Foreign officials of the Sikh Empire

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Detail of a painting of Maharaja Ranjit Singh seated in darbar, including with his European generals Jean-Baptiste Ventura and Jean-Francois Allard, from his military manual, ca.1822-30 Detail of a painting of Maharaja Ranjit Singh seated in darbar, including with his European generals Jean-Baptiste Ventura and Jean-Francois Allard, from his military manual, ca.1822-30.jpg
Detail of a painting of Maharaja Ranjit Singh seated in darbar, including with his European generals Jean-Baptiste Ventura and Jean-François Allard, from his military manual, ca.1822–30

The Sikh Empire of the northwestern Indian subcontinent employed many foreigners, mostly Europeans and some Americans, in its administration and military. Fixty-two Europeans served in the Sikh Khalsa Army, coming from English, Russian, Spanish, Greek, German (incl. Prussian), French, and Austrian-backgrounds. [1] [2] The nationality with the largest representation in the Sikh Empire were the French, with there being sixteen French officers of the Sikh army. [1] The foreign officials were known as Firanghis and served in various roles, such as generals, military advisors, administrators, and physicians. [2]

Contents

Western/European officers from various backgrounds, including Britishers, Frenchmen, Germans, Italians, Spaniards, Americans, and Russians, also rose to high levels within the Sikh court in many instances. [3] However, the Sikh court was wary of the Westerners within the court, and kept them therefore under strict regulation. [3] These foreign Western members of the court were persuaded by the state to integrate themselves by marrying a local woman, settling down within the empire, swearing loyalty to the Sikh state, and adopt the cultural customs of the locals, such as growing out a beard or wearing a turban. [3] [4] The Western members of the court were also banned from publicly consuming beef or smoking. [3] [4] The Westerners adopted a mixture of both European and Punjabi clothing and some chose to wear Punjabi weapons on their person. [4]

Military

After the fall of Napoleon, the generals Ventura and Allard joined the services of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1822. [1] They helped reform the jagirdari cavalry along European lines. [1] Generals Ventura and Allard were responsible for establishing the Fauj-i-Khas unit, with Allard commanding three regiments in his brigade while Ventura controlled five divisions. [1] Meanwhile, Claude-Auguste Court was tasked with setting-up an artillery division of the Sikh army, which had three brigades by 1830. [1] Colonel Francois Henry Mouton and Signor Colonel Domingo Hurbon were given the job of engineering a pontoon bridge for the Sikh Army at the Battle of Sobraon in 1846 during the First Anglo-Sikh war. [2] Signor Colonel Domingo Hurbon was one of the European officials who remained serving the Sikh Empire until its very end. [2]

French cavalry officers of the Sikh army included General Allard, Commander de la Roche, Mouton, Mr Garron (or Carron), Messrs de Facieu (father and son) and Captain Argoud. [5] The infantry wing consisted of Captain de la Font, Mr Amise, Mr Dubuignon, Mr de la Ust, and Mr Gervais, while General Court took-care of the artillery operations. [5]

Doctors

Three foreign doctors were recorded as being on the payroll of the Sikh army: the Transylvanian Johann Martin Honigberger, a Frenchman called Benet, and an Englishman called Harvey. [5] Dr Benet was employed shortly as Maharajah Ranjit Singh's medical physician and the surgeon-general of the Sikh army. [5]

List of foreigners who served the Sikh Empire

French

Italian

Spanish

Austrian

American

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Ali, Ahmad; Hussain, Mazher; Akbar, Muhammad; Hayat, Khizar (4 September 2018). "Role of European Military Officers in the Army of Ranjit Singh: A Case Study of Its Training and Expeditions" (PDF). Annals of Social Sciences & Management Studies. 1 (3): 58–66.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Grewal, Harbaksh Singh (2010). "The Lion's Firanghis: Europeans At The Court Of Lahore - A Book Review". sikhchic (originally published by the UKPHA). Retrieved 2 March 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Hasrat, B. J. (2011). Singh, Harbans (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Sikhism. Vol. 2: E–L (3rd ed.). Patiala: Punjabi University. pp. 547–549. ISBN   978-8173802041.
  4. 1 2 3 Toor, Davinder Singh (2018). In Pursuit of Empire: Treasures from the Toor Collection of Sikh Art. London: Kashi House. pp. 194–195. ISBN   9781911271031.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Six portraits of European officers and officials serving with the Sikhs". Bonhams. 2022. Retrieved 2 March 2025.
  6. ↑ "Amalfi, Afghanistan & Abu Tabela". Naples: Life, Death, and Miracles. February 2003. Retrieved 2 March 2025.

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