The Battle of Nowshera, also called the Battle of Tihri, Battle of Naushahra, or Battle of Pir Sabaq, was fought in March 1823 near Nowshera between the forces of Ranjit Singh and Afghan-Pashtun forces led by Mohammad Azim Khan, then a leading Barakzai figure in Afghan politics. The battle followed Sikh expansion across the Indus River, the temporary Sikh occupation of Peshawar in 1818, and the submission of Yar Muhammad Khan of Peshawar to the Lahore Darbar.
The battle ended in a Sikh victory after intense fighting around the hill or mound at Tihri/Pir Sabaq. Akali Phula Singh and Balbhadra Kunwar were killed on the Sikh side, while the Khattak, Yusufzai, Afridi and other tribal forces suffered heavy losses. Muhammad Azim Khan withdrew from the field and died soon afterward, with Historians giving different explanations for his death. The victory strengthened Sikh power west of the Indus and reduced Afghan influence between the Indus and the Khyber region.
Background
Peshawar and the Afghan succession conflicts
The Peshawar Valley had formed part of the Mughal Subah-i-Kabul wa Peshawar until the occupation of the region by Nadir Shah Afshar in 1738. Ahmad Shah Abdali established an Afghan tribal confederation in 1747, but after the death of Timur Shah the Saddozai princes entered prolonged succession struggles. By the early nineteenth century, the Barakzai brothers had become increasingly influential in Afghan politics, while Ranjit Singh had emerged as the dominant ruler in the Punjab.
The Treaty of Amritsar of 1809 fixed the Sutlej as the boundary between Ranjit Singh's Sikh Empire and the British East India Company, which helped direct Sikh expansion toward the north and west of the river. By 1813, the Sikh Empire had become a major power west of the Sutlej, and Sikh control had extended into areas formerly attached to Afghan authority.
In August 1818, Wazir Fatah Khan was killed after being seized and blinded by Kamran, son of Shah Mahmud. His death accelerated the fragmentation of Afghan authority and provoked the Barakzai brothers to seek revenge. Mohammad Azim Khan, then governor of Kashmir, left the valley, defeated Kamran, proclaimed Ayub Khan as sovereign, and participated in the Barakzai division of Afghan provinces. The political disruption in Afghanistan created an opening for Sikh operations across the Indus.
Sikh occupation of Peshawar in 1818
In October 1818, Ranjit Singh captured Khairabad and nearby territory on the western bank of the Indus from Firoz Khan, the Khattak chief. Sikh forces also took Jahangira and Khairabad after Khattak chiefs killed Sikh representatives sent under Bawa Phaddi. Sham Singh reported that Peshawar lacked an organized army, and Ranjit Singh advanced on the city.
Peshawar was occupied by Sikh forces on 20 November 1818, while its governor Yar Muhammad Khan Barakzai fled into Yusufzai territory or Ashnaghar. The leading chiefs and citizens paid a tribute or nazarana of 25,000 rupees, which prevented the city from being pillaged in 1818. Fourteen heavy Afghan guns were removed from Peshawar, and Jahandad Khan, the former governor or faujdar of Attock, was appointed to administer the city. The Sikh army did not leave him a strong garrison or adequate war material, and Yar Muhammad Khan soon expelled Jahandad Khan and recovered Peshawar.
After this first occupation, Ranjit Singh did not immediately move against Yar Muhammad Khan. In 1818, the conquest of Multan ended Saddozai authority there after an 82-day siege, during which Muzaffar Khan Saddozai and several members of his family died in the defence of the city. In 1819, the Sikh Empire conquered Kashmir and Dera Ghazi Khan, while refugees from these conquests moved toward Kabul. In the following years, Sikh operations brought Dera Ismail Khan, Bannu, Tank, Darband and Mankera under Sikh influence or control.
Yar Muhammad Khan later accepted a tributary relationship with the Sikh Empire. One account records a June 1822 payment of 40,000 rupees in cash and several horses, followed by an agreement for an annual payment of 20,000 rupees. Another account records a mission by Hafiz Rohullah to Lahore and a payment of one lakh rupees as a token of tributary acceptance. A further account records that only part of a larger expected tribute was paid, along with the gift of a horse.
