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Antonio Agliardi | Table of Content | Short description, Biography, Episcopal lineage, Notes, References, External links |
Agnes of Merania | Infobox royalty
| Agnes of Merania (1175 – July 1201) was Queen of France by marriage to King Philip II.
She is called Marie by some of the French chroniclers. |
Agnes of Merania | Biography | Biography
Agnes Maria was the daughter of Berthold, Duke of Merania and Agnes of Rochlitz.
In June 1196, Agnes married Philip II of France, who had repudiated his second wife Ingeborg of Denmark in 1193. Pope Innocent III espoused the cause of Ingeborg; but Philip did not submit until 1200, when, nine months after interdict had been added to excommunication, he consented to a separation from Agnes.
Agnes died, possibly in childbirth, in July of the next year, at the castle of Poissy, and was buried in the Convent of St. Corentin, near Nantes. |
Agnes of Merania | Family | Family
Agnes and Philip had two children:
Mary, b. 1198
Philip I, Count of Boulogne, b 1200
Both were legitimized by the Pope in 1201. |
Agnes of Merania | References | References |
Agnes of Merania | Sources | Sources |
Agnes of Merania | External links | External links
Category:1175 births
Category:1201 deaths
Category:Queens consort of France
Category:Repudiated queens
Category:House of Andechs
Category:House of Capet
Category:12th-century French people
Category:12th-century French women
Category:13th-century French people
Category:13th-century French women
Category:Wives of Philip II of France
Category:Deaths in childbirth |
Agnes of Merania | Table of Content | Infobox royalty
, Biography, Family, References, Sources, External links |
Agrippina the Elder | Short description | (Vipsania) Agrippina the Elder (also, in Latin, , "Germanicus's Agrippina"; – AD 33) was a prominent member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. She was the daughter of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa (a close supporter of the first Roman emperor, Augustus) and Augustus' daughter, Julia the Elder. Her brothers Lucius and Gaius Caesar were the adoptive sons of Augustus, and were his heirs until their deaths in AD 2 and 4, respectively. Following their deaths, her second cousin Germanicus was made the adoptive son of Tiberius, Augustus' stepson, as part of the succession scheme in the adoptions of AD 4 (in which Tiberius was adopted by Augustus). As a result of the adoption, Agrippina was wed to Germanicus in order to bring him closer to the Julian family.
Agrippina the Elder is known to have traveled with Germanicus throughout his career, taking her children wherever they went. In AD 14, Germanicus was deployed in Gaul as a governor and general, and, while there, the late Augustus sent her son Gaius to stay with her. Agrippina liked to dress him in a little soldiers' outfit for which Gaius earned the nickname "Caligula" ("little soldier's boots"). After three years in Gaul, they returned to Rome, and her husband was awarded a triumph on 26 May AD 17 to commemorate his victories. The following year, Germanicus was sent to govern over the eastern provinces. While Germanicus was active in his administration, the governor of Syria Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso began feuding with him. During the feud, her husband died of illness on 10 October AD 19.
Germanicus was cremated in Antioch, and she transported his ashes to Rome where they were interred at the Mausoleum of Augustus. Agrippina was vocal in claims of her husband being murdered in order to promote Tiberius' son, Drusus Julius Caesar ("Drusus the Younger"), as heir. Following the model of her stepgrandmother Livia, she spent the time following Germanicus' death supporting the cause of her sons Nero and Drusus Caesar. This put her and her sons at odds with the powerful Praetorian prefect Lucius Aelius Sejanus, who began eliminating their supporters with accusations of treason and sexual misconduct in AD 26. Her family's rivalry with Sejanus would culminate with her and Nero's exile in AD 29. Nero was exiled to Pontia and she was exiled to the island of Pandateria, where she would remain until her death by starvation in AD 33. |
Agrippina the Elder | Name | Name
Following the Roman custom of parents and children sharing the same nomen and cognomen, women in the same family would often share the same name. Accordingly, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa first daughter with Attica was named Vipsania Agrippina. To distinguish Agrippa and Julia's daughter from their granddaughter Julia Agrippina, historians refer to this daughter as "Agrippina the Elder" (Latin: Agrippina Maior). Likewise, Agrippina's daughter is referred to as
"Agrippina the Younger" (Minor). Like her father, Agrippina the Elder avoided her nomen and has not been found to have used "Vipsania" in inscription. An inscription in Rhodiapolis records her with the nomen "Julia", although this appears to be a mistake. |
Agrippina the Elder | Background | Background
thumb|left|A denarius depicting Agrippa wearing a combination of the corona muralis and the corona rostalis.
Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa was an early supporter of Augustus (then "Octavius"). He was a key general in Augustus' armies, commanding troops during the wars against Sextus Pompey and Mark Antony. From early in the emperor's reign, Agrippa was trusted to handle affairs in the eastern provinces and was even given the signet ring of Augustus, who appeared to be on his deathbed in 23BC, a sign that he would become princeps were Augustus to die. It is probable that he was to rule until the emperor's nephew, Marcus Claudius Marcellus, came of age. However, Marcellus died that year of an illness that became an epidemic in Rome..
Now, with Marcellus dead, Augustus arranged for the marriage of Agrippa to his daughter Julia the Elder, who was previously the wife of Marcellus. Agrippa was given tribunicia potestas ("the tribunician power") in 18 BC, a power that only the emperor and his immediate heir could hope to attain. The tribunician power allowed him to control the Senate, and it was first given to Julius Caesar. Agrippa acted as tribune in the Senate to pass important legislation and, though he lacked some of the emperor's power and authority, he was approaching the position of co-regent.
After the birth of Agrippa's second son, Lucius, in 17 BC, Lucius and his brother Gaius were adopted together by Augustus. Around the time of their adoption in the summer, Augustus held the fifth ever Ludi Saeculares ("Secular Games"). Cassius Dio says the adoption of the boys coupled with the games served to introduce a new era of peace – the Pax Augusta. It is not known what Agrippa thought of their adoption; however, following their adoption, Agrippa was dispatched to govern the eastern provinces, bringing his family with him.. |
Agrippina the Elder | Early life and family | Early life and family
Agrippina was born in 14 BC to Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Julia the Elder, before their return to Rome in 13 BC. She had several siblings, including half-sisters Vipsania Agrippina, Vipsania Attica, Vipsania Marcella and Vipsania Marcellina (from her father's marriages to Pomponia Caecilia Attica and Claudia Marcella Major); and four full siblings, with three brothers; Gaius, Lucius, and Postumus Agrippa (all were adopted by Augustus; Gaius and Lucius were adopted together following Lucius' birth in 17 BC; Postumus in AD 4), and a sister Julia the Younger.
She was a prominent member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. On her mother's side, she was the younger granddaughter of Augustus. She was the Stepdaughter of Tiberius by her mother's marriage to him, and sister in law of Claudius, the brother of her husband Germanicus. Her son Gaius, better known as "Caligula", would be the third emperor, and her grandson Nero would be the last emperor of the dynasty.
In 13 BC, her father returned to Rome and was promptly sent to Pannonia to suppress a rebellion. Agrippa arrived there that winter (in 12 BC), but the Pannonians gave up that same year. Agrippa returned to Campania in Italy, where he fell ill and died soon after. After her father's death, she spent the rest of her childhood in Augustus' household where access to her was strictly controlled.
Some of the currency issued in 13–12 BC, the aurei and denarii, make it clear that her brothers Gaius and Lucius were Augustus' intended heirs. Their father was no longer available to assume the reins of power if the Emperor were to die, and Augustus had to make it clear who his intended heirs were in case anything should happen. Lucius' and Gaius' military and political careers would steadily advance until their deaths in AD 2 and 4, respectively.
The death of her brothers meant that Augustus had to find other heirs. Although he initially considered Agrippina's second cousin Germanicus a potential heir for a time, Livia convinced Augustus to adopt Tiberius, Livia's son from her first marriage with Tiberius Claudius Nero. Although Augustus adopted Tiberius, it was on condition that Tiberius first adopt Germanicus so that Germanicus would become second in the line of succession. It was a corollary to the adoption, probably in the next year, that Agrippina was married to Germanicus.
By her husband Germanicus, she had nine children: Nero Julius Caesar, Drusus Julius Caesar, Tiberius Julius Caesar, a child of unknown name (normally referenced as Ignotus), Gaius the Elder, the Emperor Caligula (Gaius the Younger), the Empress Agrippina the Younger, Julia Drusilla, and Julia Livilla. Only six of her children came of age; Tiberius and Ignotus died as infants, and Gaius the Elder in his early childhood. |
Agrippina the Elder | Marriage | Marriage
thumb|Bronze statue of her husband Germanicus, from Amelia, Umbria
Her husband's career in the military began in AD 6, with the Batonian War in Pannonia and Dalmatia. Throughout Germanicus' military career, Agrippina is known to have traveled with her husband and their children. Germanicus' career advanced steadily as he advanced in ranks following the cursus honorum until, in AD 12, he was made consul. The following year, he was given command over Gaul and the forces on the Rhine, totaling eight legions.
On 18 May AD 14, her one-year-old son Gaius was sent by Augustus from Rome to join her in Gaul. She was pregnant at the time and, while Germanicus was collecting taxes across Gaul, she remained at an unspecified separate location, presumably for her safety. Augustus sent her a letter with her son's party, which read:
Later that year, on 19 August, Augustus died while away in Campania. As a result, Tiberius was made princeps. While Germanicus was administering the oath of fealty to Tiberius, a mutiny began among the forces on the Rhine. During the mutiny, Agrippina brought out their sixth child, Gaius, and made preparations to take him away to a safer town nearby. He was in a full army outfit including the legionary hobnailed boots (caligae). These military-booties earned Gaius the nickname "Caligula" (lit. "little boots"), and garnered sympathy for Agrippina and the child among the soldiery. Tacitus attributes her actions as having quelled the mutiny (Tacitus, Annals 1.40–4).
Once the mutiny was put to an end, Germanicus allowed the soldiers to deal with the ringleaders, which they did with brutal severity. He then led them against the Germanic tribes, perhaps in an effort to prevent future mutiny. Germanicus would remain in Gaul fighting against the Germanic tribes until AD 16, at which time he was recalled to Rome by Tiberius. His campaigns won him much renown among the Roman people, and he was awarded a triumph on 26 May AD 17. |
Agrippina the Elder | Widowhood | Widowhood
thumb|left|250px|Benjamin West, Agrippina Landing at Brundisium with the Ashes of Germanicus (1768), oil on canvas. Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven.
In AD 18, Agrippina left for the eastern provinces with her family. Germanicus was sent the east to govern the provinces, the same assignment her father was given years earlier. Agrippina was pregnant on their journey east and, on the way to Syria, she gave birth to her youngest daughter Julia Livilla on the island of Lesbos. Inscriptions celebrating her fertility have been found on the island.
Tiberius sent Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso to assist her husband, naming him governor of Syria. During their time there, Germanicus was active in his administration of the eastern regions. Piso did not get along well with Germanicus and their relationship only got worse. In AD 19, Germanicus ordered Piso to leave the province, which Piso began to do. On his way back to Rome, Piso stopped at the island of Kos off the coast of Syria. Around that time Germanicus fell ill and he died on 10 October AD 19 at Antioch. Rumours spread of Piso poisoning her husband on the emperor's orders.
After Germanicus' cremation in the forum of Antioch, Agrippina personally carried the ashes of her husband to Rome. The transportation of the ashes witnessed national mourning. She landed at the port of Brundisium in southern Italy where she was met with huge crowds of sympathizers; a praetorian escort was provided by the emperor in light of her rank as the wife of a governor-general. As she passed each town, the people and local magistrates came out to show their respect. Drusus the Younger (son of Tiberius), Claudius, and the consuls journeyed to join the procession as well. Once she made it to Rome, her husband's ashes were interred at the Mausoleum of Augustus. Tiberius and Livia did not make an appearance. |
Agrippina the Elder | Life after Germanicus | Life after Germanicus
thumb|right|Great Cameo of France detail depicting Livia (left), Drusus (center), and Agrippina the Elder (right).
Her marriage to Germanicus had served to unite the imperial family. Agrippina may have suspected Tiberius' involvement in the death of her husband and, with Germanicus dead, she no longer had any familial ties to the emperor. Historian Richard Alston says it is likely that either Tiberius or Livia were behind the exile of Agrippina's sister Julia the Younger and the death of Postumus. He notes the death of Agrippina's mother, who starved herself to death amidst her exile in AD 14, linking her death to Tiberius' disdain for her.
Agrippina was vocal about her feelings claiming that Germanicus was murdered to promote Drusus the Younger as Tiberius' heir, and worried that the birth of the Younger Drusus' twin sons would displace her own sons in the line of succession.
At about this time, Tiberius' Praetorian Prefect Sejanus was becoming powerful in Rome and began feuding with Drusus the Younger. While the exact causes of the feud are unknown, it ended when the Younger Drusus died of seemingly natural causes on 14 September AD 23. After the death of Tiberius' son, Agrippina wanted to advance the careers of her sons, who were all potential heirs for Tiberius. It has been suggested that to achieve this, Agrippina commissioned the Great Cameo of France and presented it to Tiberius as a personalized gift that positioned the family of Germanicus around the emperor. The work was designed to convince Tiberius to choose her children as his heirs.
Ultimately, the death of Tiberius' son elevated her own children to the position of heirs. Her sons were the logical choice, because they were the sons of Germanicus and Tiberius' grandsons were too young. Nero was becoming popular in the Senate due in part, Tacitus says, to his resemblance with his father. The rise of her children was threatening to Sejanus' position. Resultantly, Sejanus began spreading rumors about Agrippina in the imperial court. The coming years were marked with increasing hostility between Sejanus and Agrippina and her sons. This effectively caused factions to rise in the aristocracy between her family and Sejanus. |
Agrippina the Elder | Political rivalry | Political rivalry
thumb|left|300px|Bronze sestertius of Caligula with Agrippina on the obverse, minted circa AD 37.
On New Year's Day, AD 24, Sejanus had the priests and magistrates add prayers for the health of Nero and Drusus in addition to those normally offered to the emperor on that day. Tiberius was not happy with this and he voiced his displeasure in the Senate. In addition, he questioned the priests of the Palatine. Some of the priests who offered the prayers were relatives of Agrippina and Germanicus. This made Tiberius suspicious of her and marked a change in his attitude toward her and her older sons, but not Caligula.
In AD 25, Sejanus requested Livilla's hand in marriage. Livilla was a niece of the emperor, which would have made him a member of the imperial family. While this did make his ambitions clear, his request was denied. The loss may have been huge for Sejanus had the dissensions in the imperial household not been deteriorating. Relations were so bad that Agrippina refused to eat at Tiberius' dinner parties for fear of being poisoned. She also asked Tiberius if she could be allowed to remarry, which he also refused.
If either of them were allowed to remarry it would have threatened the line of succession that Tiberius was comfortable with. By refusing Sejanus' request, Tiberius made it clear he was content with the children of Germanicus and his own grandchildren being his successors. Had Sejanus married Livilla, their children would have provided another line of possible successors. The implication of Agrippina's request was that she needed a man from outside the imperial family to serve as protector and step-father of possible imperial heirs, a powerful position. It was also an implied reprimand: Tiberius was meant to be the guardian of the imperial family.
Tiberius was in a tough position. He was faced with a conflict between his family and his friend. His solution was surprising. In AD 26, he left Rome altogether and retired to the island of Capri in the Bay of Naples. He cut himself off from the factions altogether and abandoned politics. He left Rome in the care of Sejanus. This allowed Sejanus to freely attack his rivals. |
Agrippina the Elder | Downfall | Downfall
With Tiberius away from Rome, the city would see a rise of politically motivated trials on the part of Sejanus and his supporters against Agrippina and her associates. Many of her friends and associates were subsequently accused of maiestas ("treason") by the growing number of accusers. It was also common to see charges of sexual misconduct and corruption. In AD 27, Agrippina found herself placed under house arrest in her suburban villa outside Herculaneum.
In AD 28, the Senate voted that altars to Clementia (mercy) and Amicitia (friendship) be raised. At that time, Clementia was considered a virtue of the ruling class, for only the powerful could give clemency. The altar of Amicitia was flanked by statues of Sejanus and Tiberius. By this time, his association with Tiberius was such that there were those in Roman society who erected statues in his honor and gave prayers and sacrifices in his honor. Sejanus' birthday was honored as if he were a member of the imperial family. According to Richard Alston, "Sejanus' association with Tiberius must have at least indicated to the people that he would be further elevated."
Sejanus did not begin his final attack on Agrippina until after the death of Livia in AD 29. Tacitus reports a letter being sent to the Senate from Tiberius denouncing Agrippina for her arrogance and prideful attitude, and Nero for engaging in shameful sexual activities. The Senate would not begin these highly unpopular prosecutions against her or her son until it received clear instructions from Tiberius to do so. Despite public outcry, Agrippina and Nero were declared public enemies (hostes) following a repeat of the accusations by the emperor. They were both exiled; Nero to Pontia where he was killed or encouraged to commit suicide in AD 31, and Agrippina to the island of Pandateria (the same place her daughter was exiled to).
Suetonius says that while on the island of Pandateria, she lost an eye when she was beaten by a centurion. She would remain on the island until her death in AD 33. Accounts of her death vary. She is said to have died from starvation, but it is not certain whether or not it was self-imposed. Tacitus says food was withheld from her in an effort to make her death seem like a suicide. |
Agrippina the Elder | Post mortem | Post mortem
thumb|upright|Caligula Depositing the Ashes of his Mother and Brother in the Tomb of his Ancestors, painting by Eustache Le Sueur (1647)
thumb|Cinerary urn of Agrippina which now rests in the Palazzo dei Conservatori of the Capitoline Museums near the Tabularium.
Her son Drusus was later also exiled on charges of sexual misdemeanors. Sejanus remained powerful until his sudden downfall and summary execution in October AD 31, just after the death of Nero, the exact cause for which remains unclear. Alston suggests that Sejanus may have been acting in Tiberius' favor to remove Germanicus' family from power, noting that Agrippina and Nero's brother Drusus were left in exile even after Sejanus' death.
The deaths of Agrippina's older sons elevated her youngest son Caligula to the position of successor and he became princeps when Tiberius died in AD 37. Drusus the Younger's son Tiberius Gemellus was summoned to Capri by his grandfather Tiberius, where he and Caligula were made joint-heirs. When Caligula assumed power he made Gemellus his adopted son, but Caligula soon had Gemellus killed for plotting against him. According to Philo, Caligula's pretended reason was a conspiracy.Philo, Against Flaccus 3.11
After he became emperor, Caligula took on the role of a dutiful son and brother in a public show of pietas ("piety"). He went out to the islands of Pontia and Pandateria in order to recover the remains of Agrippina and Nero. It was not easy to recover Nero's bones as they were scattered and buried. Moreover, he had a stormy passage; however, the difficulty in his task made his devotion seem even greater. The ashes were brought to Ostia, from where they were carried up the Tiber and brought to the Campus Martius, from where equestrians placed them on briers to join the ashes of Germanicus in the mausoleum of Augustus. The move was reminiscent of when Agrippina carried the ashes of her husband just over 17 years earlier. Agrippina's funerary urn still survives ().
The tablet made of marble reads:
"OSSA
AGRIPPINAE M AGRIPPAE F
DIVI AVG NEPTIS VXORIS
GERMANICI CAESARIS
MATRIS C CAESARIS AVG
GERMANICI PRINCIPIS"
which translates as "Bones of Agrippina; daughter of Marcus Agrippa, granddaughter of Divus Augustus, wife of Germanicus Caesar, mother of Princeps Gaius Caesar Germanicus". |
Agrippina the Elder | Personality | Personality
Agrippina was fiercely independent, a trait she shared with her mother. Dio described her as having ambitions to match her pedigree. However, Anthony A. Barrett notes that Agrippina was fully aware that a woman in ancient Rome could not hold power in her own right. Instead, Agrippina followed the model of Livia in promoting the careers of her children.
