Sikh Empire
Sikh Empire, was an
empire ruled and governed, in the 18th & 19th centuries, by
Punjabis from the
Sikh religion.
The
Sikh Empire (from 1801-1849) was formed on the foundations of the
Sikh Confederacy by
Maharaja Ranjit Singh. The beginnings of the
Sikh Empire could be defined as early as
1707, starting from the death of
Aurangzeb and the downfall of the
Mughal Empire. However, it is the period from
1762-
1799 that
Sikh rulers appeared to be coming into their own (
Sikh Confederacy). However, the true Sikh Empire began with the disbandment of the
Sikh Confederacy by the Coronation of
Maharaja Ranjit Singh at Lahore, creating the one unified political Empire.The fall of the Mughal Empire provided opportunities for the Sikh army, known as the
Dal Khalsa, to lead expeditions against the
Mughals and
Afghans. This led to a growth of the army, which was split into different confederations. Each of these component armies were known as a
misl, each controlling different areas. The religious population
demography of the Sikh Empire was
Muslim (60%),
Hindu (25%) and
Sikh (15%). The once strong empire, severely weakened after the death of
Maharaja Ranjit Singh in
1839. The story of the Empire ends, with the
British Empire annexing its territory in 1849, after the
Second Anglo-Sikh War.
The Empire extended from the
Khyber Pass in the west, to
Kashmir in the north (touching) the border's of
Tibet, to the
Sind River in the south and in the east to
Himachal Pradesh, . The main geographical footprint of the empire was Punjab (historical
Punjab region).
Sikh Confederate Empire (from 1762-1801). The
military power levels of the Sikh Confederacy increased dramatically after 1762, this led to rapid increase in territory. Although the political structure of the Sikh Confederacy was still in place, the increase in power saw the introduction of new features, more often seen with empires, such as military treaties with other powers that desired military protection from it e.g. in December 1768, Najib-ud-Daulla entered into a military treaty with the Sikh Confederacy. Rai Mal Gujar and Walter Leuhardt (Samroo) too wanted to join in. This period is seen as
hybrid between a Confederacy and Empire, a Confederacy with the military power and force of an empire but not an effective single unified political command of an empire. 1762 is seen by scholars as the beginning of the informal Sikh Empire.
* 1707-1716, Creation of
Sikh Confederacy begins to influence the political structure of the
Punjab region.
* 1762-1767,
Ahmed Shah Abdali and the Sikhs battle for control.
* 1763-1774,
Charat Singh, baron of
Sukerchakia Army established himself in Gujranwala.
* 1773,
Ahmed Shah Abdali dies and his son
Timur Shah is unable to suppress the Sikhs.
* 1774-1790,
Maha Singh, becomes baron of the Sukerchakia
Army.
* 1762-1801, Sikh Confederacy
military power rating increases to become a Sikh Confedarate Empire.
* 1790-1801,
Ranjit Singh becomes baron of the Sukerchakia
Army.
* 1799-1801, transistion period neither Confederacy or Empire.
* 1801 April 12th, Coronation of Ranjit Singh as Maharaja, formal beginning of the Sikh Empire.
* 1801 - 27th June 1839, Reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, whose coronation took place in 1801.
* 27th June 1839 - 5th November 1840, Reign of Maharaja
Kharak Singh* 5th November 1840 - 18th January 1841,
Chand Kaur was briefly
Regent* 18th January 1841 - 15th September 1843, Reign of Maharaja
Sher Singh* 15th September 1843 - 31st March 1849, Reign of Maharaja
Duleep Singh*
Sikh Confederacy*
Misl*
Ranjit Singh*
History of Punjab
