The Sikh Empire was a state originating in the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

, formed under the leadership of

Maharaja Ranjit Singh Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839), popularly known as Sher-e-Punjab or "Lion of Punjab", was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, which ruled the northwest Indian subcontinent in the early half of the 19th century. He s ...

, who established an empire based in the

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...

. The empire existed from 1799, when Maharaja Ranjit Singh captured

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...

, to 1849, when it was defeated and conquered in the

Second Anglo-Sikh War The Second Anglo-Sikh War was a military conflict between the Sikh Empire and the British East India Company that took place in 1848 and 1849. It resulted in the fall of the Sikh Empire, and the annexation of the Punjab and what subsequently ...

. It was forged on the foundations of the

Khalsa Khalsa ( pa, ਖ਼ਾਲਸਾ, , ) refers to both a community that considers Sikhism as its faith,Kha ...

from a collection of autonomous Sikh '' misls''. At its peak in the 19th century, the Empire extended from the Khyber Pass in the west to western

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa, Taman ...

in the east, and from

Mithankot Mithankot ( ur, ) also known as Kotmithan, is a city in Rajanpur District in Punjab, Pakistan. Mithankot is located on the west bank of the Indus River The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South ...

in the south to Kashmir in the north. It was divided into four provinces:

, in Punjab, which became the Sikh capital;

Multan Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab. Multan is one of the old ...

, also in Punjab;

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

; and Kashmir from 1799 to 1849. Religiously diverse, with an estimated population of 3.5 million in 1831 (making it the 19th most populous country at the time),

Amarinder Singh Captain Amarinder Singh (born 11 March 1942), is an Indian politician, military historian, former royal and Indian Army veteran who served as the 15th Chief Minister of Punjab. A former Member of the Legislative Assembly, Punjab and Member ...

's The Last Sunset: The Rise and Fall of the Lahore Durbar it was the last major region of the Indian subcontinent to be annexed by the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...

. The foundations of the Sikh Empire can be traced to as early as 1707, the year of Aurangzeb's death and the start of the downfall of the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

. With the Mughals significantly weakened, the Sikh army, known as the Dal Khalsa, a rearrangement of the Khalsa inaugurated by Guru Gobind Singh, led expeditions against them and the Afghans in the west. This led to a growth of the army which split into different confederacies or semi-independent ''misls''. Each of these component armies controlled different areas and cities. However, in the period from 1762 to 1799, Sikh commanders of the ''misls'' appeared to be coming into their own as independent. The formation of the empire began with the capture of Lahore, by Ranjit Singh, from its Afghan ruler,

Zaman Shah Durrani Zaman Shah Durrani, or Zaman Shah Abdali ( Persian: ; 1767 – 1844), was ruler of the Durrani Empire from 1793 until 1801. He was the grandson of Ahmad Shah Durrani and the fifth son of Timur Shah Durrani. An ethnic Pashtun, Zaman Shah became the ...

, and the subsequent and progressive expulsion of Afghans from the Punjab, by defeating them in the Afghan-Sikh Wars, and the unification of the separate Sikh ''misls''. Ranjit Singh was proclaimed as Maharaja of the Punjab on 12 April 1801 (to coincide with

Vaisakhi Vaisakhi ( Punjabi: ), also pronounced Baisakhi, marks the first day of the month of Vaisakh and is traditionally celebrated annually on 13 April and sometimes 14 April as a celebration of spring harvest primarily in Northern India. Further, o ...

), creating a unified political state. Sahib Singh Bedi, a descendant of

Guru Nanak Gurū Nānak (15 April 1469 – 22 September 1539; Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ; pronunciation: , ), also referred to as ('father Nānak'), was the founder of Sikhism and is the first of the ten Sikh Gurus. His birth is celebrated w ...

, conducted the coronation. Ranjit Singh rose to power in a very short period, from a leader of a single ''misl'' to finally becoming the Maharaja of Punjab. He began to modernise his army, using the latest training as well as weapons and

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

. After the death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the empire was weakened by east India British company stoking internal divisions and political mismanagement. Finally, by 1849 the state was dissolved after the defeat in the Second Anglo-Sikh War.

Background

Mughal rule of Punjab

The

Sikh religion Sikhism (), also known as Sikhi ( pa, ਸਿੱਖੀ ', , from pa, ਸਿੱਖ, lit=disciple', 'seeker', or 'learner, translit=Sikh, label=none),''Sikhism'' (commonly known as ''Sikhī'') originated from the word ''Sikh'', which comes fro ...

began around the time of the conquest of the Northern Indian subcontinent by Babur, the founder of the

. His conquering grandson, Mughal Emperor Akbar, supported religious freedom and after visiting the

langar Langar may refer to: Community eating *Langar (Sikhism) * Langar (Sufism) Places Afghanistan *Langar, Badakhshan, Afghanistan * Langar, Bamyan, Afghanistan * Langar, Faryab, Afghanistan * Langar, Herat, Afghanistan * Langar, Wardak, Afghanis ...

