Sikh Empire

Sikh Empire
*Sarkār-i-Khālsa*
*Khālasā Rāj*
Sikh Empire Sarkār-i-Khālsa; Khālasā Rāj
1799–1849 ;
	Flag Seal of Ranjit Singh
	Motto: ਅਕਾਲ ਸਹਾਇ; Akāl Sahāi; "With God's Grace"
	Anthem: ਦੇਗ ਤੇਗ ਫ਼ਤਿਹ; Dēg Tēg Fateh; "Victory to Charity and Arms"
	The Sikh Empire at its greatest extent c. 1839, under Ranjit Singh
Status	Empire
Capital	Gujranwala (1799–1801); Lahore (1801–1849);
Official languages	Punjabi; Persian;
Common languages	Punjabi; Pashto; Dogri; Kashmiri; Kangri; Gojri; Pahari-Pothwari; Kundal Shahi; Balti; Shina; Wakhi; Burushaski; Khowar; Domari; Ladakhi; Purgi; Bhadarwahi; Shina; Bateri; Kohistani; Kalasha;
Religion	9-10% Sikhism (official); 80% Islam; 10% Hinduism; 1% Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, others;
Government	Federal monarchy
Maharaja
• 1801–1839	Ranjit Singh (first)
• 1843–1849	Duleep Singh (last)
Regent
• 1840–1841	Chand Kaur
• 1843–1846	Jind Kaur
Vizier
• 1799–1818	Khushal Singh Jamadar (first)
• 1846	Gulab Singh (last)
Historical era	Early modern period
• Capture of Lahore by Ranjit Singh	7 July 1799
• End of Second Anglo-Sikh War	29 March 1849 ;
Area
1839	520,000 km2 (200,000 sq mi)
Population
• 1800s	12,000,000
Currency	Nanak Shahi Sikke
Preceded by	Succeeded by
	Sikh Confederacy
	Durrani Empire
	Kangra State
	Sial dynasty
	Maqpon dynasty
	Namgyal dynasty
Punjab Province (British India)
Jammu and Kashmir (princely state)
Today part of	India; Pakistan;

The Sikh Empire was a regional power based in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent.^[7] It existed from 1799, when Maharaja Ranjit Singh captured Lahore, to 1849, when it was defeated and conquered by the British East India Company in the Second Anglo-Sikh War. It was forged on the foundations of the Khalsa from a collection of autonomous misls.^[1]^[8] At its peak in the 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 as far as Oudh.^[9]^[10] It was divided into four provinces: Lahore, which became the Sikh capital; Multan; Peshawar; and Kashmir from 1799 to 1849. Religiously diverse, with an estimated population of 4.5 million in 1831 (making it the 19th most populous country at the time),^[11] it was the last major region of the Indian subcontinent to be annexed by the British Empire.

The formation of the empire began with the capture of Lahore from its Durrani ruler, Zaman Shah Durrani. Ranjit Singh was proclaimed as Maharaja of the Punjab on 12 April 1801 (to coincide with Vaisakhi), creating a unified political state. Sahib Singh Bedi, a descendant of Guru Nanak, conducted the coronation.^[12] The formation of the empire was followed by the progressive expulsion of Afghans from Punjab by capitalizing off Afghan decline in the Afghan-Sikh Wars, and the unification of the separate Sikh misls. 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. After the death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the empire was weakened by the British East India Company stoking internal divisions and political mismanagement. Finally, in 1849, the state was dissolved after the defeat in the Second Anglo-Sikh War.

