Sikh Confederacy

Sikh Confederacy
Sikh Misalā
1748–1799
Seal of the Khalsa (1759) of Sikh Confederacy
Seal of the Khalsa (1759)
Motto: ਅਕਾਲ ਸਹਾਇ
Akāl Sahāi
"With God's Grace"
Anthem: ਦੇਗ ਤੇਗ ਫ਼ਤਿਹ
Dēg Tēg Fateh
"Victory to Charity and Arms"
Map of the Sikh Confederacy (1782)
Map of the Sikh Confederacy (1782)
StatusConfederation
CapitalAmritsar
LanguagePunjabi
Religion
Sikhism (official)
GovernmentAristocratic republics[1]
Jathedar 
• 1748–1753
Nawab Kapur Singh
• 1753–1783
Jassa Singh Ahluwalia
• 1783–1799
Naina Singh
LegislatureSarbat Khalsa
History 
• Passing of Gurmata to establish the Sikh Confederacy
29 March 1748
• Ranjit Singh unites the Sikh Confederacy into the Sikh Empire
7 July 1799
CurrencyNanakshahi
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
Durrani Empire
Mughal Empire
Sikh Empire
Cis-Sutlej states
Today part ofIndia
Pakistan

The Sikh Confederacy was a confederation of twelve sovereign Sikh states (each known as a Misl, derived from the Arabic word مِثْل meaning 'equal'; sometimes spelt as Misal)[2][3][4][5] which rose during the 18th century in the Punjab region in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent and is cited as one of the causes of the weakening of the Mughal Empire prior to Nader Shah's invasion of India (1738–1740).[6]

  1. ^ Singh, Khushwant (26 March 2024). A History of the Sikhs: 1469-1838. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-567308-1.
  2. ^ Herrli, Hans (1993). The Coins of the Sikhs. p. 11. The word misl seems to have been derived from an Arabic word meaning: equal.
  3. ^ Heath, Ian (1 January 2005). "The Sikh Army". Osprey. ISBN 9781841767772. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  4. ^ "The Khalsa Era". Nishan Sahib. 2011. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  5. ^ Kaur, Prabhjot; Sharma, Rohita (3 June 2021). "CONTRIBUTION OF SIKH MISLS IN GREAT SIKH HISTORY" (PDF). Impact Journals. 9 (6): 20.
  6. ^ Kakshi et al. 2007, p. 73