Sadiq Dane High School
Sadiq Dane High School is a high school located in Bahawalpur, Pakistan. It is the largest school in Bahawalpur with over 2000 students enrolled, it was established by Nawab of Bahawalpur
Alexander Cunningham
Sir Alexander Cunningham was a British army engineer with the Bengal Engineer Group who took an interest in the history and archaeology of India. In 1861 he was appointed to the newly created position of archaeological surveyor to the government of India, he made extensive collections of artefacts. Some of his collections were lost, but most of the gold and silver coins and a fine group of Buddhist sculptures and jewellery were bought by the British Museum in 1894. Cunningham was born in London in 1814 to the Scottish poet Allan Cunningham and his wife Jean née Walker. Along with his older brother, Joseph, he received his early education at London. Through the influence of Sir Walter Scott, both Joseph and Alexander obtained cadetships at the East India Company's Addiscombe Seminary, followed by technical training at the Royal Engineers Estate at Chatham. Alexander joined the Bengal Engineers at the age of 19 as a Second Lieutenant and spent the next 28 years in the service of British Government of India.
Soon after arriving in India on 9 June 1833, he met James Prinsep. He was in daily communication with Prinsep during 1837 and 1838 and became his intimate friend and pupil. Prinsep passed on to him his lifelong interest in Indian antiquity. From 1836 to 1840 he was ADC to the Governor-General of India. During this period he visited Kashmir, not well explored, he finds mention by initials in Up the Country by Emily Eden. In 1841 Cunningham was made executive engineer to the king of Oudh. In 1842 he was called to serve the army in thwarting an uprising in Bundelkhand by the ruler of Jaipur, he was posted at Nowgong in central India before he saw action at the Battle of Punniar in December 1843. He became engineer at Gwalior and was responsible for constructing an arched stone bridge over the Morar River in 1844–45. In 1845–46 he was called to serve in Punjab and helped construct two bridges of boats across the Beas river prior to the Battle of Sobraon. In 1846 he was made commissioner along with P. A.
Vans Agnew to demarcate boundaries. Letters were written to the Chinese and Tibetan officials by Lord Hardinge. A second commission was set up in 1847, led by Cunningham to establish the Ladakh-Tibet boundary, which included Henry Strachey and Thomas Thomson. Henry and his brother Richard Strachey had trespassed into Lake Mansarovar and Rakas Tal in 1846 and his brother Richard revisited in 1848 with botanist J. E. Winterbottom; the commission was set up to delimit the northern boundaries of the Empire after the First Anglo-Sikh War concluded with the Treaty of Amritsar, which ceded Kashmir as war indemnity expenses to the British. His early work Essay on the Aryan Order of Architecture arose from his visits to the temples in Kashmir and his travels in Ladakh during his tenure with the commission, he was present at the battles of Chillianwala and Gujrat in 1848–49. In 1851, he explored the Buddhist monuments of Central India along with Lieutenant Maisey and wrote an account of these. In 1856 he was appointed chief engineer of Burma, which had just been annexed by Britain, for two years.
In both regions, he established public works departments. He was therefore absent from India during the Rebellion of 1857, he was appointed Colonel of the Royal Engineers in 1860. He retired on 30 June 1861. Cunningham had taken a keen interest in antiquities early in his career. Following Jean-Baptiste Ventura, general of Ranjit Singh, who inspired by the French explorers in Egypt had excavated the bases of pillars to discover large stashes of Bactrian and Roman coins, excavations became a regular activity among British antiquarians. In 1834 he submitted to the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal an appendix to James Prinsep's article on the relics in the Mankiala stupa, he had conducted excavations at Sarnath in 1837 along with Colonel F. C. Maisey and made careful drawings of the sculptures. In 1842 he excavated at Sankassa and at Sanchi in 1851. In 1854 he published The Bhilsa Topes, an attempt to establish the history of Buddhism based on architectural evidence. By 1851 he began to communicate to William Henry Sykes and the East India Company on the value of an archaeological survey.
