Sikh Empire

{{Short description|Empire on the Indian subcontinent, 1799–1849}} {{Distinguish|Kingdom of Sikkim}} {{pp-extended|small=yes}} {{Use Indian English|date=August 2025}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2025}} {{Infobox country | conventional_long_name = Sikh Empire | common_name = Sikh Empire, Punjab Empire | year_start = 1799 | status = Empire | year_end = 1849 | date_start = 7 July | date_end = 29 March | motto = ਅਕਾਲ ਸਹਾਇ ''Akāl Sahāi'' "With God's Grace" | p1 = Sikh Confederacy | p2 = Durrani Empire | p3 = Kangra State | p4 = Jaswan State | p5 = Guler State | p6 = Nurpur kingdom | p7 = Datarpur State | p8 = Sial dynasty | p9 = Maqpon dynasty | p10 = Namgyal dynasty of Ladakh{{!}}Namgyal dynasty | p11 = Deva dynasty of Jammu{{!}}Jammu State | p12 = Chattha State | s1 = Punjab Province (British India) | s2 = Jammu and Kashmir (princely state){{!}} Jammu and Kashmir {{small|(princely state)}} | image_flag = Flag of the Sikh Empire.png | flag_width = 140px | flag_border = no | symbol = | image_coat = | symbol_width = | symbol_type = Seal of Ranjit Singh | era = Early modern period | event_start = Capture of Lahore by Ranjit Singh | event_end = End of Second Anglo-Sikh War | image_map = File:The Sikh Empire according to contemporary maps and sources 1842~.png | map_width = | image_map_caption = The Sikh Empire {{Circa|1843}} at its greatest territorial extent. | capital = {{plainlist| * Gujranwala {{small|(1799–1802)}} * Lahore {{small|(1802–1849)}} }} | anthem = ਦੇਗ ਤੇਗ ਫ਼ਤਿਹ ''Dēg Tēg Fateh'' "Victory to Charity and Arms" | stat_pop1 = 12,000,000<ref name="The Encyclopedia of Empire">{{Cite book|chapter-url = https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9781118455074.wbeoe314|doi = 10.1002/9781118455074.wbeoe314|chapter = Sikh Empire|title = The Encyclopedia of Empire|year = 2016|last1 = Singh|first1 = Pashaura|pages = 1–6|isbn = 978-1118455074|access-date = 15 June 2021|archive-date = 16 June 2021|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210616043324/https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9781118455074.wbeoe314|url-status = live}}</ref> | stat_year1 = 1800s | stat_area1 = | stat_year2 = 1839 | stat_area2 = {{convert|200,000|mi2|km2|disp=number}} | ref_area2 = <ref>{{Cite book|last=Singh|first=Amarpal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RHWoAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT16|title=The First Anglo-Sikh War|date=2010|publisher=Amberley Publishing Limited|isbn=978-1-4456-2038-1|language=en|quote=By 1839, the year of his death, the Sikh kingdom extended from Tibet and Kashmir to Sind and from the Khyber Pass to the Himalayas in the east. It spanned 600 miles from east to west and 350 miles from north to south, comprising an area of just over 200,000 square miles.|access-date=12 December 2021|archive-date=14 August 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240814225514/https://books.google.com/books?id=RHWoAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT16#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> | religion = {{tree list}} *9–10% Sikhism (official) *80% Islam *10% Hinduism *1% Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, others{{Efn|Buddhism was mostly confined to Ladakh. Christianity and Judaism includes ''firangi'' soldiers and officials.|group=note}}<ref name=Duggal/> {{tree list/end}} | currency = Nanakshahi Sikke | official_languages = Persian (court, administration)<ref name="Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition 1911 Page 892">{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Ranjit Singh |volume=22 |page=892}}</ref>{{sfn|Grewal|1998|loc=p. 112: "The continuance of Persian as the language of administration."}}<ref>{{cite book|last1=Fenech|first1=Louis E.|title=The Sikh Zafar-namah of Guru Gobind Singh: A Discursive Blade in the Heart of the Mughal Empire|date=2013|publisher=Oxford University Press (US)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aUUfAQAAQBAJ&q=principal+language|isbn=978-0199931453|page=239|quote=We see such acquaintance clearly within the Sikh court of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, for example, the principal language of which was Persian.|access-date=2 July 2020|archive-date=14 August 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240814225510/https://books.google.com/books?id=aUUfAQAAQBAJ&q=principal+language#v=snippet&q=principal%20language&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> | languages_type = Common languages | languages = Punjabi (language of the Nobility) {{hlist | Kangri | Dogri | Pashto | Kashmiri }} | government_type = Federal monarchy | title_leader = Maharaja | leader1 = Ranjit Singh (first) | year_leader1 = 1801–1839 | leader2 = Duleep Singh (last) | year_leader2 = 1843–1849 | title_representative = Regent | representative1 = Chand Kaur | year_representative1 = 1840–1841 | representative2 = Jind Kaur | year_representative2 = 1843–1846 | title_deputy = Vizier | deputy1 = Khushal Singh (first) | year_deputy1 = 1799–1818 | deputy2 = Gulab Singh (last) | year_deputy2 = 1846 | today = {{flag|India}} {{flag|Pakistan}} {{flag|China}} }} {{History of Pakistan}} {{Part of History of India}}

The '''Sikh Empire'''<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hunter |first=William Wilson |url=http://archive.org/details/indianempireitsp00huntrich |title=The Indian empire : its peoples, history, and products |date=1886 |publisher=London : Trübner & co. |others=University of California Libraries |pages=410}}</ref> was a regional power based in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent.<ref name=Duggal>{{cite book |author=Duggal |first=K. S. |url=http://www.exoticindiaart.com/book/details/IDE822/ |title=Ranjit Singh: A Secular Sikh Sovereign |publisher=Abhinav Publication |isbn=978-8170-17244-4 |edition= |access-date= |year=1989 |archive-url= |archive-date= |url-status=}}{{pn|date=February 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Griffin |first=Lepel Henry |url=http://archive.org/details/ranjitsinghsikh00grif |title=Ranjit Síngh and the Sikh barrier between our growing empire and Central Asia; |date=1905 |publisher=Oxford : Clarendon press |others=University of California Libraries |pages=1}}</ref> It existed from 1799, when Maharaja Ranjit Singh captured Lahore, to 1849, when it was defeated and conquered by the British East India Company following the Second Anglo-Sikh War.<ref name="Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition 1911 Page 892">{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Ranjit Singh |volume=22 |page=892}}</ref> At its peak in the mid-19th century the empire extended from Gilgit and Tibet in the north to the deserts of Sindh in the south and from the Khyber Pass in the west to the Sutlej in the east,{{sfn|Gupta|1991|p=201}}<ref>{{Cite book|last=Singh|first=Khushwant|title= History of the Sikhs|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn= 978-0195673081 |page=viii|date=2004}}</ref> and was divided into 8 provinces.{{Efn|The 8 provinces were Lahore, Jalandhar, Kangra, Jammu, Kashmir, Peshawar, Multan and Gujrat or Wazirabad.}}{{sfn|Gupta|1991|pp=334–336}} Religiously diverse, with an estimated population of 12 million in 1800 (making it the 12th most populous state at the time),<ref name=":12" /> it was the last major region of the Indian subcontinent to be annexed by the British Empire.

In 1799, Ranjit Singh of Sukerchakia Misl captured Lahore from the Sikh triumvirate which had been ruling it since 1765, and was confirmed on the possession of Lahore by the Durrani ruler, Zaman Shah.{{sfn|Gupta|1991|pp=26–30}} He was formally crowned on 12 April 1801 by Sahib Singh Bedi, a descendant of Guru Nanak.<ref>[http://www.learnpunjabi.org/eos/ The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140508213214/http://www.learnpunjabi.org/eos/ |date=8 May 2014 }}, section ''Sāhib Siṅgh Bedī, Bābā (1756–1834)''.</ref> Ranjit Singh rose to power in a very short period, from a leader of a single misl to finally becoming the Maharaja of Punjab. By 1813 all the remaining Sikh misls had been annexed by Ranjit Singh,{{sfn|Gupta|1991|pp=37–55}} and the following years saw progressive expulsion of the Afghans from Punjab; the Afghan influence east of Indus ended after the fall of Multan in 1818. In the subsequent decades Durrani Afghans lost Kashmir and Peshawar to the Sikhs as well. By 1840 Ladakh and Baltistan had been brought under Sikh suzerainty by Gulab Singh. Ranjit Singh modernised his army using the latest training as well as weapons and artillery.

