Ghazni (, ), historically known as Ghaznayn () or Ghazna (), also transliterated as Ghuznee, and anciently known as Alexandria in Opiana (), is a city in southeastern

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

with a population of around 190,000 people. The city is strategically located along Highway 1, which follows the path that has served as the main road between

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

and

Kandahar Kandahar is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city, after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118 in 2015. It is the capital of Kandahar Pro ...

for thousands of years. Situated on a plateau at 2,219 metres (7,280 ft) above sea level, the city is south of Kabul and is the capital of

Ghazni Province Ghazni (; ) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in southeastern Afghanistan. The province contains 19 Districts of Afghanistan, districts, encompassing over a thousand villages and roughly 1.3 million people, making it the 5th most ...

. The name Ghazni derives from the Persian word ''ganj'', meaning "treasure." Ghazni Citadel, the Minarets of Ghazni, the

Palace of Sultan Mas'ud III The Palace of Sultan Mas'ud III is a Ghaznavid palace in Ghazni, Afghanistan. The palace was built in 1112 by Sultan Mas'ūd III (1099-1114/5), son of Ibrahim of Ghazna. Description Many of the archeological remains were unearthed in an Italia ...

, and several other cultural heritage sites have brought travelers and archeologists to the city for centuries. During the pre-Islamic period, the area was inhabited by various tribes who practiced different religions including

Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religions, Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zoroaster, Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, ...

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

and

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

Arab Muslims Arab Muslims () are the Arabs who adhere to Islam. They are the largest subdivision of the Arab people and the largest ethnic group among Muslims globally, followed by Bengalis and Punjabis. Likewise, they comprise the majority of the population ...

introduced

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

to Ghazni in the 7th century and were followed in the 9th century by the

Saffarids The Saffarid dynasty () was a Persianate dynasty of eastern Iranian origin that ruled over parts of Persia, Greater Khorasan, and eastern Makran from 861 to 1002. One of the first indigenous Persian dynasties to emerge after the Islamic conq ...

Sabuktigin Abu Mansur Nasir ad-Din wa'd-Dawla Sabuktigin (; 940s – August-September 997) was the founder of the Ghaznavid dynasty, and amir of Ghazna from 977 to 997. Sabuktigin was a Turkic slave who was bought by Alp-Tegin, the commander of the r ...

made Ghazni the capital 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 ...

in the 10th century. The city was destroyed by one of the

Ghurid The Ghurid dynasty (also spelled Ghorids; ; self-designation: , ''Šansabānī'') was a Persianate dynasty of eastern Iranian peoples, Iranian Tajik people, Tajik origin, which ruled from the 8th-century in the region of Ghor, and became an Emp ...

rulers but later rebuilt. It fell to several regional powers, including the

Timurids The Timurid Empire was a late medieval, culturally Persianate, Turco-Mongol empire that dominated Greater Iran in the early 15th century, comprising modern-day Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, much of Central Asia, the South Caucasus, and parts of contem ...

and the

Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate or the Sultanate of Delhi was a Medieval India, late medieval empire primarily based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for more than three centuries.

until it became part of the

Hotaki dynasty The Hotak dynasty ( ) was an Afghan monarchy founded by Ghilji Pashtuns that briefly ruled portions of Iran and Afghanistan during the 1720s. It was established in April 1709 by Mirwais Hotak, who led a successful rebellion against the declinin ...

, which was followed by the

Durrani Empire The Durrani Empire, colloquially known as the Afghan Empire, or the Saddozai Kingdom, was an Afghanistan, Afghan empire founded by the Durrani tribe of Pashtuns under Ahmad Shah Durrani in 1747, which spanned parts of Central Asia, the Iranian ...

or modern Afghanistan. During the

First Anglo-Afghan War The First Anglo-Afghan War () was fought between the British Empire and the Emirate of Kabul from 1838 to 1842. The British initially successfully invaded the country taking sides in a succession dispute between emir Dost Mohammad Khan ( Bara ...

in the 19th century, the fortifications of Ghazni were partially demolished by British Indian forces. In August 2018, the city became the site of the

Battle of Ghazni The Battle of Ghazni took place in the city of Ghazni in central Afghanistan on Tuesday, 23 July 1839, during the First Anglo-Afghan War. Prelude In the 1830s, the British were firmly entrenched in India but by 1837, feared a Russian invasio ...

with the Taliban briefly occupying it and taking control of most of the surrounding area. On 12 August 2021, the city was captured by the Taliban as part of the

2021 Taliban offensive The 2021 Taliban offensive was a Offensive (military), military offensive by the Taliban insurgent group and allied militants that led to the fall of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the end of the nearly 20-year War in Afghanistan (200 ...

