Mahmud of Ghazni

Mahmud of Ghazni
Mahmud
Ferdowsi reads the poem, the Shahnameh, to Mahmud of Ghazni by painter Vardges Sureniants
Emir of Ghazna
Reign

998 1002

Predecessor

Ismail

Successor

Himself as sultan
Sultan of Ghazna

Reign

1002 1030

Predecessor

Himself as emir

Successor

Muhammad

Spouse

Kausari Jahan

Issue

Jalal al-Dawla Muhammad

Shihab al-Dawla Masud
Izz al-Dawla Abd al-Rashid
Suleiman
Shuja

Full name
Laqab: Yamin al-Dawla wa Amin al-Milla
Kunya: Abul-Qasim
Given name: Mahmud
Nisba: Ghaznawi
House

House of Sabuktegin

Father

Sabuktegin

Born

2 November 971
[1]
Ghazna (now in Afghanistan)

Died

30 April 1030
Ghazna

Religion

Sunni Islam

Yamn-ud-Dawla Abul-Qim Mamd ibn Sebktegn (Persian: ) , more

commonly known as Mahmud of Ghazni ( ; 2 November 971 30 April 1030), also known as
Mahmd-i Zbul () , was the most prominent ruler of the Ghaznavid Empire. He conquered the eastern
Iranian lands and the northwestern Indian subcontinent(modern Afghanistan and Pakistan) from 997 to his death in
1030. Mahmud turned the former provincial city of Ghazna into the wealthy capital of an extensive empire which
covered most of today's Afghanistan, eastern Iran, and Pakistan He was the first ruler to carry the title Sultan
("authority"), signifying the extent of his power, though preserving the ideological link to the suzerainty of the
Abbassid Caliphate. During his rule, he invaded and plundered parts of Hindustan (east of the Indus River) 17
times.[2]

Mahmud of Ghazni

Early life and origins

Mahmud was born on Thursday, 10th of Muharram, 361 AH/ November 2, 971 AD (Old Style) in the town of
Ghazna in Medieval Khorasan (in what is now south-eastern Afghanistan). His father, Abu Mansur Sabuktigin, was
a Turkic slave-soldier of the Samanids. His mother was the daughter of a Persian aristocrat from Zabulistan.[3]

Early career
In 994, Mahmud joined his father Sebuktigin in the capture of Khorasan from the
rebel Fa'iq in aid of the Samanid Emir, Nuh II. During this period the Samanid
state became highly unstable, with shifting internal political tides as various
factions vied for control, the chief among them being Abu'l-Qasim Simjuri, Fa'iq,
Abu AliWikipedia:Citation needed, the General Bekhtuzin as well as the
neighbouring Buyids and Qarakhanids.

Reign

Sultan Mahmud and his forces

attacking the fortress of Zaranj

Mahmud took over his father's kingdom in 998 after defeating and capturing
Ismail at the Battle of Ghazni. He then set out west from Ghazni to take the
Kandahar region followed by Bost (Lashkar Gah), where he turned it into a
militarized city.

In 1001, Mahmud initiated the first of numerous invasion of northern India. On

28 November, his army fought and defeated the army of Raja Jayapala of the
Kabul Shahi dynasty at Peshawar. In 1002, Mahmud invaded Sistan, dethroned Khalaf I, last of the Saffarid amirs,
and ended the Saffarid dynasty.[4] From there he decided to focus on Hindustan to the southeast, particularly the
highly fertile lands of the Punjab region since south eastern Khorasan (his native province) was mostly mountains,
dry deserts and the fertile lands there had been poorly harvested and let to waste during the reign of the previous
rulers.Wikipedia:Citation needed It should be noted that Punjab was well known for its mangoes, oranges, bananas
and other tropical fruits that Khorasan lacked and instead was famous for pomegranates and
watermelons.Wikipedia:Citation needed It suggests that this has been the main reason for the Ghaznavids invading
India because the fruit as well as rice, sugar, wheat, and other products exported to the Middle East and Central Asia
generated more income than anything else for the rulers.Wikipedia:Citation needed
Mahmud's first campaign to the south was against the Ismaili Fatimid Kingdom at Multan in a bid to carry political
favor and recognition with the Abbassid Caliphate; he also engaged with the Fatimids elsewhere. At this point,
Jayapala attempted to gain revenge for an earlier military defeat at the hands of Mahmud's father, who had controlled
Ghazni in the late 980s and had cost Jayapala extensive territory. His son Anandapala succeeded him and continued
the struggle to avenge his father's suicide. He assembled a powerful confederacy which faced defeat as his elephant
turned back from the battle in a crucial moment, turning the tide into Mahmud's favor once more at Lahore in 1008
bringing Mahmud into control of the Hindu Shahi dominions of Udbandpura.[5]

