Tempo:
98 1764.
HISTORY OF THE SIKHS
CHAP. IV
name, and the Dallehwalas and Krora Singhias, an offshoot of the Feizulapurias, acquired nearly all their possessions by the capture of Sirhind; and although the last obtained a great reputation, it never became predominant over others.
The original and acquired possessions of the Misals.
The gross forces of the Sikhs, and the relative
The native possessions of the Bhangis extended north, from their cities of Lahore and Amritsar to the Jhelum, and then down that river. The Ghanais dwelt between Amritsar and the
hills.
The Sukerchukias
lived south of the Bhangis, between the Chenab and Ravi. The Nakkais held along the Ravi, south-west of Lahore. The Feizulapurias possessed tracts along the right bank of the Beas and of the Sutlej, below its junction. The Ahluwalias similarly occupied the left bank of the former river. The Dallehwalas possessed themselves of the right bank of the Upper Sutlej, and the Ramgarhias lay in between these last two, but towards the hills. The Krora Singhias also held lands in the Jullundur Doab. The Phulkias were native to the country about Sunam and Bhatinda, to the south of the Sutlej, and the Shahids and Nishanias do not seem to have possessed any villages which they did not hold by conquest; and thus these two Misals, along with those of Man j ha, who captured Sirhind, viz. the
Bhangis, the Ahluwalias, the Dallehwalas, the Ramgarhias, and the Krora Singhias, divided among themselves the plains lying south of the Sutlej and under the hills from Ferozepore to Karnal, leaving to their allies, the Phulkias, the lands between Sirhind and Delhi, which adjoined their own possessions in Malwa.^ The number of horsemen which the Sikhs could muster have been variously estimated from seventy thousand to four times that amount, and the relative strength of each confederacy is equally a subject to doubt.- All that is certain is the great superiority of the Nishanias and Shahids regular Misals. Other bodies, especially to the westward of the Jhelum, might, with equal reason, Capt. have been held to represent separate confederacies. Murray, indeed, in such matters of detail, merely expresses the local opinions of the neighbourhood of the Sutlej. 1 Dr. Macgregor, in his History of the Sikhs (i. 28, &c.), gives an abstract of some of the ordinary accounts of a few of the Misals. 2 Forster, in 1783 (Tarvels, i. 333), said the Sikh forces were estimated at 300,000, but might be taken at 200,000. Browne (Tracts, Illustrative Map) about the same period enumerates 73,000 horsemen and 25,000 foot. Twenty years
afterwards Col. Francklin said, in one work (Life of Shah Alam, note, p. 75), that the Sikhs mustered 248,000 cavalry, and in another book (Life of George Thomas, p. 68 note) that they could not lead into action more than 64,000. George Thomas
HISTORY OF THE SIKHS
CHAP. IV
name, and the Dallehwalas and Krora Singhias, an offshoot of the Feizulapurias, acquired nearly all their possessions by the capture of Sirhind; and although the last obtained a great reputation, it never became predominant over others.
The original and acquired possessions of the Misals.
The gross forces of the Sikhs, and the relative
The native possessions of the Bhangis extended north, from their cities of Lahore and Amritsar to the Jhelum, and then down that river. The Ghanais dwelt between Amritsar and the
hills.
The Sukerchukias
lived south of the Bhangis, between the Chenab and Ravi. The Nakkais held along the Ravi, south-west of Lahore. The Feizulapurias possessed tracts along the right bank of the Beas and of the Sutlej, below its junction. The Ahluwalias similarly occupied the left bank of the former river. The Dallehwalas possessed themselves of the right bank of the Upper Sutlej, and the Ramgarhias lay in between these last two, but towards the hills. The Krora Singhias also held lands in the Jullundur Doab. The Phulkias were native to the country about Sunam and Bhatinda, to the south of the Sutlej, and the Shahids and Nishanias do not seem to have possessed any villages which they did not hold by conquest; and thus these two Misals, along with those of Man j ha, who captured Sirhind, viz. the
Bhangis, the Ahluwalias, the Dallehwalas, the Ramgarhias, and the Krora Singhias, divided among themselves the plains lying south of the Sutlej and under the hills from Ferozepore to Karnal, leaving to their allies, the Phulkias, the lands between Sirhind and Delhi, which adjoined their own possessions in Malwa.^ The number of horsemen which the Sikhs could muster have been variously estimated from seventy thousand to four times that amount, and the relative strength of each confederacy is equally a subject to doubt.- All that is certain is the great superiority of the Nishanias and Shahids regular Misals. Other bodies, especially to the westward of the Jhelum, might, with equal reason, Capt. have been held to represent separate confederacies. Murray, indeed, in such matters of detail, merely expresses the local opinions of the neighbourhood of the Sutlej. 1 Dr. Macgregor, in his History of the Sikhs (i. 28, &c.), gives an abstract of some of the ordinary accounts of a few of the Misals. 2 Forster, in 1783 (Tarvels, i. 333), said the Sikh forces were estimated at 300,000, but might be taken at 200,000. Browne (Tracts, Illustrative Map) about the same period enumerates 73,000 horsemen and 25,000 foot. Twenty years
afterwards Col. Francklin said, in one work (Life of Shah Alam, note, p. 75), that the Sikhs mustered 248,000 cavalry, and in another book (Life of George Thomas, p. 68 note) that they could not lead into action more than 64,000. George Thomas
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