She and her daughter, Agrippina the Younger, are both described as being equally ambitious for their sons. Whereas the elder Agrippina's son failed to become emperor, the younger Agrippina's son, also named Nero, succeeds. In a contrast, Tacitus has Agrippina the Elder merely standing on a bridge waving the soldiers passing by, whereas her daughter eclipses her by presiding over a military tribunal and accepting gifts from foreign ambassadors.
Tacitus also records serious tension between Agrippina and Livia. He describes Livia as having visited "stepmotherly provocations" on Agrippina. He says of Agrippina: "were it not that through her moral integrity and love for her husband she converted an otherwise ungovernable temper to the good" (Tacitus, Annals 1.33). Despite being sympathetic to her as a victim of imperial oppression, he uses expressions like "excitable", "arrogant", "proud", "fierce", "obstinate", and "ambitious" to describe Agrippina. His comments are echoed by other sources. |
Agrippina the Elder | Historiography | Historiography
Historian Lindsay Powell says Agrippina enjoyed a normal marriage and continued to show her devotion to Germanicus after his death. He says she was regarded by the Roman people as, quoting Tacitus, "the glory of the country, the sole surviving offspring of Augustus, the solitary example of the good old times."
Alston cautions against accepting the stories of Agrippina's feud with Sejanus at face value, as these accounts reflect a tradition hostile to Tiberius and Sejanus. They may have been circulated by Agrippina's supporters or they may have emerged after Sejanus' fall in AD 31. He adds: "These stories are plausible, though not certain to be true." |
Agrippina the Elder | Suetonius | Suetonius
Augustus was proud of Agrippina. Suetonius claims that Augustus wrote her a letter praising her intellect and directing her education. Suetonius also records that Augustus, who held strict views on self-restraint and respectable speech, cautioned Agrippina not to speak "offensively". When she next appears, she is being chastised by Tiberius in Greek for making irritating remarks, and the tone of the Greek verse quoted by Tiberius suggests that she should have heeded the advice of her grandfather not to speak offensively. |
Agrippina the Elder | Tacitus | Tacitus
The Annals of Tacitus is a history of the Julio-Claudian dynasty beginning with the death of Augustus. In it, he portrays women as having a profound influence on politics. The women of the imperial family in particular are depicted by Tacitus as having a notable prominence in the public sphere as well as possessing a ferocity and ambition with which they pursue it. Tacitus presents them as living longer than the imperial men and thus being more wise as they advance in age. Among the most broad of his portrayals is that of Agrippina. He emphasizes their role in connecting genetically back to Augustus, a significant factor in the marriages of the emperors and princes of the dynasty. The Annals repeatedly has Agrippina competing for influence with Tiberius simply because she is related to Augustus biologically.
Tacitus presents Agrippina as being kindred to aristocratic males, and has her reversing gender roles, which showcases her assumption of male auctoritas ("authority") with metaphors of her dressing and undressing. In an example of Agrippina assuming auctoritas, he says:
Using the above epithet, "(femina) ingens animi" ("..[a woman], great for her courage"), he assigns a haughty attitude to Agrippina that compels her to explore the affairs of men. He records her as having reversed the natural order of things when she quelled the mutiny of the Rhine in AD 14. In so doing, he describes her as having usurped her husband's power, a power rightfully belonging only to a general. |
Agrippina the Elder | Portraiture | Portraiture
thumb|right|The Gemma Claudia (AD 50) depicting Claudius (front left), Agrippina the Younger (back left), Germanicus (front right), and Agrippina the Elder (back right).
thumb|Marble bust, Istanbul Archaeology Museum
Portraits of Roman women from the Julio-Claudian dynasty display a freer hair treatment than those of traditional Roman men and are more keen on the sensitivity of recording on different textures. These changes in style served to make reproducing them more popular in the mid-first-century AD. Reproductions of her image would continue to be made into that period. In the portrait, she is given a youthful face despite the fact that she lived to middle age. Agrippina's hair is a mass of curls that covers both sides of her head and is long going down to her shoulders. Her portraiture can be contrasted with that of Livia who had a more austere Augustan hairstyle.
There are three different periods during the first-century AD when portraits were created for Agrippina: at the time of her marriage to Germanicus (which made her the mother of a potential emperor); when her son Caligula came into power in AD 37, and collected her ashes from the island of Pandateria for relocation to the Mausoleum of Augustus; and at the time of Claudius' marriage to Agrippina the Younger, who wanted to connect himself to the lineage of Augustus by evoking Agrippina's image. Coins and inscriptions cannot act as a method of discerning her age, because her hairstyle remains unchanged in all the representations.
The easiest phase of portraits to identify are those dating to the time of Caligula, when a fair abundance of coins were minted with an image of his mother on them. It is a posthumous portrait of her with idealized features. In the phase following Claudius' marriage, her features are made to more closely resemble those of her daughter. The goal was to strengthen Agrippina the Younger's connection with her mother. Finally, the portraits of her dating to the time of Tiberius are still idealized, but not as much as those from the period of Caligula's reign. Images of Agrippina from this period are the most lifelike. |
Agrippina the Elder | Cultural depictions | Cultural depictions
Agrippina is one of the few women from the Roman imperial period whose story was recounted in later centuries as an example of moral character. Her journey to deposit the ashes of her husband was popular with eighteenth century painters, including William Turner, Gavin Hamilton, and Benjamin West whose painting Agrippina Landing at Brundisium with the Ashes of Germanicus (1768) began the trend.
She is also remembered in De Mulieribus Claris, a collection of biographies of historical and mythological women by the Florentine author Giovanni Boccaccio, composed in 136162. It is notable as the first collection devoted exclusively to biographies of women in Western literature. Other notable works of which include:
Agrippina Mourning over the ashes of Germanicus (1775), an etching by Scottish painter Alexander Runciman.
The Caesars (1968), a television series by Philip Mackie for Granada TV. She was played by Caroline Blakiston.
I, Claudius (1976), a television series by Jack Pulman for the BBC. She was played by Fiona Walker. |
Agrippina the Elder | See also | See also
Julio-Claudian family tree
Gaius Silius |
Agrippina the Elder | Notes | Notes |
Agrippina the Elder | References | References |
Agrippina the Elder | Bibliography | Bibliography
|
Agrippina the Elder | External links | External links
Category:10s BC births
Category:33 deaths
Category:1st-century BC Roman women
Category:1st-century Roman women
Category:1st-century Romans
Category:Ancient Roman women in warfare
Category:Burials at the Mausoleum of Augustus
Category:Children of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa
Category:Deaths by starvation
Category:Germanicus
Category:Julio-Claudian dynasty
Category:Vipsanii Agrippae
Category:Women in 1st-century warfare
Category:Year of birth uncertain
Category:Mothers of Roman emperors |
Agrippina the Elder | Table of Content | Short description, Name, Background, Early life and family, Marriage, Widowhood, Life after Germanicus, Political rivalry, Downfall, Post mortem, Personality, Historiography, Suetonius, Tacitus, Portraiture, Cultural depictions, See also, Notes, References, Bibliography, External links |
Agrippina the Younger | Short description | Julia Agrippina (6 November AD 15 – 23 March AD 59), also referred to as Agrippina the Younger, was Roman empress from AD 49 to 54, the fourth wife and niece of emperor Claudius, and the mother of Nero.
Agrippina was one of the most prominent women in the Julio-Claudian dynasty. She was the great-granddaughter of Augustus (the first Roman emperor) and the daughter of the Roman general Germanicus and Agrippina the Elder. Her father, Germanicus, was the nephew and heir apparent of the second emperor, Tiberius. Agrippina's brother Caligula became emperor in AD 37. After Caligula was assassinated in AD 41, Germanicus' brother Claudius took the throne. Agrippina married Claudius in AD 49.
Agrippina has been described by modern and ancient sources as ruthless, ambitious, domineering and using her powerful political ties to influence the affairs of the Roman state, even managing to successfully maneuver her son Nero into the line of succession. Claudius eventually became aware of her plotting, but died in AD 54 under suspicious circumstances, potentially poisoned by Agrippina herself.Tacitus, Annals XII.66; Cassius Dio, Roman History LXI.34; Suetonius, The Lives of Twelve Caesars, Life of Claudius 44; Josephus is less sure, Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews XX.8.1. She exerted significant political influence in the early years of her son's reign, but eventually fell out of favor with him and was killed in AD 59. Physically, Agrippina was described as a beautiful and reputable woman; and, according to Pliny the Elder, had a double canine in her upper right jaw, which was regarded as a sign of good fortune in Ancient Rome. |
Agrippina the Younger | Family | Family
Agrippina was the first daughter and fourth living child of Agrippina the Elder and Germanicus.
She had three elder brothers, Nero Caesar, Drusus Caesar, and the future emperor Caligula, and two younger sisters, Julia Drusilla and Julia Livilla. Agrippina's two eldest brothers and her mother were victims of the intrigues of the Praetorian Prefect Lucius Aelius Sejanus.
She was the namesake of her mother. Agrippina the Elder was remembered as a modest and heroic matron, who was the second daughter and fourth child of Julia the Elder and the statesman Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa. The father of Julia the Elder was the emperor Augustus, and Julia was his only natural child from his second marriage to Scribonia, who had close blood relations with Pompey the Great and Lucius Cornelius Sulla.
Germanicus, Agrippina's father, was a very popular general and politician. His mother was Antonia Minor and his father was the general Nero Claudius Drusus. He was Antonia Minor's first child. Germanicus had two younger siblings: Livilla and Claudius, making the pair Agrippina's aunt and uncle, respectively. Not only would Claudius later serve as Roman emperor, he would also go on to take Agrippina, his own niece, as his wife.
Antonia Minor was a daughter to Octavia the Younger by her second marriage to triumvir Mark Antony, and Octavia was the second eldest sister and full-blooded sister of Augustus. Germanicus' father, Drusus the Elder, was the second son of the Empress Livia Drusilla by her first marriage to praetor Tiberius Nero, and was the emperor Tiberius's younger brother and Augustus's stepson.
In the year AD 9, Augustus ordered Tiberius to adopt Germanicus, who happened to be Tiberius's nephew, as his son and heir. Germanicus was a favourite of Augustus, who hoped that he would succeed Tiberius, who was Augustus's adopted son and heir and then emperor following Augustus' death in AD 14. This in turn meant that Tiberius was also Agrippina's adoptive grandfather in addition to her paternal great-uncle. |
Agrippina the Younger | Birth and early life | Birth and early life
Agrippina was born on 6 November in AD 15, or possibly AD 14, at Oppidum Ubiorum, a Roman outpost on the Rhine River located in present-day Cologne, Germany.Gaius Stern, "Caligula's Three Sisters" suggests that the sisters of Caligula were born at two-year intervals – Agrippina in AD 14, Drusilla in AD 16, and Livilla in AD 18, contra Suetonius "the girls were born in three consecutive years." Tac. Ann 2.54 disproves Suetonius' claim, placing Livilla's birthday in AD 18. Note the births of Agrippina the Younger and Drusilla are only 10 months apart if Suetonius is correct. But Drusilla was clearly born in AD 18. A second sister Julia Drusilla was born on 16 September AD 16, also in Germany.Lindsay Powell Germanicus (Pen and Sword 2013), 116, cites = ILS 1837, = ILS 194, = ILS 195, for the birth and location of Julia Drusilla.
Agrippina's place of birth is disputed, with Cologne being seen as a likely place considering how Agrippina would favor the city and the Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium being established at her prompting there.
Suetonius however claims that both of Germanicus's eldest daughters were born in Trier in Gaul.
As a small child, Agrippina travelled with her parents throughout Germany until she and her siblings (apart from Caligula) returned to Rome to live with and be raised by their paternal grandmother Antonia. Her parents departed for Syria in AD 18 to conduct official duties, and, according to Tacitus, the third and youngest sister was born en route on the island of Lesbos, namely Julia Livilla, probably on 18 March.Tacitus, Annals. 2.54. See also local inscriptions found by Lindsay Powell Germanicus (Pen and Sword 2013), p. 132 n. 96, , and others, as well as local coins. In October of AD 19, Germanicus died suddenly in Antioch (present-day Antakya, Turkey).
Germanicus' death caused much public grief in Rome, and gave rise to rumours that he had been murdered by Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso and Munatia Plancina on the orders of Tiberius, as his widow Agrippina the Elder returned to Rome with his ashes. Agrippina the Younger was thereafter supervised by her mother, her paternal grandmother Antonia Minor, and her great-grandmother, Livia. She lived on the Palatine Hill in Rome. |
Agrippina the Younger | Marriage to Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus | Marriage to Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus
thumb|left|Bust of Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus|290x290px
After her thirteenth birthday in AD 28, Tiberius arranged for Agrippina to marry her paternal first cousin once removed Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus and ordered the marriage to be celebrated in Rome.Tacitus, Annals 4.75. Domitius came from a distinguished family of consular rank. Through his mother Antonia Major, Domitius was a great nephew of Augustus, first cousin to Claudius, and first cousin once removed to Agrippina and Caligula. He had two sisters; Domitia Lepida the Elder and Domitia Lepida the Younger. Domitia Lepida the Younger was the mother of the Empress Valeria Messalina.
Antonia Major was the elder sister to Antonia Minor, and the first daughter of Octavia Minor and Mark Antony. Domitius, who was, according to Suetonius, "in every aspect of his life detestable," served as consul in AD 32. Agrippina and Domitius lived between Antium and Rome. Not much is known about the relationship between them. |
Agrippina the Younger | Reign of Caligula | Reign of Caligula
thumb|right|upright=1.4|During the reign of Caligula, coins like the one pictured here were issued depicting his three sisters, Drusilla, Livilla, and Agrippina the Younger. |
Agrippina the Younger | Public role and political intrigues | Public role and political intrigues
Tiberius died on 16 March AD 37, and Agrippina's only surviving brother, Caligula, became the new emperor. Being the emperor's sister gave Agrippina some influence.
Agrippina and her younger sisters Julia Drusilla and Julia Livilla received various honours from their brother, which included but were not limited to
receiving the rights of the Vestal Virgins, such as the freedom to view public games from the upper seats in the stadium;
being honoured with a new type of coinage, depicting images of Caligula and his sisters on opposite faces;
having their names added to motions, including loyalty oaths (e.g., "I will not value my life or that of my children less highly than I do the safety of the Emperor and his sisters") and consular motions (e.g., "Good fortune attend to the Emperor and his sisters)".
Around the time that Tiberius died, Agrippina had become pregnant. Domitius had acknowledged the paternity of the child. On 15 December AD 37, in the early morning, in Antium, Agrippina gave birth to a son. Agrippina and Domitius named their son Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, after Domitius' recently deceased father. This child would grow up to become the emperor Nero. Nero was Agrippina's only natural child. Suetonius states that Domitius was congratulated by friends on the birth of his son, whereupon he replied "I don't think anything produced by me and Agrippina could possibly be good for the state or the people".
Caligula and his sisters were accused of having incestuous relationships. On 10 June AD 38, Drusilla died, possibly of a fever, rampant in Rome at the time. Caligula was particularly fond of Drusilla, claiming to treat her as he would his own wife, even though Drusilla had a husband. Following her death, Caligula showed no special love or respect toward the surviving sisters and was said to have gone insane.
In AD 39, Agrippina and Livilla, with their maternal cousin, Drusilla's widower Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, were involved in a failed plot to murder Caligula, a plot known as the Plot of the Three Daggers, which was to make Lepidus the new emperor. Lepidus, Agrippina and Livilla were accused of being lovers. Not much is known concerning this plot and the reasons behind it. At the trial of Lepidus, Caligula felt no compunction about denouncing them as adulteresses, producing handwritten letters discussing how they were going to kill him. The three were found guilty as accessories to the crime. |
Agrippina the Younger | Exile | Exile
Lepidus was executed. According to the fragmentary inscriptions of the Arval Brethren, Agrippina was forced to carry the urn of Lepidus' ashes back to Rome. Agrippina and Livilla were exiled by their brother to the Ponza, in Pontine Islands, an archipelago of small volcanic islands about 70 miles away from Rome.
Caligula sold their furniture, jewellery, slaves and freedmen. In January of AD 40, Domitius died of edema (dropsy) at Pyrgi. Lucius had gone to live with his second paternal aunt Domitia Lepida the Younger after Caligula had taken his inheritance away from him.
Caligula, his wife Milonia Caesonia and their daughter Julia Drusilla were murdered on 24 January AD 41. Agrippina's paternal uncle, Claudius, brother of her father Germanicus, became the new Roman emperor. |
Agrippina the Younger | Reign of Claudius | Reign of Claudius |
Agrippina the Younger | Return from exile | Return from exile
thumb|upright=1.2|Messalina holding her son Britannicus (Louvre)
Claudius lifted the exiles of Agrippina and Livilla. Livilla returned to her husband, while Agrippina was reunited with her estranged son. After the death of her first husband, Agrippina tried to make shameless advances on the future emperor Galba. He showed no interest, being devoted to his wife Aemilia Lepida. On one occasion, Galba's mother-in-law gave Agrippina a public reprimand and a slap in the face before a whole bevy of married women.C. Suetonius Tranquillus Suetonius. Twelve Caesars: Galba.
Claudius had Lucius' inheritance reinstated. Lucius became more wealthy despite his youth shortly after Gaius Sallustius Crispus Passienus divorced Lucius' aunt, Domitia Lepida the Elder (Lucius' first paternal aunt) so that Crispus could marry Agrippina. They married, and Crispus became a step-father to Lucius. Crispus was an influential, wealthy and powerful man who served twice as consul. He was the adopted grandson and biological great-great-nephew of the historian Sallust. Little is known about their relationship, but Crispus soon died and left his estate to Nero.
During the first years his reign, Claudius was married to the Empress Valeria Messalina. Messalina was Agrippina's paternal second cousin. Among the victims of Messalina's intrigues were Agrippina's surviving sister Livilla, who was charged with adultery with Seneca the Younger. Although Agrippina was very influential at this time, she kept a low profile and stayed away from the imperial palace and the court of the emperor.
Messalina considered Agrippina's son a threat to her son's position and sent assassins to strangle Lucius during his siesta. The assassins left after they saw a snake beneath Lucius' pillow, considering it a bad omen. It was, however, only a sloughed-off snake-skin. By Agrippina's order, the serpent's skin was enclosed in a bracelet that the young Lucius wore on his right arm.
In AD 47, Crispus died. At his funeral, a rumour spread that Agrippina had poisoned Crispus to gain his estate. After being widowed a second time, Agrippina was left very wealthy. Later that year, Messalina and Britannicus attended the performance of the Troy Pageant at the Secular Games, where Agrippina was also present with Lucius. Agrippina and Lucius received greater applause from the audience than Messalina and Britannicus did. Many people began to show pity and sympathy to Agrippina, due to the unfortunate circumstances of her life.Tacitus Annals 11.11–12 |
Agrippina the Younger | Marriage to Claudius | Marriage to Claudius
Messalina was executed in AD 48 for conspiring with Gaius Silius to overthrow her husband. Around this time, Agrippina became the mistress to one of Claudius' advisers, the Greek freedman Marcus Antonius Pallas. After ending his marriage, Claudius considered remarrying for the fourth time and his advisers began discussing which noblewoman he should marry. Claudius had a reputation that he was easily persuaded; but it has been suggested that the Senate may have pushed for the marriage between Agrippina and Claudius to end the feud between the Julian and Claudian branches.Scramuzza (1940) pp. 91–92. See also Tac. Ann. XII 6, 7; Suet. Claud. 26. This feud dated back to Agrippina's mother's actions against Tiberius after the death of Germanicus. Another reason was to bring in Agrippina's son, Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, as a candidate for the succession. His prestige as the descendent of Augustus and Germanicus would have helped the survival of Claudius' regime.
