The Ghurid dynasty (also spelled Ghorids; fa, دودمان غوریان, translit=Dudmân-e Ğurīyân; self-designation: , ''Šansabānī'') was a
Persianate
A Persianate society is a society that is based on or strongly influenced by the Persian language, culture, literature, art and/or identity.
The term "Persianate" is a neologism credited to Marshall Hodgson. In his 1974 book, ''The Venture of I ...
dynasty and a
clan of presumably
eastern Iranian Tajik origin, which ruled from the 10th-century to 1215. The Ghurids were centered in the
Ghor
Ghōr (Dari: ), also spelled Ghowr or Ghur, is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It is located in the western Hindu Kush in central Afghanistan, towards the northwest. The province contains eleven districts, encompassing hundreds ...
of present-day central
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
, where they initially started out as local chiefs. They gradually converted to
Sunni Islam from
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...
after the conquest of Ghor by the
Ghaznavid
The Ghaznavid dynasty ( fa, غزنویان ''Ġaznaviyān'') was a culturally Persianate, Sunni Muslim dynasty of Turkic ''mamluk'' origin, ruling, at its greatest extent, large parts of Persia, Khorasan, much of Transoxiana and the northwest ...
ruler
Mahmud of Ghazni in 1011. The dynasty ultimately overthrew the Ghaznavid Empire when
Muhammad of Ghor
Mu'izz ad-Din Muhammad ibn Sam ( fa, معز الدین محمد بن سام), also Mu'izz ad-Din Muhammad Ghori, also Ghūri ( fa, معز الدین محمد غوری) (1144 – March 15, 1206), commonly known as Muhammad of Ghor, also Gh ...
conquered the last Ghaznavid principality of Lahore in 1186 from
Khusrau Malik
Abu'l-Muzaffar Khusrau Malik ibn Khusrau-Shah ( fa, ابوالمظفر خسروملک بن خسروشاه), better simply known as Khusrau Malik (; also spelled Khosrow), was the last Sultan of the Ghaznavid Empire, ruling from 1160 to 1186. He w ...
.
The Ghurids initially ruled as vassals of the
Ghaznavids and later of the
Seljuks. However, during the early twelfth century the long-standing rivalry between the Seljuks and Ghaznavids created a power vacuum in
Khurasan which the Ghurids took advantage of and began their territorial expansion.
Ala al-Din Husayn
Ala al-Din Husayn ( Persian: علاء الدین حسین) was king of the Ghurid dynasty from 1149 to 1161. He was one of the greatest Ghurid kings, and it was during his reign that the Ghurid dynasty rose to prominence.
Early life
When Ala al- ...
launched a devastating raid in the Ghaznavid territory and sacked their capital, although he was defeated by the Seljuks which, for a brief period of time, would halt the rapid Ghurid expansion.
Alauddin's nephews, however,
Ghiyath al-Din Muhammad
Ghiyath al-Din Muhammad, also known as Ghiyath al-Din Ghori born Muhammad (c. 1140-1203 CE), was the Sultan of the Ghurid dynasty from 1163 to 1203. During his reign, aided by his brother, Muhammad Ghori's conquests in Northern India, the Ghurid ...
and
Muhammad of Ghor
Mu'izz ad-Din Muhammad ibn Sam ( fa, معز الدین محمد بن سام), also Mu'izz ad-Din Muhammad Ghori, also Ghūri ( fa, معز الدین محمد غوری) (1144 – March 15, 1206), commonly known as Muhammad of Ghor, also Gh ...
expanded the Ghurid domains on an unprecedented scale. While, Ghiyasuddin was occupied with the Ghurid expansion in the west, his sibling Muhammad of Ghor along with his Turkic slaves began
raiding in the east and by the turn of the 12th century expanded the Ghurid empire to
Bengal
Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
in the east, while the Ghurids briefly reached
Gorgan
Gorgan ( fa, گرگان ; also romanized as ''Gorgān'', ''Gurgān'', and ''Gurgan''), formerly Esterabad ( ; also romanized as ''Astarābād'', ''Asterabad'', and ''Esterābād''), is the capital city of Golestan Province, Iran. It lies appro ...
in the west under Ghiyath al-Din Ghori.
