Mahmood Gaznavi was born in 971AD, in khurasan. Mahmood Ghazni was the son of Abu Mansur Sabuktigin, who was a Turkish slave soldier of the samanid ruler. In 994 Mahmood joined his father in the conquest of Ghazni for Samanid ruler, it was the time of instability for Samanid Empire. In 998AD Mahmood took control of the Ghazni and also conquered Qandahar.
Rise to Power
Not much is known about Mahmud of Ghazni's childhood. We know that he had two younger brothers, and that the second one, Ismail, was born to Sabuktegin's principal wife. The fact that she, unlike Mahmud's mother, was a free-born woman of noble blood would turn out to be key in the question of succession when Sabuktegin died during a military campaign in 997.On his deathbed, Sabuktegin passed over his militarily and diplomatically skilled eldest son Mahmud, 27 years old, in favor of the second son, Ismail. It seems likely that he chose Ismail because he was not descended from slaves on both sides, unlike the elder and younger brothers. When Mahmud, who was stationed at Nishapur (now in Iran), heard of his brother's appointment to the throne, he immediately marched east to challenge Ismail's right to rule. Mahmud overcame his brother's supporters in 998, seized Ghazni, took the throne for himself, and placed his younger brother under house arrest for the rest of his life. The new sultan would rule until his own death in 1030.
Legacy
Mahmud of Ghazni left behind a mixed legacy. His empire would survive until 1187, although it began to crumble from west to east even before his death. In 1151, the Ghaznavid sultan Bahram Shah lost Ghazni itself, fleeing to Lahore (now in Pakistan).The Sultan Mahmud spent much of his lifetime battling against "infidels" - Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, and Muslim splinter-groups such as the Ismailis. In fact, the Ismailis seem to have been a particular target of his wrath, since Mahmud (and his nominal overlord, the Abbasid caliph) considered them heretics.Nonetheless, Mahmud of Ghazni seems to have tolerated non-Muslim people so long as they did not oppose him militarily.This record of relative tolerance would continue into the following Muslim empires in India: the Delhi Sultanate (1206-1526) and the Mughal Empire (1526-1857).
Military Compaigns
In 1001 AD, he started his military companies, which were lasted before his death in 1030 AD. Mahmud’s campaigns seem to have been motivated by religious zeal against both the Fatimid’s Shiites and non-Muslims; Buddhists, Jains and Hindus. Mahmood of Ghazna was one of the undefeatable military commanders of the World. He attacked South Asia seventeen times successfully and went back to Ghazni every time with a great victory. He fought against the forces of Jaipal, Annadpal, Tarnochalpal, Kramta and the joint forces of Hindu Rajas and Maharajas but all of them were forced to flee away from the battlefield due to Mahmood’s war strategy as a general.
The Multan and Hindu Shahi struggles
Mehmood's first campaign to the south was against the Ismaili Fatimid Kingdom at Multan in a bid to curry political favour and recognition with the Abbassid Caliphate , he engaged with the Fatimids elsewhere. At this point, Raja Jayapala of the Hindu Shahi Dynasty in (Lahore and Kashmir) attempted to gain revenge for an earlier military defeat at the hands of Mehmood's father, who had controlled Ghazni in the late 980s and had cost Jayapala extensive territory. His son Anandapala succeeded him and continued the struggle to avenge his father's suicide. He assembled a powerful confederacy which faced an unfortunate defeat as his elephant turned back from the battle in a crucial moment, turning the tide into Mehmood's favour once more at Lahore in 1008 bringing Mehmood into control of the Hindu Shahi dominions of Updhanpura. There is considerable evidence from writings of Al-Biruni , Soghidan , Uyghur and Manichean texts that the Buddhists, Hindus and Jains were accepted as People of the Book and references to Buddha as Burxan or as a prophet can be found. After the initial destruction and pillage, Buddhists, Jains and Hindus were granted protected subject status as Dhimmis . By that time, however, most of the centers of Buddhist and Hindu learning were already destroyed.
Final Compaign and Death
In 1026, the 55-year-old sultan set out to invade the state of Kathiawar, on India's west (Arabian Sea) coast. His army drove as far south as Somnath, famous for its beautiful temple to the lord Shiva. Although Mahmud's troops successfully captured Somnath, looting and destroying the temple, there was troubling news from Afghanistan. A number of other Turkic tribes had risen up to challenge Ghaznavid rule, including the Seljuk Turks, who had already captured Merv (Turkmenistan) and Nishapur (Iran). These challengers had already begun to nibble away at the edges of the Ghaznavid Empire by the time Mahmud died on April 30, 1030. The sultan was just 58 years old.
No comments:
Post a Comment