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References;
Some individuals and events mentioned in chapter six:
Al-Nasir
Abu'l-Abbas Ahmad ibn Hassan al-Mustadi better known by his laqab Al-Nasir
il-Din Allah ( 6 August 1158 – 5 October 1225) or simply as Al-Nasir was
the Abbasid caliph in Baghdad from 1180 until his death. His laqab literally
can mean The One who Gives Victory to the Religion of God. He attempted to
restore the caliphate to its ancient dominant role and achieved a surprising
amount of success, despite the fact that the caliphate had long been militarily
subordinated to other dynasties. He not only held Baghdad (the capital of the
Abbasid empire), but extended his dominion into Mesopotamia and Persia.
According to the historian, Angelika Hartmann, Al-Nasir was the last effective
Abbasid Caliph.
Taharid dynasty
(822-872) see map for extent of their control
The Tahirid dynasty was a Sunni Persian dynasty, that effectively ruled
Khorasan from 821 to 873 as well as serving as military and security commanders
in Abbasid Baghdad until 891. The Tahirids initially made their capital in Merv
but was later moved to Nishapur. The Tahirids, however, were not an independent
dynasty—according to Hugh Kennedy: ""The Tahirids are sometimes
considered as the first independent Iranian dynasty, but such a view is
misleading. The arrangement was effectively a partnership between the Abbasids
and the Tahirids." Indeed, the Tahirids were loyal to the Abbasid caliphs
and in return enjoyed considerable autonomy; they were in effect viceroys
representing Abbasid rule in Persia. The tax revenue from Khorasan sent to the
caliphal treasury in Baghdad was perhaps larger than those collected
previously.
The founder of the Tahirid dynasty was Tahir ibn Husayn, a general who had
played a major role in the civil war between the rival caliphs al-Amin and
al-Ma'mun. He and his ancestors had previously been awarded minor governorships
in eastern Khorasan for their service to the Abbasids. In 821, Tahir was made
governor of Khorasan, but he died soon afterwards. The caliph then appointed
Tahir's son, Talha, whose governorship lasted from 822–828. Tahir's other
son, Abdullah, was instated as the wali of Egypt and the Arabian Peninsula, and
when Talha died in 828 he was given the governorship of Khorasan. Abdullah is
considered one of the greatest of the Tahirid rulers, as his reign witnessed a
flourishing of agriculture in his native land of Khorasan, popularity in the
eastern lands of the Abbasid caliphate and expanding influence due to his
experience with the western parts of the caliphate. The replacement of the
Pahlavi script with the Arabic script in order to write the Persian language
was done by the Tahirids in 9th century Khurasan.
Abdullah died in 845 and was succeeded by his son Tahir II. Not much is known
of Tahir's rule, but the administrative dependency of Sistan was lost to rebels
during his governorship. Tahirid rule began to seriously deteriorate after
Tahir's son Muhammad ibn Tahir became governor, due to his carelessness with
the affairs of the state and lack of experience with politics. Oppressive
policies in Tabaristan, another dependency of Khorasan, resulted in the people
of that province revolting and declaring their allegiance to the independent
Zaydi ruler Hasan ibn Zayd in 864. In Khorasan itself, Muhammad's rule
continued to grow increasingly weak, and in 873 he was finally overthrown by
the Saffarid dynasty, who annexed Khorasan to their own empire in eastern
Persia. Besides their hold over Khorasan, the Tahirids also served as the
military governors (ashab al-shurta) of Baghdad, beginning with Tahir's
appointment to that position in 820. After he left for Khorasan, the
governorship of Baghdad was given to a member of a collateral branch of the
family, Ishaq ibn Ibrahim, who controlled the city for over twenty-five years.
During Ishaq's term as governor, he was responsible for implementing the Mihna
(inquisition) in Baghdad. His administration also witnessed the departure of
the caliphs from Baghdad, as they made the recently constructed city of Samarra
their new capital. When Ishaq died in 849 he was succeeded first by two of his
sons, and then in 851 by Tahir's grandson Muhammad ibn Abdallah. Abdallah
played a major role in the events of the "Anarchy at Samarra" in the
860s, giving refuge to the caliph al-Musta'in and commanding the defense of
Baghdad when it was besieged by the forces of the rival caliph al-Mu'tazz in
865. The following year, he forced al-Musta'in to abdicate and recognized
al-Mu'tazz as caliph, and in exchange was allowed to retain his control over
Baghdad. Violent riots plagued Baghdad during the last years of Abdallah's
life, and conditions in the city remained tumultuous after he died and was
succeeded by his brothers, first Ubaydallah and then Sulayman. Eventually order
was restored in Baghdad, and the Tahirids continued to serve as governors of
the city for another two decades. In 891, however, Badr al-Mu'tadidi was put in
charge of the security of Baghdad in place of the Tahirids, and the family soon
lost their prominence within the caliphate after that.
Hasan ibn Zayd
Hasan ibn Zayd died 6 January 884, also known as al-Da‘i al-kabir ,
"the Great/Elder Missionary"), was an Alid who became the founder of
the Zaydid dynasty of Tabaristan. Al-?asan was a descendant of Hasan ibn Zayd
ibn Hasan, a great-grandson of Ali, the son-in-law of Muhammad and fourth
Caliph. In 864, he was living at Rayy in northern Iran, when he was invited by
pro-Alid elements in the neighbouring province of Tabaristan to join them in an
uprising against the Abbasid authorities. Tabaristan, a mountainous region on
the southern shore of the Caspian Sea, had remained largely untouched by the
Muslim conquests of the 7th century. Until conquered by the Abbasid Caliphate
in 759/60, it had been ruled by a native Iranian dynasty of Caspian origins,
the Dabuyids, and even after the imposition of direct Muslim rule local
dynasties retained a large measure of autonomy in the mountainous interior. It
was only after 840, when Tabaristan came under Tahirid rule (the Abbasids'
viceroys for the East), that the Islamization of the province began. It
proceeded rapidly, and although the majority of the people adopted Sunni Islam,
the province offered opportunities for the activities of pro-Alid Shi'ite
missionaries as well.
In the 860s, western Iran was governed by the Tahirid Muhammad ibn Abdallah ibn
Tahir, whose brother Sulayman ibn Abdallah ibn Tahir deputized him in
Tabaristan and Gurgan. Popular resentment of the Tahirids' rule increased
through the oppression of their officials, especially their fiscal agents in
the province. Consequently, in 864 a rebellion broke out in the towns of Ruyan,
Kalar and Chalus, led by two "sons of Rustam". The rebels called upon
Hasan to lead them, and allied themselves with the neighbouring Daylamites.
Hasan, who assumed the regnal name al-Da‘i ila’l-?aqq ("He who
summons to the Truth"), was recognized as emir by a part of the local
population, and even secured the allegiance of the Justanid king of Daylam,
Vahsudan ibn Marzuban. Despite the rapid success of the rebellion, Hasan's
reign was troubled due to repeated invasions, and he was several times forced
to seek refuge in Daylam. Thus he was chased out of Tabaristan in 865 by
Sulayman ibn Abdallah, but returned within the same year and recovered the
province.
Another Alid uprising occurred in Qazvin and Zanjan in 865, led by Husayn ibn
Ahmad al-Kaukabi and aided by the Justanids, but it was suppressed two years
later by the Abbasid general Musa ibn Bugha. Hasan was forced into Daylam again
by the Abbasid general Muflih in 869, but the latter withdrew shortly after. In
874, Hasan came into conflict with Ya'qub al-Saffar for sheltering one of the
latter's enemies, Abdallah al-Sijzi. Ya'qub invaded Tabaristan and defeated the
Zaydid forces at Sari, forcing Hasan once again to flee to the mountains of
Daylam. Nevertheless, Ya'qub's army soon became bogged down by torrential
rainfall and suffered many casualties to disease in the unaccustomed
subtropical climate of Tabaristan, forcing him to withdraw from the region
shortly after. In the complex struggle for control of Khurasan between Abu
Talha Mansur ibn Sharkab and Ahmad ibn Abdallah al-Khujistani, Hasan sided with
the former, but was defeated with him in 878/879, when al-Khujistani recovered
Nishapur. Exploiting the turmoils of the period, from 867 Hasan also usually
controlled Gurgan to the east, and expanded his control temporarily over some
neighbouring regions as well: Rayy (864–865, 867, 870 and 872), Qazvin
(865–868) and Qumis (873–879). Hasan died at Amul in 884, and was
succeeded by his brother Muhammad ibn Zayd.
The Zaydids continued to rule Tabaristan until 928. Historians praised him as a
just and equitable ruler, but outside the early strongholds of Ruyan and Kalar,
the initial enthusiasm for his rule seems to have waned quickly among the broad
populace of Tabaristan and Gurgan. This was a result of both his ardent
enforcement of Shi'ism and repression of the Sunni majority, as well as his
regime's reliance on the semi-barbarous Daylamite soldiery. Relations with the
autonomous local Iranian rulers also varied: the Qarinids, who ruled the
western mountains of Tabaristan, supported Hasan, but the Bavandids in the
eastern mountains were usually hostile, and relations with the Justanid
Vahsudan and his son and successor Khurshid also turned hostile. In the event,
Hasan managed to have the latter replaced by his brother Justan, who once again
loyally supported the Zaydid ruler. The Orientalist Frants Buhl assesses
Hasan's character thus: he "possessed rare energy and the capacity for
stubborn resistance, was a sincerely religious man, well educated, and a patron
of letters".
Tabaristan,
Zayd rulers
Alid dynasties of northern Iran or Alavids. In the 9th–14th centuries, the
northern Iranian regions of Tabaristan, Daylam and Gilan, sandwiched between
the Caspian Sea and the Alborz range, came under the rule of a number of Arab
Alid dynasties, espousing the Zaydi branch of Shia Islam. The first and most
powerful Zaydi emirate was established in Tabaristan in 864 and lasted until
928. It was interrupted by Samanid occupation in 900, but restored in 914 by
another Alid branch. The second period of the Alid emirate was plagued by
internal dissensions and power struggles between the two branches, and ended in
the second conquest of the region by the Samanids in 928. Subsequently, some of
the soldiers and generals of the Alavids joined the Samanids, among them
Mardavij, founder of the Ziyarid dynasty, and the three sons of Buya (Ali,
Hassan and Ahmad), founders of the Buyid dynasty. Local Zaydi rulers survived
in Daylam and Gilan until the 16th century.
Tahir ibn Husein
Tahir bin al-Husayn), also known as Dhul-Yaminayn "the
ambidextrous"), and al-A?war "the one-eyed"), was an Iranian
general and governor during the Abbasid caliphate. Specifically, he served
under al-Ma'mun during the Fourth Fitna and led the armies that would defeat
al-Amin, making al-Ma'mun the caliph. He was then rewarded as governor of
Khorasan, which marked the beginning of the Tahirids. Tahir was born in Pushang
which was a village near the ancient city of Herat in Khorasan. He was from a
dehqan noble family who had distinguished themselves since the Abbasid
Revolution, and were previously awarded minor governorships in eastern Khorasan
for their service to the Abbasids. His grandfather Ruzaiq was a mawla of Talha
ibn Abd Allah al-Khuza'i, an Arab nobleman from the Khuza'a tribe, who served
as the governor of Sistan. Ruzaiq's son Mus'ab was the governor of Pushang and
Herat. Mus'ab's son, Husayn, who was the father of Tahir, continued to his
father's role as the governor of Pushang and Herat.
Under the governor of Khorasan, Ali ibn Isa ibn Mahan, there were riots in the
province because of the latter's cruelty and persecution of other noble
families, which included the family of Tahir; Tahir was imprisoned for some
time and was mistreated. When he was released he fought on the side of Harthama
ibn A'yan against Rafi ibn al-Layth in 808 when the latter rebelled at
Samarkand, but when the Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid deposed Ali ibn Isa ibn
Mahan, and sent general Harthama ibn A'yan against Rafi, he returned to
obedience. During the event, Tahir lost an eye after an accident, which gained
him the nickname al-A'war ("the one-eyed"). Tahir seems to have been
quickly offended if someone picked him about his eye, even threatening a poet,
who had humiliated him about his lost eye in a poem. The caliph Harun al-Rashid
later died in 809, and was succeeded by his son al-Amin.
In 810, the caliph al-Amin, and his brother, Al-Ma'mun, came in conflict which
each others, which later led to a civil war; in January 811, al-Amin formally
began the Great Abbasid Civil War when he appointed Ali ibn Isa as governor of
Khurasan, placed him at the head of an unusually large army of 40,000, drawn
from an elite group known as abna', and sent him to depose al-Ma'mun. When Ali
ibn Isa set out for Khurasan, he reportedly took along a set of silver chains
with which to bind al-Ma'mun and carry him back to Baghdad. The news of Ali's
approach threw Khurasan into panic, and even al-Ma'mun considered fleeing. The
only military force available to him was a small army of some 4,000–5,000
men, under Tahir. Tahir was sent to confront Ali's advance, but it was widely
regarded as almost a suicide mission, even by Tahir's own father.
The two armies met at Rayy, on the western borders of Khurasan, and the ensuing
battle (3 July 811) resulted in a crushing victory for the Khurasanis, in which
Ali was killed and his army disintegrated on its flight west. Tahir's
unexpected victory was decisive: al-Ma'mun's position was secured, while his
main opponents, the abna', lost men, prestige and their most dynamic leader.
Tahir now advanced westwards, defeated another abna' army of 20,000 under Abd
al-Rahman ibn Jabala after a series of hard-fought engagements near Hamadan,
and reached Hulwan by winter. Al-Amin now desperately tried to bolster his
forces by alliances with Arab tribes, notably the Banu Shayban of Jazira and
the Banu Qays of Syria. The veteran Abd al-Malik ibn Salih was sent to Syria to
mobilize its troops along with Ali ibn Isa's son, Husayn. However, al-Amin's
efforts failed due to the long-standing intertribal divisions between Qaysis
and Kalbis, the Syrians' reluctance to get involved in the civil war, as well
as the unwillingness of the abna' to cooperate with the Arab tribes and to make
political concessions to them. These failed efforts to secure Arab support
backfired on al-Amin, as the abna' began to doubt whether their interests were
best served by him. In March 812, Husayn ibn Ali led a short-lived coup against
al-Amin in Baghdad, proclaiming al-Ma'mun as the rightful Caliph, until a
counter-coup, led by other factions within the abna', restored al-Amin to the
throne. Fadl ibn al-Rabi, however, one of the main instigators of the war,
concluded that al-Amin's case was lost and resigned from his court offices.
At about the same time, al-Ma'mun was officially proclaimed caliph, while his
vizier Fadl ibn Sahl acquired the unique title of Dhu 'l-Ri'asatayn ("he
of the two headships"), signifying his control over both civil and
military administration. In spring 812, Tahir, reinforced with more troops
under Harthama ibn A'yan, resumed his offensive. He invaded Khuzistan, where he
defeated and killed the Muhallabid governor Muhammad ibn Yazid, whereupon the
Muhallabids of Basra surrendered to him. Tahir also took Kufa and al-Mada'in,
advancing on Baghdad from the west while Harthama closed in from the east. At
the same time, al-Amin's authority crumbled as supporters of al-Ma'mun took
control of Mosul, Egypt and the Hejaz, while most of Syria, Armenia and
Azerbaijan fell under the control of the local Arab tribal leaders. As Tahir's
army closed on Baghdad, the rift between al-Amin and the abna' was solidified
when the desperate Caliph turned to the common people of the city for help and
gave them arms. The abna' began deserting to Tahir in droves, and in August
812, when Tahir's army appeared before the city, he established his quarters in
the suburb of Harbiyya, traditionally an abna' stronghold. The Islamic scholar
Hugh N. Kennedy characterized the subsequent siege of the city as "an
episode almost without parallel in the history of early Islamic society"
and "the nearest early Islamic history saw to an attempt at social
revolution", as Baghdad's urban proletariat defended their city for over a
year in a vicious urban guerrilla war. Indeed, it was this
"revolutionary" situation in the city as much as famine and the
besiegers' professional expertise, that brought about its fall: in September
813, Tahir convinced some of the richer citizens to cut the pontoon bridges
over the Tigris that connected the city to the outside world, allowing
al-Ma'mun's men to occupy the city's eastern suburbs. Tahir then launched a
final assault, in which al-Amin was captured and executed at Tahir's orders
while trying to seek refuge with his old family friend Harthama.
Saffarid dynasty 861 -
1003 See map of extent.
The Saffarid dynasty was a Sunni Persian dynasty from Sistan that ruled over
parts of Greater Iran, with its capital at Zaranj (a city now in southwestern
Afghanistan), from 861 to 1003. One of the first indigenous Persian dynasties
to emerge after the Islamic conquest, the Saffarid dynasty was part of the
Iranian Intermezzo. The dynasty's founder was Ya'qub bin Laith as-Saffar, who
was born in 840 in a small town called Karnin (Qarnin), which was located east
of Zaranj and west of Bost, in what is now Afghanistan. A native of Sistan and
a local ayyar, Ya'qub worked as a coppersmith (?affar) before becoming a
warlord. He seized control of the Sistan region and began conquering most of
Iran and Afghanistan, as well as parts of Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
The Saffarids used their capital Zaranj as a base for an aggressive expansion
eastward and westward. They first invaded the areas south of the Hindu Kush,
and then overthrew the Persian Tahirid dynasty, annexing Khorasan in 873. Arab
armies carrying the banner of Islam came out of the west to defeat the
Sasanians in 642 and then they marched with confidence to the east.
On the western periphery of the Afghan area the princes of Herat and Sistan
gave way to rule by Arab governors but in the east, in the mountains, cities
submitted only to rise in revolt and the hastily converted returned to their
old beliefs once the armies passed. The harshness and avariciousness of Arab
rule produced such unrest, however, that once the waning power of the Caliphate
became apparent, native rulers once again established themselves independent.
Among these Saffarids of Sistan shone briefly in the Afghan area. The fanatic
founder of this dynasty, the coppersmith’s apprentice Yaqub ibn Layth
Saffari, came forth from his capital at Zaranj in 870 and marched through Bost,
Kandahar, Ghazni, Kabul, Bamyan, Balkh and Herat, conquering in the name of
Islam. By the time of Ya'qub's death, he had conquered the Kabul Valley, Sindh,
Tocharistan, Makran (Balochistan), Kerman, Fars, Khorasan, and nearly reached
Baghdad but then suffered a defeat by the Abbasids. The Saffarid dynasty did
not last long after Ya'qub's death. His brother and successor, Amr bin Laith,
was defeated at the Battle of Balkh against Ismail Samani in 900. Amr bin Laith
was forced to surrender most of his territories to the new rulers. The
Saffarids were confined to their heartland of Sistan, and with time, their role
was reduced to that of vassals of the Samanids and their successors.