^ ^a ^b Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Ranjit Singh" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 22 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 892.
^ Grewal, J. S. (1990). The Sikhs of the Punjab, Chapter 6: The Sikh empire (1799–1849). The New Cambridge History of India. Cambridge University Press. p. 112. ISBN 0-521-63764-3. Archived from the original on 27 September 2023. Retrieved 25 October 2015. The continuance of Persian as the language of administration.
^ Fenech, Louis E. (2013). The Sikh Zafar-namah of Guru Gobind Singh: A Discursive Blade in the Heart of the Mughal Empire. Oxford University Press (US). p. 239. ISBN 978-0199931453. Archived from the original on 14 August 2024. Retrieved 2 July 2020. We see such acquaintance clearly within the Sikh court of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, for example, the principal language of which was Persian.
^ K.S. Duggal (1 February 2009). Ranjit Singh: A Secular Sikh Sovereign. Exoticindiaart.com. ISBN 978-8170172444. Archived from the original on 17 June 2008. Retrieved 9 August 2009.
^ Singh, Amarpal (2010). The First Anglo-Sikh War. Amberley Publishing Limited. ISBN 978-1-4456-2038-1. Archived from the original on 14 August 2024. Retrieved 12 December 2021. 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.
^ Singh, Pashaura (2016). "Sikh Empire". The Encyclopedia of Empire. pp. 1–6. doi:10.1002/9781118455074.wbeoe314. ISBN 978-1118455074. Archived from the original on 16 June 2021. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
^ K.S. Duggal (2015) [1989]. Ranjit Singh: A Secular Sikh Sovereign. Exoticindiaart.com. ISBN 978-8170172444. Archived from the original on 26 December 2018. Retrieved 9 August 2009.
^ Grewal, J. S. (1990). The Sikhs of the Punjab, Chapter 6: The Sikh empire (1799–1849). The New Cambridge History of India. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-63764-3. Archived from the original on 27 September 2023. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
^ Gupta, Hari Ram (1991). History of the Sikhs. Munshiram Manoharlal. p. 201. ISBN 978-8121505154. Archived from the original on 28 June 2024. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
^ Singh, Khushwant (2004). History of the Sikhs. Oxford University Press. p. viii. ISBN 978-0195673081.
^ Amarinder Singh's The Last Sunset: The Rise and Fall of the Lahore Durbar
^ The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism Archived 8 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine, section Sāhib Siṅgh Bedī, Bābā (1756–1834).

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
Cite error: There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=note}} template (see the help page).

[Encyclopædia_Britannica_Eleventh_Edition_1911_Page_892-1] Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Ranjit Singh" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 22 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 892.

[Grewal112-2] Grewal, J. S. (1990). The Sikhs of the Punjab, Chapter 6: The Sikh empire (1799–1849). The New Cambridge History of India. Cambridge University Press. p. 112. ISBN 0-521-63764-3. Archived from the original on 27 September 2023. Retrieved 25 October 2015. The continuance of Persian as the language of administration.

[3] Fenech, Louis E. (2013). The Sikh Zafar-namah of Guru Gobind Singh: A Discursive Blade in the Heart of the Mughal Empire. Oxford University Press (US). p. 239. ISBN 978-0199931453. Archived from the original on 14 August 2024. Retrieved 2 July 2020. We see such acquaintance clearly within the Sikh court of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, for example, the principal language of which was Persian.

[6] K.S. Duggal (1 February 2009). Ranjit Singh: A Secular Sikh Sovereign. Exoticindiaart.com. ISBN 978-8170172444. Archived from the original on 17 June 2008. Retrieved 9 August 2009.

[7] Singh, Amarpal (2010). The First Anglo-Sikh War. Amberley Publishing Limited. ISBN 978-1-4456-2038-1. Archived from the original on 14 August 2024. Retrieved 12 December 2021. 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.

[The_Encyclopedia_of_Empire-8] Singh, Pashaura (2016). "Sikh Empire". The Encyclopedia of Empire. pp. 1–6. doi:10.1002/9781118455074.wbeoe314. ISBN 978-1118455074. Archived from the original on 16 June 2021. Retrieved 15 June 2021.

[9] K.S. Duggal (2015) [1989]. Ranjit Singh: A Secular Sikh Sovereign. Exoticindiaart.com. ISBN 978-8170172444. Archived from the original on 26 December 2018. Retrieved 9 August 2009.

[Grewal-10] Grewal, J. S. (1990). The Sikhs of the Punjab, Chapter 6: The Sikh empire (1799–1849). The New Cambridge History of India. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-63764-3. Archived from the original on 27 September 2023. Retrieved 25 October 2015.

