Battle of Jammu (1712)

Not to be confused with Battle of Jammu (1808).

The Battle of Jammu was fought between the Sikhs under the command of Banda Singh Bahadur against the Mughal forces near the hills of Jammu on 22 January 1712.^[1] The Mughals were able to achieve victory against the Sikhs.^[1][2]

Battle of Jammu
Part of Mughal–Sikh Wars
Date 22 January 1712 Location Jammu Result Mughal Victory[1]
Belligerents
First Sikh State	Mughal Empire
Commanders and leaders
Banda Singh Bahadur	Rustamdil Khan Muhammad Amin Aghar Khan
Casualties and losses
500	Unknown

Background

After the killing of Mughal commanders, Shamas Khan and Bayazid Khan near Bahranpur, the Sikhs under Banda Singh Bahadur began occupying the cities of Pasrur and Aurangabad.^[3] The Mughal forces under the leadership of Rustamdil Khan, the commander-in-chief of the Sikh campaigns in Jammu, with the assistance of Muhammad Amin Khan Turani were able to defeat the Sikhs near Pasrur and pursued the Sikhs into the hills of Jammu.^[3][1][4]

Battle

Muhammad Amin Khan soon joined both Rustamdil Khan and Aghar Khan and combined their forces in a attempt to encircle the Sikhs.^[3] However, the Sikhs were able to cut through the Mughal lines and escape.^[3] Rustamdil Khan then proceeded to commit atrocities on the villages of Parol and Kathua and sold its men and women in the slave markets of Lahore due to him suspecting the villagers to be Sikhs.^[3][2] Muhammad Amin advanced upon Jammu and was able to kill 500 Sikhs.^[2][1] Banda Singh however was able to escape.^[2]

Aftermath

Banda Singh was able to escape from the hills of Jammu and was successful in retaking both Sadhaura and Lohgarh.^[2][5] After the death of Bahadur Shah I, a civil war would ensue between Bahadur Shah's successors in March of 1712.^[2] Jahandar Shah would succeed Bahadur Shah as the new Mughal emperor and sent Muhammad Amin Khan to retake Sadaura from the Sikhs.^[5] Muhammad Amin Khan however failed in retaking Sadhaura and was soon recalled by Jahandar Shah to join him on his expedition in Agra against Jahandar Shah's nephew, Farrukhsiyar. After achieving victory in the Mughal civil war, Farrukhsiyar was crowned as the new Mughal emperor and he led a new campaign against the Sikhs which eventually led to the capture and execution of Banda Singh Bahadur in 1716.^[2]

See also

• Battle of Lohgarh

References

1. Jacques, Tony (2007). Dictionary of Battles and Sieges. Greenwood Press. p. 485. ISBN 978-0-313-33536-5.
2. Gupta, Hari (2007). History Of The Sikhs Vol. II Evolution Of Sikh Confederacies (1707-69). Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd. pp. 22–23. ISBN 978-81-215-0248-1. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
3. Singh, Ganda (1935). Life Of Banda Singh Bahadur Based On Contemporary And Original Records. The Oriental Printing Press. pp. 162–168. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
4. Muzaffar Alam (1986). The Crisis of Empire in Mughal North India: Muzaffar Alam: Awadh and the Punjab, 1707-48. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-561892-1. Jammu , Rustam Dil Khan , the noble - in - charge of the Sikh campaigns , evidently fearing strong resistance from the chief as well , asked the emperor to depute an additional detachment under his command.106 Imperial farmans , along
5. Sagoo, Harbans (2001). Banda Singh Bahadur And Sikh Sovereignty. Deep & Deep Publications Pvt. Ltd. pp. 200–207. ISBN 81-7629-300-8.