In the turbulent four years following the Ranjit Singh's death on 27 June 1839, Dhian remained at the helm, grappling with a power struggle in which three successive emperors and one empress died suddenly, in the build-up to the
First Anglo-Sikh War., seated, with his prime minister Raja Dhian Singh in 1838.|leftFollowing the coronation of
Kharak Singh on 1 September 1839, Dhian launched a
palace coup on 8 October 1839, and assassinated Chet Singh Bajwa, the favourite
courtier of the emperor. He imprisoned emperor Kharak, who later died of slow poisoning by lead and mercury. Dhian had spread rumor that the hedonistic emperor intended to sell out the
sovereignty of the Sikh empire to the
British East India Company. Dhian then installed the emperor's son
Nau Nihal Singh, aged eighteen, to the throne. Thirteen months later, Nau Nihal, died suddenly on 5 November 1840, on the day of his father's funeral. After leaving the funeral pyre, Nau Nihal was knocked unconscious when a stone gate at
Lahore Fort collapsed upon him. Udham Singh, son of Dhian's brother Gulab Singh was killed in the same incident. Dhian had the teenage emperor carried indoors, and barred any visitors, including the emperor's mother
Chand Kaur. Eyewitness accounts had initially reported the emperor had only suffered minor injuries from the accident, however later the emperor was pronounced dead when Dhian presented the corpse with its head smashed.
American colonel Alexander Gardner, who was with Nau Nihal when he was injured, noted that five artillery men carried the emperor into the fort under the orders of Dhian. Two of these men died mysteriously, two asked for leave and never returned, and one inexplicably disappeared. Dhian negotiated a ceasefire, which led to Chand Kaur's
abdication, and Sher succeeding to the throne as emperor. Later, Dhian had the deposed Chand Kaur's servants changed, who then assassinated Chand in her palace by smashing her head with wooden pikes on 11 June 1842., Ranbir Sohan, and Udham Singh made early 19th century now at the
Brooklyn Museum.Dhian Singh and emperor Sher Singh were both assassinated on 15 September 1843, in a plot led by
Ajit Singh Sandhawalia. Dhian was shot and his body cut into pieces. Dhian's son Hira Singh led a
counter-coup the next day, and killed the assassins. On 17 September 1843, Hira Singh Dogra, aged 24, succeeded his father as the prime minister, with five year old infant
Duleep Singh being crowned emperor. London. c. 1830 Dhian's younger brother Suchet Singh Dogra was killed on 27 March 1844, while leading a failed coup against Dhian's son Hira Singh Dogra. Hira himself was assassinated following another coup d'état led by
Sham Singh Atariwala on 21 December 1844. A year later the
First Anglo-Sikh War broke out on 11 December 1845. Dhian's elder brother Maharajah
Gulab Singh Dogra, was the prime minister of the
Sikh empire from 31 January – 9 March 1846, during the First Anglo-Sikh War, and then became the first emperor of
Jammu and Kashmir on 16 March 1846, by the
Treaty of Amritsar. This followed the 9 March
Treaty of Lahore and ultimately led up to the British East India Company gaining sovereignty over the Sikh empire.
Jagat Dev Singh a descendant of Gulab Singh's brother Dhian Singh a member of Poonch ruling family ascended the throne of
Jammu and Kashmir from September 1925 to February 1926. == References ==