Claudius was said to have made references to her in his speeches: "my daughter and foster child, born and bred, in my lap, so to speak".Suetonius, The Lives of Twelve Caesars, Life of Claudius 39 When Claudius decided to marry her, he persuaded a group of senators that the marriage should be arranged in the public interest. In Roman society, an uncle (Claudius) marrying his niece (Agrippina) was considered incestuous and immoral.Suetonius, The Lives of Twelve Caesars, Life of Claudius 26
Agrippina and Claudius married on New Year's Day in AD 49 and the marriage was met with widespread disapproval. Agrippina's marriage to Claudius was not based on love, but powerpossibly being a part of her plan to make her son Lucius the new emperor. Shortly after marrying Claudius, Agrippina eliminated her rival Lollia Paulina by persuading Claudius to charge Paulina with allegations of black magic use. Claudius stipulated that Paulina did not receive a hearing and her property was confiscated. She left Italy, but Agrippina was unsatisfied. Allegedly on Agrippina's orders, a tribune forced Lollia Paulina to commit suicide.<ref>Tacitus, Annals' 12.22</ref>
In the months leading up to her marriage to Claudius, Agrippina's maternal second cousin, the praetor Lucius Junius Silanus Torquatus, was betrothed to Claudius' daughter Claudia Octavia. This betrothal was broken off in AD 48, when Agrippina, scheming with the consul Lucius Vitellius the Elder, the father of the future emperor Aulus Vitellius, falsely accused Silanus of incest with his sister Junia Calvina. Agrippina did this hoping to secure a marriage between Octavia and her son. Consequently, Claudius broke off the engagement and forced Silanus to resign from public office.Tacitus, Annals 12.4; The Lives of Twelve Caesars, Life of Claudius 27; Cassius Dio, Roman History LXI.31.8
Silanus committed suicide on the day that Agrippina married her uncle, and Calvina was exiled from Italy in early AD 49. Calvina was called back from exile after the death of Agrippina. Towards the end of AD 54, Agrippina would order the murder of Silanus' eldest brother Marcus Junius Silanus Torquatus without Nero's knowledge, so that he would not seek revenge against her over his brother's death.
Empress
thumb|upright=1.4|Denarius of Agrippina and Claudius, minted in AD 50–54. She was the first Roman empress to be depicted on official Roman coins in an unambiguous manner
Agrippina became empress in AD 49 upon marrying her uncle Claudius. She also became stepmother to Claudia Antonia, Claudius' daughter and only child from his second marriage to Aelia Paetina; and to the young Claudia Octavia and Britannicus, Claudius' children with Valeria Messalina. Agrippina removed or eliminated anyone from the palace or the imperial court whom she thought was loyal and dedicated to the memory of the late Messalina. She also eliminated or removed anyone whom she considered was a potential threat to her position and the future of her son, one of her victims being Lucius' second paternal aunt and Messalina's mother Domitia Lepida the Younger.
Griffin describes how Agrippina "had achieved this dominant position for her son and herself by a web of political alliances," which included Claudius chief secretary and bookkeeper Pallas, his doctor Xenophon, and Afranius Burrus: the head of the Praetorian Guard (the imperial bodyguard), who owed his promotion to Agrippina. Neither ancient nor modern historians of Rome have doubted that Agrippina had her eye on securing the throne for Nero from the very day of the marriageif not earlier. Dio Cassius observation seems to bear that out: "As soon as Agrippina had come to live in the palace she gained complete control over Claudius."
In AD 49, Agrippina was seated on a dais at a parade of captives when their leader the Celtic King Caratacus bowed before her with the same homage and gratitude as he accorded the emperor.Tacitus, Annals 12.37 In AD 50, Agrippina was granted the honorific title of Augusta. She was third Roman woman (after Livia Drusilla and Antonia Minor) and only the second living Roman woman (the first being Livia) to receive this title.
In her capacity as Augusta, Agrippina quickly became a trusted advisor to Claudius, and by AD 54, she exerted a considerable influence over the decisions of the emperor. Statues of her were erected in many cities across the Empire and her face appeared on official Roman coins unambiguously, a first for a living empress. In the Senate, her followers were advanced with public offices and governorships. She listened to the Senate from behind the scenes. According to Cassius Dio, Agrippina was often present with Claudius in public, seated on her own platform, when he was transacting government businesses or receiving foreign ambassadors.Cassius Dio, Historia Romana LX.33.7. Pliny the Elder writes that he saw her seated beside the emperor during mock naval combats, wearing a golden cloak.Pliny, Natural History 33.19; Tacitus, Annals 12.56 Tacitus claims that she boasted being a "partner in the empire".Tacitus, Annals 12.37 However, this privileged position caused resentment among the senatorial class and the imperial family.
Also that year, Claudius founded a Roman colony and called the colony Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensis or Agrippinensium, today known as Cologne, after Agrippina who was born there.Tacitus, Annals 12.27 This was the only Roman colony to be named after a Roman woman. In AD 51, she was given a carpentum: a ceremonial carriage usually reserved for priests such as the Vestal Virgins and sacred statues. That same year she secured the appointment of Sextus Afranius Burrus as the head of the Praetorian Guard, replacing the previous head of the Praetorian Guard, Rufrius Crispinus.Tacitus, Annals 12.42
She assisted Claudius in administering the empire and became very wealthy and powerful. Ancient sources claim that Agrippina successfully influenced Claudius into adopting her son and making him his successor. Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus was adopted by his great maternal uncle and stepfather in AD 50. Lucius' name was changed to Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus and he became Claudius's adopted son, heir and recognized successor. Agrippina and Claudius betrothed Nero to his step sister Claudia Octavia, and Agrippina arranged to have Seneca the Younger return from exile to tutor the future emperor. Claudius chose to adopt Nero because of his Julian and Claudian lineage.Tacitus, Annals XII.25.
Agrippina deprived Britannicus of his heritage and further isolated him from his father and succession for the throne in every way possible. For instance, in AD 51, Agrippina ordered the execution of Britannicus' tutor Sosibius. Sosibus had confronted her, outraged by Claudius' adoption of Nero and his choice of Nero as successor over his own son Britannicus.Some compare this to when Tiberius had chosen Caligula and the other grandson Tiberius Gemellus "without any approbation." Why would there be any approbation? Tiberius had few descendants and Gemellus was the youngest of all of them. First Tiberius designated the older brothers of Caligula (his adopted son's sons) as his successors. Later he accused and imprisoned them. All he had left was Caligula (by then over 20) and Gemellus (under 10). There would be more approbation for overlooking Caligula in Gemellus' favour.
Nero and Octavia were married on 9 June AD 53. Claudius later regretted marrying Agrippina and adopting Nero and began to favor Britannicus, preparing him for the throne. These actions gave Agrippina a motive to allegedly eliminate Claudius. Ancient sources say she poisoned Claudius on 13 October AD 54 with a plate of deadly mushrooms at a banquet, thus enabling Nero to quickly take the throne as emperor. Accounts vary wildly with regard to this private incident, and according to more modern sources, it is possible that Claudius died of natural causes, being 63 years old. In the aftermath of Claudius's death, Agrippina, who initially kept the death secret, tried to consolidate power by immediately ordering that the palace and the capital be sealed. After all the gates were blockaded and exit of the capital forbidden, she introduced Nero first to the soldiers and then to the senators as emperor.
Reign of Nero
Relationship with Nero
thumb|left|upright=0.8|Marble bust of Nero. Antiquarium of the Palatine.
Nero was raised to emperor and Agrippina was named a priestess of the cult of the deified Claudius. She now attempted to use her son's youth to participate in the rule of the Roman Empire. She enjoyed imperial prerogatives: being allowed to visit the senate meetings from behind a curtain, and appearing as a partner to her son in the official coinage and statues. The historian Tacitus depicts her as attempting a diarchy with her son when she demanded that the Praetorian Guard pledge their loyalty to her. She was also said to have tried to participate in her son's meeting with Armenian ambassadors until Seneca and Burrus persuaded Nero to stop her.Tacitus, Annals 13.5.3.
thumb|upright=0.8|Sculpture of Agrippina crowning her young son Nero ( AD 54–59)
In year one of Nero's reign, Agrippina began losing influence over Nero when he began to have an affair with the freed woman Claudia Acte, which Agrippina strongly disapproved of and violently scolded him for. Agrippina began to support Britannicus in her possible attempt to make him emperor, or to threaten Nero. The panicking emperor decided on whether to eliminate his mother or his step-brother. Soon, Nero had Britannicus secretly poisoned during his own banquet in February AD 55. The power struggle between Agrippina and her son had begun.Rome: Agrippina the Younger – Background and Rise to Prominence, by Lily Ophelia.
Between AD 56 and 58, Agrippina became very watchful and critical of her son. In AD 56, Agrippina was forced out of the palace by her son to live in the imperial residence. However, Agrippina retained some degree of influence over her son for several more years, and they are considered the best years of Nero's reign. But, as their relationship grew more hostile, Nero gradually began to deprive his mother of honours and power, and even removed her Roman and German bodyguards. Nero even threatened his mother that he would abdicate the throne and would go to live on the Greek Island of Rhodes, a place where Tiberius had lived after divorcing Julia the Elder. Pallas also was dismissed from the court. The fall of Pallas and the opposition of Burrus and Seneca to Agrippina contributed to her scaling down of authority. In mid AD 56, she was forced out of everyday and active participation in the governance of Rome.Simon Hornblower, Antony Spawforth – E.A. (edd.), Oxford Classical Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2003.
While Agrippina lived in her residence or when she went on short visits to Rome, Nero sent people to annoy her. Although living in Misenum, she was always hailed as "Augusta", and Agrippina and Nero would see each other on short visits. In late AD 58, Agrippina and a group of soldiers and senators were accused of attempting to overthrow Nero, and it was said they planned to move with Gaius Rubellius Plautus.Tacitus, Annals 13.19. In addition, she revealed Nero's relationship with Poppaea Sabina.
Death and aftermath
The circumstances that surround Agrippina's death are uncertain due to historical contradictions and anti-Nero bias. However, ancient accounts agree that Nero had her murdered following an unsuccessful attempt on her life on a boat.
thumb|Nero before the corpse of his mother, Agrippina the Younger, by Arturo Montero y Calvo, 1887
Tacitus's account
According to Tacitus, in AD 58, Nero became involved with the noble woman Poppaea Sabina. She taunted him for being a "mummy's boy". She also convinced him of the autonomy of any other emperor. With the reasoning that a divorce from Octavia and a marriage to Poppaea was not politically feasible with Agrippina alive, Nero decided to kill Agrippina.Tacitus, Annals XIV.1. Yet, Nero did not marry Poppaea until AD 62, calling into question this motive.See Dawson, Alexis, "Whatever Happened to Lady Agrippina?" Classical Quarterly (1969) p. 264. Additionally, Suetonius reveals that Poppaea's husband, Otho, was not sent away by Nero until after Agrippina's death in AD 59, making it highly unlikely that already married Poppaea would be pressing Nero.Suetonius, The Lives of Caesars, Life of Otho 3. Some modern historians theorise that Nero's decision to kill Agrippina was prompted by her plot to replace him with either Gaius Rubellius Plautus (Nero's maternal second cousin) or Britannicus (Claudius' biological son).Rogers, Robert. Heirs and Rivals to Nero, Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association, Vol. 86. (1955), p. 202. Silana accuses Agrippina of plotting to bring up Plautus in 55, Tacitus, Annals XIII.19; Silana is recalled from exile after Agrippina's power waned, Tacitus, Annals XIV.12; Plautus is exiled in 60, Tacitus, Annals XIV.22.
Tacitus claims that Nero considered poisoning or stabbing her, but felt these methods were too difficult and suspicious, so he settled on – after the advice of his former tutor and freedman Anicetus – building a self-sinking boat.Tacitus, Annals XIV.3. Though aware of the plot, Agrippina embarked on this boat and was nearly crushed by a collapsing lead ceiling only to be saved by the side of a couch breaking the ceiling's fall.Tacitus, Annals XIV.5. Though the collapsing ceiling missed Agrippina, it crushed her attendant who was outside by the helm.
The boat failed to sink as a result of the collapse of the lead ceiling, so the crew then sank the boat, but Agrippina swam to shore. Her friend Acerronia Polla was attacked by oarsmen while still in the water, and was either bludgeoned to death or drowned, since she was exclaiming that she was Agrippina, in the hope of being saved. Agrippina was met at the shore by crowds of admirers.Tacitus, Annals XIV.8. News of Agrippina's survival reached Nero so he asked Seneca and Burrus for the advice. After a moment of silence, they recommended Anicetus to carry out the act, since the Praetorians were loyal to the children of Germanicus. So Nero sent Anicetus, the trierach Herculeius, and the marine centurion Obaritus, as well as an "armed and menacing column" to kill her.
After surrounding the villa, which scared away Agrippina's supporters, they eventually made their way to the bedroom. After the last slave girl departed her side, (whom she asked "Are you too deserting me?"), Agrippina was surrounded in her bed and struck in the head with a cudgel, before proffering her womb, crying out "Stab my belly!" and finally dying after experiencing many fatal wounds to that area. This narrative is clearly presented similarly to that of Julius Caesar, and her last act being to ensure violence upon her womb implies it was a symbolic act against her womb's only progeny: the man who had ordered her death.
Suetonius's account
Suetonius says that Agrippina's "over-watchful" and "over-critical" eye that she kept over Nero drove him to murdering her. After months of attempting to humiliate her by depriving her of her power, honour, and bodyguards, he also expelled her from the Palatine, followed by the people he sent to "pester" her with lawsuits and "jeers and catcalls".
When he eventually turned to murder, he first tried poison, three times in fact. She prevented her death by taking the antidote in advance. Afterwards, he rigged up a machine in her room which would drop her ceiling tiles onto her as she slept, but she once again escaped death after she received word of the plan. Nero's final plan was to get her in a boat which would collapse and sink.
He sent her a friendly letter asking to reconcile and inviting her to celebrate the Quinquatrus at Baiae with him. He arranged an "accidental" collision between her galley and one of his captains. When returning home, he offered her his collapsible boat, as opposed to her damaged galley.
The day after the boat sank, Nero received word of her survival from her freedman Agermus. Panicking, Nero ordered a guard to "surreptitiously" drop a blade behind Agermus and Nero immediately had him arrested on a charge of attempted murder. Nero ordered the assassination of Agrippina. He made it look as if Agrippina had committed suicide after her plot to kill Nero had been uncovered.
Suetonius says that after Agrippina's death, Nero examined Agrippina's corpse and discussed her good and bad points. Nero also believed Agrippina would haunt him after her death.Suetonius, 'The Lives of Caesars', The Life of Nero 34.
thumb|Nero and Agrippina, painting by Antonio Rizzi
Cassius Dio's account
The tale of Cassius Dio is also somewhat different. It starts again with Poppaea and Seneca as the motive behind the murder.Cassius Dio, Historia Romana LXIII.11–12. Nero designed a ship that would open at the bottom while at sea.Cassius Dio, Historia Romana LXIII.12. Then he pretended to reconcile with Agrippina and put her aboard on the vessel. Once the bottom of the ship opened up, she fell into the water. However, the sailors ended up killing Acerronia Polla instead and Agrippina swam to shore.Cassius Dio, Historia Romana LXIII.13. Pretending to ignore the conspiracy, she sent Nero a letter informing of her well-being, so Nero sent Anicetus to kill her. Her reputed last words, uttered as the assassin was about to strike, were "Strike here, Anicetus, strike here, for this bore Nero".Cassius Dio, Historia Romana LXIII.13.
Nero then told the Senate that Agrippina had plotted to kill him and committed suicide.Cassius Dio, Historia Romana LXIII.14.
Burial
After Agrippina's death, Nero viewed her corpse and, according to some, commented how beautiful she was.Tacitus, Annals XIV.9.Cassius Dio, Historia Romana LXIII.13. Her body was cremated that night on a dining couch. At his mother's funeral, Nero was witless, speechless and rather scared. When the news spread that Agrippina had died, the Roman army, senate, and various people sent him letters of congratulations that he had been saved from his mother's plots.
Aftermath
During the remainder of Nero's reign, Agrippina's grave was not covered or enclosed. Her household later on gave her a modest tomb in Misenum. Nero would have his mother's death on his conscience. He felt so guilty he would sometimes have nightmares of her, even seeing his mother's ghost and getting Persian magicians to ask her for forgiveness. Years before she died, Agrippina had visited astrologers to ask about her son's future. The astrologers had rather accurately predicted that her son would become emperor and would kill her. She replied, "Let him kill me, provided he becomes emperor," according to Tacitus.
Agrippina's alleged victims
47
Passienus Crispus: Agrippina's 2nd husband, poisoned (Suet.).
49
Lollia Paulina: as she was a rival for Claudius' hand in marriage as proposed by the freedman Callistus (Tac. & Dio).
Lucius Silanus: betrothed to Octavia, Claudius' daughter, before his marriage of Agrippina. He committed suicide on their wedding day.
Sosibius: Britannicus' tutor, executed for plotting against Nero.
Calpurnia: banished (Tac.) and/or executed (Dio) because Claudius had commented on her beauty.
53
Statilius Taurus: forced to commit suicide because Agrippina wanted his gardens (Tac.).
54
Claudius: her husband, poisoned (Tac., Sen., Juv., Suet., Dio).
Domitia Lepida: mother of Messalina, executed (Tac.).
Marcus Junius Silanus: a potential rival to Nero, poisoned (Pliny, Tac., Dio).
Cadius Rufus: executed on the charge of extortion.
Tiberius Claudius Narcissus: Because of the competition with Agrippina.
55
Britannicus: Claudius' son, poisoned (Juv.).
Junia Silana: Agrippina's friend turned enemy. Unsuccessfully accused Agrippina of conspiracy against Nero, and was exiled (Tac.).
Legacy and cultural references
thumb|Gustav Wertheimer: The Shipwreck of Agrippina (1874)
Memoirs
Agrippina left memoirs of her life and the misfortunes of her family, which Tacitus used when writing his Annals, but they have not survived.Tacitus, Annals 4.53.
In music and literature
She is remembered in De Mulieribus Claris, a collection of biographies of historical and mythological women by the Florentine author Giovanni Boccaccio, composed in 136162. It is notable as the first collection devoted exclusively to biographies of women in western literature..Octavia, a Roman tragedy written during the Flavian periodAgrippina: Trauerspiel (1665), a German baroque tragedy by Daniel Casper von Lohenstein
G.F. Handel's 1709 opera Agrippina with a libretto by Vincenzo GrimaniEmpress of Rome (1978), a novel by Robert DeMaria (Vineyard Press edition, 2001, )
Agrippina is considered to be the founder of Cologne and is still symbolised there today by the robe of the virgin of the Cologne triumvirate. In the sculpture programme of the Cologne town hall tower, a figure by Heribert Calleen was dedicated to Agrippina on the ground floor.
In film, television, and radio
The 1911 Italian film AgrippinaMio Figlio Nerone (1956) played by Gloria Swanson I, Claudius (1976) played by Barbara Young (here called Agrippinilla).Caligula (1979) and also Messalina, Messalina (1977) played by Lori Wagner.Caligula and Messalina (1981) played by Françoise Blanchard.A.D. (1985 miniseries) played by Ava Gardner.Boudica (2003) played by Frances Barber.Imperium: Nero (2005) played by Laura Morante.Ancients Behaving Badly (2009), History Channel documentary. Episode Nero.Roman Empire (2016), Netflix, played by Teressa Liane.
Agrippina the Younger was portrayed by Betty Lou Gerson in the August 31, 1953, episode of the CBS radio program Crime Classics that was entitled "Your Loving Son, Nero." The episode chronicles the killing of Agrippina by her son Nero who was portrayed by William Conrad.
