Paolo Avitabile was born in Agerola near Naples in 1791, served in Napoleon's army and then in Persia, and arrived in Lahore in 1827.
He became governor first of Wazirabad and then, from 1838, of Peshawar, where he ruled with notorious severity, hanging robbers from the minarets of the mosque as a warning. He also built roads and a bazaar and is said to have made Peshawar safe for the first time in years.
He left in 1843 rich and returned to Italy, where he died in 1850.
Connected
Veteran of Napoleon's cavalry who arrived in Lahore in 1822 and raised the Fauj-i-Khas, the elite French-drilled brigade of the Sikh army.
Sher-e-Punjab, the Lion of Punjab. United the misls into the Sikh Empire, ruled from Lahore for forty years and covered the Harmandir Sahib in gold.
Saint-Cyr-trained French officer who cast and commanded Ranjit Singh's artillery and mapped and dug the antiquities of the Punjab.