After the death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1839, the empire was weakened by the British East India Company stoking internal divisions and political mismanagement. Finally, in 1849, the state was dissolved after its defeat in the Second Anglo-Sikh War.{{Citation needed|date=August 2025}}

== Terminology == The empire is also referred to as the ''Lahore State'', such as in contemporary British maps.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Oberoi |first=Harjot |title=The Construction of Religious Boundaries: Culture, Identity, and Diversity in the Sikh Tradition |year=1994 |publisher= University of Chicago Press |isbn=9780226615929 |page=87}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Catalogue of the Historical Maps of the Survey of India, 1700–1900 |publisher= National Archives of India |year=1975 |editor-last=Prasad |editor-first=Sri Nandan |location=New Delhi |pages=7 |chapter=F.5/24.}}</ref><ref name=":11">{{Cite book |last=Murphy |first=Anne |title=Routledge Handbook of South Asian Religions |year=2020 |publisher= Routledge |isbn=9780429622069 |editor-last=Jacobsen |editor-first=Knut A. |page=212 |chapter=13: The Territorialisation of Sikh Pasts}}</ref> The term ''Lahore Darbar'' refers to the Sikh court at Lahore of the empire's ruling government.{{Efn|Alternatively spelt as 'Lahore Durbar'.|group=note}}<ref name=":9">{{Cite book |last=Hasrat |first=B. J. |title=The Encyclopedia of Sikhism |publisher= Punjabi University |year=2011 |isbn=978-8173802041 |editor-last=Singh |editor-first=Harbans |edition=3rd |volume=2: E–L |location=Patiala |pages=547–549}}</ref> However, the term "Lahore Darbar" gained currency only around the time of Ranjit Singh's death, and was not found in British sources until then.<ref name=":9" /> The empire's own Persian chronicles refers to its ruling government as the ''Sarkar Khalsaji''.<ref name=":9" /> According to Priya Atwal, the polity was known in Punjabi as ''Sarkar-i-Khalsa''.<ref name=":15">{{Cite book |last=Atwal |first=Priya |title=Royals and Rebels: The Rise and Fall of the Sikh Empire |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780197548318 |pages=225 |chapter=Notes |quote=... within the Punjab itself, the government of the Empire as a whole was known in Punjabi as the Sarkar-i-Khalsa (‘the government of the Khalsa’)—a title maintained by Ranjit Singh and his successors ... Interestingly, British and European contemporaries of the Punjabi royals referred to the state as the ‘kingdom of Lahore’ and to Ranjit’s dynasty as the ‘Lahore royal family’.The term ‘Sikh Empire’ seems to have entered into more popular usage during the twentieth century, perhaps as an adaptation of the ‘Sarkar-i-Khalsa’ title into English, though with a clearer recognition of the imperial nature of the territorial kingdom established by Ranjit Singh’s Sukerchakia misl and his successors.}}</ref> The contemporary British and other Europeans referred to the state as the ''Kingdom of Lahore'' and its ruling family as the Lahore royal family.<ref name=":15" /> The term ''Sikh Empire'' came into popular usage in the 20th century, perhaps as an English-language equivalent to the Sarkar-i-Khalsa term.<ref name=":15" />

== History ==

=== Background === Sikhism originated in the 16th-century Punjab with the teachings of Guru Nanak.<ref>{{harvnb|Kalsi|2005|pages=106–107}}</ref> Initially a pacifist faith, the followers of Sikhism (known as Sikhs) became increasingly militarised owing to the conflicts with the Mughal Empire and the killing of their gurus, Guru Arjan and Guru Tegh Bahadur, on the orders of Mughal emperors.<ref>{{harvnb|Markovits|2004|page=98}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Melton |first=J. Gordon |year=2014 |title=Faiths Across Time: 5,000 Years of Religious History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bI9_AwAAQBAJ&q=khusrau+mirza+died&pg=PA1163 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |page=1163 |isbn=9781610690263 |access-date=3 November 2014 |archive-date=14 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240814225513/https://books.google.co.id/books?id=bI9_AwAAQBAJ&q=khusrau+mirza+died&pg=PA1163&redir_esc=y |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Jestice 2004 pages=345-346">{{harvnb|Jestice|2004|pages=345–346}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Johar|1975|pages=192–210}}</ref> With the decline of Mughal power after the death of Aurangzeb in 1707, the tenth and last Sikh guru Gobind Singh established a militia known as Khalsa Fauj.<ref name="Gobind">{{cite web |url=http://www.learnpunjabi.org/eos/ |title=Gobind Singh Guru (1666–1708) |last1=Ganda Singh |website=Encyclopaedia of Sikhism |publisher=Punjabi University Patiala |access-date=11 August 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140508213214/http://www.learnpunjabi.org/eos/ |archive-date=8 May 2014}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Jestice|2004|pages=312–313}}</ref> The first Sikh state led by Banda Singh Bahadur was short-lived,<ref>{{cite book|last=Singh|first=Kulwant|title=Sri Gur Panth Prakash: Episodes 1 to 81|year=2006|publisher=Institute of Sikh Studies|isbn=978-8185815282|page=415}}</ref><ref name="Singh 2008 pages=25-26">{{harvnb|Singh|2008 |pages=25–26}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Nesbitt |2005 |page=61}}</ref><ref name="Banda Singh Bahadur">{{cite web |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/51460/Banda-Singh-Bahadur |title=Banda Singh Bahadur |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=15 May 2013 |archive-date=25 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225042648/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Banda-Singh-Bahadur |url-status=live }}</ref> but by the mid-18th century a confederation of twelve Sikh states, known as ''misls'', was firmly established in central and eastern Punjab.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.heritage.gov.pk/html_Pages/sikh.htm |title=Sikh Period – National Fund for Cultural Heritage |publisher=Heritage.gov.pk |date=14 August 1947 |access-date=9 August 2009 |archive-date=14 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100914142731/http://www.heritage.gov.pk/html_pages/sikh.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> The Dal Khalsa armies of the twelve ''misls'' engaged in numerous conflicts with the Mughals as well as the invading Afghan armies, especially those led by Ahmad Shah Abdali.<ref name="The History of Afghanistan">Meredith L. Runion [https://books.google.com/books?id=aZk9XzqCFGUC&dq=ahmad+shah+durrani+1749+sindh+and+punjab&pg=PA69 ''The History of Afghanistan''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230403232109/https://books.google.com/books?id=aZk9XzqCFGUC&dq=ahmad+shah+durrani+1749+sindh+and+punjab&pg=PA69 |date=3 April 2023 }} p. 70 Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007 {{ISBN|0313337985}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Patwant Singh|title=The Sikhs|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=27XYeylUzWwC&q=sikh+hill+rajas&pg=PT60|year=2007|publisher=Crown Publishing Group|isbn=978-0307429339|page=270|access-date=7 November 2020|archive-date=14 August 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240814225524/https://books.google.com/books?id=27XYeylUzWwC&q=sikh+hill+rajas&pg=PT60#v=snippet&q=sikh%20hill%20rajas&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> They also fought with the neighbouring hill rajas and among each other.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thesikhencyclopedia.com/the-sikh-empire-1799-1839/sikhs-relations-with-hill-states|title=Sikhs' Relation with Hill States|website=www.thesikhencyclopedia.com|date=19 December 2000|language=en-GB|access-date=13 April 2019}}</ref>

Ranjit Singh, the founder of Sikh Empire, was born in the ruling family of Sukerchakia misl in 1780.

===Empire=== [[File:Lithograph titled 'Private Native Durbar', published in 'The Court and Camp of Runjeet Sing' (1840).png|thumb|Ranjit Singh holding court in 1838]] Ranjit Singh succeeded his father Maha Singh at the age of thirteen in 1792. In 1797, Ranjit Singh besieged Rasulnagar, the capital of the Chattha Jats, with whom Sukerchakias had a bitter rivalry. The Chattha chief Jan Muhammad was killed in the siege and Rasulnagar, now renamed Ramnagar, was annexed.<ref>{{Cite book |last=www.DiscoverSikhism.com |url=http://archive.org/details/HistoryOfTheSikhsVol.IvTheSikhCommonwealthOrRiseAndFallOfSikh |title=History Of The Sikhs Vol. IV The Sikh Commonwealth Or Rise And Fall Of Sikh Misls |language=English}}</ref>

In 1797–98, Zaman Shah Durrani invaded Punjab, but was forced to retreat, following which Ranjit Singh captured Lahore. The local dignitaries and people welcomed him in the city.<ref name="eos-rs">{{cite encyclopedia |first=Kushwant|last=Singh|editor1-last=Singh|editor1-first=Harbans|editor1-link=Harbans Singh|title=Ranjit Singh (1780–1839)|encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia Of Sikhism|volume=III M–R|edition=Third|pages=479–487|publisher=Punjabi University Patiala|url=https://archive.org/details/TheEncyclopediaOfSikhism-VolumeIiiM-r/page/479/mode/1up|date=2011|isbn=978-8-1-7380-349-9|language=English}}</ref> Ranjit Singh formally moved the capital from Gujranwala, where it had been established in 1763 by his grandfather Charat Singh, to Lahore in 1799.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j894miuOqc4C&q=gujranwala+capital&pg=PA411|title=World and Its Peoples: Middle East, Western Asia, and Northern Africa|year=2007|publisher=Marshall Cavendish|isbn=978-0761475712|page=411|access-date=7 November 2020|archive-date=14 August 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240814225515/https://books.google.com/books?id=j894miuOqc4C&q=gujranwala+capital&pg=PA411#v=snippet&q=gujranwala%20capital&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1800, the Jammu region was annexed by Ranjit Singh.<ref>{{cite book|author=Jean Marie Lafont|title=Maharaja Ranjit Singh: Lord of the Five Rivers|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zjduAAAAMAAJ|year=2002|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-566111-8|page=64}}</ref>

The coronation of Ranjit Singh happened at Lahore in 1801, marking the formal beginning of the Sikh Empire. It was followed by a decade-long process of conquest of remaining Sikh ''misls'', starting with Amritsar in 1802,<ref>{{cite book|author=Patwant Singh|title=Empire of the Sikhs: The Life and Times of Maharaja Ranjit Singh|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vr4VAQAAIAAJ|year=2008|publisher=Peter Owen|isbn=978-0-7206-1323-0|pages=18, 177}}</ref> which was largely complete by 1812. All the ''misl'' leaders, who were affiliated with the army, were the nobility with usually long and prestigious family backgrounds in Sikh history.<ref name="Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition 1911 Page 892" />