Yaqub ibn
Laith 840 -879
Ya'qub-i Layth-i Saffari ( 25 October 840 – 5 June 879), was a Persian
coppersmith and the founder of the Saffarid dynasty of Sistan, with its capital
at Zaranj (a city now in south-western Afghanistan). Under his military
leadership he conquered much of the eastern portions of the Greater Iran
consisting of modern-day Iran, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan,
Tajikistan as well as portions of western Pakistan and a small part of Iraq. He
was succeeded by his brother, Amr ibn al-Layth. Ya'qub, along with his brothers
Amr ibn al-Layth, Tahir ibn al-Layth and Ali ibn al-Layth, later joined the
ayyars under Salih ibn al-Nadr, who had opposed the Abbasids and began ruling
in Bost. By 854, the ayyars managed to expel Ibrahim ibn al-Hudain, who was the
Tahirid governor of Sistan. In 858, Dirham ibn Nasr, another ayyar leader,
managed to replace Salih as the ruler of Sistan. However, in 861, Ya'qub
overthrew Dirham, and gave himself the title of Emir at that point. Ya'qub
attracted the attention of an Abbasid caliph by first battling Kharijites in
his homeland of Sistan. In 864, "Ya?qub led an expedition to Bost against
his former master Salih, and then into Rukkaj and Zamindavar against the local
ruler there, the Zunbil, killing him and securing an immense booty." He
also managed to capture several family members of the Zunbils, including the
Zunbil king's son. He then vanquished the Hindu Shahis, conquering their
capital Kabul. He later moved against the Kharijites in northern Sistan,
winning a decisive victory and killing their leader Ammar ibn Yaser in 865.
Ya'qub's campaigns marked the decline of militant Kharijism in the East. After
having defeated the Ammar, Ya'qub held a celebration. During the celebration,
one of the members of the court made a speech in Arabic. Ya'qub asked the
latter why he made a speech in a language which he could not understand. One of
Ya'qub's secretaries, Muhammad ibn Vasif, then made a qasida in Persian. Ya'qub
claimed the inheritance of the kings of Persia and sought "to revive their
glory," and thus in 867 he sent a poem written by himself to the Abbasid
caliph Al-Mu'tazz. The poem said: "With me is the Derafsh Kaviani, through
which I hope to rule the nations." In 870/871, Ya'qub marched against the
Kharijites of Herat, and defeated them. He then marched towards Karukh, and
defeated another Khariji leader who was named Abd al-Rahman. Ya'qub then
pardoned Abd al-Rahman and made him governor of Isfizar. His army would later
march to Ghazna, Kabul, and Bamyan, conquering these territories in the name of
Islam by appointing Muslim governors. From there they moved to north of the
Hindu Kush and by 870 AD the whole of Khorasan was brought under their control.
The Panjshir Valley was now under Ya'qub's control, which made him able to mint
silver coins.
In 873, Ya'qub ousted the Tahirids from their own capital of
Nishapur, and captured its
ruler Muhammad ibn Tahir, which led to conflicts with the Abbasid caliphate.
During one of Ya'qub's numerous battles, his face was disfigured to where he
could only eat through a pipe in his mouth for twenty days. Ya'qub set out west
for Fars with the intention of subjugating the province. Sources disagree on
what happened next, but Ya'qub was eventually dissuaded from continuing his
expedition, and he turned back toward Sistan. His withdrawal is described as
having been caused either by the governor Muhammad ibn Wasil's submission to
him, or by the arrival of emissaries sent by the caliphal government to
convince him to abandon his westward advance. In either case, Muhammad soon
afterwards reached a rapprochement with the central government, and in 872 he
handed over the kharaj (tax revenues), and possibly the government of Fars, to
a caliphal representative.
Ya'qub later traveled to Tabaristan in 874, and battled the Zaydid leader
al-Hasan ibn Zayd. Ya'qub collected taxes in Tabaristan's capital, Amul, before
departing for Rayy. Ya'qub ibn al-Layth once again set out for Fars, this time,
invading it and advancing to Estakhr, seizing Muhammad's treasuries there.
Muhammad departed from Khuzestan, and returned to Fars in an attempt to stop
Ya'qub. They met near Lake Bakhtegan in August 875, and in the resulting
battle, Muhammad, despite having a numerically superior army, was defeated.
Muhammad was forced to flee; Ya'qub looted Muhammad's stronghold at Sa'idabad
and took control of Fars.
The Abbasids were concerned about the threat the Saffarids posed, especially
after Ya`qub conquered Fars from Muhammad bin Wasil in 875. From Fars Ya`qub
moved on to Khuzistan, taking possession of Ramhurmuz in December of 875. This
move put the Saffarid army close to Iraq. It also put Ya`qub close to the Zanj
revolt; the Abbasids feared that the Saffarids and Zanj would band together
against the caliphate, although Ya`qub's later rejection of an offer by the
Zanj to become allies casts doubt on this possibility. In any case it was an
alarming development, as the caliph did not feel that he had the resources to
stop Ya`qub. All of Ya`qub's supporters in Baghdad, who had been imprisoned in
873 following his conquest of Khurasan, were released, and al-Mu'tamid sent an
embassy to Ya`qub to grant him the governorships of Khurasan, Tabaristan, Fars,
Gurgan, and Ray, as appoint him as head of security in Baghdad.
Battle of
Dayr-al-aqul 876
The Battle of Dayr al-Aqul was fought on April 8, 876, between forces of the
Saffarid ruler Ya'qub ibn Laith and the Abbasid Caliphate. Taking place some 80
km southeast (downstream) of Baghdad, the battle ended in a decisive victory
for the Abbasids, forcing Ya'qub to halt his advance into Iraq. The town of
Dayr al-?Aqul literally "monastery at the river-bend", from a Syriac
?aqula "bend") was the main town of the fertile district (?assuj) in
central Nahrawan, making it the most important town on the Tigris between
Baghdad and Wasit. The battle itself took place near a village of the town's
district, called Istarband, between Dayr al-Aqul itself and Sib Bani Kuma. The
most significant threat against the caliphate came in the form of the Saffarid
Ya`qub bin Laith. Ya`qub first came to power in 861 in Sistan, a province which
had been held by 'ayyar bands since 854. From there he rapidly expanded, and in
873 he extinguished the rule of the Tahirids, who were governors loyal to the
Abbasids, in Khurasan. This left him in control of much of eastern and central
Iran plus parts of Afghanistan.The battle took place on April 8.
Before the battle, Ya`qub reviewed his troops, who apparently numbered about
ten thousand. The Abbasids, however, had a numerical superiority and the
additional advantage of fighting on familiar territory. The center of the
Abbasid army was commanded by al-Muwaffaq. Musa bin Bugha had command of the
right wing, and Masrur al-Balkhi the left. A final appeal was made to the
Saffarids to restore their loyalty to the caliph, and the battle began. The
fighting raged on for most of the day. The Saffarid army was somewhat reluctant
to directly fight the caliph and his army. Despite this, there were heavy
losses on both sides, and several Abbasid and Saffarid commanders were killed.
Ya`qub himself was wounded, but he did not leave the field. As evening
approached, reinforcements arrived to support al-Muwaffaq. The mawla Nusayr
created a diversion by attacking the Saffarid rear from boats on the Tigris and
setting fire to the Saffarid baggage train, giving the Abbasids a further
advantage. Eventually the Saffarid army began to flee from the battle. Ya`qub
and his bodyguards continued to fight, but were forced to leave the field as
the army retreated, leaving them behind. The caliph had apparently flooded the
lands behind the Saffarids before the battle, and this made a retreat
difficult; many men drowned attempting to escape the Abbasid army. With the
Saffarids making their hasty exit, al-Muwaffaq was able to capture Ya`qub's
baggage. Muhammad bin Tahir, also fell into Abbasid hands and was freed.
Map showing the location of the battle, as well as the routes taken by the
Saffarid (red) and main 'Abbasid (blue) armies
In 876, the Abbasid representative,, Al-Muwaffaq, offered Ya'qub governorship
of Khurasan, Tabaristan, Fars, Gurgan, and Ray, and to appoint him as head of
security in Baghdad. Ya'qub, sensing that the offer was made due to the
weakness of the caliph, rejected it and wrote back that he would be advancing
to the capital. The offer also alienated the Turks of Samarra, who felt that
Ya'qub represented a threat to their interests. Seeing that an agreement with
the Saffarid was impossible, the Abbasid caliph al-Mu'tamid decided upon war
and pronounced a formal curse upon Ya'qub. On 7 March 876, al-Mu'tamid left
Samarra, leaving his son Al-Mufawwad in charge of the capital. On 15 March he
arrived at Baghdad, before arriving near Kalwadha and setting up camp. Ya'qub
traveled through Khuzistan, during which he gained the defection of a former
general of the caliph's, Abi'l-Saj Devdad, and entered Iraq. The caliphal
general Masrur al-Balkhi managed to slow down his progress by flooding the land
outside Wasit, but the Saffarid army was able to get through this and he
entered Wasit on 24 March. Leaving Wasit, he set out for the town of Dayr
al-`Aqul, which was about fifty miles from Baghdad.
According to one source, Ya'qub did not actually expect the caliph to offer
battle; instead he would give in to any demands that the Saffarid had.
Al-Mu'tamid, however, sent al-Muwaffaq to stop him. The two armies met at
Istarband, between Dayr al-`Aqul and Sib Bani Kuma. The Battle of Dayr al-Aqul
took place on 8 April. Before the battle, Ya'qub reviewed his troops, who
apparently numbered about ten thousand. The Abbasids, however, had a numerical
superiority and the additional advantage of fighting on familiar territory. The
center of the Abbasid army was commanded by al-Muwaffaq. Musa bin Bugha had
command of the right wing, and Masrur al-Balkhi the left. A final appeal was
made to the Saffarids to restore their loyalty to the caliph, and the battle
began. The fighting raged on for most of the day. The Saffarid army was
somewhat reluctant to directly fight the caliph and his army. Despite this,
there were heavy losses on both sides, and several Abbasid and Saffarid
commanders were killed. Ya'qub himself was wounded, but he did not leave the
field. As evening approached, reinforcements arrived to support al-Muwaffaq.
The mawla Nusayr created a diversion by attacking the Saffarid rear from boats
on the Tigris and setting fire to the Saffarid baggage train, giving the
Abbasids a further advantage. Eventually the Saffarid army began to flee from
the battle. Ya'qub and his bodyguards continued to fight, but were forced to
leave the field as the army retreated, leaving them behind. The caliph had
apparently flooded the lands behind the Saffarids before the battle, and this
made a retreat difficult; many men drowned attempting to escape the Abbasid
army. With the Saffarids making their hasty exit, al-Muwaffaq was able to
capture Ya'qub's baggage. Several political prisoners that Ya'qub had brought
with him, such as the Tahirid Muhammad bin Tahir, also fell into Abbasid hands
and were freed. Ya'qub then withdrew from Iraq and died three years late.
Sultan Satuq
Bughra Khan d 955
Abdulkarim Satuq Bughra Khan was a Kara-Khanid khan; in 934, he was one of the
first Turkic rulers to convert to Islam, which prompted his Kara-Khanid
subjects to convert. There are different historical accounts of the Satuq's
life with some variations. Sources include Mulhaqat al-Surah (Supplement to the
"Surah") by Jamal Qarshi (b. 1230/31) who quoted an earlier
11th-century text, Tarikh-i Kashghar (History of Kashgar) by Abu-al-Futuh 'Abd
al-Ghafir ibn al-Husayn al-Alma'i, an account by an Ottoman historian, known as
the Munajjimbashi, and a fragment of a manuscript in Chagatai, Tazkirah Bughra
Khan (Memory of Bughra Khan).
Qarakhanid - Kara-Khanid_Khanate
The Kara-Khanid Khanate Qarakhaniyan; also known as the Karakhanids,
Qarakhanids, Ilek Khanids or the Afrasiabids, was a Turkic khanate that ruled
Central Asia in the 9th through the early 13th century. The dynastic names of
Karakhanids and Ilek Khanids refer to royal titles with Kara Khagan being the
most important Turkic title up till the end of the dynasty. The Khanate
conquered Transoxiana in Central Asia and ruled it between 999–1211. Their
arrival in Transoxiana signaled a definitive shift from Iranian to Turkic
predominance in Central Asia, yet the Kara-khanids gradually assimilated the
Perso-Arab Muslim culture, while retaining some of their native Turkic culture.
The capitals of the Kara-Khanid Khanate included Kashgar, Balasagun, Uzgen and
Samarkand. In the 1040s, the Khanate split into the Eastern and Western
Khanates. In the late 11th century, they came under the suzerainty of the
Seljuk Empire, followed by the Qara Khitai (Western Liao dynasty) in the
mid-12th century. The Eastern Khanate ended in 1211, and the Western Khanate
was extinguished by the Khwarazmian Empire in 1213.
The Karluks were a nomadic people from the western Altai Mountains who moved to
Zhetysu. In 742, the Karluks were part of an alliance led by the Basmyl and
Uyghurs that rebelled against the Göktürks. In the realignment of
power that followed, the Karluks were elevated from a tribe led by an Elteber
to one led by a yabghu, which was one of the highest Turkic dignitaries and
also implies membership in the Ashina clan in whom the
"heaven-mandated" right to rule resided. The Karluks and Uyghurs
later allied themselves against the Basmyl, and within two years they toppled
the Basmyl khagan. The Uyghur yabghu became khagan and the Karluk leader
yabghu. This arrangement lasted less than a year. Hostilities between the
Uyghur and Karluk forced the Karluk to migrate westward into the western
Turgesh lands. By 766 the Karluks had forced the submission of the Turgesh and
they established their capital at Suyab on the Chu River.
The Karluk confederation by now included the Chigil and Tukshi tribes who may
have been Türgesh tribes incorporated into the Karluk union. By the
mid-9th century, the Karluk confederation had gained control of the sacred
lands of the Western Türks after the destruction of the Uyghur Khaganate
by the Old Kirghiz. Control of sacred lands, together with their affiliation
with the Ashina clan, allowed the Khaganate to be passed on to the Karluks
along with domination of the steppes after the previous Khagan was killed in a
revolt. During the 9th century southern Central Asia was under the rule of the
Samanids, while the Central Asian steppe was dominated by Turkic nomads such as
the Pechenegs, the Oghuz Turks, and the Karluks. The domain of the Karluks
reached as far north as the Irtysh and the Kimek confederation, with
encampments extending to the Chi and Ili rivers, where the Chigil and Tukshi
tribes lived, and east to the Ferghana valley and beyond. The area to the south
and east of the Karluks was inhabited by the Yagma.
The Karluk center in the 9th and 10th centuries appears to have been at
Balasagun on the Chu River. In the late 9th century the Samanids marched into
the steppes and captured Taraz, one of the headquarters of the Karluk khagan,
and a large church was transformed into a mosque. The grandson of Satuk Bughra
Khan, Hasan b. Sulayman (or Harun) (title: Bughra Khan) attacked the Samanids
in the late 10th century. Between 990–992, Hasan took Isfijab, Ferghana,
Ilaq, Samarkand, and the Samanid capital Bukhara. However, Hasan Bughra Khan
died in 992 due to an illness, and the Samanids returned to Bukhara. Hasan's
cousin Ali b. Musa (title: Kara Khan or Arslan Khan) resumed the campaign
against the Samanids, and by 999 Ali's son Nasr had taken Chach, Samarkand, and
Bukhara. The Samanid domains were divided between the Ghaznavids, who gained
Khorasan and Afghanistan, and the Karakhanids, who received Transoxiana.
The Oxus River thus became the boundary between the two rival empires. The
Karakhanid state was divided into appanages (Ülüs system), as was
common of Turkic and Mongol nomads. The Karakhanid appanages were associated
with four principal urban centers, Balasagun (then the capital of the
Karakhanid state) in Zhetysu, Kashgar in Xinjiang, Uzgen in Fergana, and
Samarkand in Transoxiana. The dynasty's original domains of Zhetysu and Kasgar
and their khans retained an implicit seniority over those who ruled in
Transoxiana and Fergana.
The four sons of Ali (Ahmad, Nasr, Mansur, Muhammad) each held their own
independent appanage within the Karakhanid state. Nasr, the conqueror of
Transoxiana, held the large central area of Transoxiana (Samarkand and
Bukhara), Fergana (Uzgen) and other areas, although after his death his
appanage was further divided. Ahmad held Zhetysu and Chach and became the head
of the dynasty after the death of Ali. The brothers Ahmad and Nasr conducted
different policies towards the Ghaznavids in the south – while Ahmad tried
to form an alliance with Mahmud of Ghazna, Nasr attempted to expand
unsuccessfully into Ghaznavid territory. Ahmad was succeeded by Mansur, and
after the death of Mansur, the Hasan Bughra Khan branch of the Karakhanids
became dominant. Hasan's sons Muhammad Toghan Khan II, and Yusuf Kadir Khan who
held Kashgar, became in turn the head of the Karakhanid dynasty. The two
families, i.e., the descendants of Ali Arslan Khan and Hasan Bughra Khan, would
eventually split the Karakhanid Khanate in two.
In 1017–1018, the Karakhanids repelled an attack by a large mass of
nomadic Turkic tribes in what was described in Muslim sources as a great
victory. In 1040, the Seljuk Turks defeated the Ghaznavids at the Battle of
Dandanaqan and entered Iran. Conflict with the Karakhanids broke out, but the
Karakhanids were able to withstand attacks by the Seljuks initially, even
briefly taking control of Seljuk towns in Greater Khorasan. The Karakhanids,
however, developed serious conflicts with the religious classes (the ulama),
and the ulama of Transoxiana then requested the intervention of the Seljuks. In
1089, during the reign of Ibrahim's grandson Ahmad b. Khidr, the Seljuks
entered and took control of Samarkand, together with the domains belonging to
the Western Khanate. For half a century, the Western Karakhanid Khanate was a
vassal of the Seljuks, who largely controlled the appointment of the Khanate's
rulers in that time. Ahmad b. Khidr was returned to power by the Seljuks, but
in 1095, the ulama accused Ahmad of heresy and managed to secure his execution.
The Karakhanids of Kashgar also declared their submission following a Seljuk
campaign into Talas and Zhetysu, but the Eastern Khanate was a Seljuk vassal
for only a short time. At the beginning of the 12th century the Eastern Khanate
invaded Transoxiana and briefly occupied the Seljuk town of Termez. The decline
of the Seljuks following their defeat by the Qara Khitans allowed the
Khwarazmian dynasty, then a vassal of the Qara Khitai, to expand into former
Seljuk territory. In 1207, the citizens of Bukhara revolted against the sadrs
(leaders of the religious classes), which the Khwarazmshah 'Ala' ad-Din
Muhammad used as a pretext to conquer Bukhara. Muhammad then formed an alliance
with the Western Karakhanid ruler Uthman (who later married Muhammad's
daughter) against the Qara Khitai.
