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{{Short description|First Maharaja of the Sikh Empire (r. 1801–39)}}
{{Short description|First Maharaja of the Sikh Empire (1780–1839))}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Redirect|Sher-e-Punjab|the hockey team|Sher-e-Punjab (field hockey team)|the radio station|KRPI|the [[Doordarshan]] television series|Maharaja Ranjit Singh (TV series)}}
{{Redirect|Sher-e-Punjab|the hockey team|Sher-e-Punjab (field hockey team)|the radio station|KRPI|the [[Doordarshan]] television series|Maharaja Ranjit Singh (TV series)}}
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{{pp-semi-indef|small=yes}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2013}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022}}
{{Infobox royalty
{{Infobox royalty
| name        = Ranjit Singh
| name        = Ranjit Singh
| title        = Maharaja of Punjab<br />Maharaja of Lahore<br />Sher-e-Punjab (Lion of Punjab)<br />Sher-e-Hind (Lion of Hind)<br />Sarkar-i-Wallah (Head of State)<ref>The Sikh Army 1799–1849 By Ian Heath, Michael Perry(Page 3), "...''and in April 1801 Ranjit Singh proclaimed himself '''Sarkar-i-wala''' or head of state''...</ref><br />Sarkar Khalsaji (Head of State)<br />Lord of Five Rivers<br />Singh Sahib<ref>A history of the Sikhs by Kushwant Singh, Volume I(Page 195)</ref>
| title        = Maharaja of Punjab<br />Maharaja of Lahore<br />Sher-e-Punjab (Lion of Punjab)<br />Sher-e-Hind (Lion of Hind)<br />Sarkar-i-Wallah (Head of State)<ref>The Sikh Army 1799–1849 By Ian Heath, Michael Perry(Page 3), "...''and in April 1801 Ranjit Singh proclaimed himself '''Sarkar-i-wala''' or head of state''...</ref><br />Sarkar Khalsaji (Head of State)<br />Lord of Five Rivers<br />Singh Sahib<ref>A history of the Sikhs by Kushwant Singh, Volume I(Page 195)</ref>
| image        = File:Maharaj Ranjit Singh.jpg
| image        = Maharaj Ranjit Singh.jpg
| caption      = Maharaja Ranjit Singh
| caption      = Maharaja Ranjit Singh
| reign        = 12 April 1801 – 27 June 1839
| reign        = 12 April 1801 – 27 June 1839
| cor-type    = Investiture
| cor-type    = Investiture
| coronation  = 12 April 1801 at [[Lahore Fort]]
| coronation  = 12 April 1801 at [[Lahore Fort]]
| succession2  = Chief of [[Sukerchakia Misl]]
| succession2  = 3rd Chief of [[Sukerchakia Misl]]
| reign2      = April 1792 – 11 April 1801
| reign2      = April 1792 – 11 April 1801
| predecessor2 = [[Maha Singh]]
| predecessor2 = [[Maha Singh]]
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| death_place  = [[Lahore]], [[Sikh Empire]] (present-day Punjab, Pakistan)
| death_place  = [[Lahore]], [[Sikh Empire]] (present-day Punjab, Pakistan)
| burial_place = Cremated remains stored in the [[Samadhi of Ranjit Singh]], Lahore
| burial_place = Cremated remains stored in the [[Samadhi of Ranjit Singh]], Lahore
| spouse     = [[Mehtab Kaur|Maharani Mehtab Kaur]]<br /> [[Maharani Datar Kaur]]  <br>
| spouse       = [[Mehtab Kaur|Maharani Mehtab Kaur]]<br /> [[Maharani Datar Kaur]]  <br>
[[Maharani Jind Kaur]]
[[Maharani Jind Kaur]]
| issue        = [[Kharak Singh|Maharaja Kharak Singh]]<br /> [[Ishar Singh (Sikh prince)|Ishar Singh]]<br /> [[Rattan Singh]] <br />
| issue        = [[Kharak Singh|Maharaja Kharak Singh]]<br /> [[Ishar Singh (Sikh prince)|Ishar Singh]]<br /> [[Rattan Singh]] <br />
[[Sher Singh|Maharaja Sher Singh]]<br />[[Tara Singh (Sikh prince)|Tara Singh]]<br /> Fateh Singh<ref name="Postscript: Maharaja Duleep Singh">{{Citation|title=Postscript: Maharaja Duleep Singh|date=2017|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.5040/9781350986220.0008|work=Emperor of the Five Rivers|publisher=I.B.Tauris|doi=10.5040/9781350986220.0008|isbn=978-1-78673-095-4|access-date=2021-10-20}}</ref><br />[[Multana Singh]]<br /> [[Kashmira Singh]]<br />[[Peshaura Singh]]<br />[[Duleep Singh|Maharaja Duleep Singh]]
[[Sher Singh|Maharaja Sher Singh]]<br />[[Tara Singh (Sikh prince)|Tara Singh]]<br /> Fateh Singh<ref name="Postscript: Maharaja Duleep Singh">{{Citation|title=Postscript: Maharaja Duleep Singh|date=2017|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.5040/9781350986220.0008|work=Emperor of the Five Rivers|publisher=I.B.Tauris|doi=10.5040/9781350986220.0008|isbn=978-1-78673-095-4|access-date=20 October 2021}}</ref><br />[[Multana Singh]]<br /> [[Kashmira Singh]]<br />[[Peshaura Singh]]<br />[[Duleep Singh|Maharaja Duleep Singh]]
| successor    = [[Kharak Singh|Maharaja Kharak Singh]]
| successor    = [[Kharak Singh|Maharaja Kharak Singh]]
| father      = [[Maha Singh|Sardar Maha Singh]]
| father      = [[Maha Singh|Sardar Maha Singh]]
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}}
}}


'''Ranjit Singh''' (13 November 1780&nbsp;– 27 June 1839),<ref name=eos/><ref name=britranjit/> popularly known as '''Sher-e-Punjab''' or "Lion of Punjab", was the first [[Maharaja]] of the [[Sikh Empire]], which ruled the northwest [[Indian subcontinent]] in the early half of the 19th century. He survived [[smallpox]] in infancy but lost sight in his left eye. He fought his first battle alongside his father at age 10. After his father died, he fought several wars to expel the [[Afghans]] in his teenage years and was proclaimed as the "Maharaja of Punjab" at age 21.<ref name=eos/><ref name="Singh2008p9"/> His empire grew in the [[Punjab region]] under his leadership through 1839.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}<ref name="Grewal6">{{cite book|last=Grewal|first=J. S.|title=The Sikh empire (1799–1849) |publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1990|series=The New Cambridge History of India|volume=The Sikhs of the Punjab|chapter=Chapter 6: The Sikh empire (1799–1849)|chapter-url=http://histories.cambridge.org/extract?id=chol9780521268844_CHOL9780521268844A008}}</ref>
'''Ranjit Singh''' (13 November 1780&nbsp;– 27 June 1839),<ref name=britranjit/> popularly known as '''Sher-e-Punjab''' or "Lion of Punjab", was the first [[Maharaja]] of the [[Sikh Empire]], which ruled the northwest [[Indian subcontinent]] in the early half of the 19th century. He survived [[smallpox]] in infancy but lost sight in his left eye. He fought his first battle alongside his father at age 10. After his father died, he fought several wars to expel the [[Afghans]] in his teenage years and was proclaimed as the "Maharaja of Punjab" at age 21.<ref name=eos/><ref name="Singh2008p9"/> His empire grew in the [[Punjab region]] under his leadership through 1839.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}<ref name="Grewal6">{{cite book|last=Grewal|first=J. S.|title=The Sikh empire (1799–1849) |publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1990|series=The New Cambridge History of India|volume=The Sikhs of the Punjab|chapter=Chapter 6: The Sikh empire (1799–1849)|chapter-url=http://histories.cambridge.org/extract?id=chol9780521268844_CHOL9780521268844A008}}</ref>


Prior to his rise, the Punjab region had numerous warring [[misls|misl]]s (confederacies), twelve of which were under Sikh rulers and one Muslim.<ref name="Singh2008p9"/> Ranjit Singh successfully absorbed and united the Sikh misls and took over other local kingdoms to create the Sikh Empire. He repeatedly defeated [[Afghan-Sikh Wars|invasions by outside armies]], particularly those arriving from Afghanistan, and established friendly relations with the [[British East India Company|British]].<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=113–124}}</ref>
Prior to his rise, the Punjab region had numerous warring [[misls|misl]]s (confederacies), twelve of which were under Sikh rulers and one Muslim.<ref name="Singh2008p9"/> Ranjit Singh successfully absorbed and united the Sikh misls and took over other local kingdoms to create the Sikh Empire. He repeatedly defeated [[Afghan-Sikh Wars|invasions by outside armies]], particularly those arriving from Afghanistan, and established friendly relations with the [[British East India Company|British]].<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=113–124}}</ref>


Ranjit Singh's reign introduced reforms, modernisation, investment into infrastructure and general prosperity.<ref name=tejasingh65/><ref name=kaushikroyp143/> His [[Sikh Khalsa Army|Khalsa army]] and government included Sikhs, Hindus, Muslims and Europeans.<ref>{{cite book|author=Kaushik Roy|title=War, Culture and Society in Early Modern South Asia, 1740–1849|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zp0FbTniNaYC&pg=PA147 |year=2011|publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-79087-4 |pages=143–147 }}</ref> His legacy includes a period of Sikh cultural and artistic renaissance, including the rebuilding of the [[Harmandir Sahib]] in [[Amritsar]] as well as other major [[gurudwaras]], including [[Takht Sri Patna Sahib]], [[Bihar]] and [[Hazur Sahib Nanded]], [[Maharashtra]] under his sponsorship.<ref name=lafontp95/><ref>{{cite book|author=Kerry Brown|title=Sikh Art and Literature|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ddgO-DldmSwC |year=2002|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-63136-0 |page=35}}</ref> Ranjit Singh was succeeded by his son [[Kharak Singh]].
Ranjit Singh's reign introduced reforms, modernisation, investment into infrastructure and general prosperity.<ref name=tejasingh65/><ref name=kaushikroyp143/> His [[Sikh Khalsa Army|Khalsa army]] and government included [[Sikhs]], [[Hindus]], [[Muslims]] and [[Ethnic groups in Europe|Europeans]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Kaushik Roy|title=War, Culture and Society in Early Modern South Asia, 1740–1849|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zp0FbTniNaYC&pg=PA147 |year=2011|publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-79087-4 |pages=143–147 }}</ref> His legacy includes a period of Sikh cultural and artistic renaissance, including the rebuilding of the [[Harmandir Sahib]] in [[Amritsar]] as well as other major [[gurudwaras]], including [[Takht Sri Patna Sahib]], [[Bihar]] and [[Hazur Sahib Nanded]], [[Maharashtra]] under his sponsorship.<ref name=lafontp95/><ref>{{cite book|author=Kerry Brown|title=Sikh Art and Literature|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ddgO-DldmSwC |year=2002|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-63136-0 |page=35}}</ref> Ranjit Singh was succeeded by his son [[Kharak Singh]].  


== Early Life ==
In 2020, Ranjit Singh was named as "Greatest Leader of All Time" in a poll conducted by ‘BBC World Histories Magazine'.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/maharaja-ranjit-singh-named-greatest-world-leader-in-bbc-poll/articleshow/74497790.cms?from=mdr | title=Maharaja Ranjit Singh named greatest world leader in BBC Poll | newspaper=The Economic Times }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/sikh-warrior-maharaja-ranjit-singh-voted-the-greatest-leader-of-all-time-2v8b9f86c | title=Sikh warrior Maharaja Ranjit Singh beats Winston Churchill as the greatest leader of all time }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://uk.news.yahoo.com/greatest-leaders-bbc-poll-095652054.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAJaMwBAAE288T_HclBWkzwsLxPweg2Nn8WPfbosMaAhXIKRoTSHXmpZgh8N51m4_bO-TwyRstziCh5e8n87VnxTorf66A3WGQ_SfJgnLH-iyehO555eB_h0YRjxGHDbjpkS7gRfTABKz0XlHVu1dKEk1x0lhZB64e4z7d8CT3yqB | title=Sikh warrior voted greatest leader of all time in BBC poll }}</ref>