In 1807, forces of Ranjit Singh attacked Kasur and, after a month of fierce fighting, captured it.<ref name="eos-rs2">{{cite encyclopedia |first=Kushwant|last=Singh|editor1-last=Singh|editor1-first=Harbans|editor1-link=Harbans Singh|title=Ranjit Singh (1780–1839)|encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia Of Sikhism|volume=III M–R|edition=Third|pages=479–487|publisher=Punjabi University Patiala|url=https://archive.org/details/TheEncyclopediaOfSikhism-VolumeIiiM-r/page/479/mode/1up|date=2011|isbn=978-8-1-7380-349-9|language=English}}</ref> In the same year he also annexed the Sial-ruled Jhang.<ref name=":62">{{Cite book |last=Singh|first=Rishi|title=State Formation and the Establishment of Non-Muslim Hegemony: Post-Mughal 19th-century Punjab|publisher=Sage Publications India|year=2014|isbn=978-9351505044|quote=When Ranjit Singh realised that Ahmad Khan Sial of Jhang had concluded a secret treaty with Nawab Muzaffar Khan of Multan, he annexed Jhang in 1807 and gave Ahmad Khan a jagir at Mirowal near Amritsar.}}</ref> In 1813, his general Mohkam Chand fought against the Afghan forces of Shah Mahmud led by Fateh Khan Barakzai, and Attock Fort was captured by Ranjit Singh in that battle.<ref>{{cite book|author=Patwant Singh|title=Empire of the Sikhs: The Life and Times of Maharaja Ranjit Singh|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vr4VAQAAIAAJ|year=2008|publisher=Peter Owen|isbn=978-0-7206-1323-0|pages=113–116}}</ref>[[File:Punjabin_1809_AD-History_of_Punjab_pg32.jpg|thumb|right|The expanding Sikh Empire in 1809. The Cis-Sutlej states are visible south of the Sutlej River]]The Cis-Sutlej states were a group of Sikh<ref>{{cite book |author1=Jayanta Kumar Ray |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Nyk6oA2nOlgC&q=%22second+anglo+maratha+war%22+sutlej&pg=PA379 |title=Aspects of India's International Relations, 1700 to 2000: South Asia and the World |publisher=Pearson Education |year=2007 |isbn=9788131708347 |page=379 |access-date=7 November 2020 |archive-date=14 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240814225521/https://books.google.com/books?id=Nyk6oA2nOlgC&q=%22second+anglo+maratha+war%22+sutlej&pg=PA379#v=snippet&q=%22second%20anglo%20maratha%20war%22%20sutlej&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> states lying between the Sutlej River and the Yamuna River.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Jayanta Kumar Ray |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Nyk6oA2nOlgC&q=%22second+anglo+maratha+war%22+sutlej&pg=PA379 |title=Aspects of India's International Relations, 1700 to 2000: South Asia and the World |publisher=Pearson Education |year=2007 |isbn=9788131708347 |page=379 |access-date=7 November 2020 |archive-date=14 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240814225521/https://books.google.com/books?id=Nyk6oA2nOlgC&q=%22second+anglo+maratha+war%22+sutlej&pg=PA379#v=snippet&q=%22second%20anglo%20maratha%20war%22%20sutlej&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> They had been under the suzerainty of the British East India Company since the second Anglo-Maratha War of 1803–1805. Ranjit Singh occupied one of the states, Faridkot, in 1807.<ref name=":02">{{Cite book |last=Singh |first=Gursharan |title=History of Pepsu: Patiala and East Punjab States Union, 1948–1956 |publisher=Konark Publishers |year=1991 |isbn=9788122002447 |page=8}}</ref> However, the control was restored to Gulab Singh of Faridkot in 1809 after the signing of Amritsar treaty between the Lahore Darbar and the British East India Company, which demarcated eastern borders of Sikh Empire at Sutlej.<ref>{{cite web |author=Lt. Gen. Kirpal Singh Randhawa, PVSM, AVSM (Retd.) |title=Sikh Wars |url=http://www.sikh-heritage.co.uk/postgurus/Sikh%20Wars/sikhwars.htm |access-date=13 April 2019 |website=www.sikh-heritage.co.uk |language=en-GB |archive-date=24 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224183324/http://www.sikh-heritage.co.uk/postgurus/Sikh%20Wars/sikhwars.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":02" /> Friendly relations were established with the British following the signing of the treaty.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Jayanta Kumar Ray |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Nyk6oA2nOlgC&q=%22second+anglo+maratha+war%22+sutlej&pg=PA379 |title=Aspects of India's International Relations, 1700 to 2000: South Asia and the World |publisher=Pearson Education |year=2007 |isbn=9788131708347 |pages=379–380 |access-date=7 November 2020 |archive-date=14 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240814225521/https://books.google.com/books?id=Nyk6oA2nOlgC&q=%22second+anglo+maratha+war%22+sutlej&pg=PA379#v=snippet&q=%22second%20anglo%20maratha%20war%22%20sutlej&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>Sangat Singh, the Sikhs in History.</ref>

Multan was conquered in 1818, which ended Afghan influence in Punjab.<ref>{{cite book|last=Singh|first=Khushwant|title=A History of the Sikhs: 1469–1838|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MD9uAAAAMAAJ|access-date=1 April 2011|edition=2nd|date=2004|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-567308-1|page=252}}</ref> In 1819, after the battle of Shopian, Ranjit Singh successfully defeated the Afghans and annexed the Kashmir Valley, expanding his rule towards the north and the Jhelum Valley, beyond the foothills of the Himalayas.<ref name="eos-rs3">{{cite encyclopedia |first=Kushwant|last=Singh|editor1-last=Singh|editor1-first=Harbans|editor1-link=Harbans Singh|title=Ranjit Singh (1780–1839)|encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia Of Sikhism|volume=III M–R|edition=Third|pages=479–487|publisher=Punjabi University Patiala|url=https://archive.org/details/TheEncyclopediaOfSikhism-VolumeIiiM-r/page/479/mode/1up|date=2011|isbn=978-8-1-7380-349-9|language=English}}</ref><ref name="iahmed1998">{{cite book|author=Ishtiaq Ahmed|title=State, Nation and Ethnicity in Contemporary South Asia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=czSm7cmhgA0C&pg=PA140|year=1998|publisher=Bloomsbury Academic|isbn=978-1-85567-578-0|pages=139–140}}</ref> The Namgyal dynasty of Ladakh paid regular annual tribute to the Sikh Empire, starting from 1819.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Petech |first=Luciano |title=The Kingdom of Ladakh, c. 950–1842 A.D. |publisher=Instituto Italiano Per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente |year=1977 |pages=130}}</ref> The tribute was paid through the local Sikh governors of Kashmir.<ref name=":1" />

His general Hari Singh Nalwa also achieved important victories in Hazara and Peshawar.<ref name="google">{{cite book|title=War, Culture and Society in Early Modern South Asia, 1740–1849|author1=Roy, K.|author2=Roy, L. D. H. K.|date=2011|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1136790874|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zp0FbTniNaYC|page=147|access-date=10 December 2014|archive-date=14 August 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240814225527/https://books.google.com.bd/books?id=zp0FbTniNaYC&redir_esc=y|url-status=live}}</ref> Peshawar became tributary in 1823. Syed Ahmad Barelvi led his movement against the Sikh Empire from 1826 until his death in the battle of Balakot in 1831. Peshawar was formally annexed in 1834 by the Sikh Empire. In 1835, the Afghans and the Sikhs met again at the Khyber Pass; however, the standoff ended without a battle.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u1cOAAAAQAAJ&dq=khyber+pass+1835&pg=PA223|title=A History of the Sikhs, from the Origin of the Nation to the Battles of the Sutlej|author=Joseph Davey Cunningham|date=1843|pages=9}}</ref> In 1837, the Battle of Jamrud became the last confrontation with the Afghans at the western boundaries of the Sikh Empire.<ref>{{cite book|author=Khushwant Singh|title=Ranjit Singh|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D068dKeyGW4C|year=2008|publisher=Penguin Books|isbn=978-0-14-306543-2|pages=227–231, 246}}</ref><ref name="roylorge100">{{cite book|author1=Kaushik Roy|author2=Peter Lorge|title=Chinese and Indian Warfare – From the Classical Age to 1870|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=627fBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA100|year=2014|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-58710-1|pages=100–103}}</ref>

Ranjit Singh had restored Gulab Singh Dogra the estates of his father at Jammu in 1820 as ''jagir''. Gulab Singh, now a tributary noble of Sikh Empire, embarked on an ambitious plan to expand his domains.<ref name=":2" /> After occupying neighbouring Muslim principalities of Kishtwar, Poonch and Rajouri, he sent his general Zorawar Singh to conquer the Namgyal kingdom in 1834.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last=Huttenback |first=Robert A. |date=1961 |title=Gulab Singh and the Creation of the Dogra State of Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh. |url=http://pahar.in/mountains/Books%20and%20Articles/Indian%20Subcontinent/1961%20Gulab%20Singh%20and%20Creation%20of%20Dogra%20State%20of%20Jammu%20Kashmir%20and%20Ladakh%20by%20Huttenback%20from%20J%20Asian%20Studies%20v20%20s.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181123065805if_/http://pahar.in/mountains/Books%20and%20Articles/Indian%20Subcontinent/1961%20Gulab%20Singh%20and%20Creation%20of%20Dogra%20State%20of%20Jammu%20Kashmir%20and%20Ladakh%20by%20Huttenback%20from%20J%20Asian%20Studies%20v20%20s.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=23 November 2018 |journal=The Journal of Asian Studies |volume=20 |issue=4 |pages=477–488 |doi=10.2307/2049956|jstor=2049956 |s2cid=162144034 }}</ref>

In 1838, Ranjit Singh sent his troops to march into Kabul to take part in the victory parade along with the British after restoring Shah Shoja to the Afghan throne at Kabul.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/491193/Ranjit-Singh |title=Encyclopædia Britannica – Ranjit Singh |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=31 January 2015 |archive-date=7 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150407012307/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/491193/Ranjit-Singh |url-status=live }}</ref> Ranjit Singh died in 1839.[[File:SORS1.jpg|right|thumb|200x200px|The Samadhi of Ranjit Singh is located in Lahore, Pakistan, adjacent to the iconic Badshahi Mosque]]

