The Capture of Peshawar, or more appropriately, the Sikh occupation of Peshawar, took place on 6 May 1834, when the Sikh Empire formally annexed the territory. Peshawar was governed by the Barakzai Sardars — Yar Mohammed Khan,

Sultan Mohammed Khan Sultan Mohammed Khan (19 February 1919 – 8 November 2010) was a Pakistani civil servant and British India Army officer who served as a Foreign Secretary of Pakistan. He was also Pakistan's ambassador to the United States in the Nixon and Ji ...

, Sayeed Mohammed Khan and Pir Mohammed Khan. They were collectively referred to as the Peshawar Barakzais. The Peshawar Barakzais had broken free of their half-brothers ruling Kabul.

Charles Masson Charles Masson (1800–1853) was the pseudonym of James Lewis, a British East India Company soldier and reporter, independent explorer and pioneering archaeologist and numismatist. He was the first European to discover the ruins of Harappa nea ...

, pseudonym of a deserter from the army of The East India Company was an eyewitness to the event and has left a detailed account.

Events

Following the collapse of the Durrani Empire, Afghanistan split into many different states to where virtually every city was autonomous or independent in some shape or form, with states like the

Principality of Qandahar The Principality of Qandahar was a state that existed in Qandahar from 1818 to 1855. It was ruled by the Dil brothers, members of the Barakzai dynasty, in a confederation. In 1855 the principality was conquered by Dost Mohammad Khan. History In ...

and the Emirate of Herat being formed. Maharaj Ranjit Singh sent General Hari Singh Nalwa and Mahan Singh Mirpuri as Nalwa's deputy commander to capture Peshawar. After brief fighting, Hari Singh Nalwa captured the city. The news of the capture of Peshawar quickly reached Kabul and Dost Mohammad Khan, learning of his deposed brothers defeat. Hari Singh Nalwa was appointed as governor of the city by Maharaja

Ranjit Singh Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839), popularly known as Sher-e-Punjab or "Lion of Punjab", was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, which ruled the northwest Indian subcontinent in the early half of the 19th century. He s ...

References

Peshawar 1834 1834 in India

1834 Events January–March * January – The Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad is chartered in Wilmington, North Carolina. * January 1 – Zollverein (Germany): Customs charges are abolished at borders within its member states. * January 3 � ...

Peshawar 1834 Peshawar 1834 Ranjit Singh 1834 in Afghanistan May 1834 events {{sikhism-stub