Saadath Mohi-ud-din at 06:17, 31 October 2022

2022-10-31T06:17:32Z

New page

{{short description|1837 battle of the Afghan–Sikh Wars}}

{{infobox military conflict
| conflict = Battle of Jamrud
| partof = the [[Afghan-Sikh wars]]
| image = Jamrud Fort - pg 18 -The last voyage - Annie Brassey.jpg
| image_size = 300px
| caption = A portrait of the [[Jamrud Fort]]
| date = 30 April 1837
| place = [[Jamrud]], [[Sikh Empire]] Modern day [[Khyber Agency]]
| coordinates = {{coord|34.0034|71.3786|display=title,inline}}
| map_type = Pakistan
| map_relief =
| latitude =
| longitude =
| map_size = 300px
| map_marksize =
| map_caption =
| map_label =
| territory =
| result = [[#Result of the battle|Disputed]]
| combatant1 = [[File:Flag of Afghanistan (1919–1921).svg|25px]] [[Emirate of Afghanistan|Emirate of Kabul]]
| combatant2 = [[File: Sikh Empire flag.svg|30px]] [[Sikh Empire]]
| commander1 = [[Wazir Akbar Khan|Akbar Khan]] [[Mohammad Afzal Khan|Afzal Khan]] Shams al-Din Khan Mirza Sami Khan [[Josiah Harlan]]
| commander2 = [[Hari Singh Nalwa]]{{KIA}} [[Mahan Singh Mirpuri]] [[Mangal Singh Ramgarhia]] [[Tej Singh]]
| units1 =
| units2 =
| strength1 = 7,000 cavalry 2,000 matchlockmen 9000 guerilla fighters 20,000 Khybers 50 pieces artillery<ref name="Maharaja" />{{sfn|Gupta|1978|p=179}}
| strength2 = 600<ref>{{cite book|url=https://www.google.ca/books/edition/Art_of_Generalship/uAmqCQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=50000+Jamrud&pg=PA130&printsec=frontcover|title=Art of Generalship|author=K K Khanna|pages=130}}</ref>-800 Jamrud garrison 10,000 relief force/reinforcements<ref name="Maharaja" />{{sfn|Gupta|1978|p=179}}
| notes =
| campaignbox = {{Campaignbox Afghan-Sikh Wars}}
}}
The '''Battle of Jamrud''' was fought between the [[Emirate of Afghanistan]] under Emir [[Dost Mohammad Khan]] and the [[Sikh Empire]] under [[Maharaja]] [[Ranjit Singh]] on 30 April 1837. Afghan forces confronted the Sikh forces at [[Jamrud]]. The garrisoned army was able to hold off the Afghans till Sikh reinforcements arrived to relieve them.<ref name="Lafont" /><ref name="LansfordTom" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Dalrymple |first=William|author-link=William Dalrymple (historian) |title=[[Return of a King]]: The Battle For Afghanistan |publisher=Bloomsbury |year=2012 |isbn=9780307948533 |edition=Paperback |location=United Kingdom |language=English}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Gupta |first=Hari Ram |title=History Of The Sikhs Vol. V The Sikh Lion of Lahore|volume=V|publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal |page=180|isbn=9788121505154}}</ref>

==Background==
Following the consolidation of the Sikh Empire in [[Punjab]], Maharaja [[Ranjit Singh]] had led a wave of invasions on Afghan-held territories, also capitalizing off of Afghan Civil war and began conquering the long-held Afghan territories over the preceding years. This resulted in the [[Durrani Empire]] losing the [[Punjab region]], [[Multan]], [[Kashmir]], [[Derajat]], [[Hazara, Pakistan|Hazara]], [[Balakot]] and [[Attock]], whereas [[Peshawar]] and [[Jamrud]] would later be seized from the Peshawar Sardars in the [[Battle of Peshawar (1834)]]<ref name="Lafont1" /><ref name="Vanit1" />{{sfn|Lee|2019|p=181-182}}