Baltistan, under the rule of Ahmad Shah Maqpon of Skardu, was conquered in 1839–40 by Zorawar Singh, bringing it under suzerainty of the Sikh Empire.<ref name=":3">{{cite journal |last1=Rieck |first1=Andreas |date=1995 |title=The Nurbakhshis of Baltistan: Crisis and Revival of a Five Centuries Old Community |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/1571229 |journal=Die Welt des Islams |location=Hamburg |volume=35 |issue=2 |pages=159–188 |doi=10.1163/1570060952597761 |jstor=1571229 |access-date=30 June 2023 |quote=Thus Baltistan remained under local Rajas who paid only nominal allegiance to subsequent rulers of Kashmir until subdued by a Sikh army in 1840, and who stayed in office as ''jagirdars'' under the Hindu Dogra Maharajas (1846–1947) and even in Pakistan until 1972. ... As has been stated above, there are no reliable indicators for the extent to which Twelver Shi'ism had spread in Baltistan at the time of the Sikh conquest (1840). |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last1=Mock |first1=John |title=Trekking in the Karakoram & Hindukush |last2=O'Neil |first2=Kimberley |publisher=Lonely Planet Publications |year=2002 |isbn=978-1740590860 |pages=302 |quote=By the 18th century, fighting among the Maqpon princes led to a decline in Skardu's importance. The Sikhs, who inherited much of the Moghul empire, annexed Baltistan in 1840 and the Balti kingdoms' sovereignty ended.}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite book |last=Baloch |first=Sikandar Khan |title=In the Wonderland of Asia, Gilgit & Baltistan |publisher=Sang-e-Meel Publications |year=2004 |isbn=978-9693516142 |page=127}}</ref> During the Sino-Sikh War of 1841, the forces of the empire invaded Tibet, which was then under the control of the Qing dynasty.<ref name=":7">{{cite book |last1=Guo |first1=Rongxing |title=China's Regional Development and Tibet |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-9812879585 |chapter= 1: A Brief History of Tibet |date=2015 |quote=In AD 1834, the Sikh empire invaded and annexed Ladakh-a culturally Tibetan region that was an independent kingdom at the time. Seven years later, a Sikh army invaded western Tibet from Ladakh, starting the Sino-Sikh War. A Qing-Tibetan army repelled the invaders but was in turn defeated when it chased the Sikhs into Ladakh. The war ended with the signing of the Treaty of Chushul between the Chinese and Sikh empires (Rubin 1960). As the Qing dynasty declined, its influence on Tibet weakened gradually. By the late nineteenth cen tury, Qing's authority over Tibet had become more symbolic.}}</ref> However, the invasion was short-lived as Zorawar Singh was killed.<ref name=":7" />

The main geographical footprint of the empire was from the Punjab region to Khyber Pass in the west, to Kashmir in the north, Sindh in the south, and Tibet in the east.{{Sfn|Gupta|1991|p=201}} The frontier policy of Ranjit Singh of holding the Khyber Pass was later used by the British Raj.

==== Decline ==== thumb|Two late 19th century drawings of Sikh troops in action against British forces during the Anglo-Sikh Wars After the death of Ranjit Singh in 1839, the empire was severely weakened by internal divisions and political mismanagement. The Sikh crossing of the Sutlej, following British militarisation 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,<ref>{{cite book |author1=Jayanta Kumar Ray |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Nyk6oA2nOlgC&q=%22second+anglo+maratha+war%22+sutlej&pg=PA379 |title=Aspects of India's International Relations, 1700 to 2000: South Asia and the World |publisher=Pearson Education |year=2007 |isbn=9788131708347 |page=381 |access-date=7 November 2020 |archive-date=14 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240814225521/https://books.google.com/books?id=Nyk6oA2nOlgC&q=%22second+anglo+maratha+war%22+sutlej&pg=PA379#v=snippet&q=%22second%20anglo%20maratha%20war%22%20sutlej&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> eventually resulted in the First Anglo-Sikh War.

In the Battle of Ferozeshah in 1845, the British encountered the Khalsa 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".<ref>Ranjit Singh: administration and British policy, (Prakash, pp. 31–33)</ref> The fighting continued throughout the night. Nevertheless, the British army emerged victorious.<ref name="Maharaja Ranjit Singh p.136-137">Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the last to lay arms, (Duggal, pp. 136–137)</ref> In the following treaty of Lahore which ended hostilities, a huge indemnity of two crore rupees was imposed on the Lahore Darbar. As it could not pay the fine, Lahore Darbar was forced to concede Hazara and Kashmir to the British for the payment of one crore, which were subsequently sold by British to Gulab Singh Dogra in the 1846 treaty of Amritsar. British also recognised his prior conquests in Ladakh and Baltistan, laying foundation of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir.

The Sikh empire was finally dissolved at the end of the Second Anglo-Sikh War in 1849, and the British province of Punjab was formed. Eventually, a Lieutenant Governorship was created in Lahore as a direct representative of the British Crown.

== Administration and state ==

=== Government === [[File:Detail from ‘Darbar of Maharaja Ranjit Singh’, gouache, ca.1850.jpg|thumb|Detail from ‘Darbar (royal court) of Maharaja Ranjit Singh’, gouache, ca.1850]]The empire's ruling court based out of Lahore is termed the ''Lahore Darbar'' or ''Khalsa Darbar''.<ref name=":9" /><ref name=":11" /> Faqir Saifuddin of the Fakir Khana Museum prefers to use the term ''Punjab Darbar'' rather than "Khalsa Darbar", owing to the large role Muslims played in Ranjit Singh's court.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Chatterjee |first=Nandini |date=22 May 2018 |title=Fieldwork in Punjab, Pakistan, March 2018 |url=https://lawforms.hypotheses.org/147 |access-date=18 August 2024 |website=Lawforms |doi=10.58079/qqvc}}</ref> The ruling court was diverse and under the ultimate command of the ruling ''maharaja'', who was the "drum of the Khalsa".<ref name=":9" /> In-theory, the Sikh court was based on the Khalsa ideals propounded by Guru Gobind Singh yet the court was secular in-practice.<ref name=":9" /> As an example of this secularism, members of the court came from various religious background, including Sikhs, Hindus, Muslims, and Christians.<ref name=":9" /> Furthermore, the members also came from various ethnic, regional, and caste backgrounds, such as Dogras, Rajputs, Brahmins, Jats, and Europeans.<ref name=":9" /> Whilst Ranjit Singh himself preferred to dress modestly, the Sikh court was filled with elaborately garbed and decorated members.<ref name=":9" /> Only three individuals were permitted to be seated on chairs within the durbar, them namely being heir-apparent Kharak Singh, ''Kanwar'' Sher Singh, and Raja Hira Singh.<ref name=":9" /> Three sides of the hall of the durbar were covered with golden-pillars, with shawl carpets that were embroidered with gold and silver, and inset with precious stones, decorating the floor.<ref name=":9" /> The maharaja was seated on a golden throne, with Ranjit Singh preferring to sit cross-legged on it.<ref name=":9" /> The member of the court allowed to be seated behind the maharaja was Raja Dhian Singh.<ref name=":9" /> The rest of the members of the court were seated as per their rank and status.<ref name=":9" /> The colours of the Sikh court were yellow and green.<ref name=":9" /> Thus, most of its members donned yellow-coloured dressings made from Kashmiri silk or woolens.<ref name=":9" /> However, there existed no strict categorisation scheme of the rankings of the constituent members of the Lahore Darbar, thus the rankings of its members was determined by the level of trust the maharaja held in them.<ref name=":9" /> The court also granted awards upon its members, with most of these essentially being bestowed titles in the form of honorifics, however some members were granted ''jagirs'' (estate grant).<ref name=":9" /> Laziness was heavily looked-down upon with the court, with the ruling maharaja often sending out the court's members on military or diplomatic missions.<ref name=":9" />

The business of the ruling government was carried out in Lahore, specifically the Musamman Burj located within the Lahore Fort.<ref name=":9" /> A public court was held from morning until noon in the ''Diwan-i-Aam'' ("hall of audience"), with the court being attended by important members of the court, including princes, ministers, nobles, and civil and military officers.<ref name=":9" /> Some matters discussed in the court include high-level civil and military appointments, reports from the provincial governors (provincial ''satraps'') and ''kardars'' (tax collectors).<ref name=":9" /> When matters of the court were read-out, royal decrees made orally were transferred into writing for final approval.<ref name=":9" /> Tributes and ''nazaranas'' were also exchanged or bestowed within the court.<ref name=":9" /> Supplicants to the court were dismissed with ''khill'ats'' (robes) or monetary gifts.<ref name=":9" /> When the maharaja was travelling, the court ceased to be static and was held at whatever location the maharaja's retinue decided to hold-up at, often under a tree or whilst moving on horseback.<ref name=":9" /> The maharaja would dictate orders to provincial governors whilst inspecting their troops or even in the midst of battle.<ref name=":9" />

Noble members of the court, including relatives of the royal family, resided in palatial ''haveli'' structures and donned expensive clothing and accessories (such as jewellery).<ref name=":9" /> The Sikh princes, and also Raja Dhian Singh, were permitted to hold their own miniature ''durbars'' (courts).<ref name=":9" />

=== Foreign affairs === [[File:Letter sent from the King of France, Louis-Philippe, to Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Ranjit Singh is addressed as “Rendjit Sing Bahador - Padichah du Pendjab”. Dated 27 October, 1835.jpg|thumb|A letter sent from the King of France, Louis-Philippe to Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Ranjit Singh is addressed as "Rendjit Sing Bahador – Padichah du Pendjab". 27 October 1835]] Foreign visitors to the Sikh court were treated with respect and hospitality, with many contemporary accounts of foreign visitors to the court noting the good-treatment afforded to them by the state.<ref name=":9" /> When a foreign visitor arrived, they would be greeted by a protocol officer, who would arrange for their temporary residence, which was based upon the status of the visitor.<ref name=":9" /> The state government paid for the expenses regarding the visitor's entertainment.<ref name=":9" /> There exists accounts of visitors being gifted by the state, with presents such as fruits, sweets, wines, and also money.<ref name=":9" /> Full displays of the empire's regalia and military forces were displayed during important ceremonial functions, such as the marriages of important nobles or when receiving high-level foreign diplomatic dignitaries.<ref name=":9" />

