Ahmad Shah Durrani against Qing China

[Marwat Khan Lodhi]

Ahmad Shah Durrani was attempting to form alliance of muslim central asian khanates and kazaks in order to mount military campaign against the Qing expansion into central asia. The powerful muslim ruler was upset at the murder of muslim saints, the kashghar khojas. According to the report of valikhanov, such central asian rulers as irdana of khokand and tashkent, fadil bi of khojent and uratepe, and a sultan of the kazaks, had earlier sent a letter to Ahmad Shah to ask him "to deliver the muslim world from attack of non-believers". In the spring of 1763 were deployed in the area between khokand and Tashkent, and Ahmad shah dispatched letters to many leaders of islamic countries urging them to join in the holy war.According to valikhanov this provoked atleast one revolt in 1765 in a town called ush within kashgharia itself where mulsims had risen with expectation of receiving help from the wider muslim world.

This plan for a coordinated attack against Qing territory also appears in Russsian records. according to their reports , irdana had sent letter to kazak sultan, ablai, notifying him that Ahmad shah's emissary has arrived in khokand with a message that Ahmad Shah has agreed to aid khokand in case of a Qing attack. A merchent from khojent who visited orenburg in january 1764 informed the Russians that Ahmad Shah has concentrated one hundred thousand troops to the north of kandahar in case of war against Qing.The Qing court received similar reports about such military movement in central asia.
Holy War in China: The Muslim Rebellion and State in Chinese Central Asia ...
By Hodong Kim Holy War in China: The Muslim Rebellion and State in Chinese Central Asia ... - Hodong Kim - Google Books

In kashghar troops were also ready for expedition against Afghanistan.
(The Empire And the Khanate: A Political History of Qing Relations with ...
By L. J. Newby page 35)
.............

After his withdrawal from hindustan in the spring of 1761, the Afghan ruler was free to respond to Qing expansion. He sent a letter to the Qing court in 1762 demanding it withdraw from muslim territories, and, when this ultimatum was rejected, began to assemble a huge invasion force.
From Frontier Policy to Foreign Policy: The Question of India and the ... - Matthew Mosca - Google Books
.............................
Central asian and Qing sources that in late 1762, Ahmad shah of afghanistan sent an embasy to Beijing with a letter. The Afghan letter stated that "Maratha khan (probably the Maratha Peshwa) had amassed force of several hundred thousands troops to respond to his own seizure of Delhi. When they heard that he was approaching, however, they fled into the fortress of panipat. After six month siege, Ahmad shah defeated them, killing over a hundred thousand."...This had overtones of a veiled threat.
From Frontier Policy to Foreign Policy: The Question of India and the ... - Matthew Mosca - Google Books
...........................
The Afghan envoy failed to make the good impression because he refuse to perform kowtow. The qianlong emperor dispatched a letter to afghan ruler instructing him on folly of war with the reminder that he, the qainlong emperor, is "lord of all under heaven who watches over every thing inside and outside the empire, and who rewards good and punishes evil"
The Empire And the Khanate: A Political History of Qing Relations With ... - L. J. Newby - Google Books

Ahmad Shah of Afghanistan massed his troops and corresponded with other central asian rulers to raise a united resistance. These efforts came to naught When Qing appeared content to stop at pamirs. but Ahmad shah , in alliance with bukhara, invaded badakhshan, killing its ruler sultan shah for betraying buhan ud din and khoja jahan to the Qing and dispatched his head to the Qing authorities in Xinjiang.
Eurasian Crossroads: A History of Xinjiang - James A. Millward - Google Books
Xinjiang and China's Rise in Central Asia - A History - Michael E. Clarke - Google Books

@shan @eyan_khan

 

[Hassan_Ishtiaq]

So what stopped him???

 

[Marwat Khan Lodhi]

So what stopped him???

Sikh insurgency in Punjab i believe. Moreover his army was spread across central asia, persia and india,

He couldnt help already conquered kashgharia but prevented the further invasion of central asia by Qing. Military movements of Afghans in central asia alarmed Qing and stopped them from advancing beyond pamirs.