Ghiyath al-Din Ghori died in 1203 and soon after the Ghurids suffered a catastrophic defeat against the
Qara Khitai
The Qara Khitai, or Kara Khitai (), also known as the Western Liao (), officially the Great Liao (), was a Sinicized dynastic regime based in Central Asia ruled by the Khitan Yelü clan. The Qara Khitai is considered by historians to be an ...
s (aid of
Khwarezmian Empire
The Khwarazmian or Khwarezmian Empire) or the Khwarazmshahs ( fa, خوارزمشاهیان, Khwārazmshāhiyān) () was a Turko-Persian Sunni Muslim empire that ruled large parts of present-day Central Asia, Afghanistan, and Iran in the app ...
) in
battle fought on the bank of river Amu Darya. Muhammad of Ghor
was assassinated after a year or so in March 1206 on the bank of
Indus which effectively ended the Ghurid sovereignty as the subsequent rulers were vassalized by the
Khwrezmian ruler
Muhammad II of Khwarezm
Ala ad-Din Muhammad II ( Persian: علاءالدین محمد خوارزمشاه; full name: ''Ala ad-Dunya wa ad-Din Abul-Fath Muhammad Sanjar ibn Tekish'') was the Shah of the Khwarazmian Empire from 1200 to 1220. His ancestor was Anushtegin Gh ...
after the assassination of Muhammad of Ghor. The Ghurids continued to rule as their vassals, before they were overthrown in 1215, although their conquests in the
Indian Subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
survived for several centuries under the
Delhi Sultanate established by the Ghurid Mamluk
Qutb ud-Din Aibak
Qutb ud-Din Aibak ( fa, قطبالدین ایبک), (1150 – 14 November 1210) was a Turkic general of the Ghurid king Muhammad Ghori. He was in charge of the Ghurid territories in northern India, and after Muhammad Ghori's assassination i ...
.
Origins
In the 19th century some European scholars, such as
Mountstuart Elphinstone
Mountstuart Elphinstone (6 October 1779 – 20 November 1859) was a Scottish statesman and historian, associated with the government of British India. He later became the Governor of Bombay (now Mumbai) where he is credited with the open ...
, favoured the idea that the Ghurid dynasty was related to today's
Pashtun people
Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically r ...
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
''Encyclopædia Iranica'' is a project whose goal is to create a comprehensive and authoritative English language encyclopedia about the history, culture, and civilization of Iranian peoples from prehistory to modern times.
Scope
The ''Encyc ...
'' states: "Nor do we know anything about the ethnic stock of the Ḡūrīs in general and the Šansabānīs in particular; we can only assume that they were eastern Iranian Tajiks".
Bosworth further points out that the actual name of the Ghurid family, ''Āl-e Šansab'' (Persianized: ''Šansabānī''), is the Arabic pronunciation of the originally
Middle Persian
Middle Persian or Pahlavi, also known by its endonym Pārsīk or Pārsīg () in its later form, is a Western Middle Iranian language which became the literary language of the Sasanian Empire. For some time after the Sasanian collapse, Middle ...
name ''Wišnasp''.
The historian
André Wink explains in ''
The New Cambridge History of Islam'':
When the Ghurids started to distinguish themselves through their conquests, courtiers and genealogists (such as
Fakhr-i Mudabbir and
al-Juzjani) forged a fictive genealogy which connected the Ghurids with the Iranian past. They traced the Ghurid family back to the mythical Arab tyrant
Zahhak
Zahhāk or Zahāk () ( fa, ضحّاک), also known as Zahhak the Snake Shoulder ( fa, ضحاک ماردوش, Zahhāk-e Mārdoush), is an evil figure in Persian mythology, evident in ancient Persian folklore as Azhi Dahāka ( fa, اژی دهاک ...