In order to keep tabs and updated on the happenings of surrounding regions, including remote parts of its territory and foreign countries, the Sikh court received reports from the ''waqa'nawis'' (news-writers) located in the empire's provinces (''subas'').<ref name=":9" /> The reports were dispatched to the Lahore Darbar at regular intervals.<ref name=":9" /> Furthermore, the ''vakils'' (agents) of foreign countries were associated with the Sikh court on a reciprocal basis.<ref name=":9" /> The Sikh court had news-writers located in Afghanistan and also had its own ''vakil'' emissaries in the Cis-Sutlej States and also in territory under the British East India Company's rule.<ref name=":9" /> Other vakil emissaries of the Sikh court were sent to Rajputana, the Marathas, and Nepal on complimentary missions.<ref name=":9" />

Western/European officers from various backgrounds, including Britishers, Frenchmen, Germans, Italians, Spaniards, Americans, and Russians, also rose to high levels within the Sikh court in many instances.<ref name=":9" /> However, the Sikh court was wary of the Westerners within the court, and therefore kept them under strict regulation.<ref name=":9" /> These foreign Western members of the court were persuaded by the state to integrate themselves by marrying a local woman, settling down within the empire, and adopt the cultural customs of the locals, such as growing out a beard or wearing a turban.<ref name=":9" /> The Western members of the court were also banned from publicly consuming beef or smoking.<ref name=":9" />

The Sikh Empire did enact a simple border policy where it did not allow uninvited foreigners into the state.<ref name=":10">{{Cite web |last=Madra |first=Amandeep Singh |date=8 January 2012 |title=The Maharaja, the Spy & the Temple of Gold |url=http://goldentemple1588.com/the-maharaja-the-spy-and-the-temple-of-gold/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120130055458/http://goldentemple1588.com/the-maharaja-the-spy-and-the-temple-of-gold/ |archive-date=30 January 2012 |access-date=11 August 2024 |website=Golden Temple 1588}}</ref> The purpose of this border policy was to dissuade potential foreign spies from entering the country.<ref name=":10" /> An example of the policy in-action is the case of Captain Arnold Mathews, who snuck into the Sikh Empire in circa 1808 to spy under the guise of being a tourist headed towards Kashmir but was intercepted and brought to Lahore.<ref name=":10" />

=== Holidays === thumb|Maharaja Ranjit Singh holding court outside near the Golden Temple in Amritsar with everyone dressed in ''Basant'' (yellow) The Sikh court observed the festivals of Vaisakhi, Dussehra, Basant, Holi, and Diwali.<ref name=":9" /> Vaisakhi was considered an especially auspicious celebration within the Sikh court, with it giving and distributing gifts of money, gold, silver, cows, horses, elephants, gold-bangles, and food to Brahmins and the poor.<ref name=":9" /> During Basant celebrations, the military troops of the empire were paraded donning yellow uniforms, with members of the Sikh court and nobles also wearing yellow clothing on the day.<ref name=":9" /> During Basant, the officials bore gifts for the sovereign ruler, with the ruler in-turn bestowing robe-of-honours to the officials based on their rank and status.<ref name=":9" /> During celebrations of Dussehra, the Sikh court assembled itself at Amritsar and the ''jagirdari'' troops of the empire's military were paraded and inspected by the maharaja.<ref name=":9" />

=== Geography === thumbnail|200px|The Indian subcontinent in 1805.

The Sikh Empire spanned a total of over {{cvt|200,000|sqmi}} at its zenith.<ref>{{cite book|last=Manning|first=Stephen|date=2020|title=Bayonet to Barrage Weaponry on the Victorian Battlefield|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sNveDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA9|publisher=Pen & Sword Books Limited|isbn=978-1526777249|quote=The Sikh kingdom expanded from Tibet in the east to Kashmir in the west and from Sind in the south to the Khyber Pass in the north, an area of 200,000 square miles.|access-date=19 March 2023|archive-date=26 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326164802/https://books.google.com/books?id=sNveDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA9|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Barczewski|first=Stephanie|year=2016|title=Heroic Failure and the British|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ixd8CwAAQBAJ&pg=PA89|publisher=Yale University Press|page=89|isbn=978-0300186819|quote=…the Sikh state encompassed over 200,000 square miles (518,000 sq km)|access-date=19 March 2023|archive-date=26 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326164802/https://books.google.com/books?id=ixd8CwAAQBAJ&pg=PA89|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Khilani|first=N. M.|date=1972|title=British power in the Punjab, 1839–1858|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fGEDAAAAMAAJ&q=punjab+of+over+200,000+square+miles+khilnani|publisher=Asia Publishing House|page=251|isbn=978-0210271872|quote=..into existence a kingdom of the Punjab of over 200,000 square miles|access-date=19 March 2023|archive-date=5 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405041653/https://books.google.com/books?id=fGEDAAAAMAAJ&q=punjab+of+over+200,000+square+miles+khilnani|url-status=live}}</ref> Another more conservative estimate puts its total surface area during its zenith at 100,436 sq mi (260,124 km sq).<ref name=":0" /> Jean-Marie Lafont states that the empire comprised a territory of 390,000 square kilometres.<ref name=":13">{{Cite book |last=Lafont |first=Jean-Marie |title=Maharaja Ranjit Singh: Lord of the Five Rivers |year=2003 |pages=131}}</ref><ref name=":14">{{Cite book |last=Khan |first=Nadhra Shahbaz Naeem |url=https://www.ioa.uni-bonn.de/aik/de/forschung/publikationen/medien/leseprobe_khan_saac_5.pdf |title=THE SAMĀDHI OF MAHARAJA RANJIT SINGH IN LAHORE: A Summation of Sikh Architectural and Decorative Practices |publisher=EB-Verlag |year=2018 |isbn=9783868932713 |location=Berlin |pages=17}}</ref> It comprised much of Punjab, Pakistan until Mithankot in the south and excluding Bahawalpur State, Kashmir Valley, Baltistan,<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4" /><ref name=":5" /> Gilgit, Ladakh,<ref>{{cite book|author1=Pandey, Hemant Kumar|author2=Singh, Manish Raj|title=India's Major Military and Rescue Operations|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nn5IDwAAQBAJ&q=ladakh+1834+sikh&pg=PA57|year=2017|publisher=Horizon Books|isbn=978-9386369390|page=57|access-date=7 November 2020|archive-date=14 August 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240814230027/https://books.google.com/books?id=nn5IDwAAQBAJ&q=ladakh+1834+sikh&pg=PA57#v=snippet&q=ladakh%201834%20sikh&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1923&context=isp_collection| title=Frontier: The Making of the Northern and Eastern Border in Ladakh From 1834 to the Present| first1=Jonathan M.| last1=Deng| publisher=SIT Digital Collections Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection. 920| date=2010| access-date=15 April 2019| archive-date=18 December 2022| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221218164514/https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1923&context=isp_collection| url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":2" /> Punjab, India excluding the territory south of Sutlej,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9D3QDwAAQBAJ&dq=sikh+empire+cis+sutlej&pg=PT18 | title=Punjab Current Affairs Yearbook 2020 | last1=Meena | first1=R. P. | access-date=19 January 2024 | archive-date=17 January 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240117051151/https://books.google.com/books?id=9D3QDwAAQBAJ&dq=sikh+empire+cis+sutlej&pg=PT18 | url-status=live }}</ref> the territories northwest of Sutlej in Himachal Pradesh, India, Jammu Division,<ref>The Masters Revealed, (Johnson, p. 128)</ref><ref>Britain and Tibet 1765–1947, (Marshall, p. 116)</ref> and Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uHQMAQAAMAAJ | title=Frontier Facets: Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province | date=4 January 2024 | publisher=National Book Foundation; Lahore }}</ref><ref>The Khyber Pass: A History of Empire and Invasion, (Docherty, pp. 185–187)</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-1huAAAAMAAJ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240814230020/https://www.google.com.pk/books/edition/History_of_the_Sikhs_The_Sikh_Lion_of_La/-1huAAAAMAAJ?hl=en |archive-date=14 August 2024 |page=80| isbn=978-81-215-0515-4 | title=History of the Sikhs: The Sikh Lion of Lahore, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, 1799–1839 | date=1978 | publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZEhdAgAAQBAJ&dq=Nor+did+the+Sikh%2C+Ranjit+Singh%2C+who+supplanted+the+Durranis+as&pg=PA1 | title=Imperial Frontier: Tribe and State in Waziristan | isbn=978-1-136-83957-3 | last1=Beattie | first1=Hugh | date= 2013 | publisher=Routledge | access-date=19 January 2024 | archive-date=17 January 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240117044302/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZEhdAgAAQBAJ&dq=Nor+did+the+Sikh,+Ranjit+Singh,+who+supplanted+the+Durranis+as&pg=PA1 | url-status=live }}</ref> Jamrud formed the westernmost limit of the Sikh Empire.<ref>Hastings Donnan, ''Marriage Among Muslims: Preference and Choice in Northern Pakistan'', (Brill, 1997), 41.[https://books.google.com/books?id=PL_ACoFwJ2gC&dq=raja+gulab+singh+revolt&pg=PA41] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405015100/https://books.google.com/books?id=PL_ACoFwJ2gC&dq=raja+gulab+singh+revolt&pg=PA41|date=5 April 2023}}</ref>

==== Administrative divisions ==== The empire was divided into various provinces (known as ''Subas''), with them namely being as follows as per Hari Ram Gupta:<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Herrli |first=Hans |title=The Coins of the Sikhs |year=1993 |page=10}}</ref>{{Sfn|Gupta|1991|pp=334–336}} {| class="wikitable" |+Provinces of the Sikh Empire !No. !Name !Map !Estimated population (1838) !Major population centres |- |1. |Lahore | |1,900,000 |Lahore, Amritsar and Gujranwala |- |2. |Multan |215x215px |750,000 |Multan, Laiah and Dera Ghazi Khan |- |3. |Peshawar | |550,000 |Peshawar, Kohat, Hazara, Dera Ismail Khan and Bannu |- |4. |Kashmir |150x150px | |Srinagar |- |5. |Jammu | |1,100,000 |Jammu |- |6. |Gujrat/Wazirabad | | |Gujrat, Attock, Rawalpindi and Mianwali |- |7. |Jalandhar | | |Jalandhar |- |8. |Kangra | | |Kangra, Chamba and Bilaspur |} Hans Herrli instead claims there were five provinces of the Sikh Empire, namely Lahore, Multan, Peshawar, Derajat, and Jammu and Hill States.<ref name=":0" />