Horrible Histories – The Movie (2019) Agrippina is portrayed by Kim Catrall
Historiography
Ancient
Most ancient Roman sources are quite critical of Agrippina the Younger. Tacitus considered her vicious and had a strong disposition against her. Other sources are Suetonius and Cassius Dio.
Modern
Girod, Virginie, Agrippine, sexe, crimes et pouvoir dans la Rome impériale , Paris, Tallandier, 2015, 300 p.
Minaud, Gérard, Les vies de 12 femmes d'empereur romain – Devoirs, Intrigues & Voluptés , Paris, L'Harmattan, 2012, ch. 3, La vie d'Agrippine, femme de Claude, pp. 65–96.
E. Groag, A. Stein, L. Petersen, Prosopographia Imperii Romani saeculi I, II et III, Berlin, 1933
H. H. Scullard, From the Gracchi to Nero: History of Rome from 133 B.C. to A.D. 68, London, 19825A critical view of Agrippina, suggesting she was ambitious and unscrupulous and a depraved sexual psychopath. "Agrippina struck down a series of victims; no man or woman was safe if she suspected rivalry or desired their wealth." p. 303.
Guglielmo Ferrero, The Women of the Caesars (1911)Sympathetic and understanding, suggesting Agrippina has been judged harshly by history. Suggesting her marriage to Claudius was to a weak emperor who was, because of his hesitations and terrors, a threat to the imperial authority and government. She saw it her duty to compensate for the innumerable deficiencies of her strange husband through her own intelligence and strength of will. Pages 212ff.; 276ff.
Barrett, Anthony A., Agrippina: Sex, Power and Politics in the Early Roman Empire, Yale University Press, New Haven, 1996.
Annelise Freisenbruch, The first ladies of Rome
McDaniel, W. B. "Bauli the Scene of the Murder of Agrippina". The Classical Quarterly, Vol. 4, No. 2 (April 1910)
Salmonson, Jessica Amanda. (1991) The Encyclopedia of Amazons. Paragon House. pp. 4–5.
Donna Hurley, Agrippina the Younger (Wife of Claudius).
L. Foubert, Agrippina. Keizerin van Rome, Leuven, 2006.
Opera by G. F. Handel: AgrippinaSee also
List of unsolved murders
Notes
Tacitus, Annales xii.1–10, 64–69, xiv.1–9Suetonius, De vita Caesarum – Claudius v.44 and Nero vi.5.3, 28.2, 34.1–4'' |
Agrippina the Younger | References | References
Category:15 births
Category:59 deaths
Category:1st-century executions
Category:1st-century Roman empresses
Category:Augustae
Category:Children of Germanicus
Category:Family of Nero
Category:Female murder victims
Category:Incest
Category:Julii Caesares
Category:Murdered ancient Roman empresses
Category:People from Cologne
Category:Unsolved murders in Italy
Category:Wives of Claudius
Category:Mothers of Roman emperors |
Agrippina the Younger | Table of Content | Short description, Family, Birth and early life, Marriage to Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus, Reign of Caligula, Public role and political intrigues, Exile, Reign of Claudius, Return from exile, Marriage to Claudius, References |
American Chinese cuisine | short description | thumb|right|Chop suey, made with garlic chicken and peapods, on fried rice
200px|thumb|An unopened fortune cookie
American Chinese cuisine, also known as Sino–American cuisine, is a cuisine developed by Chinese Americans based on the wide variety of Chinese food. Most of the dishes served in many North American Chinese restaurants are modified to suit American peoples' tastes and are often quite different from Chinese cuisine. |
American Chinese cuisine | History | History
thumb|upright|Theodore Wores, 1884, Chinese Restaurant, oil on canvas, 83 x 56 cm, Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento
The history of American Chinese cuisine can be traced back to the California Gold Rush (1848–1855). Chinese immigrants came to the United States in search for work as gold miners and railroad workers. As more Chinese immigrants arrived, the United States introduced laws that prohibited them from owning land. Chinese immigrants started small businesses on the west coast, including restaurants and laundry services. Early American Chinese food tended to be homogenized, requiring adaptation of local ingredients and catering to Americanized tastes. By the 19th century, Chinese Americans in San Francisco operated luxurious restaurants patronized mainly by Chinese customers, serving food based customers requests, including anything from pork chop sandwiches and apple pie to beans and eggs. Many of these restaurant owners were self-taught family cooks who improvised with different cooking methods using whatever ingredients were available.
These smaller restaurants were responsible for the development of American Chinese food, adapting it to suit the tastes of Americans. They began by serving miners and railroad workers and later opened Chinese restaurants in towns where Chinese food was completely unknown, using local ingredients and cooking procedures to adapt their customer preferences.
California Gold Rush (1848–1855) brought 20,000–30,000 immigrants to the US from Canton (Guangdong province), China. The location of first Chinese restaurant has sparked debate. Some say it was Macau and Woosung, while others cite Canton Restaurant. Neither one of these restaurants have any surviving photographs; the only reliable information is that these two restaurants were founded in 1849 in San Francisco. Either way, these and other such restaurants were central features in the daily lives of Chinese immigrants. They provided a connection to home, particularly for the many bachelors who did not have the resources or knowledge to cook for themselves. These populations was substantial: In 1852, the ratio of male to female Chinese immigrants was a 18:1. These restaurants served as gathering places and cultural centers for the Chinese community. By 1850, there were five Chinese restaurants in San Francisco. Soon after, significant amounts of food were being imported from China to America's west coast.
The trend spread steadily eastward with the development of the American railways, particularly to New York City. The Chinese Exclusion Act allowed merchants to enter the country, and in 1915, restaurant owners became eligible for merchant visas; these visas fueled the opening of Chinese restaurants as an immigration vehicle. The merchant status was based on the use of rotating managers. Restaurants would operate as a partnership among many people, rotating different partners through the management responsibilities and establishing them as merchants to earn the exemption.
thumb|Edward Hopper's 1929 painting Chop Suey portrays a Chinese American restaurant in New York City
By the early decades of the 20th century, Chinese restaurants had brought new culinary ingredients to towns and cities across the United States, including soy sauce, sesame oil, bean sprouts, water chestnuts, dried mushrooms, fried noodles, Oolong tea and almond cookies. Bok choi, then called "Pak choi," was sometimes called "Chinese Romaine". Similarly, Napa cabbage was called "Chinese cabbage". In those years, it was commonplace for prosperous American families, especially on the West Coast, to employ Chinese cooks as domestic servants. For example, cookbook author and TV personality James Beard grew up in Portland, Oregon where his parents employed a Chinese cook, Jue-Let, whom Beard credited as a major culinary influence, and spoke of with great affection. In 1915, a manual was published in San Francisco, instructing Chinese immigrants how to cook for American families.
Along the way, cooks adapted southern Chinese dishes and developed a style of Chinese food not found in China, such as chop suey. Restaurants (along with Chinese laundries) provided an ethnic niche for small businesses at a time when Chinese people were excluded from most jobs in the wage economy by ethnic discrimination or lack of language fluency.Andrew Coe Chop Suey: A Cultural History of Chinese Food in the United States (New York: Oxford University Press, 2009). By the 1920s, this cuisine, particularly chop suey, became popular among middle-class Americans. However, after World War II it began to be dismissed for not being "authentic," though it continued to be popular.
In 1955, the Republic of China (having itself retreated to Taiwan) evacuated the Dachen Islands. Many who escaped to Taiwan later moved to the United States as they lacked strong social networks and access to opportunities in Taiwan. Chefs from the Dachen Islands had a strong influence on American Chinese food.
By the end of the 1950s, immigrants from Taiwan replaced Cantonese immigrants as the primary labor force in American Chinese restaurants. Taiwanese immigrants expanded American-Chinese cuisine beyond Cantonese cuisine to encompass dishes from many different regions of China as well as Japanese-inspired dishes.
Chinese-American restaurants played a key role in ushering in the era of take-out and delivery food in the United States. In New York City, delivery was pioneered in the 1970s by Empire Szechuan Gourmet Franchise, which hired Taiwanese students studying at Columbia University to do the work. Chinese American restaurants were among the first restaurants to use picture menus in the US.
Taiwanese immigration largely ended in the 1990s due to an economic boom and democratization in Taiwan. From the 1990s onward, immigrants from China once again made up the majority of cooks in American Chinese restaurants. There has been a consequential component of Chinese emigration of illegal origin, most notably Fuzhou people from Fujian and Wenzhounese from Zhejiang in mainland China, specifically destined to work in Chinese restaurants in New York City, beginning in the 1980s.
Adapting Chinese cooking techniques to local produce and tastes has led to the development of American Chinese cuisine. Many of the Chinese restaurant menus in the US are printed in Chinatown, Manhattan, which has a strong Chinese-American demographic.
Late 20th-century tastes have been more accommodating to domestic residents. By this time, it had become evident that Chinese restaurants no longer catered mainly to Chinese customers.
In 2011, the Smithsonian National Museum of American History displayed some of the historical background and cultural artifacts of American Chinese cuisine in its exhibit entitled, Sweet & Sour: A Look at the History of Chinese Food in the United States.
Pekin Noodle Parlor, established in 1911, is the oldest operating Chinese restaurant in the country. As of 2023, the United States had around 37,000 Chinese restaurants. |
American Chinese cuisine | Differences from other regional cuisines in China | Differences from other regional cuisines in China
Many of the dishes are commonly recognized as "Chinese food" were actually developed in America and bear little resemblance to traditional Chinese cuisine. Examples include fortune cookies, crab rangoon, and General Tso's chicken, none of which originated in China. Instead, these dishes were crafted to suit American palates, often characterized by sweetness, bold sauces, and deep-fried dishes.
American Chinese cuisine has its roots in the culinary traditions of Chinese immigrants from Guangdong province, particularly the Toisan (Taishan) district, the origin of most Chinese immigration before the closure of immigration in 1924. These Chinese immigrants developed new cooking styles and used readily available ingredients. The type of Chinese-American cooking served in restaurants differed significantly from the food eaten in Chinese-American homes. Among various regional cuisines in China, Cantonese cuisine has had the most influence on the development of American Chinese food.
American Chinese food typically includes greater quantities of meat compared to traditional Chinese cuisine. An increasing number of American Chinese restaurants—including some upscale establishments—have begun to incorporate more authentic dishes in response to growing customer demand for traditional flavors. While Chinese cuisine frequently uses of Asian leaf vegetables, like bok choy and gai-lan, American Chinese cuisine commonly utilizing ingredients rarely found in China. For instance, Western broccoli () is used instead of Chinese broccoli (gai-lan, ).
Chinese ingredients previously considered "exotic" in North America have become more available over time, including fresh fruits and vegetables. For example, edible snow pea pods have become widely available, while the less-known dau miu (also called "pea sprouts," "pea pod stems," or "pea shoots") are increasingly appearing on menus and even in supermarkets in North America.
thumb|A Chinese buffet restaurant in the United States
American-Chinese food also has had a reputation for high levels of MSG, used to enhance flavor. From the early to mid-2000s through the 2010s and into the 2020s, market forces and customer preferences encouraged many restaurants to offer "MSG Free" or "No MSG" menus, or to omit this ingredient upon request.
However, discussions appearing around 2020 addressed that MSG's reputation has begun shifting, suggesting this trend had been developing for at least the past decade.
thumb|Carryout Chinese food is commonly served in a paper carton with a wire bail, known as an oyster pail.
A typical example to show how American Chinese cuisine differs from traditional Chinese food is Egg fried rice. In American Chinese cuisine, egg fried rice often includes more soy sauce for additional flavor, whereas traditional egg fried rice uses much less soy sauce. Some culinary styles, such as dim sum, have also been modified to fit American tastes, including adding batter for fried dishes and using extra soy sauce.
Both traditional Chinese and American-Chinese cooking utilize similar methods of preparation, such as stir frying, pan frying, and deep frying, all of which can easily be performed using a wok.
Ming Tsai, chef and former owner of the Blue Ginger restaurant in Wellesley, Massachusetts, and host of PBS culinary show Simply Ming, has commented on the characteristics of American Chinese restaurants. He noted that these establishments often serve dishes representing three to five regions of China simultaneously, typically including items such as chop suey, various sweet and sour dishes, and an adaptation of chow mein or fried rice. Tsai described this style as: "Chinese-American cuisine as an adaptation of traditional Chinese food, modified to attract American customers by making it blander, thicker, and sweeter"."Chef Ming Tsai wants you to have a Chinese friend". CNN. January 19, 2011. Retrieved on January 19, 2011.
Most American Chinese primarily cater to non-Chinese customers, offering menus written in English accompanied by descriptive pictures. In some cases, separate menus written in Chinese are available, typically featuring traditional dishes such as liver, chicken feet, or other meat items that might scare American customers (such as offal). In Chinatown, Manhattan, certain restaurants are known to offer a so-called "phantom" menu, which features items preferred by ethnic Chinese diners but often excluded from the standard menu due to the perception that they would not attract non-Chinese customers. |
American Chinese cuisine | Dishes | Dishes |
American Chinese cuisine | Menu items not found in China | Menu items not found in China
Dishes that often appear on American Chinese restaurant menus include:
Almond chicken — Chicken breaded in batter containing ground almonds, fried and served with almonds and onions.
Chicken and broccoli — Similar to beef and broccoli, but with chicken instead of beef.
Chinese chicken salad — Usually contains sliced or shredded chicken, uncooked leafy greens, carrots, cucumbers, crispy noodles (or fried wonton skins) and sesame dressing. Some version include mandarin oranges.
Chop suey — Derived from a term meaning "assorted pieces" in Chinese. It typically consists of vegetables and meat in a brown sauce but can also be served in a white sauce.
Crab rangoon — Fried wonton skins stuffed with (usually) artificial crab meat (surimi) and cream cheese.
Fortune cookie — Invented in California as a Westernized version of the Japanese omikuji senbei, fortune cookies have become sweetened and found their way to many American Chinese restaurants.
Fried wontons — Somewhat similar to crab rangoon, a filling, (most often pork), is wrapped in a wonton skin and deep fried.Fried Wonton , About.comFried Wontons Recipe, BlogChef.netFried Wontons Recipe, ThaiTable.comFried Wontons (Zhá Yúntūn) , Chow.comChinese New Year: Fried Wontons , FromAway.comFried Wontons Recipe, RasaMalaysia.com
General Tso's chicken — Chunks of chicken that are dipped in batter, deep fried, and seasoned with ginger, garlic, sesame oil, scallions, and hot chili peppers. This dish was named after Qing dynasty statesman and military leader Zuo Zongtang, often referred to as General Tso.
Mongolian beef — Fried beef with scallions or white onions in a spicy and often sweet brown sauce.
Pepper steak — Sliced steak, green bell peppers, tomatoes, and white or green onions stir fried with salt, sugar, and soy sauce. Bean sprouts are a less common addition.
Royal beef—Deep-fried sliced beef, doused in a wine sauce and often served with steamed broccoli.
Sesame chicken — Boned, marinated, battered, and deep-fried chicken which is then dressed with a translucent red or orange, sweet and mildly spicy sauce, made from soy sauce, corn starch, vinegar, chicken broth, and sugar, and topped with sesame seeds.
thumb|Wonton strips are commonly served as complimentary appetizers along with duck sauce and hot mustard
Sushi — despite being served in the Japanese and American styles, some American Chinese restaurants serve various types of sushi, usually on buffets.
Sweet roll — yeast rolls, typically fried, covered in granulated sugar or powdered sugar. Some variants are stuffed with cream cheese or icing.
Wonton strips — these deep-fried strips of dough are commonly offered as complimentary appetizers, along with duck sauce and hot mustard, or with soup when ordering take-out. |
American Chinese cuisine | Other American Chinese dishes | Other American Chinese dishes
Dau miu is a Chinese vegetable that has become popular since the early 1990s, and now not only appears on English-language menus, usually as "pea shoots", but is often served by some non-Asian restaurants as well. Originally, it was only available during a few months of the year, but it is now grown in greenhouses and is available year-round. |
American Chinese cuisine | Versions of dishes also found in China | Versions of dishes also found in China
thumb|Egg foo young
Beijing beef — in China, this dish uses gai lan (Chinese broccoli) rather than American broccoli.
Beef and broccoli — flank steak cut into small pieces, stir-fried with broccoli, and covered in a dark sauce made with soy sauce and oyster sauce and thickened with cornstarch.
Cashew chicken — stir-fried tender chicken pieces with cashew nuts.
Chow mein — literally means "stir-fried noodles". Chow mein consists of fried crispy noodles with bits of meat and vegetables. It can come with chicken, pork, shrimp or beef.
Egg foo young — Chinese-style omelet with vegetables and meat, usually served with a brown gravy. While some restaurants in North America deep-fry the omelet, versions found in Asia are more likely to fry in the wok.
Egg roll — while spring rolls have a thin, light beige crispy skin that flakes apart, and is filled with mushrooms, bamboo, and other vegetables inside, the American-style egg roll has a thicker, chewier, dark brown bubbly skin stuffed with cabbage and usually bits of meat or seafood (such as pork or shrimp), but no egg. In some regions, a filling of shredded and dried celery replaces cabbage, resulting in a more greenish tinge to the filling.Egg roll recipe Dinner in the Pines
Fried rice — fried-rice dishes are popular offerings in American Chinese food due to the speed and ease of preparation and their appeal to American tastes.It is commonly prepared with rice cooled overnight, allowing restaurants to put leftover rice to good use (freshly cooked rice is actually less suitable for fried rice). The American-Chinese version of this dish typically uses more soy sauce than the versions found in China, and it's offered with different combinations of meat (pork, chicken, shrimp ) and vegetables.
Ginger beef () — tender beef cut in chunks, mixed with ginger and Chinese mixed vegetables.
Ginger fried beef () — tender beef cut in strings, battered, deep fried, then re-fried in a wok mixed with a sweet sauce, a variation of a popular Northern Chinese dish.
Hulatang — a traditional Chinese soup with hot spices, often called "spicy soup" on menus.
Hot and sour soup — the North American soups tend to have starch added as a thickener.
Kung Pao chicken — a spicy Sichuan dish that is served with peanuts, scallions, and Sichuan peppers. Some versions in North America may include zucchini and bell peppers.
Lo mein ("stirred noodles") — frequently made with eggs and flour, making them chewier than a recipe simply using water. Thick, spaghetti-shaped noodles are pan fried with vegetables (mainly bok choy and Chinese cabbage or napa) and meat. Sometimes this dish is referred to as chow mein (which literally means "stir-fried noodles" in Cantonese).
Mei fun — noodles usually simmered in broth with other ingredients such as fish balls, beef balls or slices of fishcake.
Moo shu pork — the original version uses more typically Chinese ingredients (including wood ear fungi and daylily buds) and thin flour pancakes, while the American version often uses vegetables more familiar to Americans, and thicker pancakes. This dish is quite popular in Chinese restaurants in the United States, but not as popular in China.
Orange chicken — chopped, battered, fried chicken with a sweet orange flavored chili sauce that is thickened and glazed. The traditional version consists of stir-fried chicken in a light, slightly sweet soy sauce flavored with dried orange peels.
Wonton soup — In most American Chinese restaurants, only wonton dumplings in broth are served, while versions found in China may come with noodles. (In Guangdong, it can be a full meal in itself, consisting of thin egg noodles and several pork and prawn wontons in a pork or chicken soup broth or noodle broth). Especially in takeout restaurants, wonton are often made with thicker dough skins, to withstand the rigors of delivery. |
American Chinese cuisine | Regional variations | Regional variations |
American Chinese cuisine | New York City | New York City
The New York metropolitan area is home to the largest Chinese population outside of Asia, which also constitutes the largest metropolitan Asian-American group in the United States and the largest Asian-national metropolitan diaspora in the Western Hemisphere. The Chinese-American population of the New York City metropolitan area was an estimated 893,697 as of 2017.
