Muhammad of Ghazni () (b. 998 – d. 1041) was ''
Sultan
Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...
'' of the
Ghaznavid Empire
The Ghaznavid dynasty ( ''Ġaznaviyān'') was a Persianate Muslim dynasty of Turkic peoples, Turkic ''mamluk'' origin. It ruled the Ghaznavid Empire or the Empire of Ghazni from 977 to 1186, which at its greatest extent, extended from the Oxus ...
briefly in 1030, and then later from 1040 to 1041. He ascended the throne upon the death of his father
Mahmud in 1030. He was the younger of a set of twins; this circumstance resulted in civil strife. His reign lasted five months before he was overthrown by his twin
Ma'sud I, after which he was blinded and imprisoned on the order of Ma'sud I. According to
Ferishta, his reign lasted only 50 days. Nine years later he was reinstated for a year before being slain by his nephew
Maw'dud after losing a battle in Nangrahar.
Biography
Muhammad was born, along with his elder twin brother Mas'ud, in 998 in the Ghaznavid capital of
Ghazni
Ghazni (, ), historically known as Ghaznayn () or Ghazna (), also transliterated as Ghuznee, and anciently known as Alexandria in Opiana (), is a city in southeastern Afghanistan with a population of around 190,000 people. The city is strategica ...
. In ca. 1008, Mohammad married the daughter of the
Farighunid ruler
Abu'l-Nasr Muhammad. Two years later after the death of Abu'l-Nasr Muhammad, Muhammad was appointed by his father as the governor of
Guzgan, thus putting an end to the native Farighunid dynasty of Guzgan.
In 1030, Mahmud, because of his bad relations with his heir Mas'ud, changed his opinion and appointed Mohammad as his heir, who was much less experienced in government and military affairs than Mas'ud. Mahmud shortly died, and was succeeded by Mohammad, who then appointed
Abu Sahl Hamduwi as his ''
vizier
A vizier (; ; ) is a high-ranking political advisor or Minister (government), minister in the Near East. The Abbasids, Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was at first merely a help ...
''. At his accession, much power of the state was under the former vizier
Hasanak Mikali and military officer
Ali ibn Il-Arslan, who greatly administered the state. Muhammad shortly appointed his uncle Yusuf ibn Sabuktigin as the commander-in-chief of the army. Although Muhammad did not possess any real power, his empire flourished. Soon, however, Muhammad's slave troops (
ghulam
Ghulam (, ) is an Arabic word meaning ''servant'', ''assistant'', ''boy'', or ''youth''. It is used to describe young servants in Jannah. It is also used to refer to slave-soldiers in the Abbasid, Ottoman, Safavid and to a lesser extent, Mughal e ...
) railed under Abu'l-Najm Ayaz, who had openly changed his allegiance to Muhammad's brother Mas'ud, whose military campaigns in western Iran had earned him a great reputation. Ayaz was shortly joined by other military officers such as
Ali Daya. Muhammad then sent an army under his general Suvendharay to quell the rebellion, but the rebels eventually emerged victorious and killed Suvendharay. The victorious rebels then went to Mas'ud, who was at
Nishapur
Nishapur or Neyshabur (, also ) is a city in the Central District (Nishapur County), Central District of Nishapur County, Razavi Khorasan province, Razavi Khorasan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district.
Ni ...
.
Eventually, Yusuf ibn Sabuktigin and Ali ibn Il-Arslan along with the rest of the Ghaznavid army also joined Mas'ud. Mas'ud then marched towards Ghazni, where he defeated Muhammad and had him imprisoned while crowning himself as the new Sultan of the Ghaznavid Empire.
According to
Ferishta, the differences between Muhammad and his twin brother Mas'ud became worse by this time. Eventually, Muhammad prepared an army to attack Mas'ud. He encamped with his army at the place of "Nakiya-abaad/Nakbat-abaad" for a month, where most of his leaders and army revolted against him. They arrested and imprisoned Muhammad, and welcomed Mas'ud as their new leader.
Later, when the
Seljuk Seljuk (, ''Selcuk'') or Saljuq (, ''Saljūq'') may refer to:
* Seljuk Empire (1051–1153), a medieval empire in the Middle East and central Asia
* Seljuk dynasty (c. 950–1307), the ruling dynasty of the Seljuk Empire and subsequent polities
* S ...
s were overrunning the western parts of the Ghaznavid Empire, a mutiny among the Ghaznavid troops placed Muhammad back upon the throne, and he had his brother Mas'ud imprisoned in turn. He promoted his son Ahmad, and allied with Suleiman ibn Yusuf, giving him the actual day-to-day running of affairs. They are reported to have been behind the assassination of Mas'ud I while he was imprisoned.
Muhammad sent a missive to Mas'ud's son, Mawdud, in Tukharistan explaining his father's murder was an act of revenge perpetrated by the sons of Mas'ud's former general in India. Upon learning of his father's murder, Maw'dud marched his army toward Ghazni.
Muhammad fled with his army in the face of Maw'dud's invasion, losing Ghazni in the process. Maw'dud wintered in Ghazni, then met Muhammad's army on 19 March 1041 in the province of Nangarhar. Maw'dud personally led the attack, defeating Muhammad's army; thereafter, Maw'dud had Muhammad and his family executed.
See also
*
Ghaznavids
The Ghaznavid dynasty ( ''Ġaznaviyān'') was a Persianate Muslim dynasty of Turkic peoples, Turkic ''mamluk'' origin. It ruled the Ghaznavid Empire or the Empire of Ghazni from 977 to 1186, which at its greatest extent, extended from the Oxus ...
*
Ghurid dynasty
The Ghurid dynasty (also spelled Ghorids; ; self-designation: , ''Šansabānī'') was a Persianate dynasty of eastern Iranian Tajik origin, which ruled from the 8th-century in the region of Ghor, and became an Empire from 1175 to 1215. The Gh ...
*
Khosro of Ghazni
References
Sources
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{{Ghaznavid sultans
998 births
1041 deaths
11th-century monarchs in Asia
Ghaznavid sultans
11th century in India
Blind royalty and nobility
Twin people