, mentioned in the medieval Persian epic ("The Book of Kings"), whose family had reportedly settled in Ghur after the Iranian hero
Fereydun
Fereydun ( ae, 𐬚𐬭𐬀𐬉𐬙𐬀𐬊𐬥𐬀, Θraētaona, pal, 𐭯𐭫𐭩𐭲𐭥𐭭, ; New Persian: , ''Fereydūn/Farīdūn'') is an Iranian mythical king and hero from the Pishdadian dynasty. He is known as an emblem of victory, just ...
had ended Zahhak's thousand-year tyranny.
Ghur remained primarily populated by
Buddhists until the 11th century. It was then Islamised and gave rise to the Ghurids.
[Satish Chandra, ''Medieval India:From Sultanat to the Mughals-Delhi Sultanat (1206–1526)'', Part 1, (Har-Anand Publications, 2006), 22.]
Language
The Ghurids' native language was apparently different from their court language, Persian.
Abu'l-Fadl Bayhaqi
Abūʾl-Faḍl Muḥammad ibn Ḥusayn Bayhaqī ( fa, ابوالفضل محمد بن حسین بیهقی; died September 21, 1077), better known as Abu'l-Faḍl Bayhaqi (; also spelled Beyhaqi), was a Persian secretary, historian and author.
Edu ...
, the famous historian of the Ghaznavid era, wrote on page 117 in his book ''
Tarikh-i Bayhaqi
''Tārīkh-i Bayhaqī'' ( fa, تاریخ بیهقی, italics=yes; ) is a history book written by Abul-Fazl Bayhaqi, in Persian, in the 11th century CE. Much of this voluminous work is lost, but its remains is the most important source on the his ...
'': "Sultan
Mas'ud I of Ghazni
Masoud (; ) is a given name and surname, with origins in Persian and Arabic. The name is found in the Arab world, Iran, Turkey, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Russia, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, and China. Masoud has spellin ...
left for Ghoristan and sent his learned companion with two people from Ghor as interpreters between this person and the people of that region." However, like the
Samanids People
Samanid
Samanid
Samanid
The Samanid Empire ( fa, سامانیان, Sāmāniyān) also known as the Samanian Empire, Samanid dynasty, Samanid amirate, or simply as the Samanids) was a Persianate Sunni Muslim empire, of Iranian dehqan orig ...
and Ghaznavids, the Ghurids were great patrons of
Persian literature
Persian literature ( fa, ادبیات فارسی, Adabiyâte fârsi, ) comprises oral compositions and written texts in the Persian language and is one of the world's oldest literatures. It spans over two-and-a-half millennia. Its sources h ...
,
poetry
Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...
, and
culture
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...
, and promoted these in their courts as their own. Modern-day authors refer to them as the "
Persianized Ghurids".
Wink describes the tongue of the Ghurids as a "distinct Persian dialect".
There is nothing to confirm the recent conclusion that the inhabitants of Ghor were originally
Pashto-speaking, and claims of the existence of "
Pashto poetry", such as
Pata Khazana, from the Ghurid period are unsubstantiated.
History
Early history
A certain Ghurid prince named Amir Banji was the ruler of
Ghor
Ghōr (Dari: ), also spelled Ghowr or Ghur, is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It is located in the western Hindu Kush in central Afghanistan, towards the northwest. The province contains eleven districts, encompassing hundreds ...
and ancestor of the medieval Ghurid rulers. His rule was legitimized by the
Abbasid
The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...
caliph
A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...
Harun al-Rashid
Abu Ja'far Harun ibn Muhammad al-Mahdi ( ar
, أبو جعفر هارون ابن محمد المهدي) or Harun ibn al-Mahdi (; or 766 – 24 March 809), famously known as Harun al-Rashid ( ar, هَارُون الرَشِيد, translit=Hārūn ...
.
Before the mid-12th century, the Ghurids had been bound to the
Ghaznavids and
Seljuks
The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; fa, سلجوقیان ''Saljuqian'', alternatively spelled as Seljuqs or Saljuqs), also known as Seljuk Turks, Seljuk Turkomans "The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes
by the Turk ...
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
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 Se ...
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
Ala al-Din Husayn ( Persian: علاء الدین حسین) was king of the Ghurid dynasty from 1149 to 1161. He was one of the greatest Ghurid kings, and it was during his reign that the Ghurid dynasty rose to prominence.