. In 2013,

ISESCO The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO, formerly ISESCO) is a specialized organization that operates under the aegis of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and is concerned with fields of education ...

declared Ghazni the year's

Islamic Capital of Culture Islam is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number 2 billion worldwide and are the world's second-largest religious populatio ...

History

The city was founded some time in

antiquity Antiquity or Antiquities may refer to: Historical objects or periods Artifacts *Antiquities, objects or artifacts surviving from ancient cultures Eras Any period before the European Middle Ages (5th to 15th centuries) but still within the histo ...

as a small market town. It may be the ''Gazaca'' (''Gázaca'' or ''Gāzaca'') mentioned by

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...

, although he may have conflated it and the town of

Ganzak Ganzak ( ''Ganzak'', ''Gazaka'', Latin language, Latin: ''Gaza'', ''Gazaca'', ''Ganzaga'', Arabic language, Arabic: جانزاك ''Janzaq'', جازنا ''Jazna'', ''Gandzak''), is an ancient town founded in northwestern Iran. The city stood som ...

(or Gazaka) in Iran. In the 6th century BCE, it was conquered by the

Achaemenid The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, it was the large ...

king

Cyrus II Cyrus II of Persia ( ; 530 BC), commonly known as Cyrus the Great, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire. Achaemenid dynasty (i. The clan and dynasty) Hailing from Persis, he brought the Achaemenid dynasty to power by defeating the Media ...

and incorporated into the

Persian Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, it was the larg ...

. The city was subsequently incorporated into the empire of

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...

in 329 BCE, and called Alexandria in Opiana. By the 7th century CE, the area was a major center of

. In 644, the Chinese pilgrim

Xuanzang Xuanzang (; ; 6 April 6025 February 664), born Chen Hui or Chen Yi (), also known by his Sanskrit Dharma name Mokṣadeva, was a 7th-century Chinese Bhikkhu, Buddhist monk, scholar, traveller, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making ...

visited a city named Jaguda—which was almost certainly the contemporary name of the later Ghazni. In 683, Arab armies brought

to the region. From 680 to 870, the

Zunbils Zunbil, also written as Zhunbil, or Rutbils of Zabulistan, was a royal dynasty south of the Hindu Kush in present southern Afghanistan region. They were a dynasty of Hephthalite origin. They ruled from circa 680 AD until the Saffarid conquest in ...

were present in the area, and at times had their capital in Ghazni. Yaqub Saffari from

Zaranj Zaranj ( Persian/Pashto/) is a city in southwestern Afghanistan, which has a population of 160,902 people as of 2015. It is the capital of Nimruz Province and is linked by highways with Lashkargah and Kandahar to the east, Farah to the north an ...

conquered the Zunbils in the late 9th century. The

reduced the formerly

Lawik dynasty The Lawīk dynasty was the last native dynasty which ruled Ghazni prior to the Ghaznavids, Ghaznavid conquest in the present-day Afghanistan. Lawiks were originally Hindus, but later became Muslims. They were closely related to the Hindu Shahis, ...

to tributary status. In 962, the Turkic slave commander of the

Samanid Empire The Samanid Empire () was a Persianate Sunni Muslim empire, ruled by a dynasty of Iranian ''dehqan'' origin. The empire was centred in Khorasan and Transoxiana, at its greatest extent encompassing northeastern Iran and Central Asia, from 819 ...

Alp-Tegin Alp-Tegin, ( ''Alptegīn'' or ''Alptigīn'') or Alptekin, was a Turkic slave commander of the Samanid Empire, who would later become the semi-independent governor of Ghazna from 962 until his death in 963. Before becoming governor of Ghazni, Al ...

, attacked the city and besieged the

Citadel of Ghazni The Citadel of Ghazni (or Ghuznee, Ghazna) is a large medieval fortress located in Ghazni city, east-central Afghanistan. It was built in the 13th century surrounding the Ghazni town to form a walled city. The 45 metre (147 foot) high citadel do ...

for four months, wresting the city from

Abu Bakr Lawik Abu Bakr Lawik was a ruler of Ghazna (in modern Afghanistan) from the Lawik dynasty. He was most likely a vassal of the Samanid Empire. In 962, the Turkic slave commander Alp-Tegin captured Ghazna after besieging the Citadel of Ghazni for four ...

