In 1801, the young scion of a petty fiefdom in the Punjab was invested with the title of Maharaja of Punjab. The young man, whose name was Ranjit Singh went on to carve out a kingdom for himself that stretched from the borders of Afghanistan in the west to the boundaries of the British Raj in the east. It included the lush hills and valleys of Kashmir, the barren mountains of Ladakh and the fertile plains of his native Punjab. The British valued him as an ally who would keep their western frontier safe and while they coveted his kingdom, they did not dare to engage in military adventures in Punjab during his lifetime.