Given the New York metropolitan area's continuing status as by far the leading gateway for Chinese immigrants to the United States, all popular styles of every Chinese regional cuisine have commensurately become ubiquitously accessible in New York City, including Hakka, Taiwanese, Shanghainese, Hunanese, Szechuan, Cantonese, Fujianese, Xinjiang, Zhejiang, and Korean Chinese cuisine. Even the relatively obscure Dongbei style of cuisine indigenous to Northeast China is now available in Flushing, Queens, as well as Mongolian cuisine and Uyghur cuisine. |
American Chinese cuisine | Kosher preparation | Kosher preparation
Kosher preparation of Chinese food is also widely available in New York City, given the metropolitan area's large Jewish and particularly Orthodox Jewish populations.
The perception that American Jews eat at Chinese restaurants on Christmas Day is documented in media. The tradition may have arisen from the lack of other open restaurants on Christmas Day, the close proximity of Jewish and Chinese immigrants in New York City, and the absence of dairy foods combined with meat.
Kosher Chinese food is usually prepared in New York City, as well as in other large cities with Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods, under strict rabbinical supervision as a prerequisite for Kosher certification. |
American Chinese cuisine | Los Angeles County | Los Angeles County
Chinese populations in Los Angeles represent at least 21 of the 34 provincial-level administrative units of China, along with the largest population of Taiwanese-born immigrants outside of Taiwan, making greater Los Angeles home to a diverse population of Chinese people in the United States.
Chinese-American cuisine in the Greater Los Angeles area is concentrated in Chinese ethnoburbs rather than traditional Chinatowns. The oldest Chinese ethnoburb is Monterey Park, considered to be the nation's first suburban Chinatown.
Although Chinatown in Los Angeles is still a significant commercial center for Chinese immigrants, the majority are centered in the San Gabriel Valley which is the one of the largest concentration of Asian-Americans in the country, stretching from Monterey Park into the cities of Alhambra, San Gabriel, Rosemead, San Marino, South Pasadena, West Covina, Walnut, City of Industry, Diamond Bar, Arcadia, and Temple City.
The Valley Boulevard corridor is the main artery of Chinese restaurants in the San Gabriel Valley. Another hub with a significant Chinese population is Irvine (Orange County). More than 200,000 Chinese Americans live in the San Gabriel Valley alone, with over 67% being foreign-born. The valley has become a brand-name tourist destination in China, although droughts in California are creating a difficult impact upon its water security and existential viability. Of the ten cities in the United States with the highest proportions of Chinese Americans, the top eight are located in the San Gabriel Valley, making it one of the largest concentrated hubs for Chinese Americans in North America.
Some regional styles of Chinese cuisine include Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing, Dalian, Hangzhou, Hong Kong, Hunan, Mongolian, Nanjing, Shanghai, Shanxi, Shenyang, Wuxi, Xinjiang, Yunnan, and Wuhan.
LA is also home to notable food critics, including food blogger David R. Chan, who has visited more than 8000 Chinese restaurants, including hundreds around Los Angeles. |
American Chinese cuisine | San Francisco Bay Area | San Francisco Bay Area
Since the early 1990s, many American Chinese restaurants influenced by California cuisine have opened in the San Francisco Bay Area. The trademark dishes of American Chinese cuisine remain on the menu, but there is more emphasis on fresh vegetables, and the selection is vegetarian-friendly.
This new cuisine has exotic ingredients like mangos and portobello mushrooms. Brown rice is often offered as an alternative to white rice.
Some restaurants substitute grilled wheat flour tortillas for the rice pancakes in mu shu dishes. This substitution occurs even in some restaurants that are not typically associated with Chinese cuisine, including both Westernized and the more authentic places. For example, a Mexican bakery that supplies some restaurants with thinner tortillas made for use with mushu. However, this trend is not always appreciated by Mu shu purists.
In addition, many restaurants serving more native-style Chinese cuisines exist, due to the high numbers and proportion of ethnic Chinese in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Restaurants specializing in Cantonese, Sichuanese, Hunanese, Northern Chinese, Shanghainese, Taiwanese, and Hong Kong traditions are widely available, as are more specialized restaurants such as seafood restaurants, Hong Kong-style diners and cafes, also known as Cha chaan teng (), dim sum teahouses, and hot pot restaurants. Many Chinatown areas also feature Chinese bakeries, boba milk tea shops, roasted meat, vegetarian cuisine, and specialized dessert shops.
However, one of the most common American Chinese dishes, Chop suey, is not widely available in San Francisco, and the area's chow mein is different from Midwestern chow mein. |
American Chinese cuisine | Boston | Boston
Chinese cuisine in Boston results from a combination of economic and regional factors, in association with the wide Chinese academic scene. The growing Boston Chinatown accommodates Chinese-owned bus lines shuttling an increasing number of passengers to and from the numerous Chinatowns in New York City, and this has led to some exchange between Boston Chinese cuisine and that in New York.
A large Fujianese immigrant population has made a home in Boston, leading to Fuzhou cuisine being readily available there. An increasing Vietnamese population has also had an influence on Chinese cuisine in Greater Boston.
In addition, innovative dishes incorporating chow mein and chop suey as well as locally farmed produce and regionally procured seafood are found in Chinese as well as non-Chinese restaurants in and around Boston. The selection of Chinese baked products has increased markedly in the 21st century, although the range of choices in New York City remains supreme.
Joyce Chen introduced northern Chinese and Shanghainese dishes to Boston in the 1950s, including Peking duck, moo shu pork, hot and sour soup, and potstickers, which she called "Peking Ravioli" or "Ravs". Her restaurants were frequented by early pioneers of the ARPANET,Hafner, K., & Lyon, M. (1996). Where wizards stay up late: The origins of the Internet. New York: Simon and Schuster, p. 112. as well as celebrities such as John Kenneth Galbraith, James Beard, Julia Child, Henry Kissinger, Beverly Sills, and Danny Kaye. A former Harvard University president called her eating establishment "not merely a restaurant, but a cultural exchange center". In addition, her single-season PBS national television series Joyce Chen Cooks popularized some dishes which could be made at home, and she often encouraged using substitute ingredients when necessary. |
American Chinese cuisine | Philadelphia | Philadelphia
The evolving American Chinese cuisine scene in Philadelphia has similarities with the situation in both New York City and Boston. As with Boston, Philadelphia is experiencing significant Chinese immigration from New York City, to the north, and from China, the top country of birth by a significant margin for a new arrivals there .
There is a growing Fujianese community in Philadelphia as well, and Fuzhou cuisine is readily available in the Philadelphia Chinatown. Also, emerging Vietnamese cuisine in Philadelphia is contributing to evolution in local Chinese cuisine, with some Chinese-American restaurants adopting Vietnamese influences or recipes. |
American Chinese cuisine | Washington, D.C. | Washington, D.C.
Although Washington, D.C.'s Chinese community has not achieved as high of a local profile as that in other major cities along the Mid-Atlantic United States, it is now growing, and rapidly so, due to the gentrification of DC's Chinatown and the status of Washington, D.C., as the capital of the United States. The growing Chinese community in D.C. and its suburbs has revitalized the influence of Chinese cuisine in the area.
Washington, D.C.'s population is 1% Chinese, making them the largest single Asian ancestry in the city. However, the Chinese community in the DC area is no longer solely concentrated in the area of Chinatown, which is about 15% Chinese and 25% Asian, but is mostly concentrated throughout various towns in suburban Maryland and Northern Virginia. The largest concentration of Chinese and Taiwanese in the D.C. area is in Rockville, Maryland, in Montgomery County.
A popular dish localized in Chinese American carryouts across the DMV region consists of whole fried chicken wings served with mumbo sauce, a sweet, tangy ketchup-based condiment.Ballard, K. (May 9, 2018). A brief history of Washington, D.C.'s famous mambo sauce. Culture Trip. https://theculturetrip.com/north-america/usa/washington-dc/articles/a-brief-history-of-washington-d-c-s-famous-mambo-sauce/
In D.C. proper, there are Chinese-owned restaurants specializing in both Chinese American and authentic Chinese cuisine. Regional variations of Chinese cuisine that restaurants in D.C. specialize in include Shanghainese cuisine, Cantonese cuisine, Uyghur cuisine, Mongolian cuisine, and Sichuan cuisine. In the suburbs of D.C. in Maryland and Virginia, many of which have a much higher Chinese population than D.C., regional variations present aside from the ones previously mentioned include Hong Kong cuisine, Hunan cuisine, Shaanxi cuisine, Taiwanese cuisine, and Yunnan cuisine. |
American Chinese cuisine | Puerto Rico | Puerto Rico |
American Chinese cuisine | Hawaii | Hawaii
Hawaiian-Chinese food developed somewhat differently from Chinese cuisine in the continental United States.
Owing to the diversity of Pacific ethnicities in Hawaii and the history of the Chinese influence in Hawaii, resident Chinese cuisine forms a component of the cuisine of Hawaii, which is a fusion of different culinary traditions. Some Chinese dishes are typically served as part of plate lunches in Hawaii.
The names of foods are different as well, such as Manapua, from the Hawaiian contraction of "Mea ono pua'a" or "delicious pork item" from the dim sum bao, though the meat is not necessarily pork. |
American Chinese cuisine | Other regions | Other regions
Chow mein sandwich — sandwich of chow mein and gravy (Southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island)
Chop suey sandwich — sandwich of chicken chop suey on a hamburger bun (North Shore of Massachusetts)
St. Paul sandwich — egg foo young patty in plain white sandwich bread (St. Louis, Missouri)
Springfield-style cashew chicken — a style of cashew chicken that combines breaded deep-fried chicken, cashew nuts, and oyster sauce (Springfield, Missouri)
War/wor sue gai (boneless almond chicken) — bite-sized Southern-style fried chicken with yellow sauce (Columbus, Ohio)
Yaka mein — Chinese-Creole food found in New Orleans that evolved from beef noodle soup |
American Chinese cuisine | Chain restaurants | Chain restaurants
thumb|A typical Panda Express meal: Kung Pao chicken, orange chicken, chow mein and steamed vegetables
China Coast — closed in 1995; owned by General Mills Corporation, formerly 52 locations throughout the United States
Leeann Chin — Minnesota and North Dakota; owned at one time by General Mills Corp.
Manchu Wok — throughout the United States and Canada, as well as Guam, Korea and Japan
Panda Express — throughout North America (including Canada and Mexico), plus locations in Asia and the Middle East
Pei Wei Asian Diner — throughout the United States; formerly a subsidiary of P.F. Chang's
P. F. Chang's China Bistro — throughout the United States; featuring California-Chinese fusion cuisine
Pick Up Stix — California, Arizona, and Nevada
Stir Crazy — Illinois, Missouri, Wisconsin, Minnesota, New York, Florida, Indiana, Texas, and Ohio. Stir Crazy has faced closures in recent years. As of 2025, its operational status is uncertain, and it may have ceased operations. |
American Chinese cuisine | Popular culture | Popular culture
Many American films (for example: The Godfather; Ghostbusters; The Lost Boys; The Naked Gun; Crossing Delancey; Paid in Full; and Inside Out) include scenes where Chinese take-out food is eaten from oyster pails. The consistent choice of cuisine, however, might just be an indicator of its popularity. A running gag in Dallas is Cliff Barnes' fondness for inexpensive Chinese take-out food, in contrast to his nemesis J. R. Ewing, who frequents fine restaurants.
Numerous American television series and films have featured Chinese restaurants as settings, including A Christmas Story, Seinfeld (particularly the episode "The Chinese Restaurant"), Sex and the City, Big Trouble in Little China, South Park, Year of the Dragon, Lethal Weapon 4, Mickey Blue Eyes, Booty Call, Rush Hour 2, and Men in Black 3. In most cases, these are not actual restaurants but movie sets designed to typify the stereotypical American Chinese eatery, featuring "paper lanterns and intricate woodwork," with "numerous fish tanks and detailed [red] wallpaper [with gold designs]" and "golden dragons," plus "hanging ducks in the window". |
American Chinese cuisine | Cultural impact | Cultural impact |
American Chinese cuisine | Impact on United States | Impact on United States
Chinese American cuisine provides an option for Americans to taste Chinese food that is adapted to both Chinese and American flavors. It allows people in America to learn more about Chinese traditional culture. During this process, Chinese Americans have developed a new cuisine which is different from traditional Chinese food, contributing to the food diversity in America. By running their own restaurants or eateries, first-generation Chinese immigrants reduced discrimination against them and gained sufficient income to send the next generations to universities or colleges.Ch Six, "The Globalization of Chinese Food: The Early Stages", in J. A. G. Roberts. China to Chinatown: Chinese Food in the West (London: Reaktion, 2002) . For Chinese Americans, American Chinese cuisine has already become part of their childhood memories and life, which also would be a bridge between Chinese and American cultural communications and interactions. For example, Panda Express and P.F. Chang's, two of the most famous American Chinese restaurants in the United States, have become the symbol of American Chinese cuisine and have gained appreciation from many Americans.
Additionally, American Chinese cuisine brought some new ingredients and cooking methods to the United States, such as stir-frying and steaming. Thus, many restaurants in the United States started to combine non-Chinese dishes with traditional Chinese cooking techniques and flavors, which promoted the development of fusion cuisine. Introduction of Chinese food also triggered people's curiosity about Asian food, including Japanese, Thai and Singaporean food, leading to a prevalence of Asian cuisine.
Authenticity
American Chinese food is often criticized for the lack of authenticity or called ‘fake’ Chinese food. The criticism stems from its different characteristics such as taste, ingredients, and preparation of the food. On the on hand of the debate, scholars like Haiming Liu observe that: “Traditions that seem timeless and ancient are in fact being constantly modified and reinvented within any given historical context,” so what may be authentic in a given time may not be in another. However, some argue that it represents a new yet authentic Chinese cuisine. While distinct from traditional regional Chinese cuisine, it's a fusion of American and Chinese flavors as it is a product of Chinese immigrants who have “adapted to their social environments, developed new identities, and formed new cultural sensibilities.” What started as a way for Chinese immigrants to eat familiar foods later transformed into a cultural blend of their traditional recipes and their adapted way of life facing the U.S. economy.
Authenticity in Restaurants
Articles have stated that authenticity involves “more than food; music, ambience, and serving style come into play”. Restaurants’ authenticity is often not fixed, but rather based on communication, symbols, and changing ideas. Some argue that ethnic restaurants help immigrants feel connected culturally. This suggests that social connections and reputations contribute towards how authenticity is perceived in the culinary context. However, past studies argue that the concept of authenticity is simply a marketing ploy to attract non-Chinese customers rather than a true reflection of the culture. In other words, the concept of authenticity has often been examined from the perspective of the tourist seeking an authentic experience.
Nutritional Concerns
The adaptation of Chinese cuisine to American tastes has also shifted its nutritional content. Many have claimed that these modifications have made it less healthy, as the dishes now contain higher levels of sodium, fat, and oil. This has influenced some to perceive the ‘Americanization’ of the cuisine to have contributed to the reduced nutritional value. For example, the Orange Chicken at Panda Express contains 22 grams of fat, exceeding the recommended daily intake of 20 grams. Similarly, the Kung Pao Chicken contains 21 grams of fat, which also surpasses the dietary guidelines. However, it is possible to customize the meals to fit an individual's nutritional needs.
MSG Panic
In the 1980s, a popular food seasoning known as monosodium glutamate (MSG) became the subject of health concerns leading up to the “MSG panic.” A report from Dr. Robert Ho Man Kwok, in a medical journal describing the symptoms he experienced after dining at a Chinese restaurant contributed to the growing concerns about MSG. Media coverage amplified these concerns which popularized the term “Chinese Restaurant Syndrome,” despite MSG being a widely used seasoning in a range of foods. In response to a heightened public concern, researchers hastily conducted studies that framed the issue towards Chinese cuisine rather than the seasoning MSG, though it has been claimed as the initial linkage.
Sociologist Stanley Cohen defined the fear surrounding MSG as a "moral panic”,in which “a condition, episode, person, or group of persons emerges to become defined as a threat to societal values and interests. Some research claims it was influenced by historical xenophobia toward Chinese Americans and immigrants, contributing to the stigmatization of Chinese cuisine as being of lower quality or unhealthy due to its MSG content. |
American Chinese cuisine | Impact on China | Impact on China
Although some Chinese people will regard American Chinese food as inauthentic. Since 2018, some American Chinese food restaurants have opened in Chinese cities such as Beijing and Shanghai. For example, P.F. Chang's, a restaurant chain specialized in American Chinese food, opened a new restaurant in Shanghai, China. The CEO of this chain, Michael Osanloo, revealed his positive attitude towards the future of opening more chain restaurants in China because he believed that Chinese people would like to try something new.
Many owners of the American Chinese restaurants opened in the cities of China are Chinese Americans. Their primary target customers were people from foreign countries and students who have had study abroad experiences. However, many native Chinese people, especially younger generations have a greater willingness to try American Chinese food. Yinhao Xu, the owner of Americanized Chinese eatery-Bamboo Chinese Fast Food in Beijing, said that he was surprised that some younger generations without overseas experiences have a higher level of acceptance of American-style Chinese cuisine. The reason for that is cultural impact; many American Chinese cuisines appear in American shows or films, such as Friends and The Big Bang Theory, which leads young people in China to want to try American Chinese food. |
American Chinese cuisine | Impact to other countries | Impact to other countries
300px|thumb|right|A Chinese American restaurant in the Hưng Yên province, Vietnam |
American Chinese cuisine | South Korea | South Korea
Woktionary, an American Chinese restaurant opened in Seoul, South Korea, provides authentic American Chinese food, such as Chow mein and Mongolian beef. Meanwhile, the head chef Kim also added new flavors to some of the dishes.
At the same time, Panda Express also opened a restaurant in Seoul, South Korea. The CEO of the company indicated that many Korean customers were already expecting for this move. |
American Chinese cuisine | Japan | Japan
The first Panda Express in Japan was opened in November 2016 in Kawasaki. It is dedicated to providing the original taste of American Chinese food in Japan. It offers similar menus in Japan compared to Panda Express restaurants in the United States, such as Orange Chicken, Beijing Beef, and Fortune cookies. Nevertheless, the restaurant also tries to implement localization by offering a limited dish only in Japan: Sweet and Pungent Shrimp. |
American Chinese cuisine | United Kingdom | United Kingdom
Chinese food and American Chinese cuisine has become a staple food in British Cuisine as early as the 19th century with the first arrivals of Chinese immigrants to the UK. In an 2009 survey, over 80% of participants enjoy Chinese cuisine. British Chinese cuisine can be distinguished by its partnering with the British classic chips. American Chinese characteristics come inspired by the fried dishes like Rangoons and Chop Suey. |
American Chinese cuisine | See also | See also
American cuisine
Australian Chinese cuisine
British Chinese cuisine
Canadian Chinese cuisine
Chinese bakery products
Chinese cuisine
Chinese Latin American cuisine
Filipino Chinese cuisine
Fortune Cookie
Fusion cuisine
Indian Chinese cuisine
List of Chinese restaurants
New Zealand Chinese cuisine
Oyster pail |
American Chinese cuisine | References | References |
American Chinese cuisine | Further reading | Further reading |
American Chinese cuisine | Studies | Studies
Free download:
Lv, Nan, and J. Lynne Brown (2010). Chinese American Family Food Systems: Impact of Western Influences. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, Vol. 42, No. 2, pp. 106–114. doi:10.1016/j.jneb.2009.04.005.
Library of Congress (2021). Chinese Americans and the Gold Rush. Inside Adams: Science, Technology & Business, Library of Congress. |
American Chinese cuisine | Cookbooks | Cookbooks
Sara Bosse, Onoto Watanna, with an Introduction by Jacqueline M. Newman. Chinese-Japanese Cook Book. (1914; reprinted, Bedford, MA: Applewood Books, 2006). . .
