afghanistanand file. Fearing a mutiny, Ahmad Shah set out to return to Lahore, but the
day after fording the Sutlej river the Sikh army appeared in full strength
and for the next week he fought a series of running battles with the Sikh
cavalry. By the time his troops reached Lahore they were exhausted, but
instead of allowing them time to recuperate Ahmad Shah ordered them to
continue their march to the Indus, only for further disasters to strike. While
attempting to cross the Chenab river, the army mistook the correct ford-
ing point and thousands of men were drowned or swept away. According
to one observer, more lives were lost crossing the Chenab than had been
lost in all of Ahmad Shah’s battles with the Sikhs. Once the remnants of
the Durrani army had crossed the Indus, the Sikhs once again overran the
Punjab. Finally, in April 1765, the Sikhs occupied Lahore.
Eighteen months later, in November 1766, Ahmad Shah embarked
on his final campaign in northern India. Initially he was victorious and in
early December the Durrani army briefly reoccupied Lahore, laying siege
to Amritsar. Having drawn the Afghans deep into the Punjab, the Sikhs
proceeded to cut off Ahmad Shah’s supply line, forcing him to confront the
Sikh column that had cut off his line of retreat. Having successfully split the
army in two, the main Sikh army attacked and defeated Sardar Jahan Khan,
who had been left to pursue the siege of Amritsar. Despite these setbacks,
Ahmad Shah insisted on marching on Delhi, but as news of his defeat
spread, province after province refused to pay taxes, tribute or supply the
army. Faced with another potential revolt by senior commanders, Ahmad
Shah abandoned his plans and returned to Multan.
Ahmad Shah’s Indian campaigns, an assessmentDespite nine punishing campaigns in northern India, in the end Ahmad
Shah had little to show in terms of territorial gains beyond the Indus.
Kashmir was now a Durrani principality, as were Multan, Peshawar and the
Deras, but by 1767 it was the Sikhs who ruled the Punjab. Despite defeating
the Marathas and Jats, Ahmad Shah’s campaigns had done little or noth-
ing to strengthen Muslim rule in northern India or prop up what was left
of the Mughal empire. Rather, his invasions contributed significantly to
the demise of Muslim power in northern India. In the spring of 1757 the
Muslim nawab of Bengal had been obliged to send most of his army to
defend Delhi against Ahmad Shah. Two months later, on 23 June 1757, the
n aw ab’s understrength force was decimated by the East India Company’s
army under Robert Clive at the Battle of Palashi (Plassey), a victory that
marked the rise of British imperial power in northern India. Eight years