The Capture of Peshawar took place on 6 May 1834, when the

Sikh Empire The Sikh Empire was a regional power based in the Punjab, Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent. It existed from 1799, when Maharaja Ranjit Singh captured Lahore, to 1849, when it was defeated and conquered by the East India Company, Br ...

formally annexed the territory. Peshawar was governed by the Barakzai Sardars — Yar Mohammed Khan,

Sultan Mohammed Khan Sultan Mohammed Khan (19 February 1919 – 8 November 2010) was a Pakistani civil servant and British India Army officer who served as a Foreign Secretary of Pakistan. He was also Pakistan's ambassador to the United States in the Nixon and J ...

, Sayeed Mohammed Khan and Pir Mohammed Khan. They were collectively referred to as the Peshawar Barakzais. The Peshawar Barakzais had broken free of their half-brothers ruling Kabul.

Charles Masson Charles Masson (1800–1853) was the pseudonym of James Lewis, a British East India Company soldier, independent explorer and pioneering archaeologist and numismatist. He was the first European to discover the ruins of Harappa near Sahiwal in P ...

, pseudonym of a deserter from the army of The East India Company was an eyewitness to the event and has left a detailed account.

Events

Following the collapse of the Durrani Empire, Afghanistan split into many different states to where virtually every city was autonomous or independent in some shape or form, with states like the Principality of Qandahar and the Emirate of Herat being formed. Maharaj Ranjit Singh sent General

Hari Singh Nalwa Hari Singh Nalwa (29 April 1791 – 30 April 1837) was the commander-in-chief of the Sikh Khalsa Army, Sikh Khalsa Fauj, the army of the Sikh Empire. He is known for his role in the conquests of Kasur, Sialkot, Attock, Multan, Kashmir, Peshaw ...

and Mahan Singh Hazarawala as Nalwa's deputy commander to capture Peshawar. After brief fighting, Hari Singh Nalwa captured the city. The news of the capture of

Peshawar Peshawar is the capital and List of cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population, largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is the sixth most populous city of Pakistan, with a district p ...

quickly reached

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

and

Dost Mohammad Khan Dost Mohammad Khan Barakzai (Pashto/; 23 December 1792 – 8 June 1863), nicknamed the Amir-i Kabir, was the founder of the Barakzai dynasty and one of the prominent rulers of Afghanistan during the First Anglo-Afghan War. With the decline of ...

, learning of his deposed brothers defeat. Hari Singh Nalwa was appointed as governor of the city by Maharaja

Ranjit Singh Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839) was the founder and first maharaja of the Sikh Empire, in the northwest Indian subcontinent, ruling from 1801 until his death in 1839. Born to Maha Singh, the leader of the Sukerchakia M ...

References

Peshawar 1834 1834 in India

1834 Events January–March * January 1 – Zollverein (Germany): Customs charges are abolished at borders within its member states. * January 3 – The government of Mexico imprisons Stephen F. Austin in Mexico City. * January – The W ...

Peshawar 1834 Peshawar 1834 Ranjit Singh 1834 in Afghanistan May 1834 {{sikhism-stub