. Around 965, Abu Bakr Lawik recaptured Ghazni from Alp-Tegin's son, Abu Ishaq Ibrahim, forcing him to flee to

Bukhara Bukhara ( ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan by population, with 280,187 residents . It is the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara for at least five millennia, and t ...

. However, this was not to last long because Abu Ishaq Ibrahim shortly returned to the town with Samanid aid, and took control of the town once again. For nearly two hundred years (977–1163), the city was the dazzling capital of the

, which encompassed much of what is today Afghanistan,

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...

, Pakistan, Eastern Iran and

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

. The Ghaznavids took Islam to India and returned with fabulous riches looted from Hindu temples. Although the city was sacked in 1151 by the

Ghorid 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 ...

Ala'uddin, it became their secondary capital in 1173, and subsequently flourished once again. Between 1215 and 1221, Ghazni was ruled by the

Khwarezmid Empire The Khwarazmian Empire (), or simply Khwarazm, was a culturally Persianate, Sunni Muslim empire of Turkic '' mamluk'' origin. Khwarazmians ruled large parts of present-day Central Asia, Afghanistan, and Iran from 1077 to 1231; first as vass ...

, during which time it was destroyed by the Mongol armies of

Genghis Khan Genghis Khan (born Temüjin; August 1227), also known as Chinggis Khan, was the founder and first khan (title), khan of the Mongol Empire. After spending most of his life uniting the Mongols, Mongol tribes, he launched Mongol invasions and ...

's son

Ögedei Khan Ögedei Khan (also Ögedei Khagan or Ogodei; 11 December 1241) was the second Khan (title), khan of the Mongol Empire. The third son of Genghis Khan, he continued the expansion of the empire that his father had begun. Born in 1186 AD, Öged ...

Zahir al-Din Muhammad Babur - Babur Being Entertained in Ghazni by Jahangir Mirza - Walters W59612B - Full Page

In the first decades of the 11th century, Ghazni was the most important center of

Persian literature Persian literature 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 have been within Greater Iran including present-day ...

. This was the result of the cultural policy of Sultan Mahmud (reigned 998–1030), who assembled a circle of scholars, philosophers, and poets around his throne in support of his claim to royal status in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. The noted Moroccan travelling scholar,

Ibn Battuta Ibn Battuta (; 24 February 13041368/1369), was a Maghrebi traveller, explorer and scholar. Over a period of 30 years from 1325 to 1354, he visited much of Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the Iberian Peninsula. Near the end of his life, Ibn ...

, visiting Ghazni in 1333, wrote: Tamerlanes's grandson, Pir Muhammad bin Djinhangir, became the governor of Ghazni (along with Kabul and Kandahar) in 1401.

Babur Babur (; 14 February 148326 December 1530; born Zahīr ud-Dīn Muhammad) was the founder of the Mughal Empire in the Indian subcontinent. He was a descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan through his father and mother respectively. He was also ...

conquered the region in 1504 and personally thought that Ghazni was "a mean place" and pondered why any of the princes of the region would make it their seat of government. Ghazni stayed under

Mughal Mughal or Moghul may refer to: Related to the Mughal Empire * Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries * Mughal dynasty * Mughal emperors * Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia * Mughal architecture * Mug ...

control until 1738 when Iranian ruler

Nader Shah Nader Shah Afshar (; 6 August 1698 or 22 October 1688 – 20 June 1747) was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran and one of the most powerful rulers in Iranian history, ruling as shah of Iran (Persia) from 1736 to 1747, when he was a ...

invaded the area. After Nader Shah's death, Ghazni became part of the

Durrani empire The Durrani Empire, colloquially known as the Afghan Empire, or the Saddozai Kingdom, was an Afghanistan, Afghan empire founded by the Durrani tribe of Pashtuns under Ahmad Shah Durrani in 1747, which spanned parts of Central Asia, the Iranian ...

