The Battle of Gujranwala was fought between the

Durrani Empire The Durrani Empire ( ps, د درانيانو ټولواکمني; fa, امپراتوری درانیان) or the Afghan Empire ( ps, د افغانان ټولواکمني, label=none; fa, امپراتوری افغان, label=none), also know ...

and the

Sikh Confederacy The Misls (derived from an Arabic word مِثْل meaning 'equal') were the twelve sovereign states of the Sikh Confederacy, which rose during the 18th century in the Punjab region in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent and is cit ...

in September 1761.

Battle

Ahmad Shah Durrani Ahmad Shāh Durrānī ( ps, احمد شاه دراني; prs, احمد شاه درانی), also known as Ahmad Shāh Abdālī (), was the founder of the Durrani Empire and is regarded as the founder of the modern Afghanistan. In July 1747, Ahm ...

raided

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

in 1761 and defeated the

Marathas The Marathi people (Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a M ...

in the Third Battle of Panipat in January 1761. He then returned to

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

and appointed Khawaja Abid Khan the

Afghan Afghan may refer to: *Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia *Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity ** Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pas ...

Governor of

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

. He wished to defeat the

Sikhs Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism (Sikhi), a monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ...

in order to secure Afghan positions in the entire

Punjab region Punjab (; Punjabi Language, Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also Romanization, romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the I ...

but was defeated by a Sikh army under

Charat Singh Sardar Charat Singh (1721–1770 or 1733—1774), also romanised as Charhat Singh, was the father of Mahan Singh, and the grandfather of Ranjit Singh. He distinguished himself at an early age in campaigns against Ahmad Shah Abdali and along w ...

in the

Battle of Sialkot (1761) The Battle of Sialkot was fought between Durrani Empire and Sukerchakia Misl of Dal Khalsa in 1761. Background Ahmad Shah Durrani raided India and defeated the Marathas in the Third Battle of Panipat like he defeated them at Bararighat and Sika ...

. As soon as Nur-ud-din arrived on the banks of the Chenab, he came into conflict with Sardar Charat Singh of the

Sukerchakia Misl The Sukerchakia Misl was one of 12 Sikh Misls in Punjab during the 18th century concentrated in Gujranwala and Hafizabad district in Western Punjab (in modern-Pakistan) and ruled from (1752–1801). Misl was founded by Chaudhary Charat Singh ...

. Charat Singh, anticipating the trouble, had ready moved from his headquarters at

Gujranwala Gujranwala ( ur, , label=none; ) is a city and capital of Gujranwala Division located in Pakistan. It is also known as "City of Wrestlers" and is quite famous for its food. It is the 5th most populous city proper after Karachi, Lahore, Faisala ...

to arrest the further progress of the Afghan general. He was assisted by the other Sikh Misldars who had made a common cause with him. Thus assuming the defensive with his army of trained men, Charat Singh awaited the onslaught of the

Afghans Afghans ( ps, افغانان, translit=afghanan; Persian/ prs, افغان ها, translit=afghānhā; Persian: افغانستانی, romanized: ''Afghanistani'') or Afghan people are nationals or citizens of Afghanistan, or people with ancestry f ...

whom after a battle of considerable duration he repulsed. He followed up his victory by maintaining a vigorous pursuit of the fugitives. The

, about 12,000 in number, fleeing pellmell, took refuge in the stronghold of

Sialkot Sialkot ( ur, ) is a city located in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the capital of Sialkot District and the 13th most populous city in Pakistan. The boundaries of Sialkot are joined with Jammu (the winter capital of Indian administered Jammu and Ka ...

. The town was immediately besieged and the strictness of the watch was such as supplies gave out and the garrison was brought to the verge of starvation. Nur-ud-din, finding his men demoralized and starving, abandoned them to their fate and disguised as a beggar sought refuge in flight. The garrison immediately surrendered, and were allowed to depart in peace. This victory over the well-trained troops of the greatest soldier of the day placed

in the front rank of the

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...

leaders, while the loot of Sialkot brought him a quantity of artillery and baggage. When all was over,

made a triumphant entry into his capital,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gujranwala 1761 Conflicts in 1761 Battles involving the Sikh Confederacy

Battle

See also

References