Mahmud of Ghazni

Ghaznavid campaigns in Indian Subcontinent

Following the defeat of the Rajput Confederacy, after deciding to retaliate for their combined resistance, Mahmud
then set out on regular expeditions against them, leaving the conquered kingdoms in the hands of Hindu vassals
annexing only the Punjab region. He also vowed to raid northwestern India every year.
In 1001 Mahmud of Ghazni had first invaded modern Afghanistan and Pakistan. Mahmud defeated, captured and
later released Shahi ruler Jaya Pala who had moved his capital to Peshawar(modern Pakistan). Jaya Pala killed
himself and was succeeded by his son Ananda Pala. In 1005 Mahmud of Ghazni invaded Bhatia (probably Bhera)
and in 1006 he invaded Multan at which time Ananda Pala's army attacked him.The following year Mahmud of
Ghazni attacked and crushed Sukha Pala, ruler of Bhatinda (who had became ruler by rebelling against the Shahi
kingdom). In 1013, during Mahmud's 8th expedition into eastern Afghanistan and Pakistan, the Shahi kingdom
(which was then under Trilochana Pala, son of Ananda Pala) was overthrown.
In 1014 Mahmud led an expedition to Thanesar. The next year he unsuccessfully attacked Kashmir. In 1018, he
attacked Mathura and defeated a coalition of rulers there while also killing a ruler called Chandra Pala. In 1021
Mahmud supported the Kanauj king against Chandella Ganda who was defeated. That same year Shahi Trilochana
Pala was killed at Rahib and his son Bhima Pala succeeded him. Lahore(modern Pakistan) was annexed by Mahmud.
Mahmud besieged Gwalior, in 1023, where he was made a payment. Mahmud attacked Somnath, in 1025, and its
ruler Bhima Deva I fled. The next year, he captured Somnath and marched to Kachch against Bhima Deva. That
same year Mahmud also attacked the Jats of Jud.
The Indian kingdoms of Nagarkot, Thanesar, Kannauj, Gwalior, and Ujjain were all conquered and left in the hands
of Hindu, Jain and Buddhist Kings as vassal states and he was pragmatic enough not to shirk making alliances and
enlisting local peoples into his armies at all ranks. Destroying them would destroy the will power of the Hindus
attacking the Empire since Mahmud never kept a permanent presence in the northwestern subcontinent; Nagarkot,
Thanesar, Mathura, Kannauj, Kalinjar and Somnath were all thus raided. Mahmud's armies stripped the temples of
their wealth and then destroyed them at, Maheshwar, Jwalamukhi, Narunkot and Dwarka. During the period of
Mahmud invasion, the Sindhi Swarankar Community and other Hindus who escaped conversion fled from Sindh to
escape sectarian violence.

Patron of the arts and poetry

Mahmud brought whole libraries from Rayy and Isfahan to Ghazni. He even demanded that the Khwarizmshah court
send its men of learning to Ghazni.[6]
The notable poet Ferdowsi, after laboring 27 years, went to Ghazni and presented the Shahnameh to Mahmud. There
are various stories in medieval texts describing the lack of interest shown by Mahmud in Ferdowsi and his life's
work. According to historians, Mahmud had promised Ferdowsi a dinar for every distich written in the Shahnameh
(60,000 dinars), but later retracted and presented him with dirhams (20,000 dirhams), the equivalent at that time of
only 200 dinars.

