Sikh Empire

The‌ ‌Sikh ‌Empire‌ ‌was ‌an ‌empire ‌based ‌in ‌the Punjab region‌.^[1] It lasted‌ from ‌1799, ‌when Maharaja‌‌ Ranjit Singh captured‌‌ Lahore, until ‌1849, when‌ the British East India Company‌ defeated‌ it in the Second‌ Anglo-Sikh War. The empire stretched 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.^[2][3]

The empire was divided into four provinces; Lahore, Multan, Peshawar, and Kashmir and had a diverse population of around 4.5 million in 1831, with Muslims being the majority at 70% and Sikhs at 6%.^[4] The British Empire annexed it, marking the end of Sikh rule in the Indian subcontinent.^[5]

The empire's origins trace back to the capture of Lahore from Zaman Shah Durrani, and Ranjit Singh became Maharaja in 1801. Expelling Afghans and unifying Sikh misls, he modernized the army with advanced training and weaponry. However, after his death, internal divisions and political mismanagement weakened the empire. The British East India Company took advantage, and in 1849, the Sikh Empire fell after losing the Second Anglo-Sikh War.^[6][7]

1. ↑ "Ranjit Singh: A Secular Sikh Sovereign | Exotic India Art". www.exoticindiaart.com. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
2. ↑ Gupta, Hari Ram (1991). History of the Sikhs. Munshiram Manoharlal. ISBN 978-81-215-0540-6.
3. ↑ Singh, Khushwant (2004). History of the Sikhs. Oxford University Press. pp. viii. ISBN 978-0195673081.
4. ↑ Dalziel, Nigel; MacKenzie, John M, eds. (2016-01-11). The Encyclopedia of Empire (1 ed.). Wiley. doi:10.1002/9781118455074.wbeoe314. ISBN 978-1-118-44064-3.
5. ↑ Melton, J. Gordon (2014-01-15). Faiths Across Time [4 Volumes]: 5,000 Years of Religious History [4 Volumes]. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-61069-026-3.
6. ↑ Fenech, Louis E. (2013-01-31). The Sikh Zafar-namah of Guru Gobind Singh: A Discursive Blade in the Heart of the Mughal Empire. OUP USA. ISBN 978-0-19-993145-3.
7. ↑ Khilnani, N. M. (1972). British Power in the Punjab, 1839-1858. Asia Publishing House. ISBN 978-0-210-27187-2.