==Prelude and battle==
Towards the end of 1836, Sardar [[Hari Singh Nalwa]] attacked and captured the small, but very strategic, fortified Khyberi village of Jamrud, situated on the south-side of a range of mountains at the mouth of the [[Khyber Pass]]. With the conquest of Jamrud, the frontier of the Sikh Empire now bordered the frontier of Afghanistan.<ref name="Vanit1" />
In 1837, the [[Sikh Khalsa Army|Sikh Army]] was in [[Lahore]] where all best generals and troops were recalled from all places including Peshawar for the wedding of [[Nau Nihal Singh|Kanwar Nau Nihal Singh]], the grandson of [[Maharaja]] [[Ranjit Singh]]. The Emir of Afghanistan, [[Dost Mohammad Khan]], finding this as the right opportunity, sent his sons with a 7000 cavalry, 2000 matchlockmen, 9000 guerilla fighters and 20,000 Khybers, to drive the Sikhs out of [[Peshawar]].{{sfn|Gupta|1978|p=179}} Akbar Khan reached Jamrud, and saw no sign of the Sikh forces, and as a result began to demolish the defenses of the fort.{{sfn|Lee|2019|p=209}} While Akbar Khan's forces were focused on destroying the fortifications, Hari Singh Nawla, the Sikh general, led a charge against the Afghans. The Afghans were sent into disarray with heavy losses, and Akbar Khan's force was relieved by Shams al-Din Khan, who charged the Sikh lines.{{sfn|Lee|2019|p=209-210}} Akbar Khan reorganized and rallied his men and forced the Sikhs to retreat to the fort of Jamrud.{{sfn|Lee|2019|p=210}} Amidst the fighting, the Sikh general, Sardar Hari Singh Nalwa was mortally injured in the battle and later died after forcing his way into the fort. According to Afghan chronicle Siraj al-Tawarikh, Akbar Khan and Hari Singh Nawla engaged in a duel without recognizing each other. After much thrusting and parrying, Akbar Khan won out and Hari Singh Nawla was knocked to the ground and killed.{{sfn|Dalrymple|2012|p=89}} According to historian [[Hari Ram Gupta]], when Hari Singh rallied his men and rode to the front, he was struck by two bullets, one in the stomach and the other on the side. Mortally wounded he was immediately taken inside the fort where he said to keep his death a secret till the reinforcements arrived.{{sfn|Gupta|1978|p=180}} Many eyewitnesses claimed Nalwa ordered his dead body to be hung outside the fort before he died, discouraging the Afghans from attacking, believing Nalwa was still alive.<ref name="punjab" /> Nevertheless, the Sikh garrison continued holding out until Sikh reinforcements arrived from Lahore, prompting the Afghans to retire from the siege.{{sfn|Lee|2019|p=210}} The battle ended with the retreat of Afghans back to [[Jalalabad]].<ref name="Lafont1" /><ref name="Vanit1" />{{sfn|Lee|2019|p=188}}

==Result of the battle==
The result of the battle is disputed amongst historians. Some contend the failure of the Afghans to take the fort and the city of [[Peshawar]] or town of [[Jamrud]] as a victory for the Sikhs.<ref name="disputesik" /> On the other hand, some state that the killing of [[Hari Singh Nalwa]] resulted in an Afghan victory.<ref name="disputeafg" /> James Norris, Professor of [[Political Science]] at [[Texas A&M International University]], states that the battle's outcome was inconclusive.<ref name="Norris" /><ref name="Lafont1" />

==See also==
*[[Battle of Attock]]
*[[Battle of Multan]]
*[[Battle of Shopian]]
*[[Battle of Nowshera]]
*[[Battle of Peshawar (1834)]]