==Early years==
[[File:Ranjet Singh's Birth place..jpg|thumb|Birthplace of Ranjit Singh in [[Gujranwala]], [[Punjab, Pakistan]].]]
[[File:Ranjet Singh's Birth place..jpg|thumb|Birthplace of Ranjit Singh in [[Gujranwala]], [[Punjab, Pakistan]].]]
Ranjit Singh was born on 13 November 1780 to [[Maha Singh]] and [[Raj Kaur]] in [[Gujranwala]], [[Punjab]] region (present-day [[Punjab, Pakistan]]). His mother [[Raj Kaur]] was the daughter of [[Sikh]] Raja Gajpat Singh of [[Jind State|Jind]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Singh|first1=Patwant|last2=Rai|first2=Jyoti M.|title=Empire of the Sikhs : the life and times of Maharaja Ranjit Singh|date=2008|publisher=Peter Owen|location=London|isbn=978-0720613230|page=69}}</ref> Upon his birth, he was named Buddh Singh after his ancestor who was first in line to take [[Amrit Sanchaar]]. The child's name was changed to Ranjit (literally, "victor in battle") Singh ("lion") by his father to commemorate his army's victory over the Chatha chieftain Pir Muhammad.<ref name=eos/><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=58–59}}</ref>
Ranjit Singh was born on 13 November 1780 to [[Maha Singh]] and [[Raj Kaur]] in [[Gujranwala]], [[Punjab]] region (present-day [[Punjab, Pakistan]]). His mother [[Raj Kaur]] was the daughter of [[Sikh]] Raja Gajpat Singh of [[Jind State|Jind]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Singh|first1=Patwant|last2=Rai|first2=Jyoti M.|title=Empire of the Sikhs : the life and times of Maharaja Ranjit Singh|date=2008|publisher=Peter Owen|location=London|isbn=978-0720613230|page=69}}</ref> Upon his birth, he was named Buddh Singh after his ancestor who was first in line to take [[Amrit Sanchaar]]. The child's name was changed to Ranjit (literally, "victor in battle") Singh ("lion") by his father to commemorate his army's victory over the Chatha chieftain Pir Muhammad.<ref name=eos/><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=58–59}}</ref>
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At age 12, his father died.<ref name="Lafont2002p33">{{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 |pages=33–34, 15–16 }}</ref> He then inherited his father's [[Sukerchakia Misl]] estates and was raised by his mother Raj Kaur, who, along with Lakhpat Rai, also managed the estates.<ref name=eos/> The first attempt on his life was made when he was 13, by Hashmat Khan, but Ranjit Singh prevailed and killed the assailant instead.<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 |page= 6 }}</ref> At age 18, his mother died and Lakhpat Rai was assassinated, and thereon he was helped by his mother-in-law from his first marriage.<ref name="Singh2008p7">{{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=7–8 }}</ref>
At age 12, his father died.<ref name="Lafont2002p33">{{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 |pages=33–34, 15–16 }}</ref> He then inherited his father's [[Sukerchakia Misl]] estates and was raised by his mother Raj Kaur, who, along with Lakhpat Rai, also managed the estates.<ref name=eos/> The first attempt on his life was made when he was 13, by Hashmat Khan, but Ranjit Singh prevailed and killed the assailant instead.<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 |page= 6 }}</ref> At age 18, his mother died and Lakhpat Rai was assassinated, and thereon he was helped by his mother-in-law from his first marriage.<ref name="Singh2008p7">{{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=7–8 }}</ref>


According to the chronicles of Ranjit Singh's court historians and the Europeans who visited him, Ranjit Singh took to alcohol, a habit that intensified in the later decades of his life.<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= 6, 253–254 }}</ref><ref name="Macintyre2008p154"/> However, he neither smoked nor ate beef,<ref name=eos/> and required all officials in his court, regardless of their religion, to adhere to these restrictions as part of their employment contract.<ref name="Macintyre2008p154">{{cite book|author=Ben Macintyre|title=The Man Who Would Be King: The First American in Afghanistan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i6XLFu1xMOMC |year=2008|publisher=Macmillan |isbn=978-1-4668-0379-4|pages=154–157 }}</ref>
According to the chronicles of Ranjit Singh's court historians and the Europeans who visited him, Ranjit Singh took to alcohol and [[opium]], habits that intensified in the later decades of his life.<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= 6, 253–254 }}</ref><ref name="Macintyre2008p154"/><ref>{{Cite book |last=Das |first=Aditya |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q5McDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA133 |title=Defending British India Against Napoleon: The Foreign Policy of Governor-General Lord Minto, 1807–13 |date=2016 |publisher=Boydell & Brewer |isbn=978-1-78327-129-0 |pages=133 |language=en}}</ref> However, he neither smoked nor ate beef,<ref name=eos/> and required all officials in his court, regardless of their religion, to adhere to these restrictions as part of their employment contract.<ref name="Macintyre2008p154">{{cite book|author=Ben Macintyre|title=The Man Who Would Be King: The First American in Afghanistan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i6XLFu1xMOMC |year=2008|publisher=Macmillan |isbn=978-1-4668-0379-4|pages=154–157 }}</ref>


[[File:Maharaja Ranjit Singh Family Tree1.png|frameless|1141x1141px]]
[[File:Maharaja Ranjit Singh Family Tree1.png|frameless|1141x1141px]]


== Personal Life ==
==Personal life==
===Wives===
{{anchor|Marriages}}
{{anchor|Marriages}}
[[File:Maharaja Ranjit Singh family.jpg|left|thumb| Maharaja Ranjit Singh's family genealogy]]
[[File:Maharaja Ranjit Singh family.jpg|left|thumb| Maharaja Ranjit Singh's family genealogy]]


In 1789, Ranjit Singh married his first wife [[Mehtab Kaur]],<ref name="Atwal">{{Cite journal|last=Atwal|first=Priya|date=2020-11-01|title=Royals and Rebels|publisher=Oxford University Press|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780197548318.001.0001|doi=10.1093/oso/9780197548318.001.0001|isbn=978-0-19-754831-8}}</ref> the muklawa happened in 1796.<ref name="Lafont2002p33" /> She was the only daughter of [[Gurbaksh Singh Kanhaiya]] and his wife [[Sada Kaur]], and the granddaughter of [[Jai Singh Kanhaiya]], the founder of the [[Kanhaiya Misl]].<ref name="eos" /> This marriage was pre-arranged in an attempt to reconcile warring Sikh ''misls'', wherein Mehtab Kaur was betrothed to Ranjit Singh in 1786. However, the marriage failed, with Mehtab Kaur never forgiving the fact that her father had been killed in battle with Ranjit Singh's father and she mainly lived with her mother after marriage. The separation became complete when Ranjit Singh married [[Datar Kaur]] of the [[Nakai Misl]] in 1797 and she turned into Ranjit's most beloved wife.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.learnpunjabi.org/eos/index.aspx |title=Mahitab Kaur (d, 1813) |author=Sardar Singh Bhatia |website=Encyclopaedia of Sikhism |publisher=Punjabi University Patiala |access-date=18 August 2015}}</ref> Mehtab Kaur had three sons, [[Ishar Singh (Sikh prince)|Ishar Singh]] who was born in 1804 and twins [[Sher Singh]] and [[Tara Singh (Sikh prince)|Tara Singh]] born in 1807. According to historian Jean-Marie Lafont, she was the only one to bear the title of [[Maharani]]. She died in 1813, after suffering from a failing health.<ref name="Singh2008p300">{{cite book|author=Khushwant Singh|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D068dKeyGW4C|title=Ranjit Singh|publisher=Penguin Books|year=2008|isbn=978-0-14-306543-2|pages=300–301 footnote 35}}</ref>
In 1789, Ranjit Singh married his first wife [[Mehtab Kaur]],<ref name="Atwal">{{Cite journal|last=Atwal|first=Priya|date=1 November 2020|title=Royals and Rebels|publisher=Oxford University Press|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780197548318.001.0001|doi=10.1093/oso/9780197548318.001.0001|isbn=978-0-19-754831-8}}</ref> the muklawa happened in 1796.<ref name="Lafont2002p33" /> She was the only daughter of [[Gurbaksh Singh Kanhaiya]] and his wife [[Sada Kaur]], and the granddaughter of [[Jai Singh Kanhaiya]], the founder of the [[Kanhaiya Misl]].<ref name="eos" /> This marriage was pre-arranged in an attempt to reconcile warring Sikh ''misls'', wherein Mehtab Kaur was betrothed to Ranjit Singh in 1786. However, the marriage failed, with Mehtab Kaur never forgiving the fact that her father had been killed in battle with Ranjit Singh's father and she mainly lived with her mother after marriage. The separation became complete when Ranjit Singh married [[Datar Kaur]] of the [[Nakai Misl]] in 1797 and she turned into Ranjit's most beloved wife.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.learnpunjabi.org/eos/index.aspx |title=Mahitab Kaur (d, 1813) |author=Sardar Singh Bhatia |website=Encyclopaedia of Sikhism |publisher=Punjabi University Patiala |access-date=18 August 2015}}</ref> Mehtab Kaur had three sons, [[Ishar Singh (Sikh prince)|Ishar Singh]] who was born in 1804 and twins [[Sher Singh]] and [[Tara Singh (Sikh prince)|Tara Singh]] born in 1807. According to historian Jean-Marie Lafont, she was the only one to bear the title of [[Maharani]]. She died in 1813, after suffering from a failing health.<ref name="Singh2008p300">{{cite book|author=Khushwant Singh|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D068dKeyGW4C|title=Ranjit Singh|publisher=Penguin Books|year=2008|isbn=978-0-14-306543-2|pages=300–301 footnote 35}}</ref>


