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<div>{{Short description|1839 battle of the First Anglo-Afghan War}}<br />
{{about|the 1839 battle|other battles|Battle of Ghazni (disambiguation)}}<br />
{{Infobox military conflict<br />
| conflict = Battle of Ghazni<br />
| partof = the [[First Anglo-Afghan War]]<br />
| image = File:Storming Column entering Fortress at Ghuznee.jpg<br />
| image_size = 300<br />
| caption = Lithograph depicting British troops storming the gates of the fortress.<br />
| date = 23 July 1839<br />
| place = [[Ghazni]], [[Afghanistan]]<br />
| result = British victory<br />
| territory = <br />
| combatant1 = {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[British Empire]]<br /><br />
[[File:Flag of the British East India Company (1801).svg|23px]] [[East India Company]]<br />[[Durrani Empire|Durrani Kingdom]]<br />
| combatant2 = [[Emirate of Afghanistan|Emirate of Kabulistan]]<br />
| commander1 = {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} Sir [[John Keane, 1st Baron Keane|John Keane]]<br />
| commander2 = Hyder Khan<br />
| strength1 = 20,500<br />
| strength2 = 3,500<br />
| casualties1 = 200 killed and wounded<br />
| casualties2 = 500 killed,<br> 1,600 captured<br />
}}<br />
{{Campaignbox First Anglo-Afghan War}}<br />
<br />
The '''Battle of Ghazni''' (or Ghuznee) took place in the city of [[Ghazni]] in central [[Afghanistan]] on Tuesday, July 23, 1839, during the [[First Anglo-Afghan War]].<br />
<br />
==Prelude==<br />
In the 1830s, the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|British]] were firmly entrenched in [[India]] but by 1837, feared a Russian invasion through the [[Khyber Pass|Khyber]] and [[Bolan Pass]]es as the [[Russian Empire]] had expanded towards the British dominion. The British sent an envoy to [[Kabul]] to form an alliance with Afghanistan's emir, [[Dost Mohammad Khan|Dost Muhammad]] against Russia. The Emir was in favour of an alliance but wanted British help in recapturing [[Peshawar]] which the [[Sikh]]s had captured in 1834.<ref name="Afghan Wars">{{cite web| url=http://www.national-army-museum.ac.uk/exhibitions/afghanistan/page2.shtml| title=First Afghan War| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071024133311/http://www.national-army-museum.ac.uk/exhibitions/afghanistan/page2.shtml| archive-date=2007-10-24}}</ref> The British refused to help. Dost Muhammad then started negotiating with the Russians who had also sent an envoy to Kabul.<ref name="Afghan Wars"/> This led the [[Governor General of India]], [[George Eden, 1st Earl of Auckland|Lord Auckland]] to conclude that Dost Muhammad was anti-British.<ref name="Afghan Wars"/> British fears of a Russian invasion of India took one step closer to becoming a reality when negotiations between the Afghans and Russians broke down in 1838. This led to [[Persian Empire|Persian]] troops, along with their Russian allies, attacking the city of [[Herat]] in western Afghanistan in an attempt to annex it. Russia, wanting to increase its presence in South and Central Asia, had formed an alliance with Persia, which had territorial disputes with Afghanistan as Herat had been part of the Persian empire and had only been taken over by Afghanistan in 1750. Lord Auckland's plan was to drive away the besiegers and install a ruler in Afghanistan who was pro-British. The British chose [[Shuja Shah Durrani]] to be the new leader of Afghanistan. He was the former ruler of Afghanistan and had formed a strategic alliances with Britain during the [[Napoleonic Wars]] against Russia and [[France]], but had been deposed and was living in exile in [[Lahore]].<br />
<br />
==Invasion of Afghanistan==<br />
{{More citations needed section|date=March 2022}}<br />
The British assembled two divisions from their [[Bengal Army]] commanded by Sir Harry Fane and another force of a single division from [[Mumbai|Bombay]] under the command of [[John Keane (British soldier)|Sir John Keane]].<ref name="Ghazni">{{cite web| url=http://www.britishbattles.com/first-afghan-war/ghuznee.htm| title= British Battles: Battle of Ghazni| access-date=2006-05-12| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060613012608/http://britishbattles.com/first-afghan-war/ghuznee.htm| archive-date= 13 June 2006 | url-status= live}}</ref> The Bombay force, numbering some 6,000 men, would sail by sea and land near the [[Indus river]] and then march into Afghanistan to join Fane's forces. Before the invasion was set to begin, news had reached India that the Persians and the Russians had abandoned the siege of Herat.{{Citation needed|date=April 2009}} Many British officers then believed that there was no longer a reason to invade Afghanistan.{{Citation needed|date=April 2009}} However, Lord Aukland was adamant and pressed on.{{Citation needed|date=April 2009}} The size of the invasion force was reduced from three divisions to two because there was no longer any prospect of confronting Persian and Russian forces.