Maharaja: Did you mean...?

A photograph taken in 1877 by Samuel Bourne of Tukojirao II (r. 1884-1886), Maharaja Holkar of Indore, one of the Indian princely states.

A colourised 1911 photograph of Maharaja Bhupendra Singh of Patiala (r. 1900-1938), one of the Indian princely states.

A painting based on a photograph of the 1850s showing Maharaja Duleep Singh (l. 1838-1893), last ruler of the Sikh empire who was deposed following the Anglo-Sikh Wars (1845-49). (National Portrait Gallery, London)

The Indian Princely states (aka Native States or Princely India) were those states in the Indian subcontinent the British did not conquer but which were typically bound by treaty first to the East India Company and then to the British Crown...

The First Anglo-Sikh War (1845-6) was a short and bloody conflict won by the British East India Company (EIC) against the Sikh Empire. The EIC was keen to expand into northern India, but the Sikh army was a well-trained, well-equipped, and...

The Delhi Durbar was a spectacular public event held in India to commemorate the accession of a new British monarch to the title Empress or Emperor of India. Three Delhi Durbars were held: 1877, 1903, and 1911. The event involved military...

The Maukharis (554 CE - 606 CE) rose as a power after the downfall of the Gupta Empire (3rd to 6th century CE) in the 6th century CE in northern India. The core area of their kingdom was situated in what is now the state of Uttar Pradesh...

The Koh-i-Noor diamond (also Koh-i-Nur or Kūh-e Nūr) is one of the largest and most famous cut diamonds in the world. It was most likely found in southern India between 1100 and 1300. The name of the stone is Persian meaning ‘Mountain of...

The Gauda Kingdom came into being in the late 6th century CE in eastern India, as a result of the political disintegration of the Gupta Empire (3rd-6th century CE). Its core areas were situated in what is now the state of Bengal in India...

Warren Hastings (1732-1818) was appointed the Governor of Bengal by the British East India Company (EIC) in 1772 and became its first Governor-General in India from 1774 to 1785. Under his tenure, the EIC ruthlessly expanded its territory...