His grandson, Akbar, supported religious freedom and after visiting the langar of Guru Amar Das had a favorable impression of Sikhism.

He arrested Guru Arjan Dev because of Sikh support for Khusrau Mirza[4] and ordered him to be put to death by torture.

His successor, Shah Jahan "took offense" at Guru Har Gobind's sovereignty and after a series of assaults on Amritsar forced the Sikhs to retreat to the Sivalik Hills.

The growing power of the Sikh community alarmed Sivalik Hill Rajas who attempted to attack the city but the Guru's forces routed them at the Battle of Bhangani.

In 1707, Guru Gobind Singh accepted an invitation by Bahadur Shah I, Aurangzeb's successor to meet in southern India.

A short time before his death, Guru Gobind Singh ordered him to reconquer Punjab and gave him a letter that commanded all Sikhs to join him.

After 1716, the Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah began a campaign of genocide against Sikhs through his Governor of Lahore, Abdus Samad Khan.

[10] The Sikhs "retaliated by killing government functionaries and plundering Mughal posts, arsenals, and treasuries"[11] but could not assemble an army.

[13] In 1733, Zakariya Khan Bahadur attempted to negotiate a peace with the Sikhs by offering them a jagir, the title Nawab to their leader, and unimpeded access to the Harmandir Sahib.

However, in 1735, the agreement between Zakariya Khan and Nawab Kapur Singh broke down and the Dal Khalsa retreated to the Sivalik Hills to regroup.

During the panic before and after the Battle of Karnal, important functionaries of the Mughal Empire fled Delhi but were intercepted by small jathas of the Dal Khalsa and relieved of their wealth.

When Nadir Shah began his retreat, the Sikhs who had been seeking refuge in the Sivalik Hills came down from the mountains and mercilessly plundered the treasure of the Persian Army.

[12] During this period, the Muslim historian Nur Mohammed, though full of contempt for Sikhs, was constrained to pay tribute to them of their character, in the following words: "In no case they would slay a coward, nor would they put an obstacle in the way of a fugitive.

The Dal Khalsa was dissolved after the Sikh Confederacy came to an end with the conquests of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who effectively absorbed the rest of the Misls.