He provided a rationale that could earn the funding needed for the venture stating that:...would be an undertaking of vast importance to the Indian Government politically, to the British public religiously. To the first body it would show that India had been divided into numerous petty chiefships, which had invariably been the case upon every successful invasion. To the other body it would show that Brahmanism, instead of being an unchanged and unchangeable religion which had subsisted for ages, was of comparatively modern origin, had been receiving additions and alterations. Following his retirement from the Royal Engineers in 1861, The 1st Earl Canning Viceroy of India, appointed Cunningham archaeological surveyor to the Government of India, he held this appointment from 1861 to 1865, but it was terminated through lack of funds. Most antiquarians of the 19th century who took interest in identifying the major cities mentioned in ancient Indian texts did so by putting together clues found in classical Graeco-Ro
Cholistan Desert
The Cholistan Desert locally known as Rohi, sprawls 30 km from Bahawalpur, Punjab and covers an area of 16,000 km2. It adjoins the Thar Desert, extending over into India; the word Cholistan is derived from the Turkic word chol. The people of Cholistan lead a semi-nomadic life, moving from one place to another in search of water and fodder for their animals; the dry bed of the Hakra River runs through the area, along which many settlements of the Indus Valley Civilization have been found. The desert hosts an annual Jeep rally, known as Cholistan Desert Jeep Rally, it is the biggest motor sports event in Pakistan. As mentioned above, the Indus Valley has always been occupied by the wandering nomadic tribes, who are fond of isolated areas, as such areas allow them to lead life free of foreign intrusion, enabling them to establish their own individual and unique cultures. Cholistan till the era of Mughal rule had been isolated from outside influence. During the rule of Mughal Emperor Akbar, it became a proper productive unit.
The entire area was ruled by a host of kings. The rulers were the great patrons of art, the various crafts underwent a simultaneous and parallel development, influencing each other. Masons, stone carvers, artisans and designers started rebuilding the old cities and new sites, with that flourished new courts, paintings and pottery; the fields of architecture, terra cotta, pottery developed in this phase. The backbone of Cholistan economy is cattle breeding, it has the major importance for satisfying the area's major needs for cottage industry as well as milk meat and fat. Because of the nomadic way of life the main wealth of the people are their cattle that are bred for sale, milked or shorn for their wool. Moreover, isolated as they were, they had to depend upon themselves for all their needs like food and all the items of daily use. So all their crafts stemmed from necessity but on they started exporting their goods to the other places as well; the estimated number of livestock in the desert areas is 1.6 million.
Cholistan produces superior type of carpet wool as compared to that produced in other parts of Pakistan. From this wool they knit beautiful carpets and other woolen items; this includes blankets, a local necessity for the desert is not just a land of dust and heat, but winter nights here are cold below freezing points. Khes and pattu are manufactured with wool or cotton. Khes is a form of blanket with a field of black pattu has a white ground base. Cholistanis now sell the wool, it may be mentioned that cotton textiles have always been a hallmark of craft of Indus valley civilization. Various kinds of khaddar-cloth are made for local consumption, fine khaddar bedclothes and coarse lungies are woven here. A beautiful cloth called Sufi is woven of silk and cotton, or with cotton wrap and silk wool. Gargas are made with numerous patterns and color, having complicated embroidery and patchwork. Ajrak is another specialty of Cholistan, it is a special and delicate printing technique on both sides of the cloth in indigo blue and red patterns covering the base cloth.
Cotton turbans and shawls are made here. Chunri is another form of dopattas, having innumerable colors and patterns like dots and circles on it. Camels are valued by the desert dwellers. Camels are not only useful for transportation and loading purposes, but its skin and wool are quite worthwhile. Camel wool is spun and woven into beautiful woolen blankets known as falsies and into stylish and durable rugs; the camel's leather is utilized in making kuppies and expensive lampshades. Leatherwork is another important local cottage industry due to the large number of livestock here. Other than the products mentioned above, Khusa is a specialty of this area. Cholistani khusas are famous for the quality of workmanship and richness of designs when stitched and embroidered with golden or brightly colored threads; the Cholistanis are fond of jewellery gold jewellery. The chief ornaments made and worn by them are Nath, Katmala Kangan, Pazeb. Gold and silver bangles are a product of Cholistan; the locals work in enamel, producing enamel buttons, earrings and rings.
