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Battle of Karnal
Part of The Persian Invasion of India
Date February 13, 1739 Location Karnal, Haryana, India Result Decisive Persian victory[1]
Belligerents
Mughal Empire	Afsharid Empire
Commanders
Emperor Muhammad Shah Nizam ul Mulk Asaf Jah I Burhan ul Mulk Sa'adat Khan Khan Dauran VII,1st Mir Bakhshi   † Qamar ud-Din Khan, Vizier Sa’ad ud-Din Khan, Mir Atish Nisar Muhammad Khan Sher Jung Khwaja Ashura Muzaffar Khan   † Ali Hamid  † Muhataram  † Aslih Khan  † Ali Ahmad Khan  † Shahdad Afghan  † Yadgar Hasan Khan Koka  † Ashraf Khan  † Aitibar Khan  † Aqil Beg Kambalposh  † Mir Kalu  † Ratan Chand  † Jan Nisar Khan  †	Nader Shah Afshar Nasrullah Kuli Tahmasp Kuli Jalair Fateh Ali Afshar Lutf Ali Afshar Heraclius II of Georgia
Strength
~105,000	>55,000
Casualties and losses
~30,000	~2,500

The Battle of Karnal (February 13, 1739), was a decisive victory for Nader Shah the emperor of Persia during his invasion of India. Shah's forces defeated the army of Muhammad Shah, the Mughal emperor in little more than three hours thus paving the way for the Persian sack of Delhi. The battle took place at Karnal, 110 km (70 miles) north of Delhi, India.^[2]

Order of battle

The Mughal army was lined up with Burhan ul Mulk Sa'adat Khan forming the right wing, which was in the extreme east and near the Jamuna river. Khwaja Asim Khan Dauran's division stood in the centre, while the Vizier Qamar ud-Din Khan and the Emperor took up the left wing along a canal.

The Persian right wing was placed under Tahmasp Quli Jalair, whilst the left wing was under Fateh Ali and Lutf Ali Afshar. Nader's son, Nasrullah, commanded the centre, whilst Nader commanded the vanguard himself, which consisted of 4,000 cavalry.

Persian preparations

The Mughals' main weapon was their war elephants therefore Nader Khan ordered camels to be paired together and platforms constructed between them. A mixture of naphtha combustibles was placed on the platforms with orders to set them on fire during the battle so that the Mughal elephants would flee at the sight of the fire and cause mayhem in their own army.

Additionally, Nader Shah placed 3,000 of his best troops in front of his main position thus giving them a clear line of fire on the Mughal dispositions.

The battle

The battle began a little after one o'clock in the afternoon, with a discharge of arrows on both sides. The Persian scouts carried out a ruse of feigning flight. Sa’adat Khan gave chase and was ambushed three or four miles east of the imperial camp, well outside the covering fire of the Mughal artillery. The Persian cavalry drew aside and the pursuing Mughals found themselves in front of Persian guns at point blank range.

The Mughal vanguard fled but their commander, Sa’adat Khan, was able to keep his ground. However, his forces were also forced to withdraw and the extreme right wing of the Mughal lines collapsed. Khan Dauran's division in the centre of the battlefield was also forced to withdraw.

The murderous fire of the Persian gunners continued for two hours. The Mughals fought bravely but were unable to respond effectively to the Persian guns. Khan Dauran was mortally wounded and brought back to the camp where he later died.

Mughal disarray

The concentrated fire of the Persians contrasted sharply with the disorganisation of the Mughals as their chief divisions were separated from each other on the battlefield by more than a mile. Mughal forces began to disintegrate as they proved incapable of responding to Persian attacks on their lines. Khan Dauran was not able to co-ordinate with Sa’adat Khan and Asaf Jah I was inactive and gave no help to either Khan Dauran or Sa’adat Khan.

The Persians attacked sharply at those points in the battle lines where the Mughals were at a numerical tactical inferiority and were beyond the covering fire of the Mughal artillery.

Mughal generals mounted on elephants became easy targets for Persian attacks whilst the Persian cavalry was swifter and out-manouvered the Mughals. The Mughal commander, Sa’adat Khan was taken prisoner by the Persians after his elephant was driven into Persian ranks by the out of control elephant belonging to his nephew.

With the loss of Sa’adat Khan and Khan Dauran, Mughal morale plummeted, the army started to disintegrate and the Mughal soldiers fled the battlefield heavily pursued by the Persian cavalry who inflicted a great slaughter. The Emperor, who had remained inactive throughout the battle, was captured by the Persians.

Casualties

The Mughals suffered far heavier casualties than the Persians. Exact figures are uncertain as accounts of that period were prone to bombast. Various contemporary commentators estimated Mughals casualties being up to 30,000 men slain with most agreeing on a figure of around 20,000.

The Persians were estimated to have lost around 2,500 men.

Aftermath

The Persians gained an immense amount of war booty comprising of elephants, field treasury, guns, baggage and stores. Mughal army camp followers looted their own camp once they saw the defeat of Sa’adat Khan and Khan Dauran.

Sa’adat Khan and his nephew, Nisar Muhammad Khan as well as Khwaja Ashura, a son of Khan Dauran, were all captured alive.

What remained of the Mughal army was scattered. Muhammad Shah was captured and taken hostage. On March 11, Nadir Shah entered with him into Delhi, two weeks after the battle, seizing amongst other treasures the famous Peacock Throne of Shah Jahan and the Koh-i-noor diamond^[3].

References

Bibliography

• Cust, Edward, Annals of the wars of the eighteenth century, Gilbert & Rivington Printers:London, 1862.
• Dupuy, R. Ernest and Trevor N. Dupuy, The Harper Encyclopedia of Military History, 4th Ed., HarperCollinsPublishers, 1993.

External links

• Nadir Shah's invasion in India
• Battle of Karnal 1739 - History of Haryana