Ghazni City is famous for its

Ghazni Minarets The Ghazni Minarets are two elaborately decorated minaret towers located in Ghazni city, central Afghanistan. They were built in middle of the twelfth century and are the only surviving elements of the mosque of Bahram Shah.C.E. Bosworth, ''The L ...

built on a stellar plan. They date from the middle of the twelfth century and are the surviving elements of the

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

of Bahramshah. Their sides are decorated with intricate geometric patterns. Some of the upper sections of the minarets have been damaged or destroyed. The most important

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type o ...

located in Ghazni City is that of Sultan Mahmud. Others include the Tombs of poets and scientists, such as the Tomb of Al Biruni. The only ruins in Old Ghazni retaining a semblance of architectural form are two towers, about 43 m (140 ft) high and 365 m (1,200 ft) apart. According to inscriptions, the towers were constructed by

Mahmud of Ghazni Abu al-Qasim Mahmud ibn Sabuktigin (; 2 November 971 – 30 April 1030), usually known as Mahmud of Ghazni or Mahmud Ghaznavi (), was Sultan of the Ghaznavid Empire, ruling from 998 to 1030. During his reign and in medieval sources, he is usuall ...

and his son. For more than eight centuries the “Towers of Victory” monuments to Afghanistan's greatest empire have survived wars and invasions, the two toffee-colored minarets, adorned with terra-cotta tiles were raised in the early 12th century as monuments to the victories of the Afghan armies that built the empire. By the time the Ghurids had finalized the Ghaznavid removal from Ghazni, the city was a cultural center of the eastern Islamic world. The Buddhist site at Ghazni is known as Tapar Sardar and consists of a stupa on a hilltop, surrounded by a row of smaller stupas.Trudy Ring, Robert M. Salkin, Sharon La Boda (1996) International Dictionary of Historic Places: Asia and Oceania v.5, P. 279-282. Taylor & Francis, Nearby, an long

Parinirvana In Buddhism, ''Parinirvana'' (Sanskrit: '; Pali: ') describes the state entered after death by someone who has attained '' nirvana'' during their lifetime. It implies a release from '' '', karma and rebirth as well as the dissolution of the '' ...

(reclining)

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...

was excavated between the late 1960s and early 1970s. It is believed to have been built in the 8th century CE as part of a monastery complex. In the 1980s, a mud brick shelter was created to protect the sculpture, but the wood supports were stolen for firewood and the shelter partially collapsed. In 2001, the

Taliban , leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders , leader1_name = {{indented plainlist, * Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013) * Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016) * Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...

blew the Buddha up, believing it to be idolatrous. Lincoln Learning Center in Ghazni

During the

, the city was captured by British forces on 23 July 1839 in the

. The Civil war in Afghanistan and the continued conflict between the

and the

Northern Alliance The Northern Alliance ( ''Da Šumāl E'tilāf'' or ''Ettehād Šumāl''), officially known as the United National Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan ( ''Jabha-ye Muttahid-e barāye Afğānistān''), was a military alliance of groups that op ...

during the 1990s put the relics of Ghazni in jeopardy. Ghazni's strategic position, both economically and militarily, assured its revival, albeit without its dazzling former grandeur. Through the centuries the city has figured prominently as the all-important key to the possession of

. After the 2001 U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, the

United States armed forces The United States Armed Forces are the Military, military forces of the United States. U.S. United States Code, federal law names six armed forces: the United States Army, Army, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps, United States Navy, Na ...

built a base in Ghazni. They were involved in rebuilding projects and protecting the local population against Taliban insurgents. In the meantime, they also trained the

Afghan Local Police The Afghan Local Police (ALP) was a US- UK sponsored local law enforcement agency, defence force and militia in Afghanistan as part of the Afghan Ministry of Interior Affairs. Formed primarily as a local defence force against Taliban insurgen ...

(ALP)

Afghan National Police The Afghan National Police (ANP; ; ), also known as the Afghan Police, is the national police force of the Afghanistan, Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, serving as a single law enforcement agency all across the country. The first police officer i ...

(ANP) and

Afghan National Army The Islamic National Army (, ), also referred to as the Islamic Emirate Army and the Afghan Army, is the army, land force branch of the Afghan Armed Forces. The roots of an army in Afghanistan can be traced back to the early 18th century when th ...

