Following on from The Sikh Empire 1,  Ranjit Singh controlled Lahore, and had routed the Bhangi misl in battle.

On Baisakhi Day, 1801, at the age of 20, Ranjit Singh crowned himself Maharaja of Punjab. The young ruler’s ideals of liberalism and tolerance are clearly expressed in his policy. He was aware that the vast majority of his new subjects were Muslims, he did nothing to upset them, unlike the previous rulers’ attitude to Sikhs. He granted support to the mosques in Lahore and allowed the Islamic law to rule over Muslims. He appointed Muslim officers in his army, as well as Hindus. He had two Muslim brothers as his home minister and foreign minister, and another brother to carry out important tasks. He was still extremely loyal to Sikhism and the coins he had minted on the day of his coronation bore the following verse: “My largesse, my victories, my unalloyed fame, I owe to Guru Nanak and Guru Gobind Singh” He also ensured that there would be no discrimination against any faith in his empire, not just Islam. “God intended that I look upon all religions with one eye; that is why I was deprived of the other one” (he had lost the sight in one eye from an early bout of smallpox) he once said to his foreign minister.

When he crowned himself Maharaja of Lahore, his misl was gettting quite large. This had attracted the attention of France, Russia and Britain. The Marathas in the south-east and the Kangra chieftains in the north, with the Gurkhas in the north-east were all thinking about taking some of the misl for themselves. The misl also lay right in the path of some invading Afghan armies. So the kingdom of Ranjit Singh was under quite a lot of pressure when he became Maharaja. Nevertheless, he was undisturbed.

Ranjit Singh secured many alliances with other misls through his twenty marriages. This did not stop him from conquering the clans his wives came from. One of his wives, called Sada Kaur, tried to seek British help. He had her locked up for life.

Eventually, as always happens, Ranjit Singh died. His death unleashed many forces which were hurled against the Punjab. He had conquered many more territories when he passed away. He ruled an empire through tolerance and generosity, not by being a tyrant.