Battle of Manupur
| Battle of Manupur | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Indian campaign of Ahmad Shah Durrani | |||||||
Muhammad Shah and the Mughal army at Sirhind c. 1748 | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Durrani Empire |
Mughal Empire Kingdom of Jaipur Malerkotla State | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Ahmad Shah Durrani Jahan Khan Taqi Khan Shirazi Shah Pasand Khan |
Qamar ud-Din † Moin ul-Mulk (WIA) Safdar Jang Adina Beg (WIA) Bahadur Shah Nasir Khan Ishwari Singh (AWOL) Ala Singh Jamal Khan | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| 12,000 (highest estimate) |
60,000–70,000 combatants 200,000 including camp followers (non-combatants) Immeasurable artillery | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Heavy | Heavy | ||||||
The Battle of Manupur took place on 11 March 1748 between the forces of the rising Durrani Empire led by Afghan Emperor Ahmad Shah Durrani and the armies of the Mughal Empire led by Mughal Vizier Qamar ud-Din. It was part of Ahmad Shah's first invasion of India. The Afghans had successfully stormed through Mughal territories in Afghanistan and Punjab, defeating the Mughals at Lahore. The Mughals immediately began raising a stronger force, led by Qamar ud-Din and Mughal prince Bahadur Shah, to oppose the Afghan invasion. The Afghans continued their offensive, seizing Sirhind before the two armies met at Manupur.
The Afghans were overwhelmingly outnumbered 5:1 as the battle began. Early on, Qamar ud-Din was killed, resulting in his son, Moin ul-Mulk, taking the lead of the Mughal army. The battle began with Afghan charges to the Mughal center, inflicting heavy casualties on them while the Mughals held. The Mughal left flank was entirely dismantled by Afghan Zamburak swivel guns, with the Rajputs stationed there under Ishwari Singh completely fleeing. The Afghans enveloped Moin ul-Mulk, who led a counter charge that led to many Mughal officers being killed, and their own defeat seeming near. A critical counter-attack by Safdar Jang, alongside a rocket disaster in the Afghan ranks, and the superiority of Mughal numbers eventually forced the Afghans to retreat.
Despite the defeat, Ahmad Shah saved his army from massacre, and returned the following year in his second invasion of India, intending to avenge his defeat.