(ANA). In 2010, the United States established the Lincoln Learning Center in Ghazni. The Lincoln learning centers in Afghanistan served as programming platforms offering English language classes, library facilities, programming venues, Internet connectivity, educational and other counseling services. A goal of the program was to reach at least 4,000 Afghan citizens per month per location. On 10 August 2018, the city was attacked by the Taliban during the

. Dozens of

airstrikes An airstrike, air strike, or air raid is an offensive operation carried out by aircraft. Air strikes are delivered from aircraft such as blimps, balloons, fighter aircraft, attack aircraft, bombers, attack helicopters, and drones. The official d ...

were carried out in support of Afghan police and government forces and hundreds of Afghan soldiers, police, and Taliban insurgents were killed as well as dozens of civilians. In addition to the destruction and human suffering caused by the fighting, the Taliban also set fire to many buildings in the city. On 18 May 2020, a suicide

Humvee The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV; colloquial: Humvee) is a family of Military light utility vehicle, light, four-wheel drive Military vehicle#Military trucks, military trucks and utility vehicles produced by AM General. It ...

bomber affiliated with the Taliban killed nine Afghan intelligence personnel and injured 40 others at the

National Directorate of Security The National Directorate of Security (NDS; ; ) was the national intelligence agency, intelligence and security agency, security service of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The headquarters of the NDS was in Kabul, and it had field offices and ...

(NDS) unit in Ghazni, also damaging the nearby Islamic Cultural Centre. Ghazni was the tenth provincial capital of Afghanistan to be captured by the

as part of the

Geography

Land Use

Ghazni is a trading and transit hub in central Afghanistan. Agriculture is the dominant land use at 28%. In terms of built-up land area, vacant plots (33%) slightly outweigh residential area (31%). Districts 3 and 4 also have large institutional areas. The city has four police districts (''nahia'') and covers a total land area of 3,330 hectares. The total number of dwellings in Ghazni city is 15,931.

Climate

Ghazni's climate is transitional between a

cold semi-arid climate Cold is the presence of low temperature, especially in the atmosphere. In common usage, cold is often a subjective perception. A lower bound to temperature is absolute zero, defined as 0.00K on the Kelvin scale, an absolute thermodynamic ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''BSk'') and a

hot-summer humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(''Dsa''). It has cold, snowy winters and warm, dry summers. Precipitation is low and mostly falls in winter (as snow) and spring (as rain). Winters are very cold, with a subzero January daily average temperature of , mainly due to the high elevation of the city.

Demography

The city of Ghazni's population surged from 143,379 in 2015 to 270,000 in 2018 as refugees from violent areas fled to the city.Afghan City Gauges Toll After Taliban Siege
''Wall Street Journal''. In 2015, there were 15,931 dwellings in Ghazni city. The population is

multi-ethnic The term multiracial people refers to people who are mixed with two or more races and the term multi-ethnic people refers to people who are of more than one ethnicities. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mult ...

, with approximately 50% being Tajik, 25% Hazara, and 25%

Pashtun Pashtuns (, , ; ;), also known as Pakhtuns, or Pathans, are an Iranic ethnic group primarily residing in southern and eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. They were historically also referred to as Afghans until 1964 after the ...

Infrastructure

Transportation

In April 2012, Ghazni Governor Musa Khan Akbarzada laid the foundation stone of the

Ghazni Airport Ghazni Airport (; ) is located in Ghazni, Afghanistan, next to the main Ghazni-Kandahar Highway. It serves the population of Ghazni and other nearby Afghan provinces. The airport is mainly used for civilian flights and is still being developed ...

. The work began later that year and was supervised by the managing director of the Ghazni province Engineer Ahmad Wali Tawakuli. The city is next to Afghanistan's main

highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights of way. In the United States, it is also used as an equivalent term to controlled-access highway, or ...

that runs between

and

in the south. There are roads leading to

Gardez Gardez ( / ; ''Gardēz'', meaning "mountain fortress" in Middle Persian) is the capital of the Paktia Province of Afghanistan. The population of the city was estimated to be ca. 10,000 in the 1979 census and was estimated to be 70,000 in 2008. Th ...

and in the east and other nearby villages as well as to towns in

Hazarajat Hazarajat (), also known as Hazaristan () is a mostly mountainous region in the central Afghan highlands, central highlands of Afghanistan, among the Kuh-e Baba mountains in the western extremities of the Hindu Kush. It is the homeland of the H ...

in the northwest.