Guru Amar Das Guru Amar Das (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਅਮਰ ਦਾਸ, pronunciation: ; 5 May 1479 – 1 September 1574), sometimes spelled as Guru Amardas, was the third of the Ten Gurus of Sikhism and became Sikh Guru on 26 March 1552 at age 73. Befo ...

got a favourable impression of Sikhism. As a result of his visit, he donated land to the langar and the Mughals did not have any conflict with

Sikh gurus The Sikh gurus (Punjabi: ਸਿੱਖ ਗੁਰੂ) are the spiritual masters of Sikhism, who established this religion over the course of about two and a half centuries, beginning in 1469. The year 1469 marks the birth of Guru Nanak, the founde ...

until his death in 1605. His successor Jahangir, however, saw the Sikhs as a political threat. He ordered

Guru Arjun Dev Guru Arjan (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਅਰਜਨ, pronunciation: ; 15 April 1563 – 30 May 1606) was the first of the two Gurus martyred in the Sikh faith and the fifth of the ten total Sikh Gurus. He compiled the first official edition of t ...

, who had been arrested for supporting the rebellious

Khusrau Mirza Khusrau Mirza (16 August 1587 – 26 January 1622) was the eldest son of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir and his first wife, Shah Begum. He was beloved of his grandfather, Mughal Emperor Akbar and his grandmother, Mariam-uz-Zamani. The young ...

, to change the passage about Islam in the

Adi Granth The Guru Granth Sahib ( pa, ਗੁਰੂ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਸਾਹਿਬ, ) is the central holy religious scripture of Sikhism, regarded by Sikhs as the final, sovereign and eternal Guru following the lineage of the ten human gurus of the re ...

. When the Guru refused, Jahangir ordered him to be put to death by torture. Guru Arjan Dev's

martyrdom A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

led to the sixth Guru,

Guru Hargobind Gurū Hargobind (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਹਰਿਗੋਬਿੰਦ, pronunciation: l 19 June 1595 – 28 February 1644), revered as the ''sixth Nānak'', was the sixth of ten Gurus of the Sikh religion. He had become Guru at the young age of e ...

, declaring Sikh

sovereignty Sovereignty is the defining authority within individual consciousness, social construct, or territory. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within the state, as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the perso ...

in the creation of the

Akal Takht The Akal Takht ("Throne of the Timeless One") is one of five takhts (seats of power) of the Sikhs. It is located in the Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple) complex in Amritsar, Punjab, India. The Akal Takht (originally called Akal Bunga) was built by ...

and the establishment of a fort to defend Amritsar. Jahangir attempted to assert authority over the Sikhs by jailing Guru Hargobind at

Gwalior Gwalior() is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; it lies in northern part of Madhya Pradesh and is one of the Counter-magnet cities. Located south of Delhi, the capital city of India, from Agra and from Bhopal, the s ...

, but released him after a number of years when he no longer felt threatened. The Sikh community did not have any further issues with the Mughal empire until the death of Jahangir in 1627. The succeeding son of Jahangir, Shah Jahan, took offence at Guru Hargobind's "sovereignty" and after a series of assaults on Amritsar forced the Sikhs to retreat to the

Sivalik Hills The Sivalik Hills, also known as the Shivalik Hills and Churia Hills, are a mountain range of the outer Himalayas that stretches over about from the Indus River eastwards close to the Brahmaputra River, spanning the northern parts of the India ...

. The next guru,

Guru Har Rai Guru Har Rai (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਹਰਿ ਰਾਇ, pronunciation: ; 16 January 1630 – 6 October 1661) revered as the ''seventh Nanak'', was the seventh of ten Gurus of the Sikh religion.Aurangzeb and Dara Shikoh, for control of the Mughal Empire. The ninth Guru,

Guru Tegh Bahadur Guru Tegh Bahadur (Punjabi: ਗੁਰੂ ਤੇਗ਼ ਬਹਾਦਰ (Gurmukhi); ; 1 April 1621 – 11 November 1675) was the ninth of ten Gurus who founded the Sikh religion and the leader of Sikhs from 1665 until his beheading in 1675. ...

, moved the Sikh community to Anandpur and travelled extensively to visit and preach in defiance of Aurangzeb, who attempted to install

Ram Rai Ram Rai (Gurmukhi: ਰਾਮ ਰਾਏ; ''rāma rā'ē''; 1645–1687) was the excommunicated eldest son of the seventh Sikh Guru, Guru Har Rai, and the founder of the Ramraiyas, an unorthodox and heretical sect in Sikhism. Biography Exco ...

as new guru. Guru Tegh Bahadur aided

Kashmiri Pandits The Kashmiri Pandits (also known as Kashmiri Brahmins) are a group of Kashmiri Hindus and a part of the larger Saraswat Brahmin community of India. They belong to the Pancha Gauda Brahmin group from the Kashmir Valley, a mountainous region ...

in avoiding conversion to Islam and was arrested by Aurangzeb. When offered a choice between conversion to Islam and death, he chose to die rather than compromise his principles and was executed.

Formation of the Khalsa

Guru Gobind Singh assumed the guruship in 1675 and to avoid battles with Sivalik Hill rajas moved the guruship to Paunta. There he built a large fort to protect the city and garrisoned an army to protect it. The growing power of the Sikh community alarmed the Sivalik Hill rajas who attempted to attack the city but Guru Gobind Singh's forces routed them at the

Battle of Bhangani The Battle of Bhangani ( pa, ਭੰਗਾਣੀ ਦਾ ਯੁੱਧ) was fought between Guru Gobind Singh's army and Bhim Chand (Kahlur) of Bilaspur on 18 September 1686, at Bhangani near Paonta Sahib.Rajput Rajas of Shivalik Hills particip ...

. He moved on to Anandpur and established the

Khalsa Khalsa ( pa, ਖ਼ਾਲਸਾ, , ) refers to both a community that considers Sikhism as its faith,Kha ...