In 1210, the Khwarezm-Shah took Samarkand after the Qara Khitai retreated to
deal with the rebellion from the Naiman Kuchlug, who had seized the Qara
Khitans' treasury at Uzgen. The Khwarezm-Shah then defeated the Qara Khitai
near Talas. Muhammad and Kuchlug had, apparently, agreed to divide up the Qara
Khitan's empire. In 1212, the population of Samarkand staged a revolt against
the Khwarezmians, a revolt which Uthman supported, and massacred them. The
Khwarezm-Shah returned, recaptured Samarkand and executed Uthman. He demanded
the submission of all leading Karakhanids, and finally extinguished the Western
Karakhanid state. In 1204, a rebellion of the Eastern Kara-Khanid in Kashgar
was suppressed by the Kara-Khitai who took the prince Yusuf hostage to
Balasagun. The prince was later released but he was killed in Kashgar by rebels
in 1211, effectively ending the Eastern Kara-Khanid. In 1214, the rebels in
Kashgar surrendered to Kuchlug, who had usurped the Kara-Khitai throne. In
1218, Kuchlug was killed by the Mongol army. Some of the Kara-Khitai's eastern
vassals including Eastern Kara-Khanids then joined the Mongol forces to conquer
the Khwarezmian Empire.
Battle of Dananaqan
1040
The Battle of Dandanaqan was fought in 1040 between the Seljuq Turkmens and the
Ghaznavid Empire near the city of Merv (present-day Turkmenistan). The battle
ended with a decisive Seljuq victory, which subsequently brought down the
Ghaznavid domination in Khorasan. When the Seljuq leader Tughrul and his
brother Chaghri began raising an army, they were seen as a threat to the
Ghaznavid territories. Following the looting of border cities by Seljuq raids,
Sultan Mas'ud I (son of Mahmud of Ghazni) decided to expel Seljuqs from his
territories. During the march of Sultan Mas'ud's army to Sarakhs, the Seljuq
raiders harassed the Ghaznavid army with hit-and-run tactics. Swift and mobile
Turkmens were better fit to fight battles in the steppes and deserts than
conservative, heavily laden army of Ghaznavid Turks. Seljuq Turkmens also
destroyed the supply lines of Ghaznavids, cutting them off from the nearby
water wells. The discipline and morale of the Ghaznavid army dropped seriously.
Finally, on May 23, 1040, around 16,000 Seljuk soldiers engaged in battle
against a large, starving and demoralised Ghaznavid army in Dandanaqan and
defeated them near the city of Merv.The Seljuks occupied Khorasan and the
cities of the area, encountering little resistance. Tughrul's successful siege
of Isfahan in 1050–1051, led to the establishment of the "Great
Seljuk Empire". As of Mas'ud's fate after the battle, he initially
retreated to India, then was overthrown and later murdered in prison.
Battle of
Dandanaqan 1040
Battle of Dandanqan, (1040), decisive clash between the forces of the Ghaznavid
sultan Mas'ud I (reigned 1031–41) and the nomad Turkmen Seljuqs in
Khorasan. The battle resulted in Mas'ud’s defeat and the Seljuq takeover
of Ghaznavid territory in Iran and Afghanistan. The late 1030s saw a struggle
for supremacy in Khorasan between Mas?ud and the Seljuqs, led by Toghrïl
Beg. Taking advantage of a growing Ghaznavid weakness, Toghrïl gradually
expanded his influence and began taking over territories formerly administered
by the Ghaznavids. In 1037 Merv fell voluntarily to the Seljuqs, followed
likewise in 1038 by the cities of Herat and Nishapur (modern Neyshabur, Iran).
In 1040 Mas?ud’s army, led by Mas?ud himself, was forced to fight at
Dandanqan, a fortress in the desert between Merv and Sarakhs. The Seljuqs
attacked with 16,000 horsemen and routed the Ghaznavids. Mas'ud was forced to
flee to India; he was deposed, and Khorasan passed to the Seljuqs.
Buyid dynasty
934-1062
The Buyid dynasty (also spelled Buwayhid; was a Shia Iranian dynasty of
Daylamite origin, which mainly ruled over Iraq and central and southern Iran
from 934 to 1062. Coupled with the rise of other Iranian dynasties in the
region, the approximate century of Buyid rule represents the period in Iranian
history sometimes called the 'Iranian Intermezzo' since, after the Muslim
conquest of Persia, it was an interlude between the rule of the Abbasid
Caliphate and the Seljuk Empire. The Buyid dynasty was founded by 'Ali ibn
Buya, who in 934 conquered Fars and made Shiraz his capital. His younger
brother Hasan ibn Buya conquered parts of Jibal in the late 930s, and by 943
managed to capture Ray, which he made his capital. In 945, the youngest
brother, Ahmad ibn Buya, conquered Iraq and made Baghdad his capital. He
received the laqab or honorific title of Mu'izz al-Dawla ("Fortifier of
the State"). The eldest, 'Ali, was given the title of 'Imad al-Dawla
("Support of the State"), and Hasan was given the title of Rukn
al-Dawla ("Pillar of the State").
As Daylamite Iranians,
the Buyids consciously revived symbols and practices of Iran's Sasanian Empire.
Beginning with Imad al-Dawla, some of the Buyids rulers used the ancient
Sasanian title of Shahanshah , literally "king of kings". The Buyids
had many inscriptions carved at the Achaemenid ruins of Persepolis, thus
suggesting a form of venetration of the site, which the Buyids thought was
built by the mythical Iranian king Jamshid. The Buyid dynasty reached its
zenith under Adud al-Dawla (r. 949–983), who is remembered for his
open-mindedness and building projects such as the Band-e Amir near Shiraz.
Under him, the Buyid realm stretched from the Byzantine border in Syria in the
west to the borders of Khorasan in the east. Although the Buyids were initially
Zaydi Shi'i, for political advantages they became Twelver Shi'i following the
Greater Occultation of the twelfth Imam in 941. Regardless, the Buyids were
known for supporting the Sunni Abbasid caliphs and being tolerant of the Sunni
population, who formed the majority of their realm. They were, however,
unfriendly towards the Isma'ili Fatimid Caliphate of Egypt. Contrary to the
Samanids, who ruled over a mostly Sunni Muslim population in Central Asia, the
Buyid realm was populated by many Zoroastrians and Christians. Because of this,
many records written under the Buyids were composed in Middle Persian, Syriac
and Arabic.
Samanid Empire and
dynasty 819-999See map for extent
The Samanid Empire, romanized: Samaniyan) also known as the Samanian Empire,
Samanid dynasty, Samanid amirate, or simply Samanids) was a Sunni Iranian
empire, from 819 to 999. The empire was centred in Khorasan and Transoxiana; at
its greatest extent encompassing modern-day Afghanistan, huge parts of Iran,
Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and parts of Kazakhstan and
Pakistan. Four brothers—Nuh, Ahmad, Yahya, and Ilyas—founded the
Samanid state. Each of them ruled territory under Abbasid suzerainty. In 892,
Ismail Samani (892–907) united the Samanid state under one ruler, thus
effectively putting an end to the feudal system used by the Samanids. It was
also under him that the Samanids became independent of Abbasid authority. The
Samanid Empire is part of the Iranian Intermezzo, which saw the creation of a
Persianate culture and identity that brought Iranian speech and traditions into
the fold of the Islamic world. This later contributed to the formation of the
Turko-Persian culture. The Samanids promoted the arts, giving rise to the
advancement of science and literature, and thus attracted scholars such as
Rudaki, Ferdowsi, and Avicenna. While under Samanid control, Bukhara was a
rival to Baghdad in its glory.
Scholars note that the Samanids revived Persian language and culture more than
the Buyids and the Saffarids while continuing to patronize Arabic for sciences
as well as the religious studies. They considered themselves to be descendants
of the Sasanian Empire. In a famous edict, Samanid authorities declared that
"here, in this region, the language is Persian, and the kings of this
realm are Persian kings." The power of the Samanids began to crumble in
the latter half of the 10th century. In 962, one of the ghulams, Alp Tigin,
commander of the army in Khorasan, seized Ghazna and established himself there.
His successors, however, including Sebük Tigin, continued to rule as
Samanid "governors". With the weakened Samanids facing rising
challenges from the Karakhanids for control of Transoxiana, Sebük later
took control of all the provinces south of the Oxus and established the
Ghaznavid Empire. In 992, a Karakhanid, Harun Bughra Khan, grandson of the
paramount tribal chief of the Karluk confederation Sultan Satuq Bughra Khan,
captured Bukhara, the Samanid capital. Harun died shortly afterwards, however,
and the Samanids returned to Bukhara. In 999, Nasr b. Ali, a nephew of Harun,
returned and took possession of Bukhara, meeting little resistance. The Samanid
domains were split up between the Ghaznavids, who gained Khorasan and
Afghanistan, and the Karakhanids, who received Transoxiana; the Oxus River thus
became the boundary between the two rival empires.
Saman Khuda
Saman Khuda (Saman Khoda, Saman-khudat) was an 8th-century Iranian noble whose
descendants (the House of Saman) later became rulers of Persia (the Samanid
Empire). He was a Dehqan from the village of Saman in Balkh province in
present-day northern Afghanistan. In the early 8th century, he came to Merv,
seat of the Caliphal governor of Khorasan, Asad ibn 'Abd Allah al-Qasri (ruled
723-727). Saman was originally a Zoroastrian. However, he was so impressed with
the piety of Asad ibn 'Abd-Allah al-Qasri, that he converted to Islam. He named
his son Asad, allegedly in the governor's honor. Caliph al-Mamun (786-833)
subsequently appointed Asad's four sons – Saman Khuda's grandsons –
as governors of Samarkand, Ferghana, Shash and Ustrushana, and Herat in
recognition of their role in the suppression of a revolt. This began the House
of Saman; Saman Khuda's great-grandson Isma'il ibn Ahmad (849-907) became Amir
of Transoxiana and Khorasan. Saman was a 4th or 5th generation descendant of
Bahram Chobin, a noble of the ancient House of Mihran, who played an important
role in the history of the later Sassanian Empire.
Ismail_Samani 849
-907
Abu Ibrahim Isma'il ibn A'mad ; May 849 – 24 November 907), better known
simply as Ismail Samani , and also known as Isma'il ibn Ahmad , was the Samanid
amir of Transoxiana (892–907) and Khorasan (900–907). His reign saw
the emergence of the Samanids as a powerful force. He was the son of Ahmad ibn
Asad and a descendant of Saman Khuda, the eponymous ancestor of the Samanid
dynasty who renounced Zoroastrianism and embraced Islam. The Samanids were
native to Balkh, which suggests that they came from a Bactrian background. The
family itself claimed to be the descendants of the Parthian Mihran family, one
of the Seven Great Houses of Iran during the pre-Islamic Sasanian era. However,
this was possibly a mere attempt to enhance their lineage. They may have been
originally of Hephthalite descent,[a] due to one of their coins resembling that
of the same style of the Hephthalites, instead of the Sasanians. Regardless,
the Samanid royal family both spoke and advocated Persian, and also used many
pre-Islamic bureaucratic titles, probably part of their aim to spread the
belief that their rule was a continuum of the Sasanian Empire. Ismail was
active to the north and east, steadily spreading Samanid influence as well as
solidifying his control over other areas including Kirman, Sistan and Kabul.
Ismail was successful in establishing economic and commercial development and
organized a powerful army. It was said that he made his capital Bukhara into
one of Islam's most glorious cities, as Ismail attracted scholars, artists, and
doctors of law into the region. The first translation of the Qur'an into
Persian was completed during Samanid rule. Sunni theology greatly cultivated
during Ismail's reign, as numerous mosques and madrassas were built.
In 893, Ismail took the city of Talas, the capital of the Karluk Turks, taking
large numbers of slaves and livestock. In addition, a Nestorian church was
converted into a mosque. He also brought an end to the Principality of
Ushrusana, extending Samanid control over the Syr Darya river. Ismail and other
Samanid rulers propagated Islam amongst the inhabitants and as many as 30,000
tents of Turks came to profess Islam. During his reign he subjugated numerous
regional states to the east, directly incorporating some within his boundaries
and retaining the local rulers of others as vassals. Khwarezm to the north was
partitioned; the southern part remained autonomous under its Afrighid rulers,
while the northern part was governed by a Samanid official. Another campaign in
903 further secured the Samanid boundaries. These campaigns kept the heart of
his state safe from Turkish raids, and allowed Muslim missionaries to expand
their activities in the region. Even after his brother Nasr's death, Ismail's
rule in Bukhara was not formally recognized by the caliph at that point.
As a result, the Saffarid ruler 'Amr-i Laith himself asked the caliph for the
investiture of Transoxiana. The caliph, Al-Mu'tadid, however, sent Ismail a
letter urging him to fight Amr-i Laith and the Saffarids whom the caliph
considered usurpers. According to the letter, the caliph stated that he prayed
for Ismail, who the caliph considered the rightful ruler of Khorasan. The
letter had a profound effect on Ismail, as he was determined to oppose the
Saffarids. The two sides fought in Balkh, northern Afghanistan during the
spring of 900. During battle, Ismail was significantly outnumbered as he came
out with 20,000 horsemen against Amr's 70,000-strong cavalry. Ismail's horsemen
were ill-equipped with most having wooden stirrups while some had no shields or
lances. Amr-i Laith's cavalry on the other hand, were fully equipped with
weapons and armor. Despite fierce fighting, Amr was captured as some of his
troops switched sides and joined Ismail. Ismail wished to ransom him to the
Saffarids, but they refused, so he sent 'Amr to the caliph, who blamed 'Amr's
conduct in the matter and then invested Ismail with Khorasan, Tabaristan, Ray,
and Isfahan.
Ismail decided to take advantage of the caliph's grant by sending an army to
Tabaristan, which was then controlled by the Zaydids under Muhammad ibn Zayd.
Muhammad and his army met the Samanid army under Muhammad ibn Harun al-Sarakhsi
at Gurgan, and in the ensuing battle, the Samanids prevailed, and the severely
wounded Muhammad was captured.
He died on the next day, 3 October 900 (or in August, according to
Abu'l-Faraj). His corpse was decapitated, and his head was sent to Ismail at
the Samanid court at Bukhara. As Muhammad's son and designated heir Zayd was
also captured and sent to Bukhara, the Zaydid leaders agreed to name Zayd's
infant son al-Mahdi as their ruler, but dissension broke out among their ranks:
one of them proclaimed himself for the Abbasids instead, and his troops
attacked and massacred the Zaydid supporters. Instead, the Samanids took over
the province. The Samanid conquest brought along a restoration of Sunni Islam
in the province. However, Ismail's general Muhammad ibn Harun shortly revolted,
forcing Ismail to send an army under his son Ahmad Samani and cousin
Abu'l-Abbas Abdullah into northern Persia in 901, including Tabaristan, forcing
Muhammad to flee to Daylam. The Samanid army also managed to conquer several
other cities including Ray and Qazvin, though subsequent rulers lost the
territory to the Daylamites and Kurds. Ismail then appointed his cousin
Abu'l-Abbas Abdullah as the governor of Tabaristan. Although Ismail continued
to send gifts to the caliph, as was customary, he neither paid tribute or
taxes. For all intents and purposes he was an independent ruler, although he
never took any title higher than that of amir. After a long sickness Ismail
died on 24 November 907 and was succeeded by his son
Ahmad Samani. Ismail
gave enormous amounts of booty and riches to others, and kept nothing. The
highest mountain peak in Tajikistan (and USSR) is named after him.
Seljuk Empire
The Great Seljuk Empire or the Seljuk Empire, was a high medieval Turko-Persian
Sunni Muslim empire, originating from the Qiniq branch of Oghuz Turks. At the
time of its greatest extent, the Seljuk Empire controlled a vast area,
stretching from western Anatolia and the Levant in the west to the Hindu Kush
in the east, and from Central Asia in the north to the Persian Gulf in the
south. The Seljuk empire was founded in 1037 by
Tughril (990–1063) and
his brother Chaghri (989–1060). From their homelands near the Aral Sea,
the Seljuks advanced first into Khorasan and then into mainland Persia, before
eventually conquering Baghdad and eastern Anatolia. The Seljuks won the battle
of Manzikert in 1071, and then conquered most of the rest of Anatolia, wresting
it from the Byzantine Empire. This was one of the impetuses for the First
Crusade (1095–1099). The Seljuk empire began to decline in the 1140s, and
by 1194 had been supplanted by the Khwarazmian Empire. Seljuk gave his name to
both the empire and the Seljuk dynasty. The Seljuk empire united the fractured
political landscape of the eastern Islamic world and played a key role in both
the First Crusade and Second Crusade. The Seljuks also played an important part
in the creation and expansion of multiple art forms during the period in which
they had influence. Highly Persianized in culture and language, the Seljuks
also played an important role in the development of the Turko-Persian
tradition, even exporting Persian culture to Anatolia.
The settlement of Turkic tribes in the northwestern peripheral parts of the
empire, for the strategic military purpose of fending off invasions from
neighboring states, led to the progressive Turkicization of those areas.
Seljuk dynasty
The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljuks, alternatively spelled as Seljuqs or Saljuqs),
also known as Seljuk Turks, Seljuk Turkomans or the Saljuqids, was an Oghuz
Turkic Sunni Muslim dynasty that gradually became Persianate and contributed to
the Turco-Persian tradition in the medieval Middle East and Central Asia. The
Seljuks established both the Seljuk Empire and the Sultanate of Rum, which at
their heights stretched from Iran to Anatolia, and were targets of the First
Crusade.
The Seljuks originated from the Kinik branch of the Oghuz Turks, who in the 8th
century lived on the periphery of the Muslim world, north of the Caspian Sea
and Aral Sea in their Oghuz Yabgu State, in the Kazakh Steppe of Turkestan.
During the 10th century, due to various events, the Oghuz had come into close
contact with Muslim cities. When Seljuk, the leader of the Seljuk clan, had a
falling out with Yabghu, the supreme chieftain of the Oghuz, he split his clan
off from the bulk of the Oghuz Turks and set up camp on the west bank of the
lower Syr Darya. Around 985, Seljuk converted to Islam. In the 11th century the
Seljuks migrated from their ancestral homelands into mainland Persia, in the
province of Khurasan, where they encountered the Ghaznavid empire. The Seljuks
defeated the Ghaznavids at the Battle of Nasa Plains in 1035. Tughril, Chaghri,
and Yabghu received the insignias of governor, grants of land, and were given
the title of dehqan. At the Battle of Dandanaqan they defeated a Ghaznavid
army, and after a successful siege of Isfahan by Tughril in 1050/51, they
established an empire later called the Great Seljuk Empire. The Seljuks mixed
with the local population and adopted the Persian culture and Persian language
in the following decades.
