Mahmud Ghaznavi of Ghazni, the Destroyer of Idols
MAHMUD GHAZNAVI
Born in 971, Mahmud Ghaznavi was the elder son of Subuktagin, the king of Ghazni. When Subuktagin attacked King Jaipal, Mahmud fought for his father in the battlefield. Though Mahmud was the elder son of his father, it is said that in his last days, Subuktagin was not happy with Mahmud. So, when Subuktagin died in 997, his younger son Ismail became the king of Ghazni.
Ismail reigned only for a little time. Very soon, Mahmud defeated him and became the king.
Mahmud began a series of seventeen raids into northwestern India at the end of the 10th century. Nonetheless, he did not attempt to rule Indian territory except for the Punjab, which was his gateway to India, as Ghazni lay in present day Afghanistan.
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Invasions [partial list, work in progress]
1000 AD: Indian Frontier Towns
1001-03 AD: Jaipal, Peshawar
Jaipal was the king of Hindushahi Kingdom. Mahmud had already fought against him, when Subuktagin was the king of Ghazni. When Mahmud became the king, he decided to attack on Hindushahi Kingdom, as its king, Jaipal, was his old enemy.
In 1001, Mahmud attacked the Hindushahi Kingdom. 15,000 Hindu soldiers were killed. Jaipal was defeated and captured. He was presented before Mahmud with his 15 other relatives; 500,000 enslaved persons were also brought along.
Mahmud looted all his wealth. He received 250,000 Dinars to free Jaipal. About 5,00,000 Indians were taken to Ghazni as slaves. Though Jaipal was freed, but he refused to survive his disgrace. He cast himself upon a funeral pyre and died.
Description: Dinars and Slaves
1008: Anandpal
Anandpal was the son of Jaipal, and now became the king of Hindushahi Kingdom.
In 1008, Mahmud attacked on Anandpal. Anandpal called other Hindu kings to help him. The kings of Ujjain, Gwalior, Kalinjar, Kannauj, Delhi, Ajmer etc. came to help him with their armies. In the battlefield of Peshawar, both the armies remained standing before each other, but no one attacked. Meanwhile the Khokhars (a race) also came there to help Hindus. Mahmud deployed 6,000 archers to attack. Khokhars attacked the Muslims and killed approximately 5,000 Muslims.
Unfortunately, Jaipal's elephant became infuriated and ran from the battlefield. As soon as Jaipal left the battlefield, the Hindu army got confused and ran away. Muslims chased them and killed 20,000 Hindus. Thus, the best organized national efforts ever made by medieval Hindu India against the foreigners ended.
1009: Invasion of Nagarkot [Kangra]
Nagarkot was very famous for its wealth kept in its temples. So, Mahmud decided to invade Nagarkot. Like a swarm of locusts, his army destroyed everything in its path.
Paralyzed with fear, the defenders opened the city’s gate and fell on the ground in submission.
Mahmud got so much jewelry, gold and silver, that when he returned to his capital, his people congregated to see the incredible wealth of India.
1014: Thanesar
Mahmud came to know of the riches of Thanesar’s temples. In 1014, he invaded Thanesar. The Hindus wanted to reach on a compromise, but Mahmud refused. His army destroyed the city, massacred the inhabitants, and plundered the sacred temples.
1015: Kashmir Valley
1018-19: Mathura and Kannauj
When Mahmud invaded Mathura, he was amazed to see so many huge and beautiful Hindu temples. No one would resist him, and he entered the city unopposed, leaving with untold wealth.
Then, he attacked Kannauj in January of 1019. The King of Kannauj, Rajpal Pratihar did not dare to stop him and ran away. The invaders looted the sacred temples. Many innocent people were killed.
The king of Kannauj, Rajpal Pratihar accepted the superiority of Mahmud Ghaznavi and then Mahmud turned back for Ghazni.
1021: Kalinjar
Rajpal Pratihar, the king of Kannauj, had accepted the superiority of Mahmud. This made other Rajput kings angry. The Rajput kings of Kalinjar, Gandda Chandel, with the king of Gwalior and others attacked on Kannauj and killed the king Rajpal Pratihar.
Mahmud was unhappy with this. To punish the culprits, he attacked Kalinjar. The king, Gandda Chandel accepted the superiority of Mahmud. Mahmud was satisfied with the money the King gave him and he returned.
1023: Lahore
1925: Somnath, 16th Invasion
Description: Somnath & the Hindu Psyche
The most famous and terrible invasion launched by Mahmud was his sixteenth, against the Somnath Temple in Gujrat, western India. This was an immense distance from Ghanzni, but one supposes by now he was so feared that he had easy passage.
The Somnath temple was very famous for its treasures. There were one thousand priests to serve the temple. Hundreds of dancers and singers played before its gate. There was famous Linga, a rude pillar stone, adorned with gems embroidered with precious like stars, which decorated the shrine.
The brave Hindu Rajputs came forward to defend the temple. Shouting 'Allah hu Akbar', the enemy tried to entered into the temple. The Hindus fought very bravely and the invaders could not damage the temple. The battle lasted for three days.
After three days, the invaders succeeded and entered into the Somnath temple.
Mahmud ordered his men to destroy the sacred idol, Linga. He looted the treasures of the temple. It is said that he got wealth worth 20-million Dinars, eighty times the already huge sum he had gained on his first invasion.
1026: The 17th and Last Invasion
After looting the Somnath temple, when Mahmud was going back to Ghazni, the Jats had attacked his army. So, to punish the Jats, he returned and defeated them in 1026.
Death of Mahmud
On April 30, 1030, Mahmud died in Ghazni, at the age of 59 years. He had contracted malaria during his last invasion. This turned to tuberculosis.
Mahmud Ghaznavi's 17 Invasions of India [Work in Progress]
Afghans In History Episode Four - Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi - YouTube
MOD EDIT
were a medieval Muslim dynasty of Iranian origin that ruled during the 12th and 13th centuries in Khorasan.[2] At its zenith, their empire, centred at Ghōr (now a province in Afghanistan), stretched over an area that included the whole of modern Afghanistan, the eastern parts of Iran, Pakistan and the northern section of the India, as far as Delhi. The Ghurids were succeeded in Persia by the Khwārazm-Shāh dynasty and in North India by the Mamluk dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate.