{{Citation needed|date=April 2009}} The second Bengal division which was originally supposed to take part in the invasion was now relegated as a reserve force and would remain in India.<ref name="Ghazni"/> The quickest route to Kabul was to march across the Punjab and enter Afghanistan by way of [[Peshawar]] and the [[Khyber Pass]], but [[Ranjit Singh]], the ruler of [[Punjab region|Punjab]] would never consent to such a large force crossing the Punjab. The invasion route had to be through the southern passes, with the approach to Kabul via Kandahar and Ghazni; a journey three times the distance of the direct route.<ref name="Ghazni"/> Therefore, after an assembly in a grand review at Ferozepore, Ranjit Singh, the Maharajah of the Punjab brought out the ''Dal Khalsa'' to march alongside the sepoy troops of the East India Company and the British troops in India.<ref>Perry, James ''Arrogant Armies'', Edison: CastleBooks, 2005 pp. 109–10.</ref> Following the agreement between Ranjit Singh and British viceroy Lord Auckland to restore Shah Shoja to the Afghan throne in Kabul, the British army marched towards Afghanistan from the south whereas Ranjit Singh’s army marched through the Khyber Pass, which concluded with the participation in the victory parade in Kabul.<ref name=britranjit>[https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ranjit-Singh-Sikh-maharaja Ranjit Singh] Encyclopædia Britannica, Khushwant Singh (2015)</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Kenneth Pletcher|title=The History of India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VsujRFvaHI8C&q=ranjit+singh+entered+kabul&pg=PA248|year=2010|publisher=Britannica Educational Publishing|isbn=9781615302017}}</ref><br />
<br />
The [[Bengal Army]], which now numbered some 9,500 men, would march inland towards [[Quetta]] after assembling in [[Ferozpur]]. In Quetta, it would link up with the Bombay Army and then invade Afghanistan. The Bengal Army would also be accompanied by 6,000 men led by Shuja Shah Durrani. The men under Durrani's command were Afghan exiles who believed that he was the rightful ruler of Afghanistan. The total size of the invasion force now numbered some 20,500 men. Sir Harry Fane refused to take part in the invasion because the Russians and Persians had abandoned the siege of Herat and the pretext for the invasion of Afghanistan was no longer there, and so the command of the invasion force passed to Sir John Keane.<br />
<br />
The Bombay Army landed near the Indus river in December 1838 and continued to march until it met with the Bengal Army in [[Quetta]]. The Invasion force was short on supplies due to taking the longer southern route into Afghanistan, and also because many British supply convoys were lost to harassing attacks by tribesman in [[Baluchistan]].<br />
<br />
Many soldiers were starving and there was only enough water for the men, which caused many horses to die. However, Sir John Keane pressed on with the advance into Afghanistan through the Bolan and Kojuk passes. His forces marched 147 miles into Afghanistan and reached [[Kandahar]] on May 4, 1839.<ref name="Ghazni"/> The local city leaders escaped to Western Afghanistan and the city was captured without the British firing a shot.<ref name="Afghan Wars"/> The army's next objective was the fortress city of Ghazni as it commanded the trade routes and roads leading into Kabul. Before a final advance towards Kabul could be made, Ghazni had to be captured.<br />
<br />
==Battle for the city==<br />
{{More citations needed section|date=June 2019}}<br />
[[File:Hyder Khan of Ghazni in 1839-42.jpg|thumb|200px|Ghulam Hyder Khan of Ghazni.]]<br />
The severe shortages of supplies along with the lack of draft horses had led to heavy siege equipment being left in Kandahar. The army arrived at Ghazni on July 21, 1839. Initial reconnaissance showed the city to be heavily fortified with a 70-foot wall and a flooded moat. The defense of the city was led by Hyder Khan, the son of Dost Muhammad. Lacking siege equipment meant that the only way for the British to capture the city was through a frontal attack which would result in heavy casualties.<br />
<br />
However, captured Afghan soldiers were interrogated by the British chief engineer, Colonel Thompson, to whom they revealed that all of the gates into Ghazni had been sealed with rocks and debris except the Kabul Gate which was in the north. Thompson spied on the gate and observed an Afghan courier entering the city which confirmed what the prisoners had said. Further inspection showed the gate to be lightly guarded and inadequately defended. It was then decided to attack the city through the Kabul gate. The British went around the city and camped on the north side facing the Kabul gate.<br />
<br />