==References==
{{reflist|refs=
<ref name="Maharaja">''Maharaja Ranjit Singh: A short life sketch'', Ganda Singh, '''Maharaja Ranjit Singh: First Death Centenary Memorial''', (Nirmal Publishers, 1986), 43.[https://books.google.com/books?id=YrG_aJTgnw0C&dq=battle+Jamrud+1837+men&pg=PA43] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410052308/https://books.google.com/books?id=YrG_aJTgnw0C&dq=battle+Jamrud+1837+men&pg=PA43 |date=2023-04-10 }}</ref>
<ref name="Lafont1">{{cite book |author=Jean Marie Lafont |title=Maharaja Ranjit Singh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YrG_aJTgnw0C&q=battle+of+jamrud&pg=PA43 |year=2002 |page=43 |quote=In spite of all their efforts, however, the Afghans could neither occupy the fort of Jamrud nor dislodge the Sikhs from their position and gain possession of Peshawar. |access-date=2020-10-15 |archive-date=2023-04-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410052313/https://books.google.com/books?id=YrG_aJTgnw0C&q=battle+of+jamrud&pg=PA43 |url-status=live }}</ref>
<ref name="LansfordTom">{{cite book |author=Tom Lansford |title=Afghanistan at War: From the 18th-Century Durrani Dynasty to the 21st Century |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XxwIDgAAQBAJ&q=600+killed+saragarhi&pg=PA408 |year=2017 |page=21,22 |isbn=9781598847604 |quote=In 1837, Afghan ruler Dost Mohammed Khan gathered an army to push the Sikhs back from the Khyber pass. They laid siege to the Sikh fort at Jamrud. A Sikh army advanced to relieve the siege, and the two forces met at the Battle of Jamrud. The Sikhs defeated the Afghans. The battle marked the end of the Afghan-Sikh wars. |access-date=2020-10-15 |archive-date=2023-04-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410052503/https://books.google.com/books?id=XxwIDgAAQBAJ&q=600+killed+saragarhi&pg=PA408 |url-status=live }}</ref>
<ref name="punjab">{{cite book|title=The Panjab Chiefs: Historical and biographical notices of the principal families in the Lahore and Rawalpindi divisions of the Panjab|volume=II|pages= 87,89,90|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.206739|last1=Griffin {{postnominals|country=GBR|KCSI}} |first1=Sir Lepel H.|year=1890 }}</ref>
<ref name="disputesik">Several scholars consider the Sikhs to have been victorious:
* {{citation |last=Hasrat |first=Bikrama Jit |title=Life and Times of Ranjit Singh: A Saga of Benevolent Despotism |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UPgdAAAAMAAJ |year=1977 |publisher=V.V. Research Institute Book Agency |page=137 |quote="The doubtful Sikh victory at Jamrud in 1837 had made it clear to Ranjit Singh that policies of hatred and repression in the northwestern frontier so far pursued had failed in its objective." |access-date=2018-12-16 |archive-date=2023-04-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410052306/https://books.google.com/books?id=UPgdAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}
* {{citation |last=Paddy |first=Docherty |title=Khyber pass |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ih1BwwkutnEC |publisher=Il Saggiatore |isbn=978-88-6576-029-1 |pages=186–187 |access-date=16 December 2018 |archive-date=10 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410052308/https://books.google.com/books?id=ih1BwwkutnEC |url-status=live }}
* {{citation |last=Ingram |first=Edward |chapter=India and the North-West Frontier: The First Afghan War |editor1=A. Hamish Ion |editor2=Elizabeth Jane Errington |title=Great Powers and Little Wars: The Limits of Power |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B8WEDx_eX5EC&pg=PA44 |year=1993 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-275-93965-6 |pages=44 |quote="The second was Peshawar, which controlled the entry to the Khyber Pass and had been seized in 1834 by Ranjit Singh from Dost Mohammed, who tried in 1837 to get it back but lost his chance at the Battle of Jamrud." |access-date=2018-12-16 |archive-date=2023-04-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410052308/https://books.google.com/books?id=B8WEDx_eX5EC&pg=PA44 |url-status=live }}
*{{citation |last=Lee |first=Jonathan |title=Afghanistan: A History from 1260 to the Present |publisher=Reaktion Books |year=2019 |isbn=9781789140101 |pages=210 |language=English|quote="The Sikhs had beaten the Afghans but in the battle Hari Singh, Ranjit's lifelong friend, had been mortally wounded.}}</ref>
<ref name="disputeafg">Other scholars consider the Afghans to have been victorious:
* {{citation |last=Roberts |first=Jeffery J. |title=The Origins of Conflict in Afghanistan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pj8DIT_bva0C |year=2003 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-275-97878-5 |page=4 |access-date=2018-12-16 |archive-date=2023-04-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410052307/https://books.google.com/books?id=Pj8DIT_bva0C |url-status=live }}: "In 1837 Dost's son, Akbar Khan, led an Afghan army to victory at Jamrud. Akbar, however, did not follow up his success with an advance to Peshawar, and the city remained in Sikh hands."
* {{citation |last1=Clements |first1=Frank |last2=Adamec |first2=Ludwig W. |title=Conflict in Afghanistan: A Historical Encyclopedia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bv4hzxpo424C |year=2003 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-85109-402-8 |page=74 |quote="Dost Mohammed Khan defeated the Sikhs at the Battle of Jamrud in 1837." |access-date=2018-12-16 |archive-date=2023-02-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207231719/https://books.google.com/books?id=bv4hzxpo424C |url-status=live }}</ref>
<ref name="Norris">{{citation |last1=John |first1=Norris |last2=Norris |first2=J. A. |title=The First Afghan War 1838-1842 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GuHlEZPBn5EC |year=1967 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-05838-4 |page=109 |quote="The resulting Battle of Jamrud on 30 April 1837 was a bloody Sikh-Afghan encounter where both sides suffered severe losses. The outcome was largely inconclusive but served to further inflame the continued cross-border feuding and induced the Afghans to seek assistance from the Russian-influenced Persians." |access-date=16 December 2018 |archive-date=10 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410052310/https://books.google.com/books?id=GuHlEZPBn5EC |url-status=live }}</ref>
<ref name="Lafont">{{cite book |author=Jean Marie Lafont |title=Maharaja Ranjit Singh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YrG_aJTgnw0C&dq=battle+of+jamrud&pg=PA43 |year=2002 |page=43 |publisher=Atlantic Publishers & Distri |access-date=2023-03-18 |archive-date=2023-04-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410052309/https://books.google.com/books?id=YrG_aJTgnw0C&dq=battle+of+jamrud&pg=PA43 |url-status=live }}</ref>
<ref name="Vanit1">{{citation |last1=Nalwa |first1=Vanit |title=Hari Singh Nalwa, "champion of the Khalsaji" (1791-1837) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ULhgNexD92QC |year=2009 |publisher=Manohar |isbn=9788173047855 |page=177-317}}</ref>
}}

{{Sikh Empire}}

{{Pashtun nationalism}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jamrud, Battle of}}
[[Category:Conflicts in 1837]]
[[Category:Battles involving Afghanistan]]
[[Category:Battles involving the Sikhs]]
[[Category:1837 in Asia]]
[[Category:Ranjit Singh]]
[[Category:April 1837 events]]

Battle of Jamrud - Revision history

Saadath Mohi-ud-din at 06:17, 31 October 2022