[ra-11] Gupta, Hari Ram (1991). History of the Sikhs. Munshiram Manoharlal. p. 201. ISBN 978-8121505154. Archived from the original on 28 June 2024. Retrieved 16 March 2023.

[12] Singh, Khushwant (2004). History of the Sikhs. Oxford University Press. p. viii. ISBN 978-0195673081.

[ReferenceA-13] Amarinder Singh's The Last Sunset: The Rise and Fall of the Lahore Durbar

[14] The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism Archived 8 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine, section Sāhib Siṅgh Bedī, Bābā (1756–1834).

[a]

[note 1]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[1]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

Part of a series on the
History of India

Timeline
Prehistoric Madrasian culture Soanian, c. 500,000 BCE Neolithic, c. 7600 – c. 1000 BCE Bhirrana 7570 – 6200 BCE Jhusi 7106 BCE Lahuradewa 7000 BCE Mehrgarh 7000 – 2600 BCE South Indian Neolithic 3000 – 1000 BCE
Ancient Indus Valley Civilization, c. 3300 – c. 1700 BCE Post Indus Valley Period (Cemetery H Culture), c. 1700 – c. 1500 BCE Vedic civilization, c. 1500 – c. 500 BCE Kuru kingdom, c. 1200 – c. 500 BCE Early Vedic period Rise of Śramaṇa movement Later Vedic Period Spread of Jainism – Parshvanatha Spread of Jainism – Mahavira Rise of Buddhism Kingdom of Magadha Brihadratha Dynasty 1700 – 682 BCE Haryanka Dynasty 544 – 413 BCE Shaishunaga Dynasty 413 – 345 BCE Nanda Dynasty, 345 – 322 BCE Mahajanapadas, c. 600 – 345 BCE
Classical Kingdom of Magadha Maurya Dynasty, 322 – 185 BCE Pandya Dynasty, 320 BCE - 280 CE Shunga Dynasty, 185 – 73 BCE Kanva Dynasty, 73 – 28 BCE Sangam period 300 BCE – 400 CE Kushan Dynasty, c. 30 – c. 375 CE Satavahana Dynasty, c. 228 BCE – c. 224 CE Gupta Dynasty, c. 240 – c. 550 CE
Early medieval Pallava dynasty, 275 CE - 897 CE Chalukya Dynasty, 543 – 753 CE Pandya Dynasty, 590 CE - 920 CE Harsha's Dynasty, c. 606 CE – c. 647 CE Karakota Dynasty, c. 724 – c. 760 CE Arab Invasion, c. 738 CE Tripartite Struggle, c. 760 – c. 973 CE Pratihara dynasty Rastrakuta Dynasty Pala Dynasty Chola Dynasty, c. 848 – c. 1251 CE 2nd Chalukya Dynasty, c. 973 – c. 1187 CE
Late medieval Delhi Sultanate, 1206 – 1526 CE Mamluk Dynasty Khalji Dynasty Tugluq Dynasty Sayyid Dynasty Lodhi Dynasty Pandyan Empire, 1251 – 1618 CE Vijayanagara, 1336 – 1646 CE Bengal Sultanate, 1342 – 1576 CE
Early modern Mughal Dynasty, 1526 – 1540 CE Suri Dynasty, 1538/40 – 1556 CE Mughal Dynasty, 1556 – 1857 CE Bengal Subah, c. 1576 – c. 1757 CE Maratha Empire, c. 1674 – c. 1818 CE Company Raj, c. 1757 – c. 1858 CE Kingdom of Mysore, c. 1760 – c. 1799 CE Sikh Empire, c. 1799 – c. 1849 CE
Modern The Great Rebellion, 1857 – 1858 CE British Raj, 1858 – 1947 CE Independence Movement Independent India, 1947 CE – present Dominion of India, 1947 – 1950 CE Republic of India, 1950 CE – present
Related articles Timeline of Indian History Dynasties in Indian History Economic History Demographic History Linguistic History Architectural History Art History LGBT history Literary History Philosophical History History of Religion Musical History Education History Coinage History Paper Currency History Science and Technology History List of Inventions and Discoveries Military History Naval History Wars involving India
v t e