His second marriage was to, [[Datar Kaur]] (Born ''Raj Kaur'') the youngest child and only daughter of [[Ran Singh Nakai]], the third ruler of the [[Nakai Misl]] and his wife [[Karmo Kaur]]. They were betrothed in childhood by Datar Kaur's eldest brother, ''Sardar Bhagwan Singh,'' who briefly became the chief of the Nakai Misl, and Ranjit Singh's father Maha Singh. The ''[[Anand Karaj|anand karaj]]'' took place in 1792<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hügel|first=Karl Alexander Freiherr von|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z34EAAAAQAAJ&q=raj+kunwar|title=Travels in Kashmir and the Panjab: Containing a Particular Account of the Government and Character of the Sikhs|date=1845|publisher=J. Petheram|language=en}}</ref> and the muklawa happened in 1797;<ref>{{Cite book|last=Atwal|first=Priya|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aiA3ygEACAAJ|title=Royals and Rebels: The Rise and Fall of the Sikh Empire|date=2020-09-24|publisher=C. Hurst (Publishers) Limited|isbn=978-1-78738-308-1|language=en}}</ref> this marriage was a happy one. Ranjit Singh always treated Raj Kaur with love and respect.<ref>{{Cite book|author=Vaḥīduddīn, Faqīr Sayyid|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/52691326|title=The real Ranjit Singh|date=2001|publisher=Publication Bureau, Punjabi University|isbn=81-7380-778-7|oclc=52691326}}</ref> Since Raj Kaur was also the name of Ranjit Singh's mother, she was renamed Datar Kaur. In 1801, she gave birth to their son and heir apparent, [[Kharak Singh]].<ref name="Singh2008p7" /> Datar Kaur bore Ranjit Singh two other sons, [[Prince Rattan Singh|Rattan Singh]] and Fateh Singh.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fc0L06O1eac|title=Mahanian Koharan Tehsil .Amritsar District .AmritsarState .Punjab|via=www.youtube.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|author=Yudhvir Rana|date=May 1, 2015|title=Descendants of Maharaja Ranjit Singh stakes claim on Gobindgarh Fort {{!}} India News – Times of India|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/descendants-of-maharaja-ranjit-singh-stakes-claim-on-gobindgarh-fort/articleshow/47123514.cms|access-date=2021-09-22|website=The Times of India|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|author=Yudhvir Rana|date=Aug 18, 2021|title=Seventh generation descendent of Maharaja Ranjit Singh writes to Imran {{!}} India News – Times of India|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/seventh-generation-descendent-of-maharaja-ranjit-singh-writes-to-imran/articleshow/85432426.cms|access-date=2021-09-22|website=The Times of India|language=en}}</ref> Like his first marriage, the second marriage also brought him strategic military alliance.<ref name="Singh2008p7" /> She was exceptionally intelligent and assisted him in affairs of the State.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=2021|title=Tuberculosis: Poor Awareness Leads to Poor Control|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.47883/jszmc.v11i03.158|journal=Journal of Sheikh Zayed Medical College|volume=11|issue=3|pages=1–2|doi=10.47883/jszmc.v11i03.158|s2cid=236800828|issn=2305-5235}}</ref> During the [[Siege of Multan (1818)|expedition to Multan in 1818]], she was given command alongside her son, [[Kharak Singh]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U2FRAAAAYAAJ&q=datar+kaur|title=Journal of Sikh Studies|date=2001|publisher=Department of Guru Nanak Studies, Guru Nanak Dev University.|language=en}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{Cite book|last=Atwal|first=Priya|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LPcTEAAAQBAJ&q=royals+and+rebels|title=Royals and Rebels: The Rise and Fall of the Sikh Empire|date=2021-01-15|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-756694-7|language=en}}</ref> <ref name="Postscript: Maharaja Duleep Singh">{{Citation|title=Postscript: Maharaja Duleep Singh|date=2017|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.5040/9781350986220.0008|work=Emperor of the Five Rivers|publisher=I.B.Tauris|doi=10.5040/9781350986220.0008|isbn=978-1-78673-095-4|access-date=2021-10-20}}</ref>Throughout her life she remained Ranjit Singh's favorite <ref>{{Cite book|last=Tibbetts|first=Jann|title=50 Great Military Leaders of All Time|publisher=VIJ Books (India) PVT Limited|year=2016|isbn= <!--9789386834195-->9386834197}}</ref> and for no other did he have greater respect for than Datar Kaur, who he affectionately called ''Mai Nakain.''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.learnpunjabi.org/eos/index.aspx |title=Raj Kaur (d, 1838) |last1=Sardar Singh Bhatia |website=Encyclopaedia of Sikhism |publisher=Punjabi University Patiala |access-date=18 August 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Khushwant Singh|url=http://archive.org/details/ranjitsinghmahar0000khus_h0y2|title=Ranjit Singh Maharajah Of The Punjab 1780–1839|date=1962|publisher=George Allen & Unwin Ltd|others=Servants of Knowledge}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last1=Fakir|first1=Syed Waheeduddin|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DEnRAAAAMAAJ&q=the+real+ranjit+singh|title=The Real Ranjit Singh|last2=Vaḥīduddīn|first2=Faqīr Sayyid|date=1965|publisher=Lion Art Press|language=en}}</ref>  Even though she was his second wife she became his principal wife and chief consort.<ref>{{Cite book|last=1907–1971.|first=Sood, D. R.|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/499465766|title=Ranjit Singh.|date=1981|publisher=National Book Trust|oclc=499465766}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Patwant.|first=Singh|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/841311234|title=Empire of the Sikhs : the life and times of Maharaja Ranjit Singh|date=2013|publisher=Peter Owen Publishers|isbn=978-0-7206-1524-1|oclc=841311234}}</ref> During a hunting trip with Ranjit Singh, she fell ill and died on 20 June 1838.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Khurana|first=Gianeshwar|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YMUtAAAAMAAJ&q=umdat-ut-tawarikh+mai+nakain|title=British Historiography on the Sikh Power in Punjab|date=1985|publisher=Allied Publishers|isbn=978-0-8364-1504-9|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Suri.|first=Sohan Lal|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/163394684|title=Umdat-ut-tawarikh ['Umdat at-tawārīh, engl.] An outstanding original source of Panjab history by Lala Sohan Lal Suri.|date=1961|oclc=163394684}}</ref>[[File:Maharaja Ranjit Singh with wives Wellcome V0045197.jpg|thumb|Maharaja Ranjit Singh with some of his wives.
His second marriage was to, [[Datar Kaur]] (Born ''Raj Kaur'') the youngest child and only daughter of [[Ran Singh Nakai]], the third ruler of the [[Nakai Misl]] and his wife [[Karmo Kaur]]. They were betrothed in childhood by Datar Kaur's eldest brother, ''Sardar Bhagwan Singh,'' who briefly became the chief of the Nakai Misl, and Ranjit Singh's father Maha Singh. The ''[[Anand Karaj|anand karaj]]'' took place in 1792<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hügel|first=Karl Alexander Freiherr von|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z34EAAAAQAAJ&q=raj+kunwar|title=Travels in Kashmir and the Panjab: Containing a Particular Account of the Government and Character of the Sikhs|date=1845|publisher=J. Petheram|language=en}}</ref> and the muklawa happened in 1797;<ref>{{Cite book|last=Atwal|first=Priya|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aiA3ygEACAAJ|title=Royals and Rebels: The Rise and Fall of the Sikh Empire|date=24 September 2020|publisher=C. Hurst (Publishers) Limited|isbn=978-1-78738-308-1|language=en}}</ref> this marriage was a happy one. Ranjit Singh always treated Raj Kaur with love and respect.<ref>{{Cite book|author=Vaḥīduddīn, Faqīr Sayyid|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/52691326|title=The real Ranjit Singh|date=2001|publisher=Publication Bureau, Punjabi University|isbn=81-7380-778-7|oclc=52691326}}</ref> Since Raj Kaur was also the name of Ranjit Singh's mother, she was renamed Datar Kaur. In 1801, she gave birth to their son and heir apparent, [[Kharak Singh]].<ref name="Singh2008p7" /> Datar Kaur bore Ranjit Singh two other sons, [[Prince Rattan Singh|Rattan Singh]] and Fateh Singh.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fc0L06O1eac|title=Mahanian Koharan Tehsil .Amritsar District .AmritsarState .Punjab|via=www.youtube.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|author=Yudhvir Rana|date=1 May 2015|title=Descendants of Maharaja Ranjit Singh stakes claim on Gobindgarh Fort {{!}} India News – Times of India|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/descendants-of-maharaja-ranjit-singh-stakes-claim-on-gobindgarh-fort/articleshow/47123514.cms|access-date=22 September 2021|website=The Times of India|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|author=Yudhvir Rana|date=18 August 2021|title=Seventh generation descendent of Maharaja Ranjit Singh writes to Imran {{!}} India News – Times of India|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/seventh-generation-descendent-of-maharaja-ranjit-singh-writes-to-imran/articleshow/85432426.cms|access-date=22 September 2021|website=The Times of India|language=en}}</ref> Like his first marriage, the second marriage also brought him strategic military alliance.<ref name="Singh2008p7" /> She was exceptionally intelligent and assisted him in affairs of the State.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=2021|title=Tuberculosis: Poor Awareness Leads to Poor Control|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.47883/jszmc.v11i03.158|journal=Journal of Sheikh Zayed Medical College|volume=11|issue=3|pages=1–2|doi=10.47883/jszmc.v11i03.158|s2cid=236800828|issn=2305-5235}}</ref> During the [[Siege of Multan (1818)|expedition to Multan in 1818]], she was given command alongside her son, [[Kharak Singh]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U2FRAAAAYAAJ&q=datar+kaur|title=Journal of Sikh Studies|date=2001|publisher=Department of Guru Nanak Studies, Guru Nanak Dev University.|language=en}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{Cite book|last=Atwal|first=Priya|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LPcTEAAAQBAJ&q=royals+and+rebels|title=Royals and Rebels: The Rise and Fall of the Sikh Empire|date=15 January 2021|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-756694-7|language=en}}</ref> <ref name="Postscript: Maharaja Duleep Singh">{{Citation|title=Postscript: Maharaja Duleep Singh|date=2017|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.5040/9781350986220.0008|work=Emperor of the Five Rivers|publisher=I.B.Tauris|doi=10.5040/9781350986220.0008|isbn=978-1-78673-095-4|access-date=20 October 2021}}</ref>Throughout her life she remained Ranjit Singh's favorite <ref>{{Cite book|last=Tibbetts|first=Jann|title=50 Great Military Leaders of All Time|publisher=VIJ Books (India) PVT Limited|year=2016|isbn= <!--9789386834195-->9386834197}}</ref> and for no other did he have greater respect for than Datar Kaur, who he affectionately called ''Mai Nakain.''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.learnpunjabi.org/eos/index.aspx |title=Raj Kaur (d, 1838) |last1=Sardar Singh Bhatia |website=Encyclopaedia of Sikhism |publisher=Punjabi University Patiala |access-date=18 August 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Khushwant Singh|url=http://archive.org/details/ranjitsinghmahar0000khus_h0y2|title=Ranjit Singh Maharajah Of The Punjab 1780–1839|date=1962|publisher=George Allen & Unwin Ltd|others=Servants of Knowledge}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last1=Fakir|first1=Syed Waheeduddin|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DEnRAAAAMAAJ&q=the+real+ranjit+singh|title=The Real Ranjit Singh|last2=Vaḥīduddīn|first2=Faqīr Sayyid|date=1965|publisher=Lion Art Press|language=en}}</ref>  Even though she was his second wife she became his principal wife and chief consort.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Sood|first=D. R.|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/499465766|title=Ranjit Singh.|date=1981|publisher=National Book Trust|oclc=499465766}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|first=Patwant|last=Singh|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/841311234|title=Empire of the Sikhs : the life and times of Maharaja Ranjit Singh|date=2013|publisher=Peter Owen Publishers|isbn=978-0-7206-1524-1|oclc=841311234}}</ref> During a hunting trip with Ranjit Singh, she fell ill and died on 20 June 1838.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Khurana|first=Gianeshwar|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YMUtAAAAMAAJ&q=umdat-ut-tawarikh+mai+nakain|title=British Historiography on the Sikh Power in Punjab|date=1985|publisher=Allied Publishers|isbn=978-0-8364-1504-9|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|first=Lala Sohan |last=Lal Suri|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/163394684|title=Umdat-ut-tawarikh ['Umdat at-tawārīh, engl.] An outstanding original source of Panjab history by Lala Sohan Lal Suri.|date=1961|oclc=163394684}}</ref>[[File:Maharaja Ranjit Singh with wives Wellcome V0045197.jpg|thumb|Maharaja Ranjit Singh with some of his wives.
]]
]]
Ratan Kaur and Daya Kaur were wives of Sahib Singh Bhangi of Gujrat (a ''misl'' north of Lahore, not to be confused the state of Gujarat).<ref name="Smith1920p690">{{cite book|author=Vincent Arthur Smith|title=The Oxford History of India: From the Earliest Times to the End of 1911|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=p2gxAQAAMAAJ |year=1920|publisher=Oxford University Press |pages=690–693 }}</ref> After Sahib Singh's death, Ranjit Singh took them under his protection in 1811 by marrying them via the rite of ''chādar andāzī'', in which a cloth sheet was unfurled over each of their heads. The same with Roop Kaur, Gulab Kaur, Saman Kaur, and Lakshmi Kaur,  looked after Duleep Singh when his mother Jind Kaur was exiled. Ratan Kaur had a son [[Multana Singh]] in 1819, and Daya Kaur had two sons [[Kashmira Singh]] and [[Pashaura Singh]] in 1821.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.learnpunjabi.org/eos/index.aspx |title=Daya Kaur, Rani (died 1843) and Ratan Kaur, Rani |last1=Sardar Singh Bhatia |website=Encyclopaedia of Sikhism |publisher=Punjabi University Patiala |access-date=18 August 2015}}</ref>
Ratan Kaur and Daya Kaur were wives of Sahib Singh Bhangi of Gujrat (a ''misl'' north of Lahore, not to be confused the state of Gujarat).<ref name="Smith1920p690">{{cite book|author=Vincent Arthur Smith|title=The Oxford History of India: From the Earliest Times to the End of 1911|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=p2gxAQAAMAAJ |year=1920|publisher=Oxford University Press |pages=690–693 }}</ref> After Sahib Singh's death, Ranjit Singh took them under his protection in 1811 by marrying them via the rite of ''chādar andāzī'', in which a cloth sheet was unfurled over each of their heads. The same with Roop Kaur, Gulab Kaur, Saman Kaur, and Lakshmi Kaur,  looked after Duleep Singh when his mother Jind Kaur was exiled. Ratan Kaur had a son [[Multana Singh]] in 1819, and Daya Kaur had two sons [[Kashmira Singh]] and [[Pashaura Singh]] in 1821.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.learnpunjabi.org/eos/index.aspx |title=Daya Kaur, Rani (died 1843) and Ratan Kaur, Rani |first=Sardar |last=Singh Bhatia |website=Encyclopaedia of Sikhism |publisher=Punjabi University Patiala |access-date=18 August 2015}}</ref>


[[Jind Kaur]], the final spouse of Ranjit Singh. Her father, Manna Singh Aulakh, extolled her virtues to Ranjit Singh, who was concerned about the frail health of his only [[heir]] Kharak Singh. The Maharaja married her in 1835 by 'sending his arrow and sword to her village'. On 6 September 1838 she gave birth to [[Duleep Singh]], who became the last Maharaja of the [[Sikh Empire]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.learnpunjabi.org/eos/index.aspx |title=Jind Kaur, Maharani (1817–1863) |last1=Hasrat |first1=B. J. |website=Encyclopaedia of Sikhism |publisher=Punjabi University Patiala |access-date=18 August 2015}}</ref>
[[Jind Kaur]], the final spouse of Ranjit Singh. Her father, Manna Singh Aulakh, extolled her virtues to Ranjit Singh, who was concerned about the frail health of his only [[heir]] Kharak Singh. The Maharaja married her in 1835 by 'sending his arrow and sword to her village'. On 6 September 1838 she gave birth to [[Duleep Singh]], who became the last Maharaja of the [[Sikh Empire]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.learnpunjabi.org/eos/index.aspx |title=Jind Kaur, Maharani (1817–1863) |last1=Hasrat |first1=B. J. |website=Encyclopaedia of Sikhism |publisher=Punjabi University Patiala |access-date=18 August 2015}}</ref>
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He was also married to Rani Har Devi of Atalgarh, Rani Aso Sircar and Rani Jag Deo According to the diaries, that [[Duleep Singh]] kept towards the end of his life, that these women presented the Maharaja with four daughters. Dr. Priya Atwal notes that the daughters could be adopted.<ref name="Atwal"/> Ranjit Singh  was also married to Jind Bani or Jind Kulan, daughter of Muhammad Pathan from Mankera and Gul Bano, daughter of Malik Akhtar from Amritsar.
He was also married to Rani Har Devi of Atalgarh, Rani Aso Sircar and Rani Jag Deo According to the diaries, that [[Duleep Singh]] kept towards the end of his life, that these women presented the Maharaja with four daughters. Dr. Priya Atwal notes that the daughters could be adopted.<ref name="Atwal"/> Ranjit Singh  was also married to Jind Bani or Jind Kulan, daughter of Muhammad Pathan from Mankera and Gul Bano, daughter of Malik Akhtar from Amritsar.