The great desert though considered to be colorless and drab, is not wholly devoid of color. Its green portion plays the role of "color belt" after rains when vegetation growth is at its peak. Adding to that the locals always wear brightly colored clothes consisting of brilliant reds, blazing oranges shocking pinks, startling yellows and greens; the cloth trappings of their bullocks and camels are richly colored and textured. There is a rain forest in Cholistan named "Dodhla Forest" The wildlife of Cholistan desert consists of migratory birds Houbara bustard who migrates to this part during winters; this species of birds is most famous in the hunting season though they are endangered in Pakistan, according to IUCN Red List. Their population has decreased from 4,746 in 2001 to just a few dozens in recent times. In December 2016, a Qatari prince, had his hunting license rejected due to the species being endangered. Another prince, Dr. Fahad was fined with Rs. 80,000 and all of the birds he caught were set free for hunting without permit and license.
The other endangered species in this desert is Chinkara, their population has decreased from 3,000 in 2007 to just a few
Punjab, Pakistan
Punjab is Pakistan's second largest province by area, after Balochistan, it is the most populated province, with an estimated population of 110,012,442 as of 2017. Forming the bulk of the transnational Punjab region, it is bordered by the Pakistan provinces of Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the enclave of Islamabad, Azad Kashmir, it shares borders with the Indian states of Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir. The provincial capital of Punjab is the city Lahore, a cultural, historical and cosmopolitan centre of Pakistan where the country's cinema industry, much of its fashion industry, are based. Punjab has been inhabited since ancient times; the Indus Valley Civilization, dating to 2600 BCE, was first discovered at Harappa. Punjab features in the Hindu epic poem, the Mahabharata, is home to Taxila, site of what is considered by many to be the oldest university in the world. In 326 BCE, Alexander the Great defeated King Porus at the Battle of the Hydaspes near Punjab; the Umayyad empire conquered Punjab in the 8th century CE.
In the subsequent centuries, Punjab was invaded and conquered by the Ghaznavids, Delhi Sultanate, Mughals and the Sikhs. Punjab reached the height of its splendour during the reign of the Mughal Empire, which for a time ruled from Lahore. During the 18th century, Nader Shah’s invasion of the Mughal Empire caused Mughal authority in the Punjab to fall apart and it thus fell into chaos; the Durranis under Ahmad Shah Durrani wrested control of Punjab only to lose it to the Sikhs after a successful rebellion which allowed Sikh armies to claim Lahore in 1759. The Sikh Empire was ruled by Ranjit Singh with his capital based in Lahore, until its defeat by the British. Punjab was central to the independence movements of both India and Pakistan, with Lahore being site of both the Declaration of Indian Independence, the resolution calling for the establishment of Pakistan; the province was formed when the Punjab province of British India was divided along religious boundaries in 1947 by the Radcliffe Line after Partition.
Punjab is Pakistan's most industrialised province with the industrial sector making up 24% of the province's gross domestic product. Punjab is known in Pakistan for its relative prosperity, has the lowest rate of poverty amongst all Pakistani provinces. A clear divide is present between the southern portions of the province. Punjab is one of South Asia's most urbanized regions with 40% of people living in urban areas, its human development index rankings are high relative to the rest of Pakistan. Punjab is known in Pakistan for its liberal social attitudes; the province has been influenced by Sufism, with numerous Sufi shrines spread across Punjab which attract millions of devotees annually. The founder of the Sikh faith, Guru Nanak, was born in the Punjab town of Nankana Sahib near Lahore. Punjab is the site of the Katasraj Temple, which features prominently in Hindu mythology. Several UNESCO World Heritage Sites are located in Punjab, including the Shalimar Gardens, the Lahore Fort, the archeological excavations at Taxila, the Rohtas Fort.
