Sikh Empire Sarkār-i-Khālsa Khālasā Rāj | |||||||||||||||||||||
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1799–1849 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Motto: ਅਕਾਲ ਸਹਾਇ Akāl Sahāi "With God's Grace" | |||||||||||||||||||||
Anthem: ਦੇਗ ਤੇਗ ਫ਼ਤਿਹ Dēg Tēg Fateh "Victory to Charity and Arms" | |||||||||||||||||||||
![]() The Sikh Empire at its greatest extent c. 1839, under Ranjit Singh | |||||||||||||||||||||
Status | Empire | ||||||||||||||||||||
Capital |
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Common languages | |||||||||||||||||||||
Religion | |||||||||||||||||||||
Government | Federal monarchy | ||||||||||||||||||||
Maharaja | |||||||||||||||||||||
• 1801–1839 | Ranjit Singh (first) | ||||||||||||||||||||
• 1843–1849 | Duleep Singh (last) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Regent | |||||||||||||||||||||
• 1840–1841 | Chand Kaur | ||||||||||||||||||||
• 1843–1846 | Jind Kaur | ||||||||||||||||||||
Vizier | |||||||||||||||||||||
• 1799–1818 | Khushal Singh Jamadar (first) | ||||||||||||||||||||
• 1846 | Gulab Singh (last) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Historical era | Early modern period | ||||||||||||||||||||
• Capture of Lahore by Ranjit Singh | 7 July 1799 | ||||||||||||||||||||
• End of Second Anglo-Sikh War | 29 March 1849 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Area | |||||||||||||||||||||
1839[5] | 520,000 km2 (200,000 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Population | |||||||||||||||||||||
• 1800s | 12,000,000[6] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Currency | Nanak Shahi Sikke | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Today part of |
History of India |
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Timeline |
The Sikh Empire was a regional power based in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent.[7] It existed from 1799, when Maharaja Ranjit Singh captured Lahore, to 1849, when it was defeated and conquered by the British East India Company in the Second Anglo-Sikh War. It was forged on the foundations of the Khalsa from a collection of autonomous misls.[1][8] At its peak in the 19th century, the empire extended from Gilgit and Tibet in the north to the deserts of Sindh in the south and from the Khyber Pass in the west to the Sutlej in the east as far as Oudh.[9][10] It was divided into four provinces: Lahore, which became the Sikh capital; Multan; Peshawar; and Kashmir from 1799 to 1849. Religiously diverse, with an estimated population of 4.5 million in 1831 (making it the 19th most populous country at the time),[11] it was the last major region of the Indian subcontinent to be annexed by the British Empire.
The formation of the empire began with the capture of Lahore from its Durrani ruler, Zaman Shah Durrani. Ranjit Singh was proclaimed as Maharaja of the Punjab on 12 April 1801 (to coincide with Vaisakhi), creating a unified political state. Sahib Singh Bedi, a descendant of Guru Nanak, conducted the coronation.[12] The formation of the empire was followed by the progressive expulsion of Afghans from Punjab by capitalizing off Afghan decline in the Afghan-Sikh Wars, and the unification of the separate Sikh misls. Ranjit Singh rose to power in a very short period, from a leader of a single misl to finally becoming the Maharaja of Punjab. He began to modernise his army, using the latest training as well as weapons and artillery. After the death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the empire was weakened by the British East India Company stoking internal divisions and political mismanagement. Finally, in 1849, the state was dissolved after the defeat in the Second Anglo-Sikh War.
The continuance of Persian as the language of administration.
We see such acquaintance clearly within the Sikh court of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, for example, the principal language of which was Persian.
By 1839, the year of his death, the Sikh kingdom extended from Tibet and Kashmir to Sind and from the Khyber Pass to the Himalayas in the east. It spanned 600 miles from east to west and 350 miles from north to south, comprising an area of just over 200,000 square miles.
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