Prelude
Mohammad Azim Khan rejected Yar Muhammad Khan's submission to Ranjit Singh and sought to reassert Afghan authority over Peshawar and the trans-Indus districts. In 1822 he moved into Peshawar, condemned Yar Muhammad Khan's conduct, and called for a religious war against the Sikhs. Sayyids, mullahs and pirs encouraged Yusufzai, Khattak, Afridi and other tribesmen to assemble against the Sikh forces.
Mohammad Azim Khan's brothers and relatives played important roles in the mobilization. Dost Muhammad Khan and Jabbar Khan helped organize the tribal forces, while Samad Khan or Abdul Samad Khan raised a separate body of ghazis drawn from Khattak and Yusufzai groups. Muhammad Zaman Khan, another relative of Azim Khan, destroyed the bridge at Attock before the Sikhs could cross, forcing Sikh troops to find another crossing while under fire.
Sayed Akbar Shah, a descendant of Pir Baba, was prominent among the religious leaders who encouraged the tribal mobilization. The tribal contingents included Yusufzai and Mandar leaders from Ismaila, Shewa, Zaida, Galyarha, Toru, Kalabat, Hund, Hoti, Jamal Gharay, Rustam and Totalay. Religious figures who participated included Shaikh Muhammad Shoaib, popularly known as Todery Baba, and followers of Akhund Abdul Ghafoor, later known as Saidu Baba. Some levies were poorly trained and lightly armed, and boys as young as twelve joined the tribal forces with knives or daggers.
Ranjit Singh responded by sending forces under Prince Sher Singh and other commanders, including Hari Singh Nalwa, Attar Singh Sandhanwalia, Dhana Singh Malwai, Diwan Kirpa Ram, and infantry trained by European officers such as Ventura and Allard. Misr Diwan Chand and Ranjit Singh followed with additional troops, and Historian Hasrat states columns under Prince Kharak Singh and Misr Diwan Chand converging on Nowshera. Ranjit Singh crossed the Indus on 13 March 1823 with a strong army and heavy artillery. Jai Singh Atariwala, who had previously gone over to Dost Muhammad Khan, sought Ranjit Singh's pardon and rejoined him before the battle.
Opposing forces
Estimates of the armies differ. Bikrama Jit Hasrat gives both the Sikh army and the Afghan or mujahideen forces as roughly equal, about 20,000 to 25,000 men. Tariq and Qadir record a Sikh official estimate of 45,000 Khattak and Yusufzai volunteers under Sayed Akbar Shah and Abdul Samad Khan, with 25,000 Sikh troops under General Ventura, while also noting that most accounts put the opposing forces at about 20,000 Pakhtuns and 25,000 Sikhs. Historian Jonathan Lee gives 20,000 tribal levies on the hill of Pir Sabak and points out the Sikh advantages in numbers, artillery, and European-trained formations.
Ranjit Singh divided his army into two main bodies. One division, led by himself with Misr Diwan Chand, Balbhadra Kunwar and Akali Phula Singh, faced the Yusufzai and Khattak forces at Tihri. The other division, including Hari Singh Nalwa, Jamadar Khushhal Singh, Sher Singh, Budh Singh Sandhanwalia and Ventura, was assigned to prevent Mohammad Azim Khan from crossing the Kabul River and joining the ghazis. Ventura and Allard were also placed with eight platoons and two guns to block Azim Khan from the Nowshera Chahan side.
The Afghan-Pashtun side was divided by the Kabul River. The tribal ghazis were placed on the left bank of the river at or near Pir Sabak/Tihri, while Mohammad Azim Khan remained on the opposite bank with Durrani, Ghilzai, Kohistani and household troops. This separation prevented the two wings from easily supporting each other during the fighting. The decision may have been intended to protect Azim Khan's rear against the Sikh garrison at Khairabad, which had already defeated an Afghan force at Jehangira.