, a collective army of baptised Sikhs, on 30 March 1699. The establishment of the Khalsa united the Sikh community against various Mughal-backed claimants to the guruship. In 1701, a combined army of the Sivalik Hill rajas and the Mughals under Wazir Khan attacked Anandpur. The Khalsa retreated but regrouped to defeat the Mughals at the

Battle of Muktsar The Battle of Sri Muktsar Sahib (Muktsar) or Battle of Khidrāne Dee Dhāb took place on 29 December 1705, (29 Poh) following the siege of Anandpur Sahib. In 1704, Anandpur Sahib was under an extended siege by the allied forces of the Mugha ...

. In 1707, Guru Gobind Singh accepted an invitation by Aurangzeb's successor

Bahadur Shah I Bahadur Shah I (14 October 1643 – 27 February 1712), also known as Muhammad Mu'azzam and Shah Alam I. was the eighth Mughal Emperor who ruled from 1707 until his death in 1712. In his youth, he conspired to overthrow his father Aurangzeb, t ...

to meet him. The meeting took place at

Agra Agra (, ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital New Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra i ...

on 23 July 1707.

Banda Singh Bahadur

In August 1708, Guru Gobind Singh visited

Nanded Nanded is a city in Maharashtra state, India. It is the tenth largest city in the state and the seventy-ninth most populous city in India. It is the second largest city in Marathwada region. It is the district headquarters of Nanded distric ...

. There he met a Bairāgī recluse, Madho Das, who converted to Sikhism, rechristened as

Banda Singh Bahadur Banda Singh Bahadur (born Lachman Dev) (27 October 1670 – 9 June 1716), was a Sikh warrior and a commander of Khalsa army. At age 15, he left home to become an Asceticism, ascetic, and was given the name Madho Das Bairagi. He established a ...

. A short time before his death, Guru Gobind Singh ordered him to reconquer Punjab region and gave him a letter that commanded all Sikhs to join him. After two years of gaining supporters, Banda Singh Bahadur initiated an agrarian uprising by breaking up the large estates of Zamindar families and distributing the land to the poor peasants who farmed the land. Banda Singh Bahadur started his rebellion with the defeat of Mughal armies at Samana and

Sadhaura Sadhaura is a city, near Yamunanagar city with Municipal Committee in Yamunanagar district in the Indian state of Haryana. A city of Yamunanagar, it is of great historic significance. Sadhaura is very old town many historical temples/Dargah ar ...

and the rebellion culminated in the defeat of

Sirhind Sirhind-Fategarh is a town and a municipal council in the Fatehgarh Sahib district in the Indian state of Punjab. Demographics In the 2011 census Sirhind-Fatehgarh had a population of 60852. Males constituted 54% of the population and female ...

. During the rebellion, Banda Singh Bahadur made a point of destroying the cities in which Mughals had been cruel to the supporters of Guru Gobind Singh. He executed Wazir Khan in revenge for the deaths of Guru Gobind Singh's sons and Pir Budhu Shah after the Sikh victory at

. He ruled the territory between the

Sutlej river The Sutlej or Satluj River () is the longest of the five rivers that flow through the historic crossroads region of Punjab in northern India and Pakistan. The Sutlej River is also known as ''Satadru''. It is the easternmost tributary of the Ind ...

and the

Yamuna river The Yamuna ( Hindustani: ), also spelt Jumna, is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of about on the southwestern slopes of Ban ...

, established a capital in the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

Lohgarh Lohgarh is a village in Notified Area Committee of Zirakpur in district Mohali in state of Punjab in India. This is not to be confused with another namesake Lohgarh (Bilaspur) in Haryana which was capital of first Sikh state under Banda Singh ...

and struck

coin A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order t ...

age in the names of

and Guru Gobind Singh. In 1716, his army was defeated by the Mughals after he attempted to defend his fort at Gurdas Nangal. He was captured along with 700 of his men and sent to

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

, where they were all tortured and executed after refusing to convert to Islam.

Dal Khalsa period

Sikh Confederacy

The period from 1716 to 1799 was a highly turbulent time politically and militarily in the Punjab region. This was caused by the overall decline of the Mughal empire that left a power vacuum in the region that was eventually filled by the Sikhs of the Dal Khalsa, meaning "

Khalsa Khalsa ( pa, ਖ਼ਾਲਸਾ, , ) refers to both a community that considers Sikhism as its faith,Kha ...

army" or "

Khalsa Khalsa ( pa, ਖ਼ਾਲਸਾ, , ) refers to both a community that considers Sikhism as its faith,Kha ...

party". In the late 18th century, after defeating several invasions by the Afghan rulers of the

Durrani Empire The Durrani Empire ( ps, د درانيانو ټولواکمني; fa, امپراتوری درانیان) or the Afghan Empire ( ps, د افغانان ټولواکمني, label=none; fa, امپراتوری افغان, label=none), also know ...

and their allies,Meredith L. Runio
''The History of Afghanistan''
pp 70 Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007 remnants of the Mughals and their

administrators Administrator or admin may refer to: Job roles Computing and internet * Database administrator, a person who is responsible for the environmental aspects of a database * Forum administrator, one who oversees discussions on an Internet forum * N ...