 

[Marwat Khan Lodhi]

The Afghan envoy to Beijing presented the Qing emperor with four splendid horses.
Milanese Jesuit missionary artist Giuseppe Castiglione (Lang Shinin in pinyin)painted the horses for the Qing emperor by the in the 18th century. The original paintings of the Afghan steeds are kept at the National Palace Museum in Taiwan.

http://www.google.com.pk/url?q=http://www.npm.gov.tw/en/down.ashx?sNo=10006423&sa=U&ei=edZpU4egEsjZoAT72YCQCQ&ved=0CBwQFjAA&sig2=fTT4Sn2eRRaqy6lvbZSrrw&usg=AFQjCNGJVMA5os4MVqVQ_wZqB55Y8iCSuA

Giuseppe Castiglione (Jesuit) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Marwat Khan Lodhi]

@DESERT FIGHTER

 

[DESERT FIGHTER]

@DESERT FIGHTER

from now on dont quote me.. a man like yourself has no merit to call himself Pakhtun or a Pakistani... u have no honor nor 1 tongue.

 

[Marwat Khan Lodhi]

from now on dont quote me.. a man like yourself has no merit to call himself Pakhtun or a Pakistani... u have no honor nor 1 tongue.

This topic is about Ahmad shah abdali and Qing china. I thought you would be interested in it . Any how, i respect your mood swings

 

[Android]

Durrani's constant invasions of India had immensely drained resources from his state treasury. Situation would have likely been too grave for him if his empire ended up in an all out War with powerful Qing China whose power was at its peak that time leading to that empire's immense territorial expansion.

 

[Marwat Khan Lodhi]

Durrani's constant invasions of India had immensely drained resources from his state treasury. Situation would have likely been too grave for him if his empire ended up in an all out War with powerful Qing China whose power was at its peak that time leading to that empire's immense territorial expansion.

Qing china didnt know that, Ahmad shah Abdali empty threats, movement of Afghan army towards kokand were effective as Chinese halted their invasion of central asia beyond kashghar.

 

[Jaggu]

Durrani's constant invasions of India had immensely drained resources from his state treasury. Situation would have likely been too grave for him if his empire ended up in an all out War with powerful Qing China whose power was at its peak that time leading to that empire's immense territorial expansion.

During the 3rd battle of Panipat, the Maratha power was unstoppable and at it's peak. In India the Rohillas proved valuable allies. If he would have had a similar battle against the Qing empire, then he would need the central Asian powers as his allies. But as you have mentioned the Qing were at their peak and had just fought a successful war against a resurgent Mongol power under the Zunghar Khanate led by their able leader Galdan.

The Chinese were very ruthless against their enemies. A genocide was carried out after defeat to insure the enemy does not pose a danger in the foreseeable future. After defeating the Zunghars, they exterminated the Zunghar people until none remained in China. A hundred years later the Muslims of western china also rose up in rebellion, the Chinese exterminated millions of Muslims in what came to the known as the Dungan revolt. This was probably the greatest genocide the Muslims faced since the era of Chingiz Khan.

 

[Marwat Khan Lodhi]

During the 3rd battle of Panipat, the Maratha power was unstoppable and at it's peak. In India the Rohillas proved valuable allies. If he would have had a similar battle against the Qing empire, then he would need the central Asian powers as his allies. But as you have mentioned the Qing were at their peak and had just fought a successful war against a resurgent Mongol power under the Zunghar Khanate led by their able leader Galdan.

The Chinese were very ruthless against their enemies. A genocide was carried out after defeat to insure the enemy does not pose a danger in the foreseeable future. After defeating the Zunghars, they exterminated the Zunghar people until none remained in China. A hundred years later the Muslims of western china also rose up in rebellion, the Chinese exterminated millions of Muslims in what came to the known as the Dungan revolt. This was probably the greatest genocide the Muslims faced since the era of Chingiz Khan.

Interesting...in From Frontier Policy to Foreign Policy: The Question of India and the ... - Matthew Mosca - Google Books writer mentions that emperor quolong asumed that after panipat war now Ahmad shah is ruler of Hindustan, he thought he is dealing with ruler of both central asia and hindustan.
Ahmad Shah Abdali had Rohilkhand , Farrukhabad and Awadh Allies in panipat but it was not a thing of luck, he was good in that. If you have noticed, in central asia on similar patrtren he had forged alliances with bukhara, khokand and kazaks against possible Qing invasion/threat. Instead of wasting men on subjugating balochs, he made treaty with khan of kalat, making him an ally who had to provide baloch soldiers for the military expeditions of afghans. Ahmad Shah was groomed by napoleon of asia, Nadir Shah, evident from his sharp military mind.
I have observed another thing and i would like your comment on that. Ahmad Shah was never interested in ruling areas beyond sirhind untill marathas threatened Punjab which he considered his territory. He also didnt extended his territories beyond mashad and nisahpur in persia even though he could join hands with azad khan afghan of azerbijan, a ghilzai general of nadir shah, against karim khan zund, another brilliant general of nadir shah. It seems he conquered only those areas which he thought he could hold onto, in my opinion the rationale behind incorporating kashmir, punajb and sindh was that these were muslim majority areas and were adjacent to Afghan territories....he was thinking for future rule of his less competent sons...the only thorn for his ambitions were sikh misals....he realized their threat and did went after them many times. And as proved in future, sikhs were indeed a major threat