Mahmud of Ghazni

Political challenges and his death

The last four years of Mahmud's life were spent contending with the
influx of Oghuz Turkic tribes from Central Asia, the Buyid Dynasty
and rebellions by Seljuqs. Initially the Seljuks were repulsed by
Mahmud and retired to Khwarezm but Togrl and agr led them to
capture Merv and Nishapur (10281029). Later they repeatedly raided
and traded territory with his successors across Khorasan and Balkh and
even sacked Ghazni in 1037. In 1040 at the Battle of Dandanaqan, they
decisively defeated Mahmud's son, Mas'ud I resulting in Mas'ud
abandoning most of his western territories to the Seljuks.

Tomb of Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni in 1848.

Sultan Mahmud died on 30 April 1030. His mausoleum is located in

Ghazni, Afghanistan.

Campaign timeline
As emir
994: Gained the title of Saif-ud-daula and became Governor of Khorasan under service to Nuh II of the Samanids
in civil strife
995: The Samanid rebels Fa'iq (leader of a court faction that had defeated Alptigin's nomination for Emir) and
Abu Ali expel Mahmud from Nishapur. Mahmud and Sabuktigin defeat Samanid rebels at Tus.
As sultan
997: Qarakhanid Empire
999: Khorasan, Balkh, Herat, Merv from the Samanids. A concurrent invasion from the north by the Qarakhanids
under Elik Khan (Nasr Khan) ends Samanid rule.
1000: Seistan from Saffarid Dynasty
1001: Gandhara: Sultan Mahmud defeats Jayapala at Peshawar; Jayapala subsequently abdicates and commits
suicide.
1002: Seistan: Imprisoned Khuluf
1004: Bhatia (Bhera) annexed after it fails to pay its yearly tribute.[7] in 1004 CE
1005-6: Multan Fateh Daud the Shia Ismaili ruler of Multan[8] revolts and enlists the aid of Anandapala. Mahmud
massacres the Ismailis[9][10] of Multan in the course of his conquest. Anandapala is defeated at Peshawar and
pursued to Sodra (Wazirabad).
Ghor and Muhammad ibn Suri then captured by Mahmud, made prisoner along with his son and taken to Ghazni,
where Muhammad ibn Suri died.[11] Appoints Sewakpal to administer the region. Anandapala flees to Kashmir,
takes refuge in the LoharaWikipedia:Citation needed fort in the hills on the western border of Kashmir.
1005: Defends Balkh and Khorasan against Nasr I of the Qarakhanids and recaptures Nishapur from Isma'il
Muntasir of the Samanids.
1005: Sewakpal rebels and is defeated.
1008: Mahmud defeats the Rajput/Indian Confederacy (Ujjain, Gwalior, Kalinjar, Kannauj, Delhi, and Ajmer) in
battle between Und and Peshawar,[12] and captures the Shahi treasury at Kangra in Himachal Pradesh.
Note: A historical narrative states in this battle, under the onslaught of the Gakhar tribe, Mahmud's army was
about to retreat when Jayapala's son King Anandapala's elephant took flight and turned the tide of the
battle.Wikipedia:Citation needed
1010: Ghor; against Mohammad ibn Sur

Mahmud of Ghazni

1010: Multan revolts. Abul Fatah Dawood imprisoned for life at Ghazni.
1012-1013: Sacks Thaneshwar[13]
1012: Invades Gharchistan and deposes it's ruler Abu Nasr Muhammad.
1012: Demands and receives remainder of the province of Khorasan from the Abassid Caliph. Then demands
Samarkand as well but is rebuffed.
1013: Bulnat: Defeats Trilochanpala.
1014 :Kafirstan attacked[14]
1015: Mahmud's army sacks Lahore, but his expedition to Kashmir fails, due to inclement weather.[15]
1015: Khwarezm: Marries his sister to Abul Abbas Mamun of Khwarezm who dies in the same year in a
rebellion. Moves to quell the rebellion and installs a new ruler and annexes a portion.
1017: Kannauj, Meerut, and Muhavun on the Yamuna, Mathura and various other regions along the route. While
moving through Kashmir he levies troops from vassal Prince for his onward march, Kannauj and Meerut
submitted without battle.
1018-1020: Sacks Mathura
1021: Raises Ayaz to kingship, awarding him the throne of Lahore

