MEHMOOD GHAZNABI

Yamin al-Dawla Abu al-Qasim Mahmud Ibn Sabkatgin aka Mahmud Ghaznavi
(November 2, 971 - April 30, 1030) was the first independent ruler of the
Ghaznavid Empire, ruling from 999 to 1030. At the time of his death, his empire
had been transformed into a vast military empire, stretching from northwestern
Iran to the Punjab in the subcontinent, and across the river to Khwarizm and
Makran.
He was the first ruler to take the title of Sultan ("authority"), marking the extent
of his power and protecting the ideological connection of the Abbasid caliph.
During his reign, he invaded and conquered parts of the Indian subcontinent (east
of the Indus River) seventeen times.
Early life
Mahmoud was born on November 2, 971, in the Ghazni region of Zabulistan
(present-day Afghanistan). His father, Sabkatgin, was a Turkish slave commander
(Ghulam) who founded the Ghaznavid Empire in 977, on which he ruled Khorasan
and Trans-Canal as a subordinate of the Samanids. Mahmoud's mother was the
daughter of Alpatgin. Not much is known about Mahmoud's early life. He was a
schoolmate of Ahmad Maimandi, a resident of Zabulistan, the Persian capital, and
his foster brother.
Family
Sabgatgeen married a woman named Kosari Jahan and had sons, Mahmud
Ghaznavi and Ismail Ghaznavi, who succeeded him one by one. Mahmud
Ghaznavi's sons were Masood Ghaznavi and Muhammad Ghaznavi who
succeeded Mahmud Ghaznavi.
Mahmud Ghaznavi, too, later became the ruler of the empire. His sister, Sattar-ul-
Ma'ali, was married to Mahmud bin Ataullah Alvi, also known as Ghazi Salar
Sahoo, whose son was Ghazi Syed Salar Masood.
Mahmoud's partner was Georgian slave Malik Ayaz, and his love for poetry
influenced poems and stories.
leadership:
Sabkatgin died in 997 and was succeeded by his son Ismail Ghaznavi as ruler of
the Ghaznavid Empire. It is unknown at this time what he will do after leaving the
post. The reason for this is that Shah Ismail's mother is the daughter of Alpatgin,
the old owner of Sabkatgin. Mahmud soon revolted, and with the help of his
other brother, Abul Zafar, the governor of Lashkar Gah, he defeated Ismail in the
battle of Ghazni the following year and took control of the Ghaznavid Empire. This
year, in 998, Mahmud then traveled to Balkh and met Amir Abu al-Harith
Mansour b. Tribute to Noor II. He then appointed Abul Hassan Asfarini as his
minister and then left the west for Ghazni to take over Kandahar, after which he
went to Lashkar Gah, where he turned it into a military city.
Invasion of India
When Sabkatgin died in August 997, Sultan Mahmud, like his father, was the ruler
of Neshapur, and Sultan's brother Ismail, who was in Ghazni at the time of his
father's death, announced his coronation. Sultan Mahmud first tried to talk to his
brother Ismail through correspondence, but when no solution was found, he
attacked Ghazni in 998. He overthrew Ismail's government and took over the
kingdom of Ghazni.
Sultan Mahmud, who is considered one of the great generals of Islamic history,
had an army of about one hundred thousand and the army included Arabs,
Ghauri, Seljuks, Afghans, Mughals and ten to fifteen thousand Hindu soldiers. As
many soldiers were recruited from India. They were mostly Hindus. Their
commander was also an Indian who was called the Hindu Commander-in-Chief. In
999, the Abbasid Caliph conferred the title of Yamin al-Dawla on Sultan Mahmud,
which is why the government of Sultan Mahmud's family is also called the Yemeni
Empire. Mahmud Ghaznavi built a special city on the desert coast near Herat,
Hathinagar, that the warm climate of these regions suited the seasons of India.
Then he raised hundreds of elephants brought from India in this city. Along with
the elephants, their reformers were also brought from India and thus the
elephants became happy in this city. Mahmud Herbers would invade India with
the help of these elephants and on his return would send them back to this
elephant town near Herat instead of Ghazni.
It is important to know the root cause of Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni, whose
greatest cause is the seventeen attacks on India. The area from Lahore to
Peshawar in present day Pakistan was under the rule of a Hindu Raja Jayapal.