While the British forces had encircled the city, Shuja Shah Durrani and his forces had set up camp a few miles from the city to prevent any Afghan forces trying to relieve it. On July 22, 1839, thousands of [[Ghilji]] tribesmen attacked Shuja Shah Durrani's contingent but were repelled.<ref name="Ghazni"/> With the Afghan relief forces driven away, the British were ready to mount an attack to capture the city.<br />
[[File:Britattack.jpg|thumb|A British-Indian force attacks the Ghazni fort during the First Afghan War, 1839]]<br />
British artillery was positioned to give covering fire to the advancing troops, and four British regiments were formed into a storming party commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Dennie.<ref name="Ghazni"/> The rest of the three British regiments formed the main attacking column commanded by [[Robert Henry Sale|Brigadier Sale]]. High winds prevented the garrison from realising that they were about to be attacked.<br />
<br />
At 3am on July 23, 1839, Indian engineers of the Bengal and Bombay Sappers and Miners moved towards the gate.<ref name="Sandes">Sandes, Lt Col E.W.C., 'The Indian Sappers and Miners' pp 133-147. The Institution of Royal Engineers, Chatham, 1948.</ref> As the engineers approached they were fired upon by the Afghans inside the city. The British artillery bombarded the city and gave cover to the engineers as they reached the gate. Gunpowder was piled beside the door, and the subsequent explosion destroyed the gate. The signal was given to attack and the four regiments led by Lieutenant Colonel Dennie rushed through the shattered gate. Bitter hand-to-hand fighting ensued in the darkness. The Afghan defenders launched a counterattack which cut off the storming party from the supporting columns. Brigadier Sale's forces fought their way through the gate to link up with Dennie's encircled men, but Sale was severely wounded. The British then fought their way into the centre of the city and by dawn the city was captured. The British forces suffered 200 men killed and wounded while the Afghans lost nearly 500 men and 1,600 taken prisoner, with an unknown number wounded.<ref name="Ghazni"/><br />
<br />
==Aftermath==<br />
General Keane was, for his service, elevated to the Peerage as Baron Keane of Ghazni. He left a small garrison in Ghazni and began to march his forces towards Kabul on July 30, 1839. When the Afghan ruler, Dost Muhammad, heard about the fall of Ghazni, he asked for terms of surrender but the British offer was exile in India, which was unacceptable to him. He fled Kabul towards Western Afghanistan and the Afghan army surrendered. The British installed their puppet, Shuja Shah Durrani, as the new ruler of Afghanistan.<br />
<br />
The Indian Engineers won many awards, with Capt A.C. Peat of the Bombay Sappers winning a Brevet-majority and a [[Order of the Bath|C.B.]] Thirteen [[Non-commissioned officer|N.C.O.]]s and sappers of the Bengal Sappers and six of the Bombay Sappers were awarded the newly instituted [[Indian Order of Merit]], (Third Class), in effect becoming the first recipients of a formal gallantry award to soldiers of the native Indian Army under British rule. However, two officers, Lt H.M. Durand and Macleod, who had played critical roles in the assault, were not recognised by the government of India. The ''[[Ghuznee Medal]]'', a [[British campaign medals|British campaign medal]], was awarded to all ranks of the [[British Army]] who participated in the storming of the fortress.<ref name="Bengal">Nathan, S.K. & Arora,S.K. (2005)''Bengal Sappers - Trailblazers for the Nation'', Bengal Engineer Group & Centre, Roorke, Uttarakhand, India & Greenfield Publishers, Dehradun, India.</ref><br />
<br />
Ghazni is still feted as a major feat of arms by both groups of Engineers, which still exist today. The [[Bombay Sappers]] celebrate Ghazni Day each year on 25 February while the [[Bengal Sappers]] incorporated the [[Tower of Ghazni]] in their War Memorial constructed at [[Roorkee]] from 1911 to 1913. A bust of Subedar Devi Singh, first recipient of the Indian Order of Merit, was unveiled by Mr Virendra Kumar Singh, a fifth generation descendant of Subedar Devi Singh.<ref name="Bengal"/><br />
<br />
==Battle Honour 'Ghuznee 1839'==<br />
===Native troops===<br />
A battle honour of 'Ghuznee 1839' was instituted by the Governor General in India vide Gazette of the Governor General dated 19 November 1839 and date added vide Gazette of India No 875 of 1907. The battle honour is not considered to be [[Repugnant battle honours of the Indian Army|repugnant]]. The honour was awarded to all native Indian units which were employed in the reduction of the fortress:<ref>Singh, Sarbans. 'Battle Honours of the Indian Army 1757-1971.Vision Books, New Delhi. 1993.</ref><br />
* 4th Bengal Irregular Cavalry ([[Skinner's Horse|1 Horse]] today).<br />
* Poona Auxiliary Horse ([[Poona Horse]]).<br />
* [[Bombay Sappers & Miners]].<br />
* 19th Bombay Infantry ([[Jat Regiment|2 Jat]] today).<br />