=== Religious policy === thumb|Maharaja Ranjit Singh seeking the sanctuary of Guru Nanak, c. 1830 The Sikh Empire allowed men from religions other than their own to rise to commanding positions of authority.<ref>Kartar Singh Duggal (2001). ''Maharaja Ranjit Singh: The Last to Lay Arms''. Abhinav Publications. pp. 125–126. {{ISBN|978-81-7017-410-3}}.</ref>

The Fakir brothers were trusted personal advisors and assistants as well as close friends to Ranjit Singh,{{sfn|Waheeduddin|1981|p=ix}} 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;{{sfn|Waheeduddin|1981|p=27}} negotiating with Dost Muhammad Khan during his unsuccessful attempt to retake Peshawar,{{sfn|Waheeduddin|1981|p=27}} 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.{{sfn|Waheeduddin|1981|p=28}} 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.{{sfn|Waheeduddin|1981|p=25}}

The other Fakir brothers were Imamuddin, one of his principal administrative officers, and Nuruddin, who served as home minister and personal physician, were also granted jagirs by the Maharaja.{{sfn|Waheeduddin|1981|p=iv}}

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.{{sfn|Waheeduddin|1981|p=3}} As relayed by Fakir Nuruddin, orders were issued to treat people of all faith groups, occupations,{{sfn|Waheeduddin|1981|p=19}} 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),{{sfn|Waheeduddin|1981|p=17}} as well as banning forcible possession of others' land or of inhabited houses to be demolished.{{sfn|Waheeduddin|1981|p=18}} There were special courts for Muslims which ruled in accordance to Muslim law in personal matters,{{sfn|Waheeduddin|1981|p=20}} 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.{{sfn|Waheeduddin|1981|p=20}}

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.{{sfn|Waheeduddin|1981|p=20}} Qazi 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.{{sfn|Waheeduddin|1981|p=20}} The old mohalladari{{Definition needed|date=August 2021}} system was reintroduced with each mahallah, or neighbourhood 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.{{sfn|Waheeduddin|1981|p=20}}

Generals were also drawn from a variety of communities, along with prominent Sikh generals like Hari Singh Nalwa, Fateh Singh Dullewalia, Nihal Singh Atariwala, Chattar Singh Attariwalla, and Fateh Singh Kalianwala; Hindu generals included Misr Diwan Chand and 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.{{sfn|Waheeduddin|1981|p=23}} other notable generals of the Sikh Khalsa Army were Veer Singh Dhillon,{{citation needed|date=July 2024}} 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,{{sfn|Waheeduddin|1981|p=22}} and worked their way up the hierarchy to attain merit. 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.{{sfn|Waheeduddin|1981|p=22}} Brahmins like finance minister Raja Dina Nath, Sahib Dyal, and others also served in financial capacities.{{sfn|Waheeduddin|1981|p=23}}

Muslims in prominent positions included the Fakir brothers, Qazi 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,{{sfn|Waheeduddin|1981|p=23}} and 92 Muslims were senior officers in the police, judiciary, legal department and supply and store departments.{{sfn|Waheeduddin|1981|p=23}} In artillery, Muslims represented over 50% of the numbers while the cavalry had some 10% Muslims from among the troopers.<ref name=":12">{{Cite book|last=Singh|first=Amarinder|title=The Last Sunset: The Rise and Fall of the Lahore Durbar|publisher=Roli Books|year=2010|isbn=978-81-7436-779-2|location=|page=40}}</ref>

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.{{sfn|Waheeduddin|1981|p=24}}

A ban on cow slaughter, which can be related to Hindu sentiments, was universally imposed in the empire.<ref>Lodrick, D. O. 1981. ''Sacred Cows, Sacred Places''. Berkeley: University of California Press, p. 145</ref><ref>Vigne, G. T., 1840. ''A Personal Narrative of a Visit to Ghuzni, Kabul, and Afghanistan, and a Residence at the Court of Dost Mohammed'', London: Whittaker and Co. p. 246 ''The Real Ranjit Singh''; by Fakir Syed Waheeduddin, published by Punjabi University, {{ISBN|81-7380-778-7}}, 2001, 2nd ed.</ref> Ranjit Singh also donated large amounts of gold for the plating of the Kashi Vishwanath Temple's dome.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.217371 |title=The Sacred City of the Hindus: An Account of Benares in Ancient and Modern Times |author=Matthew Atmore Sherring |author-link=Matthew Atmore Sherring |publisher=Trübner & co. |year=1868 |page=[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.217371/page/n93 51] }}</ref><ref name="Madhuri_2007">{{cite book |author=Madhuri Desai |title=Resurrecting Banaras: Urban Space, Architecture and Religious Boundaries |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KdD3MYnYey8C&pg=PA30 |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-549-52839-5 }}{{Dead link|date=August 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

The Sikhs attempted not to offend the prejudices of Muslims, noted Baron von Hügel, the Austrian botanist and explorer,<ref>Hügel, Baron (1845) 2000. ''Travels in Kashmir and the Panjab, containing a Particular Account of the Government and Character of the Sikhs'', tr. Major T. B. Jervis. rpt, Delhi: Low Price Publications, p. 151</ref> 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 kine, and to repeat the azan, or 'summons to prayer'."<ref>Masson, Charles. 1842. ''Narrative of Various Journeys in Balochistan, Afghanistan and the Panjab'', 3 v. London: Richard Bentley (1) 37</ref>

According to Chitralekha Zutshi and William Roe Polk, Sikh governors adopted policies that alienated the Muslim population such as the ban on cow slaughter and the 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.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Chitralekha |first=Zutshi |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7cfXDwAAQBAJ&dq=ranjit+singh+banned+cow+slaughter+afghanistan+inpublisher:university&pg=PT39 |title=Kashmir |date=2019 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0190990466 |chapter=Kashmir as Mulk |access-date=19 March 2023 |archive-date=5 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405015101/https://books.google.com/books?id=7cfXDwAAQBAJ&dq=ranjit%20singh%20banned%20cow%20slaughter%20afghanistan%20inpublisher%3Auniversity&pg=PT39 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Polk|first=William Roe|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ozFDDwAAQBAJ&dq=sikh+empire+anti+islamic&pg=PA263|title=Crusade and Jihad: The Thousand-year War Between the Muslim World and the Global North|date=2018|publisher=Yale University Press|page=263|isbn=978-0300222906|author-link=William R. Polk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Bray|first=John|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZO95DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA48|title=Modern Ladakh: Anthropological Perspectives on Continuity and Change|date=2008|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-9047443346|page=48|access-date=19 March 2023|archive-date=5 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405041653/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZO95DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA48|url-status=live}}</ref> These policies led the Kashmiri Muslim population to emigrate en masse to more lenient neighbouring regions, particularly Ladakh.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Dollfus |first=Pascale |date=1995 |title=The History of Muslims in Central Ladakh |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43300542 |journal=The Tibet Journal |volume=20 |issue=3 |page=41 |jstor=43300542 |issn=0970-5368}}</ref> As a symbolic assertion of power, the Sikhs regularly desecrated Muslim places of worship, including closing of the Jamia Masjid of 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.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ziad |first=Waleed |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W-ZFEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA45 |title=Hidden Caliphate: Sufi Saints Beyond the Oxus and Indus |date=2021 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-24881-6 |page=45 |language=en |access-date=11 March 2022 |archive-date=17 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240817011436/https://books.google.com/books?id=W-ZFEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA45#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Chida-Razvi |first=Mehreen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q3QeEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT92 |title=The Friday Mosque in the City: Liminality, Ritual, and Politics |date=2020 |publisher=Intellect Books |isbn=978-1-78938-304-1 |pages=91–94 |language=en |quote=In addition to the masjid's use as a site for military storage, stables for the cavalry horses, and barracks for soldiers, parts of it were also used as storage for powder magazines. |access-date=11 March 2022 |archive-date=14 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240814230541/https://books.google.com/books?id=q3QeEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT92 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Christian missionaries had been active in the Punjab even prior to the dissolution of the empire in 1849.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kumar |first=Ram Narayan |title=The Sikh struggle : origin, evolution, and present phase |date=1991 |publisher=Chanakya Publications |others=Georg Sieberer |isbn=81-7001-083-7 |location=Delhi |page=100 |oclc=24339822 }}</ref>

==Demography== {{bar box |title=Religions in Khalsa Empire (1800s)<ref name="The Encyclopedia of Empire"/><ref name="Puri 2693–2701">{{cite journal |journal=Economic and Political Weekly |volume=38 |number=26 |date=June–July 2003 |pages=2693–2701 |publisher=Economic and Political Weekly |title=Scheduled Castes in Sikh Community: A Historical Perspective |first=Harish K. |last=Puri |jstor=4413731}}</ref>{{rp|2694}} |titlebar=#F6F6F6 |left1=Religions |right1=Percent |float=right |bars= {{bar percent|Islam|Green |69}} {{bar percent|Hinduism|DarkOrange|24}} {{bar percent|Sikhism|Yellow|6}} {{bar percent|others|purple|1}} }}

The population of the Sikh empire during the time of Ranjit Singh's rule was estimated to be around 12 million people.<ref name="The Encyclopedia of Empire"/> There were 8.4 million Muslims, 2.88 million Hindus and 722,000 Sikhs.<ref name="Puri 2693–2701"/>

