| Battle of Nowshera | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Afghan-Sikh wars | |||||||||
 Fresco in Jammu depicting Akali Phula Singh and his Akali-Nihang warriors giving a last stand to Afghan Ghazi warriors in the Battle of Nowshera | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Sikh Empire Peshawar Sardars Shah Shuja Durrani Levies | Azim Khan Coalition | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Maharaja Ranjit Singh Hari Singh Nalwa Mahan Singh Mirpuri Misr Diwan Chand Akali Phula Singh † Khushal Singh Jamadar Desa Singh Majithia Kharak Singh Fateh Singh Ahluwalia Sardar Yar Muhammad Jean-Baptiste Ventura Jean-Francois Allard Balbhadra Kunwar † Goolab Singh †[3] Garbha Singh † General Balu Bahadur †[4] Kurram Singh †[5] |
Azim Khan Barakzai Muhammad Ashraf Khan Sakhi Arsallah Khan Syed Akbar Shah Rahmat Khan Shaikh Muhammad Shoaib † Shaikh Rizwan † | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
|
16,000 Fauj-i-Khas and Fauj-i-Ain regulars 3,000 Sikh Akali Nihangs 4,000 Ghorcharas total: 23,000 | 20,000–25,000 Yusufzai Afridi Khattak tribal levies[6][7] | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Unknown, some estimates range 1,800 killed and 2,000 wounded[8][9] | 3,000–10,000[10][11] [6] | ||||||||
The Battle of Nowshera (Pashto: د نوښار جګړه; Punjabi: ਨੌਸ਼ਹਿਰ ਦੀ ਲੜਾਈ (Gurmukhi), نوشہرہ دی لڑائی (Shahmukhi)) was fought in Nowshera in March 1823 collectively by the Yusufzai Afghans, supported by the Peshawar sardars, alongside Azim Khan Barakzai, the Afghan governor of Peshawar, where they would face the Sikh armies led by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. [12] Azim Khan was a half-brother of Dost Mohammad Khan, the future ruler of Kabul, and later Afghanistan. The battle was a victory for the Sikhs over Azim Khan's armies, a result which allowed the Sikhs to begin their occupation of the Peshawar Valley.[13]
Following their victory, the Sikhs destroyed the Afghan royal court and the fort of Bala Hissar, Peshawar.[14] However, Hari Singh Nalwa soon commenced the reconstruction of the fort.[15]
- ^ Stewart 2011, p. 241.
- ^ Lee 2019, p. 183.
- ^ "The history of the Sikhs; containing the lives of the Gooroos; the history of the independent Sirdars, or Missuls, and the life of the great founder of the Sikh monarchy, Maharajah Runjeet Singh". 1846.
- ^ "Advanced Study in History of the Punjab Vol.2". 1960.
- ^ "The history of the Sikhs; containing the lives of the Gooroos; the history of the independent Sirdars, or Missuls, and the life of the great founder of the Sikh monarchy, Maharajah Runjeet Singh". 1846.
- ^ a b Lee 2019, p. 184.
- ^ Khushwant Singh (24 March 2009). Ranjit Singh. p. 171. ISBN 9780143065432.
- ^ Gardner, Alexander (1898) Soldier and Traveller; memoirs of Alexander Gardner, Colonel of Artillery in the service of Maharaja Ranjit Singh; ed. Hugh Pearse. Edinburgh: William Blackwood, 1898. (Reissued by BiblioBazaar, LLC ISBN 978-1-113-21691-5)
- ^ "Advanced Study in History of the Punjab Vol.2". 1960.
- ^ "History of the Sikhs Vol. V the Sikh Lion of Lahore (Maharaja Ranjit Singh, 1799-1839)".
- ^ M' Gregor, W.L. (1846). History of the Sikhs. London. p. 193.
- ^ Ganda Singh (1986) Maharaja Ranjit Singh: First Death Centenary Memorial. Nirmal Publishers
- ^ Joseph Greenwood (1844) Narrative of the late Victorious Campaigns in Afghanistan: under General Pollock; with recollections of seven years'service in India.London:H.Colburn.
- ^ Moorcroft, W. and G. Trebeck. (1841). Travels in India. ed. Horace Hayman Wilson, rpt, Delhi: Low Price Publication, 2000, v 2, p 337.
- ^ Nalwa, V. (2009), Hari Singh Nalwa - Champion of the Khalsaji, New Delhi: Manohar, p. 228, ISBN 81-7304-785-5.