Mian Ghaus Khan (died 1814), also known as Mian Ghausa, was a

Punjabi Muslim Punjabi Muslims ( pa, ) are adherents of Islam who identify linguistically, culturally, and genealogically as Punjabis. Primarily geographically native to the Punjab province of Pakistan today, many have ancestry in the entire Punjab region, ...

Arain Arain (also known as Raeen) are a large Punjabi agricultural tribe with strong political identity and organisation, found mainly in the Pakistani provinces of Punjab and Sindh with a small population in parts of Indian Punjab, Uttar Pradesh a ...

descent who served as an artillery officer 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 ...

under Sardar Maha Singh. After Maha Singh's death, Ghaus Khan served his son,

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 ...

, the founder of the

Sikh Empire The Sikh Empire was a state originating in the Indian subcontinent, formed under the leadership of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who established an empire based in the Punjab. The empire existed from 1799, when Maharaja Ranjit Singh captured Lahor ...

. Ghaus Khan's son,

Sultan Mahmud Khan Sultan Mahmud Khan (died 1859) was a commander of the Sikh Khalsa Army, the army of Sarkar e Khalsa. His derah of artillery was designated as Topkhana Sultan Mahmud. He is regarded as one of the best commanding officers of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. ...

(d. 1859) and grandson, Sultan Ahmad Ali Khan, too served in the

Sikh Khalsa Army The Sikh Khalsa Army (), also known as Khalsaji or simply Sikh Army, was the military force of the Sikh Empire. With its roots in the Khalsa founded by Guru Gobind Singh, the army was later modernised on Franco-British principles by Maharaja Ran ...

Military career

Ghaus Khan enrolled in the army of Maha Singh and eventually rose to become his Jarnail (General). His first significant participation was during the conquest of the

Rohtas Fort Rohtas Fort or Rotas Ghur ( Punjabi, ur, ; ''Qila Rohtas'') is a 16th-century fortress located near the city of Dina in Jhelum district of the Punjab province of Pakistan. An Afghan warlord turned Padishah, Sher Shah Suri built the fort, w ...

from Nur-ud-din Bamezai, a general of Ahmad Shah Durrani. He accompanied Maha Singh during four-month siege to

Rasool Nagar Rasool Nagar or Rasul Nagar ( Punjabi and ur, ), is a small town in Wazirabad District, situated on the bank of the Chenab River in Punjab province of Pakistan. Having its own municipality which is govern by the chairman. The neighboring cities a ...

, in which they were assisted by

Jai Singh Kanhaiya Jai Singh Kanhaiya (1712–1793) was the founder and leader of the Kanhaiya Misl until his death. His daughter-in-law, Sada Kaur succeeded him in the leadership of the ''misl''. Early life Jai Singh was born in the village of Kahna, 21 km s ...

, chief of the

Kanhaiya Misl The Kanhaiya Misl was founded by the Sandhu Jats. Jai Singh Sandhu (son of Khushal Singh) of the village Kanha (district Lahore) was the founder of this ''Misl''; hence the misl came to known as Kanhaiya Misl; another founder leader of thi ...

. He served under the 10-year old Ranjit Singh during the siege of

Sodhra Sodhra is a town and Union council of Wazirabad District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is part of Wazirabad Tehsil.

. Sometime after, Maha Singh died and Ranjit Singh was crowned the chief of Sukerchakia Misl. Under Ranjit Singh, he served during the

Battle of Amritsar (1797) The Battle of Amritsar took place on 12 January 1797 between the Durranis and the Sikh Misls as part of the Afghan-Sikh wars which ended with Sikh victory and retreat of Zaman Shah Durrani. Background On 11 January 1797, Amritsar was raided b ...

Battle of Gujrat (1797) The Battle of Gujrat was a decisive battle in the Second Anglo-Sikh War, fought on 21 February 1849, between the forces of the East India Company, and a Sikh army in rebellion against the company's control of the Sikh Empire, represented by ...

and Battle of Amritsar (1798), these battled foiled the attempts of Shah Zaman Durrani to annex Punjab into his region. In 1799, he accompanied Ranjit Singh and his mother-in-law,

Sada Kaur Rani Sada Kaur (Punjabi: ਸਦਾ ਕੌਰ; 1762 – 1832) was a Sikh leader. She served as the Chief of the Kanhaiya Misl from 1789 to 1821, following the death of her husband Gurbaksh Singh Kanhaiya, the heir to Jai Singh Kanhaiya, the lead ...

in the conquest 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. ...

from the

Bhangi Misl The Bhangi Misl ( Punjabi pronunciation: ə̃˨ŋɡiː mɪsəl was a large and most powerful Sikh Misl headquartered was in Amritsar. It was founded in the early 18th century by Sardar Chhajja Singh Dhillon,Sikh History (2004)"The Bhangi ...

. In 1801, Ranjit Singh was proclaimed the

Maharaja Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, an ...

of Punjab. Ghaus Khan was skilful artillery officer and known to be close to both Maha Singh and Ranjit Singh. He was rewarded with jagirs of Van and Bharoval in Amritsar district, along with a mansion in Lahore. In 1808, he commanded the operation with the six-year old Prince Kharak Singh, when he was sent to capture the fort of

Sheikhupura Sheikhupura ( pa, ; ur, ) also known as Qila Sheikhupura, is a city in the Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. Founded by the Mughal Empire, Mughal Emperor Jahangir, Jehangir in 1607, Sheikhupura is the List of most populous citie ...

. In 1812, when Ranjit Singh reorganized the artillery wing of his army into Topkhana Khas and Topkhana Mubarak, Jarnail Ghaus Khan was placed in charge of both, with the designation of Daroghai Topkhana.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Jarnail Ghaus 1814 deaths 19th-century Indian Muslims People from Gujranwala Military personnel from Lahore People from the Sikh Empire Rajputs Indian warriors Indian generals