Ranjit Singh married many times, in various ceremonies, and had twenty wives.<ref name="Anand2015p13">{{cite book|author=Anita Anand|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Cd4yBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA13|title=Sophia: Princess, Suffragette, Revolutionary|publisher=Bloomsbury Academic|year=2015|isbn=978-1-63286-081-1|page=13}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Patwant Singh|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vr4VAQAAIAAJ|title=Empire of the Sikhs: The Life and Times of Maharaja Ranjit Singh|publisher=Peter Owen|year=2008|isbn=978-0-7206-1323-0|page=69}}</ref> [[Lepel Griffin|Sir Lepel Griffin]], however, provides a list of just sixteen wives and their pension list. Most of his marriages were performed through chādar andāz.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Griffin|first=Lepel Henry|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q0ABAAAAQAAJ&dq=raj+&pg=PA468|title=The Panjab Chiefs: Historical and Biographical Notices of the Principal Families in the Territories Under the Panjab Government|date=1865|publisher=T.C. McCarthy|language=en}}</ref> Some scholars note that the information on Ranjit Singh's marriages is unclear, and there is evidence that he had many concubines. Dr. Priya Atwal presents an official list of Ranjit Singh's thirty wives.<ref name="auto" /> The women married through chādar andāzī were noted as concubines and were known as the lesser title of [[Rani]] (queen).<ref>{{Citation|title=Postscript: Maharaja Duleep Singh|date=2017|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.5040/9781350986220.0008|work=Emperor of the Five Rivers|publisher=I.B.Tauris|doi=10.5040/9781350986220.0008|isbn=978-1-78673-095-4|access-date=2021-10-06}}</ref> While Mehtab Kaur and Datar Kaur officially bore the title of [[Maharani]] (high queen), Datar Kaur officially became the Maharani after the death of Mehtab Kaur in 1813. Throughout her life was referred to as [[Empress consort|Sarkar Rani]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Suri|first=Sohan Lal Suri|title=Umdat Ul Tawarikh}}</ref> After her death, the title was held by Ranjit's youngest widow Jind Kaur.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Lafont|first=Jean Marie|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/49618584|title=Maharaja Ranjit Singh : lord of the five rivers|date=2002|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=0-19-566111-7|location=New Delhi|oclc=49618584}}</ref> According to Khushwant Singh in an 1889 interview with the French journal ''[[:fr:Le Voltaire (journal)|Le Voltaire]]'', his son Dalip (Duleep) Singh remarked, "I am the son of one of my father's forty-six wives."<ref name="Singh2008p300" /> Dr. Priya Atwal notes that Ranjit Singh and his heirs entered a total of 46 marriages.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Atwal|first=Priya|title=Royals and Rebels|year=2020}}</ref> But Ranjit Singh was known not be a "rash sensualist" and commanded unusual respect in the eyes of others.<ref name="auto1">{{Cite book|last=Duggal|first=Kartar Singh|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4udb8LsF3-oC&q=rash|title=Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the Last to Lay Arms|date=2001|publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=978-81-7017-410-3|language=en}}</ref> Faqir Sayyid Vaḥiduddin states: "If there was one thing in which Ranjit Singh failed to excel or even equal the average monarch of oriental history, it was the size of his harem."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Vaḥīduddīn|first=Faqīr Sayyid|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uaQGAQAAIAAJ|title=The Real Ranjit Singh|date=1965|publisher=Lion Art Press|language=en}}</ref><ref name="auto1" /> George Keene noted, “In hundreds and in thousands the orderly crowds stream on. Not a bough is broken of a wayside tree, not a rude remark to a woman”.<ref name="auto1" />
Ranjit Singh married many times, in various ceremonies, and had twenty wives.<ref name="Anand2015p13">{{cite book|author=Anita Anand|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Cd4yBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA13|title=Sophia: Princess, Suffragette, Revolutionary|publisher=Bloomsbury Academic|year=2015|isbn=978-1-63286-081-1|page=13}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Patwant Singh|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vr4VAQAAIAAJ|title=Empire of the Sikhs: The Life and Times of Maharaja Ranjit Singh|publisher=Peter Owen|year=2008|isbn=978-0-7206-1323-0|page=69}}</ref> [[Lepel Griffin|Sir Lepel Griffin]], however, provides a list of just sixteen wives and their pension list. Most of his marriages were performed through chādar andāz.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Griffin|first=Lepel Henry|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q0ABAAAAQAAJ&dq=raj+&pg=PA468|title=The Panjab Chiefs: Historical and Biographical Notices of the Principal Families in the Territories Under the Panjab Government|date=1865|publisher=T.C. McCarthy|language=en}}</ref> Some scholars note that the information on Ranjit Singh's marriages is unclear, and there is evidence that he had many concubines. Dr. Priya Atwal presents an official list of Ranjit Singh's thirty wives.<ref name="auto" /> The women married through chādar andāzī were noted as concubines and were known as the lesser title of [[Rani]] (queen).<ref>{{Citation|title=Postscript: Maharaja Duleep Singh|date=2017|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.5040/9781350986220.0008|work=Emperor of the Five Rivers|publisher=I.B.Tauris|doi=10.5040/9781350986220.0008|isbn=978-1-78673-095-4|access-date=6 October 2021}}</ref> While Mehtab Kaur and Datar Kaur officially bore the title of [[Maharani]] (high queen), Datar Kaur officially became the Maharani after the death of Mehtab Kaur in 1813. Throughout her life was referred to as [[Empress consort|Sarkar Rani]].<ref>{{Cite book|first=Lala Sohan |last=Lal Suri|title=Umdat Ul Tawarikh}}</ref> After her death, the title was held by Ranjit's youngest widow Jind Kaur.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Lafont|first=Jean Marie|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/49618584|title=Maharaja Ranjit Singh: lord of the five rivers|date=2002|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=0-19-566111-7|location=New Delhi|oclc=49618584}}</ref> According to Khushwant Singh in an 1889 interview with the French journal ''[[:fr:Le Voltaire (journal)|Le Voltaire]]'', his son Dalip (Duleep) Singh remarked, "I am the son of one of my father's forty-six wives."<ref name="Singh2008p300" /> Dr. Priya Atwal notes that Ranjit Singh and his heirs entered a total of 46 marriages.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Atwal|first=Priya|title=Royals and Rebels|year=2020}}</ref> But Ranjit Singh was known not be a "rash sensualist" and commanded unusual respect in the eyes of others.<ref name="auto1">{{Cite book|last=Duggal|first=Kartar Singh|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4udb8LsF3-oC&q=rash|title=Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the Last to Lay Arms|date=2001|publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=978-81-7017-410-3|language=en}}</ref> Faqir Sayyid Vaḥiduddin states: "If there was one thing in which Ranjit Singh failed to excel or even equal the average monarch of oriental history, it was the size of his harem."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Vaḥīduddīn|first=Faqīr Sayyid|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uaQGAQAAIAAJ|title=The Real Ranjit Singh|date=1965|publisher=Lion Art Press|language=en}}</ref><ref name="auto1" /> George Keene noted, “In hundreds and in thousands the orderly crowds stream on. Not a bough is broken of a wayside tree, not a rude remark to a woman”.<ref name="auto1" />


===Punishment by the Akal Takht===
===Punishment by the Akal Takht===
In 1802, Ranjit Singh married [[Moran Sarkar]], a Muslim [[nautch girl]]. This action, and other non-[[Sikh]] activities of the Maharaja, upset orthodox Sikhs, including the [[Nihang]]s, whose leader [[Akali Phula Singh]] was the [[Jathedar]] of the [[Akal Takht]].<ref name="Kartar">{{cite book|last1=Singh|first1=Kartar|title=Stories from Sikh History: Book-VII|date=1975|publisher=Hemkunt Press|location=New Delhi|page=160}}</ref> When Ranjit Singh visited [[Amritsar]], he was called outside the Akal Takht, where he was made to apologise for his mistakes. Akali Phula Singh took Ranjit Singh to a tamarind tree in front of the Akal Takht and prepared to punish him by flogging.<ref name="Kartar" /> Then Akali Phula Singh asked the nearby Sikh pilgrims whether they approved of Ranjit Singh's apology. The pilgrims responded with ''[[Sat Sri Akal]]'' and Ranjit Singh was released and forgiven. An alternative holds that Ranjit went to visit Moran on his arrival in [[Amritsar]] before paying his respects at [[Harmandir|Harmandir Sahib Gurdwara]], which upset orthodox Sikhs and hence was punished by Akali Phula Singh. [[Iqbal Qaiser]] and [[Manveen Sandhu]] make alternative accounts on the relationship between Moran and the Maharaja; the former stating they never married, while the latter state that they married. Court chronicler, Sohan Lal Suri makes no mention Moran's marriage to the Maharaja or coins being struck in her name. Bibi Moran spent the rest of life in Pathankot.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Graham|first=Ian|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=azwhCwAAQBAJ&q=moran+sarkar&pg=PA206|title=Scarlet Women: The Scandalous Lives of Courtesans, Concubines, and Royal Mistresses|date=2016-01-26|publisher=Macmillan|isbn=978-1-250-06263-5|language=en}}</ref> Duleep Singh makes a list of his father's queens which also does not mention Bibi Moran.
In 1802, Ranjit Singh married [[Moran Sarkar]], a Muslim [[nautch girl]]. This action, and other non-[[Sikh]] activities of the Maharaja, upset orthodox Sikhs, including the [[Nihang]]s, whose leader [[Akali Phula Singh]] was the [[Jathedar]] of the [[Akal Takht]].<ref name="Kartar">{{cite book|last1=Singh|first1=Kartar|title=Stories from Sikh History: Book-VII|date=1975|publisher=Hemkunt Press|location=New Delhi|page=160}}</ref> When Ranjit Singh visited [[Amritsar]], he was called outside the Akal Takht, where he was made to apologise for his mistakes. Akali Phula Singh took Ranjit Singh to a tamarind tree in front of the Akal Takht and prepared to punish him by flogging.<ref name="Kartar" /> Then Akali Phula Singh asked the nearby Sikh pilgrims whether they approved of Ranjit Singh's apology. The pilgrims responded with ''[[Sat Sri Akal]]'' and Ranjit Singh was released and forgiven. An alternative holds that Ranjit went to visit Moran on his arrival in [[Amritsar]] before paying his respects at [[Harmandir|Harmandir Sahib Gurdwara]], which upset orthodox Sikhs and hence was punished by Akali Phula Singh. [[Iqbal Qaiser]] and [[Manveen Sandhu]] make alternative accounts on the relationship between Moran and the Maharaja; the former stating they never married, while the latter state that they married. Court chronicler, Sohan Lal Suri makes no mention Moran's marriage to the Maharaja or coins being struck in her name. Bibi Moran spent the rest of life in Pathankot.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Graham|first=Ian|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=azwhCwAAQBAJ&q=moran+sarkar&pg=PA206|title=Scarlet Women: The Scandalous Lives of Courtesans, Concubines, and Royal Mistresses|date=26 January 2016|publisher=Macmillan|isbn=978-1-250-06263-5|language=en}}</ref> Duleep Singh makes a list of his father's queens which also does not mention Bibi Moran.
 
[[File:Akali Phula Singh punishing Maharaja Ranjit Singh.jpg|thumb|[[Akali Phula Singh]] addressing Maharaja Ranjit Singh about his transgressions]]


===Issue===
===Issue===


* [[Kharak Singh]] (22 February 1801 – 5 November 1840) was the eldest and the favorite of Ranjit Singh from his second and favorite wife, Datar Kaur.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Singh|first=Khushwant|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D068dKeyGW4C&q=favourite+wife|title=Ranjit Singh|date=2009-03-24|publisher=Penguin Books India|isbn=978-0-14-306543-2|language=en}}</ref> He succeeded his father as the Maharaja.  
* [[Kharak Singh]] (22 February 1801 – 5 November 1840) was the eldest and the favorite of Ranjit Singh from his second and favorite wife, Datar Kaur.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Singh|first=Khushwant|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D068dKeyGW4C&q=favourite+wife|title=Ranjit Singh|date=24 March 2009|publisher=Penguin Books India|isbn=978-0-14-306543-2|language=en}}</ref> He succeeded his father as the Maharaja.  
* [[Ishar Singh (Sikh prince)|Ishar Singh]] son of his first wife, Mehtab Kaur. This prince died in infancy in 1805.  
* [[Ishar Singh (Sikh prince)|Ishar Singh]] son of his first wife, Mehtab Kaur. This prince died in infancy in 1805.  
* [[Rattan Singh]] (1805–1845) was born to Maharani Datar Kaur.<ref>{{Cite web|author=Yudhvir Rana|date=May 1, 2015|title=Descendants of Maharaja Ranjit Singh stakes claim on Gobindgarh Fort {{!}} India News – Times of India|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/descendants-of-maharaja-ranjit-singh-stakes-claim-on-gobindgarh-fort/articleshow/47123514.cms|access-date=2021-09-17|website=The Times of India|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|author=Yudhvir Rana|date=Aug 18, 2021|title=Seventh generation descendent of Maharaja Ranjit Singh writes to Imran {{!}} India News – Times of India|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/seventh-generation-descendent-of-maharaja-ranjit-singh-writes-to-imran/articleshow/85432426.cms|access-date=2021-09-10|website=The Times of India|language=en}}</ref> He was granted the [[Jagatpur, Punjab|Jagatpur Bajaj]] estate as his jagir.  
* [[Rattan Singh]] (1805–1845) was born to Maharani Datar Kaur.<ref>{{Cite web|author=Yudhvir Rana|date=1 May 2015|title=Descendants of Maharaja Ranjit Singh stakes claim on Gobindgarh Fort {{!}} India News – Times of India|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/descendants-of-maharaja-ranjit-singh-stakes-claim-on-gobindgarh-fort/articleshow/47123514.cms|access-date=17 September 2021|website=The Times of India|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|author=Yudhvir Rana|date=18 August 2021|title=Seventh generation descendent of Maharaja Ranjit Singh writes to Imran {{!}} India News – Times of India|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/seventh-generation-descendent-of-maharaja-ranjit-singh-writes-to-imran/articleshow/85432426.cms|access-date=10 September 2021|website=The Times of India|language=en}}</ref> He was granted the [[Jagatpur, Punjab|Jagatpur Bajaj]] estate as his jagir.  
* [[Sher Singh]] (4 December 1807 – 15 September 1843) was elder of the twins of Mehtab Kaur. He briefly became the Maharaja of the Sikh Empire.  
* [[Sher Singh]] (4 December 1807 – 15 September 1843) was elder of the twins of Mehtab Kaur. He briefly became the Maharaja of the Sikh Empire.  
* [[Tara Singh (Sikh prince)|Tara Singh]] (4 December 1807 – 1859) younger of the twins born of Mehtab Kaur.  
* [[Tara Singh (Sikh prince)|Tara Singh]] (4 December 1807 – 1859) younger of the twins born of Mehtab Kaur.  
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* [[Pashaura Singh]] (1821–1845) younger son of Daya Kaur.  
* [[Pashaura Singh]] (1821–1845) younger son of Daya Kaur.  
* [[Duleep Singh]] (4 September 1838 – 22 October 1893), the last ''[[Maharaja]]'' of the [[Sikh Empire]]. Ranji Singh's youngest son, the only child of Jind Kaur.
* [[Duleep Singh]] (4 September 1838 – 22 October 1893), the last ''[[Maharaja]]'' of the [[Sikh Empire]]. Ranji Singh's youngest son, the only child of Jind Kaur.
According to the pedigree table and [[Duleep Singh]]'s diaries that he kept towards the end of his life mention another son Fateh Singh was born to Mai Nakain, who died in infancy.<ref name="Postscript: Maharaja Duleep Singh"/> According to Henry Edward only Datar Kaur and Jind Kaur's sons are Ranjit Singh's biological sons.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-rZFAAAAIAAJ&q=colburn+%22five+years+in+india%22&pg=PR1 |title=Five Years in India, Volume 1, Chapter VII, page 120 |last1=Fane |first1=Henry Edward |year=1842 |publisher=Henry Colburn |access-date=4 August 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://archive.org/stream/ladyloginsrecoll00logirich#page/n9/mode/2up |title=Lady Login's Recollections, Chapter VII, page 85 |last1=E. Dalhousie Login |year=1916 |publisher=Smith, Elder & Co, London |access-date=4 August 2016}}</ref>
According to the pedigree table and [[Duleep Singh]]'s diaries that he kept towards the end of his life mention another son Fateh Singh was born to Mai Nakain, who died in infancy.<ref name="Postscript: Maharaja Duleep Singh"/> According to Henry Edward only Datar Kaur and Jind Kaur's sons are Ranjit Singh's biological sons.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-rZFAAAAIAAJ&q=colburn+%22five+years+in+india%22&pg=PR1 |title=Five Years in India, Volume 1, Chapter VII, page 120 |last1=Fane |first1=Henry Edward |year=1842 |publisher=Henry Colburn |access-date=4 August 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://archive.org/stream/ladyloginsrecoll00logirich#page/n9/mode/2up |title=Lady Login's Recollections, Chapter VII, page 85 |year=1916 |publisher=Smith, Elder & Co, London |access-date=4 August 2016}}</ref>