After arriving in Persia, the Seljuks adopted the Persian culture and used the
Persian language as the official language of the government, and played an
important role in the development of the Turko-Persian tradition which features
"Persian culture patronized by Turkic rulers". Today, they are
remembered as great patrons of Persian culture, art, literature, and language.
They are regarded as the ancestors of the Western Turks – the present-day
inhabitants of the Republic of Azerbaijan (historically known as Shirvan and
Arran), Azerbaijan (historic Azerbaijan, also known as Iranian Azerbaijan),
Turkmenistan, and Turkey
Ahmad_Sanjar 1085 -
1157
Ahmad Sanjar full name: Muizz ad-Dunya wa ad-Din Adud ad-Dawlah Abul-Harith
Ahmad Sanjar ibn Malik-Shah) (b. 1085 – d. 8 May 1157) was the Seljuq
ruler of Khorasan from 1097 until in 1118, when he became the Sultan of the
Seljuq Empire, which he ruled until his death in 1157. In 1096, he was given
the province of Khorasan to govern under his brother Muhammad I. Over the next
several years Ahmad Sanjar became the ruler of most of Iran with his capital at
Nishapur.
A number of rulers revolted against Sanjar and continued the split of the Great
Seljuq Empire that had started upon dynastic wars. In 1102, he repulsed an
invasion from Kashgaria, killing Jibrail Arslan Khan near Termez. In 1107, he
invaded the domains of the Ghurid ruler Izz al-Din Husayn and captured him, but
later released him in return for tribute. Sanjar undertook a campaign to
eliminate the Assassins within Persia and successfully drove them from a number
of their strongholds including Quhistan and Tabas. However, an anecdote
indicates that en route to their stronghold at Alamut, Sanjar woke up one day
to find a dagger beside him, pinning a note from Hassan-i Sabbah stating that
he (Hassan) would like peace. Sanjar, shocked by this event, sent envoys to
Hassan and they both agreed to stay out of each other's way. In 1117, he
marched against the Ghaznavid Sultan Arslan-Shah of Ghazna defeating him at
Battle of Ghazni and installing Arslan's brother Bahram-Shah in the throne as a
Seljuk vassal.
In 1141, Ahmad, along with Garshasp II, marched to confront the Kara Khitan
threat and engaged them near Samarkand at the Battle of Qatwan. He suffered an
astounding defeat, and Garshasp was killed. Ahmad escaped with only fifteen of
his elite horsemen, losing all Seljuq territory east of the Syr Darya
(Jaxartes). Sanjar’s as well as the Seljuks' rule collapsed as a
consequence of yet another unexpected defeat, this time at the hands of the
Seljuks’ own tribe, in 1153. Sanjar was captured during the battle and
held in captivity until 1156. It brought chaos to the Empire - situation later
exploited by the victorious Turkmens, whose hordes would overrun Khorasan
unopposed, wreaking colossal damage on the province and prestige of Sanjar.
Sanjar eventually escaped from captivity in the fall of 1156, but soon died in
Merv (present-day Turkmenistan), in 1157. After his death, Turkic rulers,
Turkmen tribal forces, and other secondary powers competed for Khorasan, and
after a long period of confrontations, the province was finally conquered by
Khwarazmians in the early 1200s.
Battle of Qatwan
1141
The Battle of Qatwan was fought in September 1141 between the Qara Khitai
(Western Liao Empire) and the Seljuq Empire and its vassal-state the
Kara-Khanids. The Seljuqs were decisively defeated, which signalled the
beginning of the end of the Great Seljuk Empire.Widely varying figures from
different sources were given for the Kara-Khitan forces, ranging from 20,000 to
300,000, and 700,000, while the Seljuk forces ranged from 70,000 to 100,000.
The Kara-Khitans were also said to have been given a reinforcement of
30,000–50,000 Karluk horsemen. While many Muslim sources suggested that
the Kara-Khitan forces greatly outnumbered the Seljuks, some contemporary
Muslim authors also reported that the battle was fought between forces of equal
size. The battle took place on the Qatwan steppe, north of Samarkand, on
September 9, 1141. The Khitans divided their armies into three contingents,
with the smaller left and right flanks holding 2,500 men. The Kara-Khitans
attacked the Seljuk forces simultaneously, encircled them, and forced the
Seljuq center into a wadi called Dargham, about 12 km from Samarkand. Encircled
from all directions, the Seljuq army was destroyed and Sanjar barely escaped.
Figures of the dead ranged from 11,000 to 100,000. Among those captured at the
battle were Seljuq military commanders and Sanjar's wife. Yelü Dashi spent
ninety days in Samarkand, accepting the loyalty of Muslim nobles and appointing
Mahmud's brother Ibrahim as the new ruler of Samarkand. However, Yelü did
allow the Muslim Burhan family to continue to rule Bukhara. After this battle,
Khwarazm became a vassal state of the Kara-Khitan. In 1142, Yelü sent
Erbuz to Khwarazm to pillage the province, which forced Atsiz to agree to pay
30,000 dinars annual tribute.
Khwarazmian Empire
1071 -1231
The Khwarazmian Empire was a Turko-Persian Sunni Muslim empire that ruled large
parts of present-day Central Asia, Afghanistan, and Iran in the approximate
period of 1077 to 1231, first as vassals of the Seljuk Empire and the Qara
Khitai (Western Liao dynasty), and later as independent rulers, up until the
Mongol conquest in the 13th century. It is estimated that the empire spanned an
area of 2.3 million square kilometers to 3.6 million square kilometers in the
beginning of the 13th century, effectively making it one of the largest land
empires in history. The date of the founding of the state of the Khwarazmshahs
remains debatable. The dynasty that ruled the empire was founded by Anush Tigin
(also known as Gharachai), initially a Turkic slave of the rulers of
Gharchistan, later a Mamluk in the service of the Seljuqs. However, it was Ala
ad-Din Atsiz, descendant of Anush Tigin, who achieved Khwarazm's independence
from its neighbors. In 1220, the Mongols under their ruler Genghis Khan invaded
the Khwarazmian Empire, successfully conquering the whole of it in less than
two years. The Mongols exploited existing weaknesses and conflicts in the
empire, besieging and plundering the richest cities, while putting its citizens
to the sword in one of the bloodiest wars in human history.
Anushteginid dynasty
1077 -1231
The Anushteginid dynasty also known as the Khwarazmian dynasty was a
Persianate] Sunni Muslim dynasty of Turkic mamluk origin. The Anushteginid
dynasty ruled the Khwarazmian Empire, consisting in large parts of present-day
Central Asia, Afghanistan and Iran in the approximate period of 1077 to 1231,
first as vassals of the Seljuks and the Qara Khitai, and later as independent
rulers, up until the Mongol conquest of the Khwarazmian Empire in the 13th
century. The dynasty was founded by commander Anushtegin Gharchai, a former
Turkic slave of the Seljuq sultans, who was appointed as governor of Khwarazm.
His son, Qutb ad-Din Muhammad I, became the first hereditary Shah of Khwarazm.
Anush Tigin may have belonged to either the Begdili tribe of the Oghuz Turks or
to Chigil, Khalaj, Qipchaq, Qangly, or Uyghurs.
Ghaznavids 977 -1186
also called the Yamini dynasty: Main article:
Sabuktigin - another
Main article: Mahmud of
Ghazni
The Ghaznavid dynasty was a Persianate Muslim dynasty of Turkic mamluk origin,
ruling, at its greatest extent, large parts of Iran, Afghanistan, much of
Transoxiana 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. Sabuktigin's
son, Mahmud of Ghazni, declared independence from the Samanid Empire and
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. Two military families
arose from the Turkic slave-guards of the Samanid Empire, the Simjurids and
Ghaznavids, who ultimately proved disastrous to the Samanids. The Simjurids
received an appanage in the Kohistan region of eastern Khorasan. The Samanid
generals Alp Tigin and Abu al-Hasan Simjuri competed for the governorship of
Khorasan and control of the Samanid Empire by placing on the throne emirs they
could dominate after the death of Abd al-Malik I in 961. His death created a
succession crisis between his brothers. A court party instigated by men of the
scribal class – civilian ministers rather than Turkic generals –
rejected the candidacy of Alp Tigin for the Samanid throne. Mansur I was
installed instead, and Alp Tigin prudently retired to south of the Hindu Kush,
where he captured Ghazna and became the ruler of the city as a Samanid
authority.
The Simjurids enjoyed control of Khorasan south of the Amu Darya but were
hard-pressed by a third great Iranian dynasty, the Buyid dynasty, and were
unable to survive the collapse of the Samanids and the subsequent rise of the
Ghaznavids. Fight between Mahmud of Ghazni and Abu 'Ali Simjuri. The struggles
of the Turkic slave generals for mastery of the throne with the help of
shifting allegiance from the court's ministerial leaders both demonstrated and
accelerated the Samanid decline. Samanid weakness attracted into Transoxiana
the Karluks, a Turkic people who had recently converted to Islam. They occupied
Bukhara in 992, establishing in Transoxania the Kara-Khanid Khanate. After Alp
Tigin's death in 963, Abu Ishaq Ibrahim, followed by his slave Sabuktigin, took
the throne. Sabuktigin's son Mahmud of Ghazni made an agreement with the
Kara-Khanid Khanate whereby the Amu Darya was recognised as their mutual
boundary.
The core of the Ghaznavid army was primarily made up of Turks, as well as
thousands of native Afghans who were trained and assembled from the area south
of the Hindu Kush in what is now Afghanistan. During the rule of Sultan Mahmud,
a new, larger military training center was established in Bost (now Lashkar
Gah). This area was known for blacksmiths where war weapons were made. After
capturing and conquering the Punjab region, the Ghaznavids began to employ
Hindus in their army. The Kara-Khanid ruler "Ilig Khan" on horse,
submitting to Mahmud of Ghazni, who is riding an elephant. Like the other
dynasties that rose out of the remains of the Abbasid Caliphate, the Ghaznavid
administrative traditions and military practice came from the Abbasids. The
Arabian horses, at least in the earliest campaign, were still substantial in
Ghaznavid military incursions, especially in dashing raids deep into hostile
territory. There is a record of '6000 Arab horse' being sent against king
Anandapala in 1008, and evidence of this Arabian cavalry persists until 1118
under the Ghaznavid governor in Lahore. Due to their access to the Indus-Ganges
plains, the Ghaznavids, during the 11th and 12th centuries, developed the first
Muslim army to use war elephants in battle. The elephants were protected by
armour plating on their fronts. The use of these elephants was a foreign weapon
in other regions that the Ghaznavids fought in, particularly in Central Asia.
Under the reign of Mas'ud I, the Ghaznavid dynasty began losing control over
its western territories to the Seljuq dynasty after the Battle of Dandanaqan,
resulting in a restriction of its holdings to modern-day Afghanistan, Pakistan
(Punjab and Balochistan). In 1151, Sultan Bahram Shah lost Ghazni to the Ghurid
king Ala al-Din Husayn.
Sultan Bahram
Shah 1117 -1152
Sultan Bahram Shah was the last Ghaznavid King, ruling Ghazni, the first and
main Ghaznavid capital, for thirty-five years. In 1148 he was defeated in
Ghazni by Sayf al-Din Suri, but he recaptured the capital the next year. Ala
al-Din Husayn, a Ghorid King, conquered the city in 1151, in revenge for his
brother Kutubbuddin's death, who was son-in-law of the king but was publicly
punished and killed for a minor offence. Ala al-Din Husayn then razed the city,
burning it for 7 days, after which he became known as "Jahansuz"
(World Burner). Ghazni was restored to the Ghaznavids by the intervention of
the Seljuks, who came to the aid of Bahram. Ghaznavid struggles with the
Ghurids continued in subsequent years as they nibbled away at Ghaznavid
territory, and Ghazni and Zabulistan were lost to a group of Oghuz Turks before
being captured by the Ghurids. Ghaznavid power in northwestern India continued
until the Ghurid conquest of Lahore by the Emperor Muhammad of Ghor in 1186,
depositing the last Ghaznavid ruler Khusrau Malik. Bahram-Shah (full name:Yamin
ad-Dawlah wa Amin al-Milla Abul-Muzaffar Bahram-Shah) (1084 - 1157) was Sultan
of the Ghaznavid empire from 25 February 1117 to 1152. Son of Mas'ud III and
Gawhar Khatun, sister of Sanjar, sultan of the Great Seljuq empire. During his
entire reign, his empire was a tributary of the Great Seljuq empire. Bahram's
court was accompanied by a Seljuq amil or tax collector and the sending of his
eldest son, Daulat Shah, to the Seljuq court at Merv as a hostage.
It is believed that Bahram raided India once, attacking Sapadalaksha or eastern
Rajputana. Faced with a rebellious faction led by Muhammad b. 'Ali, Bahram
marched an army to Multan in 1119. Bahram asked for Muhammad's obedience but
was refused. The ensuing battle in western Punjab resulted in Muhammad's death
and the deaths of most of his sons. Bahram Shah is said to have conducted two
"holy wars" in India. The 13th century historian Minhaj-i-Siraj
states that Bahram Shah made several expeditions to India but was defeated.
According to Mihaj's Tabaqat-i Nasiri and Firishta's Tarikh-i-Firishta,
Muhammad Bahlim or Bahalim (Bahram Shah's governor in India) had captured the
Nagaur fort.
After Bahlim died, Salar Hussain succeeded him as the governor of Ghaznavid
territories in India. Nagaur was under the control of the Chahamana king
Ajayaraja at least until 1121 CE, as attested by Prabhavaka Charita (the text
calls him Alhadana, which appears to be a Sanskritized form of his alias
Alhana). This suggests that Bahram Shah's forces captured Nagaur from
Ajayaraja. The Prithviraja Vijaya states that Ajayaraja defeated the Garjana
Matangas ("Ghazna Muslims"). This is probably a reference to
Ajayaraja's repulsion of a raid by either Bahlim or Salar Hussain. The
Prabandha Kosha also claims that Ajayaraja defeated "Sahavadina"
(Sanskritized form of Shahab-ud-Din). This probably refers to his repulsion of
invasions by Ghaznavid generals as well. Ajayaraja's son Arnoraja also seems to
have repulsed some Ghaznavid raids.
According to his Ajmer prashasti inscription, Arnoraja adorned Ajmer with the
blood of Turushkas (Turkic people). The Prithviraja Vijaya also states that
Arnoraja repulsed a Muslim invasion. According to the text, these invaders came
through the desert, and had to drink the blood of their horses in absence of
water. After defeating these invaders, Arnoraja purified the place of their
death by commissioning a lake, which is identified with the modern Ana Sagar.
The lake was filled with the water of the Chandra river, identified with the
modern Bandi River. Historian H. C. Ray theorized that the Muslim invaders
defeated by Arnoraja were the Ghaznavid (Yamini) generals of Lahore. However,
historian R. B. Singh identifies the invader as Bahram Shah himself. The
Tabaqat-i Nasiri states that Bahlim revolted against his master Bahram Shah,
who marched towards India to defeat the rebel. Bahlim also set out from Nagaur
with his army, and the two armies met at Multan, where Bahlim was defeated and
killed.
Bahram Shah then left for Ghazna to fight the Ghurids. R. B. Singh speculates
that after revolting against Bahram Shah, Bahlim sought asylum with the
Chahamanas, and Arnoraja granted him the fief of Nagaur. After defeating
Bahalim, Bahram Shah may have attempted to subdue Arnoraja, but was defeated.
The Muslim chronicles probably omitted this event to avoid recording Bahram
Shah's defeat. Bahram appointed Salar Husain b. Ibrahim 'Alawi as his governor
in India. In 1135, Bahram stopped paying tribute to Sanjar. In response, Sanjar
marched an army to Ghazna, and Bahram, seeing the size of Sanjar's army, fled
to Lahore. After sending diplomatic entreaties, Bahram was assured of his
throne, his position as a tributary of the Seljuq empire and returned to
Ghazna. Between 1143 and 1146, Abu'l-Ma'ali Nasrallah translated the Arabic
translated Indian fable story Kalila wa Dimna to Persian, and dedicated it to
Bahram. In an attempt to strengthen his hold over the Ghurids, Bahram invited
Qutb ad-Din Muhammad b. Husain, his son in law, to court. Believing that Qutb
and his brother Sayf al-Din Suri had come to court to scout the city for a
future raid, Bahram had Qutb poisoned, though Sayf al-Din Suri escaped.
By 1148, Sayf al-Din Suri returned with an army, scored a victory at the Battle
of Ghazni while Bahram fled to Kurram. Building an army, Bahram marched back to
Ghazna. Sayf al-Din Suri fled, but the Ghaznavid army caught up with him and a
battle ensued at Sang-i Surakh. Sayf al-Din Suri and Majd ad-Din Musawi were
captured and later crucified at Pul-i Yak Taq. In response, Ala al-Din Husayn,
younger brother of Sayf al-Din Suri and chief of the Ghurids,launched a
campaign against Bahram in 1150. The Ghaznavid and Ghurid armies met at
Tiginabad and through the heroic efforts of Kharmil Sam-i Husain and Kharmil
Sam-i Banji the Ghaznavid army was routed. Bahram rallied elements of his army
at the hot springs, Jush-i Ab-i Garm, but was again routed and fled back to
Ghazna.Bahram again rallied the remaining elements of his army with the
addition of the city's garrison, but again his army was routed and the city was
burned by the Ghurids. Following this defeat, Bahram fled to the Ghaznavid
territories in India. Ghazna was then subjected to seven days of pillage and
rapine, in which 60,000 of the city were killed. All the tombs of the Ghaznavid
rulers, with the exception of Mahmud, Mas'ud and Ibrahim, were broken open and
the remains burned. From these events, Ala al-Din Husayn gained the nickname,
World-Incendiary(i.e. World Burner). Bahram stayed in northern India for over a
year, rebuilding his army. After the defeat and capture of Ala al-Din Husayn at
Herat by Seljuq forces, Bahram returned to Ghazna and removed the Ghurid
governor. Bahram spent his remaining days in Ghazna, died in 1157 and was
succeeded by his son, Khusrau Shah.
Ghazni
Ghazni historically known as Ghaznin or Ghazna and also transliterated as
Ghuznee, is a city in southeastern Afghanistan with a population of around
190,000 people. The city is strategically located along Highway 1, which has
served as the main road between Kabul and Kandahar for thousands of years.
Situated on a plateau at 2,219 metres (7,280 ft) above sea level, the city is
150 kilometres (93 mi) south of Kabul and is the capital of Ghazni Province.