Eileen Yin-Fei Lo and Alexandra Grablewski. The Chinese Kitchen: Recipes, Techniques and Ingredients, History, and Memories from America's Leading Authority on Chinese Cooking. (New York: William Morrow, 1999). . |
American Chinese cuisine | External links | External links
"Chinese food in America History" (The Food Timeline) The Food Timeline: history notes--restaurants, chefs & foodservice
Imogen Lim Restaurant Menu Collection: American menus. Vancouver Island University Library.
Harley J. Spiller Collection of Chinese Restaurant Menus University of Toronto, Scarborough Library
Cuisine
Cuisine
Category:Chinese cuisine
Category:Hawaiian cuisine |
American Chinese cuisine | Table of Content | short description, History, Differences from other regional cuisines in China, Dishes, Menu items not found in China, Other American Chinese dishes, Versions of dishes also found in China, Regional variations, New York City, Kosher preparation, Los Angeles County, San Francisco Bay Area, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Other regions, Chain restaurants, Popular culture, Cultural impact, Impact on United States, Impact on China, Impact to other countries, South Korea, Japan, United Kingdom, See also, References, Further reading, Studies, Cookbooks, External links |
Ahenobarbus | '''Ahenobarbus''' | Ahenobarbus (Latin, 'red-beard', literally 'bronze-beard'), also spelled Aenobarbus or Ænobarbus, may refer to:
Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus (disambiguation), Romans
Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus (disambiguation), Romans
Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, birth name of Nero, Roman emperor 54–68
Frederick Barbarossa, known in Latin as Fridericus Ænobarbus, Holy Roman Emperor 1155–1190 |
Ahenobarbus | See also | See also
|
Ahenobarbus | Table of Content | '''Ahenobarbus''', See also |
Ahmad Shah Durrani | Short description | Ahmad Shāh Durrānī (; ), also known as Ahmad Shāh Abdālī (), was the first ruler and founder of the Durrani Empire. He is often regarded as the founder of modern Afghanistan.
Throughout his reign, Ahmad Shah fought over fifteen major military campaigns. Nine of them being centered in India, three in Khorasan, and three in Afghan Turkestan. Having rarely lost a battle,: "Few possessors of the Koh-I-Noor have led happy lives, and while Ahmad Shah rarely lost a battle, he was eventually defeated by a foe more intractable than any army..." historians widely recognize Ahmad Shah as a brilliant military leader and tactician, typically being compared to rulers such as Mahmud of Ghazni, Babur, and as well as Nader Shah.: "Ahmad Shah Durrani was not only a visionary leader but also a talented military man." Historian Hari Ram Gupta refers to Ahmad Shah as the "greatest general of Asia of his time",: "The Afghans fought with equal valour and energy and displayed strategy under the leadership of the greatest general of Asia of his time..." as well as one of the greatest conquerors in Asian history.: "Ahmad Shah Abdali was one of the greatest conquerors who have ever appeared in Asia." |
Ahmad Shah Durrani | Name and title | Name and title
His birth name was Ahmad Khan, born into the Abdali tribe. After his accession to power in 1747, he became known as Ahmad Shah. His tribe also changed the name from Abdali, instead becoming the Durrani. Afghans often call him Ahmad Shāh Bābā, meaning "Ahmad Shah the Father".
In historical sources, his tribes name is interchangeably used between Abdali and Durrani, with other common names for him being Ahmad Shah Abdali. |
Ahmad Shah Durrani | Early life | Early life
Ahmad Shah was born between 1720 and 1722 in either Herat, Afghanistan, or Multan, Pakistan. Sources are disputed on where he was born. Modern scholarship came to the consensus that Ahmad Shah was born in Multan, but this is disputed by Nejatie, who states that the majority of sources from Ahmad Shah's time state that he was born in Herat, rather than Multan, including the Tarikh-i Ahmad Shahi, a primary source commissioned by Ahmad Shah.
His father, Zaman Khan, was the emir of Herat. Zaman Khan had died in 1721, leading to Ahmad Shah being raised alongside his brother Zulfiqar Khan in Shindand and Farah. In the mid-1720s, Zulfiqar Khan was invited to rule Herat. Nothing else is heard of Ahmad Shah until 1731–1732, when Zulfiqar Khan was defeated by Nader Shah, forcing both Zulfiqar Khan and Ahmad Shah to flee to Kandahar, where they remained political prisoners of Hussain Hotak.
After Nader Shah conquered Kandahar, Ahmad Shah and Zulfiqar Khan were freed. Ahmad Shah spent much of his early life in the service of Nader Shah. Accompanying him on his invasion of India, Ahmad Shah was later resettled in Mazandaran alongside his brother. Iranica states that Ahmad Shah may have become the governor of Mazandaran. After the death of his brother, Ahmad Shah enlisted in the Afsharid military in 1742. Some sources suggest that it was only Zulfiqar Khan that left for Mazandaran, while Ahmad Shah remained in Nader Shah's service as an officer.
During Nader Shah's invasion of India, Ahmad Shah personally commanded a regiment of Durrani tribesmen. Ahmad Shah's forces committed massacres and sacked Delhi alongside Nader Shah's army in 1739. According to legend, Nizam ul-Mulk, the Mughal governor of Hyderabad, supposedly an expert in physiognomy, predicted that Ahmad Shah would become king. Nader Shah took notice of this and believed in the prophecy, clipping a piece of Ahmad Shah's ears, and remarking "When you become a king, this will remind you of me". Nader Shah also requested that Ahmad Shah be generous with his descendants. Nejatie is skeptical of the account.
In 1744, Ahmad Shah was promoted to a personal staff of Nader Shah. In a campaign against the Ottomans, Ahmad Shah distinguished himself and was allowed to raise a contingent of 3–4,000 Durrani tribesmen by Nader Shah. Ahmad Shah's contingent became one of Nader Shah's most trusted, utilizing them to shatter the power of his other commanders due to his perception that they were planning to rebel or kill him. |
Ahmad Shah Durrani | Death of Nader Shah | Death of Nader Shah
In June 1747, Nader Shah was convinced that his personal guard intended to assassinate him. As a result, he summoned Ahmad Shah and other loyal commanders. Nader Shah ordered Ahmad Shah to assemble his Durrani regiments, and to arrest his personal guard. If the personal guard resisted, Ahmad Shah was given permission to kill them all. He was ordered to do this at first light. Nader Shah then chose to sleep with his favorite wife, but did so outside the royal tent, where the same guards he accused of treachery presumed night duty, while Ahmad Shah with his regiments were established at the defenses of the camp.
News of Nader Shah's plan leaked, with the conspirators being forced to act. Four conspirators entered the royal enclosure and entered Nader Shah's tent at Quchan, assassinating him. Chaos ensued afterward, and plans to coverup the killing by the conspirators failed. They resorted to pillaging the royal enclosure while news of Nader Shah's death rapidly spread. The next morning, the royal guard attacked Ahmad Shah's forces, who despite being heavily outnumbered, drove the Persians and Qizilbash off. Ahmad Shah then entered the tent of Nader Shah, taking the Koh-i-Noor diamond and a signet ring from his body. |
Ahmad Shah Durrani | Return to Kandahar | Return to Kandahar
thumb|right|Lithograph of Kandahar during the First Anglo-Afghan War
Having driven off the Persians and Qizilbash, Ahmad Shah departed for Kandahar with his regiments, and his Uzbek ally, Hajji Bi Ming. Ahmad Shah first settled the dispute of leadership, asserting himself as the leader of Durrani tribesmen by forcing the former leader to step down. Ahmad Shah also killed 'Abd al-Ghani Khan, his uncle and the governor of Kandahar to secure complete power over the Durrani regiments. With the dispute over leadership concluded, Ahmad Shah's forces grew to 6,000 Afghans.
Following this, Ahmad Shah moved through Khabushan, advancing to Kashmar. While on-route, Ahmad Shah accumulated supplies for his army and proceeded toward Torbat-e Heydarieh, where they received news that Adel Shah had sent a force to halt the Afghans. As a result, Ahmad Shah led his forces to Tun and then Farah, where they defeated an army sent by Adel Shah. With Farah under his control, the Afghans proceeded to Grishk, and then Kandahar.
While on-route to Kandahar, Ahmad Shah recovered a military convoy that contained the annual tribute from Sindh. The value of the treasure is disputed, but it is given within an estimate of 3,000,000–260,000,000 rupees. The convoy was escorted by Mohammad Taqi Khan Shirazi, a disgruntled former officer of Nader Shah, and Nasir Khan, the governor of Kabul and Peshawar. Taqi Khan joined Ahmad Shah and divided the wealth, while Nasir Khan refused and was imprisoned. Later, he was ransomed on the conditions of an annual tribute of 500,000 rupees, and that he would enter Ahmad Shah's suzerainty. The army of Ahmad Shah grew to over 18,000 men, also including war elephants. |
Ahmad Shah Durrani | Accession and coronation | Accession and coronation
thumb|right|Legendary coronation of Ahmad Shah Durrani by Abdali chiefs at Kandahar in 1747
Upon reaching Kandahar, Ahmad Shah established camp in Naderabad and prepared to be crowned as King. According to legend, Ahmad Shah declared a Jirga, summoning all tribal leaders who unanimously selected Ahmad Shah as king. A piece of wheat or barley was then placed on Ahmad Shah's turban. Singh cites this account, despite there being no contemporary evidence to suggest this occurred.
In reality, Ahmad Shah was brought to power through a nine-man military council. Ahmad Shah's accession was further disputed by Jamal Khan, the leader of the Barakzai tribe. The Barakzai were the most powerful clan of the Durranis centered in the Kandahar and Helmand regions. The dispute over accession continued until an agreement was made where Jamal Khan would submit to Ahmad Shah as king, while Ahmad Shah would make Jamal Khan and his descendants Wazir. With an agreement reached, Sabir Shah, Ahmad Shah's advisor, took a piece of greenery or stalk and attached it to Ahmad Shah's cap, officially crowning him. Scholars state that Ahmad Shah's rise to power was effectively a military coup, rather than an election.
Following his accession, Ahmad Shah adopted the epithet "Durr-i Durrān", meaning "Pearl of Pearls", also changing the name of his tribe from Abdali to Durrani. |
Ahmad Shah Durrani | Reign as Shah (1747–1772) | Reign as Shah (1747–1772)
thumb|left|Portrait of Nader Shah, who Ahmad Shah often envisioned himself as the successor of. |
Ahmad Shah Durrani | Administration | Administration
At the beginning of his rule, Ahmad Shah's empire consisted of Kandahar, Helmand, and Farah. The Hazaras of Bala Murghab and the Khanate of Kalat ruled by Nasir Khan also rested under Afghan suzerainty.
However, Ahmad Shah had no administrative experience, nor did much of his closest advisors. As a result, he chose to adopt a government style similar to the Mughals and Safavids, with his main idea of a government based on an absolute monarchy. A tribal council ruled in hand with Ahmad Shah as well, serving as a form of cabinet. However, Ahmad Shah had made the positions of his cabinet hereditary, thus making it difficult to dismiss advisors without causing conflict. Their roles, however, were mostly purely de-jure, and tasks were delegated to subordinates.
The civil service of the empire was dominated by the Qizilbash, as most of the Durrani elite were illiterate. The Qizilbash also significantly formed the major part of Ahmad Shah's bodyguard, counterbalancing other Durrani leaders and tribes. The complications and effectively divided government made the administration difficult to function, and caused ethnic tension between the Qizilbash and tribal council of Ahmad Shah.
Further complications erupted in Ahmad Shah's administration over exempting his own tribe from taxation. Other Afghan tribes and ethnicities were discontent from such, as they were also devoid of being allowed to serve in the administration of the empire. This was further exasperated by Ahmad Shah when he gave the right of revenue collection to the highest bidder. The victors of these auctions, typically members of Ahmad Shah's own tribe, were completely free in taxing as much as they wished. While members of the Durrani tribe rapidly became rich, some landholders were forced into complete debt, forcing many to sell their lands or flee the kingdom, likely being bought up by the Durranis who had driven them to bankruptcy.
Ahmad Shah envisioned himself as the successor of Nader Shah. Instead of establishing a capable administration, Ahmad Shah focused on wars and military campaigns to supply his treasury, with any downturns easily being covered by the treasures of war. Throughout his reign, he rarely spent his time in Kandahar, the capital of his empire, and instead pursued military campaigns, returning only to restore stability after conflict. By the end of his reign, Ahmad Shah committed to over fifteen military campaigns, Nine of them being centered in India, three in Khorasan, and three in Afghan Turkestan. |
Ahmad Shah Durrani | Objectives | Objectives
thumb|right|Depiction of Mahmud of Ghazni. Ahmad Shah is typically compared with him, with Mahmud himself having launched over 17 invasions of India
Afghanistan was a relatively poor country. As a result, Ahmad Shah, following in the footsteps of conquerors before him such as Mahmud of Ghazni, invaded India to plunder and obtain wealth. Relating as well from Muhammad of Ghor, Ahmad Shah invaded India to also establish his own political dominance, as the power vacuum following the decline of the Mughal Empire allowed him to repeat extensive campaigns, while also reviving the prominence of Afghans in India. Furthermore, by institutionalizing the casus belli of holy war, Ahmad Shah was able to direct the majority of his campaigns toward India.
Moreover, Ahmad Shah saw invasions as the proper way to propagate his strength. The Afghan chiefs and nobility initially saw him as an upstart, and as a result, Ahmad Shah sought victories to legitimize himself and to bring the nobility under him. |
Ahmad Shah Durrani | Military campaigns | Military campaigns |
Ahmad Shah Durrani | Campaign to Kabul (1747) | Campaign to Kabul (1747)
Weeks after Ahmad Shah's accession, Nasir Khan, the governor of Kabul, Ghazni, and Peshawar revolted against him. Ahmad Shah previously imprisoned Nasir Khan and ransomed him for an annual tribute of 500,000 rupees, and while Nasir Khan was attempting to raise this amount, the Ghilzai tribes refused to pay their taxes toward the Durranis, and only wished to do so to their Mughal sovereign, Muhammad Shah. With a growing Ghilzai revolt, Nasir Khan declared his independence from Durrani suzerainty and began raising an army of Uzbeks and Hazaras, while also frantically asking Muhammad Shah for aid.
thumb|right|Lithograph depicting the city of Ghazni and its citadel
In Autumn of 1747, Ahmad Shah began his campaign against Nasir Khan. Appointing his nephew Luqman Khan as the regent in Kandahar while he left on campaign, Ahmad Shah marched his army toward Ghazni only to be halted at Qalati Ghilji by his former allies, the Tokhi Ghilzai. Ahmad Shah stormed the fortress of Qalat, bringing the Tokhis to submission and annexing their lands over the following decades. Ahmad Shah continued to Ghazni, defeating the governor established there and conquering it with little opposition.
Before advancing on Kabul, Ahmad Shah garnered the support of the Suleimankhel tribes in the region, while Taqi Khan managed to procure the defection of the Qizilbash garrison in Kabul, so that once the Afghan army would arrive, they'd hand over the city. The acceptance of these terms forced Nasir Khan to flee to Peshawar, and when Ahmad Shah arrived at Kabul in October 1747, the Qizilbash handed over the Bala Hissar fortress. Ahmad Shah awarded the Qizilbash by giving them districts in Chindawol and Murad Khani. |
Ahmad Shah Durrani | First invasion of India (1747–1748) | First invasion of India (1747–1748)
With Kabul under his control, Ahmad Shah dispatched his Commander-in-chief, Jahan Khan, toward Peshawar with the intention of advancing as far as Attock. Jahan Khan quickly overran Jalalabad, and Nasir Khan was unable mount a defense at the Khyber Pass, forcing him to flee. The Afghan armies approached Peshawar, prompting many Pashtun tribes to declare for them, such as the Yusufzai, Afridi, and Khattak. With Nasir Khan overwhelmed, he completely withdrew from Peshawar and fled to Delhi.
thumb|left|Portrait of Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah
Shāh Nawāz Khān, the Mughal governor of the Punjab, opened correspondence with the Afghans after they had seized Peshawar. Shah Nawaz, having toppled his brother from power to assume control over the Punjab, was opposed by the Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah, who refused to recognize him as governor. As a result, the Afghans promised to affirm Shah Nawaz as governor of the Punjab if he accepted Durrani suzerainty. Shah Nawaz accepted this before the Mughal vizier promised to confirm him as governor if he opposed the Afghan invasion instead, which Shah Nawaz accepted.
The betrayal saw Ahmad Shah dispatch Sabir Shah to try and convince Shah Nawaz once again. However, after insulting Shah Nawaz, Sabir Shah was imprisoned and executed, and Shah Nawaz began marching against the Afghan army. Ahmad Shah crossed the Ravi River on 10 January, and established himself at the Shalimar Gardens, outside of Lahore. The armies of Shah Nawaz and Ahmad Shah began battle on 11 January, and as the battle began, the Afghan regiments of Shah Nawaz's army defected. Despite commanding a much larger army then the Afghans, the Mughals were utterly defeated, and Shah Nawaz fled to Delhi.
With their victory, the Afghans entered Lahore, plundering and massacring the city. Thousands were also conscripted, while the Mughals began mobilizing a larger army. Ahmad Shah left Lahore on 19 February with his forces, beginning to advance on Delhi. He captured Sirhind and continued advancing, outmaneuvering Mughal forces until they were caught at Manupur, where they battled. The Afghan army pressed the attack until a catastrophe occurred in the form that the ammunition stores of the Afghan army caught fire and exploded, incinerating 1,000 men, and forcing a complete withdrawal from the battlefield. The Mughals did not pursue the Afghan army due to the death of Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah, and turmoil in the camp.
Withdrawing to Lahore, Ahmad Shah became aware that his nephew, Luqman Khan, who had been left as regent in Kandahar, had revolted. Ahmad Shah immediately returned to Afghanistan, and marched on Kandahar, quickly quelling the revolt. He spent the summer of 1748 preparing for his second invasion of India. The timing was significant for Ahmad Shah, as Qamar-ud-Din, a significant commander for the Mughals at Manupur, had been killed, while the Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah's death saw him succeeded by Bahadur Shah, who largely focused on pleasure-seeking. Ahmad Shah also wished to avenge his defeat. |
Ahmad Shah Durrani | Second invasion of India (1748) | Second invasion of India (1748)
thumb|right|Portrait of Moin-ul-Mulk, the Mughal governor of the Punjab (r.1748–1753)
In November 1748, Ahmad Shah began his second invasion of India. Moin-ul-Mulk, the new governor of the Punjab, urgently requested reinforcement from the Mughals in Delhi. Moin-ul-Mulk, wishing to not fight the Afghans on open plains, remained on the defensive at Sodhra, as an ongoing power struggle with the former Mughal governor of Kabul, Nasir Khan, threatened his position. As a result, Jahan Khan was able to raid the countryside, including the Chaj Doab, whilst a party of Sikhs raided Lahore.
Ahmad Shah advanced to Kopra, and engaged in skirmishes with Moin-ul-Mulk's army. Overwhelmed with the rising power of the Sikhs and the Afghan invasion, Moin-ul-Mulk opened negotiation, ceding the revenues of Gujrat, Aurangabad, Sialkot, and Pasrur, which all amounted to revenues worth 1.4 million rupees yearly. Ahmad Shah returned to Afghanistan following the treaty, crossing through Peshawar, Dera Ismail Khan, and Dera Ghazi Khan. The regions of Dera Ismail Khan and Dera Ghazi Khan fell as he returned to Afghanistan, confirming the former tribal chiefs as governors in the region under his suzerainty. |
Ahmad Shah Durrani | First Khorasan campaign (1749–1751) | First Khorasan campaign (1749–1751)
thumb|right|Detail of Shahrokh Shah, ruler of the Afsharids, in court
Between 1749 and 1750, after his second invasion of India, Ahmad Shah launched his first campaign into Khorasan. Intent on conquering Herat, Ahmad Shah besieged the city for a long period of time until it finally fell in late 1750.