Early life
When Ala al- ...
, 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 ''Jahānsūz'', 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
The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; fa, سلجوقیان ''Saljuqian'', alternatively spelled as Seljuqs or Saljuqs), also known as Seljuk Turks, Seljuk Turkomans "The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes
by the Turk ...
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
Firozkoh ( Persian: فیروزکوه, ''Fīrōzkōh''), or Turquoise Mountain, was the summer capital of the Ghurid dynasty, in the Ghor Province of central Afghanistan. It was reputedly one of the greatest cities of its age, but was destroyed in ...
, 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
Bactria (; Bactrian: , ), or Bactriana, was an ancient region in Central Asia in Amu Darya's middle stream, stretching north of the Hindu Kush, west of the Pamirs and south of the Gissar range, covering the northern part of Afghanistan, south ...
, 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.
The Ghurids at their zenith
Sayf al-Din Muhammad was succeeded by his cousin
Ghiyath al-Din Muhammad
Ghiyath al-Din Muhammad, also known as Ghiyath al-Din Ghori born Muhammad (c. 1140-1203 CE), was the Sultan of the Ghurid dynasty from 1163 to 1203. During his reign, aided by his brother, Muhammad Ghori's conquests in Northern India, the Ghurid ...
, 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 (later known as "Muhammmad Ghori"), 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
Khwarezmian Empire
The Khwarazmian or Khwarezmian Empire) or the Khwarazmshahs ( fa, خوارزمشاهیان, Khwārazmshāhiyān) () was a Turko-Persian Sunni Muslim empire that ruled large parts of present-day Central Asia, Afghanistan, and Iran in the app ...
for the lordship of
Khorasan.
After the death of his brother Ghiyath on 13 March 1203, Mu'izz al-Din became the successor of his empire and ruled until his assassination in 1206 near
Jhelum by
Ismāʿīlīs whom he persecuted during his lifetime.
Conquest of India and Bengal
Northern India and Bengal were conquered by
Mu'izz al-Din Muhammad during the period from 1175 to 1205, just before his death in 1206. His capital was in
Ghazni (previously conquered in 1148 CE), while his elder brother
Ghiyath al-Din Muhammad
Ghiyath al-Din Muhammad, also known as Ghiyath al-Din Ghori born Muhammad (c. 1140-1203 CE), was the Sultan of the Ghurid dynasty from 1163 to 1203. During his reign, aided by his brother, Muhammad Ghori's conquests in Northern India, the Ghurid ...
ruled the western part of the Empire.
In 1175, Mu'izz al-Din Muhammad captured
Multan
Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab.
Multan is one of the old ...
from its
Ismaili Muslim
Isma'ilism ( ar, الإسماعيلية, al-ʾIsmāʿīlīyah) is a branch or sub-sect of Shia Islam. The Isma'ili () get their name from their acceptance of Imam Isma'il ibn Jafar as the appointed spiritual successor (imām) to Ja'far al-S ...
community, and also took
Uch
Uch ( pa, ;
ur, ), frequently referred to as Uch Sharīf ( pa, ;
ur, ; ''"Noble Uch"''), is a historic city in the southern part of Pakistan's Punjab province. Uch may have been founded as Alexandria on the Indus, a town founded by Alexan ...
by 1176.
In 1178, he turned south and marched through the waterless desert of Rajputana, his armies got exhausted in their march and were routed in the
hilly pass of Gadararaghatta by a coalition of Rajput chiefs, which forced him to change his route for further inroads into India. He
annexed the last Ghaznavid principality of the
Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...
, with their capital in
Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...
in 1186.
In 1191, the Ghurid were defeated in the
First Battle of Tarain by the
Rajput confederacy led by
Ajmer-Chahamana ruler
Prithviraja III
Prithviraja III (IAST: Pṛthvī-rāja; reign. – 1192 CE), popularly known as Prithviraj Chauhan or Rai Pithora, was a king from the Chauhan (Chahamana) dynasty who ruled the territory of Sapadalaksha, with his capital at Ajmer in present- ...
