Fall of the Mughal Empire v2.c22.s3.16

v2.c22.s3.16

The Afghan invaders, passing through and plundering Yaminabad and Batala, advanced upon Adina Beg’s camp at Jalalabad (25 m. s. c. e. of Amritsar.) The Beg fled away with his family and Jamil-ud-din and Sadiq Beg, abandoning his camp and baggage to plunder; by way of Nurmahal, Sodra and Thara he reached Hansi, while the Afghan commander-in-chief Sardār Jahān Khan occupied the Jalandar doab up to the bank of the Satlaj without a blow (early in December.) "From Lahor to Sarhind not a village was left tenanted, all men, high and low, having fled away." Towards the end of this month, an Afghan detachment under Hasan Khan crossed the Satlaj and occupied Sarhind, which had been vacated by its inhabitants. Jahān Khan, with the vanguard, arrived near that city about 5 January 1757 and then pushed on towards Delhi by way of Panipat. From Lahor Ahmad Shah sent threatening letters to the Rajah of Jamu, who made peace by paying a large sum. The Afghan king then crossed the Satlaj, about 10 January, and, marching two stages behind his van, arrived before Delhi on 23rd January, 1757.* His doings there will be narrated in chapter 15.