What is Ranjit Singh?
{{Infobox monarch |name=Ranjit Singh |succession=Maharaja of Sikh Empire |predecessor=Ranjit Singh Was the Founder of the Sikh Empire |image=File:Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Emperor of the Sikh Empire.jpg |successor=Kharak Singh |birth_date=1780 |death_date=1839 (aged 58) |religion=[[Sikhism]] }} [[Maharaja]] '''Ranjit Singh''' (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839) was the founder of the [[Sikh Empire]], which came to power in the [[Punjab]] from the 16th-19th century. The capital was at [[Gujranwala]], later moved to [[Lahore]]. Ranjit Singh first came to fame around the year 1798 when he took advantage of the [[Durrani Empire]] turmoil in the [[Punjab region]] and captured the city of [[Lahore]] expelling the Afghan Muslim army garrison in the city. He then expanded in the [[Punjab region]] destroying each and ever [[Durrani Empire|Afghan Empire]] garrison and conquered many cities through his most decorated general, Hari Singh Nalwa. At its height, the Sikh Empire stretched from [[Jamrud]] in the west, [[Amritsar]] in the east, [[Multan]] in the south and [[Srinagar]] in the north.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zjduAAAAMAAJ|title=Maharaja Ranjit Singh: Lord of the Five Rivers|last=Lafont|first=Jean Marie|date=2002|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-566111-8|language=en}}</ref> After Ranjit Singh's death, his successors were weak and divided and the entire [[Punjab region]] fell to the [[British]] [[East India Company]], and was conquered by the [[British Empire]] later to become part of [[British Raj]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://www.bloomsburycollections.com/book/emperor-of-the-five-rivers-the-life-and-times-of-maharaja-ranjit-singh|title=Emperor of the Five Rivers: The Life and Times of Maharaja Ranjit Singh|last=Sheikh|first=Mohamed|date=2017|publisher=I.B.Tauris|isbn=978-1-78673-095-4|doi=10.5040/9781350986220.0008}}</ref> == References == {{Reflist}} {{bio-stub}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Ranjit}} [[Category:1780 births]] [[Category:1839 deaths]] [[Category:Punjabi people]]