 

[Jaggu]

Interesting...in From Frontier Policy to Foreign Policy: The Question of India and the ... - Matthew Mosca - Google Books writer mentions that emperor quolong asumed that after panipat war now Ahmad shah is ruler of Hindustan, he thought he is dealing with ruler of both central asia and hindustan.
Ahmad Shah Abdali had Rohilkhand , Farrukhabad and Awadh Allies in panipat but it was not a thing of luck, he was good in that. If you have noticed, in central asia on similar patrtren he had forged alliances with bukhara, khokand and kazaks against possible Qing invasion/threat. Instead of wasting men on subjugating balochs, he made treaty with khan of kalat, making him an ally who had to provide baloch soldiers for the military expeditions of afghans. Ahmad Shah was groomed by napoleon of asia, Nadir Shah, evident from his sharp military mind.
I have observed another thing and i would like your comment on that. Ahmad Shah was never interested in ruling areas beyond sirhind untill marathas threatened Punjab which he considered his territory. He also didnt extended his territories beyond mashad and nisahpur in persia even though he could join hands with azad khan afghan of azerbijan, a ghilzai general of nadir shah, against karim khan zund, another brilliant general of nadir shah. It seems he conquered only those areas which he thought he could hold onto, in my opinion the rationale behind incorporating kashmir, punajb and sindh was that these were muslim majority areas and were adjacent to Afghan territories....he was thinking for future rule of his less competent sons...the only thorn for his ambitions were sikh misals....he realized their threat and did went after them many times. And as proved in future, sikhs were indeed a major threat

Your observation is correct. He did not want his empire beyond Sirhind because up to Sirhind he considered it as the natural extension of his domains. Like the Marathas, he did not replace the Mughals in Delhi and kept them as nominal rulers to maintain status quo. Of his vast empire, his Indian possessions(Punjab, Kashmir, Sindh) were the richest provinces in terms of revenue. Punjab being the richest one of them all, the more east the richer the territory. Punjab was also strategically important because it connected Delhi to Afghanistan and also linked Sindh to Kashmir. So having Punjab was extremely crucial for his Indian domains.

Sikhs were not the only ones, the Mughal elite in Punjab was always trying to over throw the Afghan dominance. For that they would recruit tough Uzbeks in their ranks, sometimes even trying to form an alliance with the Sikhs and Marathas as Adina Beg of Jalandhar once did. Abdali's biggest Mughal ally in Punjab was Mughalani Begum who was the widow of Muin Ul Mulk popularly known as Mir Mannu. The other Mughal nobility did not like her. She proved a valuable ally to Abdali and he listened to her. When Abdali conquered Delhi, Mughlani Begum accompanied him. She informed him which Mughal noble had how much money. Abdali sent men to their houses to find their wealth which they had hidden under ground and in their roofs. It is said he acquired so much wealth from them at her instigation that it amounted in the crores. While there he formed an alliance through marriage with the Mughal emperor by marrying his son Timur with Zohra Begum the daughter of Mughal emperor Alamgir and he himself married Hazrat Begum the daughter of the late emperor Mohammad Shah.

Durrani empire in 1762

Durrani empire in 1772

A really good book written on Abdali was by Dr Ganda Singh found here:

Ahmad Shah Durrani

 

[Marwat Khan Lodhi]

Really helpful post @Jaggu, the mughal nobility part is interesting and new to me, and thanks for the refrence, i will read the book, i have heard positive reviews about Dr ganda singh's book.

 

[INDIC]

The Chinese were very ruthless against their enemies. A genocide was carried out after defeat to insure the enemy does not pose a danger in the foreseeable future. After defeating the Zunghars, they exterminated the Zunghar people until none remained in China. A hundred years later the Muslims of western china also rose up in rebellion, the Chinese exterminated millions of Muslims in what came to the known as the Dungan revolt. This was probably the greatest genocide the Muslims faced since the era of Chingiz Khan.

I had read about ruthlessness of Qing Empire against Dzungarians and Miao/Hmong revolt.