, the Mughal-allied Hindu hill-rajas of the

, and hostile local Muslims siding with other Muslim forces. The Sikhs of the Dal Khalsa eventually formed their own independent Sikh administrative regions, ''Misls'', derived from a Perso-Arabic term meaning 'similar', headed by ''Misldars''. These Misls were united in large part by Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

Cis-Sutlej states

The

Cis-Sutlej states The Cis-Sutlej states were a group of states in the modern Punjab and Haryana states of northwestern India during the 19th century, lying between the Sutlej River on the north, the Himalayas on the east, the Yamuna River and Delhi District on the ...

were a group of Sikh states in the Punjab region lying between the

Sutlej River The Sutlej or Satluj River () is the longest of the five rivers that flow through the historic crossroads region of Punjab in northern India and Pakistan. The Sutlej River is also known as ''Satadru''. It is the easternmost tributary of the Ind ...

to the north, the

to the east, the

Yamuna River The Yamuna ( Hindustani: ), also spelt Jumna, is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of about on the southwestern slopes of Ban ...

and

district to the south, and

Sirsa District Sirsa district is the largest district of Haryana state. Sirsa is the district headquarters. It is located on National Highway 9 and from the capital Delhi. Etymology The district is named after its headquarters, Sirsa. The name, Sirsa is deri ...

to the west. These states fell under the

suzerainty Suzerainty () is the rights and obligations of a person, state or other polity who controls the foreign policy and relations of a tributary state, while allowing the tributary state to have internal autonomy. While the subordinate party is cal ...

of the

Maratha Empire The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern Indian confederation that came to dominate much of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century. Maratha rule formally began in 1674 with the coronation of Shi ...

after 1785 before the

Second Anglo-Maratha War } The Second Anglo-Maratha War (1803–1805) was the second conflict between the British East India Company and the Maratha Empire in India. Background The British had supported the "fugitive" Peshwa Raghunathrao in the First Anglo-Maratha War, ...

of 1803–1805, after which the Marathas lost control of the territory to the

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

. The Cis-Sutlej states included

Kalsia Kalsia was a princely state in Punjab, British India, one of the former Cis-Sutlej states. It was founded by Raja Gurbaksh Singh Sandhu in 1760. After India's independence, it was included in PEPSU and later in the Indian East Punjab after th ...

Kaithal Kaithal () is a city and municipal council in the Kaithal district of the Indian state of Haryana. Kaithal was previously a part of Karnal district and later, Kurukshetra district until 1 November 1989, when it became the headquarters of the K ...

Patiala State Patiala State was a self-governing princely state A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Raj, British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but ra ...

Nabha State Nabha State, with its capital at Nabha, was one of the Phulkian princely states of Punjab during the British Raj in India. Nabha was ruled by Jat Sikhs of Sidhu clan. See also *Patiala and East Punjab States Union *Political integration of ...

Jind State Jind State (also spelled Jhind State) was a princely state located in the Punjab region of north-western India. The state was in area and its annual income was Rs.3,000,000 in the 1940s. Jind was founded and ruled by Jat Sikh rulers of Sidhu cla ...

Thanesar Thanesar city or old Kurukshetra city is a historic town and an important Hindu pilgrimage sites, Hindu pilgrimage centre in Kurukshetra district of the States and territories of India, state of Haryana in North India, northern India. It is loca ...

Maler Kotla The State of Malerkotla or Maler Kotla was a princely state in the Punjab region during the era of British India. The last Nawab of Maler Kotla signed the instrument of accession to join the Dominion of India on 20 August 1948. Its rulers belo ...

Ludhiana Ludhiana ( ) is the most populous and the largest Cities in India, city in the Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab. The city has an estimated population of 1,618,879 2011 Indian census, 2011 census and distributed over , making Ludhiana the ...

Kapurthala State Kapurthala State, with its capital at Kapurthala, was a former Princely state of Punjab. Ruled by Ahluwalia Sikh rulers, spread across . According to the 1901 census the state had a population of 314,341 and contained two towns and 167 village ...

Ambala Ambala () is a city and a municipal corporation in Ambala district in the state of Haryana, India, located on the border with the Indian state of Punjab and in proximity to both states capital Chandigarh. Politically, Ambala has two sub-area ...

Ferozpur Firozpur, also known as Ferozepur, is a city on the banks of the Sutlej River in Firozpur District, Punjab, India. After the partition of India in 1947, it became a border town on the India–Pakistan border with memorials to soldiers who d ...

and

Faridkot State Faridkot State was a self-governing princely state outside British India during the British Raj period in the Indian sub-continent until Indian independence. It was founded by Sidhu-Brar Jats. Faridkot was one of the Cis-Sutlej states, which ca ...

, among others. While these Sikh states had been set up by the Dal Khalsa, they did not become part of the Sikh Empire and there was a mutual ban on warfare following the

treaty of Amritsar A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal pers ...

in 1809 (in which the empire forfeited the claim to the Cis-Sutlej States, and the British were not to interfere north of the Sutlej or in the empire's existing territory south of the Sutlej), following attempts by Ranjit Singh to wrest control of these states from the British between 1806 and 1809 The Sikh crossing of the Sutlej, following British militarization of the border with Punjab (from 2,500 men and six guns in 1838 to 17,612 men and 66 guns in 1844, and 40,523 men and 94 guns in 1845), and plans on using the newly conquered territory of Sindh as a springboard to advance on the Sikh-held region of Multan, would eventually result in conflict with the British.

Intra-Misl Wars

After the reign of

Jassa Singh Ramgarhia Jassa Singh Ramgarhia (1723–1803) was a prominent Sikh leader during the period of the Sikh Confederacy. He was the founder of the Ramgarhia Misl, Early life Jassa Singh Ramgarhia was born into a Sikh family with surname Bhambra in 172 ...

