Ghaznavids
The Ghaznavid dynasty (Persian: غزنویان Ġaznaviyān) or the Ghaznavid Empire was a Persianate Muslim dynasty and empire of Turkic mamluk origin, ruling at its greatest extent, large parts of Persia, Khorasan, and the northwest Indian subcontinent from 977 to 1186. The dynasty was founded by Sabuktigin upon his succession to the rule of Ghazna after the death of his father-in-law, Alp Tigin, who was an ex-general of the Samanid Empire from Balkh, north of the Hindu Kush in Greater Khorasan.
Ghaznavid Empire غزنویان Ġaznaviyān | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| 977–1186 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Ghaznavid Empire at its greatest extent in 1030 CE under Mahmud. | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Status | Empire | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Capital | Ghazni (977–1163) Lahore (1163–1186) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Common languages | Persian (official and court language; lingua franca) Arabic (theology) Turkic (military) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Religion | Sunni Islam Hinduism (majority in India) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Government | Hereditary monarchy | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Sultan | |||||||||||||||||||||
• 977–997 | Sabuktigin (first) | ||||||||||||||||||||
• 1160–1186 | Khusrau Malik (last) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Vizier | |||||||||||||||||||||
• 998–1013 | Abu'l-Hasan Isfaraini (first mentioned) | ||||||||||||||||||||
• 12th century | Abu'l-Ma'ali Nasrallah (last mentioned) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Historical era | Medieval | ||||||||||||||||||||
• Established | 977 | ||||||||||||||||||||
• Disestablished | 1186 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Area | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1029 estimate | 3,400,000 km2 (1,300,000 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Sabuktigin's son, Mahmud of Ghazni, expanded the Ghaznavid Empire to the Amu Darya, the Indus River and the Indian Ocean in the east and to Rey and Hamadan in the west. Under the reign of Mas'ud I, the Ghaznavid dynasty began losing control over its western territories to the Seljuk Empire after the Battle of Dandanaqan in 1040, resulting in a restriction of its holdings to modern-day Afghanistan, Pakistan and Northern India.
In 1151, Sultan Bahram Shah lost Ghazni to the Ghurid sultan Ala al-Din Husayn. The Ghaznavids retook Ghazni, but lost the city to the Ghuzz Turks who in turn lost it to Muhammad of Ghor. In response, the Ghaznavids fled to Lahore, their regional capital. In 1186, Lahore was conquered by the Ghurid sultan, Muhammad of Ghor, with its Ghaznavid ruler, Khusrau Malik, imprisoned and later executed.