It is said that [[Ishar Singh (Sikh prince)|Ishar Singh]] was not the biological son of Mehtab Kaur and Ranjit Singh, but only procured by Mehtab Kaur and presented to Ranjit Singh who accepted him as his son.<ref>{{Cite book|last=1840–1908.|first=Griffin, Lepel Henry|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/777874299|title=The Panjab chiefs : historical and biographical notices of the principal families in the Lahore and Rawalpindi divisions of the Panjab|date=1890|publisher=Civil and Military Gazette Press|oclc=777874299}}</ref> [[Tara Singh (Sikh prince)|Tara Singh]] and [[Sher Singh]] had similar rumors, it is said that Sher Singh was the son of a chintz weaver, Nahala and Tara Singh was the son of Manki, a servant in the household of [[Sada Kaur]]. Henry Edward Fane, the nephew and aide-de-camp to the Commander-in-Chief, India, General Sir Henry Fane, who spent several days in Ranjit Singh's company, reported,
It is said that [[Ishar Singh (Sikh prince)|Ishar Singh]] was not the biological son of Mehtab Kaur and Ranjit Singh, but only procured by Mehtab Kaur and presented to Ranjit Singh who accepted him as his son.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Griffin|first=Lepel Henry|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/777874299|title=The Panjab chiefs : historical and biographical notices of the principal families in the Lahore and Rawalpindi divisions of the Panjab|date=1890|publisher=Civil and Military Gazette Press|oclc=777874299}}</ref> [[Tara Singh (Sikh prince)|Tara Singh]] and [[Sher Singh]] had similar rumors, it is said that Sher Singh was the son of a chintz weaver, Nahala and Tara Singh was the son of Manki, a servant in the household of [[Sada Kaur]]. Henry Edward Fane, the nephew and aide-de-camp to the Commander-in-Chief, India, General Sir Henry Fane, who spent several days in Ranjit Singh's company, reported,
"Though reported to be the Maharaja's son, Sher Singh's father has never thoroughly acknowledged him, though his mother always insisted on his being so. A brother of Sher, Tara Singh by the same mother, has been even worse treated than himself, not being permitted to appear at court, and no office given him, either of profit or honour." Five Years in India, Volume 1
"Though reported to be the Maharaja's son, Sher Singh's father has never thoroughly acknowledged him, though his mother always insisted on his being so. A brother of Sher, Tara Singh by the same mother, has been even worse treated than himself, not being permitted to appear at court, and no office given him, either of profit or honour." Five Years in India, Volume 1
Henry Edward Fane, London, 1842
Henry Edward Fane, London, 1842{{full citation needed|date=June 2022}}{{pn|date=June 2022}}


[[Multana Singh]], [[Kashmira Singh]] and [[Pashaura Singh]] were sons of the two widows of Sahib Singh, Daya Kaur and Ratan Kaur, that Ranjit Singh took under his protection and married. These sons, are said to be, not biologically born to the queens and only procured and later presented to and accepted by Ranjit Singh as his sons.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Griffin|first=Lepel Henry|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jc8NAAAAIAAJ&q=raj|title=Ranjit Síngh and the Sikh Barrier Between Our Growing Empire and Central Asia|date=1898|publisher=Clarendon Press|language=en}}</ref>
[[Multana Singh]], [[Kashmira Singh]] and [[Pashaura Singh]] were sons of the two widows of Sahib Singh, Daya Kaur and Ratan Kaur, that Ranjit Singh took under his protection and married. These sons, are said to be, not biologically born to the queens and only procured and later presented to and accepted by Ranjit Singh as his sons.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Griffin|first=Lepel Henry|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jc8NAAAAIAAJ&q=raj|title=Ranjit Síngh and the Sikh Barrier Between Our Growing Empire and Central Asia|date=1898|publisher=Clarendon Press|language=en}}</ref>
1|


==Sikh Empire==
==Establishment of the Sikh Empire==
{{main|Sikh Empire}}
{{main|Sikh Empire}}
[[File:A watercolor portrait of Ranjit Singh.jpg|thumb|Maharaja Ranjit Singh<br />circa 1816–29]]
[[File:A watercolor portrait of Ranjit Singh.jpg|thumb|Maharaja Ranjit Singh<br />circa 1816–29]]
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Towards the end of 18th century, the five most powerful ''misls'' were those of Sukkarchakkia, Kanhayas, Nakkais, Ahluwalias and Bhangi Sikhs.<ref name="Singh2008p9"/><ref name="Lafont2002p33"/> Ranjit Singh belonged to the first, and through marriage had a reliable alliance with Kanhayas and Nakkais.<ref name="Singh2008p9"/> Among the smaller misls, some such as the Phulkias ''misl'' had switched loyalties in the late 18th century and supported the Afghan army invasion against their Khalsa brethren.<ref name="Singh2008p9"/> The Kasur region, ruled by Muslim, always supported the Afghan invasion forces and joined them in plundering Sikh ''misls'' during the war.<ref name="Singh2008p9"/>
Towards the end of 18th century, the five most powerful ''misls'' were those of Sukkarchakkia, Kanhayas, Nakkais, Ahluwalias and Bhangi Sikhs.<ref name="Singh2008p9"/><ref name="Lafont2002p33"/> Ranjit Singh belonged to the first, and through marriage had a reliable alliance with Kanhayas and Nakkais.<ref name="Singh2008p9"/> Among the smaller misls, some such as the Phulkias ''misl'' had switched loyalties in the late 18th century and supported the Afghan army invasion against their Khalsa brethren.<ref name="Singh2008p9"/> The Kasur region, ruled by Muslim, always supported the Afghan invasion forces and joined them in plundering Sikh ''misls'' during the war.<ref name="Singh2008p9"/>
==Military campaigns==


===Rise to fame, early conquests===
===Rise to fame, early conquests===
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On 1 January 1806, Ranjit Singh signed a treaty with the British officials of the East India Company, in which he agreed that his Sikh forces would not attempt to expand south of the Sutlej river, and the Company agreed that it would not attempt to militarily cross the Sutlej river into the Sikh territory.<ref>{{cite book|author=Anita Anand|title=Sophia: Princess, Suffragette, Revolutionary|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Cd4yBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA13 |year=2015|publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |isbn=978-1-63286-081-1 |page=12 }}</ref>
On 1 January 1806, Ranjit Singh signed a treaty with the British officials of the East India Company, in which he agreed that his Sikh forces would not attempt to expand south of the Sutlej river, and the Company agreed that it would not attempt to militarily cross the Sutlej river into the Sikh territory.<ref>{{cite book|author=Anita Anand|title=Sophia: Princess, Suffragette, Revolutionary|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Cd4yBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA13 |year=2015|publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |isbn=978-1-63286-081-1 |page=12 }}</ref>


In 1807, Ranjit Singh's forces attacked the Muslim ruled Kasur and, after a month of fierce fighting in the [[Battle of Kasur]] defeated the Afghan chief Qutb-ud-Din, thus expanding his empire northwest towards Afghanistan.<ref name=eos>{{cite web |url=http://www.learnpunjabi.org/eos/index.aspx |title=RANJIT SINGH (1780–1839) |last1=Kushwant Singh |website=Encyclopaedia of Sikhism |publisher=Punjabi University Patiala |access-date=18 August 2015}}</ref> He took [[Multan]] in 1818, and the whole [[Bari Doab]] came under his rule with that conquest. In 1819, he successfully defeated the Afghan Sunni Muslim rulers and annexed Srinagar and [[Kashmir]], stretching his rule into the north and the Jhelum valley, beyond the foothills of the Himalayas.<ref name=eos/><ref name=iahmed1998/>
In 1807, Ranjit Singh's forces attacked the Muslim ruled Kasur and, after a month of fierce fighting in the [[Battle of Kasur]] defeated the Afghan chief Qutb-ud-Din, thus expanding his empire northwest towards Afghanistan.<ref name=eos>{{cite web |url=http://www.learnpunjabi.org/eos/index.aspx |title=Ranjit Singh (1780–1839) |first=Kushwant |last=Singh |website=Encyclopaedia of Sikhism |publisher=Punjabi University Patiala |access-date=18 August 2015}}</ref> He took [[Multan]] in 1818, and the whole [[Bari Doab]] came under his rule with that conquest. In 1819, he successfully defeated the Afghan Sunni Muslim rulers and annexed Srinagar and [[Kashmir]], stretching his rule into the north and the Jhelum valley, beyond the foothills of the Himalayas.<ref name=eos/><ref name=iahmed1998/>


The most significant encounters between the Sikhs in the command of the Maharaja and the Afghans were in 1813, 1823, 1834 and in 1837.<ref name=Grewal6/> In 1813, Ranjit Singh's general [[Dewan Mokham Chand]] led the Sikh forces against the Afghan forces of [[Mahmud Shah Durrani|Shah Mahmud]] led by [[Dost Mohammad Khan]].<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> The Afghans lost their stronghold at [[Battle of Attock|Attock]] in that battle.
The most significant encounters between the Sikhs in the command of the Maharaja and the Afghans were in 1813, 1823, 1834 and in 1837.<ref name=Grewal6/> In 1813, Ranjit Singh's general [[Dewan Mokham Chand]] led the Sikh forces against the Afghan forces of [[Mahmud Shah Durrani|Shah Mahmud]] led by [[Dost Mohammad Khan]].<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> The Afghans lost their stronghold at [[Battle of Attock|Attock]] in that battle.


In 1813–14, Ranjit Singh's first attempt to expand into Kashmir was foiled by Afghan forces led by General Azim Khan, due to a heavy downpour, the spread of cholera, and poor food supply to his troops.
In 1813–14, Ranjit Singh's first attempt to expand into Kashmir was foiled by Afghan forces led by General Azim Khan, due to a heavy downpour, the spread of cholera, and poor food supply to his troops.{{cn|date=June 2022}}


In 1818, Darbar's forces led by Kharak Singh and Misr Dewan Chand occupied Multan, killing Muzaffar Khan and defeating his forces, leading to the end of Afghan influence in the 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=11 October 2004|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-567308-1|page=252}}</ref>
In 1818, Darbar's forces led by Kharak Singh and Misr Dewan Chand occupied Multan, killing Muzaffar Khan and defeating his forces, leading to the end of Afghan influence in the 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=11 October 2004|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-567308-1|page=252}}</ref>


In July 1818, an army from the Punjab defeated Jabbar Khan, a younger brother of governor of Kashmir Azim Khan, and acquired Kashmir, along with a yearly revenue of Rs seventy lacs. Dewan Moti Ram was appointed governor of Kashmir.
In July 1818, an army from the Punjab defeated Jabbar Khan, a younger brother of governor of Kashmir Azim Khan, and acquired Kashmir, along with a yearly revenue of Rs seventy lacs. Dewan Moti Ram was appointed governor of Kashmir.<ref name="lee">{{Cite book |last=Lee |first=Jonathan |title=Afghanistan: A History from 1260 to the Present |publisher=Reaktion Books |year=2019 |isbn=9781789140101 |pages=170–190 |language=English}}</ref>
 
In November 1819, Dost Mohammed accepted the sovereignty of the Maharaja over [[Peshawar]], along with a revenue payment of Rs one lac a year. The Maharaja specifically ordered his forces not to harass or molest any civilian. In 1820 and 1821, Dera Ghazi Khan, Hazara and Mankera, with huge tracts of land between Jhelum and Indus, Singh Sagar Daob, were also annexed. The victories of Kashmir, Peshwar and Multan were celebrated by naming three newborns after them. Prince Kashmira Singh, Peshaura Singh and Prince Multana Singh were born to Daya Kaur and Ratan Kaur, wives of Ranjit Singh.