, the Sikh Misls became divided and fought each other. A sort of 'Cold War' broke out with the Bhangi, Nakkai, Dalelwala and

Ramgharia The Ramgarhia is a caste from the Punjab region of northwestern India, encompassing members of the Lohar and Tarkhan subgroups. Etymology Originally called Thoka, meaning ''carpenter'', the Ramgarhia are named after Jassa Singh Ramgarhia, whos ...

Misls verses Sukerchakia, Ahluwalia, Karor Singhia and Kaniyeha. The Shaheedan, Nishania and

Singhpuria Singhpuria Misl was founded by the Sikh warrior Nawab Kapur Singh, a Virk Jat people, Jat who was born in 1697 and later became a prominent Khalsa leader. The misl took its original name from a village Faizullapur in Amritsar and then chang ...

also allied but did not engage in warfare with the others and continued the Dal Khalsa. The

Phulkian Misl Phulkian Misl was a Sikh misl named after Choudhary Phul Singh. Maharaja Ala Singh, Maharaja Amar Singh, Raja Sahib Singh, Raja Gajpat Singh, Maharaja Hamir Singh all are rulers of Phulkian misl (Bhadaur Barnala, Sangrur). It was a Kshatriya ...

was excommunicated from the confederacy. Rani Sada Kaur of the Kanhaiya Misl rose in the vacuum and destroyed the power of the Bhangis. She later gave her throne to Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

Empire

The formal start of the Sikh Empire began with the unification of the Misls by 1801, creating a unified political state. All the Misl leaders, who were affiliated with the army, were the nobility with usually long and prestigious family backgrounds in Sikh history. The main geographical footprint of the empire was from the

Punjab region Punjab (; Punjabi Language, Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also Romanization, romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the I ...

to Khyber Pass in the west, to Kashmir in the north,

Sindh Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...

in the south, and

in the east. In 1799 Ranjit Singh moved the capital to

from

Gujranwala Gujranwala ( ur, , label=none; ) is a city and capital of Gujranwala Division located in Pakistan. It is also known as "City of Wrestlers" and is quite famous for its food. It is the 5th most populous city proper after Karachi, Lahore, Faisala ...

, where it had been established in 1763 by his grandfather,

Charat Singh Sardar Charat Singh (1721–1770 or 1733—1774), also romanised as Charhat Singh, was the father of Mahan Singh, and the grandfather of Ranjit Singh. He distinguished himself at an early age in campaigns against Ahmad Shah Abdali and along w ...

Ranjit Singh holding court - Court and Camp of Runjeet Singh - pg203

Hari Singh Nalwa Hari Singh Nalwa (1791–1837) was Commander-in-chief of the Sikh Khalsa Fauj, the army of the Sikh Empire. He is known for his role in the conquests of Kasur, Sialkot, Attock, Multan, Kashmir, Peshawar and Jamrud. Hari Singh Nalwa was respons ...

was Commander-in-Chief of the

Sikh Khalsa Army The Sikh Khalsa Army (), also known as Khalsaji or simply Sikh Army, was the military force of the Sikh Empire. With its roots in the Khalsa founded by Guru Gobind Singh, the army was later modernised on Franco-British principles by Maharaja Ran ...

from 1825 to 1837. He is known for his role in the conquests of

Kasur Kasur (Urdu and pa, ; also Romanization of Urdu, romanized as Qasūr; from pluralized Arabic word ''Qasr'' meaning "palaces" or "forts") is a city to south of Lahore, in the Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. The city serves as th ...

Sialkot Sialkot ( ur, ) is a city located in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the capital of Sialkot District and the 13th most populous city in Pakistan. The boundaries of Sialkot are joined with Jammu (the winter capital of Indian administered Jammu and Ka ...

, Kashmir,

Attock Attock ( Punjabi and Urdu: ), formerly known as Campbellpur (), is a historical city located in the north of Pakistan's Punjab Province, not far from the country's capital Islamabad. It is the headquarters of the Attock District and is 61st larg ...

and

. Nalwa led the Sikh army in freeing Shah Shuja from Kashmir and secured the

Koh-i-Nor The Koh-i-Noor ( ; from ), also spelled Kohinoor and Koh-i-Nur, is one of the largest cut diamonds in the world, weighing . It is part of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom. The diamond is currently set in the Crown of Queen Elizabeth The Q ...

diamond for Maharaja Ranjit Singh. He served as governor of Kashmir and Hazara and established a

mint MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST system and its successors. It is a multi-tasking alternative to TOS and MagiC. Together with the free system components fVDI device drivers, XaA ...

on behalf of the Sikh empire to facilitate revenue collection. His frontier policy of holding the Khyber Pass was later used by the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

. Nalwa was responsible for expanding the frontier of Sikh empire to the

Indus River The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kashmir, ...

. At the time of his death, the western boundary of the Sikh Empire was the Khyber Pass.

Geography

The Sikh Empire spanned a total of over at its zenith. Another more conservative estimate puts its total surface area during its zenith at 100,436 sq mi (260,124 km sq). The

was a region straddling India and the

Afghan Afghan may refer to: *Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia *Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity ** Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pas ...

. The following modern-day political divisions made up the historical Sikh Empire: *

, to

in the south **

Punjab, Pakistan Punjab (; , ) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in central-eastern region of the country, Punjab is the second-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the largest province by population. It shares land borders with the ...

, excluding

Bahawalpur State Bahawalpur ( Urdu, skr, ) was a princely state of British India, and later Dominion of Pakistan, that was a part of the Punjab States Agency. It existed as an autonomous state, within Pakistan from 1947 to 1955, when it was dissolved and me ...

