The siege of Mankera, also known as the fall of Mankera, was a conflict from 7 December 1821 to 1 January 1822 between the Sikh forces led by Maharaja

Ranjit Singh Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839) was the founder and first maharaja of the Sikh Empire, in the northwest Indian subcontinent, ruling from 1801 until his death in 1839. Born to Maha Singh, the leader of the Sukerchakia M ...

and the Mankera forces led by Nawab Hafiz Ahmad Khan.

Background

The

Sindh Sagar Doab Sindh Sagar Doab (, ''Sind Sāgar Dōāb''), sometimes shortened as Sagar Doab, is a '' Doab'' or tract of land in the Punjab region, lying between the Indus and Jhelum rivers, in present-day Pakistan. It, administratively, covers a huge portio ...

was fully under the rule of the Kingdom of Mankera and Mitha Tiwana. The chief of Mankera Nawab Hafiz Ahmad Khan had the most control over the region. Mohammad Khan, the previous chief of Mankera, had built 12 forts outside the Mankera fort to make direct invasion of the main fort impossible. The fort used to be a part of the

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

until they lost it and an independent state was formed. Instead of paying taxes to the

Sikh Empire The Sikh Empire was a regional power based in the Punjab, Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent. It existed from 1799, when Maharaja Ranjit Singh captured Lahore, to 1849, when it was defeated and conquered by the East India Company, Br ...

, the Nawab paid tribute to the

Durrani Empire The Durrani Empire, colloquially known as the Afghan Empire, or the Saddozai Kingdom, was an Afghanistan, Afghan empire founded by the Durrani tribe of Pashtuns under Ahmad Shah Durrani in 1747, which spanned parts of Central Asia, the Iranian ...

Kabul Kabul 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. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

. Furthermore, Mankera held the 3 important towns of Leiah,

Bhakkar Bhakkar () is the principal city of Bhakkar District, Punjab, Pakistan. It lies on the left bank of the Indus River. It is the 86th most populous city in Pakistan. Administration Bhakkar is the administrative centre of Bhakkar Tehsil, which ...

and

Dera Ismail Khan Dera Ismail Khan (; Urdu and , ), abbreviated as D.I. Khan, is a city and capital of Dera Ismail Khan District, located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is the 10th largest city of Pakistan and third or fourth largest in the province of Khy ...

, and the caravan route from

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

and

Baluchistan Balochistan ( ; , ), also spelled as Baluchistan or Baluchestan, is a historical region in West and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. This arid region of de ...

also went through the territory of the Nawab. This made Mankera an important asset for the Sikh Empire to have. Therefore in the Dusshera of 1821, Ranjit Singh headed with his army to Mankera to annex it. Ahmad Yar Khan Tiwana decided to aid the Sikh forces during the battle to settle old scores with the Nawab.

Hari Singh Nalwa Hari Singh Nalwa (29 April 1791 – 30 April 1837) was the commander-in-chief of the Sikh Khalsa Army, Sikh Khalsa Fauj, the army of the Sikh Empire. He is known for his role in the conquests of Kasur, Sialkot, Attock, Multan, Kashmir, Peshaw ...

was invited to join the expedition. As he was heading to join the Maharaja with 7,000 troops, Nawla was challenged by 25,000 Pashtun and Hazara tribesmen and their leader, Mohammad Khan Tarain, who opposed the Sikh's passage from the area. This led to the Battle of Mangal in which Nalwa defeated the tribesmen and continued towards Ranjit Singh until meeting him at Mitha Tiwana.

Battle

The Sikh forces arrived at

Mankera Mankera ( Saraiki and ) is the principal town of Mankera Tehsil, an administrative subdivision of Bhakkar District, in the Punjab province of Pakistan.Bhakkar Bhakkar () is the principal city of Bhakkar District, Punjab, Pakistan. It lies on the left bank of the Indus River. It is the 86th most populous city in Pakistan. Administration Bhakkar is the administrative centre of Bhakkar Tehsil, which ...

without a fight and

and Leiah were taken by the Sikhs with a fight. Next the entire army regathered and laid siege to the fort of Mankera. Since Mankera was situated in the middle of a sandy desert, the Sikhs dug up 25 wells for people to drink from. Nawab Hafiz along with Sakhi Jan Jadoon, knowing that he could not resist any longer offered terms of surrender. These terms stated that he be allowed to leave the fort with personal things and to be given the town of Dera Ismail Khan as a

jagir A jagir (), ( Hindustani: जागीर/جاگیر, ''Jāgīr''), ( Marathi: जहागीर, ''Jahāgīrá'') also spelled as jageer, was a type of feudal land grant in the Indian subcontinent at the foundation of its Jagirdar ( Zamindar ...

. The terms were accepted and the Nawab came out after 25 days of being besieged.

Aftermath

After this siege, the land between the

Jhelum Jhelum (; , ) is a city, located along the western bank of the Jhelum River, in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the 21st largest city in Punjab and 31st largest in Pakistan, by population. Located in northern Punjab, it serves as the capital of the ...

and the

Indus The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans- Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in the Western Tibet region of China, flows northwest through the dis ...

was annexed by the Sikh Empire. It was also the key of having influence over the

Derajat Derajat (Urdu: , the plural of the word 'dera' ) is a historical and cultural region in central Pakistan, bounded by the Indus River to the east and the Sulaiman Mountains to the west. It is located in the area where the provinces of Punjab, Paki ...

region. The Maharaja was impressed by the contribution of the Tiwanas during the battle and asked for him to take on horsemen with him to

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

References

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Background

Battle

Aftermath

References

See also