* 1st Bombay Cavalry ([[13th Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers]] today of (Pakistan).<br />
* 2nd, 3rd Bengal Cavalry (Mutinied in 1857).<br />
* 2nd and 3rd Companies [[Bengal Sappers and Miners]] (Mutinied in 1857).<br />
* 2nd, 16th, 35th, 38th and 48th Bengal Infantry (Mutinied in 1857).<br />
<br />
===European troops===<br />
The battle honour "Ghuznee" was awarded in 1839 by the [[Honourable East India Company]] to the 1st Bengal European Regiment. This was altered in 1844 to "Ghuznee, 1839" to differentiate it from an honour granted for a further engagement in 1842.<ref name="sumner2">{{cite book|last=Sumner|first=Ian|title=British Colours & Standards 1747-1881 (2) Infantry|year=2001|publisher=Osprey Publishing|location=[[Oxford]]|isbn=978-1-84176-201-2|page=28}}</ref><ref name="norman">{{cite book|last=Norman|first=C B|title=Battle Honours of the British Army|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.30712|year=1911|publisher=John Murray|location=[[London]]|page=[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.30712/page/n296 254]}}</ref> The regiment later joined the [[British Army]] to become the [[101st Regiment of Foot (Royal Bengal Fusiliers)]] and in 1881 the 1st Battalion of the [[Royal Munster Fusiliers]]. The latter regiment was disbanded in 1922.<br />
<br />
===British Army===<br />
In 1840 the battle honour "Ghuznee" (altered to "Ghuznee, 1839" in 1844) was awarded to the following units of the British Army:<ref name=sumner2/><ref name=norman/><ref name="sumner1">{{cite book|last=Sumner|first=Ian|title=British Colours and Standards 1747-1881 (1) Cavalry|year=2001|publisher=Osprey Publishing|location=[[Oxford]]|isbn=978-1-84176-200-5|page=25}}</ref><br />
*[[4th Queen's Own Hussars|4th (The Queen's Own) Regiment of Light Dragoons]] (now part of the [[Queen's Royal Hussars]])<br />
*[[16th The Queen's Lancers|16th (The Queen's) Regiment of (Light) Dragoons (Lancers)]] (now part of the [[Queen's Royal Lancers]])<br />
*[[Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey)|2nd (Queen's Royal) Regiment of Foot]] (now part of the [[Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment]]<br />
*[[Somerset Light Infantry|13th (1st Somersetshire) Regiment (Light Infantry)]] (now part of [[The Rifles]])<br />
*[[Royal Leicestershire Regiment|17th (Leicestershire) Regiment of Foot]] (now part of the [[Royal Anglian Regiment]])<br />
<br />
==British Order of Battle==<br />
===British Forces===<br />
*[[4th Queen's Own Hussars|4th (The Queen's Own) Regiment of (Light) Dragoons]]<br />
*[[16th The Queen's Lancers|16th (The Queen's) Regiment of (Light) Dragoons (Lancers)]]<br />
*[[Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey)|2nd (The Queen's Royal) Regiment of Foot]]<br />
*[[Somerset Light Infantry|13th (1st Somersetshire) Regiment (Light Infantry)]]<br />
*[[Royal Leicestershire Regiment|17th (The Leicestershire) Regiment of Foot]]<br />
<ref name="Ghazni"/><br />
<br />
===Native Indian Forces===<br />
*2nd Bengal Light Cavalry<br />
*[[3rd Bengal Light Cavalry]]<br />
*[[1st Duke of York's Own Lancers (Skinner's Horse)|3rd Skinner's Horse]]<br />
*31st Lancers<br />
*[[The Poona Horse|34th Poona Horse]]<br />
<!--3rd Sappers and Miners--><br />
*Shah Shujah's Regiment<br />
*1st Bengal Fusiliers (European Regiment) later the Munster Fusiliers<br />
*16th Bengal Native Infantry<br />
*48th Bengal Native Infantry<br />
*31st Bengal Native Infantry<br />
*42nd Bengal Native Infantry<br />
*43rd Bengal Native Infantry<br />
*2nd Bengal Native Infantry<br />
*27th Bengal Native Infantry<br />
*19th Bombay Infantry later the 119th [[Multan Regiment]]<br />
<ref name="Ghazni"/><br />
<br />
===Indian Sappers and Miners===<br />
* 2nd Company, [[Bengal Sappers and Miners]]<br />
* 3rd Company, Bengal Sappers and Miners<br />
* 1st Company, Bombay Sappers and Miners<br />
<ref name="Sandes" /><br />
<br />
==References==<br />
{{Reflist}}<br />
<br />
==External links==<br />
*[http://www.britishbattles.com/first-afghan-war/ghuznee.htm British Battles - The Battle of Ghuznee]<br />
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20071024133311/http://www.national-army-museum.ac.uk/exhibitions/afghanistan/page2.shtml National Army Museum - Exhibitions:Afghanistan]<br />
<br />
{{Anglo-Afghan War}}<br />
{{coord missing|Afghanistan}}<br />
<br />
{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Ghazni}}<br />
[[Category:Battles of the First Anglo-Afghan War|Ghazni]]<br />
[[Category:Conflicts in 1839]]<br />
[[Category:History of the Bengal Sappers]]<br />
[[Category:History of Ghazni Province]]<br />
[[Category:1839 in Afghanistan]]<br />
[[Category:July 1839 events]]<br />
[[Category:19th-century battles|Ghazni]]</div>78.147.28.16https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=Battle_of_Ghaghra&diff=376140Battle of Ghaghra2022-12-14T17:13:57Z<p>78.147.28.16: </p>
