[8] Sulahi Khan conjured up an excuse that he was collecting tax to justify him leading a small contingent against the Sikhs at Amritsar.

[8] Due to the local residents of Amritsar fearing for their personal safety, Guru Arjan left the city to prevent tragedy.

[2][9][10] Guru Hargobind believed that the Sikh faith was not limited to spiritual pursuits but martial power and temporal authority was vital as well.

[11] There are various views as to why the Sikh community and faith was martialized, with one theory being it was caused by the growing religious fundamentalism of the Mughal emperors.

They would fight oppression and tyranny, relinquishing risk to life; they would make daring attacks on foes, defending their strong principles of righteousness.It had been described as an "elite army corps" for the Sikh community to meet the "Mughal challenge".

The first was the Battle of Rohilla in 1621 which occurred after Akal Sena soldiers killed Bhagwan Das Ghererh, a relative of Chandu, over his blasphemous remarks.

On hearing the news of the two sons of Chandu, Rattan and Karam Chand appealed to the Mughal governor of Jalandhar, Abdul Khan, who then led an army of 15,000.

[33][34] Painde Khan, a Pathan general of the Akal Sena, had double-crossed his former master and mentor, Guru Hargobind, and sided with the Mughal forces.

[35] Since he served as a general in the Sikh army, he was convinced he could use that as an advantage and persuaded the Mughals to assist him in this affair against a common enemy due to his inner knowledge.

[36][37][38] Painde Khan and the vast majority of his army were killed in the Battle of Kartarpur at the hands of Guru Hargobind during a duel between the two.

[39] Guru Har Rai mostly kept the peace during his guruship, avoiding major conflicts for the most part, but he still maintained a large size for the Akal Sena, consisting of 2,200 mounted soldiers.

[3][40][15] However, this period was not a totally pacifist one for the Akal Sena, as Har Rai had deployed the army against Aurangzeb's troops in-support of Dara Shikoh.

This is recorded in a Sikh source, the Mahimā Parkāsh Vārtak, which states that Har Rai deployed the Akal Sena at Goindwal to prevent Aurangzeb's forces from pursuing the fleeing Dara Shikoh, after the latter had lost the Battle of Samugarh.

[44] Originally named Tyag Mal, the ninth Guru was renamed as 'Tegh Bahadur' meaning "Brave Swordsman"[45] after the valor he displayed fighting in the Battle of Kartarpur, alongside his elder brother Gurditta.

[48] During his guruship, he mostly avoided conflict and was occupied by his missionary tours throughout the Indian subcontinent, focused on spreading Sikhism and meeting with local congregations of Sikhs that had been widely spread-out throughout the land.

[46] Whilst Guru Tegh Bahadur was in Dhaka, Raja Ram Singh petitioned that the Akal Sena assist him in his crushing of a rebellion led by King Chakradhwaj Singha of the Ahom Kingdom in Kamrup (located in Assam) in north-eastern India.

[49] Afterwards, the Guru made peace with the locals after the latter informed him that they were rebelling to resist the conquests of the Mughal empire and to protect their sovereignty.

[49] Guru Tegh Bahadur was executed by beheading on the orders of Aurangzeb, partly because the Mughal emperor had grown jealous over the growing wealth and success of the Akal Sena army of the Sikhs.