Fall of the Mughal Empire v1.c10.s4.21

v1.c10.s4.21

Leaving Peshāwar about the middle of December 1747, Ahmad Abdālī crossed the Indus by a bridge of boats, and the Jhilam and the Chināb by the same device, and arrived near Lāhor on 8th January 1748, his track being marked by a line of sacked and burning villages. Twelve thousand picked horsemen followed him, the core of them being composed of 6,000 devoted and veteran soldiers of his own clan who had accompanied him from Persia. A number of Afghān adventurers from the frontier also joined him on foot, in the hope of plundering the rich plains of India. This raised the invading force probably to 18,000 men, but they were absolutely without cannon.