1021: Kalinjar attacks Kannauj: he marches to their aid and finds the last Shahi King Trilochanpaala encamped as
well. No battle, the opponents leave their baggage trains and withdraw from the field. Also fails to take the fort of
Lokote again. Takes Lahore on his return. Trilochanpala flees to Ajmer. First Muslim governors appointed east of
the Indus River.
1023: Lahore. He fails to conquer Kalinjar and Gwalior: Trilochanpala, the grandson of Jayapala is assassinated
by his own troops. Official annexation of Punjab by Ghazni. Also fails to take the Lohara fort on the western
border of Kashmir for the second time.
1024: Ajmer, Nehrwala, Kathiawar: This raid was his last major campaign. The concentration of wealth at
Somnath was renowned, and consequently it became an attractive target for Mahmud, as it had previously
deterred most invaders. The temple and citadel were sacked, and most of its defenders massacred.
1024: Somnath: Mahmud sacked the temple and is reported to have personally hammered the temple's gilded
Lingam to pieces and the stone fragments were carted back to Ghazni, where they were incorporated into the
steps of the city's new Jama Masjid (Friday Mosque) in 1026. He placed a new king on the throne in Gujarat as a
tributary. His return detoured across the Thar Desert to avoid the armies of Ajmer and other allies on his return.
1025: Marched against the Jats of the Jood mountains who harried his army on its return from the sack of
Somnath.
1027: Rey, Isfahan, Hamadan from the Buyid (Daylami) Dynasty.
1028, 1029: Merv, Nishapur lost to Seljuk Turks
Mahmud's campaigns seem to have been motivated by both religious zeal against both the Fatimids Shiites and
non-Muslims; Buddhists, Jains and Hindus Wikipedia:Avoid weasel words. His principal drive remained the Ismaili
Shiites, Buyid Iran as well as favor and recognition of independence from the Abbassid Caliphate Wikipedia:Avoid
weasel words. The wealth plundered from the Rajput Confederacy and his Indian campaigns went a long way
towards meeting those ends. By 1027, Mahmud had accomplished this as well as capturing most of modern-day
North-Western India as well as obtaining formal recognition of Ghazni's sovereignty from the Abbasid Caliph,
al-Qadir, as well as the honorific titles of wali amir al-muminin ("Friend of the Commander of the Faithful") and
Yamin al-Dawla wa Amin al-Milla ("Right Hand of the State and Keeper of the Community").

Mahmud of Ghazni

Attitude towards religious freedom

Mahmud, according to several contemporary accounts, considered himself a Ghazi who waged jihad on the Hindus.
His plunder of Hindu temples and centers of learning is noted later in the article. Al-Biruni writes:
In the interest of his successors he constructed, in order to weaken the Indian frontier, those roads on
which afterwards his son Mahmud marched into India during a period of thirty years and more. God be
merciful to both father and son! Mahmud utterly ruined the prosperity of the country, and performed
there wonderful exploits, by which the Hindus became like atoms of dust scattered in all directions, and
like a tale of old in the mouth of the people. Their scattered remains cherish, of course, the most
inveterate aversion towards all Muslims. This is the reason, too, why Hindu sciences have retired far
away from those parts of the country conquered by us, and have fled to places which our hand cannot
yet reach, to Kashmir, Benares, and other places. And there the antagonism between them and all
foreigners receives more and more nourishment both from political and religious sources.
Various historical sources such as Martin Ewans, E.J. Brill and Farishta have recorded the introduction of Islam to
Kabul and other parts of Afghanistan to the conquests of and Mahmud:
The Arabs advanced through Sistan and conquered Sindh early in the eighth century. Elsewhere
however their incursions were no more than temporary, and it was not until the rise of the Saffarid
dynasty in the ninth century that the frontiers of Islam effectively reached Ghazni and Kabul. Even then
a Hindu dynasty the Hindushahis, held Gandhara and eastern borders. From the tenth century onwards
as Persian language and culture continued to spread into Afghanistan, the focus of power shifted to
Ghazni, where a Turkish dynasty, who started by ruling the town for the Samanid dynasty of Bokhara,
proceeded to create an empire in their own right. The greatest of the Ghaznavids was Muhmad who
ruled between 998 and 1030. He expelled the Hindus from Gandhara, made no fewer than 17 raids into
northwestern India,[16]
He encouraged mass conversions to Islam, in India as well as in Afghanistan
Attack on 'Kafiristan':
Another crusade against idolatry was at length resolved on; and Mahmud led the seventh one against
Nardain, the then boundary of India, or the eastern part of the Hindu Kush; separating as Firishta says,
the countries of Hindustan and Turkistan and remarkable for its excellent fruit. The country into which
the army of Ghazni marched appears to have been the same as that now called Kafirstan, where the
inhabitants were and still are, idolaters and are named the Siah-Posh, or black-vested by the Muslims of
later times. In Nardain there was a temple, which the army of Ghazni destroyed; and brought from
thence a stone covered with certain inscriptions, which were according to the Hindus, of great
antiquity.[17]
Massacres of Ismailis: In 965 CE, Multan was conquered by Halam b. Shayban, an Ismaili dai. Soon after, Multan
was attacked by the Ghaznavids, destabilizing the Ismaili state. Mahmud invaded Multan in 1005 CE, conducting a
series of campaigns during which the Ismailis of Multan were massacred.[18]