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<div>{{Infobox military conflict<br />
| conflict = Battle of Ghaghra<br />
| partof = [[Mughal Empire|Mughal conquests]]<br />
| caption = Ghaghra River<br />
| date = May 6, 1529<br />
| place = [[Ghaghara River]], near [[Chhapra]], [[Bihar]]<br />
| result = [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] victory<br />
| territory = [[Bihar]] annexed by [[Mughal Empire]] including surrounding territories.<br />Peace settlement with the [[Sultanate of Bengal]].<br />
| combatant1 = [[Mughal Empire]]<br />
| combatant2 = Eastern Afghan Confederacy<br>[[Sultanate of Bengal]]<br />
| commander1 = [[Babur]]<br />[[Humayun]]<br />[[Bairam Khan]]<br />[[Askari Mirza]]<br />[[Muhammad Zaman Mirza]]<br />Sultan Jalal ud-Din Sherki <br />Sultan Junaid Birlas<br />[[Ustad Ali Quli]]<br />[[Mustafa Rumi]]<br />
| commander2 = [[Sultan]] [[Nusrat Shah]]<br>[[Sultan]] [[Lodi dynasty#Mahmud Lodi|Mahmud Lodi]]{{KIA}}<br />[[Sher Shah Suri]]<br/> Sultan Jalal ud-Din{{KIA}} Lohani{{KIA}} <br />Bayezid{{KIA}} <br />Biban{{KIA}}<br />Fateh Khan Shirwani{{KIA}}<br />Shah Muhammad Maaruf{{KIA}}<br />
| strength1 = 50.000<ref> A History of India Under the Two First Sovereigns of the House of Taimur, Báber and Humáyun, By William Erskine, Published by Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1854,Public Domain</ref><br />
| strength2 = 100.000<ref> A History of India Under the Two First Sovereigns of the House of Taimur, Báber and Humáyun, By William Erskine, Published by Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1854,Public Domain</ref><br><br />
100-150 Vessels<br />
| casualties1 = <br />
| casualties2 = <br />
}}<br />
{{Campaignbox Babur}}<br />
The '''Battle of Ghaghra''', fought in 1529, was a great battle for the conquest of [[India]] by the [[Mughal Empire]]. It followed the first [[Battle of Panipat (1526)|Battle of Panipat]] in 1526 and the [[Battle of Khanwa]] in 1527. The forces of Mughal Emperor [[Babur]] of the emerging Mughal Empire were joined by Indian allies in battle against the Eastern Afghan Confederates under Sultan [[Lodi dynasty#Mahmud Lodi|Mahmud Lodi]] and [[Sultanate of Bengal]] under [[Sultan]] [[Nusrat Shah]].<ref name="lodi">{{cite book |last1=Joshi |first1=Rita |title=The Afghan Nobility and the Mughals: 1526-1707 |year=1985 |publisher=Vikas Publishing House |isbn=978-0-7069-2752-8 |url=https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/The_Afghan_Nobility_and_the_Mughals/qhhuAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%22Battle+of+Ghaghra%22+-wikipedia&dq=%22Battle+of+Ghaghra%22+-wikipedia&printsec=frontcover |language=en}}</ref><br />
<br />
== Background ==<br />
Sultan [[Lodi dynasty#Mahmud Lodi|Mahmud Lodi]], who aspired to the throne of [[Delhi]] and who had been declared the rightful heir to the [[Delhi Sultanate]] by the Western Afghan Confederates and aided by the [[Rajput]] Confederates, was put to flight after the defeat at the [[Battle of Khanwa]] in 1527. He took refuge in [[Gujarat]]. After trying to get in touch with his kinsmen in the east he managed to join them. He at the head of the Eastern Afghan Confederates took [[Bihar]].<br />
When Sultan Muhammad Shah Lohani, the [[Pashtun people|Pathan]] king of [[Bihar]] of the new dynasty, died, some time after Babur's expedition to [[Chanderi]], he was succeeded by his son Sultan Jalal ud-Din Lohani, a minor, and the chief management of affairs at least in Bihar then devolved on that prince's mother Dudu and on Farid Khan, better known as [[Sher Shah Suri]], who had already risen into distinction; that the country was distracted by the rival claims of the [[Lohani]] nobles related to the young king, of Baban and Bayezid whose influence was very extensive, of [[Sher Shah Suri]] and of other chiefs, and that these factions added to the effects of the discomfiture which the Pathans received in the preceding campaigns from the armies of [[Babur]] at length induced the young prince to take refuge in the territories of the [[Sultan]] of [[Bengal]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Roy |first1=Manabendra Nath |title=The Radical Humanist |publisher=Maniben Kara |url=https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/The_Radical_Humanist/qS0KAQAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%22Battle+of+Ghaghra%22+-wikipedia&dq=%22Battle+of+Ghaghra%22+-wikipedia&printsec=frontcover |language=en}}</ref><br />
<br />