Punjab, India Punjab (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northern India. Forming part of the larger Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, the state is bordered by the States and union territories of India, Indian states of Himachal ...

, south to areas just across the

Sutlej The Sutlej or Satluj River () is the longest of the five rivers that flow through the historic crossroads region of Punjab in northern India and Pakistan. The Sutlej River is also known as ''Satadru''. It is the easternmost tributary of the Ind ...

river **

Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ar ...

, India **

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...

, India, south to areas just across the

river **

Jammu Division The Jammu division (; ) is a revenue and administrative division within Jammu and Kashmir, a union territory of India. It consists of the districts of Jammu, Doda, Kathua, Ramban, Reasi, Kishtwar, Poonch, Rajouri, Udhampur and Samba. Most o ...

, Jammu and Kashmir, India and Pakistan (1808–1846) * Kashmir, from 5 July 1819 to 15 March 1846, India/Pakistan/China **

Kashmir Valley The Kashmir Valley, also known as the ''Vale of Kashmir'', is an intermontane valley concentrated in the Kashmir Division of the Indian- union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The valley is bounded on the southwest by the Pir Panjal Range and ...

, India from 1819 to 1846 **

Gilgit Gilgit (; Shina: ; ur, ) is the capital city of Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan. The city is located in a broad valley near the confluence of the Gilgit River and the Hunza River. It is a major tourist destination in Pakistan, serving as a h ...

Gilgit–Baltistan Gilgit-Baltistan (; ), formerly known as the Northern Areas, is a region administered by Pakistan as an administrative territory, and constituting the northern portion of the larger Kashmir region which has been the subject of a dispute be ...

, Pakistan, from 1842 to 1846 **

Ladakh Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu and ...

, India 1834–1846 * Khyber Pass, Afghanistan/Pakistan **

, Pakistan (taken in 1818, retaken in 1834) **

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, ...

and the

Federally Administered Tribal Areas , conventional_long_name = Federally Administered Tribal Areas , nation = Pakistan , subdivision = Autonomous territory , image_flag = Flag of FATA.svg , image_coat = File:Coat of arms ...

, Pakistan (documented from Hazara (taken in 1818, again in 1836) to

Bannu Bannu ( ps, بنو, translit=banū ; ur, , translit=bannū̃, ) is a city located on the Kurram River in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is the capital of Bannu Division. Bannu's residents are primarily members of the Banuchi tribe ...

) * Parts of

Western Tibet The geography of Tibet consists of the high mountains, lakes and rivers lying between Central, East and South Asia. Traditionally, Western (European and American) sources have regarded Tibet as being in Central Asia, though today's maps show a t ...

, China ( briefly in 1841, to

Taklakot Purang or Burang, known as Puhreng in Tibetan (, Help:IPA/Tibetan, IPA: puʂeŋ), is a Towns of China, town which serves as the administrative center of Purang County, Ngari Prefecture of the Tibet Autonomous Region ''(TAR)'', China. The town li ...

), Jamrud District (Khyber Agency, Pakistan) was the westernmost limit of the Sikh Empire. The westward expansion was stopped in the Battle of Jamrud, in which the Afghans managed to kill the prominent Sikh general

in an offensive, though the Sikhs successfully held their position at their Jamrud fort. Ranjit Singh sent his General Sirdar Bahadur Gulab Singh Powind thereafter as reinforcement and he crushed the Pashtun rebellion harshly. In 1838, Ranjit Singh with his troops marched into Kabul to take part in the victory parade along with the British after restoring Shah Shoja to the Afghan throne at Kabul.

Religious policy

Coin of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, minted in Amritsar

The Sikh Empire was idiosyncratic in that it allowed men from religions other than their own to rise to commanding positions of authority. The Fakir brothers were trusted personal advisors and assistants as well as close friends to Ranjit Singh, particularly Fakir Azizuddin, who would serve in the positions of foreign minister of the empire and translator for the maharaja, and played important roles in such important events as the negotiations with the British, during which he convinced Ranjit Singh to maintain diplomatic ties with the British and not to go to war with them in 1808, as British troops were moved along the Sutlej in pursuance of the British policy of confining Ranjit Singh to the north of the river, and setting the Sutlej as the dividing boundary between the Sikh and British empires; negotiating with Dost Muhammad Khan during his unsuccessful attempt to retake

, and ensuring the succession of the throne during the Maharaja's last days in addition to caretaking after a stroke, as well as occasional military assignments throughout his career. The Fakir brothers were introduced to the Maharaja when their father, Ghulam Muhiuddin, a physician, was summoned by him to treat an eye ailment soon after his capture of Lahore. The other Fakir brothers were Imamuddin, one of his principal administration officers, and Nuruddin, who served as home minister and personal physician, were also granted jagirs by the Maharaja. Every year, while at Amritsar, Ranjit Singh visited shrines of holy people of other faiths, including several Muslim saints, which did not offend even the most religious Sikhs of his administration. As relayed by Fakir Nuruddin, orders were issued to treat people of all faith groups, occupations, and social levels equally and in accordance with the doctrines of their faith, per the Shastras and the Quran, as well as local authorities like judges and ''panches'' (local elder councils), as well as banning forcible possession of others' land or of inhabited houses to be demolished. There were special courts for Muslims which ruled in accordance to Muslim law in personal matters, and common courts preceded over by judicial officers which administered justice under the customary law of the districts and socio-ethnic groups, and were open to all who wanted to be governed by customary religious law, whether Hindu, Sikh, or Muslim. One of Ranjit Singh's first acts after the 1799 capture of Lahore was to revive the offices of the hereditary Qazis and Muftis which had been prevalent in Mughal times. Kazi Nizamuddin was appointed to decide marital issues among Muslims, while Muftis Mohammad Shahpuri and Sadulla Chishti were entrusted with powers to draw up title-deeds relating to transfers of immovable property. The old mohalladari system was reintroduced with each mahallah, or neighborhood subdivision, placed under the charge of one of its members. The office of Kotwal, or prefect of police, was conferred upon a Muslim, Imam Bakhsh. Generals were also drawn from a variety of communities, along with prominent Sikh generals like

