Siege of Agra (1757)

Siege of Agra (1757)
Part of Indian campaign of Ahmad Shah Durrani
Date 21 March — 24 March 1757 Location Agra Result Durrani victory
Belligerents
Mughal Empire	Durrani Empire
Commanders and leaders
Mirza Saifullah	Sardar Jahan Khan Najib ad-Dawlah
Strength
Smaller	15,000
Casualties and losses
2,000 killed	unknown

The Siege of Agra took place in March 1757 during Ahmad Shah Durrani's invasion of northern India. The Afghan forces, led by Jahan Khan, marched toward Agra on Abdali's orders,

Background

Main article: Siege of Ballabhgarh (1757)

After the sacking of Mathura, Gokul, and Ballabhgarh, Ahmad Shah Abdali's next target was Agra. Many wealthy people had fled there from the regions he had already attacked, making it an attractive place for him to plunder. He called back his commanders, Sardar Jahan Khan and Najib ad-Dawlah, from their raids and ordered them to march toward the city.

Battle

On March 21, Jahan Khan arrived at Agra's gates with 15,000 cavalry. News of the brutal massacres at Mathura and Vrindavan had likely already reached the city. The city's leaders came forward and offered to pay five lakh rupees as ransom to prevent an attack. However, they struggled to gather the money in time. As a result, the Afghan forces entered the city, looted it, and killed many people.

Despite their attack on the city, Jahan Khan was unable to capture Agra Fort. Mirza Saifullah, who led the fort's defense, used the fort's cannons effectively, preventing the Afghans from launching a successful assault. Jahan Khan remained in Agra for a week, hoping to collect the promised ransom. However, the city's officials could only manage to raise one lakh rupees, which they took from Samaldas, the agent of Jagat Seth of Bengal, and gave to Jahan Khan. On March 23, Ahmad Shah Abdali sent urgent orders for Jahan Khan to return. Unable to stay longer to collect the full ransom, he left Agra on March 24 and rejoined Abdali near Mathura.

Aftermath

Ahmad Shah Abdali, facing a deadly cholera outbreak in his camp at Mahaban and increasing summer heat, was forced to abandon his campaign and retreat towards Delhi. On March 26, 1757, he informed Mughal Emperor Alamgir II of his withdrawal and proposed marriage to Princess Hazrat Begum, causing distress in the Mughal court. Meanwhile, he made a final attempt to extract tribute from Jat ruler Surajmal, threatening to destroy his forts. Surajmal, using diplomacy, humbly refused, portraying himself as an insignificant landlord unworthy of Abdali's attention and warning that any battle could damage the Afghan king's reputation. Pretending to negotiate, Surajmal delayed payments while his spies tracked Abdali's movements. As soon as it was confirmed that Abdali was leaving, Surajmal dismissed his envoys without paying anything. Abdali, before departing, looted Delhi again, forcibly taking Mughal princesses and noblewomen to Afghanistan. He plundered immense wealth, estimated at 10 to 30 crore rupees, which was loaded onto thousands of camels, elephants, and carts. His troops looted extensively, leaving locals without horses, camels, or even donkeys, and abandoning the cannons meant for the Jat forts, which Surajmal later recovered. Before leaving India in April 1757, Abdali annexed Sirhind, extended his empire up to the Yamuna River, appointed his son Timur Shah Durrani as Punjab's governor, and installed Najib-ud-Daulah as the supreme commander of Mughal forces.