The region was called Sapta Sindhu, the Vedic land of the seven rivers flowing into the ocean. The Sanskrit name for the region, as mentioned in the Ramayana and Mahabharata for example, was Panchanada which means "Land of the Five Rivers", was translated to Persian as Punjab after the Muslim conquests; the region was known to the Greeks as Pentapotamia. The word Punjab was formally introduced in the early 17th century CE as an elision of the Persian words panj and āb, thus meaning the five rivers, similar in meaning to the Sanskrit and Greek name for the region; the five rivers, namely Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej, flow via the Panjnad River into the Indus River and into the Arabian Sea. Of the five great rivers of Punjab, four course through Pakistan's Punjab province. Due to its location, the Punjab region came under constant attack and witnessed centuries of foreign invasions by the Persians, Kushans, Scythians and Afghans; the northwestern part of South Asia, including Punjab, was invaded or conquered by various foreign empires, including those of Tamerlane, Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan.
The oldest evidence of life in Pakistan has been found in Soan River valley. It was here that some of the earliest signs of humans have been discovered during the excavations of prehistoric mounds. Tools up to two million years old have been recovered in potohar plateau. In the Soan River, many fossil bearing rocks are exposed on the surface. 14 million year old fossils of gazelle, crocodile and rodents have been found there. Punjab during Mahabharata times was known as Panchanada. Punjab was part of the Indus Valley Civilization, more than 4000 years ago; the main site in Punjab was the city of Harrapa. The Indus Valley Civilization spanned much of what is today Pakistan and evolved into the Indo-Aryan civilization; the Vedic civilisation flourished along the length of the Indus River. This civilization shaped subsequent cultures in South Afghanistan. Although the archaeological site at Harappa was damaged in 1857 when engineers constructing the Lahore-Multan railroad used brick from the Harappa ruins for track ballast, an abundance of artefacts have been found.
Punjab was part of the great ancient empires including the Gandhara Mahajanapadas, Macedonians, Kushans and Hin
Indus Valley Civilisation
The Indus Valley Civilisation was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of the Indian subcontinent, lasting from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, in mature form from 2600 BCE to 1900 BCE. Along with ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia it was one of three early civilisations of the region comprising North Africa, West Asia and South Asia, of the three, the most widespread, its sites spanning an area stretching from northeast Afghanistan, through much of Pakistan, into western- and northwestern India, it flourished in the basins of the Indus River, which flows through the length of Pakistan, along a system of perennial monsoon-fed, rivers that once coursed in the vicinity of the seasonal Ghaggar-Hakra river in northwest India and eastern Pakistan. The civilisation's cities were noted for their urban planning, baked brick houses, elaborate drainage systems, water supply systems, clusters of large non-residential buildings, new techniques in handicraft and metallurgy; the large cities of Mohenjo-daro and Harappa likely grew to containing between 30,000 and 60,000 individuals, the civilisation itself during its florescence may have contained between one and five million individuals.
Gradual drying of the region's soil during the 3rd millennium BCE may have been the initial spur for the urbanisation associated with the civilisation, but also reduced the water supply enough to cause the civilisation's demise, to scatter its population eastward. The Indus civilisation is known as the Harappan Civilisation, after its type site, the first of its sites to be excavated early in the 20th century in what was the Punjab province of British India and now is Pakistan; the discovery of Harappa and soon afterwards Mohenjo-Daro was the culmination of work beginning in 1861 with the founding of the Archaeological Survey of India during the British Raj. There were however earlier and cultures called Early Harappan and Late Harappan in the same area. By 2002, over 1,000 Mature Harappan cities and settlements had been reported, of which just under a hundred had been excavated, there are only five major urban sites: Harappa, Mohenjo-daro, Ganeriwala in Cholistan and Rakhigarhi; the early Harappan cultures were preceded by local Neolithic agricultural villages, from which the river plains were populated.
