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What was the Sikh Empire?
The last great indigenous power of India: a secular, tolerant, French-drilled state that held the British at bay for fifty years.
Last updated: October 2026
The Sikh Empire was the last great indigenous power of the Indian subcontinent, ruling the Punjab from 1799 to 1849 under Maharaja Ranjit Singh — the “Lion of Punjab.” From his capital Lahore, Ranjit Singh built a modern, religiously tolerant state with one of Asia’s finest armies, until Britain annexed it after two bloody Anglo-Sikh wars.