, but Mu'izz returned a year later with an army of Turkish mounted archers and routed the Rajput forces on the
same battlefield, and executed Prithviraja shortly afterwards. In 1193,
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...
was conquered by his general
Qutbu l-Din Aibak.
In 1194, Mu'izz returned to India and crossed the
Jamuna with an army of 50,000 horses and at the
Battle of Chandawar defeated the forces of the
Gahadavala king
Jayachandra
Jaya-chandra (IAST: Jayacandra, r. c. 1170–1194 CE) was a king from the Gahadavala dynasty of northern India. He is also known as Jayachchandra (IAST: Jayaccandra) in inscriptions, and Jaichand in vernacular legends. He ruled the Antarvedi c ...
, who was killed in action. After the battle, Mu'izz continued his advance to the east, with his general
Qutb ud-Din Aibak
Qutb ud-Din Aibak ( fa, قطبالدین ایبک), (1150 – 14 November 1210) was a Turkic general of the Ghurid king Muhammad Ghori. He was in charge of the Ghurid territories in northern India, and after Muhammad Ghori's assassination i ...
in the vanguard. The city of
Benares
Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.
*
*
*
* The city has a syncretic tra ...
(Kashi) was taken and razed, and "idols in a thousand temples" were destroyed.
It is generally thought that the Buddhist city of
Sarnath
Sarnath (Hindustani pronunciation: aːɾnaːtʰ also referred to as Sarangnath, Isipatana, Rishipattana, Migadaya, or Mrigadava) is a place located northeast of Varanasi, near the confluence of the Ganges and the Varuna rivers in Uttar Pr ...
was also ravaged at that time.
This new territory was then put under the governorship of Qutb ud-Din Aibak.
In 1202-1203 CE, Qutbu l-Din Aibak, now Ghurid governor of
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...
, invaded the
Chandela kingdom in the
Ganges Valley
The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...
. The Ghurids toppled local dynasties and destroyed Hindu temples during their advance across northern India, in place constructing
mosque
A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...
s on the same sites.
Around 1203, Bakhtiyar Khalji, another Khalaj people, Turkic general of the Ghurid Empire, led the Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent, Muslim conquests of the eastern Indian regions of Bihar and
Bengal
Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
, also on behalf of Mu'izz al-Din Muhammad.
In Bihar, he is said to have destroyed Buddhist centers of learning such as Nalanda, 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 Empire, Sena capital of Gauḍa (city), Lakhnauti in 1205.
Mu'izz al-Din Muhammad placed his faithful Turkic generals, rather than his own Ghurid brethens, in position of authority over local tributary kings, throughout the conquered Indian lands. After the death of Mu'izz al-Din Muhammad in early 1206, his territories fragmented into smaller Sultanates led by his former Mamluk generals. Tajuddin Elduz, Taj-ud-Din Yildoz became the ruler of
Ghazni. Nasir-ud-Din Qabacha became Sultan of
Multan
Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab.
Multan is one of the old ...
. Qutb al-Din Aibak, Qutb ud-Din Aibak became Sultan of
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...
. Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khilji, Bakhtiyar Khilji became Sultan of
Bengal
Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
, but was soon assassinated and succeeded by several Khalji dynasty of Bengal, Khalji rulers, until Bengal was incorporated into the
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...
Sultanate in 1227. Between 1206 and 1228 the various Turkic rulers and their successors rivaled for preeminence until the Sultan of Delhi Iltutmish prevailed, marking the advent of the Mamluk dynasty (Delhi), Mamluk dynasty. This was the first dynasty of the
Delhi Sultanate, which in total had five dynasties and would rule most of India for more than three centuries until the advent of the Mughal Empire in 1526.