The city was founded some time in antiquity as a small market town. It may be
the Gazaca (Gázaca or Gazaca) mentioned by Ptolemy, although he may have
conflated it and the town of Ganzak (or Gazaka) in Iran. In the 6th century BC,
it was conquered by the Achaemenid king Cyrus II and incorporated into the
Persian empire. The city was subsequently incorporated into the empire of
Alexander the Great in 329 BC, and called Alexandria in Opiana. By the 7th
century AD, the area was a major centre of Buddhism. In 644, the Chinese
pilgrim Xuanzang visited a city named Jaguda—which was almost certainly
the contemporary name of the later Ghazni. In 683, Arab armies brought Islam to
the region. Yaqub Saffari from Zaranj conquered the city in the late 9th
century. The Saffarids reduced the formerly Lawik dynasty to a tributary
status.
In 962, the Turkic slave commander of the Samanid Empire, Alp-Tegin, attacked
the city and besieged the Citadel of Ghazni for four months, wresting the city
from Abu Bakr Lawik. Around 965, Abu Bakr Lawik recaptured Ghazni from
Alp-Tegin's son, Abu Ishaq Ibrahim, forcing him to flee to Bukhara. However,
this was not to last long because Abu Ishaq Ibrahim shortly returned to the
town with Samanid aid, and took control of the town once again.
For nearly two hundred years (977–1163), the city was the dazzling capital
of the Ghaznavid Empire, which encompassed much of what is today Afghanistan,
Turkmenistan, Pakistan, Eastern Iran and Rajasthan. The Ghaznavids took Islam
to India and returned with fabulous riches looted from Hindu temples. Although
the city was sacked in 1151 by the Ghorid Ala'uddin, it became their secondary
capital in 1173, and subsequently flourished once again. Between 1215 and 1221,
Ghazni was ruled by the Khwarezmid Empire, during which time it was destroyed
by the Mongol armies of Genghis Khan's son Ögedei Khan.
In the first decades of the 11th century, Ghazni was the most important centre
of Persian literature. This was the result of the cultural policy of the Sultan
Mahmud (reigned 998–1030), who assembled a circle of scholars,
philosophers, and poets around his throne in support of his claim to royal
status in Iran. Tamerlanes's grandson, Pir Muhammad bin Djinhangir, became the
governor of Ghazni (along with Kabul and Kandahar) in 1401.
Babur conquered the region in 1504 and personally thought that Ghazni was
"a mean place" and pondered why any of the princes of the region
would make it their seat of government. Ghazni stayed under Mughal control
until 1738 when Iranian ruler Nader Shah invaded the area. After Nader Shah's
death, Ghazni became part of the Durrani empire. Ghazni City is famous for its
Ghazni Minarets built on a stellar plan. They date from the middle of the
twelfth century and are the surviving elements of the mosque of Bahramshah.
Their sides are decorated with intricate geometric patterns. Some of the upper
sections of the minarets have been damaged or destroyed. The most important
mausoleum located in Ghazni City is that of Sultan Mahmud. Others include the
Tombs of poets and scientists, such as the Tomb of Al Biruni. The only ruins in
Old Ghazni retaining a semblance of architectural form are two towers, about 43
m (140 ft) high and 365 m (1,200 ft) apart. According to inscriptions, the
towers were constructed by Mahmud of Ghazni and his son. For more than eight
centuries the “Towers of Victory” monuments to Afghanistan's greatest
empire have survived wars and invasions, the two toffee-colored minarets,
adorned with terra-cotta tiles were raised in the early 12th century as
monuments to the victories of the Afghan armies that built the empire. By the
time the Ghurids had finalized the Ghaznavid removal from Ghazni, the city was
a cultural center of the eastern Islamic world. Ghazni is the traditional
homeland of the Khilji Pashtuns, a significant Pashtun tribal confederation.
Their stronghold was located in Qalati Khalji on the Kandahar-Ghazni road. The
Khilji have played an integral role in the region as powerful soldiers for the
Ghaznavid dynasty. Ghazni Citadel, the Minarets of Ghazni, the Palace of Sultan
Mas'ud III and several other cultural heritage sites have brought travellers
and archeologists to the city for centuries. During the pre-Islamic period, the
area was inhabited by various tribes who practiced different religions
including Zoroastrianism, Buddhism and Hinduism. Arab Muslims introduced Islam
to Ghazni in the 7th century and were followed in the 9th century by the
Saffarids. Sabuktigin made Ghazni the capital of the Ghaznavid Empire in the
10th century. The city was destroyed by one of the Ghurid rulers, but later
rebuilt. It fell to a number of regional powers, including the Timurids and the
Delhi Sultanate, until it became part of the Hotaki dynasty, which was followed
by the Durrani Empire or modern Afghanistan. During the First Anglo-Afghan War
in the 19th century, the fortifications of Ghazni were partially demolished by
British Indian forces.
Hajib Alptigin 962-963
Alp-Tegin, was a Turkic slave commander of the Samanid Empire, who would later
become the semi-independent governor of Ghazna from 962 until his death in 963.
Before becoming governor of Ghazni, Alp-Tegin was the commander-in-chief
(sipahsalar) of the Samanid army in Khorasan. In a political fallout over
succession of the Samanids he crossed the Hindu Kush mountains southward and
captured Ghazna, located strategically between Kabul and Kandahar in
present-day Afghanistan, and thereby establishing his own principality, which,
however, was still under Samanid authority. He was succeeded by his son, Abu
Ishaq Ibrahim. Alp-Tegin then took his personal guard of Turkic slave-soldiers
and group of Iranian ghazis to Balkh, where he in April 962 defeated an army
sent by Mansur I. He then left for Ghazna, a small town in Zabulistan ruled by
the local Lawik dynasty, defeating the forces of the local rulers of Bamiyan
and Kabul along the way. He seized Ghazna from Abu Bakr Lawik, a kinsman of the
Kabulshah, and secured his position by receiving an investiture from the
Samanids as the governor of Ghazna. Alp-Tegin died a few months later
(September 963) and was succeeded by his son Abu Ishaq Ibrahim. Sabuktigin, a
slave who was bought by Alp-Tegin and had accompanied him to Ghazna, was
appointed as the ruler of Ghazna by the Turks of the town in 977, marking the
start of the Ghaznavid dynasty, which would go on to conquer all of Transoxiana
and Khorasan.
Mahud of Ghazni
971-1030
Yamin-ud-Dawla Abul-Qa?im Ma?mud ibn Sebüktegin 2 November 971 – 30
April 1030), usually known as Mahmud of Ghazni or Mahmud Ghaznavi was the
founder of the Turkic Ghaznavid dynasty, ruling from 998 to 1030. At the time
of his death, his kingdom had been transformed into an extensive military
empire, which extended from northwestern Iran proper to the Punjab in the
Indian subcontinent, Khwarazm in Transoxiana, and Makran. Highly Persianized,
Sultan Mahmud continued the bureaucratic, political, and cultural customs of
his predecessors, the Samanids, which established the ground for a Persianate
state in northwestern India. His capital of Ghazni evolved into a significant
cultural, commercial, and intellectual centre in the Islamic world, almost
rivalling the important city of Baghdad. The capital appealed to many prominent
figures, such as al-Biruni and Ferdowsi.
Mahmud ascended the throne at the age of 27 upon his father's death, albeit
after a brief war of succession with his brother Ismail. He was the first ruler
to hold the title Sultan ("authority"), signifying the extent of his
power while at the same time preserving an ideological link to the suzerainty
of the Abbasid Caliphs. During his rule, he invaded and plundered the richest
cities and temple towns, such as Mathura and Somnath, in medieval India
seventeen times, and used the booty to build his capital in Ghazni. In 994
Mahmud joined his father, Sabuktigin, in the capture of Khorasan from the rebel
Fa'iq in aid of the Samanid Emir, Nuh II. During this period, the Samanid
Empire 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 Ali, the General Bekhtuzin as well as the neighbouring
Buyid dynasty and Kara-Khanid Khanate. Sabuktigin died in 997, and was
succeeded by his son Ismail as the ruler of the Ghaznavid dynasty. The reason
behind Sabuktigin's choice to appoint Ismail as heir over the more experienced
and older Mahmud is uncertain. It may due to Ismail's mother being the daughter
of Sabuktigin's old master, Alptigin.
Mahmud shortly revolted, and with the help of his other brother,
Abu'l-Muzaffar, the governor of Bust, he defeated Ismail the following year at
the battle of Ghazni and gained control over the Ghaznavid kingdom. That year,
in 998, Mahmud then traveled to Balkh and paid homage to Amir Abu'l-Harith
Mansur b. Nur II. He then appointed Abu'l-Hasan Isfaraini as his vizier, and
then set out west from Ghazni to take the Kandahar region followed by Bost
(Lashkar Gah), where he turned it into a militarised city. Sultan Mahmud and
his forces attacked the fortress of Zaranj. In 1003 CE. Mahmud initiated the
first of numerous invasions of North India. On 28 November 1001, his army
fought and defeated the army of Raja Jayapala of the Kabul Shahis at the
Battle of
Peshawar 1001. In 1002 Mahmud invaded Sistan and dethroned Khalaf ibn
Ahmad, ending the Saffarid dynasty. From there he decided to focus on Hindustan
to the southeast, particularly the highly fertile lands of the Punjab region.
Mahmud's first campaign to the south was against an Ismaili state first
established at Multan in 965 by a da'i from the Fatimid Caliphate in a bid to
curry political favor and recognition with the Abbasid Caliphate; he also
engaged elsewhere with the Fatimids. 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 that suffered defeat as
his elephant turned back from the battle at a crucial moment, turning the tide
in Mahmud's favor once more at Lahore in 1008 and bringing Mahmud control of
the Shahi dominions of Udbandpura.
Following the defeat of the Indian 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 and annexing
only the Punjab region. He also vowed to raid and loot the wealthy region of
northwestern India every year.
In 1001 Mahmud of Ghazni first invaded modern day Pakistan and then parts of
India. Mahmud defeated, captured, and later released the Hindu Shahi ruler,
Jayapala, who had moved his capital to Peshawar (modern Pakistan). Jayapala
killed himself and was succeeded by his son Anandapala. In 1005 Mahmud of
Ghazni invaded Bhatia (probably Bhera), and in 1006 he invaded Multan, at which
time Anandapala's army attacked him. The following year Mahmud of Ghazni
attacked and crushed Sukhapala, ruler of Bathinda (who had become ruler by
rebelling against the Shahi kingdom). In 1013, during Mahmud's eighth
expedition into eastern Afghanistan and Pakistan, the Shahi kingdom (which was
then under Trilochanapala, son of Anandapala) 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 Chandrapala. The city of Mathura
was "ruthlessly sacked, ravaged, desecrated and destroyed". In
particular, Al-utbi mentioned in his work Tarikh-e-yamini, that Mahmud Ghaznavi
destroyed a "great and magnificent temple" in Mathura. According to
Muhammad Qasim Hindu Shah, writing an "History of Hindustan" in the
16th-17th century, the city of Mathura was the richest in India, and was
consecrated to Vasudeva-Krishna. When it was attacked by Mahmud of Ghazni,
"all the idols" were burnt and destroyed during a period of twenty
days, gold and silver was smelted for booty, and the city was burnt down. The
Art of Mathura fell into decline thereafter.
In 1021 Mahmud supported the Kannauj king against Chandela Ganda, who was
defeated. That same year Shahi Trilochanapala was killed at Rahib and his son,
Bhimapala, succeeded him. Lahore (modern Pakistan) was annexed by Mahmud.
Mahmud besieged Gwalior, in 1023, where he was given tribute. Mahmud attacked
Somnath in 1025, and its ruler Bhima I fled. The next year, he captured Somnath
and marched to Kachch against Bhima I. That same year Mahmud also attacked the
Jats of Jud and defeated them. Christoph Baumer notes that in 1026 CE, Jats
"inflicted heavy losses" on the army of Mahmud while it was on its
way from Somnath to Multan. Later in 1027 CE, he avenged the attack by the
Jats, who had been resisting "forced Islamisation" for the past 300
years, by ravaging their fleet in the Indus river. Even though the Jats had a
bigger fleet than Mahmud, he is said to have had around 20 archers on each of
his 1400 boats, stocked with "special projectiles" carrying naphtha,
which he used to burn the Jats' fleet.
The Indian kingdoms of Nagarkot, Thanesar, Kannauj, and Gwalior were all
conquered and left in the hands of Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist kings as vassal
states and he was pragmatic enough not to neglect making alliances and
enlisting local peoples into his armies at all ranks. Since Mahmud never kept a
permanent presence in the northwestern subcontinent, he engaged in a policy of
destroying Hindu temples and monuments to crush any move by the Hindus to
attack the Empire; Nagarkot, Thanesar, Mathura, Kannauj, Kalinjar (1023) and
Somnath all submitted or were raided. In 1025 Mahmud raided Gujarat, plundering
the Somnath temple and breaking its jyotirlinga. He took away booty of 2
million dinars. The conquest of Somnath was followed by a punitive invasion of
Anhilwara. Some historians claim that there are records of pilgrimages to the
temple in 1038 that do not mention damage to the temple. However, powerful
legends with intricate detail had developed regarding Mahmud's raid in the
Turko-Persian literature, which "electrified" the Muslim world
according to scholar Meenakshi Jain.
Battle of Ghazni
988
The Battle of Ghazni was fought in 998 between the rival Ghaznavid forces of
Amir Ismail and the rebel forces of his older brother Mahmud of Ghazni. On his
death-bed Amir Sabuktigin had designated Ismail as his successor while Mahmud,
the older brother who was involved in the Samanids civil war, was stationed in
Nishapur. Upon receiving these news Mahmud contested Ismail's right to the
throne and divested his charge of Nishapur to his uncle Borghuz and younger
brother Nur-ud-Din Yusuf and marched upon Ghazni. Both armies met at Ghazni,
Ismail's containing elephants. The battle was a long, drawn out affair, but at
an opportune moment Mahmud charged Ismail's center which broke up. Mahmud would
capture his brother and take the crown. Ismail spent the rest of his life in
comfortable captivity.
Battle of
Peshawar 1001
Battle of Peshawar, was fought on 27 November 1001 between the Ghaznavid army
of Sultan Mahmud bin Sebuktigin (Mahmud of Ghazni) and the Hindu Shahi army of
Jayapala, near Peshawar. Jayapala was defeated and captured, and as a result of
the humiliation of the defeat, he later immolated himself in a funeral pyre.
This is the first of many major battles in the expansion of the Ghaznavid
Empire into the Indian subcontinent by Mahmud of Ghazni. In 962, Alp Tigin, a
Turkish ghulam or slave soldier, who rose to be the commander of the army in
Khorasan in the service of the Samanids, seized Ghazna and set himself up as a
ruler there. A successor Sebuk Tigin started to vigorously expand his domain,
first capturing Kandahar, then began a struggle with the Hindu Shahi kingdom.
The Hindu Shahi ruler Jayapala attacked Sebuk Tigin, but was defeated, then
again later when his army of a reported size of over 100,000 was beaten.
Lamghan was plundered, and Kabul and Jalalabad were annexed by the Ghaznavids.
In 997, Mahmud ascended the throne at Ghazni, and vowed to invade India every
year until the northern lands were his. In 1001 he arrived at Peshawar with a
select group of 15,000 cavalry, and a large corps of ghazis and Afghans. An
account of the battle between the invading Turkic Ghaznavids and the Shahi
kingdom was given by Al-Utbi in Tarikh Yamini. According to Al-Utbi, Mahmud
pitched his tent outside the city upon reaching Peshawar.
Jayapala avoided action for some time waiting for reinforcements, and Mahmud
then took the decision to attack with swords, arrows, and spears. Jayapala
moved his cavalry and elephants to engage his opponent, but his army was
decisively defeated. According to the sources, Jayapala, along with members of
his family were captured, and valuable personal adornments were taken off the
prisoners, including a necklace of great value from Jayapala. The figures of
Hindu dead ranged from 5,000 to 15,000, and five hundred thousands were said to
have been taken captive. Judging from the personal adornments taken off
captured Hindus, Jayapala's army was not prepared for battle and thousands of
children were taken captive as well.Jayapala was bound and paraded, and a large
ransom was paid for the release of members of his family. Jayapala felt the
defeat to be a great humiliation, and later he built himself a funeral pyre,
lit it, and threw himself into the fire. Mahmud later conquered the upper Indus
region, and then in 1009, defeated Jayapala's son Anandapala in a battle at
Chhachh.The battle is known as the battle of Waihind. He then captured Lahore
and Multan, giving him control of the Punjab region.
Jayapala
Campaigns of Mahmud of Ghazni
As emir 994: Gains the title of Saif ad-Dawla and becomes Governor of Khorasan
under service to Nuh II of the Samanid Empire 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
997: Kara-Khanid Khanate Ghaznavid fortress of Lashkari Bazar in Lashkargah,
ancient Bost, southern Afghanistan. It was founded by Mahmud of Ghazni in
998-1030 CE.
As sultan 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: Sistan from Saffarid dynasty
1001: Gandhara: Sultan Mahmud defeats Raja Jayapala in the Battle of Peshawar;
Jayapala subsequently abdicates and commits suicide.
1002: Seistan: Is imprisoned in Khuluf
1004: Bhatia (Bhera) is annexed after it fails to pay its yearly tribute.
1005-6: Multan: Fateh Daud, the Ismaili ruler of Multan revolts and enlists the
aid of Anandapala. Mahmud massacres the Ismailis of Multan in the course of his
conquest. Anandapala is defeated at Peshawar and pursued to Sodra (Wazirabad).
Ghor and Muhammad ibn Suri are then captured by Mahmud, made prisoner along
with Muhammad ibn Suri's son, and taken to Ghazni, where Muhammad ibn Suri
dies. Appoints Sewakpal to administer the region. Anandapala flees to Kashmir,
fort in the hills on the western border of Kashmir.
1005: Defends Balkh and Khorasan against Nasr I of the Kara-Khanid Khanate and
recaptures Nishapur from Isma'il Muntasir of the Samanids.
1005: Sewakpal rebels and is defeated.
1008: Mahmud defeats the Indian Confederacy (Ujjain, Gwalior, Kalinjar,
Kannauj, Delhi, and Ajmer) in the Battle of Chach near Hazro in Chach,and
captures the Shahi treasury at Kangra, Himachal Pradesh. Note: A historical
narrative states in this battle, under the onslaught of the Gakhars, Mahmud's
army was about to retreat when King Anandapala's elephant took flight and
turned the tide of the battle.
1010: Ghor; against Amir Suri
1010: Multan revolts. Abul Fatah Dawood is imprisoned for life at Ghazni.
1012-1013: Sacks Thanesar
1012: Invades Gharchistan and deposes its 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: Kafiristan is attacked
1015: Mahmud's army sacks Lahore, but his expedition to Kashmir fails, due to
inclement weather.
