Ranjit Singh

Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780-1839) inherited one of the Sikh territories and conquered the others to become the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire. Known as the Lion of the Punjab, he fought the Afghans and the Pashtuns to extend control over Peshawar and Multan and he seized Kashmir. As ruler of the Punjab he was an ally of the British and facilitated their advance into Afghanistan in the 1st Afghan War. After his death the empire began to crumble. It was defeated in the 1st Sikh War and finally annexed by the British following the 2nd Sikh War.

External links

Ranjit Singh Dictionary of Indian Biography (1906)
Ranjit Singh Wikipedia
Maharaja Ranjit Singh www.sikh-history.com
Timeline for Ranjit Singh www.google.co.uk

Historical books online

• The Court and Camp of Runjeet Sing by W.G. Osborne, Military Secretary to the Earl of Auckland, Governor-General of India. Reprint edition 1960, first published 1840. Archive.org.