Kashmir conquest of 1819 and Punjab rule
Read the 1819 Kashmir campaign alongside an early 1820s travel journal, distinguishing military logistics, provincial offices and reported fiscal practices.
Kashmir valley
History · A guide to the archive
Power, patronage and the Lahore court
Explore authority through campaign accounts, grants, court letters and interpretations of succession.
How to approach this subject
Ask what kind of authority the particular record can establish. A military narrative, a grant discussed in later research, an edited letter and a historian’s framework have different purposes and limits. Keep original records separate from the works that describe them, and attribute interpretations rather than treating them as direct observation. These readings offer specific comparisons without turning selected cases into a complete account of every institution or household.
An intentional selection
Begin with these entries
The Battle of Jamrud
Read the 1837 Battle of Jamrud through accounts of a fort, a commander’s death and military withdrawal, keeping their different claims and limits visible.
Jamrud and Peshawar
Religious patronage under Ranjit Singh
Examine named grants under Ranjit Singh, an interpretation of their recipients and Kashi’s account of gilding, keeping patronage and later ownership distinct.
Punjab and Kashi
Women and authority in the Lahore court
Compare a court visit in 1838 with Chand Kaur’s regency claim in 1840–41, reading mediated encounters and political coalitions as different kinds of evidence.
Lahore
The succession crisis after Ranjit Singh
Follow succession after Ranjit Singh through investiture, interim orders and the relationship between ruler, minister and army, with interpretations attributed.
Lahore