outhwards to Mewat. Fazilka and a large part
of Hissar then formed a wild desert tract called Bhattiana, over which
no effective control was exercised till 1818. In 1832 "the Delhi
territory" became part of the North-West Provinces, from which it was
transferred to the Panjab after the Mutiny.

~Relations of Ranjit Singh with English.~--In December, 1808, Ranjit Singh
was warned that by the issue of the war with Sindhia the Cis-Sutlej
chiefs had come under British protection. The Maharaja was within an ace
of declaring war, or let the world think so, but his statesmanlike
instincts got the better of mortified ambition, and in April, 1809, he
signed a treaty pledging himself to make no conquests south and east of
the Sutlej. The compact so reluctantly made was faithfully observed. In
1815, as the result of war with the Gurkhas, the Rajput hill states
lying to the south of the Sutlej came under British protection.

~Extension of Sikh Kingdom in Panjab.~--As early as 1806, when he reduced
Jhang, Ranjit Singh began his encroachments on the possessions of the
Duranis in the Panjab. Next year, and again in 1810 and 1816, Multan was
attacked, but the strong fort was not taken till 1818, when the old
Nawab, Muzaffar Khan, and five of his sons, fell fighting at the gate.
Kashmir was first attacked in 1811 and finally annexed in 1819. Called
in by the great Katoch Raja of Kangra, Sansar Chand, in 1809, to help
him against the Gurkhas, Ranjit Singh duped both parties, and became
master of the famous fort. Many years later he annexed the whole of the
Kangra hill states. By 1820 the Maharaja was supreme from the Sutlej to
the Indus, though his hold on Hazara was weak. Peshawar became tributary
in 1823, but it was kept in subjection with much difficulty. Across the
Indus the position of the Sikhs was always precarious, and revenue was
only paid when an armed force could be sent to collect it. As late as
1837 the great Sikh leader, Hari Singh Nalwa, fell fighting with the
Afghans at Jamrud. The Barakzai, Dost Muhammad, had been the ruler of
Kabul since 1826. In 1838, when the English launched their ill-starred
expedition to restore Shah Shuja to his throne, Ranjit Singh did not
refuse his help in the passage through the Panjab. But he was worn out
by toils and excesses, and next year the weary lion of the Panjab died.
He had known how to use men. He employed Jat blades and Brahman and
Muhammadan brains. Khatris put both at his service