The Harappan language is not directly attested, its affiliation is uncertain since the Indus script is still undeciphered. A relationship with the Dravidian or Elamo-Dravidian language family is favoured by a section of scholars; the Indus Valley Civilisation is named after the Indus river system in whose alluvial plains the early sites of the civilisation were identified and excavated. Following a tradition in archaeology, the civilisation is sometimes referred to as the Harappan, after its type site, the first site to be excavated in the 1920s. A section of scholars use the terms "Sarasvati culture", the "Sarasvati Civilisation", the "Indus-Sarasvati Civilisation" or the "Sindhu-Saraswati Civilisation", because they consider the Ghaggar-Hakra river to be the same as the Sarasvati, a river mentioned several times in the Rig Veda, a collection of ancient Sanskrit hymns composed in the second millennium BCE. However, recent geophysical research suggests that unlike the Sarasvati, whose descriptions in the Rig Veda are those of a snow-fed river, the Ghaggar-Hakra was a system of perennial monsoon-fed rivers, which became seasonal around the time that the civilisation diminished 4,000 years ago.
In addition, proponents of the Sarasvati nomenclature see a connection between the decline of the Indus civilisation and the rise of the Vedic civilisation on the Gangetic plain. The Indus civilization was contemporary with the other riverine civilisations of the ancient world: Egypt along the Nile, Mesopotamia in the lands watered by the Euphrates and the Tigris, China in the drainage basin of the Yellow River. By the time of its mature phase, the civilisation had spread over an area larger than the others, which included a core of 1,500 km up the alluvial plane of the Indus and its tributaries. In addition, there was a region with disparate flora and habitats, up to ten times as large, shaped culturally and economically by the Indus. Around 6500 BCE, agriculture emerged on the margins of the Indus alluvium. In the following millennia, settled life made inroads into the Indus plains, setting the stage for the growth of rural and urban human settlements; the more organized sedentary life in turn led to a net increase in the birth rate.
The large urban centres of Mohenjo-daro and Harappa likely grew to containing between 30,000 and 60,000 individuals, during the civilization's florescence, the population of the subcontinent grew to between 4–6 million people. During this period the death rate increased as well, for close living conditions of humans and domesticated animals led to an increase in contagious diseases. According to one estimate, the population of the Indus civilization at its peak may have been between one and five million; the Indus Valley Civilisation extended from Pakistan's Balochistan in the west to India's western Uttar Pradesh in the east, from northeastern Afghanistan in the north to India's Gujarat state in the south. The largest number
Bahawalpur (princely state)
Bahawalpur, was a princely state of British India and Pakistan, that existed from 1802 to 1955. It was a part of Punjab States Agency; the state covered an area of 45,911 km² and had a population of 1,341,209 in 1941. The capital of the state was the town of Bahawalpur. Bahawalpur state was founded in 1802 by Nawab Mohammad Bahawal Khan Abbasi after the breakup of the Durrani Empire, his successor was Nawab Mohammad Bahawal Khan Abbasi III. On 22 February 1833, Abbasi III entered into subsidiary alliance with the British by which Bahawalpur was admitted as a princely state of British India; when India became independent of British rule in 1947 and partitioned into two states and Pakistan, Bahawalpur joined the Dominion of Pakistan. Bahawalpur remained an autonomous entity till 14 October 1955 when it was merged with the province of West Pakistan; the Abbasi tribe from whom the ruling family of Bahawalpur belong, claim descent from the Abbasid Caliphs. The tribe came to Bahawalpur in the middle of the 17th century, assumed independence during the decline of the Durrani Empire.
Upon establishment of Abbasi rule in the region around Uch, the clan's Nawab established canals as a matter of statecraft in order to help incorporate Daudpotra kinsmen. Bahawalpur along with other Cis-Sutlej states were a group of states, lying between the Sutlej River on the north, the Himalayas on the east, the Yamuna River and Delhi District on the south, Sirsa District on the west; these states were ruled by the Scindhia dynasty of the Maratha Empire, various Sikh sardars and other Rajas of the Cis-Sutlej states paid tributes to the Marathas, until the Second Anglo-Maratha War of 1803-1805, after which the Marathas lost this territory to the British. As part of the 1809 Treaty of Amritsar, Ranjit Singh was confined to the right bank of the Sutlej; the first treaty with Bahawalpur was negotiated in 1833, the year after the treaty with Ranjit Singh for regulating traffic on the Indus. It secured the independence of the Nawab within his own territories, opened up the traffic on the Indus and Sutlej.
