1780 - Ranjit Singh, born on the 13th of November in Budrukhan,
or Gujranwala, India. 1792 - He became chief of the
Sukerchakias, a Sikh group. His inheritance included Gujranwala
town and the surrounding villages, now in Pakistan. 1799 - In
July, he seized Lahore, the capital of the Punjab. The Afghan
king, Shah Zaman, confirmed Ranjit Singh as governor of the
city. 1801 - Proclaimed himself maharaja of the Punjab. He had
coins struck in the name of the Sikh Gurus, the revered line of
Sikh leaders, and proceeded to administer the state in the name
of the Sikh commonwealth. 1802 - He captured Amritsar, the most
important commercial entrepôt in northern India and sacred city
of the Sikhs. Thereafter he proceeded to subdue the smaller Sikh
and Pashtun (Afghan) principalities that were scattered over the
Punjab. But his later forays east were checked by the English.
1809 - He signed the Treaty of Amritsar fixing the Sutlej River
as the eastern boundary of his territories. 1818 - His troops
captured the city of M