[15] According to this tradition, one of the Bhatti Rajputs Rana Har Rai had to leave the throne of Jaisalmer for refusing to marry his niece to the Mughal emperor Akbar.

[18] In 1733, Zakariya Khan Bahadur attempted to negotiate 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.

Meanwhile, all the Khalsa bands got together and passed a resolution that Nadir shah had plundered the city of Delhi and now he is taking Indian women as slaves to his country.

At the Third Battle of Panipat, he along with Nawab of Oudh and Rohillas, defeated the Marathas, who after a treaty signed in 1752 became the protector of the Mughal throne at Delhi and were controlling much of North India, and Kashmir.

"[27] Raghu Nath Rao entered Lahore in April 1758, and Adina Beg Khan celebrated with festivities at Shalamar Gardens.

Najib ul Daulah suffered another defeat at hands of Sikhs under Ahluwalia after a battle that lasted 20 days in the trans-Yamuna area at Barari Ghat, 20 km north of Delhi.

He retired to Red Fort on 9 January 1765 and within a month Sikhs defeated Najib ul Daulah again in Nakhas (horse market) and in Sabzi Mandi.

[31] In December 1765, the Sikhs embarked on their usual expeditions, moving from Saharanpur to Delhi and then to Rewari, causing widespread destruction along the way.

Fearing a Maratha attack on Bharatpur, Jawahir Singh made peace with Jaipur, paid a subsidy to the Sikhs, and allowed them to leave.

[35] When Jassa Singh learned of it, he attacked the Afghan army at Goindval on the Sutlej river, rescued over 2,000 of the captured women, and sent them back to their families.

[29] Following Diwali festivities in November 1761, Jassa Singh directed the Dal Khalsa to launch a counterattack on Lahore.

However, Ganesh Das Vadehra disputed this achievement, claiming Lahore's Maulvis minted the coins and sent them to Ahmad Shah Durrani in 1765.

Contrarily, Ghulam Ali Azad's Khazana-e-Amira, written shortly after the coin's issuance, corroborates the Sikhs' version..[37] Ghulam Ali described the Sikhs' rebellion, their killing of Abed Khan, and Jassa Singh's proclamation as king: "They raised the standard of rebellion and disturbance, and killed his viceroy at Lahore.

[41][42] In March 1763, Jassa Singh Ahluwalia, the renowned Sikh leader, joined forces with the Dal Khalsa at Anandpur to celebrate the festive occasion of Hola.

However, the festivities were soon overshadowed by complaints from local Sikhs about the mistreatment they suffered at the hands of Gale Khan Rajput of Kathgarh and the zamindars of Shankargarh.

Determined to protect his people, Jassa Singh embarked on an expedition against these oppressors, establishing Sikh military posts at Kathgarh and Balachaur to maintain order and discipline[43] This strategic move not only secured the region but also paved the way for Jassa Singh to collect tribute from neighboring rulers, including the rajas of Bilaspur and Nalagarh, solidifying the Dal Khalsa's authority.

The administration was then handled by Rae Singh and Dasaundha Singh, who ruled cruelly and corruptly, causing widespread discontent[29] In February 1764, Jassa Singh Ahluwalia on hearing the ill treatment of the Hindus by Muslim led a strong body of the Dal Khalsa in to the upper Ganga Doab region, the Sikhs plundered several key cities, including Saharanpur, Shamli, Kandhla Ambli, Miranpur, Mandi Dabwali, Muzaffarnagar, Jawalapur, Kankhal, Landhaura, Najibabad, Nagina, Moradabad, Chandausi, Anupshahar, and Garhmukteshwar.

[48] Tahmas Khan Miskin, a contemporary historian who fought alongside Najib ad-Dawlah, described the Sikhs' unorthodox methods: "In that year, 40,000 of their horsemen crossed the Yamuna and disturbed and looted the Saharanpur and Meerut districts.

Nawab Najib Khan, for a month or two, moved in every direction where the Sikhs were reported to be roving, in order to protect the country, and fought and usually defeated them.

[49] The riches collected from Ganga Doab and Rohilkhand were immense, and Jassa Singh allocated one-tenth of the booty to rebuild Amritsar, which had been destroyed by Ahmad Shah Durrani.

Jassa Singh entrusted the task to Sahib Rae Chaudhri and later Bhai Des Raj, overseeing the project himself for four years until its completion at a cost of 14 lakhs.

[53][54] Upset Ahmad Shah shouted at Nasir Khan to stick to his spot and attack the Sikhs only when they come closer to him and he advised all the remaining soldiers the same.

Desperate to end the conflict, Ahmad Shah Durrani wrote letters to Jassa Singh Ahluwalia and other prominent Sikh sardars, urging them to meet with him and negotiate a peace treaty.

Frustrated and defeated, Ahmad Shah Durrani retreated from the Punjab, ending his campaign at Ismailabad, 32 kilometers south of Ambala.

Ahmad Shah Durrani seized this opportunity and appointed Raja Ghamand Chand of Kangra as governor of the Jalandhar Doab and the hill country between the Ravi and Satluj rivers in October 1759, However, Jassa Singh Ahluwalia defeated Ghamand Chand in the battle of Mahilpur near Hoshiarpur and forced him to pay tribute to the Dal Khalsa.

Jassa Singh then sent a small contingent into the hills and collected nominal tribute from Kangra states, including Mandi and Kullu.

Despite their cooperation against Ahmad Shah Durrani, the two chiefs were often at odds with each other[59] In 1775, tensions escalated when Jassa Singh Ahluwalia was traveling to Achal near Batala to attend a fair.

To achieve this, Jassa Singh Ahluwalia besieged the Ramgarhia town of Zahura, located on the banks of the River Beas.

These villages included Andresa, Dialpur, Bholath, Bhoian, Bohal, Brahmwal, Chakoke, Dainwind, Dala, Dhaliwal, Dhilwan, Hamira, Karael, Khakhrain, Kularan, Lakhanki, Lohian, Mullanwal, Nadali, Parveznagar, Ramidi, Sidhwan, and Wadalli.