Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780 1839),[5][6] was the leader of the Sikh Empire, which ruled the

northwest Indian subcontinent in the early half of the 19th century. He survived smallpox in infancy
but lost sight in his left eye. He fought his first battle alongside his father at age 10. After his father
died, he fought several wars to expel the Afghans in his teenage years, and was proclaimed as the
"Maharaja of Punjab" at age 21.[5][7] His empire grew in the Punjab region under his leadership
through 1839.[8][9]

Prior to his rise, the Punjab region had numerous warring misls(confederacies), twelve of which were
under Sikh rulers and one Muslim.[7] Ranjit Singh successfully absorbed and united the Sikh misls
and took over other local kingdoms to create the Sikh Empire. He repeatedly defeated invasions by
Muslim armies, particularly those arriving from Afghanistan, and established friendly relations with
theBritish.[10]

Ranjit Singh's reign introduced reforms, modernization, investment into infrastructure, and general
prosperity.[11][12] His Khalsa army and government included Sikhs, Hindus, Muslims and Europeans.
[13]
His legacy includes a period of Sikh cultural and artistic renaissance, including the rebuilding of
the Harimandir Sahib in Amritsar as well as other major gurudwaras, including Takht Sri Patna
Sahib, Bihar andHazur Sahib Nanded, Maharashtra under his sponsorship.[14][15] He was popularly
known as Sher-i-Punjab, or "Lion of Punjab".

Maharaja Ranjit Singh was succeeded by his son, Maharaja Kharak Singh

Ranjit Singh was born on 13 November 1780, to Mahan Singh Sukerchakia and Raj Kaur the
daughter of Raja Gajpat Singh of Jind, in Gujranwala, in the Majha region of Punjab (now
in Pakistan).[5][16] His birth name was Buddh Singh, after his ancestor who was a disciple ofGuru
Gobind Singh, a Khalsa, and whose descendants created the Sukerchakia misl before the birth of
Ranjit Singh, which became the most powerful of many small Sikh kingdoms in northwestern
Southern Asia in the wake of the disintegrating Mughal Empire.[17] The child's name was changed to
Ranjit (literally, "victor in battle") by his father to commemorate his army's victory over the Muslim
Chatha chieftain Pir Muhammad.[5][18]