Mahmud of Ghazni

Destruction of Somnath Temple

Mahmud conquered and destroyed thousands of Hindu temples
during his raids including the famous Somnath Temple, which he
destroyed in 1025 AD, killing over 50,000 people who tried to
defend it. The defenders included the 90-year-old clan leader
Ghogha Rana. Mahmud had the gilded lingam broken into pieces
and had them made into steps for his mosque and palace.[20][21]
The following extract is from Wonders of Things Created, and
marvels of Things Existing by Zakariya al-Qazwini, a
13th-century Arab geographer. It contains the description of
Somnath temple and its destruction:

A Painting of the tomb of Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni,

in 183940, with Sandalwood Doors long believed to
be the Somnath, which he destroyed in ca 1024, later
[19]
found to be replicas of the original.

Somnath: celebrated city of India, situated on the

shore of the sea, and washed by its waves. Among the
wonders of that place was the temple in which was
placed the idol called Somnath. This idol was in the middle of the temple without anything to support it
from below, or to suspend it from above. It was held in the highest honor among the Hindus, and
whoever beheld it floating in the air was struck with amazement, whether he was a Musulman or an
infidel. The Hindus used to go on pilgrimage to it whenever there was an eclipse of the moon, and
would then assemble there to the number of more than a hundred thousand.
When the Sultan Yaminu-d Daula Mahmud Bin Subuktigin (Mahmud of Ghazni) went to wage religious
war against India, he made great efforts to capture and destroy Somnath, in the hope that the Hindus
would then become Muhammadans. As a result thousands of Hindus were forcibly converted to Islam.
He arrived there in the middle of Zi-l kada, 416 A.H. (December, 1025 A.D.). The king looked upon
the idol with wonder, and gave orders for the seizing of the spoil, and dinars."

Regional attitudes towards Mahmud's memory

Silver jitals of Mahmud of Ghazna with bilingual

Arabic and Sanskrit minted in Lahore 1028.
avyaktam-eka (La ilaha illAllah) Muhammada
avtra (Muhammad Rasulullah) Nrpati
Mahamuda ..

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Verse to Mahmud of Ghazni

In Afghanistan and Pakistan Mahmud is celebrated as a hero and a great patron of the arts, architecture, literature,
and Persian revivalism as well as a vanguard of Islam and a paragon of virtue and piety who established the standard
of Islam in India. The military of Pakistan has named its short-range ballistic missile in the honour of Mahmud of
Ghazni, the Ghaznavi Missile.[22] In addition to this, the Pakistan Military Academy, where cadets are trained for

Mahmud of Ghazni

becoming Officers of the Pakistan Army also gives tribute the Mahmud of Ghazni by naming one of its twelve
companies; Ghaznavi Company.
In modern Pakistan he is hailed as a conquering hero who established the standard of Islam upon heathen land, while
in India he is a raiding iconoclastic invader, bent upon the loot and plunder of a peaceful Hindu population. In India,
Mahmud is therefore seen as a ruthless invader who plundered the temples of India and caused long lasting damage.
His attacks on Mathura, Gandhara and Somnath are seen as decisive events in the history of North India and a sign
of its subjugation to Islamic invasions. The fact that Mahmud never tried consolidating his conquests choosing
instead to target a different region and different temples on each of his invasions is seen as evidence that he was
interested in loot.[23]
Iranians remember him as an Orthodox Sunni who was responsible for the revival of the Persian culture by
commissioning and appointing Persians to high offices in his administration as ministers, viziers and generals. In
addition Iranians remember him for the promotion and preference of Persian language instead of Turkish and
patronage of great nationalist poets and scholars such as Ferdowsi and Al-Biruni as well as his Lion and Sun flag
which was once a flag symbol in the Imperial state of Iran.