, Fateh Singh Dullewalia, Nihal Singh Atariwala, Chattar Singh Attariwalla, and Fateh Singh Kalianwala; Hindu generals included Misr Diwan Chand and Dewan Mokham Chand, Dewan Mokham Chand Nayyar, his son, and his grandson; and Muslim generals included Ilahi Bakhsh and Mian Ghaus Khan; one general, Balbhadra Kunwar, was a Nepalese Gurkha, and European generals included Jean-Francois Allard, Jean-Baptiste Ventura, and Paolo Avitabile. other notable generals of the

were Veer Singh Dillon, Veer Singh Dhillon, Sham Singh Attariwala, Mahan Singh Mirpuri, and Zorawar Singh Kahluria, among others. The appointment of key posts in public offices was based on merit and loyalty, regardless of the social group or religion of the appointees, both in and around the court, and in higher as well as lower posts. Key posts in the civil and military administration were held by members of communities from all over the empire and beyond, including Sikhs, Muslims, Khatris, Brahmins, Dogras, Rajputs, Pashtuns, Europeans, and Americans, among others, and worked their way up the hierarchy to attain merit. Dhian Singh Dogra, Dhian Singh, the prime minister, was a Dogra, whose brothers Gulab Singh and Suchet Singh served in the high-ranking administrative and military posts, respectively. Brahmins like finance minister Raja Dina Nath, Sahib Dyal, and others also served in financial capacities. Muslims in prominent positions included the Fakir brothers, Kazi Nizamuddin, and Mufti Muhammad Shah, among others. Among the top-ranking Muslim officers there were two ministers, one governor and several district officers; there were 41 high-ranking Muslim officers in the army, including two generals and several colonels, and 92 Muslims were senior officers in the police, judiciary, legal department and supply and store departments. In artillery, Muslims represented over 50% of the numbers while the cavalry had some 10% Muslims from among the troopers. Thus, the government was run by an elite corps drawn from many communities, giving the empire the character of a secular system of government, even when built on theocratic foundations. A ban on cow slaughter, which can be related to Hindu sentiments, was universally imposed in the Sarkar Khalsaji. Ranjit Singh also donated large amounts of gold for the plating of the Kashi Vishwanath Temple's dome. The Sikhs attempted not to offend the prejudices of Muslims, noted Baron von Hügel, the Austrian botanist and explorer, yet the Sikhs were described as harsh. In this regard, Masson's explanation is perhaps the most pertinent: "Though compared to the Afghans, the Sikhs were mild and exerted a protecting influence, yet no advantages could compensate to their Mohammedan subjects, the idea of subjection to infidels, and the prohibition to slay Cattle, kine, and to repeat the ''azan'', or 'summons to prayer'." Chitralekha Zutshi and William R. Polk, William Roe Polk write that Sikh governors adopted policies that alienated the Muslim population such as the ban on cow slaughter and the Adhan, azan (the Islamic call to prayer), the seizure of mosques as property of the state, and imposed ruinous taxes on Kashmiri Muslims causing a famine in 1832. In addition, begar (forced labour) was imposed by the Sikh administration to facilitate the supply of materials to the imperial army, a policy that was augmented by the successive Dogra rulers. These policies led the Kashmiri Muslim population to emirgate en masse to more lenient neighboring countries, particularly

. As a symbolic assertion of power, the Sikhs regularly desecrated Muslim places of worship, including closing of the Jamia Masjid in Srinagar and the conversion of the Badshahi Mosque in Lahore to an ammunition store and horse stable, but the empire still maintained Persian administrative institutions and court etiquette; the Sikh silver rupees were minted on the Mughal standard with Persian legends.

Administration

The empire was divided into various provinces (known as ''Subas''), them namely being (with their estimated population in the year 1838): # Lahore (est. population of 1,900,000) # Multan (est. population of 750,000) # Peshawar (est. population of 550,000) # Derajat (est. population of 600,000) # Jammu and Hill States (est. population of 1,100,000)

Demography

The population of Khalsa empire during the time of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Ranjit Singh’s rule was estimated to be around 12 million people. There were 8.4 million Muslims, 2.88 million Hindus and 722,000 Sikhs. The religious demography of the empire is estimated to have been just over 10% to 12% Sikh, 80% Muslim, and just under 10% Hindu. Surjit Hans gave different numbers by retrospectively projecting the 1881 census, putting Muslims at 51%, Hindus at 40% and Sikhs at around 8%, the remaining 1% being Europeans. The population was 3.5 million in 1831, according to

's ''The Last Sunset: The Rise and Fall of the Lahore Durbar''. Hans Herrli in ''The Coins of the Sikhs'' estimated the total population of the empire to be around 5.35 million during 1838. An estimated 90% of the Sikh population at the time, and more than half of the total population, was concentrated in the upper Bari Doab, Bari, Bist Doab, Jalandhar, and upper Rechna Doab, Rechna Doabs, and in the areas of their greatest concentration formed about one third of the population in the 1830s; half of the Sikh population of this core region was in the area covered by the later districts of Lahore and Amritsar.