The political relations of Bahawalpur with the paramount power, as at present existing, are regulated by a treaty made in October, 1838, when arrangements were in progress for the restoration of Shah Shuja to the Kabul throne. During the First Anglo-Afghan War, the Nawab assisted the British with supplies and allowing passage and in 1847-8 he co-operated with Sir Herbert Edwardes in the expedition against Multan. For these services he was rewarded by the grant of the districts of Sabzalkot and Bhung, together with a life-pension of a lakh. On his death a dispute arose regarding succession, he was succeeded by his third son. The new ruler was, deposed by his elder brother, obtained asylum in British territory, with a pension from the Bahawalpur revenues. In 1863 and 1866 insurrections broke out against the Nawab who crushed the rebellions. After several endeavours to arrange for the administration of the country without active interference on the part of the Government, it was found necessary, on account of disorganization and disaffection, to place the principality in British hands.
In 1879, the Nawab was invested with full powers, with the advice and assistance of a council of six members. During the Afghan campaigns the Nawab placed the entire resources of his State at the disposal of the British Indian Government, a contingent of his troops was employed in keeping open communications, in guarding the Dera Ghazi Khan frontier. On his death in 1899 he was succeeded by Muhammad Bahawal Khan V, who attained his majority in 1900, was invested with full powers in 1903; the Nawab of Bahawalpur was entitled to a salute of 17 guns. Bahawalpur House in Delhi is now home to the National School of Drama; the predominantly Muslim population supported Pakistan Movement. After the independence of Pakistan in 1947, the minority Hindus and Sikhs migrated to India while the Muslim refugees from India settled in the Bahawalpur state. After independence of Pakistan, Nawab of Bahawalpur Sadeq Mohammad Khan V proved to be helpful and generous to the government of Pakistan, he gave seventy million rupees to the government and the salaries of all the government departments for one month were drawn from the treasury of Bahawalpur state.
He donated his private property to the University of the Punjab, King Edward Medical College and the Mosque of Aitchison College, Lahore. At the time of independence all the princely states of the British India were given a choice to join either Pakistan or India, or to remain independent, outside both. On 5 October 1947 the Nawab signed an agreement with the government of Pakistan according to which Bahawalpur State acceded to Pakistan, the accession was accepted on 9 October, thus the State of Bahawalpur was the first state to accede to Pakistan. The main factor was of course the Islamic sentiments of the Muslims, who were in a majority in Bahawalpur State. Moreover, the Nawab and the Quaid-e-Azam were close friends and they had great respect for each other before the creation of Pakistan; the Ameer of Bahawalpur Refugee Relief and Rehabilitation Fund was instituted in 1947 for providing a central organization for the relief of the refugees. The Quaid-e-Azam acknowledged the valuable contribution of the Bahawalpur State for the rehabilitation of the refugees.
In 1953, the Nawab represented Pakistan at the installation of Faisal II of
Durrani Empire
The Durrani Empire called the Sadozai Kingdom, Afghan Empire, was founded and built by Ahmad Shah Durrani. At its maximum extent, the empire ruled over what are now the modern-day countries of Afghanistan, Pakistan, as well as some parts of northeastern Iran, eastern Turkmenistan, northwestern India including the Kashmir region. After the death of Nader Shah in 1747, the region of Kandahar was claimed by Ahmad Shah Durrani. From there he began conquering Ghazni followed by Kabul. In 1749 the Mughal ruler had ceded sovereignty over what is now Pakistan and northwestern Punjab to the Afghans. Ahmad Shah set out westward to take possession of Herat, ruled by Shahrokh Shah, he next sent an army to subdue the areas north of the Hindu Kush and in short order all the different tribes began joining his cause. Ahmad Shah and his forces invaded India four times, taking control of the Kashmir and the Punjab region. Early in 1757, he sacked Delhi, but permitted the Mughal dynasty to remain in nominal control as long as the ruler acknowledged Ahmad Shah's suzerainty over the Punjab and Kashmir.