With the fall of Herat, Ahmad Shah continued his campaign into Khorasan, invading the Afsharids and besieging Mashhad, where he remained until November 1750. Attempts to storm the city by the Afghans were unsuccessful, and Lee and Gupta state that Shahrokh Shah surrendered to Ahmad Shah personally so he could raise the siege. Shahrokh Shah accepted Afghan suzerainty, paying large tribute and releasing members of Ahmad Shah's family.
Noelle however, states that Ahmad Shah lifted the siege on 10 November, and was intent on returning years later. Shahrokh Shah had released a son of Ahmad Shah, possibly being Timur Shah Durrani, or Ahmad Shah's youngest son, Sanjar Mirza.
Nonetheless, after the siege of Mashhad, Ahmad Shah advanced to Nishapur, which was ruled by the Qara Bayat Amirdom. He besieged the city and demanded its surrender, which the governor, Jafar Khan, refused despite only having a few thousand men as garrison. Ahmad Shah ordered the walls to be breached, utilizing cannons, which the Afghans surged through. However, the defenders of the city had established defenses and a trap, which the Afghans fell into. Close-quarters combat began after, in which Jafar Khan was killed. His nephew, Abbas Quli, took command of the garrison and repulsed the Afghan forces, inflicting horrific casualties unto them, including some 12,000 dead, and thousands more wounded.
With his army seriously weakened, Ahmad Shah ordered a retreat to Herat. The harsh winter weather killed thousands while the Afghans retreated, and Ahmad Shah was forced to leave behind much of his baggage, including his artillery and food supplies. When the Afghans reached the Hari Rud river, it was completely frozen. Attempting to cross it caused much of the ice to break, killing even more men and sweeping away pack animals for the army.
Upon the armies return to Herat, Ahmad Shah faced an assassination conspiracy from Darwish Ali Khan Hazara, Ahmad Shah's governor of Herat. The conspiracy was quickly quelled and Darwish Ali was imprisoned, where in his stead, Ahmad Shah appointed Timur Shah as the new governor. |
Ahmad Shah Durrani | Third invasion of India (1751–1752) | Third invasion of India (1751–1752)
Possibly due to Ahmad Shah's struggle in Khorasan, Moin-ul-Mulk failed to pay the agreed tribute to Ahmad Shah from his second invasion on the revenues of Gujrat, Aurangabad, Sialkot, and Pasrur. Inducing Ahmad Shah to invade again, he began in November 1751, leading his forces to invade the Punjab. Moin-ul-Mulk immediately sent 900,000 rupees forward as tribute, which Ahmad Shah seized and continued his march. With the advance guard under Jahan Khan, Ahmad Shah led his forces through Rohtas, Gujrat, and Shahdara. Jahan Khan's forces pillaged the countryside while skirmishes began with Moin-ul-Mulk, who raised his own force to meet the Afghans in battle. The advance of Ahmad Shah triggered mass panic in Lahore, with many fleeing to Delhi or Jammu for safety.
In January 1752, Ahmad Shah forded the Ravi in secrecy at Ghazipur, before advancing on Lahore. Jahan Khan began advancing on Lahore as well, initially being driven out of Faiz Bagh, and instead establishing himself at the Shalimar gardens. Moin-ul-Mulk immediately dashed back to Lahore, to which the Afghans laid siege for over four months. Receiving no aid from the Mughals, or any other nobles, Moin-ul-Mulk settled for a pitched battle with the Afghans outside of Lahore.
On 6 March, after a fierce battle, Moin-ul-Mulk was defeated and surrendered to Ahmad Shah, who received him in person. Impressed by the efforts of Moin-ul-Mulk in his resistance, Ahmad Shah instated him as the governor of Lahore under his suzerainty. Lahore was however, plundered and slaughtered. Following this, Ahmad Shah drafted a peace treaty with Moin-ul-Mulk, officiating the annexation of the Punjab including Multan and Lahore, and as far as Sirhind to the Durrani Empire. The Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah signed the treaty on 3 April 1752, ending Mughal rule in the Punjab.
Having conquered the Punjab, Ahmad Shah also dispatched his general, Shah Pasand Khan, with 15,000 men to Kashmir, which was embroiled in civil war. Supporting the deposed governor, Mir Muqim, Afghan forces quickly occupied Srinagar and established complete control in the province. |
Ahmad Shah Durrani | Turkestan (1751–1768) | Turkestan (1751–1768)
thumb|right|250px|Map of Afghan Turkestan in January 1751, Balkh is still under the rule of Qataghan/Kunduz
At the start of Ahmad Shah's reign, he had held friendly relations with the ruler of the Maimana Khanate, Hajji Bi, who had assumed control over the Chahar Wilayat. Coming into conflict against Hazara Bi, the ruler of Qataghan, Hajji Bi lost control over Balkh to the Qataghanids. In 1751, Hajji Bi, with a delegation of amirs, traveled to Herat, seeking Ahmad Shah's aid to reclaim Balkh. Ahmad Shah accepted the call to arms, forging an alliance with Hajji Bi, and sent thousands of Afghan and Qizilbash men under Allah Khan Turkman. Hajji Bi was also bestowed by Ahmad Shah the titles of governor of Balkh and tax collector.
Not much information is given about the campaign against the Qataghanids. However, by the summer of 1752, the forces of the alliance were victorious, and Balkh was restored to the rule of the Maimana Khanate. While the campaign ensued, a commander of one of the Afghan Qizilbash forces fought with Allah Khan, prompting Mizrab Bi, a son of Hazara Bi, to revolt in 1753. Hajji Bi urgently requested aid from Ahmad Shah again, which he responded with by sending 5,000 men north. After having been restored to Balkh, Hajji Bi pursued a campaign in Qataghan, and with aid from the Afghans, the revolt was defeated. Mizrab Bi was brought to submission, and Badakhshan was subjugated as well.
In 1755–1756, Hajji Bi petitioned Ahmad Shah at Kabul to be made commander-in-chief of forces in Balkh. The request was accepted, stripping Allah Khan of his position. However, Hajji Bi became noted for his abuse of power in the position, triggering an investigation by the Afghans, who sent Allah Khan to oversee the affairs of the region. Allah Khan immediately declared the reports of oppression to be true, and was reinstated as commander-in-chief in Balkh. Ahmad Shah also declared a new governor of Balkh, Nawab Khan Alakozai.
Believing that it was the beginning of the Afghans attempting to assert their own hegemony over all of Turkestan, Hajji Bi began plotting with Izbasar, the ruler of Sheberghan. The two began a rebellion that achieved little, ending in a pardon for both Hajji Bi and Izbasar. In 1761, Rahim Bi Manghit, the ruler of Bukhara, began an invasion of Afghan Turkestan, intent on re-establishing Bukharan suzerainty over the region. Izbazar declared his loyalty to the ruler of Bukhara, and aided in the invasion. Bukharan forces initially overran Aqcha before being defeated by Allah Khan, who built a pyramid with the head of dead Bukharan soldiers. Afghan forces continued to Aqcha, where the Bukharans and Izbasar were defeated again. Aqcha was besieged, while another force of 8,000 Bukharans were sent to Aqcha to relieve the siege, only to be defeated by the combined forces of Allah Khan and Hajji Bi.
Attempts to breach the walls of Aqcha failed, and instead, negotiations began. The Bukharans withdrew across the Amu Darya, while Allah Khan was sent to Sheberghan to bring Izbasar into submission. Izbasar, however, opened negotiation with Nawab Khan, who demanded Allah Khan be put to death due to an enmity between the two. Izbasar complied, executing Allah Khan, receiving a pardon from Nawab Khan as a result.
In 1768, a rebellion in Qataghan and Badakhshan prompted an invasion from Shah Murad Manghit, the next Bukharan ruler. Ahmad Shah sent 6,000 men under Shah Wali Khan to face the rebels. As a result, Shah Murad crossed the Amu Darya, advancing to Qarshi, and threatening to attack Aqcha. In response, Ahmad Shah mobilized an army, affirming his authority in Maimana, Andkhoy, Sheberghan, and Balkh as he advanced. This quickly brought Shah Murad to negotiation, who recognized Afghan control over Balkh, with the amirs of the Chahar Wilayat also submitting tribute to the Durranis. To further avoid a battle with the Afghans, Shah Murad surrendered the cloak of Muhammad after Ahmad Shah had demanded it. With the cloak, Ahmad Shah created a shrine known as the Kirka Sharif, which was built next to his tomb. |
Ahmad Shah Durrani | Second Khorasan campaign (1754–1755) | Second Khorasan campaign (1754–1755)
In 1754, Ahmad Shah began preparing for a second campaign to Khorasan. During this time, Nishapur was besieged by Alam Khan, a former Afsharid viceroy. When Ahmad Shah began his invasion, Alam Khan's army completely dispersed, forcing his withdrawal to Sabzevar.
Beginning his campaign in May 1754, Ahmad Shah departed from Herat with his army and advanced toward Tun. He dispatched Jahan Khan and Nasir Khan, the ruler of the Khanate of Kalat, to devastate the countryside. Following this, the Afghan forces marched against the governor of Tabas, Ali Murad Khan, who assembled his own army and met the Afghans in battle. Singh describes the battle that took place as one of the most bloodiest battles in Persian history. Ammunition failed to gain any clear advantage for both sides, forcing both armies to draw swords and began clashing. The battle remained indecisive until Ali Murad Khan was killed, and the remaining Persian army was completely routed.
thumb|Coin of Ahmad Shah Durrani, minted in Mashhad, date unknown
With the Persians defeated, Tabas and Tun were conquered in between June and July 1754 by the Afghans. Ahmad Shah then led his forces to Mashhad, arriving before the city on 23 July. A long siege protracted until the Afsharids finally submitted to Ahmad Shah on 1 December 1754. On the 4th, Ahmad Shah's name was read in the sermon, acknowledging his sovereignty over the Afsharids. With their victory, the Durranis annexed territories of Torshiz, Bakharz, Jam, Khaf, and Turbat-e Haidari from the Afsharids. On 9 May 1755, Shahrokh Shah was officially re-instated as ruler over Mashhad, effectively as a Durrani protectorate. Following this, Ahmad Shah began his march on Nishapur in the spring of 1755, while Shah Pasand Khan was dispatched toward Mazandaran against the Qajars.
thumb|left|A Quran dedicated to Ahmad Shah Durrani, c.1754
During the siege of Mashhad, The Camesgazak Kurd contingent of Alam Khan's forces completely defected to the Afghans, killing Alam Khan after dragging him from Sabzevar, which was conquered.
On 17 June 1755, the Afghan armies arrived at Nishapur, resulting in Abbas Quli's immediate submission. Abbas Quli sought to be pardoned for giving resistance during Ahmad Shah's first campaign. Not long after, however, Nishapur raised in rebellion due to news that Shah Pasand Khan had been defeated by the Qajars. The gates of the city were closed on Ahmad Shah's troops, prompting the Afghans to begin a one-week siege. During the siege, Ahmad Shah lacked important siege equipment, which he solved by having every mounted soldier carry kilograms of gunmetals. As the siege began, Ahmad Shah's Armenian cannon makers melted down the metal the soldiers had carried, forging a large cannon. The first shot of the cannon blasted through the city walls, and caused havoc in the city through houses and bazaars.
The weapon forced the submission of the cities elders, and they opened the gates of the city despite Abbas Quli's opposition. The city was then subsequently plundered, with the populace of the city spared if they went to mosques and didn't take anything with them. Afghan forces went to houses and tore down the defenses, razing significant portions of the city. Following the victory at Nishapur, Ahmad Shah defeated the Qajars and advanced further by sacking the cities of Tun and Tabas, instilling massacres in their cities.
Abbas Quli was initially taken by Ahmad Shah until he had earned his favor. Abbas Quli married one of Ahmad Shah's daughters, while Ahmad Shah married Abbas Quli's sister. With the arrangements, Abbas Quli was allowed to return to Nishapur as governor of the city. He would remain close to Ahmad Shah throughout his life. |
Ahmad Shah Durrani | Fourth invasion of India (1756–1757) | Fourth invasion of India (1756–1757)
thumb|right|Portrait of Mughal emperor Alamgir II
Moin-ul-Mulk governed the Punjab until his death in November 1753, and was succeeded by Mughlani Begum. In March 1756, Mughal vizier Imad ul-Mulk imprisoned and replaced her with Adina Beg. Mughlani Begum pleaded Ahmad Shah to lead another invasion, promising wealth.
Due to the tyrannies of Imad ul-Mulk, several nobles such as Najib ud-Daula, a chief of Rohilkand, and the new Mughal emperor Alamgir II, pleaded for Ahmad Shah to invade. Ahmad Shah accepted the invitations and began his fourth invasion in November 1756, leaving Peshawar on the 15th, and crossing Attock on the 26th with an army of 80,000 men. He reached Lahore on 20 December, seizing the city with little resistance. Ahmad Shah garnered tribute from the city before continuing his march, crossing the Sutlej river on 10 January at Ludhiana, while the advance guard under his general, Jahan Khan, seized Sirhind, Karnal, and Panipat.
The Marathas, who had signed a treaty to protect the Mughals from foreign invasions in 1752, assembled a contingent of 3,400 men under Antaji Mankeshwar, battling the Afghans at Narela. The Maratha forces, however, were defeated and forced to withdraw with losses of 100 men. Following the defeat of the Marathas, Najib ud-Daula defected to the Afghans, with Imad ul-Mulk surrendering not long after. Jahan Khan continued his advance to Luni and besieged Shahdara on 17 January, with the Jama Masjid in Delhi reading Ahmad Shah's name in the Khutbah as a sign of sovereignty. The Afghan forces continued advancing on Delhi, arriving before the city on 28 January.
thumb|left|Fatehpuri Mosque, where Alamgir received Ahmad Shah before he entered Delhi
Meeting with Alamgir at the Fatehpuri Mosque, Ahmad Shah led a grand entry into Delhi, which was marked with a gun salute. However many inhabitants of the city had already fled or hidden, with the streets completely deserted. Many people barricaded themselves in their houses. Ahmad Shah's name was also inserted in the Khutbah for other mosques. Initially, the Afghan army was ordered not to sack the city.
Alamgir was placed under house arrest, and houses outside the city of Delhi were ravaged. On the 29th, the bazaars of the city were sacked and Jahan Khan's soldiers extracted tribute from Feroz Shah Kotla, a large fortress in Delhi. On 30 January, Ahmad Shah minted coins in his name. He further married Hazrat Begum, a daughter of Alamgir, whilst also marrying his son, Timur Shah Durrani, to another daughter of Alamgir.
Ahmad Shah then ordered all Hindus to wear distinctive marks on their head, as well as forbidding non-Muslims from wearing the turban. Extortionate demands were also placed upon the Mughal nobility. The Mughal nobility refused, to which Ahmad Shah dispatched his own tax collectors, demanding additional tribute. Those suspected of concealing valuables were subjected to torture, including foot whipping. Many thousands died or were crippled as a result, while others resorted to suicide. Additionally, a tax was imposed on every household in Delhi.
Imad ul-Mulk was forced to hand over gold and ornaments valued at 10 million rupees, and another 300,000 gold coins. Intizam-ud-Daulah was summoned, and many of his assets were confiscated, including over 10 million rupees and 100 of his wives. Unable to produce the required wealth, Intizam admitted that his father had buried a fortune, which the Afghans uncovered. The Afghans recovered over 15 million rupees in cash, along with various goods, including 200 golden candles that were the size of a man. The treasure also included diamonds, rubies, pearls, and emeralds.
After the sacking, Ahmad Shah campaigned against the Jats. Suraj Mal, the ruler of the Jats, initially submitted to Ahmad Shah, but refused to send asylum seekers from the sacking of Delhi, resulting in conflict. An Afghan force was sent to Faridabad, seizing the fortress and razing it. However, a Jat raid under Jawahar Singh defeated the Afghans, massacring them. Ahmad Shah, in response, laid siege to Ballabhgarh, while Jahan Khan and Najib ud-Daula were dispatched to loot the surrounding regions. They advanced toward Mathura, while Jawahar Singh met them for battle at Chaumuhan. The battle that ensued left between 10 and 12,000 dead on both sides combined, with an innumerable amount of men wounded as well. Jawahar Singh, however, alongside Antaji Mankeshwar, reinforced Ballabhgarh. The cannon fire of the Afghans completely broke the defenses of the fortress, forcing Jawahar to withdraw in the night, with Afghan forces seizing the city on 4 March. An expedition under Abdus Samad Khan, another one of Ahmad Shah's generals, nearly arrested Jawahar Singh through ambush, but Jawahar ultimately evaded capture.
thumb|left|Portrait of Jawahar Singh
Toward the end of February 1757, the Afghan forces arrived at and attacked Mathura. The city, despite being inhabited overwhelmingly by non-combatants, mainly pilgrims due to the Hindu Holi festival, was attacked and the inhabitants were massacred by the Afghans. The Afghan forces slaughtered and defiled the bodies of Hindu ascetics by humiliating them with slaughtered cows. Temples of the city were razed, and the images of idols were destroyed. Jahan Khan furthered the massacre by rewarding a bounty of five rupees for every Hindu head, resulting in the death of thousands of men, women, and children. The Muslims of the city were subjected to the attack as well. Following his massacre at Mathura, Jahan Khan continued his campaign, with the city of Vrindavan being attacked and its inhabitants massacred on 6 March. The Tarikh-I-Husain Shahi establishes the idol destruction in line with iconoclasm, remarking: "Idols were broken and kicked about like polo-balls by the Islamic heroes."
Ahmad Shah, following Jahan Khan, attacked the city of Gokul on 16 March, which was inhabited by Naga Sadhus, a Hindu Bhakti sect. The Afghans attacked the city where a battle ensued, resulting in the death of 2,000 men for both sides. Jugal Kishor, a diplomat from the Bengal Subah, informed Ahmad Shah that there was nothing of value in Gokul. Ahmad Shah ordered a withdrawal, sparing the city from a sacking.
On 21 March, Jahan Khan arrived before Agra with 15,000 men, besieging the city. Civilians from the town received Jahan Khan and his army, promising 500,000 rupees in tribute. However, after failing to raise the amount, Afghan forces entered the city, plundering it and massacring over 2,000. The Afghan forces attempted to seize the citadel but failed due to the defense of Mirza Saifullah, the garrison commander. He defended the fort with extensive artillery usage, preventing the Afghans from approaching with cannons. Jahan Khan seized 100,000 rupees in tribute, before withdrawing to Ahmad Shah's camp on 24 March after being recalled.
thumb|right|Illustration of Najib ud-Daula
Cholera had broken out in the Afghan camp, killing around 150 men per day, beginning mainly from the polluted Yamuna River which was overwhelmed with bodies. As a result, Ahmad Shah intended to return to Afghanistan, especially to secure the loot from the campaign. The heat as a result from the beginning of the Indian summer also convinced him. As a result, Ahmad Shah began returning for Afghanistan in April 1757, declaring his son, Timur Shah, governor of the Punjab, while Jahan Khan served as his deputy. Sirhind was annexed from the Mughals, while Imad ul-Mulk was re-instated as vizier, with Najib ud-Daula given the office of Mir Bakhshi. Alamgir was permitted to rule Delhi, however as a vassal of the Durrani Empire.
The Afghan invasion had dire consequences for the Mughal Empire, as most of the Mughal army, along with those from the Bengal Subah, were forcibly deployed against the Afghans. Mere months later, the army of the Bengal Subah, weakened due to the Afghan invasion, were utterly defeated at the Battle of Plassey, beginning the rise of British power in India.
