1 Rise to Power of Ranjit Singh. 79
2 tection of the Great Moghul, he lived and flourished,
3 and became the father of seven sons, the ancestors
4 of the reigning families of Patiala, Jind, Nabbha,
5 and the other minor states of which the misl was
6 composed. The leadership was in the hands of the
7 Patiala chief whose ancestor, Ala Singh, had been
8 invested by Ahmad Shah with the governorship
9 of Sirhind and the title of Raja.
10 Shortly after the conclusion of the treaty above
11 mentioned, a dispute arose between the states of
12 Patiala and Jind; and the chief of the latter,
13 Raja Bhag Singh, sent a message to Ranjit Singh
14 begging him to come and act as mediator. The
15 invitation exactly suited the Maharaja's plans, and
16 was accepted with alacrity. He crossed the Sutlej
17 in July 1806, taking with him an army considerably
18 larger than the peaceful nature of his mission
19 warranted ; and, having settled the dispute in ques-
20 tion— a task which he performed with much more
21 advantage to himself than to the parties concerned,
22 — he commenced operations on his own account.
23 Ludhiana, a town then held by a Muhammadan
24 chieftain, was seized and plundered by his troops,
25 as was also Ghumgrana, while a number of smaller
26 towns opened their gates to him. In each of his
27 newly acquired possessions he left a sirdar in charge ;
28 and by the time he withdrew to his own kingdom,
29 he had established a firm foothold in Cis-Sutlej
30 territory.
31 The next year a quarrel arose between the Raja
32 of Patiala and his wife, Rani Aus Kour, and again
33 the question at issue was referred to the ruler of