Jayapal and Sultan Mehmood's father Sabkatgin fought a battle in the areas of
Peshawar and Jalalabad in 986, in which Jayapal was defeated and Sabkatgin's
kingdom spread to Attock along the Indus River. As soon as Sultan Mehmood took
over the government Strengthening his empire with small campaigns as far as
Peshawar, Raja Jayapal, who was already eager to avenge his defeat, formed a
large army and set out to attack Ghazni. In 1001, the armies of Raja Jayapal and
Sultan Mahmood clashed near Peshawar. Raja Jayapal was defeated and his
entire family was arrested. After negotiations and release in exchange for a hefty
ransom, Jayapal returned to Lahore. As Jayapal had sought help from the kings
around him before the battle, he surrendered his government to his son Anandpal
in a state of great embarrassment after the defeat. A huge pyre was lit near an old
banyan tree at one of the gates and burned to death.
Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni launched the second attack in 1004. Bhanda or Bhairah
which ruled over the state near the Sutlej river whose king was Baji Rao. The third
attack was made on Abul Fateh, the ruler of Multan in 1006 AD, but on the way
he clashed with Anand Pal, son of J. Paul, on the banks of the Indus. ran away.
After defeating Anand Pal, Sultan Mahmud turned to Multan and after conquering
Multan, it is said that the ruler of Multan appointed Sikh Paul, the grandson of
Jayapal, who had converted to Islam. Soon Sultan Mahmud had to go to Multan
again where Sikh Pal had revolted. In 1008, the Sultan defeated Sikh Pal and
deposed him. Meanwhile, Anand Pal, who had been defeated and fled to Kashmir,
returned and once again declared war on the Sultan. At the same time, Anand Pal,
with the help of the surrounding kings, assembled a large army. In the last days of
1008, war broke out again in the Attock area near the Indus River. After a bloody
battle, Anand Pal was defeated again.
In the last months of 1009, Sultan Mahmood again invaded India, first conquering
the state of Narainpur and then in 1010 annexing the area around Multan. In
1014, the Sultan defeated Anand Pal's son, Lujan Pal, in the area of present-day
Kohistan, and further defeated a large army which had come from Kashmir to
help Lujan Pal. In 1015, Sultan Mahmud invaded Kashmir but had to return
without a fight when the roads were closed due to snowfall. In 1018, Sultan
Mahmud first landed his army across the Punjab in the Jumna River region and
laid siege to the famous state of Qanooj after conquering Mathura, a Hindu
religious site. The king of Qanuj sent a message of peace to the Sultan and
accepted to be the Sultan's tax collector. In 1019, Raja Ganda of Kalingar, an
adjoining state of Qanuj, attacked Qanuj and killed the Raja. What Raja Lojan Pal
and Raja Ganda who were defeated by Sultan Mahmood. The two jointly
prepared for a major offensive and once again in 1019 the Sultan had to travel to
India again to subdue them. As a result, both the kings were defeated and the
Hindu Shahi Raja was eliminated from India.
Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni conquered the northwestern part of the empire and
the valleys of the Euphrates between 1020 and 1025. At the same time, Sultan
Mahmud was constantly receiving reports from his informants that all the states
of northern and central India were fighting for revenge after the defeat of the
Sultan and now a joint attack was being prepared. For this, a very famous temple
Somnath in Kathiawar area of Gujarat has been made the center. Somnath was a
magnificent temple by the sea, which was a center of worship among Hindus all
over India. The importance of the Shiva idol in the temple can be gauged from the
fact that fresh water was brought from the river Ganga on a daily basis for
bathing the Shiva idol. Preparations for the war were in full swing when the Sultan
prepared for an advance attack. The distance from Ghazni to Somnath is about
2600 km, of which 500 km was the most difficult desert of Cholistan and
Rajasthan.
In October 1025, the Sultan's army left Ghazni with 30,000 soldiers. After a
distance of three months, he encamped near the Somnath Temple in January
1026. Maharajas and princes from all over India were present with their
respective armies to guard the temple. The battle began and after a fierce battle,
Sultan Mahmud was victorious. The temple was demolished. This is the famous
war on which some historians have played an important role in making the cast of
Sultan Mahmud a looter. After Somnath, Sultan Mahmood's last battle against
India took place in 1027 AD, which stretched from the Indus River to the Beas
River.
Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi remained ill for the last two or three years.
Death
He is said to have died in Ghazni on 30 April 1030 at the age of 59 from
tuberculosis.