Ranjit Singh, popularly known as Sher-e-Punjab or "Lion of Punjab", was the first Maharaja 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 around Ranjit's early teenage years, Ranjit subsequently fought several wars to expel the Afghans throughout his teenage years. At the age of 21, he was proclaimed the "Maharaja of Punjab". His empire grew in the Punjab region under his leadership through 1839.
Kunwar Nau Nihal Singh was the third Maharaja of the Sikh Empire. He was the only son of Maharaja Kharak Singh and his consort, Maharani Chand Kaur. He was known as Yuvraj Kunwar Nau Nihal Singh. He was also known as Bhanwar Singh or Bhanwar Sa or Kunwar Sa means Respected Young Prince. Bhawar means Son of Kunwar or Son of Thakur. His reign began with the dethronement of his father Maharaja Kharak Singh and ended with his death at the age of 19 on the day of his father's funeral.
The Sikh Empire was a regional power based in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent. It existed from 1799, when Maharaja Ranjit Singh captured Lahore, to 1849, when it was defeated and conquered by the British East India Company in the Second Anglo-Sikh War. It was forged on the foundations of the Khalsa from a collection of autonomous misls. At its peak in the 19th century, the empire extended from Gilgit and Tibet in the north to the deserts of Sindh in the south and from the Khyber Pass in the west to the Sutlej in the east as far as Oudh. It was divided into four provinces: Lahore, which became the Sikh capital; Multan; Peshawar; and Kashmir from 1799 to 1849. Religiously diverse, with an estimated population of 4.5 million in 1831, it was the last major region of the Indian subcontinent to be annexed by the British Empire.
Maharani Jind Kaur was regent of the Sikh Empire from 1843 until 29 March 1847. After the Sikh Empire was dissolved on 29 March 1847 the Sikhs claimed her as the Maharani and successor of Maharaja Duleep Singh. However, on the same day the British took full control and refused to accept the claims.
Maha Singh, also spelt as Mahan or Mahn Singh, was the second chief of the Sukerchakia Misl. He was the eldest son of Sardar Charat Singh and Sardarni Desan Kaur Warraich. He was the father of Sher-e-Punjab Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
Maharaja Gulab Singh Jamwal (1792–1857) was the founder of Dogra dynasty and the first Maharaja of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, which was a part of Panjab and Sikh Empire became the largest princely state under the British Raj, which was created after the defeat of the Sikh Empire in the First Anglo-Sikh War. During the war, Gulab Singh would later side with the British and end up becoming the Prime Minister of Sikh Empire. The Treaty of Amritsar (1846) formalised the transfer of all the lands in Kashmir that were ceded to them by the Sikhs by the Treaty of Lahore.
Khem Kaur Dhillon was a Sikh queen and the second wife of Maharaja Kharak Singh, the second Maharaja of the Sikh Empire.
Maharani Datar Kaur (born Bibi Raj Kaur Nakai; was the queen consort of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the founder of the Sikh Empire and the mother of his successor, Maharaja Kharak Singh. She was the daughter of Sardar Ran Singh Nakai, third ruler of the Nakai Misl and Sardarni Karmo Kaur.
The Nakai Misl, founded by Sandhu Jats, was one of the twelve Sikh Misls that later became the Sikh Empire. It held territory between the Ravi and Sutlej rivers southwest of Lahore in what became Pakistan. The misl fought against the Sials, the Pathans and the Kharals before it was incorporated into the Sikh Empire of the Sukerchakia Misl by Ranjit Singh.
Kharak Singh was the second Maharaja of the Sikh Empire. He was the eldest son of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, founder of the Sikh Empire and his consort, Maharani Datar Kaur. He succeeded his father on 27 June 1839 and reigned until his dethronement and imprisonment on 8 October 1839. He was succeeded by his only son Nau Nihal Singh.
Kunwar Pashaura Singh (1821 – 11 September 1845), also spelt Peshawara Singh, sometimes styled as Shahzada, was the younger son of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and Rani Daya Kaur.
Kunwar Kashmira Singh, sometimes styled as Shahzada was the son of Maharaja Ranjit Singh of the Sikh Empire and Rani Daya Kaur.
Maharani Mehtab Kaur was the first wife of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the founder of the Sikh Empire. She was the mother of Ranjit's reputed son, Maharaja Sher Singh, who briefly became the ruler of the Sikh Empire from 1841 until his death in 1843.
Rani Raj Kaur was the wife of Maha Singh, the leader of the Sukerchakia Misl and the mother of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the founder of the Sikh Empire. She was affectionately known as Mai Malwain after her marriage. She is also referred to as Sardarni Raj Kaur and was daughter of Raja Gajpat Singh Sidhu of Jind.
The Haveli of Nau Nihal Singh, officially known as Government Victoria Girls' High School, is a haveli that houses a government school located in Lahore, Pakistan. Dating from the Sikh era of the mid-19th century, the haveli is considered to be one of the finest examples of Sikh architecture in Lahore, and is the only Sikh-era haveli that preserves its original ornamentation and architecture.
Maharani Gulbahar Begum was a wife of Maharaja Ranjit Singh of the Sikh Empire.
Sardar Ran Singh Nakai was the third chief of the Nakai Misl. He was born to the aristocratic Sandhu family of Jat Sikhs. He distinguished himself at an early age in campaigns with his father, Natha Singh Sandhu and uncle, the legendary Heera Singh Sandhu who was the founder of the Misl. Ran Singh was a fierce warrior and a powerful misldar under his leadership the misl was at its highest. He was the father of Maharani Datar Kaur and the father-in-law of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the founder of the Sikh Empire. He was the grandfather of Maharaja Kharak Singh, the second king of the Sikh Empire and Sardar Kahan Singh Nakai, the last chief of the Nakai Misl.
Sardarni Karam Kaur popularly known as Karmo Kaur was the wife of Ran Singh Nakai,the third ruler of the Nakai Misl. She served as the regent of the Nakai Misl during the reign of her sons, Bhagwan Singh and Gyan Singh. Being the mother of Maharani Datar Kaur, she was the mother-in-law of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the founder of the Sikh Empire. She was the grandmother of Maharaja Kharak Singh, the second king of the Sikh Empire and Sardar Kahan Singh Nakai, the last chief of the Nakai Misl.
Nanaki Kaur Atariwala (1823-1856) was the queen consort of Maharaja Nau Nihal Singh, the third Maharaja of the Sikh Empire. She was the daughter of the legendary general Sham Singh Atariwala.
Sahib Kaur (d.1841) was the second wife of Nau Nihal Singh, third Maharaja of the Sikh Empire and the mother of his son, Jawahar Singh.