In this state of things the [[Afghans]] of [[Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh|Jaunpur]] and indeed of [[India]] in general, in order to avert the total ruin of their affairs and to unite all interests as far as was practicable, resolved to call in Sultan Mahmud Lodi who had already, with the support of [[Rana Sanga]], made an effort to mount the throne of [[Delhi]]. When defeated in that attempt he had retired to Gujarat. Afterwards he proceeded to Panna in [[Bundelkhand]] where he remained waiting for some favorable change of affairs and now accepted the invitation to ascend the throne of [[Bihar]] and Jaunpur. He was speedily joined by his countrymen from every quarter and seems to have taken possession of nearly the whole of [[Bihar]] without opposition. What excites most surprise is the secrecy and success with which intrigues and movements so extensive appear to have been conducted, a fact explained perhaps by the deep interest which every [[Pashtun people|Pathan]] felt in the national success and the fidelity which tribesmen show to their chiefs and to each other.<br />
<br />
The day after receiving this news, [[Babur]] returned to [[Agra]], where he told his council he would immediately assume command of the eastern army. Taking with him such troops as were at hand, he set out on February 2, 1529, and crossing the [[Doab]], reached the right bank of the [[Ganges]] at Dakdaki on February 27, 1529. Here he was met by his son [[Humayun]], General Askari, and several generals who came from the other side. He arranged with them that while his army marched down the right bank of the river theirs should march down the left and should always encamp over against his.<br />
<br />
The information which he received here was but little satisfactory. He found that the [[Pashtun people|Pathan]]s who were straining every nerve to recover their military and political ascendancy had gathered around Sultan Mahmud Lodi to the number of 100,000 men. The Sultan had detached Baban and Sheikh Bayezid with a large force to Sirwar while he himself with Fateh Khan Shirwani, the minister of Sultan Jalal ud-Din Lodi and of Sultan [[Ibrahim Lodi]] in succession by whom Mahmud had been joined and who had now deserted [[Babur]] as he had done his first master, kept along the [[Bihar]] bank of the [[Ganges]] and was marching on [[Chunar]]. [[Sher Shah Suri]], whom [[Babur]] had distinguished by marks of his favor having given him several perganas and entrusted him with a command, had joined the insurgents, had crossed the Ganges, and occupied [[Benares]] from which the officers of Sultan Jalal ud-Din Sherki, a descendant of the older dynasty of the country who held the city under Babur's authority had fled on his approach.<ref name="lodi"/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Books |first1=L. L. C. |title=Lodi Dynasty: Battle of Ghaghra, Sikandar Lodi, Battle of Panipat |date=September 2010 |publisher=General Books LLC |isbn=978-1-158-27228-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YyLFbwAACAAJ |language=en}}</ref><br />
<br />
There were therefore at this time three competitors for the Eastern or Sherki kingdom<br />
<br />
*Sultan Jalal ud-Din Sherki, the representative of the older kings who ruled the country before it was conquered by Sultan [[Sikander Lodi]]. He had lately submitted to [[Babur]] and sought his protection. His claims had become rather obsolete but seemed to have been revived at this period, and acknowledged by Babur, evidently to serve an immediate purpose.<br />
*Sultan Jalal ud-Din Khan Lohani, whose father and grandfather had headed the revolt against Sultan [[Ibrahim Lodi]]. He was supported by many [[Afghanistan|Afghan]] nobles in [[Bihar]] but had lately been forced to seek refuge with the [[Monarch|Sultan]] of [[Bengal]], his ally.<br />
*Sultan Mahmud Lodi, the brother of the late Sultan [[Ibrahim Lodi]] and the representative of the [[Lodi dynasty]] of [[Delhi]] whom the great body of the [[Pashtun people|Pathan]]s had now united to support in his claims not on [[Bihar]] merely, but on [[Delhi]] itself.<br />
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[[Babur]] informed of the real state of affairs continued his march down the banks of the Ganges. In passing [[Kara, Uttar Pradesh|Karra]], he was magnificently entertained by Sultan Jalal ud-Din Sherki, the prince whose pretensions he favored and on whom he bestowed the nominal command of a division of his army. When he had made a march or two below that city the effects of his activity became visible. He learned that Sultan Mahmud Lodi, who had recently advanced to [[Chunar]] and even made an assault upon it, had no sooner received certain information of the Emperor's approach than filled with consternation he raised the siege and retreated in confusion and that [[Sher Shah Suri]] had in like manner abandoned [[Benares]] and recrossed the river with such precipitation that two of his boats were lost in the passage.<br />
