Sham Singh Attariwala (1790 – 10 February 1846) was a general of the Sikh Empire. He was born in the 1790s in the town of Attari (a few kilometres from the border of Indian and Pakistan Punjab in India),

Amritsar Amritsar (), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as ''Ambarsar'', is the second largest city in the Indian state of Punjab, after Ludhiana. It is a major cultural, transportation and economic centre, located in the Majha r ...

, in the Majha region of Panjab, India. As a child he was educated in Gurmukhi and Persian. When Ranjit singh became the Maharaja of Punjab, he got Attariwala's services at his disposal. Maharaja

Ranjit Singh Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839), popularly known as Sher-e-Punjab or "Lion of Punjab", was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, which ruled the northwest Indian subcontinent in the early half of the 19th century. He s ...

knowing his qualities and fighting abilities made him a 'Jathedar' of 5000 horsemen. He participated actively in many campaigns, notably like the campaign of Multan, campaign of Kashmir, campaign of the Frontier Province etc. Sham Singh Attariwala is also famous for his last stand at the Battle of Sobraon. He joined the Sikh military in 1817 and during the Afghan–Sikh Wars participated in the

Battle of Attock The Battle of Attock (also known as the Battle of Chuch or the Battle of Haidru) took place on 13 July 1813 between the Sikh Empire and the Durrani Empire. The battle was the first significant Sikh victory over the Durranis. Background In 18 ...

Battle of Multan The siege of Multan began in March 1818 and lasted until 2 June 1818 as part of the Afghan–Sikh Wars, and saw the Sikh Empire capture the city of Multan (in modern-day Pakistan) from the Durrani Empire. Background After he was defeated at ...

, Battle of Peshawar, and the

1819 Kashmir expedition The Battle of Shopian took place on 3 July 1819 between an expeditionary force from the Sikh Empire and Jabbar Khan, the governor of the Kashmir Valley province of the Durrani Empire. It was the decisive battle during the Sikh expedition into Ka ...

. His daughter Nanaki Kaur Attariwala, later Kunwarani Nanaki Kaur, was married to

Prince Nau Nihal Singh Kunwar Nau Nihal Singh (9 March 1821 – 5 November 1840) was the third Maharaja of the Sikh Empire. He was the only son of Maharaja Kharak Singh and his consort, Maharani Chand Kaur. He was known as Yuvraj Kunwar Nau Nihal Singh. He was also kn ...

and upon his accession to the throne became the Maharani of the Sikh Empire. He served on the council of regency for

Maharajah Dalip Singh Maharaja Sir Duleep Singh, GCSI (4 September 1838 – 22 October 1893), or Sir Dalip Singh, and later in life nicknamed the "Black Prince of Perthshire", was the last ''Maharaja'' of the Sikh Empire. He was Maharaja Ranjit Singh's youngest son ...

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Further reading