Legacy
Mahmud of Ghazni, under his reign the region broke away from the
Samanid sphere of influence. While he acknowledged the Abbasids as
caliph as a matter of form, he was also granted the title Sultan as
recognition of his independence.
By the end of his reign, the Ghaznavid Empire extended from Ray in
the west to Samarkand in the north-east, and from the Caspian Sea to
the Yamuna. Although his raids carried his forces across the South
Asia, only a portion of Punjab and Sindh in modern-day Pakistan,
came under his semi-permanent rule; Kashmir, the Doab, Rajasthan
and Gujarat remained under the control of the local Hindu dynasties.
The booty brought back to Ghazni was enormous, and contemporary
historians (e.g. Abolfazl Beyhaghi, Ferdowsi) give descriptions of the
magnificence of the capital, as well as of the conqueror's munificent
support of literature. He transformed Ghazni, the first centre of Persian
literature,[24] into one of the leading cities of Central Asia, patronizing
scholars, establishing colleges, laying out gardens, and building
mosques, palaces, and caravansaries. He patronized Ferdowsi to write the Shahnameh; and, after his expedition
across the Gangetic plains in 1017, of Al-Biruni to compose his Tarikh Al-Hind in order to understand the Indians
and their beliefs.
Coins of Mahmud with the Islamic declaration of
faith. Obverse legend with the name of the caliph
al-Qadir bi-llah (in the fifth line). Reverse legend:
Muhammad Rasul/Allah Yamin al-Daw/la
wa-Amin al-Milla/Mahmud.

On 30 April 1030, Sultan Mahmud died in Ghazni, at the age of 59. Sultan Mahmud had contracted malaria during
his last invasion. The medical complication from malaria had caused lethal tuberculosis. During his rule, universities
were founded to study various subjects such as mathematics, religion, the humanities, and medicine. Islam was the
main religion of his kingdom. Persian spoken in the empire was made to the official language.
The Ghaznavid Empire was ruled by his successors for 157 years. The expanding Seljuk Turkish empire absorbed
most of the Ghaznavid west. The Ghorids captured Ghazni in 1150 A.D., and Mu'izz al-Din (also known as
Muhammad of Ghori) captured the last Ghaznavid stronghold at Lahore in 1187. The Ghaznavids went on to live as
the Nasher Khans in their home of Ghazni until the 20th century.
The Song Dynasty customs inspector Zhao Rugua ( ) wrote a two-volume work about the countries and
people of the known world (according to the Chinese) called the Zhufan Zhi ( , "Description of the

Mahmud of Ghazni
Barbarous Peoples," c. 1225). The first volume has an entry for Ghazni which reads:
The king's arms reach down to below his knees. He has an [sic] hundred chargers, every one full six feet
high, also some dozen head of mules, three feet high, which, on excursions, he rides alternately with the
horses. His bow pulls several piculs, so that five or seven ordinary men cannot string it. When he is on
horseback, he carries an iron mace weighing full fifty catties. ... [A]ll the people of the west fear him.[25]
Friedrich Hirth, one of the translators of Zhao's work, believes this was based on some embellished tale about
Mahmud that was brought to China by Arab merchants.[26]

Family
Sultan Mahmud was born on 2 November 971 AD in Ghazni to first Ghaznavid Sultan Sebktigin, Yusuf Sebktigin
being his younger brother. He was married to a woman named Kausari Jahan and had twin sons Mohammad and
Ma'sud, who succeeded him one after the other, while his grandson by Mas'ud, Maw'dud Ghaznavi was also ruler of
the empire but many of 18th century books nullify such claims.His sister Sitr-i-Mu'alla was married to Dawood bin
Ataullah Alavi also known as Ghazi Salar Sahu, whose son was Ghazi Saiyyad Salar Masud
His companion was a Turkish slave Malik Ayaz and their relationship inspired poems and stories.[27]