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 submit without battle.
1018-1020: Sacks the town of 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 forces Kalinjar and Gwalior to submit and pay tribute:
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 is 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 are sacked, and most of its defenders massacred.
1025: Somnath: Mahmud sacks the temple and is reported to have personally
hammered the temple's gilded Lingam to pieces, and the stone fragments are
carted back to Ghazni, where they are incorporated into the steps of the city's
new Jama Masjid (Friday Mosque) in 1026. He places a new king on the throne in
Gujarat as a tributary. His return detours across the Thar Desert to avoid the
armies of Ajmer and other allies on his return.
1025: Marches against the Jats of the Jood mountains who harry his army on its
return from the sack of Somnath. 1027: Rey, Isfahan, Hamadan from the Buyids
Dynasty. 1027: Devastates the fleet of Jats in Indus river to avenge the
"heavy losses" suffered by his army in an onslaught by Jats in 1026
CE.
1028, 1029: Merv, Nishapur are lost to Seljuq dynasty
Sabuktigin The father of
Mahmud of Ghazni
Abu Mansur Nasir al-Din Sabuktigin (ca 942 – August 997), also spelled as
Sabuktagin, Sabuktakin, Sebüktegin and Sebük Tigin, was the founder
of the Ghaznavid dynasty, ruling from 367 A.H/977 A.D to 387 A.H/997 A.D.
Sabuktigin was of Turkic origin, born around 942 AD in what is today Barskon,
in Kyrgyzstan. The ruler of Barskhan was one of the Qarluqs, according to the
Persian geographical treatise Hudud al-'Alam. It is therefore probable that the
Ghaznavids had Qarluq ancestry. He was captured by the neighbouring Tukhsis in
a tribal war and sold at the Samanid slave market at Chach. He rose from the
ranks of Samanid slave guards to come under the patronage of the Chief Hajib
Alptigin. In Turkic the name means beloved prince. Sabuktigin lived as a slave
during his youth and later married the daughter of his master Alptigin, the man
who seized the region of Ghazna (modern Ghazni Province in Afghanistan) from
the Samanids of Bukhara. Alptigin and Sabuktigin still recognized Samanid
authority, and it was not until the reign of Sabuktigin's son Mahmud that the
rulers of Ghazni became independent.
When his father-in-law, Alptigin, died, Sabuktigin became the new ruler and
expanded the kingdom after defeating Jayapala of Udabhandapura to cover the
territory as far as the Neelum River in Kashmir and the Indus River in what is
now Pakistan. Sabuktigin grew up in the court circles of Alptigin and was
conferred the titles of Amir al-umara (Chief of the Nobles), and Wakil-e Mutlak
(Representative), ultimately being made general. He was then heavily involved
in the defence of Ghazna's independence for the next 15 years, until Alptigin's
death in 975. Upon Alptigin's death, both Sabuktigin and Alptigin's son Abu
Ishaq went to Bukhara to mend fences with the Samanids. Mansur I then
officially conferred upon Abu Ishaq the governorship of Ghazna and acknowledged
Sebuktegin as the heir. Abu Ishaq died soon after in 977 and Sabuktigin
succeeded him in the governorship of Ghazna, subsequently marrying Alptigin's
daughter. In 977 AD he marched against Toghan, who had opposed his succession.
Toghan fled to Bost, so Sebuktigin marched upon it and captured Kandahar and
its surrounding area.
This prompted the Shahi King Jayapala to launch an attack on Ghazna. Despite
the fact that Jayapala amassed about 100,000 troops for the battle, Sebuktigin
was soundly victorious. The battle was fought at Laghman (near Kabul) and
Jayapala was forced to pay a large tribute. He defaulted upon the payments,
imprisoned Sebuktigin's collectors, and assembled a yet larger army consisting
of 100,000 horse and an innumerable host foot, allied with forces from the
kingdoms of Delhi, Ajmer, Kalinjar, and Kannauj, which was defeated in battle
with Sebuktigin's Ghaznavids at the banks of the Neelum River in Kashmir.
Sebuktegin then annexed the regions of Afghanistan, Peshawar, and all the lands
west of the Neelum River. According to Ferishta, "The Afghans and Khiljies
who resided among the mountains having taken the oath of allegiance to
Sabuktigin, many of them were enlisted in his army, after which he returned in
triumph to Ghazni." In 994 he was involved in aiding Nuh II of the
Samanids against internal uprisings and defeated the rebels at Balkh and then
at Nishapur, thereby earning for himself the title of Nasir ud-Din ("Hero
of the Faith") and for his son Mahmud the title of Governor of Khorasan
and Saif ud-Dawlah ("Sword of the State"). Sabuktigin had increased
Alptigin's domains to cover the area south of the Hindu Kush in Afghanistan and
east to the Indus River in what is today Pakistan; he was eventually recognized
by the Caliph in Baghdad as governor of his dominions.
Nishapur
Nishapur or Nishabur also Romanized as Nishapur, Nišâpur, Nisapur,
Nishabur, or Neyshabur; from Middle Persian New-Shabuhr, meaning "New City
of Shapur", "Fair Shapur", or "Perfect built of
Shapur") is the second largest city of Razavi Khorasan Province, the
historic capital of the western half of Greater Khorasan, the historic capital
of the 9th century Tahirid dynasty, the initial capital of the 11th century
Seljuk Empire, the capital of the Nishapur County and a historic Silk Road
city. Nishapur is situated in a fertile plain at the foot of Binalud Mountain
Range. Nearby are turquoise mines that have supplied the world with turquoise
of the highest quality for at least two millenniums. The city was founded in
the 3rd century by Shapur I as a Sasanian satrapy capital. Nishapur later
became the capital of Tahirid dynasty and was reformed by Abdullah Tahir in
830, and was later selected as the capital of Seljuk dynasty by Tughril in
1037. From the Abbasid era to the Mongol invasion of Khwarezmia and Eastern
Iran, the city evolved into a significant cultural, commercial, and
intellectual center within the Islamic world. Nishapur, along with Merv, Herat
and Balkh, were one of the four great cities of Greater Khorasan and one of the
greatest cities of the Old World in the middle ages, a seat of governmental
power in the eastern of caliphate, a dwelling place for diverse ethnic and
religious groups, a trading stop on commercial routes from Transoxiana and
China, Iraq and Egypt. Nishapur reached the height of its prosperity under the
Samanids in the 10th century but was destroyed and its entire population was
slaughtered by the Mongols in 1221. This massacre, combined with subsequent
earthquakes and other invasions, is believed to have destroyed the city several
times. Unlike its near neighbor Merv, Nishapur managed to recover from these
cataclysmic events, and survive until the present day.
Qala-e-Kohna - Lashkari
Bazar
Lashkari Bazar Military market", locally known as Persian: Qala-e-Kohna
"Old castle") was a palatial residence of rulers of the Ghaznavid
Empire, located in Lashkargah in Afghanistan. The original name was probably
al-'Askar. The photograph of the impressive ruin indictes the wealth of the
rulers.
Ghor
Ghor, also spelled Ghowr or Ghur, is one of the thirty-four provinces of
Afghanistan. Ghor: Also called Ghoristan. The mountainous country between Hirat
and Ghazni. It is located in the western Hindu Kush in central Afghanistan,
towards the north-west. According to Istakhri and Ibn Haukal it was a rugged
mountainous country , bounded by the districts of Hirat, Farrah, Dawar, Rabat,
Kurwan, and Gharjistan back to Hirat, which were all Musim countries.The
province contains eleven districts, encompassing hundreds of villages, and
approximately 764,472 settled people. Firuzkoh, (called Chaghcharan until 2014)
serves as the capital of the province. The inhabitants of Ghor were completely
Islamized during the Ghurids era. Before the 12th century, the area was home to
Hindus, Buddhists, Zoroastrians, and a small number of Jews. Remains of the
oldest settlements discovered by Lithuanian archaeologists in 2007 and 2008 in
Ghor date back to 5000 BC. Ruins of a few castles and other defense
fortifications were also discovered in the environs of Chaghcharan. A Buddhist
monastery hand-carved in the bluff of the river Harirud existed in the first
centuries during the prevalence of Buddhism. The artificial caves revealed
testimony of daily life of the Buddhist monks. The rise to power of the Ghurids
at Ghur, a small isolated area located in the mountain vastness between the
Ghaznavid empire and the Seljukids, was an unusual and unexpected development.
The area was so remote that until the 11th century, it had remained a pagan
enclave surrounded by Muslim principalities. It was converted to Islam in the
early part of the 12th century after Mahmud raided it, and left teachers to
instruct the Ghurids in the precepts of Islam. Even then it is believed that
paganism, i.e. a variety of Mahayana Buddhism persisted in the area till the
end of the century. Ghor itself was a country of infidels, containing only a
few Musulmans, and the inhabitants spoke a language different from that of
Khurasan.In 1011, 1015 and 1020, both Mahmud and Mas'ud I led expeditions into
Ghur and established Islam in place of the indigenous paganism. After this,
Ghur was considered a vassal state of the Ghaznavid empire. During the reign of
'Abd ar Rashi and the usurper Toghrul, Ghur and Gharchistan gained autonomy.
Ghor was also the centre of the Ghurid dynasty in the 12th and 13th century.
The remains of their capital Firozkoh, which was sacked and destroyed by the
Mongols in 1222, includes the Minaret of Jam, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Battle
of Ghazni 1117
The Battle of Ghazni was fought in 1117 between the Seljuk forces supporting
the claim of Bahram of Ghazna and the army of his brother the ruling Sultan
Arslan-Shah of Ghazna. The death of Masud III in 1115 began a heated contest
for the throne. Shirzad took the throne that year but the next year he was
assassinated by his younger brother Arslan. Arslan had to face the rebellion of
his other brother, Bahram, who received support from the Seljuk Sultan Ahmad
Sanjar. Ahmad Sanjar invading from Khorasan took his army into Afghanistan and
inflicted a crushing defeat to Arslan near Ghazni at Shahrabad. Arslan managed
to scape and Bahram succeeded to the throne as the Seljuk's vassal.
Sultan
Arslan-Shah d,1118
Arslan-Shah of Ghazna (full name: Sultan ad-Dawlah Abul-Moluk Arslan-Shah ibn
Mas'ud) (b. ? - d. 1118) was the Sultan of the Ghaznavid Empire from 1116 to
1117 C.E. In 1116, he overthrew his older brother Shir-Zad, took the Ghaznavid
throne, and blinded or imprisoned his remaining brothers, except Bahram who was
in Zamindawar. Arslan-Shah also appointed Abu'l-Fath Yusuf as his vizier. After
being initially defeated by Arslan at Tiginabad, Bahram, appealed to Seljuk
Sultan Ahmad Sanjar, whose sister, Gawhar Khatun, was greatly offended at the
conduct of her eldest son Arslan ibn Mas'ud, towards the rest. Incited by her
and perhaps by his own ambitious views Sanjar called on Arslan to release his
brothers and on his refusal marched against him with an army of 30,000 cavalry
and 50,000 infantry. Arslan was defeated after an obstinate engagement and fled
to Ghazna. There, on the plain outside Ghazna, Arslan was decisively defeated
and fled to India, where he was supported by the Bu Halim Shaybani family.
Ghazna was then subjected to forty days of pillage, which culminated in
Bahram's installment as ruler and vassal of Sanjar. However, as soon as Sanjar
had withdrawn his army, Arslan returned, and chased out Bahram ibn Mas'ud who
had been left in possession which obliged Sanjar to take the field again. This
struggle was Arslan's last, he was constrained to seek refuge among the
Afghans, but was overtaken and put to death, leaving Bahram ibn Mas'ud in
undisturbed possession of the throne which Arslan ibn Mas'ud himself had
occupied for only two years.
Sultan Bahram
Shah 1084-1157
Bahram-Shah (full name:Yamin ad-Dawlah wa Amin al-Milla Abul-Muzaffar
Bahram-Shah) (1084 - 1157) was Sultan of the Ghaznavid empire from 25 February
1117 to 1152. Son of Mas'ud III and Gawhar Khatun, sister of Sanjar, sultan of
the Great Seljuq empire. During his entire reign, his empire was a tributary of
the Great Seljuq empire. Following the murder of Sultan Shirzad by Arslan Shah
in 1116 and the latter's usurpation of the Ghaznavid throne, Bahram marched an
army from Zamin-Dawar to assert his claim to the throne. Arslan and Bahram's
forces met at Tiginabad, whereupon Bahram was defeated and fled to the Seljuq
court in Khurasan. Gaining support from Sanjar, sultan of the Great Seljuq
empire, Bahram returned with a Seljuq army and defeated Arslan Shah's army at
the Battle of Ghazni. A decisive battle occurred just outside Ghazna on the
plain of Shahrabad, again resulting in Arslan's defeat and he fled to the
Ghaznavid territories in northern India. Bahram entered Ghazna, in the company
of Sanjar, and was formally installed as sultan in 1117, but as a vassal of the
Great Seljuq empire.
Bahram saw Ghazna, his capital, subjected to 40 days of occupation and
ransacking by the Seljuq army. After Sanjar's departure, Arslan Shah advanced
towards Ghazna and Bahram fled from the capital city to the fortress of Bamian.
At Bahram's request, Sanjar sent another army to retake Ghazna. Arslan fled
into the Ughnan mountains but was captured by the commander of Sanjar's army
and was strangled on Bahram's orders. Faced with a rebellious faction led by
Muhammad b. 'Ali, Bahram marched an army to Multan in 1119.
Bahram asked for Muhammad's obedience but was refused. The ensuing battle in
western Punjab resulted in Muhammad's death and the deaths of most of his sons.
Bahram appointed Salar Husain b. Ibrahim 'Alawi as his governor in India. In
1135, Bahram stopped paying tribute to Sanjar. In response, Sanjar marched an
army to Ghazna, and Bahram, seeing the size of Sanjar's army, fled to Lahore.
After sending diplomatic entreaties, Bahram was assured of his throne, his
position as a tributary of the Seljuq empire and returned to Ghazna. Between
1143 and 1146, Abu'l-Ma'ali Nasrallah translated the Arabic translated Indian
fable story Kalila wa Dimna to Persian, and dedicated it to Bahram. Bahram Shah
is said to have conducted two "holy wars" in India. The 13th century
historian Minhaj-i-Siraj states that Bahram Shah made several expeditions to
India but was defeated. According to Mihaj's Tabaqat-i Nasiri and Firishta's
Tarikh-i-Firishta, Muhammad Bahlim or Bahalim (Bahram Shah's governor in India)
had captured the Nagaur fort. After Bahlim died, Salar Hussain succeeded him as
the governor of Ghaznavid territories in India. Nagaur was under the control of
the Chahamana king Ajayaraja at least until 1121 CE, as attested by Prabhavaka
Charita (the text calls him Alhadana, which appears to be a Sanskritized form
of his alias Alhana). This suggests that Bahram Shah's forces captured Nagaur
from Ajayaraja. The Prithviraja Vijaya states that Ajayaraja defeated the
Garjana Matangas ("Ghazna Muslims"). This is probably a reference to
Ajayaraja's repulsion of a raid by either Bahlim or Salar Hussain. The
Prabandha Kosha also claims that Ajayaraja defeated "Sahavadina"
(Sanskritized form of Shahab-ud-Din). This probably refers to his repulsion of
invasions by Ghaznavid generals as well. Ajayaraja's son Arnoraja also seems to
have repulsed some Ghaznavid raids.
According to his Ajmer prashasti inscription, Arnoraja adorned Ajmer with the
blood of Turushkas (Turkic people). The Prithviraja Vijaya also states that
Arnoraja repulsed a Muslim invasion. According to the text, these invaders came
through the desert, and had to drink the blood of their horses in absence of
water. After defeating these invaders, Arnoraja purified the place of their
death by commissioning a lake, which is identified with the modern Ana Sagar.
The lake was filled with the water of the Chandra river, identified with the
modern Bandi River. Historian H. C. Ray theorized that the Muslim invaders
defeated by Arnoraja were the Ghaznavid (Yamini) generals of Lahore. However,
historian R. B. Singh identifies the invader as Bahram Shah himself. The
Tabaqat-i Nasiri states that Bahlim revolted against his master Bahram Shah,
who marched towards India to defeat the rebel. Bahlim also set out from Nagaur
with his army, and the two armies met at Multan, where Bahlim was defeated and
killed. Bahram Shah then left for Ghazna to fight the Ghurids. R. B. Singh
speculates that after revolting against Bahram Shah, Bahlim sought asylum with
the Chahamanas, and Arnoraja granted him the fief of Nagaur. After defeating
Bahalim, Bahram Shah may have attempted to subdue Arnoraja, but was defeated.
The Muslim chronicles probably omitted this event to avoid recording Bahram
Shah's defeat. According to Bertold Spuler, a German Orientalist, Bahram's
treachery, personal cowardice and desertion of his subjects directly
contributed to the disintegration of the Ghaznavid empire.
Ghurid dynasty 1000
-1215
The Ghurid dynasty (also spelled Ghorids; was a Persianate dynasty which ruled
from the 10th-century to 1215. Of presumably eastern Iranian Tajik origin, the
Ghurids were centered in the Ghor of present-day central Afghanistan, where
they initially started out as local chiefs. They converted to Sunni Islam from
Buddhism after the conquest of Ghor by the Ghaznavid sultan Mahmud of Ghazni in
1011. The dynasty ultimately overthrew the Ghaznavid Empire when Sultan
Muhammad of Ghor conquered the last Ghaznavid principality of Lahore in 1186.
At their zenith, the Ghurid empire encompassed Khorasan in the west and reached
northern India as far as Bengal in the east. Their first capital was Firozkoh
in Mandesh, Ghor, which was later replaced by Herat and finally Ghazni. The
Ghurids were patrons of Persian culture and heritage. Abu Ali ibn Muhammad (r.
1011–1035) was the first Muslim king of the Ghurid dynasty to construct
mosques and Islamic schools in Ghor. The Ghurids were succeeded in Khorasan and
Persia by the Khwarazmian dynasty, and in northern India former Ghurid generals
formed the Mamluk dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate. In the 19th century some
European scholars, such as Mountstuart Elphinstone, favoured the idea that the
Ghurid dynasty was related to today's Pashtun people, but this is generally
rejected by modern scholarship and, as explained by Morgenstierne in the
Encyclopaedia of Islam, is for "various reasons very improbable".
Some scholars state that the dynasty was of Tajik origin. Encyclopædia
Iranica states: "Nor do we know anything about the ethnic stock of the
?uris in general and the Šansabanis in particular; we can only assume that
they were eastern Iranian Tajiks". Bosworth further points out that the
actual name of the Ghurid family, Al-e Šansab (Persianized:
Šansabani), is the Arabic pronunciation of the originally Middle Persian
name Wišnasp.
