out in Kabul, he, after leaving garrisons in Lahore and Rhotas on the Jhelum, hurriedly departed, the Sikhs as usual harassing his rear. They then captured Lahore, placed three of their chiefs in it as joint governors, and seized all the country between the Sutlej and the Jhelum, exacting fierce retribution from the Mahomedans. A General Assembly was now held at Amritsar, and by a decree the Khalsa was proclaimed the dominant Power in the Punjab and the Sikh religion supreme. This assumption of sovereignty was marked by striking a coin with the inscription, "Guru Govind received from Nanak degh, tegh, and futteh—hospitality, valour, and victory." They had now become masters of the plains from the Jhelum to the Jumna.
In 1767 Ahmad Shah made a final attempt to crush the Sikhs (his eighth invasion), and marching down at the head of his invincible army, engaged them on the banks of the Sutlej and forced them
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