The classic biography of one of India's greatest rulers. Ranjit Singh was in every way as remarkable a man as his contemporaries, Napoleon and Mohammed Ali. From the status of petty chieftain he rose to become the most powerful Indian ruler of his time. His empire extended from Tibet to the deserts of Sindh and from the Khyber Pass to the Sutlej. His army was one of the most powerful of the time in Asia and was the first Indian force in a thousand years to stem the tides of invasion from the north-west frontiers of Hindustan. This is the first detailed biography of the first and only Sikh ruler of the Punjab by a Sikh writer who has devoted many years of his life to research on Sikh history. In this classic work Khushwant Singh presents Ranjit Singh as he really was. Based on Persian, Punjabi and English sources and drawing upon the diaries and accounts of European travelers like Moorcroft, Sir Alexander Burne, Masson, Fane and Emily Eden, this is a memorable account of the pageantry and brilliance of the Sikh Kingdom at the height of its power, and a lively portrait of one of the most colorful characters in Indian history.