Battle
Opening movements
The Yusufzai and Khattak forces took position at Tihri, on the left bank of the Kabul River, about two kilometres from Nowshera toward Peshawar. The Afghan irregulars occupied high ground at Naushera or the hill of Teri, while Azim Khan encamped on the right bank of the Kabul River, a few kilometres from Tihri. His brothers and associates organized the tribal forces, while Azim Khan remained apart from the main fighting near Chamkawa, about five miles east of Peshawar.
The first Sikh movements did not immediately dislodge the tribal forces. Sikh troops attempting to climb the hill came under heavy fire and stone-throwing from above, and Sahaye Singh was killed by a shot to the head while Mahan Singh was stabbed. The Sikh advance faltered, and part of the army retreated. Ranjit Singh ordered commanders to stop fleeing troops and personally directed a renewed attack with infantry, reserve troops and other formations.
Akali Nihang Offensive
Akali Phula Singh's charge became central to the battle narrative. At a stage when the Sikh line was under severe pressure, Phula Singh advanced toward the hill with a smaller Akali force and called on the wider army to follow him. The Akalis dismounted and drove their horses toward the opposing fighters before engaging at close quarters, producing confusion in the Afghan-Pashtun ranks. War cries from both sides were shout in the fighting, including Sikh invocations of Sat Sri Akal and Muslim invocations such as Ya Allah and Allah-o-Akbar.
Phula Singh was killed during the fighting on or near the hill. One detailed narrative records that he continued the attack from an elephant after being struck from his horse, and that he was killed by matchlock fire while leading his followers forward. Tariq and Qadir record that Phula Singh, Gurba Singh Manas, Karam Singh Chahal and Balbhadra Kunwar were killed with about 200 men during the counterattack.
Containment of Mohammad Azim Khan
While the main struggle took place around Tihri/Pir Sabaq, a Sikh detachment held Mohammad Azim Khan on the opposite side of the Kabul River. The division under Hari Singh Nalwa, Sher Singh, Ventura and other commanders prevented Azim Khan from joining the ghazis. Jonathan Lee states that Ventura crossed the river to confront Azim Khan, where initial skirmishing took place, Ventura then withdrew, drawing an Afghan cavalry charge into Sikh artillery fire from the opposite bank. This artillery fire caused Azim Khan's force to break and retreat.
Attempts to send help across the river failed. Boats carrying reinforcements capsized, causing many men to drown or be swept away and five boats sent by Azim Khan were also struck by Ventura's force and sank in the river. One explanation for Azim Khan's withdrawal links it to a rumour spread by Ranjit Singh that Azim Khan's harem and treasury had been captured at Mechani, which drew his attention away from the battlefield. Other explanations include concern for his treasure, fear of assassination after Yar Muhammad Khan's defection and Shah Shuja's support for the Sikhs, distrust of the Khyber ghazis, and fear of being cut off by Sikh attacks.
Final phase
The fighting continued with repeated assaults, artillery fire and close combat. The tribal forces initially resisted Sikh attacks and at times forced Sikh troops back from the hill. Ranjit Singh personally led or ordered renewed attacks, and the Sikh army eventually brought artillery, infantry and cavalry pressure to bear on the tribal position.
The surviving ghazis were eventually driven from the hill and routed. After hours of fighting, Ranjit Singh led a cavalry reserve charge when the Sikh infantry began to waver, after which the surviving tribal fighters fled under pursuit. About 200 Yusufzais made a final stand on Pir Sabak under Muhammad Akbar and were killed. Tariq and Qadir state that the battle lasted two days and one night, while Hari Ram Gupta treats the decisive battle as occurring on 14 March 1823.
Casualties
Casualty figures differ substantially among Historians. Hari Ram Gupta gives one figure of about 3,000 tribal dead and wounded and about 2,000 Sikh dead, including Akali Phula Singh and Balbhadra Kunwar. In another passage, Gupta gives about 5,000 Sikh losses and twice that number for the Afghan side. Chhabra gives about 4,000 Pashtuns and 2,000 Sikhs killed. Tariq and Qadir record Captain Wade's estimate of 2,000 Sikhs and 3,000 Pashtuns killed, and also record another figure of 3,000 Muslims and 2,500 troops of Ranjit Singh killed at Nowshera.