In November 1819, Dost Mohammed accepted the sovereignty of the Maharaja over [[Peshawar]], along with a revenue payment of Rs one lac a year. The Maharaja specifically ordered his forces not to harass or molest any civilian. In 1820 and 1821, Dera Ghazi Khan, Hazara and Mankera, with huge tracts of land between Jhelum and Indus, Singh Sagar Daob, were also annexed. The victories of Kashmir, Peshwar and Multan were celebrated by naming three newborns after them. Prince Kashmira Singh, Peshaura Singh and Prince Multana Singh were born to Daya Kaur and Ratan Kaur, wives of Ranjit Singh.<ref name="lee" />
[[File:Coin of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.jpg|thumb|Coins issued under the rule of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.]]
In 1823, [[Yusufzai (Pashtun tribe)|Yusufzai]] Pashtuns fought the army of Ranjit Sing north of the [[Kabul River]].<ref name=patwantp120>{{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=120–124}}</ref>
In 1823, [[Yusufzai (Pashtun tribe)|Yusufzai]] Pashtuns fought the army of Ranjit Sing north of the [[Kabul River]].<ref name=patwantp120>{{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=120–124}}</ref>


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====Geography of the Sikh Empire====
====Geography of the Sikh Empire====
[[File:Sikh Empire tri-lingual.jpg|thumb|Ranjit Singh's Sikh Empire at its peak]]
[[File:Sikh Empire tri-lingual.jpg|thumb|Ranjit Singh's Sikh Empire at its peak]]
The Sikh Empire, also known as the Sikh Raj and Sarkar-a-Khalsa,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.learnpunjabi.org/eos/index.aspx |title=KHALSA |last=Ganda Singh |website=Encyclopaedia of Sikhism |publisher=Punjabi University Patiala |access-date=7 February 2016}}</ref> was in the Punjab region, the name of which means "the land of the five rivers". The five rivers are the [[Beas River|Beas]], [[Ravi River|Ravi]], [[Sutlej]], [[Chenab]] and [[Jhelum River|Jhelum]], all of which are tributaries of the river [[Indus]].<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 }}</ref>
The Sikh Empire, also known as the Sikh Raj and Sarkar-a-Khalsa,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.learnpunjabi.org/eos/index.aspx |title=Khalsa |first=Ganda |last=Singh |website=Encyclopaedia of Sikhism |publisher=Punjabi University Patiala |access-date=7 February 2016}}</ref> was in the Punjab region, the name of which means "the land of the five rivers". The five rivers are the [[Beas River|Beas]], [[Ravi River|Ravi]], [[Sutlej]], [[Chenab]] and [[Jhelum River|Jhelum]], all of which are tributaries of the river [[Indus]].<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 }}</ref>


The geographical reach of the Sikh Empire under Singh included all lands north of Sutlej river, and south of the high valleys of the northwestern Himalayas. The major towns at time included Srinagar, Attock, Peshawar, Bannu, Rawalpindi, Jammu, Gujrat, Sialkot, Kangra, Amritsar, Lahore and Multan.<ref name="Smith1920p690"/>{{Sfn|Marshall|2005|page=116}}
The geographical reach of the Sikh Empire under Singh included all lands north of Sutlej river, and south of the high valleys of the northwestern Himalayas. The major towns at time included Srinagar, Attock, Peshawar, Bannu, Rawalpindi, Jammu, Gujrat, Sialkot, Kangra, Amritsar, Lahore and Multan.<ref name="Smith1920p690"/>{{Sfn|Marshall|2005|page=116}}
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===Governance===
===Governance===
Maharaja Ranjit Singh allowed men from different religions and races to serve in his army and his government in various 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> His army included a few Europeans, such as the Frenchman [[Jean-François Allard]], though Singh maintained a policy of refraining from recruiting Britons into his service, aware of British designs on the Indian subcontinent.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Kuiper|first1=Kathleen|title=The culture of India|date=2010|publisher=Rosen Publishing Group|isbn=978-1615301492|page=136}}</ref> Despite his recruitment policies, he did maintain a diplomatic channel with the British; in 1828, he sent gifts to [[George IV of the United Kingdom|George IV]] and in 1831, he sent a mission to Simla to confer with the British Governor General, [[Lord William Bentinck|William Bentinck]];<ref name=prinsep152>{{cite book|author=Henry Thoby Prinsep|title=Origin of the Sikh Power in the Punjab, and Political Life of Muha-Raja Runjeet Singh|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E8bz-gg6mD4C |year=2011|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-108-02872-1 |pages=152–161 }}</ref> while in 1838, he cooperated with them in removing the hostile Islamic Sultan in Afghanistan.<ref name=roylorge100/>
Ranjit Singh allowed men from different religions and races to serve in his army and his government in various 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> His army included a few Europeans, such as the Frenchman [[Jean-François Allard]], though Singh maintained a policy of refraining from recruiting Britons into his service, aware of British designs on the Indian subcontinent.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Kuiper|first1=Kathleen|title=The culture of India|date=2010|publisher=Rosen Publishing Group|isbn=978-1615301492|page=136}}</ref> Despite his recruitment policies, he did maintain a diplomatic channel with the British; in 1828, he sent gifts to [[George IV of the United Kingdom|George IV]] and in 1831, he sent a mission to Simla to confer with the British Governor General, [[Lord William Bentinck|William Bentinck]];<ref name=prinsep152>{{cite book|author=Henry Thoby Prinsep|title=Origin of the Sikh Power in the Punjab, and Political Life of Muha-Raja Runjeet Singh|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E8bz-gg6mD4C |year=2011|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-108-02872-1 |pages=152–161 }}</ref> while in 1838, he cooperated with them in removing the hostile Islamic Emir in Afghanistan.<ref name=roylorge100/>
 
== Religious policies ==


==Religious Policies==
[[File:Benares- The Golden Temple, India, ca. 1915 (IMP-CSCNWW33-OS14-66).jpg|thumb|In 1835, Maharaja Ranjit Singh donated 1 tonne of gold for plating 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 |publisher=Trübner & co. |year=1868 |page=[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.217371/page/n93 51] |author-link=Matthew Atmore Sherring }}</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 }}</ref>]]
[[File:Benares- The Golden Temple, India, ca. 1915 (IMP-CSCNWW33-OS14-66).jpg|thumb|In 1835, Maharaja Ranjit Singh donated 1 tonne of gold for plating 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 |publisher=Trübner & co. |year=1868 |page=[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.217371/page/n93 51] |author-link=Matthew Atmore Sherring }}</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 }}</ref>]]


As consistent with many Punjabis of that time, Ranjit Singh was a secular king<ref>{{Cite book|title=Ranjit Singh: A Secular Sikh Sovereign|last=Duggal, K.S.|date=1993|publisher=Abhinav Pubns|isbn=8170172446}}</ref> and followed the Sikh path.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The evolution of the Sikh community : five essays|last=McLeod, W. H.|date=1976|publisher=Clarendon Press|isbn=0-19-826529-8|location=Oxford|oclc=2140005}}</ref> His policies were based on respect for all communities, Hindu, Sikh and Muslim.<ref name= Singh2011 /> A devoted Sikh, Ranjit Singh restored and built historic Sikh [[Gurdwara]]s – most famously, the [[Harmandir Sahib]], and used to celebrate his victories by offering thanks at the Harmandir. He also joined the Hindus in their temples out of respect for their sentiments.<ref name= Singh2011 /> The veneration of cows was promoted and cow slaughter was punishable by death under his rule.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/2003/20030308/windows/above.htm|title=The Tribune – Windows – This Above All|website=www.tribuneindia.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Polk|first=William Roe|url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Crusade_and_Jihad/ozFDDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=sikh+empire+anti+islamic&pg=PA263&printsec=frontcover|title=Crusade and Jihad: The Thousand-year War Between the Muslim World and the Global North|publisher=Yale University Press|pages=263|author-link=William R. Polk}}</ref> He ordered his soldiers to neither loot nor molest civilians.<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= 25–26 }}</ref>
As consistent with many Punjabis of that time, Ranjit Singh was a secular king<ref>{{Cite book|title=Ranjit Singh: A Secular Sikh Sovereign|last=Duggal|first=K.S.|date=1993|publisher=Abhinav Pubns|isbn=8170172446}}</ref> and followed the Sikh path.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The evolution of the Sikh community: five essays|last=McLeod|first=W. H.|date=1976|publisher=Clarendon Press|isbn=0-19-826529-8|location=Oxford|oclc=2140005}}</ref> His policies were based on respect for all communities, Hindu, Sikh and Muslim.<ref name= Singh2011 /> A devoted Sikh, Ranjit Singh restored and built historic Sikh [[Gurdwara]]s – most famously, the [[Harmandir Sahib]], and used to celebrate his victories by offering thanks at the Harmandir. He also joined the Hindus in their temples out of respect for their sentiments.<ref name= Singh2011 /> The veneration of cows was promoted and cow slaughter was punishable by death under his rule.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/2003/20030308/windows/above.htm|title=The Tribune – Windows – This Above All|website=www.tribuneindia.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Polk|first=William Roe|url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Crusade_and_Jihad/ozFDDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=sikh+empire+anti+islamic&pg=PA263&printsec=frontcover|title=Crusade and Jihad: The Thousand-year War Between the Muslim World and the Global North|date=January 2018 |publisher=Yale University Press|pages=263|isbn=9780300222906 |author-link=William R. Polk}}</ref> He ordered his soldiers to neither loot nor molest civilians.<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= 25–26 }}</ref>


He built several gurdwaras, Hindu temples and even mosques, and one in particular was Mai Moran Masjid, built on the behest of his beloved Muslim wife, [[Moran Sarkar]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Hari Ram Gupta |title=History of the Sikhs |publisher=Munshirm Manoharlal Pub Pvt Ltd |date=2001 |isbn=8121505402}}</ref> The Sikhs led by Singh never razed places of worship to the ground belonging to the enemy.<ref>{{cite book |author=K.S. Duggal |title=Ranjit Singh: A Secular Sikh Sovereign |publisher=Abhinav Publications |date=1989 |isbn=81-7017-244-6}}</ref> However, he did convert Muslim mosques into other uses. For example, Ranjit Singh's army desecrated Lahore's [[Badshahi Mosque]] and converted it into an ammunition store,<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AxnjJp_kpFkC&pg=PA23|title=City of Sin and Splendour: Writings on Lahore|first=Bapsi|last=Sidhwa|year=2005|publisher=Penguin Books |access-date=7 January 2017|isbn=9780143031666 |quote=In Lahore, just as he had grasped its historic citadel and put it to his own hardy use or desecrated the Badshahi Mosque and converted it into a functional ammuniation store...}}</ref> and horse stables.<ref name=amin95>{{cite book|last1=Amin|first1=Mohamed |last2= Willetts|first2= Duncan|last3= Farrow|first3= Brendan|title=Lahore|date=1988|publisher=Ferozsons|isbn=9789690006943|page=95}}</ref> Lahore's [[Moti Masjid (Lahore Fort)|Moti Masjid]] (Pearl Mosque) was converted into "Moti Mandir" (Pearl Temple) by the Sikh army,<ref name=amin95/><ref>{{cite book|last1=Latif|first1=Syad Muhammad|title=Lahore: Its History, Architectural Remains and Antiquities|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.107067|year=1892|publisher=Printed at the New Imperial Press|page=[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.107067/page/n175 125]}}</ref> and [[Sunehri Masjid, Lahore|Sonehri Mosque]] were converted into a Sikh [[Gurdwara]], but upon the request of Sufi Fakir (Satar Shah Bukhari), Ranjit Singh restored the latter back to a mosque.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Latif|first1=Syad Muhammad|title=Lahore: Its History, Architectural Remains and Antiquities|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.107067|year=1892|publisher=Printed at the New Imperial Press|pages=[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.107067/page/n343 221]–223, 339}}</ref> Lahore's [[Mosque of Mariyam Zamani Begum|Begum Shahi Mosque]] was also used as a gunpowder factory, earning it the [[nickname]] ''Barudkhana Wali Masjid'', or "Gunpowder Mosque."<ref>{{cite journal|title=Maryam Zamani Mosque|journal=Journal of Central Asia|year=1996|volume=19|publisher=Centre for the Study of the Civilizations of Central Asia, Quaid-i-Azam University|page=97}}</ref>
He built several gurdwaras, Hindu temples and even mosques, and one in particular was Mai Moran Masjid, built on the behest of his beloved Muslim wife, [[Moran Sarkar]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Hari Ram Gupta |title=History of the Sikhs |publisher=Munshirm Manoharlal Pub Pvt Ltd |date=2001 |isbn=8121505402}}</ref> The Sikhs led by Singh never razed places of worship to the ground belonging to the enemy.<ref>{{cite book |author=K.S. Duggal |title=Ranjit Singh: A Secular Sikh Sovereign |publisher=Abhinav Publications |date=1989 |isbn=81-7017-244-6}}</ref> However, he did convert Muslim mosques into other uses. For example, Ranjit Singh's army desecrated Lahore's [[Badshahi Mosque]] and converted it into an ammunition store,<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AxnjJp_kpFkC&pg=PA23|title=City of Sin and Splendour: Writings on Lahore|first=Bapsi|last=Sidhwa|year=2005|publisher=Penguin Books |access-date=7 January 2017|isbn=9780143031666 |quote=In Lahore, just as he had grasped its historic citadel and put it to his own hardy use or desecrated the Badshahi Mosque and converted it into a functional ammuniation store...}}</ref> and horse stables.<ref name=amin95>{{cite book|last1=Amin|first1=Mohamed |last2= Willetts|first2= Duncan|last3= Farrow|first3= Brendan|title=Lahore|date=1988|publisher=Ferozsons|isbn=9789690006943|page=95}}</ref> Lahore's [[Moti Masjid (Lahore Fort)|Moti Masjid]] (Pearl Mosque) was converted into "Moti Mandir" (Pearl Temple) by the Sikh army,<ref name=amin95/><ref>{{cite book|last1=Latif|first1=Syad Muhammad|title=Lahore: Its History, Architectural Remains and Antiquities|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.107067|year=1892|publisher=Printed at the New Imperial Press|page=[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.107067/page/n175 125]}}</ref> and [[Sunehri Masjid, Lahore|Sonehri Mosque]] were converted into a Sikh [[Gurdwara]], but upon the request of Sufi Fakir (Satar Shah Bukhari), Ranjit Singh restored the latter back to a mosque.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Latif|first1=Syad Muhammad|title=Lahore: Its History, Architectural Remains and Antiquities|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.107067|year=1892|publisher=Printed at the New Imperial Press|pages=[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.107067/page/n343 221]–223, 339}}</ref> Lahore's [[Mosque of Mariyam Zamani Begum|Begum Shahi Mosque]] was also used as a gunpowder factory, earning it the [[nickname]] ''Barudkhana Wali Masjid'', or "Gunpowder Mosque."<ref>{{cite journal|title=Maryam Zamani Mosque|journal=Journal of Central Asia|year=1996|volume=19|publisher=Centre for the Study of the Civilizations of Central Asia, Quaid-i-Azam University|page=97}}</ref>
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Singh's sovereignty was accepted by Afghan and Punjabi Muslims, who fought under his banner against the Afghan forces of Nadir Shah and later of Azim Khan. His court was ecumenical in composition: his prime minister, [[Dhian Singh]], was a Dogra; his foreign minister, [[Fakir Azizuddin]], was a Muslim; and his finance minister, Dina Nath, was a Brahmin. Artillery commanders such as Mian Ghausa were also Muslims. There were no forced conversions in his time. His wives Bibi Mohran, Gilbahar Begum retained their faith and so did his Hindu wives. He also employed and surrounded himself with astrologers and soothsayers in his court.<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=11 October 2004|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-567308-1|page=295}}</ref>
Singh's sovereignty was accepted by Afghan and Punjabi Muslims, who fought under his banner against the Afghan forces of Nadir Shah and later of Azim Khan. His court was ecumenical in composition: his prime minister, [[Dhian Singh]], was a Dogra; his foreign minister, [[Fakir Azizuddin]], was a Muslim; and his finance minister, Dina Nath, was a Brahmin. Artillery commanders such as Mian Ghausa were also Muslims. There were no forced conversions in his time. His wives Bibi Mohran, Gilbahar Begum retained their faith and so did his Hindu wives. He also employed and surrounded himself with astrologers and soothsayers in his court.<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=11 October 2004|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-567308-1|page=295}}</ref>