The religious demography of the empire is estimated to have been just over 10%<ref name="Abhinav Publications">{{cite book |author1=Kartar Singh Duggal |title=Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the Last to Lay Arms |publisher=Abhinav Publications |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4udb8LsF3-oC&q=hardly+10+percent |year=2001 |isbn=978-8170174103 |page=55 |access-date=15 April 2019 |archive-date=6 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240806115540/https://books.google.com/books?id=4udb8LsF3-oC&q=hardly+10+percent#v=onepage&q=hardly%2010%20percent&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> to 12%{{Sfn|Grewal|1998|p=113}} Sikh, 80% Muslim,<ref name="Abhinav Publications" /> and just under 10% Hindu.<ref name="Abhinav Publications" /> 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.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hans |first=Surjit |date=April 2006 |title=Why are we sentimental about Ranjit Singh ? |url= |journal=The Panjab, Past and Present |volume=XXXVII – Part 1 |page=47 |via=}}</ref> The population was 3.5 million in 1831, according to Amarinder Singh's ''The Last Sunset: The Rise and Fall of the Lahore Durbar''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Singh |first=Amarinder |title=The Last Sunset: The Rise and Fall of the Lahore Durbar |publisher=Roli Books |year=2010 |isbn=978-81-7436-779-2 |location= |page=23}}</ref> Hans Herrli in ''The Coins of the Sikhs'' estimated the total population of the empire to be around 5.35 million during 1838.<ref name=":0" /> Meanwhile, Jean-Marie Lafont estimates that the population of the empire consisted of 15 million people.<ref name=":13" /><ref name=":14" />

An estimated 90% of the Sikh population at the time, and more than half of the total population, was concentrated in the upper Bari, Jalandhar, and upper Rachna ''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.{{Sfn|Grewal|1998|p=113}}

In 1839, a major pogrom, called the ''Allahdad'', targeting the local Jews of Mashhad in Qajar Persia had occurred.<ref name=":8">{{Cite web |last=Miller |first=Yvette Alt |date=3 September 2023 |title=When Jews Found Refuge in the Sikh Empire |url=https://aish.com/when-jews-found-refuge-in-the-sikh-empire/ |access-date=6 September 2023 |website=Aish |archive-date=14 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240814230529/https://aish.com/when-jews-found-refuge-in-the-sikh-empire/ |url-status=live }}</ref> A group of Persian Jewish refugees from Mashhad, escaping persecution back home in Qajar Persia, settled in the Sikh Empire around the year 1839.<ref name=":8" /> Most of the Jewish families settled in Rawalpindi (specifically in the Babu Mohallah neighbourhood) and Peshawar.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tahir |first=Saif |date=3 March 2016 |title=The lost Jewish history of Rawalpindi, Pakistan |url=http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-lost-jewish-history-of-rawalpindi-pakistan/ |access-date=27 February 2023 |website=blogs.timesofisrael.com |language=en-US |quote=The history of Jews in Rawalpindi dates back to 1839 when many Jewish families from Mashhad fled to save themselves from the persecutions and settled in various parts of subcontinent including Peshawar and Rawalpindi. |archive-date=27 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230227022144/https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-lost-jewish-history-of-rawalpindi-pakistan/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Considine |first=Craig |title=Islam, race, and pluralism in the Pakistani diaspora |date=2017 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-315-46276-9 |location=Milton |oclc=993691884 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Khan |first=Naveed Aman |date=12 May 2018 |title=Pakistani Jews and PTI |url=https://dailytimes.com.pk/239196/pakistani-jews-and-pti/ |access-date=27 February 2023 |website=Daily Times |language=en-US |archive-date=14 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240814230545/https://dailytimes.com.pk/239196/pakistani-jews-and-pti/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Rawalpindi – Rawalpindi Development Authority |url=https://rda.gop.pk/rawalpindi/ |access-date=27 February 2023 |website=Rawalpindi Development Authority (rda.gop.pk) |quote=Jews first arrived in Rawalpindi’s Babu Mohallah neighbourhood from Mashhad, Persia in 1839, in order to flee from anti-Jewish laws instituted by the Qajar dynasty. |archive-date=6 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230306223117/https://rda.gop.pk/rawalpindi/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":8" /> Most of these Jews would leave for the Dominion of India during the partition of 1947.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Daiya |first=Kavita |title=Violent belongings : partition, gender, and national culture in postcolonial India |date=2008 |publisher=Temple University Press |isbn=978-1-59213-745-9 |location=Philadelphia |page=129 |oclc=302391286 }}</ref><ref name=":8" />

==Economy== thumb|Nanakshahi coins of the Sikh Empire

=== Revenue === {| class="wikitable" |+ Revenue in Rupees, 1844<ref>{{Cite book|last=Cunningham|first=Joseph Davey|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u1cOAAAAQAAJ|title=A History of the Sikhs, from the Origin of the Nation to the Battles of the Sutlej|publisher=J. Murray|year=1849|location=London|page=424|language=en|access-date=18 January 2022|archive-date=14 August 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240814230545/https://books.google.com/books?id=u1cOAAAAQAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> !Sr ! colspan="2" |Particulars !Revenue in Rupees |- |1 |Land Revenue | | |- |1.a | |Tributary States |5,65,000 |- |1.b | |Farms |1,79,85,000 |- |1.c | |Eleemosynary |20,00,000 |- |1.d | |Jagirs |95,25,000 |- |2 |Customs | |24,00,000 |- | |'''Total''' | |'''3,24,75,000''' |}

Land revenue was the main source of income, accounting for about 70% of the state's income. Besides this, the other sources of income were customs, excises and monopolies.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.rajasthali.marudharacollege.ac.in/papers/Volume-1/Issue-4/04-07.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=3 August 2023 |archive-date=14 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240814230413/https://www.rajasthali.marudharacollege.ac.in/papers/Volume-1/Issue-4/04-07.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Timeline == * 1699: Formation of the Khalsa by Guru Gobind Singh. * 1710–1716: Banda Singh defeats the Mughals and declares Khalsa rule. * 1716–1738: Mughals take back territorial 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. * 1738–1757: Nader Shah's invasion of India; Afghan invasion by 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: Sikh capture of Delhi and the Red Fort from the Mughals * 1773: Ahmad Shah Durrani dies and his son Timur Shah launches several invasions into Punjab. * 1774–1790: Maha Singh becomes Misldar of the Sukerchakia misl. [[File:Bataille de Sobraon.jpg|thumb|Contemporary painting of the Battle of Sobraon in 1846.]] * 1790–1801: Ranjit Singh becomes Misldar of the Sukerchakia misl. * 1799, formation of the Sikh Khalsa Army * 12 April 1801 (coronation) – 27 June 1839: reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. * March 1809 – August 1809: Nepal–Sikh War * 20 February 1810: Siege of Multan (1810) * 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. * – 2 March June 1818: Battle of Multan, the 2nd battle in the Afghan–Sikh wars. * 3 July 1819: Battle of Shopian [[File:Bataille d'Aliwal 1.jpg|thumb|The charge of the British 16th Lancers at Aliwal on {{Nowrap|28 January}} 1846, during the First Anglo-Sikh War]] * 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: Second Anglo-Sikh War

==List of rulers==

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |- !S. No. !Name !Portrait !colspan=2|Birth and death !colspan=3|Reign !colspan=2|Note |- |1 |Maharaja Ranjit Singh |101x101px |13 November 1780 (Gujranwala) |27 June 1839 (Lahore) |12 April 1801 |27 June 1839 |{{age in years and days|1801|04|12|1839|06|27}} |Founder of the empire |Stroke |- |2 |Maharaja Kharak Singh |75x75px |22 February 1801 (Lahore) |5 November 1840 (Lahore) |27 June 1839 |8 October 1839 |{{age in years and days|1839|06|27|1839|10|8}} |Son of Ranjit Singh |Poisoning |- |3 |Maharaja Nau Nihal Singh |97x97px |11 February 1820 (Lahore) |6 November 1840 (Lahore) |8 October 1839 |6 November 1840 |{{age in years and days|1839|10|8|1840|11|6}} |Son of Kharak Singh |Assassinated |- | |Maharani Chand Kaur {{small|(regent)}} |75px |1802 (Fatehgarh Churian) |11 June 1842 (Lahore) |6 November 1840 |18 January 1841 |{{age in years and days|1840|11|06|1841|01|18}} | Wife of Kharak Singh |Abdicated |- |4 |Maharaja Sher Singh |102x102px |4 December 1807 (Batala) |15 September 1843 (Lahore) |18 January 1841 |15 September 1843 |{{age in years and days|1841|01|18|1843|09|15}} |Son of Ranjit Singh |Assassinated |- |5 |Maharaja Duleep Singh |93x93px |6 September 1838 (Lahore) |22 October 1893 (Paris) |15 September 1843 |29 March 1849 |{{age in years and days|1843|09|15|1849|03|29}} |Son of Ranjit Singh |Exiled |- | |Maharani Jind Kaur {{small|(regent; nominal)}} |75x75px |1817 (Gujranwala) |1 August 1863 (Kensington) |15 September 1843 |29 March 1849 |{{age in years and days|1843|09|15|1849|03|29}} |Wife of Ranjit Singh |Exiled |}

=== Viziers/Wazirs (prime-ministers or chamberlains) === * Khushal Singh Jamadar (1799–1818){{Sfn|Grewal|1998|p=114}} * Dhian Singh Dogra (1818–1843) * Hira Singh Dogra (1843–1845) * Jawahar Singh (wazir) (14 May 1845 – 21 September 1845) * Lal Singh (1845–1846) * Gulab Singh (31 January – 9 March 1846)<ref>{{cite journal |last=Singh |first=Bawa Satinder |title=Raja Gulab Singh's Role in the First Anglo-Sikh War |journal=Modern Asian Studies |volume=5 |number=1 |year=1971 |jstor=311654 |doi=10.1017/s0026749x00002845|s2cid=145500298 |pages=46–50}}</ref>

=== Nizams/Diwans (provincial governors) === {{Expand section|Add governors for other provinces|date=March 2025}}

==== Kashmir ==== The nominal and acting governors of Kashmir during Sikh-rule and their tenures are as follows:''<ref>{{Cite book |last=Herrli |first=Hans |title=The Coins of the Sikhs |publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal |year=2004 |isbn=9788121511322 |edition=2nd |pages=120 |chapter=6: Kashmir - The Sikh Governors of Kashmir}}</ref>''

