Second Battle of Lohgarh

The Second Battle of Lohgarh was fought in between 1712 or 1713 by Sikh forces led by Banda Singh Bahadur and Mughal forces led by Jahandar Shah.^[1]

Second Battle of Lohgarh
Part of Mughal–Sikh Wars
Date 1712 or 1713 Location Lohgarh, Bilaspur Result Mughal victory
Belligerents
Khalsa	Mughal Empire
Commanders and leaders
Banda Singh Bahadur	Jahandar Shah

Background

After the death of Bahadur Shah I, a civil war occurred between his sons. The eldest son, Jahandar Shah, won and became the emperor.^[2]

Banda took full advantage of the opportunity and recaptured Sadaura. After this, he recaptured Lohgarh, where he remained undisturbed for about two months. The fort of Lohgarh was repaired and strengthened, and it became the capital of the Sikhs for almost two years.^[3][4][5][6] Jahandar Shah ordered Amin Khan to capture Banda Singh Bahadur and laid siege to Lohgarh, but he failed to capture the Sikh leader. Later, as the Emperor went to Agra to deal with Farrukh Siyar’s revolt (Farrukh Siyar being the son of his younger brother, Azim-us-Shan), Amin Khan was called to join him.^{[7][8][9][10]} On February 11, 1713, Jahandar Shah was defeated and killed, and Farrukh Siyar became Emperor. Soon after, Farrukh Siyar focused on ending the Sikh uprising.^[3][9][10] On February 22, 1713, he moved Abd al-Samad Khan from Kashmir to Punjab, appointed his young son, Zakariya Khan, Governor of Jammu, gave Kashmir to Zabardast Khan, and put Zain-ud-din Ahmad Khan in charge of Sirhind. They were all ordered to stop the Sikh revolt and capture Banda.^[3][9][10]

Battle

In April 1713, Abd al-Samad Khān and Zain-ud-din Ahmad Khan set up camp at Sadhaura and began fighting the Sikhs. The Sikhs fought very bravely, nearly overpowering the Mughal army with their daring night attacks. Banda held his ground for six months, but when he ran out of grain and fodder, he fled into the hills in early October 1713. This was recorded in Delhi on October 9, 1713. Banda then moved to his Derah on the bank of the Chenab River. Later, Zakariya Khan led an expedition against him. Many Sikhs were killed, and their heads were sent to Delhi.^[3][9][10] Banda took full advantage of the opportunity and recaptured Sadaura. After this, he recaptured Lohgarh,. where he remained undisturbed for about two months. The fort of Lohgarh was repaired and strengthened, and it became the capital of the Sikhs for almost two years.^[3][4][5][6] On December 13, 1713, these were shown before Emperor Farrukh Siyar, and Zakariya Khan was honored with a robe that gave him the rank of 3,000 Zat and 1,000 Sawars.^{[7][3][9][10]}