Ranjit Singh had also provided significant patronage to the [[Udasi]] and [[Nirmala (sect)|Nirmala]] sect, leading to their prominence and control of Sikh religious affairs.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mandair |first=Arvind |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Teachings_of_the_Sikh_Gurus/ftdcvmviy_8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PR35&printsec=frontcover |title=Teachings of the Sikh Gurus: Selections from the Sikh Scriptures |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781136451089 |pages=xxxv (35)}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Mann|first=Gurinder Singh|url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Studying_the_Sikhs/bTCFDfh7Qv4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA150&printsec=frontcover|title=Studying the Sikhs: Issues for North America|publisher=State University of New York Press|pages=150}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Van Die |first=Marguerite |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Religion_and_Public_Life_in_Canada/GxZqGT-IrJ4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA348&printsec=frontcover |title=Religion and Public Life in Canada: Historical and Comparative Perspectives |publisher=University of Toronto Press |isbn=9780802082459 |pages=348}}</ref>
Ranjit Singh had also abolished the [[gurmata]] and provided significant patronage to the [[Udasi]] and [[Nirmala (sect)|Nirmala]] sect, leading to their prominence and control of Sikh religious affairs.{{refn|<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mandair |first=Arvind |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Teachings_of_the_Sikh_Gurus/ftdcvmviy_8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PR35&printsec=frontcover |title=Teachings of the Sikh Gurus: Selections from the Sikh Scriptures |date=4 July 2013 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781136451089 |pages=xxxv (35)}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Mann|first=Gurinder Singh|url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Studying_the_Sikhs/bTCFDfh7Qv4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA150&printsec=frontcover|title=Studying the Sikhs: Issues for North America|date=January 1993 |publisher=State University of New York Press|pages=150|isbn=9780791414255 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Van Die |first=Marguerite |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Religion_and_Public_Life_in_Canada/GxZqGT-IrJ4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA348&printsec=frontcover |title=Religion and Public Life in Canada: Historical and Comparative Perspectives |date=January 2001 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |isbn=9780802082459 |pages=348}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Mandair |first=Arvind-Pal S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dzeCy_zL0Q8C&pg=PA264 |title=Religion and the Specter of the West: Sikhism, India, Postcoloniality, and the Politics of Translation |date=22 October 2009 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-51980-9 |pages=264 |language=en |quote=As Khalsa Sikhs became more settled and as Ranjit Singh's rule became more autocratic, the Gurumata was effectively abolished, thereby ensuring that the doctrine of the Guru Panth would lose its efficacy. At the same time, however, Ranjit Singh continued to patronize Udasi and Nirmala ashrams. The single most important result of this was the more pronounced diffusion of Vedic and Puranic concepts into the existing Sikh interpretive frameworks}}</ref>}}
[[File:Ranjit Singh at Harmandir Sahib - August Schoefft - Vienna 1850 - Princess Bamba Collection - Lahore Fort.jpg|thumb|800px|center|<center>Maharaja Ranjit Singh listening to [[Guru Granth Sahib]] being recited near the [[Akal Takht]] and [[Golden Temple, Amritsar]], [[Punjab, India]].</center>]]
[[File:Ranjit Singh at Harmandir Sahib - August Schoefft - Vienna 1850 - Princess Bamba Collection - Lahore Fort.jpg|thumb|800px|center|{{center|Maharaja Ranjit Singh listening to [[Guru Granth Sahib]] being recited near the [[Akal Takht]] and [[Golden Temple, Amritsar]], [[Punjab, India]].}}]]


==Administration==
==Administration==
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====Infrastructure investments====
====Infrastructure investments====
Ranjit Singh ensured that Panjab manufactured and was self-sufficient in all weapons, equipment and munitions his army needed.<ref name=kaushikroyp143/> His government invested in infrastructure in the 1800s and thereafter, established raw materials mines, cannon foundries, gunpowder and arm factories.<ref name=kaushikroyp143/> Some of these operations were owned by the state, others operated by private Sikh operatives.<ref name=kaushikroyp143/>
[[File:Maharaja Ranjit singh's treasure.jpg|thumb|A [[lithography|lithograph]] by [[Emily Eden]] showing one of the favourite horses of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and his collection of jewels, including the [[Koh-i-Noor]]]]Ranjit Singh ensured that Panjab manufactured and was self-sufficient in all weapons, equipment and munitions his army needed.<ref name="kaushikroyp143" /> His government invested in infrastructure in the 1800s and thereafter, established raw materials mines, cannon foundries, gunpowder and arm factories.<ref name="kaushikroyp143" /> Some of these operations were owned by the state, others operated by private Sikh operatives.<ref name="kaushikroyp143" />


However, Ranjit Singh did not make major investments in other infrastructure such as irrigation canals to improve the productivity of land and roads. The prosperity in his Empire, in contrast to the Mughal-Sikh wars era, largely came from the improvement in the security situation, reduction in violence, reopened trade routes and greater freedom to conduct commerce.<ref>{{cite book|author=Sunit Singh|editor=Pashaura Singh and Louis E. Fenech|title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=7YwNAwAAQBAJ |year=2014|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-100411-7 |pages=62–63 }}</ref>
However, Ranjit Singh did not make major investments in other infrastructure such as irrigation canals to improve the productivity of land and roads. The prosperity in his Empire, in contrast to the Mughal-Sikh wars era, largely came from the improvement in the security situation, reduction in violence, reopened trade routes and greater freedom to conduct commerce.<ref>{{cite book|author=Sunit Singh|editor=Pashaura Singh and Louis E. Fenech|title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=7YwNAwAAQBAJ |year=2014|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-100411-7 |pages=62–63 }}</ref>


===Muslim accounts===
===Muslim accounts===
The mid 19th-century Muslim historians, such as Shahamat Ali who experienced the Sikh Empire first hand, presented a different view on Ranjit Singh's Empire and governance.<ref name=bayly1996p233/><ref>{{cite book|author=Chitralekha Zutshi|title=Languages of Belonging: Islam, Regional Identity, and the Making of Kashmir |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rEluAAAAMAAJ |year=2004 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-521939-5 |pages=39–41 }}</ref> According to Ali, Ranjit Singh's government was despotic, and he was a mean monarch in contrast to the Mughals.<ref name=bayly1996p233>{{cite book|author=Christopher Alan Bayly|title=Empire and Information: Intelligence Gathering and Social Communication in India, 1780–1870|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8bqEzPPp8xIC |year=1996|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-66360-1 |pages=233 }}</ref> The initial momentum for the Empire building in these accounts is stated to be Ranjit Singh led Khalsa army's "insatiable appetite for plunder", their desire for "fresh cities to pillage", and entirely eliminating the Mughal era "revenue intercepting intermediaries between the peasant-cultivator and the treasury".<ref name="Low1991p263">{{cite book|author=Clive Dewey | editor=D. A. Low|title=Political Inheritance of Pakistan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VaeuCwAAQBAJ |year=1991|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=978-1-349-11556-3 |pages=263–265 }}</ref>
The mid 19th-century Muslim historians, such as Shahamat Ali who experienced the Sikh Empire first hand, presented a different view on Ranjit Singh's Empire and governance.<ref name="bayly1996p233" /><ref>{{cite book|author=Chitralekha Zutshi|title=Languages of Belonging: Islam, Regional Identity, and the Making of Kashmir |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rEluAAAAMAAJ |year=2004 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-521939-5 |pages=39–41 }}</ref> According to Ali, Ranjit Singh's government was despotic, and he was a mean monarch in contrast to the Mughals.<ref name="bayly1996p233">{{cite book|author=Christopher Alan Bayly|title=Empire and Information: Intelligence Gathering and Social Communication in India, 1780–1870|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8bqEzPPp8xIC |year=1996|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-66360-1 |pages=233 }}</ref> The initial momentum for the Empire building in these accounts is stated to be Ranjit Singh led Khalsa army's "insatiable appetite for plunder", their desire for "fresh cities to pillage", and eliminating the Mughal era "revenue intercepting intermediaries between the peasant-cultivator and the treasury".<ref name="Low1991p263">{{cite book|author=Clive Dewey | editor=D. A. Low|title=Political Inheritance of Pakistan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VaeuCwAAQBAJ |year=1991|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=978-1-349-11556-3 |pages=263–265 }}</ref>


According to Ishtiaq Ahmed, Ranjit Singh's rule led to further persecution of Muslims in Kashmir, expanding{{clarify| reason=What does this word mean.| date=April 2021}} the previously selective persecution of Shia Muslims and Hindus by Afghan Sunni Muslim rulers between 1752 and 1819 before Kashmir became part of his Sikh Empire.<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> Bikramjit Hasrat describes Ranjit Singh as a "benevolent despot".<ref>{{cite book|author=Bikramajit Hasrat|title=Life and Times of Ranjit Singh: A Saga of Benevolent Despotism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UPgdAAAAMAAJ|year=1977|oclc= 6303625 | publisher=V.V. Research Institute|pages=83, 198}}</ref>
According to Ishtiaq Ahmed, Ranjit Singh's rule led to further persecution of Muslims in Kashmir, expanding{{clarify| reason=What does this word mean.| date=April 2021}} the previously selective persecution of Shia Muslims and Hindus by Afghan Sunni Muslim rulers between 1752 and 1819 before Kashmir became part of his Sikh Empire.<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> Bikramjit Hasrat describes Ranjit Singh as a "benevolent despot".<ref>{{cite book|author=Bikramajit Hasrat|title=Life and Times of Ranjit Singh: A Saga of Benevolent Despotism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UPgdAAAAMAAJ|year=1977|oclc= 6303625 | publisher=V.V. Research Institute|pages=83, 198}}</ref>
The Muslim accounts of Ranjit Singh's rule were questioned by Sikh historians of the same era. For example, Ratan Singh Bhangu in 1841 wrote that these accounts were not accurate, and according to Anne Murphy, he remarked, "when would a Musalman praise the Sikhs?"<ref>{{cite book|author=Anne Murphy|title=The Materiality of the Past: History and Representation in Sikh Tradition|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r13hjYfoI6MC |year=2012|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-991629-0 |pages=121–126 }}</ref> In contrast, the colonial era British military officer Hugh Pearse in 1898 criticised Ranjit Singh's rule, as one founded on "violence, treachery and blood".<ref name="Alexander Gardner">{{cite book|last=Gardner|first=Alexander|title=Memoirs of Alexander Gardner&nbsp;– Colonel of Artillery in the Service of Maharaja Ranjit Singh|year= 1898| chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/soldiertraveller00gardiala#page/210/mode/2up |publisher=William Blackwood & Sons| pages=211|chapter=Chapter XII}}</ref> Sohan Seetal disagrees with this account and states that Ranjit Singh had encouraged his army to respond with a "[[tit for tat]]" against the enemy, violence for violence, blood for blood, plunder for plunder.<ref>{{cite book|author=Sohan Singh Seetal|title=Rise of the Sikh Power and Maharaja Ranjeet Singh|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TzRuAAAAMAAJ |year=1971|oclc=6917931| publisher=Dhanpat Rai|page=56}} (note: the original book has 667 pages; the open access version of the same book released by Lahore Publishers on archive.com has deleted about 500 pages of this book; see the original)</ref>
The Muslim accounts of Ranjit Singh's rule were questioned by Sikh historians of the same era. For example, Ratan Singh Bhangu in 1841 wrote that these accounts were not accurate, and according to Anne Murphy, he remarked, "when would a Musalman praise the Sikhs?"<ref>{{cite book|author=Anne Murphy|title=The Materiality of the Past: History and Representation in Sikh Tradition|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r13hjYfoI6MC |year=2012|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-991629-0 |pages=121–126 }}</ref> In contrast, the colonial era British military officer Hugh Pearse in 1898 criticised Ranjit Singh's rule, as one founded on "violence, treachery and blood".<ref name="Alexander Gardner">{{cite book|last=Gardner|first=Alexander|title=Memoirs of Alexander Gardner&nbsp;– Colonel of Artillery in the Service of Maharaja Ranjit Singh|year= 1898| chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/soldiertraveller00gardiala#page/210/mode/2up |publisher=William Blackwood & Sons| pages=211|chapter=Chapter XII}}</ref> Sohan Seetal disagrees with this account and states that Ranjit Singh had encouraged his army to respond with a "[[tit for tat]]" against the enemy, violence for violence, blood for blood, plunder for plunder.<ref>{{cite book|author=Sohan Singh Seetal|title=Rise of the Sikh Power and Maharaja Ranjeet Singh|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TzRuAAAAMAAJ |year=1971|oclc=6917931| publisher=Dhanpat Rai|page=56}} (note: the original book has 667 pages; the open access version of the same book released by Lahore Publishers on archive.com has deleted about 500 pages of this book; see the original)</ref>
===Decline===
Singh made his empire and the Sikhs a strong political force, for which he is deeply admired and revered in Sikhism. After his death, empire failed to establish a lasting structure for Sikh government or stable succession, and the Sikh Empire began to decline. The British and Sikh Empire fought two [[Anglo-Sikh War (disambiguation)|Anglo-Sikh wars]] with the [[Second Anglo-Sikh War|second]] ending the reign of Sikh Empire.<ref name="Oberoi1994p207">{{cite book|author=Harjot Oberoi|title=The Construction of Religious Boundaries: Culture, Identity, and Diversity in the Sikh Tradition|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dKl84EYFkTsC |year=1994|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=978-0-226-61593-6 |pages=207–208 }}</ref> Sikhism itself did not decline.<ref name="Oberoi1994p208">{{cite book|author=Harjot Oberoi|title=The Construction of Religious Boundaries: Culture, Identity, and Diversity in the Sikh Tradition| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dKl84EYFkTsC |year=1994|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=978-0-226-61593-6 |pages=208–216 }}</ref>
Clive Dewey has argued that the decline of the empire after Singh's death owes much to the [[jagir]]-based economic and taxation system which he inherited from the Mughals and retained. After his death, a fight to control the tax spoils emerged, leading to a power struggle among the nobles and his family from different wives. This struggle ended with a rapid series of palace coups and assassinations of his descendants, and eventually the annexation of the Sikh Empire by the British.<ref name="Low1991p263" />


