Raja Ranjeet Singh
Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839) was the founder and first maharaja of the Sikh Empire, in the northwest Indian subcontinent, ruling from 1801 until his death in 1839.
Born to Maha Singh, the leader of the Sukerchakia Misl, Ranjit Singh survived smallpox in infancy but lost sight in his left eye. At the age of ten years old, he fought his first battle alongside his father. After his father died around Ranjit's early teenage years, he became leader of the Misl. Ranjit was the most prominent of the Sikh leaders who opposed Zaman Shah, the ruler of Durrani Empire, during his third invasion. After Zaman Shah's retreat in 1799, he captured Lahore from the Sikh triumvirate which had been ruling it since 1765. At the age of 21, he was formally crowned at Lahore.
Before his rise, the Punjab had been fragmented into a number of warring Sikh (known as misls), Muslim and Hindu states. A large part of Punjab was under direct Durrani control. By 1813, Ranjit Singh had successfully annexed the Sikh misls and taken over the local kingdoms; the following decades saw the conquest of Durrani Afghan-ruled territories of Multan, Kashmir and Peshawar into his expanding Sikh Empire. Ranjit Singh established friendly relations with the British.
Ranjit Singh's reign introduced reforms, modernisation, investment in infrastructure and general prosperity. His Khalsa army and government included Sikhs, Hindus, Muslims and Europeans. 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 gurdwaras, including Takht Sri Patna Sahib, Bihar and Hazur Sahib Nanded, Maharashtra under his sponsorship. He also founded the Order of the Propitious Star of Punjab in 1837. Ranjit Singh was succeeded by his son Kharak Singh after his death in 1839.
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