The total loot Ahmad Shah carried back to Afghanistan is disputed. Its been estimated from contemporary writers that the Afghans seized 30 to 300 million rupees worth of goods. Over 28,000 elephants, camels, and mules carried Ahmad Shah's loot, alongside his 80,000 men, who carried whatever they took, with many of the Afghan cavalry returning on foot, while they loaded loot unto their horses. The massacres done by the Afghans throughout the campaign made the Yamuna River flow red with blood for two weeks. |
Ahmad Shah Durrani | Durrani administration of the Punjab (1757–1758) | Durrani administration of the Punjab (1757–1758)
thumb|right|Depiction of the battle of Amritsar (1757) between the Sikhs and Afghans
Timur Shah, being only eleven years old, saw the Punjab governed mostly by Jahan Khan, who was noted as an experienced warrior, but incapable administrator. He attacked the Sikhs who were celebrating the Diwali festival at Amritsar in 1757, as well as destroying and polluting many Sikh shrines, declaring Jihad. The tyrannies of Jahan Khan resulted in the Sikhs forging an alliance with Adina Beg, who had initially fled during Ahmad Shah's fourth invasion.
As a result, Jahan Khan led a campaign against Adina Beg in the Jalandhar Doab, pillaging the region. Adina Beg acquiesced to submitting tribute, but ignored summons to the Afghan court in Lahore. On one such occasion of being summoned, Adina Beg refused to trust Jahan Khan and fled to the Hill states, where he forged an alliance with Vadbhag Singh Sodhi and Jassa Singh Ahluwalia, the leader of the Dal Khalsa.
Jahan Khan dispatched a force under Murad Khan in response, meeting the alliance at the battle of Mahilpur, where the Afghans were defeated, resulting in the looting of the Jalandhar Doab. Further dispatches from Lahore were sent to quell the alliance but all were defeated, allowing the Sikhs to plunder the suburbs of Lahore.
thumb|right|Painting of Raghunath Rao
Further complications occurred for the Afghans, as a Maratha force led by Raghunath Rao had arrived at Agra in May 1757 by the time Ahmad Shah was crossing the Indus River back to Afghanistan. The Maratha forces completely seized the Ganges Doab, and defeated Najib ud-Daula at the battle of Delhi in September 1757. Alamgir II was retained on the throne as a puppet, and Imad ul-Mulk remained as vizier. Adina Beg thus requested the Marathas to invade the Punjab, which Raghunath Rao accepted.
The Maratha invasion began in February 1758, advancing and reaching Sirhind in March, which was besieged. Abdus Samad Khan, the Afghan governor of Sirhind, fled the city but was eventually captured, with Sirhind being plundered after. The developments at Sirhind alerted Jahan Khan, who raised an army of 2,000 men and scouted far ahead of Lahore, but refused to give battle to the alliance. Upon receiving news that the Marathas were approaching Lahore, he began preparing to return to Afghanistan on 19 April.
Establishing camp at Shahdara, the Afghans retreated across the Ravi, leaving Lahore in lawlessness, and to be captured by the alliance. Afghan rearguard contingents were ambushed by the Marathas, emboldening Jahan Khan and Timur Shah to speed their progress to Afghanistan. Further close encounters at Eminabad saw the Afghans driven to the Chenab below Wazirabad, where they were attacked by the Marathas and Sikhs, who took some two hundred Afghan prisoners. After this encounter, modern scholarship designates the end of the Maratha pursuit. Near contemporary sources state that the Marathas were able to establish themselves at Attock, and possibly even Peshawar. |
Ahmad Shah Durrani | Kalat Rebellion (1758—1759) | Kalat Rebellion (1758—1759)
With the Maratha conquest of the Punjab, Nasir Khan, the ruler of the Khanate of Kalat, declared his independence from Ahmad Shah. Attempts to conciliate and have Nasir Khan return to Afghan suzerainty failed, prompting Ahmad Shah to dispatch a force under Shah Wali Khan, which was defeated at Pringuez, forcing their retreat to Quetta.
Informed of the defeat, Ahmad Shah raised his own force and marched against Kalat in the summer of 1758. He met Nasir Khan in battle at Mastung, where the forces of Kalat were defeated, prompting Nasir Khan's withdrawal to Kalat, which Ahmad Shah besieged. The siege of Kalat continued for forty days to no avail, and numerous storming attempts by the Afghans failed.
Nasir Khan, beleaguered of having been trapped in his capital, opened peace negotiations with the Afghans, apologizing for his rebellion. Ahmad Shah, having no intentions to annex Kalat or to bestow the province unto another governor, reaffirmed Nasir Khan in his position. A treaty was made, stipulating that Nasir Khan would re-enter and recognize the suzerainty of Ahmad Shah, but he would pay no tribute, and would furnish troops when called upon for war paid by the Shah. After the treaty, Ahmad Shah married a cousin of Nasir Khan.
Months later, a dervish began a revolt by having an individual named Mir Khush Khan Durrani proclaimed as King. The rebellion however, was crushed with the dervish who instigated the revolt being executed, and Mir Khush Khan being blinded. |
Ahmad Shah Durrani | Fifth invasion of India (1759–1761) | Fifth invasion of India (1759–1761)
Preoccupied with the uprising in Kalat, Ahmad Shah was unable to pursue a campaign against the Marathas, instead dispatching his generals, Jahan Khan and Nur ud-Din Bamizai, who were both defeated. In October 1759, Ahmad Shah began his fifth invasion of India. He had been invited by numerous rulers and religious leaders across India, including Shah Waliullah Dehlawi, who wrote to Ahmad Shah pleading for him to save the Muslims of India. Ahmad Shah utilized this in having it declared a jihad by religious leaders in Kandahar. Further invitations were sent by Najib ud-Daula, who wanted India to become a permanent extension of the Afghan empire. Alamgir II sent fervent requests to Ahmad Shah for aid, affirming his loyalty and informing him of the intentions of Imad ul-Mulk, who wished to assassinate him. Even Hindu rulers such as Madho Singh, the ruler of Amber, and Vijay Singh, the ruler of Marwar, were discontent over Maratha expansion, and sent letters to Ahmad Shah. Ahmad Shah also wished to avenge the defeat of his son, Timur Shah, and to reclaim the lost territories of the Punjab.
Beginning his invasion, Ahmad Shah split his forces to attack from two sides. Jahan Khan advanced from Kandahar to Kabul, and then through the Khyber Pass with an army of 20,000, while Ahmad Shah led a force of 40,000 through the Bolan Pass. He was further reinforced by Nasir Khan, and other Afghan chiefs, eventually fording the Indus on 25 October 1759. As Ahmad Shah entered the Punjab, Jahan Khan had forced the Maratha forces stationed at Attock to evacuate, pursuing them and battling at Rohtas, where the Maratha army was routed, forcing a withdrawal to as far as Delhi.
thumb|right|Portrait of Shah Jahan III, who was placed on the Mughal throne after Imad ul-Mulk had Alamgir assassinated
As this happened, Ahmad Shah approached Multan with his army. The Maratha governor in response, fled to Lahore, leaving the city to be captured without resistance. With the Afghans converging on Lahore, the Maratha forces withdrew to Batala, and then Sirhind, with some Maratha detachments being caught and destroyed. At Lahore, Jahan Khan battled with the Sikhs. No clear victor emerged, and the Afghans suffered some 2,000 dead, while Jahan Khan was wounded during the battle.
The approach of Ahmad Shah Durrani caused havoc throughout all of Northern India, causing Imad ul-Mulk to have Alamgir and Intizam-ud-Daulah murdered as a result, placing Shah Jahan III on the Mughal throne. Ahmad Shah continued advancing through the Punjab, with Jahan Khan seizing Sirhind on 27 November, with both armies uniting at Sirhind in December 1759.
Enraged by the execution of Alamgir, Ahmad Shah began racing toward Delhi. He reached Ambala on 20 December, and advanced toward Taraori, beginning a battle against the Marathas led by Dattaji Scindia. The advance guard of the Afghan army came in clash against the Marathas, and was initially routed, beginning a withdrawal. However, Ahmad Shah, ready to support the battle, dispatched 5,000 men under Shah Pasand Khan. The forces of Imad ul-Mulk in the battle completely fled at the sight of Shah Pasand's flag, and the Afghans attacked with muskets. Further detachments of the Afghan army sent by Ahmad Shah brought the battle to an end, with the Maratha force completely surrounded and destroyed.
thumb|left|Portrait of Dattaji Scindia
Following the battle, Ahmad Shah forded the Yamuna and united with the forces of Najib ud-Daula and other Rohilla leaders at Saharanpur. The combined armies marched toward Delhi, encamping at Luni, some 10 kilometers from the Red Fort of Delhi on the other side of the Yamuna. Dattaji Scindia returned to Kunjpura following his defeat at Taraori, and began preparing to defend Delhi from the Afghan army. He first sent Imad ul-Mulk to prepare the defenses of the city. However, Imad ul-Mulk completely deserted the Marathas and fled to Suraj Mal.
Dattaji then advanced to Sonipat, attempting to track Ahmad Shah's movements, which was made difficult as the Afghans kept their movement confidential by killing every Indian that was found outside their houses. As a result, Dattaji established camp at Barari on 4 January 1760. On 9 January, Najib ud-Daula began crossing the Yamuna with Ahmad Shah following him, beginning the battle of Barari Ghat. The Maratha forces opposed the advance of the Afghans across the river but were overpowered by musketeers, with much of the Maratha army only armed with spears and swords. Dattaji, attempting to enter the fray himself, was shot either in the eye, or the ribs, causing his death. Further Maratha reinforcements were useless against the Afghan musket fire, forcing the Marathas to withdraw from the field with a thousand dead, and the Afghans victorious.
Having defeated the Marathas at Barari Ghat, Ahmad Shah entered Delhi, with his men plundering the city. Much of the population of the city had already fled, and he took Shah Jahan III under his protection instead of claiming the Mughal throne for himself. Ahmad Shah also placed Yaqub Ali Khan as governor of the city, a nephew of his vizier, Shah Wali Khan, before beginning to march against Suraj Mal.
Leaving Delhi on 27 January, Ahmad Shah besieged Deeg on 7 February, although not committing to the siege seriously. While besieging, he sent a detachment under Jahan Khan which routed a Maratha army on 11 February at Rewari. Following this, Ahmad Shah pursued a Maratha force led by Malhar Rao Holkar, who was stationed at Narnaul. After reaching Rewari, Ahmad Shah was evaded by Holkar, and the Maratha force crossed the Yamuna river on 26—27 February, entering Najib ud-Daula's territories. On 28 February, Holkar advanced to Sikandrabad, awaiting for news of the Afghan position. On 1 March 1760, Ahmad Shah dispatched a force of 15,000 under Jahan Khan, Shah Pasand Khan, and Qalandar Khan to halt the Maratha army. The Marathas were caught on 4 March and were completely routed at the battle of Sikandarabad, with many Maratha officers slain. Holkar himself fled for his life to Agra, and then to Bharatpur, meeting Suraj Mal.
With another victory over the Marathas, Ahmad Shah proceeded to Aligarh, which belonged to the Jats, and besieged it. Unable to receive any reinforcement, the fort surrendered to the Afghans. At Aligarh, Najib ud-Daula advised Ahmad Shah to rest and wait out for the summer and monsoon seasons to pass, especially as the summer had been so catastrophic for the Afghans during the fourth invasion of India. Najib ud-Daula used this to expel the Marathas from Shikohabad, Phaphund, and Bithoor.
thumb|left|Painting of Shuja ud-Daula, a vital Durrani ally during Ahmad Shah's fifth invasion
As the Afghans settled in, they resorted to diplomacy to strengthen their position. Ahmad Khan Bangash, although an initial Maratha ally, was appealed to by Shah Wali Khan, Ahmad Shah's vizier, as an Afghan brother. Ahmad Khan thus allied with the Durranis and arrived at their camp on 13 April 1760. The Afghans also successfully negotiated with the ruler of Oudh, Shuja ud-Daula, who united with the Durrani camp in July 1760. Ahmad Shah also held friendly relations with the Rajputs, even declaring to them his intention to invade the Deccan in the winter.
As this occurred, the Marathas sent reinforcements under Sadashivrao Bhau, a cousin of the Peshwa, Balaji Baji Rao. The reinforcements also included Vishwasrao, the heir of the Maratha Confederacy, and nearly all significant Maratha commanders. Sadashivrao was described as an ignorant commander with a short temper and pride, ignoring the advice of more senior commanders who had experience in Northern India, and failing to anticipate certain outcomes.
The Maratha force reached Agra on 14 July. Sadashivrao, finding the Yamuna river overflowing, settled on advancing to Delhi. The Marathas advanced from Mathura and reached Delhi on 23 July, where it was stormed. The city fell to the Marathas, but the citadel held out. On 29 July, negotiations for the garrisons withdrawal went underway, and Yaqub Ali was allowed to leave the city with his men unharmed to Ahmad Shah's camp, with Maratha forces occupying the fort on 1 August.
The Marathas began facing difficulties when on 4 August, Suraj Mal and Imad ul-Mulk defected from the Marathas and returned to their posts. Furthermore, the Maratha army lacked food and feed for their horses. The situation became so difficult that Sadashivrao recorded in a letter that there was no food to pay for money, and that the men of the army alongside the horses were fasting. Peace negotiations corresponding from Ahmad Shah and the Marathas had also failed, with both seeking their own extensive demands.
By the end of September 1760, the Maratha camp was overridden with starvation. Ahmad Shah, however, was anxious to return to Afghanistan since his settling at Aligarh, as he never intended to form an Afghan empire based in India. The Marathas left Delhi on 10 October, which Ahmad Shah responded by having his army arrayed across the Yamuna. Sadashivrao, intending to seize Kunjpura, which had vast supplies, arrived before the city on 16 October. The battle of Kunjpura ensued which saw the Marathas victorious and the Afghan governor at Kunjpura, Najabat Khan, alongside Abdus Samad Khan killed. Ahmad Shah was unable to help the defenders of Delhi and Kunjpura due to him being stuck on the other side of the Yamuna.
thumb|left|Afghan and Maratha camps detailed by a plan of the third battle of Panipat
Ahmad Shah, infuriated at the fall of Kunjpura, began preparing a ford over the flooded Yamuna river at Baghpat. The Afghan forces crossed between 25 and 26 October, massacring a Maratha detachment at near Sonipat. Another battle at Sambhalka saw the Marathas forced back to their camp now established at Panipat. On 30 October, Ahmad Shah reached Sambhalka, and arrayed before the Marathas on 1 November.
Najib ud-Daula was dispatched by Ahmad Shah to prevent Maratha supplies flowing in from Delhi, defeating the forces of Naro Shankar, the Maratha governor of Delhi. Saashivrao in response sent Govind Pant Bundela to invade the Rohilla territories and cut off Afghan supply. Marching with 12,000 horsemen, the Maratha detachment advanced as far as Meerut before being set upon by an Afghan contingent of 14,000 dispatched by Ahmad Shah on 17 December under Atai Khan, who slew Govind and routed the Maratha force, with large amounts of supplies being seized by the Afghans.
The Marathas were cut off from all supplies as a result, and a last desperate attempt for peace was sent by Sadashivrao, even agreeing on any term Ahmad Shah deemed fit. Najib ud-Daula shut down the idea and Ahmad Shah rejected peace. As starvation gripped the Maratha camp, Sadashivrao concluded with his cabinet of war on 13 January to attack the Afghans. On 14 January, the Maratha forces assembled and began marching on the Afghan camp. The numbers of the battle vary by source. Mehta presents the Afghans at having 79,800 men, and the Marathas 85,000, with numerous non-combatants. The Afghans had a gradual flow of manpower stream into the army while the Marathas did not, making it definite that the Marathas were far outnumbered at the battle.
thumb|250px|Painting of the Third Battle of Panipat in Northern India
Beginning the third battle of Panipat, Ibrahim Khan Gardi unleashed his cannons on the Afghans. However, the troops operating the cannons were completely inexperienced and upon firing, the artillery shots merely flew overhead the Afghan army. Ibrahim Khan, realizing his failure in this regard, held his cannon fire and instead engaged with a detachment of his troops against the Rohilla portions of Ahmad Shah's army. Other Maratha officers attempted to engage as well by Ibrahim Khan's forces, which was met with musket fire from the Rohillas that saw the Marathas beaten back with heavy casualties, while Ibrahim Khan's forces were devastated by Rohilla cavalry, resulting in the losses of over six battalions and Ibrahim Khan himself being wounded, with the Maratha left wing failing.
Sadashivrao led an attack on the Afghan centre as well during this, with both sides numerically similar. Despite the Rohilla victory on the left wing, the Afghan centre was exposed, with the Marathas dismantling over three lines in the Afghan centre, and inflicting some 3,000 dead or wounded. At the pivotal moment, Ahmad Shah surged his reinforcements, some 4,000 Qizilbash to the right wing and 10,000 men to the Afghan centre. Ahmad Shah also dispatched his zamburaks, inflicting heavy casualties onto the Marathas. A counter-attack was thus launched by the Afghans across all fronts.
Amidst the fray, Vishwasrao was killed by a bullet. News of his death spread quickly throughout the Maratha camp, and it led to the desertion of over 2,000 Afghans and Rohillas that were in service of the Marathas. The Maratha left wing was thus dismantled, and routed. As the Rohillas launched their own attack, Holkar fled the battle. The Afghan left wing thus caved in on the centre, while the Maratha right wing was completely annihilated by Najib ud-Daula. Following this, Ahmad Shah advanced to the centre to command the final operation of battle.
Sadashivrao attempted to assault the Afghan centre twice but was pushed back with heavy losses. Ahmad Shah then ordered eight thousand reinforcements from his own tribe to attack, which saw Sadashivrao killed amidst the fray. The death of Sadashivrao saw all Maratha resistance dissipate and the Maratha centre was slaughtered. The Marathas who tried to escape the battle were pursued.
The casualties of the battle saw as low as 75,000 Marathas estimated to have been killed, to as high as 100,000. This included over 30,000 Marathas perishing in battle, another 10,000 being killed while retreating, and another 10,000 reported missing. While following the battle, 50,000 Maratha camp followers were massacred or sold to slavery.
thumb|right|Coin of Ahmad Shah Durrani, struck in Delhi
Panipat resulted in the end of Maratha influence over Northern India. The day following the battle, Ahmad Shah entered the city of Panipat wearing jewels such as the Koh-i-Noor. The Afghan troops massacred any male over the age of fourteen and enslaved the woman and children of the city. Ahmad Shah afterward made a pilgrimage to the tomb of Bu Ali Shah Qalandar, and then left Panipat on 19 July to enter Delhi. Proceeding formally into the Red fort on 29 January, with the khutbah being read in his name and coins being struck. After resting for two months, Ahmad Shah's troops demanded to return to Afghanistan, as much of them had been unpaid for over a year and a half. As a result, after plundering Delhi, he began returning to Afghanistan on 20—22 March.
Ahmad Shah settled the affairs of India by placing Shah Alam II on the Mughal throne with Najib ud-Daula as his Bakhshi, with Jawan Bakht being recognized as heir to Shah Alam. Delhi was given to Najib ud-Daula and Jawan Bakht to rule together, while Imad ul-Mulk was permitted to serve as vizier again. No peace deal was made with the Marathas as the Maratha Peshwa Balaji Baji Rao died soon after Panipat.
While returning to Afghanistan, the Afghan army was attacked by the Sikhs under Jassa Singh Ahluwalia, who carried away stragglers. The Sikhs attacked the Afghan flanks typically at night but maintained distance to avoid the Afghan artillery and cavalry, and avoiding pitched battle. A surprise attack on the Beas river by the Sikhs freed many Maratha prisoners. In response, Ahmad Shah established defenses around his camp every night, and at Lahore, he sent numerous expeditions against the Sikhs that captured and killed many. He completed his return to Afghanistan by May 1761. |
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