Battle of Shujabad

01Timur Shah before Multan

After the surprise at Rohtas in December 1779, Timur Shah laid siege to Multan in January 1780. He sent a detachment south to Bahawalpur, whose Nawab was his ally, and kept the bulk of his army at Multan. Muzaffar Khan, whose father Shuja Khan had founded the town of Shujabad and lost Multan to the Bhangis in 1772, led the Afghans and Bahawalpuris against the Sikh force marching to relieve the city.

02The drum in the dust

The armies met at Shujabad on 8 February 1780 as a dust storm swept the plain. The account that comes down says Muzaffar Khan’s men captured a Sikh drummer and spared him on condition that he beat his drum to call the Sikhs towards a chosen spot, where the Afghans waited in two columns. Unable to see, the Sikhs rode to the sound and into the trap. Their losses were heavy and they fell back to Lahore. Multan surrendered to Timur Shah, who made Muzaffar Khan its governor.