A certain Ghurid prince named Amir Banji was the ruler of Ghor and ancestor of
the medieval Ghurid rulers. His rule was legitimized by the Abbasid caliph
Harun al-Rashid. Before the mid-12th century, the Ghurids had been bound to the
Ghaznavids and Seljuks for about 150 years. Beginning in the mid-12th century,
Ghor expressed its independence from the Ghaznavid Empire. In 1149 the
Ghaznavid ruler Bahram-Shah of Ghazna poisoned a local Ghurid leader, Qutb
al-Din Muhammad, who had taken refuge in the city of Ghazni after having a
quarrel with his brother Sayf al-Din Suri. In revenge, Sayf marched towards
Ghazni and defeated Bahram-Shah. However, one year later, Bahram returned and
scored a decisive victory against Sayf, who was shortly captured and crucified
at Pul-i Yak Taq.
Baha al-Din Sam I, another brother of Sayf, set out to avenge the death of his
two brothers, but died of natural causes before he could reach Ghazni. Ala
al-Din Husayn, one of the youngest of Sayf's brothers and newly crowned Ghurid
king, also set out to avenge the death of his two brothers. He managed to
defeat Bahram-Shah, and then had Ghazni sacked; the city burned for seven days
and seven nights. It earned him the title of Jahansuz, meaning "the world
burner".
The Ghaznavids retook the city with Seljuq help, but lost it to Oghuz Turks. In
1152, Ala al-Din Husayn refused to pay tribute to the Seljuks and instead
marched an army from Firozkoh but was defeated and captured at Nab by Sultan
Ahmed Sanjar. Ala
al-Din Husayn remained a prisoner for two years, until he was released in
return for a heavy ransom to the Seljuqs. Meanwhile, a rival of Ala al-Din
named Husayn ibn Nasir al-Din Muhammad al-Madini had seized Firozkoh, but was
murdered at the right moment when Ala al-Din returned to reclaim his ancestral
domain. Ala al-Din spent the rest of his reign expanding the domains of his
kingdom; he managed to conquer Garchistan, Tukharistan, and Bamiyan, and later
gave Bamiyan and Tukharistan to Fakhr al-Din Masud, starting the Bamiyan branch
of the Ghurids.
Ala al-Din died in 1161, and was succeeded by his son Sayf al-Din Muhammad, who
died two years later in a battle. Sayf al-Din Muhammad was succeeded by his
cousin Ghiyath al-Din Muhammad, who was the son of Baha al-Din Sam I, and
proved himself to be a capable king. Right after Ghiyath's ascension, he, with
the aid of his loyal brother Mu'izz al-Din Muhammad, killed a rival Ghurid
chief named Abu'l Abbas. Ghiyath then defeated his uncle Fakhr al-Din Masud who
claimed the Ghurid throne and had allied with the Seljuq governor of Herat and
Balkh.
In 1173, Mu'izz al-Din Muhammad reconquered the city of Ghazni and assisted his
brother Ghiyath in his contest with the Khwarezmid Empire for the lordship of
Khorasan. In 1175, Mu'izz al-Din Muhammad captured and annexed the Ghaznavid
principality of Punjab in 1186. He was alleged by contemporary historians to
have exacted revenge for his great-grandfather Muhammad ibn Suri. After the
death of his brother Ghiyath in 1202, he became the successor of his empire and
ruled until his assassination in 1206 near Jhelum by Khokhar tribesmen (in
modern-day Pakistan). Northern India and Bengal were conquered during the
combined rule of Ghiyath al-Din Muhammad and Mu'izz al-Din Muhammad. Mu'izz
al-Din, with general Qutbu l-Din Aibak, captured Lahore in 1186, where he
eliminated the last remnants of the Ghaznavid Empire.
In 1193, Delhi was conquered. Around 1203, Bakhtiyar Khalji, another
Turko-Afghan general of the Ghurid Empire, led the Muslim conquests of the
eastern Indian regions of Bihar and Bengal, also on behalf of Mu'izz al-Din
Muhammad. In Bihar, he is said to have destroyed Buddhist centers of learning
such as Nalanda University, greatly contributing to the decline of pre-Islamic
Indic scholarship. In Bengal, he sacked the ancient city of Nudiya in central
Bengal, and established an Islamic government in the former Sena capital of
Lakhnauti in 1205. After the death of Mu'izz al-Din Muhammad in early 1206, his
territories fragmented into smaller Sultanates led by his former Mamluk
generals. Taj-ud-Din Yildoz became the ruler of Ghazni. Nasir-ud-Din Qabacha
became Sultan of Multan. Qutb ud-Din Aibak became Sultan of Delhi, establishing
the Sultanate of Delhi, which marked the start of the Slave dynasty. Bakhtiyar
Khilji bacame Sultan of Bengal, but was soon assassinated and succeeded by
several Khalji rulers, until Bengal was incorporated into the Delhi Mamluk
dynasty in 1227. A confused struggle then ensued among the remaining Ghurid
leaders, and the Khwarezmians were able to take over the Ghurids' empire in
about 1215. Though the Ghurids' empire was short-lived, Mu'izz al-Din
Muhammad's conquests strengthened the foundations of Muslim rule in India. On
his death, and major defeats from Khwarazmian Empire and loss of Ghor and
Ghazni the capital was transferred to Delhi recognizing Khwarazmian rule on
north and central Afghanistan. Ghorids continued their rule on much of the
Indian subcontinent, Sisitan region of Iran and south of Afghanistan.
Ghiyath al -Din
Muhammad 1163 - 1202
Ghiyath al-Din Muhammad , also known as Ghiyath al-Din Ghori, was the sultan of
the Ghurid dynasty from 1163 to 1202. During his reign, the Ghurid dynasty
became a world power, which stretched from Gorgan to Bengal. During his early
reign, he defeated the Ghurid claimants to the throne and fought with the
Khwarazmian Empire over the lordship of Khorasan. He occupied Herat in 1176 and
went on to establish control over most of what is now Afghanistan and the
surrounding areas by 1200, and as far west as Bastam and Gurgan. His brother,
Mu'izz al-Din, helped manage and expand the eastern part of the empire (as far
as Bengal) and served Ghiyath with utmost loyalty and deference. Ghiyath died
in 1202 and was succeeded by his brother Mu'izz al-Din. He ruled from Herat,
where he, his brother and son built the great Mosque. Ghiyath was born in 1139;
he was the son of Baha al-Din Sam I, who briefly reigned as king of the Ghurid
dynasty in 1149. Ghiyath also had a younger brother named Mu'izz al-Din. During
his early life, Ghiyath along with Mu'izz al-Din were imprisoned by their uncle
Ala al-Din Husayn but were later released by the latter's son Sayf al-Din
Muhammad.
When Sayf died in 1163, the Ghurid nobles supported Ghiyath, and helped him
ascend the throne.
When Ghiyath ascended to the throne, he was aided by his brother in the killing
of a rival Ghurid chief named Abu'l Abbas. However, this was not the end of
Ghurid family disputes; Ghiyath was soon challenged by his uncle Fakhr al-Din
Masud, who claimed the throne for himself and had allied with Taj al-Din
Yildiz, the Seljuq governor of Herat and Balkh. However, the coalition was
defeated by Ghiyath and Mu'izz al-Din at Ragh-i Zar. Ghiyath defeated and
killed the Seljuq governor during the battle, and thereafter proceeded to
conquer Zamindawar, Badghis, Gharchistan, and Guzgan. He spared Fakhr al-Din
and restored him as the ruler of Bamiyan. Fakhr al-Din later died and was
succeeded by his son Shams al-Din Muhammad ibn Masud, who quickly seized Balkh,
Chaghaniyan, Vakhsh, Jarum, Badakhshan, and Shighnan from the Kara-Khitan
Khanate, and was thus given the title of Sultan by Ghiyath.
In 1173, Ghiyath invaded Ghazni and defeated the Oghuz Turks, who had taken the
city from the Ghaznavids. He then installed his brother Mu'izz al-Din as the
ruler of Ghazni.Two years later, he seized Herat and Pushang from its Seljuq
governor, Baha al-Din Toghril. Shortly thereafter, the ruler of Sistan, Taj
al-Din Harb ibn Muhammad, acknowledged the sovereignty of Ghiyath, and so did
the Oghuz Turks controlling Kirman. During the same period, the Khwarazmian
prince Sultan Shah, who had been expelled from Khwarezm by his brother Tekish,
took refuge in Ghor and requested military aid from Ghiyath.
Ghiyath, however, did not help the latter. Instead, Sultan Shah managed to get
help from the Kara-Khitan Khanate, and began plundering the northern Ghurid
domains. In 1186, Ghiyath, along with Mu'izz al-Din, dissolved the Ghaznavid
dynasty after having captured Lahore, where they had the Ghaznavid ruler
Khusrau-Malik executed.With the aid of the rulers of Bamiyan, Sistan, and his
brother Mu'izz al-Din, Ghiyath then defeated the forces of Sultan Shah at Marw
al-Rudh in 1190. He also annexed most of the latter's territories in Khorasan.
Shortly after war broke out between the Khwarazmian Shahs and the Ghurids;
Tekish attacked Herat while the Kara-Khitans invaded Guzgan. Both, were,
however, defeated by Ghiyath. In 1200, Tekish died and was succeeded by
Muhammad Khan (who took the honorific name 'Ala' al-Din). Among the first to
hear of this were Ghiyath and Mu'izz al-Din. Within weeks the two brothers had
already moved their armies westwards into Khorasan. Once they had captured
Nishapur, Mu'izz al-Din was sent on an expedition towards Ray, but he let his
troops get out of control and got little further than Gurgan, earning criticism
from Ghiyath which led to the only reported quarrel between the brothers.
Ghiyath appointed the son of Fakhr al-Din Masud, Taj al-Din Zangi, as the
governor of Sarakhs, while another Ghurid named Nasir al-Din Muhammad Kharnak
was appointed as governor of Merv.
Muhammad of Ghor
1149-1206
Mu'izz ad-Din Muhammad , born Shihab ad-Din (1149 – March 15, 1206), also
known as Muhammad of Ghor, was the Sultan of the Ghurid Empire along with his
brother Ghiyath ad-Din Muhammad from 1173 to 1202 and as the sole ruler from
1202 to 1206. He is credited with laying the foundation of Muslim rule in the
Indian subcontinent, which lasted for several centuries. He reigned over a
territory spanning over parts of modern-day Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Iran,
Northern India, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. Mu'izz ad-Din took the
city of Ghazni in 1173 to avenge the death of his ancestor Muhammad ibn Suri at
the hands of Mahmud of Ghazni and used it as a launching pad for expansion into
northern India.[2] In the meantime, he assisted his brother Ghiyath in his
contest with the Khwarazmian Empire for the lordship of Khorasan in Western
Asia. In 1175, Mu'izz captured Multan from the Hamid Ludi dynasty, and also
took Uch in 1175. He also annexed the Ghaznavid principality of Lahore in 1186,
the last haven of his Persianised rivals.[2] After consolidating his rule in
the North-West domain Mu'izz al-Din wish to invade the heart of Northern India
which was then under the control of Rajputs.[3] In 1191 CE, he was defeated by
a united Rajput Confederacy led by Prithviraj Chauhan in First Battle of
Tarain. However In 1192 CE, Shihabuddin returned with an army of mounted
archers and defeated the Rajputs under Prithviraj at the same field, opening
the way to occupy most of Northern India within a generation. The battle also
lead to a large scale destruction of Hindu powers in North India and firmly
established a Muslim presence.[4] After the death of Ghiyath in 1201, a
confused struggle ensued among the remaining Ghurid leaders, and the Khwarizmi
were able to take over the Ghurid Sultanate in about 1215. Though the Ghurid
empire was short-lived, and Ghori states remained in power until the arrival of
the Timurids, Mu'izz's conquests laid the foundations of Muslim rule in India.
Qutbuddin Aibak, a former slave (Mamluk) of Mu'izz, became the first Sultan of
Delhi in 1206.
Sultan
Shahab-ud-din Muhammud Ghori 1150 -1206 birth name -Muizz-ud-din Muhammad
Bin Sam
The rise to power of the Ghurids at Ghur, a small isolated area located in the
mountain vastness between the Ghaznavid empire and the Seljukids, was an
unusual and unexpected development. The area was so remote that till the 11th
century, it had remained a Hindu enclave surrounded by Muslim principalities.
It was converted to Islam in the early part of the 12th century after Mahmud
raided it, and left teachers to instruct the Ghurids in the precepts of Islam.
Even then it is believed that paganism, i.e. a variety of Mahayana Buddhism
persisted in the area till the end of the century.
The Ghor region laid on the western boundary of the Ghaznavid Empire, which, in
the early 12th century, covered an area stretching from what is now central
Afghanistan to the Punjab in what is now Pakistan, with summer capital at
Ghazni and winter capital at Lahore. Beginning in the mid-12th century, Ghor
expressed its independence from the Ghaznavid Empire. In 1149, the Ghaznavid
ruler Bahram Shah poisoned a local Ghurid leader, Qu?b ud-Din, who had taken
refuge in the city of Ghazna after a family quarrel. In revenge, the Ghurid
chief Ala-ud-Din Husain Shah sacked and burned the city of Ghazna and put the
city into fire for seven days and seven nights. It earned him the title of
Jahansuz, meaning "the world burner".
The Ghaznavids retook the city with Seljuk help, but lost it to Oghuz Turk
freebooters. The Ghurids reconquered Ghazna from the Oghuz Turks and in 1173,
Shahabuddin Ghori became governor of the Ghazna province while his brother,
Ghiyasuddin Ghori, became the Sultan of the Ghurid EmMuhammad of Ghor Sultan of
the Ghorid Empire Preceded by Ghiya-ud-din Muhammad bin Sam Succeeded by
Qutbuddin Aibak. Born 1150 Ghor, present-day Afghanistan Died March 15, 1206
Damiak, Jhelum District, present-day Pakistan Sultan Shahab-ud-Din Muhammad
Ghori (also spelled Ghauri, Ghouri) , originally called Mu'izzuddin Mu'ammad
Bin Sam (and also referred to by Orientalists as Muhammad of Ghor and famously
known as just Ghori) (1150 – March 15, 1206), was one of the rulers of the
Ghurid dynasty from the famous house of Sur who were rulers of Ghor for five
hundred years. He is credited with laying the foundation of Islamic occupation
in India that lasted for several centuries. He reigned over a territory
spanning present-day Afghanistan, Pakistan and northern India.
Muiz-ud-din, son of Sam Suri, nicknamed Shahab-ud-din which means "The
(Flashing) Fire of Religion (Islam)" took the city of Ghazni in 1173 to
avenge the death of his ancestor Muhammad Suri at the hands of Mahmud of Ghazni
and used it as a launching-pad for expansion into northern India. In the
meantime, he assisted his brother Ghiyasuddin in his contest with the
Khwarezmid Empire for the lordship of Khorasan in Western Asia.
Muhammad of Ghori launched expeditions into India, first capturing Multan from
a fellow Muslim chief in 1175–76. Three years later he invaded Gujarat and
was roundly defeated by the Hindu King. Another three years later, and
Shahabuddin Ghori was back to take Peshawar and Sialkot in 1181. Now in
alliance with the Hindu Raja of Jammu Vijaya Dev, he attacked Lahore in 1187,
which was held by his ancestral enemy, the descendant of Mahmud of Ghazni, and
made him prisoner. Mahmud of Ghazni's line of Sultans and Governors became
extinguished. In 1175 Ghori captured Multan from the Hamid Ludi dynasty which
was also Pashtun but were alleged to be un-Islamic on the account of their
association with Ismailite Shi'iate sect and also took Uch in 1175.
The battle of Kayadara, Gujarat (1178) was a defeat suffered by Muhammad of
Ghor during his first campaign against an Indian ruler in India. Muhammad's
first campaign had been against the Muslim rulers of Multan in 1175 and had
ended in victory. In 1178 he turned south, and led his army from Multan to Uch
and then across the desert towards the Gujarat capital of Anhilwara (modern
Patan). Gujarat was ruled by the young Indian ruler Bhimdev Solanki II (ruled
1178–1241), although the age of the Raja meant that the army was commanded
by his mother Naikidevi. Muhammad's army had suffered greatly during the march
across the desert, and Naikidevi inflicted a major defeat on him at the village
of Kayadara (near to Mount Abu, about forty miles to the north-east of
Anhilwara). The invading army suffered heavy casualties during the battle, and
also in the retreat back across the desert to Multan. Muhammad of Ghor never
returned to Gujarat. An army led by Qutb al-din Aibak, his deputy in India,
invaded in c.1195–97 and plundered the capital. Bhimdev defeated Aibak
again and adorned himself as "Abhinav Siddharaj". Gujarat wasn't
annexed by the Sultanate of Delhi until 1297. He captured Lahore in 1186 and
constructed the fortress of Sialkot. He also annexed the Ghaznavid principality
of Lahore in 1186, the last haven of his Afghan but Non-Pashtun Persianized
rivals. After the death of Ghiyasuddin in 1202, he became the successor of the
Ghurid Empire and ruled until his assassination in 1206 near Jhelum in
modern-day Pakistan. A confused struggle then ensued among the remaining Ghurid
leaders, and the Khwarezmids were able to take over the Ghurids' empire in
about 1215. Though the Ghurids' empire was short-lived and petty Ghurid Suri
states remained in power until the arrival of Timurids, Shahabuddin Ghori's
conquests laid the foundations of Muslim rule in India. Qutb-ud-din Aibak, a
former slave (Mamluk) of Muhammad Ghori, was the first sultan of Delhi.
Battles
of the Ghurid dynasty
The Wikipedia list includes 20 battles from 1011 to 1206, mostly in Afghanistan
but from Uzbekistan to Iran to India. There are separate entries for 6 major
battles.
Battle of
Kayadara 1178 in which Muhammad of Ghori was defeated.
Prithiviraj Chauhan
1178 - 1192
Prithviraj popularly known as Prithviraj Chauhan or Rai Pithora was an emperor
from the Chahamana (Chauhan) dynasty. He ruled Sapadalaksha, the traditional
Chahamana territory, in present-day north-western India. He controlled much of
the North India including present- day Rajasthan, Haryana, and Delhi; and some
parts of Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. His capital was located at
Ajayameru (modern Ajmer). Early in his career, Prithviraj achieved military
successes against several neighbouring kingdoms, most notably against the
Chandela king Paramardi. He also repulsed the early invasions by Muhammad of
Ghor, a ruler of the Muslim Ghurid dynasty. However, in 1192 CE, the Ghurids
defeated Prithviraj at the Second battle of Tarain, and executed him shortly
after. His defeat at Tarain is seen as a landmark event in the Islamic conquest
of India, and has been described in several semi-legendary accounts. The most
popular of these accounts is Prithviraj Raso, which presents him as a Rajput.