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The imperial army having reached [[Allahabad]] where the [[Ganges]] and [[Yamuna]] rivers unite, their streams began on March 10, 1529 to cross the latter river to Priag whence [[Babur]] proceeded by [[Chunar]], [[Benares]] and [[Ghazipur]] hastening to attack Sultan Mahmud who had now taken a position behind the [[Son River]]. At [[Ghazipur]], Mahmud Khan Lohani, an Afghan of influence, came and submitted to him and while yet near the same place Sultan Jalal ud-Din Khan Lohani the expelled prince and still one of the competitors for the throne of [[Bihar]], [[Sher Shah Suri]] the future sovereign of [[Delhi]] and other Afghans of influence sent to tender their submission. This amounted to a breaking up of the [[Lohani]] dynasty of [[Bihar]] leaving only Sultan Mahmud Lodi and his adherents to be combated.<br />
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[[Babur]] now proceeded to cross the Kermnas and encamped beyond Chousa (that was to become celebrated by the calamity of his son) and Baksara or [[Buxar]]. Marching thence he found that Sultan Mahmud whose army had been daily suffering from defection and who had been lying not far off attended by only 2000 men had retired with precipitation on the approach of an advanced party of the imperial army had been pursued and several of his men slain. He also now took refuge with the army of [[Bengal]] which had crossed the Ganges probably in the intention of cooperating with him. [[Babur]] proceeded to the district of Ari in [[Bihar]] lying between the [[Ganges]] and the [[Son River]] at their confluence where he invested Muhammad Zaman Mirza with the government of [[Bihar]] and fixed the revenue to be paid out of that province. The Emperor had now arrived opposite to where the [[Ghaghara River]] (also called [[Gogra]] in some texts) joins the [[Ganges]] from the north east and where apparently the kingdom of [[Bengal]] commenced on the left bank of that river. Here he learned that Sultan Mahmud Lodi was in the [[Bengal]] camp at the junction of the two rivers with a body of [[Afghanistan|Afghans]] and that when he and his followers wished to remove their families and baggage they were not permitted by the Bengalis probably wishing to retain them as hostages Sultan Jalal ud-Din Khan Lohani his rival who had lately sent his submission to [[Babur]] was in like manner hindered from departing in consequence of which he had come to blows with the [[Bengali people|Bengali]]s had effected a passage over the [[Ganges]] into [[Bihar]] with his followers and was on his march to join the imperial army. The Emperor therefore who considered that the position of the army of [[Bengal]] and the conduct of its leaders had violated their neutrality prepared to call them to account. Nusrat Shah, the [[Sultan]] of [[Bengal]] had recovered some of his lost territories from the [[Pashtun people|Pathan]]s after the collapse of the [[Delhi Sultanate]].<ref name="lodi"/><br />
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== Battle ==<br />
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[[Babur]] found the army of Kherid, as the [[Bengal]] army was called, lying between what is at present the territory of [[Saran district|Saran]] in the north. It was encamped near the junction of the [[Ganges]] and the [[Ghaghara River]] so as to be able to defend both the course of the Ghaghara River and the left bank of the [[Ganges]] after the union of the two rivers. He discovered too that the [[Bengali people|Bengali]] generals had collected about 100–150 vessels on their side of the stream by means of which they were able at once to hinder the passage of an enemy and to facilitate their own. Such an army he could not safely leave behind especially as the troops of Baban and Bayezid had also taken refuge upon and in strength occupied the upper course of the Ghaghra River. He was indeed at peace with [[Bengal]] but the shelter afforded to his flying enemy the position of the Kherid army and the equivocal conduct of its leaders made it indispensable that he should have a categorical declaration as to the disposition and intention of the Bengali government. He, therefore, dispatched an envoy to Nusrat Shah, the Sultan of Bengal.<br />
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[[Babur]] was now joined by Sultan Junaid Birlas from Jaunpur with about 20,000 men. The tardy arrival of these troops subjected their commander to a temporary disgrace. Not having received a satisfactory answer to his demands, the Emperor resolved to compel the army beyond the [[Gogra|Ghaghra River]] to quit its strong position. He made the necessary arrangements for the intended attack. He formed his army into six divisions. Four of these consisting of Askari's army which was already on the eastern bank of the [[Ganges]] and of Sultan Junaid's which had recently joined on the same side were ordered to be prepared to cross the Ghaghra River either in boats at Haldi or by fording still farther up that river. Askari was the youngest son of Babur. The other two divisions were still on the western bank of the [[Ganges]]. One of these under the Emperor's personal direction was to effect the passage of that river and then to cover the operations of the [[Turkic peoples|Turkish]] Ustad Ali Quli, his chief engineer and commander of the