- Walter Reinhardt Sombre
Walter Reinhardt (born c. 1725 in
Strasbourg orTreves [Details as given in Michaud, "Biographie universelle, ancienne et moderne", entry Somrou)] , died 1778 [ [http://www.bharatonline.com/uttar-pradesh/fairs-festivals/sardhana-fair.html Sardhana Fair - Christian Fair Sardhana - Sardhana Fair Meerut India - Christian Fair Meerut ] ] ) was an adventurer and mercenary inIndia from the 1760s.His nationality is uncertain, being given in various sources as Austrian [
Stephen Neill , "A History of Christianity in India: 1707-1858"] , French [ [http://www.worldwideschool.org/library/books/hst/asian/TheFalloftheMoghulEmpireofHindustan/chap7.html] says Franco-German, but also offersSalzburg as birthplace.] , German [ [http://www.milligazette.com/Archives/2004/01-15May04-Print-Edition/0105200496.htm Dying abode of the unsung Begum Sumru, The Milli Gazette, Vol.5 No.09, MG103 (1-15 May 04) ] ] , Luxemburger, or Swiss [ [http://www.geocities.com/clintonbennett/Lectures/Chandra.html] calls him Swiss-German.] . His nickname Sombre [Summer, Samru, Sumroo, Somroo, Sombrou, Somrou, Somru, Sumru.] was a "nom de guerre ", and is more commonly used for him, in Indian sources.He was a turncoat, changing sides for advantage. When he was employed by
Mir Qasim ,Nawab of Bengal , he was blamed for a massacre atPatna ["Mir Kasim was defeated in two pitched battles atGheria andUdhanala (Oodeynullah) in August and September 1763, and in revenge ordered the massacre of all his prisoners, which was carried out with the help of a renegade in his employment named Walter Reinhardt, (afterwards the husband of the famous Begum Samru). About sixty Englishmen were murdered on this occasion, the bodies being thrown into a well belonging to the house in which they were confined." [http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Patna,_India 1911 "Encyclopedia Britannica"] ] .He attained a position from
Shah Alam II , briefly held before his death, rulingSardana ; through his marriage toBegum Samru , she followed in his place there.Notes
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