The Battle of Jamrud was fought between the

Emirate of Afghanistan The Emirate of Afghanistan also referred to as the Emirate of Kabul (until 1855) ) was an emirate between Central Asia and South Asia that is now today's Afghanistan and some parts of today's Pakistan (before 1893). The emirate emerged from t ...

and 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 ...

on 30 April 1837. It was the last effort made by

Emir Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cer ...

Dost Mohammad Khan Dost Mohammad Khan Barakzai (Pashto/Persian: ; 23 December 17929 June 1863), nicknamed the Amir-i Kabir, Also titled Amir al-Mu'minin, was a member of the Barakzai dynasty and one of the prominent rulers of the Emirate of Afghanistan. His 37-year ...

to recapture the former Afghan

winter capital A summer capital is a city used as an administrative capital during extended periods of particularly hot summer weather. The term is mostly of relevance in historical contexts of political systems with ruling classes that would migrate to a summ ...

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

. Afghan forces confronted the Sikh forces at

Jamrud Jamrūd (Pashto/ ur, جمرود) or Jam ( ps, جم) is a town in the Khyber District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Located in the Valley of Peshawar, on the western fringe of Peshawar city, Jamrud is the doorway to the Khyber Pass which is jus ...

. The garrisoned army was able to hold off the Afghans till Sikh reinforcements arrived to relieve them.

Background

The Battle of Jamrud was fought between the Sikhs under Maharaja Ranjit Singh and the Afghans under Emir

Dost Muhammad Khan Dost Mohammad Khan Barakzai (Pashto/ Persian: ; 23 December 17929 June 1863), nicknamed the Amir-i Kabir, Also titled Amir al-Mu'minin, was a member of the Barakzai dynasty and one of the prominent rulers of the Emirate of Afghanistan. His 37-yea ...

. Following the consolidation of the Sikh Empire in

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

, Maharaja Ranjit Singh had begun a wave of invasions on Afghan-held territories. The Afghans had been losing their long-held territories to Sikhs over the preceding years, and had seen their once mighty empire shrink with the loss of the

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

Multan Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab. Multan is one of the old ...

, Kashmir,

Derajat Derajat ( Punjabi/Urdu: ), the plural of the word ' dera', is a cultural region of central Pakistan, located in the region where the provinces of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan meet. Derajat is bound by the Indus River to the east, a ...

, Hazara,

Balakot Balakot (; ur, ; ) is a town in Mansehra District in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The town was destroyed during the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, but was later rebuilt with the assistance of the Government of Pakistan and Saudi P ...

Attock Attock ( Punjabi and Urdu: ), formerly known as Campbellpur (), is a historical city located in the north of Pakistan's Punjab Province, not far from the country's capital Islamabad. It is the headquarters of the Attock District and is 61st lar ...

, and

Prelude and battle

Towards the end of 1836, Sardar

Hari Singh Nalwa Hari Singh Nalwa (1791–1837) was Commander-in-chief of the Sikh Khalsa Fauj, the army of the Sikh Empire. He is known for his role in the conquests of Kasur, Sialkot, Attock, Multan, Kashmir, Peshawar and Jamrud. Hari Singh Nalwa was respon ...

attacked and captured the small, but very strategic, fortified Khyberi village of

, situated on the south-side of a range of mountains at the mouth of the Khyber Pass. With the conquest of

, the frontier of the Sikh Empire now bordered the frontier of Afghanistan. In 1837, the Sikh Army was in

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 ...

for the wedding of Kanwar Nau Nihal Singh, the grandson of

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, a ...

Ranjit Singh. The Emir of Afghanistan,

, sent his sons with an army to drive the Sikhs out of

. The Sikh general, Sardar

was mortally injured in the battle and later died after forcing his way into the fort. 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. Nevertheless, the Sikh garrison continued fighting until Sikh reinforcements arrived from Lahore and pushed the Afghans out. The battle ended when the Afghans retreated back 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 ...

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

or town of

as a victory for the Sikhs. On the other hand, some state that the killing of

resulted in an Afghan victory. James Norris, Professor of

Political Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

Texas A&M International University Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) is a public university in Laredo, Texas. It is part of the Texas A&M University System and home to over 8,500 students each academic semester. TAMIU offers over 70 undergraduate and graduate degrees in f ...

, states that the battle's outcome was inconclusive.

References

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

Background

Prelude and battle

Result of the battle

See also

References