Indian Campaign of Ahmad Shah Durrani

Ahmad Shah Durrani raided India for seven times between 1748 to 1767.After the assassination of Nadir Shah, Ahmad Shah Durrani succeeded the throne of Afghanistan and he started plundering wealth from nearby regions for successful running of his rule in Afghanistan.

Objectives of his Indian invasions

The reasons for his invasions to India are -

1) Like Muhammad of Ghazni the primary object of his invasion was to plunder India's wealth. India, at that time, was known for his wealth, gold, precious diamonds etc and also to enslave women, men and children to sell them in the markets of Central Asia.

2) Like Muhammad of Ghor, the object of his invasions was to establish political hegemony in India as he was quite familiar with the weak Mughal administration of Delhi.^[1]

First Invasion

Durrani raided India in 1748 for the first time in which his army was defeated in the Battle of Manupur (1748) and he had to return home in failure.^[2][3]

Second invasion

Ahmad Shah Durrani was defeated in his first raid of India, therefore he marched India, the next year to avenge his defeat.

Third Invasion

• Battle of Lahore (1752)

Prelude to the fourth invasion

• Battle of Sabzavar (1755)

Fourth invasion

• Durrani occupation of Delhi (1757)^[4]
• Battle of Gohalwar^[5][6]

Fifth invasion

• Battle of Lahore (1759)
• Battle of Barari Ghat
• Second Battle of Sikandarabad (1760)
• Siege of Kunjpura (1760)
• Third Battle of Panipat (1761)^[7]
• Battle of Gujranwala (1761)^{[8][9][10][11]}
• Battle of Sialkot (1761)^[12]

Sixth invasion

• Battle of Amritsar(1762)
• Battle of Kup also known as Sikh genocide of 1762.^[13][14]
• Battle of Sialkot (1763)^[15][16][17]

Seventh Invasion (1764-1767)

• Battle of Sirhind (1764)^[18]

References

1. "A Concise History of Afghanistan in 25 Volumes, Volume 14". Retrieved 29 December 2014.
2. https://books.google.co.in/books?id=Ifs9AQAAQBAJ&pg=PT76&lpg=PT76&dq=shahnawaz+khan+1748&source=bl&ots=YA1Tqvp4pZ&sig=bwTUKgNh92bJamOGidq38Nw1JFM&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CB0Q6AEwCGoVChMI88CszOG6xwIVSpGOCh0uxwzZ
3. Mehta, J. L. (2005). Advanced study in the history of modern India 1707–1813. Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd. p. 251. ISBN 978-1-932705-54-6. Retrieved 2010-09-23.
4. Advanced Study in the History of Modern India 1707-1813
5. Deol, Harnik (2000). Religion and Nationalism in India. London and New York: Routledge. The case of Punjab; 189. ISBN 9780415201087.
6. Brief History of the Sikh Misls. Jalandhar: Sikh Missionary College.
7. John Clark Marshman (1863). "Nadir Shah". The History of India. Serampore Press. p. 199.
8. Kakshi, S.R.; Pathak, Rashmi; Pathak, S.R.Bakshi R. (2007-01-01). Punjab Through the Ages. Sarup & Sons. p. 15. ISBN 978-81-7625-738-1. Retrieved 12 June 2010.
9. Singh, Khushwant (11 October 2004). A History of the Sikhs: 1469-1838 (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 146. ISBN 978-0-19-567308-1. Retrieved 1 April 2011.
10. Singh, Khushwant. Ranjit Singh- Maharaja of the Punjab. New Delhi. ISBN 978-0-143-06543-2.
11. Grewal, J.S. (1990). The Sikhs of the Punjab. Cambridge University Press. p. 91. ISBN 0 521 63764 3. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
12. Kakshi, S.R.; Rashmi Pathak; S.R.Bakshi; R. Pathak (2007). Punjab Through the Ages. New Delhi: Sarup and Son. ISBN 978-81-7625-738-1.
13. Hari Ram Gupta, History of the Sikhs: Sikh Domination of the Mughal Empire, 1764–1803, second ed., Munshiram Manoharlal (2000) ISBN 978-8121502139
14. Ram Gupta, History of the Sikhs: The Sikh Commonwealth or Rise and Fall of the Misls, rev. ed., Munshiram Manoharlal (2001) ISBN 978-8121501651
15. Jacques, Tony. Dictionary of Battles and Sieges. Greenwood Press. p. 939. ISBN 978-0-313-33536-5.
16. Raj Pal Singh (2004). The Sikhs : Their Journey Of Five Hundred Years. Pentagon Press. p. 116. ISBN 9788186505465.
17. Bhagata, Siṅgha (1993). A History of the Sikh Misals. Publication Bureau, Punjabi University. p. 181. ...
18. Ganḍā, Singh (1959). Ahmad Shah Durrani: Father of Modern Afghanistan. Asia Pub. House. p. 285. ISBN 978-1-4021-7278-6. Retrieved 2010-08-25.