==Death and Legacy==
==Death and Legacy==
In the 1830s, Ranjit Singh suffered from numerous health complications .He died in a sleep on 27 June 1839.


[[File:Maharaja Ranjit singh's treasure.jpg|thumb|A [[lithography|lithograph]] by [[Emily Eden]] showing one of the favourite horses of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and his collection of jewels, including the [[Koh-i-Noor]]]]
===Death===
[[File:Maharaja Ranjit Singh's funeral.jpg|thumb|Maharaja Ranjit Singh's funeral. ca. 1840]]
[[File:Samadhi of Ranjit Singh 1.jpg|thumb|The [[Samadhi of Ranjit Singh]] is located in [[Lahore]], Pakistan, adjacent to the iconic [[Badshahi Mosque]].]]
In the 1830s, Ranjit Singh suffered from numerous health complications as well as a stroke, which some historical records attribute to alcoholism and a failing liver.<ref name="Smith1920p690" /><ref>{{cite book|author=Kartar Singh Duggal|title=Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the Last to Lay Arms|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4udb8LsF3-oC&pg=PA107 |year=2001|publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=978-81-7017-410-3|pages=107–108 }}</ref> He died in his sleep on 27 June 1839.<ref name="Anand2015p13" /> Four of his Hindu wives- Mehtab Devi (Guddan Sahiba), daughter of Raja Sansar Chand, Rani Har Devi, the daughter of Chaudhri Ram, a Saleria rajput, Rani Raj Devi, daughter of Padma Rajput and Rani Rajno Kanwar, daughter of Sand Bhari along with seven Hindu concubines with royal titles committed [[Sati (practice)|sati]] by voluntarily placing themselves onto his funeral pyre as an act of devotion.<ref name="Anand2015p13" /><ref>{{cite book|last=Altekar|first=Anant S.|page=132 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VYG4K0yYHQgC&pg=PA131|title=The Position of Women in Hindu Civilization: From Prehistoric Times to the Present Day |year=1956 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-8120803244}}</ref>


Singh is remembered for uniting Sikhs and founding the prosperous Sikh Empire. He is also remembered for his conquests and building a well-trained, self-sufficient Khalsa army to protect the empire.<ref>{{cite book|author=Ian Heath|title=The Sikh Army 1799–1849|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=bT8UvgAACAAJ|year= 2005|publisher= Bloomsbury |isbn= 978-1-84176-777-2|pages= 5–8}}</ref> He amassed considerable wealth, including gaining the possession of the [[Koh-i-Noor]] diamond from [[Shuja Shah Durrani]] of Afghanistan, which he left to [[Jagannath Temple, Puri|Jagannath Temple]] in [[Puri]], [[Odisha]] in 1839.<ref name="ReferenceA">''The Real Ranjit Singh''; by Fakir Syed Waheeduddin, published by Punjabi University, {{ISBN|81-7380-778-7}}, 1 January 2001, 2nd ed.</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Isabel Burton|title=Arabia, Egypt, India: A Narrative of Travel|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=egyyNGelXQcC |year= 2012|publisher= Cambridge University Press|isbn= 978-1-108-04642-8|page=168}}</ref>
Singh is remembered for uniting Sikhs and founding the prosperous Sikh Empire. He is also remembered for his conquests and building a well-trained, self-sufficient Khalsa army to protect the empire.<ref>{{cite book|author=Ian Heath|title=The Sikh Army 1799–1849|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=bT8UvgAACAAJ|year= 2005|publisher= Bloomsbury |isbn= 978-1-84176-777-2|pages= 5–8}}</ref> He amassed considerable wealth, including gaining the possession of the [[Koh-i-Noor]] diamond from [[Shuja Shah Durrani]] of Afghanistan, which he left to [[Jagannath Temple, Puri|Jagannath Temple]] in [[Puri]], [[Odisha]] in 1839.<ref name="ReferenceA">''The Real Ranjit Singh''; by Fakir Syed Waheeduddin, published by Punjabi University, {{ISBN|81-7380-778-7}}, 1 January 2001, 2nd ed.</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Isabel Burton|title=Arabia, Egypt, India: A Narrative of Travel|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=egyyNGelXQcC |year= 2012|publisher= Cambridge University Press|isbn= 978-1-108-04642-8|page=168}}</ref>
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=== Crafts ===
=== Crafts ===
In 1783, Ranjit Singh established a crafts colony of Thatheras near [[Amritsar]] and encouraged skilled metal crafters from [[Kashmir]] to settle in [[Jandiala Guru]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=112387|title=Traditional brass and copper craft of utensil making from Punjab gets inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, UNESCO, 2014.|website=pib.nic.in|access-date=1 July 2019}}</ref> In the year 2014, this traditional craft of making brass and copper products got enlisted on the [[UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists|List of Intangible Cultural Heritage]] by [[UNESCO]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/traditional-brass-and-copper-craft-of-utensil-making-among-the-thatheras-of-jandiala-guru-punjab-india-00845|title=UNESCO – Traditional brass and copper craft of utensil making among the Thatheras of Jandiala Guru, Punjab, India|website=ich.unesco.org|language=en|access-date=1 July 2019}}</ref> The [[Government of Punjab, India|Government of Punjab]] is now working under Project Virasat to revive this craft.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/age-old-craft-of-thatheras-to-get-new-life/articleshow/64715430.cms|title=Jandiala utensils: Age-old craft of thatheras to get new life {{!}} Chandigarh News – Times of India|last1=24 Jun|first1=Yudhvir Rana {{!}} TNN {{!}} Updated|last2=2018|website=The Times of India|language=en|access-date=1 July 2019|last3=Ist|first3=11:15}}</ref>
In 1783, Ranjit Singh established a crafts colony of Thatheras near [[Amritsar]] and encouraged skilled metal crafters from [[Kashmir]] to settle in [[Jandiala Guru]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=112387|title=Traditional brass and copper craft of utensil making from Punjab gets inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, UNESCO, 2014.|website=pib.nic.in|access-date=1 July 2019}}</ref> In the year 2014, this traditional craft of making brass and copper products got enlisted on the [[UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists|List of Intangible Cultural Heritage]] by [[UNESCO]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/traditional-brass-and-copper-craft-of-utensil-making-among-the-thatheras-of-jandiala-guru-punjab-india-00845|title=UNESCO – Traditional brass and copper craft of utensil making among the Thatheras of Jandiala Guru, Punjab, India|website=ich.unesco.org|language=en|access-date=1 July 2019}}</ref> The [[Government of Punjab, India|Government of Punjab]] is now working under Project Virasat to revive this craft.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/age-old-craft-of-thatheras-to-get-new-life/articleshow/64715430.cms|title=Jandiala utensils: Age-old craft of thatheras to get new life {{!}} Chandigarh News – Times of India|date=24 June 2018|first=Yudhvir |last=Rana |website=The Times of India|language=en|access-date=1 July 2019}}</ref>


==In popular culture==
==In popular culture==
* ''Maharaj Ranjit Singh'', a [[documentary film]] directed by Prem Prakash covers his rise to power and his reign. It was produced by the [[Government of India]]'s [[Films Division of India|Films Division]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=MAHARAJA RANJIT SINGH {{!}} Films Division|url=https://filmsdivision.org/shop/maharaja-ranjit-singh|access-date=2021-06-12|website=filmsdivision.org}}</ref>
* ''Maharaja Ranjit Singh'', a [[documentary film]] directed by Prem Prakash covers his rise to power and his reign. It was produced by the [[Government of India]]'s [[Films Division of India|Films Division]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=MAHARAJA RANJIT SINGH {{!}} Films Division|url=https://filmsdivision.org/shop/maharaja-ranjit-singh|access-date=12 June 2021|website=filmsdivision.org}}</ref>
*In 2010, a TV series titled ''[[Maharaja Ranjit Singh (TV series)|Maharaja Ranjit Singh]]'' aired on [[DD National]] based on his life which was produced by [[Raj Babbar]]'s Babbar Films Private Limited. He was portrayed by Ejlal Ali Khan
*In 2010, a TV series titled ''[[Maharaja Ranjit Singh (TV series)|Maharaja Ranjit Singh]]'' aired on [[DD National]] based on his life which was produced by [[Raj Babbar]]'s Babbar Films Private Limited. He was portrayed by Ejlal Ali Khan
*''Maharaja: The Story of Ranjit Singh'' (2010) is an Indian [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]]-language animated film directed by Amarjit Virdi.<ref>{{cite web |title=Maharaja: The Story of Ranjit Singh |url=https://www.netflix.com/title/81035398 |website=[[Netflix]] |language=en}}</ref>
*''Maharaja: The Story of Ranjit Singh'' (2010) is an Indian [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]]-language animated film directed by Amarjit Virdi.<ref>{{cite web |title=Maharaja: The Story of Ranjit Singh |url=https://www.netflix.com/title/81035398 |website=[[Netflix]] |language=en}}</ref>
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* [[Baradari of Ranjit Singh]]
* [[Baradari of Ranjit Singh]]
* [[History of Punjab]]
* [[History of Punjab]]
* [[Ahmad Shah Durrani|Ahmad Shah Abdali]]
* [[Charat Singh]]
* [[Jind Kaur]]
* [[Hari Singh Nalwa]]
* [[List of generals of Ranjit Singh]]
* [[List of generals of Ranjit Singh]]
* [[List of deaths through alcohol]]
* [[Koh-i-Noor]]
* [[Koh-i-Noor]]
* [[Sher-e-Punjab (field hockey team)]]
* [[Battle of Balakot]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rekhta.org/ebooks/shah-ismail-shaheed-ebooks|title=Shah Ismail Shaheed|website=Rekhta}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://islamhouse.com/en/books/51908|title=Strengthening the Faith – English – Shah Ismail Shaheed|first=Shah Ismail|last=Shaheed|website=IslamHouse.com}}</ref><ref name=GoogleBooks>[https://books.google.com/books?id=LFaIp-8BEDoC&pg=PT4&lpg=PT4&dq=shah+ismail+shaheed&source=bl&ots=06RQE0Y2Ed&sig=Po-6e6L9RG2T1YgQVfeLM51jV4A&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjAk-XWt-PTAhVS3GMKHTHZAQE4FBDoAQg9MAU#v=onepage&q=shah%20ismail%20shaheed&f=false Profile of Dehlvi on books.google.com website] Retrieved 16 August 2018</ref>
* [[Battle of Balakot]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rekhta.org/ebooks/shah-ismail-shaheed-ebooks|title=Shah Ismail Shaheed|website=Rekhta}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://islamhouse.com/en/books/51908|title=Strengthening the Faith – English – Shah Ismail Shaheed|first=Shah Ismail|last=Shaheed|website=IslamHouse.com}}</ref><ref name=GoogleBooks>[https://books.google.com/books?id=LFaIp-8BEDoC&pg=PT4&lpg=PT4&dq=shah+ismail+shaheed&source=bl&ots=06RQE0Y2Ed&sig=Po-6e6L9RG2T1YgQVfeLM51jV4A&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjAk-XWt-PTAhVS3GMKHTHZAQE4FBDoAQg9MAU#v=onepage&q=shah%20ismail%20shaheed&f=false Profile of Dehlvi on books.google.com website] Retrieved 16 August 2018</ref>


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[[Category:Indian monarchs]]
[[Category:Indian monarchs]]
[[Category:Indian warriors]]
[[Category:Indian warriors]]
[[Category:People from Lahore]]