Footnotes
[1] Mahmud of Ghazni, The Great Events by Famous Historians: Indexes, Vol. XX, Ed. John Rudd, Charles F. Horne and Rossiter Johnson,
(1905), 141.
[2] T. A. Heathcote, The Military in British India: The Development of British Forces in South Asia:1600-1947, (Manchester University Press,
1995), 6.
[3] Mahmud bin Sebuktigin, C. E. Bosworth, The Encyclopedia of Islam, Vol. VI, Ed. C. E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, B. Lewis and C. Pellat,
(E.J.Brill, 1991), 65.
[4] C.E. Bosworth, The Ghaznavids 9941040, (Edinburgh University Press, 1963), 89.
[5] P. M. ( Peter Malcolm) Holt, Bernard Lewis, The Cambridge History of Islam, Cambridge University Press, (1977), ISBN 0-521-29137-2 pg
34.
[6] C.E. Bosworth, The Ghaznavids:9941040, (Edinburgh University Press, 1963), 132.
[7] Imperial Gazetteer of India v2 page 213 (http:/ / dsal. uchicago. edu/ reference/ gazetteer/ pager. html?objectid=DS405. 1. I34_V22_219. gif)
[8] Mullahs on the mainframe: Islam and modernity among the Daudi Bohras, By Jonah Blank, University of Chicago Press, page 37.
[9] A Short History of Muslim rule in Indo-Pakistan, by Manzoor Ahmad Hanifi published by Ideal Library, 1964, page 21.
[10] Ismailis in Medieval Muslim societies, by Farhad Daftary, Institute of Ismaili Studies, Published by I B Taurus and company, page 68.
[11] The History of India as told by its own Historians by Eliot and Dowson, Volume 2 page 286
[12] Pradeep P. Barua, The State at War in South Asia, (University of Nebraska Press, 2005), 27.
[13] Pradeep P. Barua, The State at War in South Asia, 27.
[14] The political and statistical history of Gujart By Al Muammad Khn, James Bird Page 29,
[15] Satish Chandra, Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals-Delhi Sultanat (12061526) Part 1, (Har-Anand Publication Pvt Ltd, 2006),
18.
[16] Afghanistan: a new history by Martin Ewans Edition: 2, illustrated Published by Routledge, 2002 Page 15 ISBN 0-415-29826-1, ISBN
978-0-415-29826-1
[17] The political and statistical history of Gujart By Al Muammad Khn, James Bird PAGE 29
[18] Virani, Shafique N. The Ismailis in the Middle Ages: A History of Survival, A Search for Salvation (New York: Oxford University Press), p.
100.
[19] Gopal Mandir is devoted to the blue God Krishna who is the divine herdsman, the lover of milkmaids and the eighth embodiment of Lord
Vishnu, the preserver of the Universe. The marble-curled around structure is a superior example of Maratha architecture. Lord Krishnas two
feet tall statue is carved in silver and is placed on a marble-inlaid altar with silver-plated doors. Mahmud of Ghazni had taken these doors from
the famous Somnath Temple in Gujarat to Ghazni in Khorasan in 1026 AD. The Afghan trespasser, Mahmud Shah Abdali, later took the gates
to Lahore, from where Shrinath Madhavji Shinde today popularly known as The Great Maratha Mahadji Scindia reacquired them. The Scindia
ruler later established them in Gopal Mandir, bringing to a halt the doors long journey. Bayajibai Shinde, Maharaja Daulat Rao Scindias
queen, built the temple in the 19th century. Its location in the middle of the market area right in the heart of the city adds to its popularity.
(http:/ / www. bl. uk/ onlinegallery/ onlineex/ apac/ other/ 019xzz000000562u00010000. html) Mosque and Tomb of the Emperor Soolta
Mahmood of Ghuznee, publisherBritish Library
[20] Carl Brockelmann, Moshe Perlmann and Joel Carmichael, History of the Islamic Peoples: With a Review of Events, 1939-1947, (G.P.
Putnam's sons, 1947), 169.

