shalimar gardens. Moin-ul-Mulk immediately dashed back to Lahore, to which the Afghans laid siege for over four months. Receiving no aid from the Mughals, or any other nobles, Moin-ul-Mulk settled for a pitched battle with the Afghans outside of Lahore.
On 6 March, after a fierce battle, Moin-ul-Mulk was defeated and surrendered to Ahmad Shah, who received him in person. Impressed by the efforts of Moin-ul-Mulk in his resistance, Ahmad Shah instated him as the governor of Lahore under his suzerainty. Lahore was however, plundered and slaughtered. Following this, Ahmad Shah drafted a peace treaty with Moin-ul-Mulk, officiating the annexation of the Punjab including Multan and Lahore, and as far as Sirhind to the Durrani Empire. The Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah signed the treaty on 3 April 1752, ending Mughal rule in the Punjab.
Having conquered the Punjab, Ahmad Shah also dispatched his general, Shah Pasand Khan, with 15,000 men to Kashmir, which was embroiled in civil war. Supporting the deposed governor, Mir Muqim, Afghan forces quickly occupied Srinagar and established complete control in the province.
Fourth Invasion (1756–1757)
Moin-ul-Mulk governed the Punjab until his death in November 1753, and was succeeded by Mughlani Begum. In March 1756, Mughal vizier Imad ul-Mulk imprisoned and replaced her with Adina Beg. Mughlani Begum pleaded Ahmad Shah to lead another invasion, promising wealth.
Due to the tyrannies of Imad ul-Mulk, several nobles such as Najib ud-Daula, a chief of Rohilkand, and the new Mughal emperor Alamgir II, pleaded for Ahmad Shah to invade. Ahmad Shah accepted the invitations and began his fourth invasion in November 1756, leaving Peshawar on the 15th, and crossing Attock on the 26th with an army of 80,000 men. He reached Lahore on 20 December, seizing the city with little resistance. Ahmad Shah garnered tribute from the city before continuing his march, crossing the Sutlej river on 10 January at Ludhiana, while the advance guard under his general, Jahan Khan, seized Sirhind, Karnal, and Panipat.