Revenue

Decline

Two drawings of Sikh troops in action against British forces

After Ranjit Singh's death in 1839, the empire was severely weakened by internal divisions and political mismanagement. This opportunity was used by the

to launch the First Anglo-Sikh War. The Battle of Ferozeshah in 1845 marked many turning points, the British encountered the Punjab Army, opening with a gun-duel in which the Sikhs "had the better of the British artillery". As the British made advances, Europeans in their army were specially targeted, as the Sikhs believed if the army "became demoralized, the backbone of the enemy's position would be broken". The fighting continued throughout the night. The British position "grew graver as the night wore on", and "suffered terrible casualties with every single member of the Governor General's staff either killed or wounded".Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the last to lay arms, (Duggal, p.136-137) Nevertheless, the British army took and held Ferozeshah. British General Sir James Hope Grant recorded: "Truly the night was one of gloom and forbidding and perhaps never in the annals of warfare has a British Army on such a large scale been nearer to a defeat which would have involved annihilation." The reasons for the withdrawal of the Sikhs from Ferozeshah are contentious. Some believe that it was treachery of the non-Sikh high command of their own army which led to them marching away from a British force in a precarious and battered state. Others believe that a tactical withdrawal was the best policy. The Sikh empire was finally dissolved at the end of the

in 1849 into separate princely states and the British Punjab (British India), province of Punjab. Eventually, a Lieutenant Governorship was formed in Lahore as a direct representative of the British Crown.

Timeline

* 1699: Formation of the

Khalsa Khalsa ( pa, ਖ਼ਾਲਸਾ, , ) refers to both a community that considers Sikhism as its faith,Kha ...

by Guru Gobind Singh. * 1710–1716: Banda Singh defeats the Mughals and declares

Khalsa Khalsa ( pa, ਖ਼ਾਲਸਾ, , ) refers to both a community that considers Sikhism as its faith,Kha ...

rule. * 1716–1738: Turbulence, no real ruler; Mughals take back the control for two decades but Sikhs engage in guerrilla warfare * 1733–1735: The Khalsa accepts, only to reject, the confederal status given by the Mughals. * 1748–1757: Afghan invasion of Ahmad Shah Durrani * 1761–1767: Recapture of Punjab region by Afghan in Third Battle of Panipat * 1763–1774: Charat Singh Sukerchakia, Misldar of Sukerchakia misl, establishes himself in Gujranwala. * 1764–1783: Baba Baghel Singh, Misldar of Singh Krora Misl, imposes taxes on the Mughals. * 1783: Battle of Delhi (1783), Sikh capture of Delhi and the Red Fort from the Mughals * 1773: Ahmad Shah Durrani dies and his son Timur Shah Durrani, Timur Shah launches several invasions into Punjab. * 1774–1790: Maha Singh becomes Misldar of the Sukerchakia misl. Bataille de Sobraon

* 1790–1801: Ranjit Singh becomes Misldar of the Sukerchakia misl. * 1799, formation of the

* 12 April 1801 (coronation) – 27 June 1839: reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. * 1 June 1813: Ranjit Singh is given the Kohinoor Diamond. * 13 July 1813: Battle of Attock, the Sikh Empire's first significant victory over the Durrani Empire. * March – 2 June 1818: Battle of Multan, the 2nd battle in the Afghan–Sikh wars. * 3 July 1819: Battle of Shopian Bataille d'Aliwal 1

* 14 March 1823: Battle of Nowshera * 30 April 1837: Battle of Jamrud * 27 June 1839 – 5 November 1840: Reign of Maharaja Kharak Singh * 5 November 1840 – 18 January 1841: Chand Kaur is briefly Regent * 18 January 1841 – 15 September 1843: Reign of Maharaja Sher Singh * May 1841 – August 1842: Sino-Sikh war * 15 September 1843 – 31 March 1849: Reign of Maharaja Duleep Singh * 1845–1846: First Anglo-Sikh War * 1848–1849:

List of rulers

Gallery

File:Maharaj Ranjit Singh.jpg, Ranjit Singh, .Miniature painting from the photo album of princely families in the Sikh and Rajput territories by James Skinner (East India Company officer), Colonel James Skinner (1778–1841) File:Ranjit Singh at Harmandir Sahib - August Schoefft - Vienna 1850 - Princess Bamba Collection - Lahore Fort.jpg, File:Sikh helmet.jpg, Sikh warrior helmet with butted mail neckguard, 1820–1840, iron overlaid with gold with mail neckguard of iron and brass

References

Citations

Sources

* * * * * * * * *

External links

Article on Coins of the Sikh Empire

{{Empires Sikh Empire, States and territories established in 1799 States and territories disestablished in 1849 1799 establishments in India 1849 disestablishments in India History of Sikhism History of Punjab Sikh politics Empires and kingdoms of India Former monarchies of South Asia Former countries in South Asia Former countries in Central Asia Former monarchies of Central Asia

Background

Mughal rule of Punjab

Formation of the Khalsa

Banda Singh Bahadur

Dal Khalsa period

Sikh Confederacy

Cis-Sutlej states

Intra-Misl Wars

Empire

Geography

Religious policy

Administration

Demography

Revenue

Decline

Timeline

List of rulers

Gallery

See also

References

Citations

Sources

Further reading

External links