Ranjit Singh

Maharaja Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839) was the founder of the Sikh Empire, which came to power in the Indian subcontinent from the 16th-19th century. This was based in the Punjab region, from around 1799 to 1849. The capital was at Lahore. Ranjit Singh first came to fame around the year 1798 when he took advantage of the Durrani Empire turmoil in the Punjab region and captured the city of Lahore expelling the Afghan Muslim army garrison in the city. He then expanded in the Punjab region destroying each and ever Afghan Empire garrison and conquered many cities through his most decorated general, Hari Singh Nalwa. At its height, the Sikh Empire stretched from Jamrud in the west, Amritsar in the east, Multan in the south and Srinagar in the north.
After Ranjit Singh's death, his successors were weak and divided and the entire Punjab fell to the British East India Company, later to become part of British India.