After the death of Ahmad Shah in about 1772, his son Timur Shah became the next ruler of the Durrani dynasty who decided to make Kabul the new capital of the empire, used Peshawar as the winter capital. The Durrani Empire is considered the foundation of the modern state of Afghanistan, with Ahmad Shah Durrani being credited as "Father of the Nation". In 1709 Mir Wais Hotak, chief of the Ghilji tribe of Kandahar Province, gained independence from the Safavid Persians. From 1722 to 1725, his son Mahmud Hotak ruled large parts of Iran and declared himself as Shah of Persia. However, the Hotak dynasty came to a complete end in 1738 after being toppled and banished by the Afsharids who were led by Nader Shah Afshar of Persia; the year 1747 marks the definitive appearance of an Afghan political entity independent of both the Persian and Mughal empires. In October 1747 a loya jirga concluded near the city of Kandahar with Ahmad Shah Durrani being selected as the new leader of the Afghans, thus the Durrani dynasty was founded.
Despite being younger than the other contenders, Ahmad Shah had several overriding factors in his favor. He belonged to a respectable family of political background since his father served as Governor of Herat who died in a battle defending the Afghans. One of Ahmad Shah's first military actions was to capture Ghazni from the Ghiljis, wrest Kabul from the local ruler. In 1749, the Mughal ruler was induced to cede Sindh, the Punjab region and the important trans Indus River to Ahmad Shah in order to save his capital from Afghan attack. Having thus gained substantial territories to the east without a fight, Ahmad Shah turned westward to take possession of Herat, ruled by Nader Shah Afshar's grandson, Shahrukh Afshar. Ahmad Shah next sent an army to subdue the areas north of the Hindu Kush mountains. In short order, the powerful army brought under its control the Tajik, Uzbek and other tribes of northern Afghanistan. Ahmad Shah invaded the remnants of the Mughal Empire a third time, a fourth, consolidating control over the Kashmir and Punjab regions, with Lahore being governed by Afghans.
He sacked Delhi in 1757 but permitted the Mughal dynasty to remain in nominal control of the city as long as the ruler acknowledged Ahmad Shah's suzerainty over Punjab and Kashmir. Leaving his second son Timur Shah to safeguard his interests, Ahmad Shah left India to return to Afghanistan. Alarmed by the expansion of China's Qing Dynasty up to the eastern border of Kazakhstan, Ahmad Shah attempted to rally neighboring Muslim khanates and the Kazakhs to unite and attack China, ostensibly to liberate its western Muslim subjects. Ahmad Shah dispatched troops to Kokand. However, with his campaigns in India exhausting the state treasury, with his troops stretched thin throughout Central Asia, Ahmad Shah lacked sufficient resources to do anything except to send envoys to Beijing for unsuccessful talks; the Mughal power in northern India had been declining since the reign of Aurangzeb, who died in 1707. In 1751-52, Ahamdiya treaty was signed between the Marathas and Mughals, when Balaji Bajirao was the Peshwa.
Through this treaty, the Marathas controlled the whole of India from their capital at Pune and the Mughal rule was restricted only to Delhi. Marathas were now straining to expand their area of control towards the Northwest of India. Ahmad Shah withdrew with the booty he coveted. To counter the Afghans, Peshwa Balaji Bajirao sent Raghunathrao, he defeated the Rohillas and Afghan garrisons in Punjab and succeeded in ousting Timur Shah and his court from India and brought Lahore, Multan and other subahs on the Indian side of Attock under Maratha rule. Thus, upon his return to Kandahar in 1757, Ahmad was forced to return to India and face the formidable attacks of the Maratha Confederacy. Ahmad Shah declared a jihad against the Marathas, warriors from various Afghan tribes joined his army, including the Baloch people under the command of Khan of Kalat Mir Nasir I of Kalat. Suba Khan Tanoli was selected as army chief of all military forces. Early skirmishes were followed by victory for the Afghans against the much larger Maratha garrisons in Northwest India and by 1759 Ahmad Shah and his army had reached Lahore and were poised to confront the Marathas.
Ahmad Shah Durrani was famous for winning wars much larger than his army. By 1760, the Maratha groups had coalesced into a big enough army under the command of Sadashivrao Bhau. Once again, Panip
Pakistan
Punjab
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