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PUNJAB WIKIਪੰਜਾਬپنجابKingdoms & Wars
Punjab WikiKingdoms & WarsWars & BattlesMughal Punjab, 1526 – 1705
Battle of Amritsar
Unknown · Wikimedia
Mughal Punjab, 1526 – 1705

Battle of Amritsar

Began over a hawk of Shah Jahan's that the Guru's Sikhs would not give back. A Mughal detachment attacked during a wedding in the Guru's family and was beaten off.

SideGuru Hargobind
VS
OpponentMughal force sent from Lahore

In 1634 the emperor Shah Jahan was hunting near Amritsar when one of his white hawks flew into the Guru's camp, and the Sikhs refused to give it back to the royal huntsmen. The quarrel became a pretext for war.

A Mughal force under Mukhlis Khan was sent from Lahore and attacked Amritsar at night, while the Guru's household was preparing for his daughter Bibi Viro's wedding. The Sikhs fought through the night and the next day in the streets and at Pipli Sahib outside the city. Mukhlis Khan was killed in single combat with the Guru himself, who used his shield to take the blow and struck him down.

It was the first great victory of the Sikhs over a Mughal army. But the Guru knew Amritsar was too exposed, and the household withdrew to Jhabal, where the wedding took place, and then towards the Malwa.

Amritsar · Harmandir Sahib, Punjab, India

Same era

Mughal Punjab, 1526 – 1705
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