Decline and fall
Ghiyath died on 13 March 1203 and was succeeded by Mu'izz al-Din as the sole ruler of the vast Ghurid realm. Soonafter, Muhammad II of Khwarazm, Alauddin Khwarazm Shah besieged and captured some of the strongholds of the Ghurids around Merv, although Mu'izz drove him back and further besieged their capital Konye-Urgench, Gurgānj. However, Alauddin forces were supplemented by a large contingent from the Qara-Khitai rulers of Samarkand. In the ensuring battle fought near the river Oxus, Mu'izz troops were Battle of Andkhud, completely routed by the combined forces of
Qara Khitai
The Qara Khitai, or Kara Khitai (), also known as the Western Liao (), officially the Great Liao (), was a Sinicized dynastic regime based in Central Asia ruled by the Khitan Yelü clan. The Qara Khitai is considered by historians to be an ...
and Kara-Khanid Khanate led by Tayangu of Taraz and he himself escaped the debacle after paying hughe ransom to Tayangu. The defeat at Andkhud was a watershed for the Ghurids who lost their control over most of the
Khurasan. Notwithstanding, Mu'izz within a year or so raised a vast army and build bridge across the Oxus to launch a full-scale invasion of Transoxiana to avenge his defeat. However, he was forced to move towards Punjab to crush a Khokhar rebellion whom he defeated and massacred in large number. On his way back, Mu'izz was assassinated near the Indus on March 15, 1206.
After the death of
Mu'izz al-Din Muhammad in 1206, a confused struggle then ensued among the remaining Ghūrid leaders, and the Khwarazmian Empire, Khwarezmians were able to take over the western part of the Ghūrid empire in about 1215. Though the Ghūrids' 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 Province, Ghor and
Ghazni, the capital was transferred to
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...
recognizing Khwarazmian rule on north and central
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
. The Ghurids continued their rule on much of the Indian subcontinent, Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Sisitan region of Iran and south of
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
.
Culture
The Ghurids were great patrons of Persian culture and Persian literature, literature and lay the basis for a
Persianized state in the Indian subcontinent.
[''Persian Literature in the Safavid Period'', Z. Safa, The Cambridge history of Iran: The Timurid and Safavid periods, Vol.6, Ed. Peter Jackson and Laurence Lockhart,(Cambridge University Press, 1986), 951;"''...Ghurids and Ghurid mamluks, all of whom established centres in India where poets and writers received ample encouragement.''".] However, most of the literature produced during the Ghurid era has been lost. They also transferred Iranian architecture to India. According to Amir Khusrau (died 1325), the Indians learned Persian because of the influence of the "Ghurids and Turks." The notion of Persian kingship served as the basis for the imperial formation, political and cultural unity of the Ghurids.
Out of the Ghurid state grew the
Delhi Sultanate which established the Persian language as the official court language of the region – a status it retained until the late Mughal Empire, Mughal era in the 19th century.
There was a strong Turkic presence among the Ghurids, since Turk slave-soldiers formed the vanguard of the Ghurid armies.
There was intense amalgamation between these various ethnic groups: "a notable admixture of Tajik, Persian, Turkish and indigenous Afghan ethnicities therefore characterized the Shansabanis".
At least until the end of the 13th century when they ruled the Mamluk dynasty (Delhi), Mamluk Sultanate in India, the Turks in the Ghurid realm maintained their ethnical characteristics, continuing to use Turkish as their main language, rather than Persian, and persisting in their rude and bellicose ways as "men of the sword", in opposition to the Persian "men of the pen".
File:Cheheltan-chisht.-2.jpg, The two mausoleums of Chisht (the western was built in 1167)
File:Cheheltan-chisht.-1.jpg, The eastern mausoleum of Chisht (built in 1194)
File:Jam afghan architecture brick decor ghor province.jpg, Ornamental bands on the Minaret of Jam, bearing the Sura 19, 19th Sura of the Koran
File:Shah-i Mashhad-1.jpg, Ruins of the ''Shah-i Mashhad'' madrasa (built in 1176)
File:Ghurid arch of Qala-e-Bost.jpg, Ghurid arch in Qala-e-Bost
List of rulers
Bamiyan Branch
*''Green shaded row signifies Ghurid vassalage under the Khwarazmian dynasty.''
Ghurid family tree
See also
* History of Afghanistan
* List of battles involving the Ghurid dynasty
Notes
References
Bibliography
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{{Authority control
Ghurid dynasty,
1212 disestablishments in Asia
Empires and kingdoms of Iran
Ancient history of Pakistan