Mahmud of Ghazni

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[21] (http:/ / www. bl. uk/ onlinegallery/ onlineex/ apac/ other/ 019xzz000000562u00010000. html) Destruction of Somnath Temple
[22] http:/ / www. atimes. com/ atimes/ South_Asia/ GI03Df02. html
[23] John Keay, "A History of India", Harper Collins, New Ed edition, 2001, p. ? (ISBN 978-0006387848)
[24] "arts, Islamic." Encyclopdia Britannica. 2006. Encyclopdia Britannica Online. 20 Oct. 2006 (http:/ / www. britannica. com/ eb/
article-13724).
[25] Zhao, Rukuo, Friedrich Hirth, and William Woodville Rockhill. Chau Ju-Kua: His Work on the Chinese and Arab Trade in the Twelfth and
Thirteenth Centuries, Entitled Chu-Fanch. New York: Paragon Book Reprint Corp, 1966, p. 138
[26] Zhao, Chau Ju-Kua, p. 139
[27] Hellmut Ritter, Handbook of Oriental studies: Near and Middle East, Vol.69, transl. John O'Kane, (Brill, 2003), 309-310.

References
Ferishta, History of the Rise of Mohammedan Power (http://persian.packhum.org/persian/pf?file=06901020&
ct=0)
Alexander Berzin, Berzin Archives: The Historical Interaction between the Buddhist and Islamic Cultures before
the Mongol Empire, 2001 (http://www.berzinarchives.com/e-books/historic_interaction_buddhist_islamic/
history_cultures_18.html)
McLeod, John (2002). The History of India. London: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-31459-4.
http://khudi.pk/2009/04/02/why-mahmud-of-ghazni-attacked-somnath/
Bosworth, C. E. (1975). "The early Ghaznavids" (http://books.google.dk/books?id=hvx9jq_2L3EC&dq=the+
cambridge+history+of+iran+4&hl=da&source=gbs_navlinks_s). In Frye, R. N. The Cambridge History of
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C.E., Bosworth (2012). "Maymand" (http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2/
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External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mahmud of Ghazni.

UCLA website (http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/southasia/History/Mughals/mahmud_mughals.html)

Mahmud of Ghazna (http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/people/A0831222.html) Columbia Encyclopedia (Sixth
Edition)
Mahmud (http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9050135/Mahmud) Encyclopdia Britannica (Online
Edition)
Ghaznavid Dynasty (http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9036676/Ghaznavid-Dynasty) Encyclopdia
Britannica (Online Edition)
Ghaznavids and Ghurids (http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-14003/Central-Asian-arts) Encyclopdia
Britannica (Online Edition)
Mahmud Ghazni (http://www.afghan-network.net/Rulers/mahmud-ghazni.html)
History of Iran: Ghaznevid Dynasty (http://www.iranchamber.com/history/ghaznavids/ghaznavids.php)
Rewriting history and Mahmud of Ghazni (http://www.kashmirherald.com/featuredarticle/rewritinghistory.
html)

Mahmud of Ghazni

11

(http://persian.packhum.org/persian/index.jsp?serv=pf&file=80201010&ct=0) Online Copy:Last Accessed

11 October 2007 Elliot, Sir H. M., Edited by Dowson, John. The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians.
The Muhammadan Period
Tarikh Yamini, or Kitabu-l Yami of Abu Nasr Muhammad ibn Muhammad al Jabbaru-l 'Utbi. (http://www.
infinityfoundation.com/ECITTarikhYaminiframeset.htm)
Preceded by:
Ismail of Ghazni

Ghaznavid
Sultan
9971030

Followed by:
Mohammad Ghaznavi

Article Sources and Contributors

Article Sources and Contributors

Mahmud of Ghazni Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=621641908 Contributors: 25 Cents FC, ABHYUDAYA KELKAR, AWhiteC, Abhinav008, Academic Challenger,
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Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors

File:Mahmud ibn Sebuktegin attacks the fortress of Zarang.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Mahmud_ibn_Sebuktegin_attacks_the_fortress_of_Zarang.jpg
License: Public Domain Contributors: Fastily, Napoleon 100
File:Tomb of Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni in 1839-40.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Tomb_of_Sultan_Mahmud_of_Ghazni_in_1839-40.jpg License: Public
Domain Contributors: Lieutenant James Rattray
File:Silver jitals of Mahmud of Ghazna with bilingual Arabic and Sanskrit minted in Lahore 1208.jpg Source:
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