Prithviraj moved from Gujarat to Ajmer, when his father Someshvara was crowned
the Chahamana king after the death of Prithviraja II. Someshvara died in 1177
CE (1234 VS), when Prithviraj was around 11 years old. The last inscription
from Someshvara's reign and the first inscription from Prithviraj's reign are
both dated to this year. Prithviraj, who was a minor at the time, ascended the
throne with his mother as the regent. The Hammira Mahakavya claims that
Someshvara himself installed Prithviraj on the throne, and then retired to the
forest. However, this is doubtful. During his early years as the king,
Prithviraj's mother managed the administration, assisted by a regency council.
Kadambavasa served as the chief minister of the kingdom during this period. He
is also known as Kaimasa, Kaimash or Kaimbasa in the folk legends, which
describe him as an able administrator and soldier devoted to the young king.
Prithviraja Vijaya states that he was responsible for all the military
victories during the early years of Prithviraj's reign. According to two
different legends, Kadambavasa was later killed by Prithviraj.
The Prithviraja-Raso claims that Prithviraj killed the minister after finding
him in the apartment of the king's favourite concubine Karnati.
Prithviraja-Prabandha claims that a man named Pratapa-Simha conspired against
the minister, and convinced Prithviraj that the minister was responsible for
the repeated Muslim invasions. Both these claims appear to be historically
inaccurate, as the much more historically reliable Prithviraja Vijaya does not
mention any such incident. Bhuvanaikamalla, the paternal uncle of Prithviraj's
mother, was another important minister during this time. According to
Prithviraja Vijaya, he was a valiant general who served Prithviraj as Garuda
serves Vishnu. The text also states that he was "proficient in the art of
subduing nagas".
According to the 15th-century historian Jonaraja, "naga" here refers
to elephants. However, Har Bilas Sarda interpreted Naga as the name of a tribe,
and theorized that Bhuvanaikamalla defeated this tribe.
The first military achievement of Prithviraj was his suppression of a revolt by
his cousin Nagarjuna, and recapture of Gudapura . Nagarjuna was a son of
Prithviraj's uncle Vigraharaja IV, and the struggle for the Chahamana throne
had led to a rivalry between the two branches of the family. According to
Prithviraja Vijaya, Nagarjuna rebelled against Prithviraj's authority and
occupied the fort of Gudapura. Prithviraj besieged Gudapura with a large army
comprising infantry, camels, elephants and horses. Nagarjuna fled the fort, but
Devabhata (possibly his general) continued to offer resistance. Ultimately,
Prithviraj's army emerged victorious, and captured the wife, mother, and
followers of Nagarjuna. According to Prithviraja Vijaya, a garland made of the
defeated soldiers' heads was hung across the Ajmer fort gate.
The 1182–83 CE (1239 VS) Madanpur inscriptions from Prithviraj's reign
claim that he "laid to waste" Jejakabhukti (present-day Bundelkhand),
which was ruled by the Chandela king Paramardi. Prithviraj's invasion of the
Chandela territory is also described in the later folk legends, such as
Prithviraj Raso, Paramal Raso, and Alha-Raso. Other texts such as Sarangadhara
Paddhati and Prabandha Chintamani also mention Prithviraj's attack on
Paramardi.
The Kharatara- Gachchha-Pattavali mentions that Prithviraj had embarked upon a
digvijaya (conquest of all the regions). This appears to be a reference to the
start of Prithviraj's march to Jejakabhukti. The legendary account of
Prithviraj's campaign against the Chandelas goes like this: Prithviraj was
returning to Delhi after marrying the daughter of Padamsen, when his contingent
was attacked by the "Turkic" forces (Ghurids). His army repulsed the
attacks but suffered serious casualties in the process. Amid this chaos, the
Chahamana soldiers lost their way and unknowingly encamped in the Chandela
capital Mahoba. They killed the Chandela royal gardener for objecting to their
presence, which led to a skirmish between the two sides. The Chandela king
Paramardi asked his general Udal to attack Prithviraj's camp, but Udal advised
against this move. Paramardi's brother-in-law Mahil Parihar ruled modern-day
Orai; he harboured ill-will against Paramardi and instigated the king to go
ahead with the attack. Prithviraj defeated Udal's contingent and then left for
Delhi. Subsequently, unhappy with Mahil's scheming, Udal and his brother Alha
left the Chandela court. They started serving Jaichand, the Gahadavala ruler of
Kannauj. Mahil then secretly informed Prithviraj that Chandela kingdom had
become weak in absence of its strongest generals.
Prithviraj invaded the Chandela kingdom and besieged Sirsagarh, which was held
by Udal's cousin Malkhan. After failing to win over Malkhan through peaceful
methods and losing eight generals, Prithviraj captured the fort. The Chandelas
then appealed for a truce, and used this time to recall Alha and Udal from
Kannauj. In support of the Chandelas, Jaichand dispatched an army led by his
best generals, including two of his own sons. The combined Chandela-Gahadavala
army attacked Prithviraj's camp, but was defeated. After his victory,
Prithviraj sacked Mahoba. He then dispatched his general Chavand Rai to
Kalinjar Fort to capture Paramardi. According to the various legends, Paramardi
either died or retired shortly after the attack. Prithviraj returned to Delhi
after appointing Pajjun Rai as the governor of Mahoba. Later, Paramardi's son
recaptured Mahoba.
The exact historicity of this legendary narrative is debatable. The Madanpur
inscriptions establish that Prithviraj sacked Mahoba, but historical evidence
suggests that his occupation of Chandela territory is either a fabrication by
the bards, or did not last long. It is known that Paramardi did not die or
retire immediately after the Chauhan victory; in fact, he continued ruling as a
sovereign nearly a decade after Prithviraj's death. Cynthia Talbot asserts that
Prithviraj only raided Jejakabhukti, and Paramardi regained control of his
kingdom soon after his departure from Mahoba. Talbot continues that Prithviraj
was not able to annex the Chandela territory to his kingdom. Conversely,
according to R.B. Singh, it is probable that some part of Chandela territory
was annexed by Chahmanas albeit for a short time.
Prithviraj's predecessors had faced multiple raids from the Muslim dynasties
that had captured the north-western areas of the Indian subcontinent by the
12th century. By the late 12th century, the Ghazna-based Ghurid dynasty
controlled the territory to the west of the Chahamana kingdom. While Prithviraj
was still a child, in 1175 CE, the Ghurid ruler Muhammad of Ghor crossed the
Indus River and captured Multan. In 1178 CE, he invaded Gujarat, which was
ruled by the Chaulukyas (Solankis). During its march to Gujarat, the Ghurid
army appears to have passed through the western frontier of the Chahamana
kingdom, as evident by the destruction of several temples and sacking of the
Bhati-ruled Lodhruva.
The Prithviraja Vijaya mentions that the activities of the Ghurid army were
like Rahu to the Chahamana kingdom (in Hindu mythology, Rahu swallows the Sun,
causing a solar eclipse). However, it does not mention any military engagement
between the two kingdoms. On its way to Gujarat, the Ghurid army besieged the
Naddula (Nadol) fort, which was controlled by the Chahamanas of Naddula.
Prithviraj's chief minister Kadambavasa advised him not to offer any assistance
to the rivals of the Ghurids, and to stay away from this conflict. The
Chahamanas did not immediately face a Ghurid invasion, because the Chaulukyas
of Gujarat defeated Muhammad at the Battle of Kasahrada in 1178 CE, forcing the
Ghurids to retreat.Over the next few years, Muhammad of Ghor consolidated his
power in the territory to the west of the Chahamanas, conquering Peshawar,
Sindh, and Punjab. He shifted his base from Ghazna to Punjab, and made attempts
to expand his empire eastwards, which brought him into conflict with
Prithviraj. Prithviraja Vijaya mentions that Muhammad of Ghor sent an
ambassador to Prithviraj, but does not provide any details. Hasan Nizami's
Taj-ul-Maasir (13th century CE) states that Muhammad sent his chief judge
Qiwam-ul Mulk Ruknud Din Hamza to Prithviraj's court. The envoy tried to
convince Prithviraj to "abandon belligerence and pursue the path of
rectitude", but was unsuccessful. As a result, Muhammad decided to wage a
war against Prithviraj. The medieval Muslim writers mention only one or two
battles between the two rulers. The Tabaqat-i Nasiri and Tarikh-i-Firishta
mention the two Battles of Tarain. Jami-ul-Hikaya and Taj-ul-Maasir mention
only the second battle of Tarain, in which Prithviraj was defeated. However,
the Hindu and Jain writers state that Prithviraj defeated Muhammad multiple
times before being killed:
The Hammira Mahakavya claims that after defeating Muhammad for the first time,
Prithviraj forced him to apologize to the princes whose territories he had
ransacked, before letting him go. Muhammad invaded the Chahamana kingdom seven
more times, but was defeated each time. However, his ninth invasion succeeded.
The Prithviraja Prabandha states that the two kings fought 8 battles;
Prithviraj defeated and captured the Ghurid king in the first seven of these,
but released him unharmed each time. The Prabandha Kosha claims that Prithviraj
captured Muhammad 20 times, but was himself imprisoned during the 21st battle.
The Surjana Charita and Prithviraj Raso also enumerate 21 battles. The
Prabandha Chintamani gives the number of battles between Muhammad and
Prithviraj as 22. It also states that Prithviraj's army defeated the preceding
enemy king in a previous battle, in which a subordinate of Prithviraj
heroically sacrificed himself. While these accounts seem to exaggerate the
number, it is possible that more than two engagements took place between the
Ghurids and the Chahamanas during Prithviraj's reign. The early victories
mentioned by the Hindu and Jain writers probably refer to Prithviraj's
successful repulsion of raids by Ghurid generals.
Rajput
Rajput (from Sanskrit raja-putra, "son of a king") is a large
multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social
status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian
subcontinent. The term Rajput covers various patrilineal clans historically
associated with warriorhood: several clans claim Rajput status, although not
all claims are universally accepted. According to modern scholars, almost all
Rajputs clans originated from peasant or pastoral communities. The term
"Rajput" acquired its present meaning only in the 16th century,
although it is also anachronistically used to describe the earlier lineages
that emerged in northern India from the 6th century onwards. In the 11th
century, the term "rajaputra" appeared as a non-hereditary
designation for royal officials. Gradually, the Rajputs emerged as a social
class comprising people from a variety of ethnic and geographical backgrounds.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the membership of this class became largely
hereditary, although new claims to Rajput status continued to be made in the
later centuries. Several Rajput-ruled kingdoms played a significant role in
many regions of central and northern India until the 20th century. The Rajput
population and the former Rajput states are found in northern, western, central
and eastern India as well as southern and eastern Pakistan. These areas include
Rajasthan, Haryana, Gujarat, Eastern Punjab, Western Punjab, Uttar Pradesh,
Himachal Pradesh, Jammu, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Sindh.
First Battle of
Tarain 1191
The First Battle of Tarain was fought in 1191 between the Ghurids against the
Chahamanas and their allies, near Tarain (modern Taraori in Haryana, India).
The Chahamana king Prithiviraj Chauhan defeated the Ghurid king Mu'izz al-Din,
who avenged this defeat at the Second Battle of Tarain a year later. Sometime
before 1191, Mu'izz ad-Din's army captured the Tabarhindah fort (probably
present-day Bathinda), which was presumably under Chahamana control. According
to Sirhindi, sometime in 1191 (Hijri year 587), Prithviraj marched against the
Ghurid army with infantry, cavalry, and an elephant force. Mu'izz ad-Din was
about to leave Tabarhindah, when he received the news of Prithviraj's approach;
he then marched against Prithviraj, and the two armies met at Tarain.
Prithviraj was accompanied by a number of feudatory rulers, whom Minhaj
describes as "the whole of the Ranas of Hind". These rulers included
Govind Rai, the ruler of Delhi. Sirhindi states that Govind Rai, seated on an
elephant, was at the frontline, suggesting that he was the commander-in-chief
of Prithviraj's army. Sirhindi and later chroniclers, such as Nizam al-Din and
Bada'uni, describe Govind Rai as a brother of Prithviraj. Firishta also
describes Prithviraj and Govind Rai as brothers, stating that the two men
marched against the Ghurids in alliance with other Indian rulers. Firishta
portrays Govind Rai as someone who was almost equally as powerful as
Prithviraj, presumably because Govind Rai was the ruler of Delhi, which had
become politically important by Firishta's time. The Ghurid cavalry initiated
the battle by launching arrows at the enemy center. The Chahamana forces
counter-attacked from three sides and dominated the battle, pressuring the
Ghurid army into a withdrawal. According to Sirhindi, the Ghurid troops
suffered reverses despite having fought bravely: when Mu'izz ad-Din saw this,
he charged against Govind Rai. Minhaj states that Mu'izz ad-Din, who was riding
a horse, attacked Govind Rai with a lance, hitting his mouth and breaking two
of his teeth. Govind Rai retaliated with a javelin, severely wounding Mu'izz
ad-Din's upper arm. According to Minhaj, Mu'izz ad-Din would have died or been
captured, had a young soldier not led his horse to safety. After his departure
from the battlefield, the Ghurid troops were disheartened and defeated.
Second Battle
of Tarain 1192
The Second Battle of Tarain was fought in 1192 by the Ghurids against the
Chahamanas and their allies, near Tarain (modern Taraori in Haryana, India).
The Ghurid king Mu'izz al-Din Muhammad Ghori defeated the Chahamana king
Prithiviraj Chauhan thus avenging his earlier defeat at the First Battle of
Tarain. According to the 16th-17th century writer Firishta, the battle,
"the Chauhan army consisted of 3,000 elephants, 300,000 cavalry and
infantry", which is considered an exaggeration by modern historians.
According to Satish Chandra the figures were exaggerated in order to
"emphasise the challenge faced by Muizzuddin and the scale of his
victory". Kaushik Roy similarly notes that Muslim chroniclers regularly
exaggerated Hindu military strength to glorify the Muslim kings, and 300,000
was probably the theoretical number that could potentially be mobilized by all
the Rajput kingdoms at the time. According to Indian sources like Hammir
Mahakavya and Prithviraj Raso, Chahamana army was simultaneously engaged on
multiple fronts and Prithviraj had only a part of his army at the battlefield.
His other army was about to reach Prithviraj but the fate was already decided
in favour of Muizuddin.
According to Minhaj-i-Siraj, Mu'izz al-Din brought 120,000 fully armored men to
battle, He personally commanded an elite cavalry force of 40,000 men. According
to historian Kaushik Roy, while the real strength of the armies is not certain,
it can be speculated that Prithviraj's army was numerically superior. The
battle occurred in the same field as the first one. Knowing the Chahamana
forces were well-disciplined, the Ghurids did not want to engage in melee
combat with them. Instead the Ghurids army was formed into five units, and four
units were sent to attack the enemy flanks and rear.
According to Minhaj, Mu'izz ad-Din directed a light cavalry force of 10,000
mounted archers, divided into four divisions, to surround the Chahamana forces
on the four sides. He instructed these soldiers not to engage in combat when
the enemy advanced to attack, and instead feign retreat in order to exhaust the
Chahamana elephants, horses, and infantry. In hopes of causing a break in the
enemy lines, Mu'izz al-Din ordered his fifth unit to feign retreat. The
Chahamana forces charged the fleeing Ghurid unit, as the Ghurids expected. The
Ghurids then sent a fresh cavalry unit of 12,000 and they managed to throw back
the enemy advance. The remaining Ghurid forces then attacked and the Chahamana
troops fled in panic. According to Minhaj, Mu'izz ad-Din's strategy
"exhausted and wearied the unbelievers", ultimately resulting in a
"victory to Islam". Minhaj states that Prithviraj ("Rae
Pithora") dismounted from his elephant, and fled from the battlefield on a
horse. He was, however, captured in the neighbourhood of Sursuti, and later
"dispatched to hell". Most medieval sources state that Prithviraj was
taken to the Chahamana capital Ajmer, where Muhammad planned to reinstate him
as a Ghurid vassal. Sometime later, Prithviraj rebelled against Muhammad, and
was killed for 'treason'. The Ghurid forces subjugated the entire Chahamana
territory of "Siwalikh" (or Sawalakh, that is, Sapadalaksha). The
Ghurids then appointed his son Govindaraja IV on the throne of Ajmer as their
vassal. Prithviraj's younger brother Hariraja dethroned Govindaraja, and
recaptured a part of his ancestral kingdom, but was later defeated by the
Ghurid general Qutb al-Din Aibak. The Ghurids subsequently defeated another
powerful king - Jayachandra of Gahadavala dynasty - at the Battle of Chandawar,
and conquered parts of northern India as far as Bengal.
Battle of Chandawar
1193
The Battle of Chandawar (1193 or 1194) was fought between Muhammad of Ghor and
Jaichand of Kannauj of the Gahadavala dynasty. It took place at Chandawar
(modern Chandawal near Ferozabad), on the Yamuna River close to Agra , giving
Muhammad control of much of northern India. The battle was hotly contested,
until Jaichand was killed and his army routed.
Qarlughids 1238 -1266
The Qarlughids were a tribe of Turkic origin that controlled Ghazni, lands of
the Bamyan, the Kurram Valley (Ghazna, Banban, and Kurraman), and established a
short-lived Muslim principality and dynasty that lasted between 1224 and 1266.
The Qarlughids (or Karluk Turks) arrived from the north to settle in the
regions of Hazarajat together with the armies of Muhammad II of Khwarezm, the
Shah of Khwarezm. Throughout most of its existence, the Qarlugh Kingdom
functioned as a buffer state between its two powerful neighbors, the Delhi
Sultanate to the east and south and the Mongol Empire to the north and west.
With the Malik at the throne, the Qarlugh would frequently switch allegiances
between their two powerful neighbors and through balanced diplomacy managed to
become an important trade intermediary between the Mongols of Central Asia and
the lands of the subcontinent. One testament to Qarlughid prosperity is the
significant coinage found from this dynasty The establishment of the Qarlugh
Kingdom was a result of the turbulent power struggles of the 12th and 13th
centuries in Greater Khurasan as the Ghurid Empire gave way to the Delhi
Sultanate and the Mongols. The lands of Peshawar and the Kurram valley were
ruled in rapid succession by Muhammad of Ghor, Taj al-Din Yildiz, Nasir ad-Din
Qabacha, Iltutmish, Genghis Khan, Mingburnu, and again Iltutmish, who
incorporated them into the Delhi Sultanate. The Sultana of Delhi, Razia al-Din,
appointed Saif al-Din al-Hasan Qarlugh as governor of Ghazni, who in 1238
seceded from the Sultanate and asserted the independence of the Qarlugh Kingdom
ruling Ghazni, Bamyan, and Kurraman.
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