Siege of Multan
After several earlier attempts, a large Sikh army breached the walls with the great Zamzama gun and Akali charges. The Nawab died with his sons.
Multan, the ancient city of the south-west, was ruled by the Afghan Nawab Muzaffar Khan, who paid tribute to Kabul. Ranjit Singh had attacked it six times since 1802, extracting tribute but never taking it.
In 1818 a large army under Misr Diwan Chand, with Kharak Singh as nominal commander, besieged the city from March. The great gun Zamzama, the Bhangian wali Toap, was brought from Lahore. For months the guns pounded the walls; in early June they were breached, and on 2 June the Akali Nihangs, led by Sadhu Singh, stormed through.
Muzaffar Khan, an old man, fought to the death at the gate with his sons. Multan became a Sikh province, governed from 1821 by Diwan Sawan Mal, who made it prosperous.
Same era
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