Cite
MLA
“Battle of Rohtas (1779).” Hindu History, 2026, https://www.hinduhistory.in/battles/battle-of-rohtas-1779/. Accessed .
APA
Hindu History. (2026). Battle of Rohtas (1779). Retrieved , from https://www.hinduhistory.in/battles/battle-of-rohtas-1779/
The Afghans surprised the Sikh camp before dawn and drove the Sikhs back across the Jhelum with heavy loss.
01Multan in Sikh hands
The Bhangi Misl had taken Multan in 1772, and Lahore was also in Sikh hands, so the old Durrani provinces in Punjab paid Kabul nothing. Timur Shah had come to the throne in 1772 and spent his first years putting down rebels at home. In late 1779 he gathered an army at Peshawar for Multan. The Sikhs moved a force towards the Jhelum to meet him near the old Sur fort of Rohtas.
02The dawn attack
Zangi Khan led the Afghan advance and kept its march secret, halting short of the Sikh camp so that no word could reach it. Just before daybreak the Afghans fell on the Sikhs, who were not drawn up for battle. They fought back hard but were overwhelmed, and many drowned trying to cross the Jhelum in the retreat. Timur Shah went on to besiege Multan, which surrendered to him in February 1780. Multan stayed with Kabul until Ranjit Singh took it in 1818.
The defeat at Rohtas cost the Sikhs Multan for almost forty years.