* Diwan Moti Ram (1st term), end of 1819 – 1820 * Hari Singh Nalwa, 1820–1821 * Diwan Moti Ram (2nd term), December 1821 – spring of 1825 ** Gurmak Singh, 1825 (acting governor) * Diwan Chuni Lal, 1825 – end of 1826 * Diwan Kirpa Ram, early 1827 – 1830 * Maha Singh, 1830 (governor for one month after Kirpa Ram) * Bhima Singh Ardali, summer 1830 – 1831 * Kanwar Sher Singh, 1831–1834 ** Diwan Vesaka Singh, 1831–1832 (acting governor on behalf of Sher Singh) ** Shaikh Gholam Muhyi Addin & Jamadar Kushal Singh, 1832–1834 (acting governors for Sher Singh) * Mihan Singh Kumedan, July 1834 – 17 April 1841 * Shaikh Gholam Muhyi Addin, April 1841 – 1845 * Shaikh Imam-ud-Din, 1845 – November 1847

==== Multan ====

* Several temporary Sikh governors of Multan, 1818–1820 * Diwan Sawan Mal Chopra, 1820–1844 * Diwan Mulraj Chopra, 1844–1849

==== Hazara ====

* Hukma Singh Chimni, 1814–1819 * Diwan Ram Dayal, 1819–1820 * Amar Singh Majithia, 1820–1822 * Hari Singh Nalwa, 1822–1837 * Mahan Singh Hazarawala, 1837–1838 * Tej Singh, 1838–1844 * Arbel Singh, 1844 – ? * Chattar Singh Attariwalla, 1848–1849

==== Peshawar ====

* Hari Singh Nalwa, 1834–1837 * Paolo Avitabile, 1837 – ?

==== Jalandhar Doab ====

* Desa Singh Majithia, ? – 1832 * Shaikh Ghulam Muhy-ud-Din, 1834–1841 * Shaikh Imam-ud-Din, 1841–1845

==== Kangra ====

* Desa Singh Majithia, 1809–1832 * Lehna Singh Majithia, 1832 – ?

== Family tree ==

{{Chart top|width=100%|collapsed=yes|Family tree of the Maharajas of the Sikh Empire}}

{{Tree chart|border=1|A01 |K|A02 |y|A|~|A03 |~|~|y|A04 | A01='''Jind Kaur''' (7) r. 1847 ''Regent'' 1843–1847|boxstyle_A01=border-color:#008000| A02=Datar Kaur| A03='''Ranjit Singh''' (1) r. 1801–1839|boxstyle_A03=border-color:#008000| A04=Mehtab Kaur}}

{{Tree chart|border=1| | |A01 | |A02 |y|A03 | |A04 | | | A01='''Duleep Singh''' (6) r. 1843–1849|boxstyle_A01=border-color:#008000| A02='''Kharak Singh''' (2) r. 1839|boxstyle_A02=border-color:#008000| A03='''Chand Kaur''' (4) r. 1840–1841|boxstyle_A03=border-color:#008000| A04='''Sher Singh''' (5) r. 1841–1843|boxstyle_A04=border-color:#008000}}

{{Tree chart|border=1| | | | | | | | |A01 | | | | | | | | | A01='''Nau Nihal Singh''' (3) r. 1839–1840|boxstyle_A01=border-color:#008000}}

==Gallery== <gallery widths="200" heights="200"> File:Maharaj Ranjit Singh.jpg|Ranjit Singh, {{Circa|1830}}.<ref>Miniature painting from the photo album of princely families in the Sikh and Rajput territories by Colonel James Skinner (1778–1841)</ref> File:Ranjit Singh at Harmandir Sahib - August Schoefft - Vienna 1850 - Princess Bamba Collection - Lahore Fort.jpg|{{center|1=Ranjit Singh listening to Guru Granth Sahib being recited near the Akal Takht and Golden Temple, Amritsar, Punjab, India.}} File:Sikh helmet.jpg|Sikh warrior helmet with butted mail neckguard, 1820–1840, iron overlaid with gold with mail neckguard of iron and brass </gallery>

{{s-start}} {{succession box | title = Sikh Empire | before = Sukerchakia Misl | after = British Punjab | years = 1799–1849 }} {{s-end}}

== See also == {{Portal|Punjab|History}} * History of Punjab * History of Pakistan * Sikh period in Lahore * History of India * Kapurthala State * Mughal Empire * Sikh Khalsa Army

== Notes == {{Reflist|group=note}} {{Notelist}}

== References == === Citations === {{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

=== Sources === * {{cite book |last1=Chaurasia |first1=R. S. |year=2004 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D_v3Y7hns8QC |title=History of the Marathas |publisher=Atlantic Publishers & Dist |isbn=978-8126903948 |accessdate=26 May 2012}} * {{cite book |first=Hari Ram |last= Gupta|author-link=Hari Ram Gupta|url=https://archive.org/details/HistoryOfTheSikhsVol.VTheSikhLionOfLahoremaharajaRanjitSingh/page/n342/mode/2up?q=Sansar |title=The Sikh Lion of Lahore (Maharaja Ranjit Singh, 1799–1839) |date=1991 |publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal |isbn=978-8-121-50515-4 |series=History Of The Sikhs |volume=V |pages=}} * {{citation |last = Heath |first = Ian |title = The Sikh Army 1799–1849 |publisher = Osprey Publishing (UK) |year=2005 |isbn = 1-84176-777-8 }} * {{citation |title=Sikhism |series=Religions of the World |last=Kalsi |first=Sewa Singh |year=2005 |publisher=Chelsea House Publications |isbn=978-0-7910-8098-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/sikhismreligions00sewa |url-access=registration}} * {{citation |title = A history of modern India, 1480–1950 |last=Markovits |first=Claude |year=2004 |publisher=Anthem Press |location=London |isbn = 978-1-84331-152-2 }} * {{citation |title = Holy people of the world: a cross-cultural encyclopedia, Volume 3 |last=Jestice |first=Phyllis G. |year=2004 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn = 978-1-57607-355-1 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=H5cQH17-HnMC&q=guru+har+gobind+jahangir&pg=PA345 }} * {{citation |title = Guru Tegh Bahadur |last=Johar |first=Surinder Singh |year=1975 |publisher=University of Wisconsin–Madison Center for South Asian Studies |isbn = 81-7017-030-3 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=dFomYOVXsAkC&q=tegh+bahadur+martyrdom&pg=PA192 }} * {{citation |title = Federalism, Nationalism and Development: India and the Punjab Economy |last=Singh |first=Pritam |year=2008 |publisher=Routledge |isbn = 978-0-415-45666-1 |pages=25–26 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=mQLDcjhNoJwC&q=dal+khalsa+banda+bahadur&pg=PA26 }} * {{citation |title = Sikhism: A Very Short Introduction |last=Nesbitt |first=Eleanor |year=2005 |publisher=Oxford University Press, US |isbn=978-0-19-280601-7 |page=61}} *{{cite book |last1=Waheeduddin |first1=Fakir Syed |title=The Real Ranjit Singh |date=1981 |publisher=Punjabi University |location=Patiala, Punjab, India |isbn=978-8173807787 |edition=|url=http://www.panjabdigilib.org/webuser/searches/displayPage.jsp?ID=36718&page=1&CategoryID=1&Searched= |access-date=14 May 2019}}

== Further reading == * {{cite book |last1=Grewal |first1=J. S. |title=The Sikhs of the Punjab |series=The New Cambridge History of India |volume=II.3 |year=1998 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=978-1316025338 |pages= |edition=Revised |url=https://archive.org/details/sikhsofpunjab0000grew |access-date=16 April 2020 |author1-link=J. S. Grewal}} * ''Volume 2: Evolution of Sikh Confederacies (1708–1769)'', By Hari Ram Gupta. (Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers. 1999, {{ISBN|81-215-0540-2}}, 383 pages, illustrated) * ''The Sikh Army (1799–1849) (Men-at-arms)'', By Ian Heath. (2005, {{ISBN|1-84176-777-8}}) * ''The Heritage of the Sikhs By Harbans Singh''. (1994, {{ISBN|81-7304-064-8}}). * ''Sikh Domination of the Mughal Empire''. (2000, 2nd ed. {{ISBN|81-215-0213-6}}) * ''The Sikh Commonwealth or Rise and Fall of Sikh Misls'', by Hari Ram Gupta (Munshirm Manoharlal Pub Pvt Ltd, 2001, revised ed. {{ISBN|81-215-0165-2}}) * ''Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Lord of the Five Rivers'', By Jean-Marie Lafont. (Oxford University Press. 2002, {{ISBN|0-19-566111-7}}) * ''History of Panjab'', By L. M. Joshi and Fauja Singh {{ISBN?}} * ''Maharaja Ranjit Singh and his Times'', By Bhagat Singh. (Sehgal Publishers Service. 1990, {{ISBN|81-85477-01-9}}) * ''Ranjit Singh – monarch mystique'', By V. Nalwa. (Hari Singh Nalwa Foundation Trust. 2022, {{ISBN|978-81-910526-1-9}})

== External links == {{Commons category}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20110718115655/http://worldsikhnews.com/7%20January%202009/Image/page%2012-13%20for%20web.pdf Article on Coins of the Sikh Empire] * [http://www.sikh-history.com/sikhhist/events/warriors_1750.html Sikh Confederacy] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180801171311/http://www.sikh-history.com/sikhhist/events/warriors_1750.html |date=1 August 2018 }} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20090105224202/http://www.searchsikhism.com/rise.html Confederacy of Punjab] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20090105222035/http://www.searchsikhism.com/raaj.html Sikh Kingdom of Ranjit Singh] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20120222114638/http://www.harisinghnalwa.com/final_frontier.html Battle of Jamrud]

Category:Sikh Empire Category:States and territories established in 1799 Category:States and territories disestablished in 1849 Category:1799 establishments in India Category:1849 disestablishments in India Empire Category:Former monarchies of India Category:Former monarchies in Pakistani history