artillery, who was directed to plant a battery on the banks of the Siru or Ghaghra River above its union with the [[Ganges]] directly opposite to the [[Bengal]]i camp, which it would be able to cannonade and afterward to cover the passage of the Emperor's division when it crossed the Ghaghra River to attack the enemy. Mustafa Rumi another Turkish engineer who had a party of [[musketeers]] and [[artillery]] supported by Muhammad Zaman Mirza and the sixth division was to open a cannonade on the flank of the enemy's camp from the [[Bihar]] bank of the Ganges below the junction of the rivers. The main body of the army which was that under Askari after passing the Ghaghra River at Haldi was ordered to march down upon the enemy so as to draw them from their camp and induce them to march up that river and by this diversion to keep them occupied until the two divisions of [[Babur]] and Muhammad Zaman under cover of the fire of the [[artillery]] and [[matchlock]] men could be transported across.<br />
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The whole army was accordingly put in motion Askari's four divisions marched for Haldi. The batteries both on the [[Ghaghara River]] and [[Ganges]] were constructed and commenced their fire. The [[Bengal]]i army behaved with great bravery and pushed parties across to attack the Emperor's troops both above and below the junction of the rivers. At length after various movements [[Babur]] received notice that Askari had effected a passage over the Ghaghra River at the Haldi Ghat and was now ready for action and that he had been strengthened by the defection of Shah Muhammad Maaruf an Afghan nobleman of the highest rank and consequence who had deserted the confederacy with his followers and now joined his camp. The general attack was therefore fixed for the next morning but in the meantime, there was some fighting between the vessels in the river.<br />
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On the morning of May 6, 1529, as soon as Askari's army was known to be in motion the [[Bengal]]i troops moved up to meet him whereupon [[Babur]] ordered both his division and that of Muhammad Zaman to cross over without delay. This was affected bravely though not without sharp resistance. The troops got across some in [[boats]], some by [[human swimming|swimming]], some floating on [[Reed boat|reeds]]. They were met with equal gallantry on landing but kept together formed and made repeated vigorous charges. As Askari advanced north-west towards the enemy, the Bengali army finding themselves surrounded and driven in on three sides finally quit the field in confusion.<br />
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==Aftermath ==<br />
This victory was decisive in its consequences. Numbers of the Afghans who till now had been refractory having lost all hope of re-establishing an Afghan government in the [[East]] submitted and Sultan Jalal ud-Din Khan Lohani the late [[Monarch|King]] of [[Bihar]] whose escape from the [[Bengal]]i camp has been mentioned arrived with many of his principal Amirs and acknowledged [[Babur]]. Other chiefs imitating their example petitioned to be received into the Emperor's service. 7000-8000 [[Lohani]] Afghans had already joined him and were now rewarded and employed. The feuds between the [[Lohani]] and [[Lodi (Pashtun tribe)|Lodi]] factions in the Eastern [[provinces]] were fatal to the [[Pashtun people|Pathan]] national interest. As for the Sultan of Bengal Nusrat Shah, he hastily accepted peace proposals, previously communicated to him via the envoy [[Babur]] had sent before the battle.<br />
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This would be Babur's last major engagement. He continued to consolidate his power and establish administrative infrastructure in his new Empire distributing ''jagirs'' (Estates) to loyal nobles and allies. He died at the age of 47 on December 26, 1530, of an unknown illness and was succeeded by his eldest son, [[Humayun]].<br />
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== See also ==<br />
* [[First Battle of Panipat]]<br />
* [[Battle of Khanwa]]<br />
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== References ==<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
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==Further reading==<br />
''A History of India Under the Two First Sovereigns of the House of Taimur, Báber and Humáyun'' By William Erskine Published by Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1854<br />
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{{Mughal Empire|state=expanded}}<br />
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[[Category:Battles involving the Mughal Empire|Ghaghra]]<br />
[[Category:Conflicts in 1529|Ghaghra]]<br />
[[Category:1529 in India]]<br />
[[Category:Military history of the Bengal Sultanate]]<br />
[[Category:Eastern Afghan Confederates]]</div>78.147.28.16