1 Rise to Power of Ranjit Singh. 75
2 its possessions were annexed by Ranjit Singh. The
3 Ramgarhia misl lingered on for another decade in
4 semi-independence, and then it, too, was absorbed
5 into what we may now justly term the kingdom of
6 Lahore.
7 In 1804, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, taking advan-
8 tage of the dissensions prevailing at the court
9 of Shah Zeman, entered upon a campaign in the
10 north-western portion of the Punjab with the object
11 of wresting from the Afghan ruler his possessions
12 east of the Indus. Crossing the Ravi with a large
13 army, he reduced the town of Jhang, and then,
14 proceeding southward, exacted tribute from Nawab
15 Muzaffar Khan, the Governor of Miiltan. Content
16 for the time with this success, he returned to Lahore
17 and busied himself in bringing into subjection the
18 minor sirdars who held lands in the neighbour-
19 hood of his capital. In the following year he again
20 marched westward ; but he had not proceeded far
21 when news reached him that Holkar, pursued by
22 General Lake, had taken refuge in Amritsar, and
23 was looking to the Sikhs for support. Realizing the
24 serious consequences which might result from the
25 presence of the Mahratta chief in his dominions, he
26 at once abandoned his expedition, and hastened to
27 Amritsar.
28 The second Mahratta war, which was at this time
29 nearing its termination, had commenced in 1802.
30 Before the close of 1803, the battles of Assaye and
31 Argaum in the south, and Aligarh and Laswari in
32 the north, had completely broken the power of
33 Sindhia and of Nagpiir; Delhi was in the hands of