Education

The city has a number of public schools. Jahan Maleeka School is an all-girls school with over 5,000 students and 150 teachers. Naswan Shaher Kohna School, another all-girls school, has over 3000 students. The Adult Literacy Rate as of 2012 accounted for 41.2% (2012

/small>

Resources

Ghazni City is in an area of low rainfall. In 2007, one of the gates on a 50-year-old dam on the

Jikhai River The Jikhai River is a river in Ghazni Province, central Afghanistan, originating in Nawur District and crossing the Ajristan District, Ajristan valley. It is the only source of water available to the small number of inhabitants as the area is affec ...

broke, bringing up concerns among the inhabitants of Ghazni city about the water supply. The dam serves as a good source of irrigation water to Ghazni City and the surrounding agricultural areas. Nearby rivers have a history of flooding and causing severe damage and death, though efforts have begun to remedy this.

Sports

;Professional sports teams from Ghazni * Stadiums ** Ghazni Cricket Ground ** Ghazni Ground

Notable people

Rulers and emperors

, ruler of Ghazni from the

Abu Ali Lawik Abu Ali Lawik of the Lawik dynasty was the son of Abu Bakr Lawik, and also a brother-in-law of the Hindu Shahi ruler of the region, Kabul Shah. He was invited by the people of Ghazni to overthrow Böritigin of Ghazni, Böritigin or Pirai and proceed ...

, son of Abu Bakr Lawik and ruler of the Lawik dynasty *

, founder of the

Ghaznavid dynasty The Ghaznavid dynasty ( ''Ġaznaviyān'') was a Persianate Muslim dynasty of 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 to the Indu ...

, son of Sabuktigin, first independent ruler of the dynasty of Ghaznavids in the 11th-century *

Muhammad of Ghazni Muhammad of Ghazni () (b. 998 – d. 1041) was ''Sultan'' of the Ghaznavids, Ghaznavid Empire briefly in 1030, and then later from 1040 to 1041. He ascended the throne upon the death of his father Mahmud of Ghazni, Mahmud in 1030. He was the young ...

, son of Mahmud of Ghazni and Sultan of the Ghaznavid empire *

Masʽud I of Ghazni Sanaa ( '), also spelled San'a or Sana, is a governorate of Yemen. Its capital is Sanaa, which is also the national capital. However, the city of Sanaa is not part of the governorate but instead forms the separate governorate of Amanat Al-Asema ...

, twin brother of Muhammad of Ghazni and Sultan of the Ghaznavid empire * Mawdud of Ghazni, nephew of Muhammad of Ghazni and Sultan of the Ghaznavid empire *

Ibrahim of Ghazna Ibrahim of Ghazna (b. 1033 – d. 1099) was sultan of the Ghaznavid empire from April 1059 until his death in 1099. Having been imprisoned at the fortress of Barghund, he was one of the Ghaznavid princes that escaped the usurper Toghrul's massac ...

, Sultan of the Ghaznavid empire *

Khusrau Malik Abu'l-Muzaffar Khusrau Malik ibn Khusrau-Shah (), better known simply as Khusrau Malik (; also spelled Khosrow), was the last Sultan of the Ghaznavid Empire, ruling from 1160 to 1186. He was the son and successor of Khusrau Shah (r. 1157–1160) ...

, Sultan of the Ghaznavid empire *

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 Ghaznavids, Ghaznavid Empire from 25 February 1117 to 1152. Son of Mas'ud III of Ghazni, Mas'ud III and Gawhar Khatun, siste ...

, Sultan of the Ghaznavids empire *

Muhammad Shah Mirza Nasir-ud-Din Muḥammad Shah (born Roshan Akhtar; 7 August 1702 – 26 April 1748) was the thirteenth Mughal emperor from 1719 to 1748. He was son of Khujista Akhtar, the fourth son of Bahadur Shah I. After being chosen by the Sayyid ...

, thirteenth

Mughal emperor The emperors of the Mughal Empire, who were all members of the Timurid dynasty (House of Babur), ruled the empire from its inception on 21 April 1526 to its dissolution on 21 September 1857. They were supreme monarchs of the Mughal Empire in ...

in the 18th-century

Politicians and military leaders

Turkic slave commander of the

, became later the semi-independent governor of Ghazni til his death in Ghazni *

Abu Ishaq Ibrahim of Ghazna Abu Ishaq Ibrahim, also known as Ishaq ibn Alp-Tegin, was Samanid governor of Ghazna from September 963 to November 966. Of Turkic origin, he was the son and successor of Alp-Tegin. Abu Ishaq Ibrahim briefly lost control of Ghazna after an invas ...

, son of Alp-Tegin, Turkic officer and the

Samanid The Samanid Empire () was a Persianate society, Persianate Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslim empire, ruled by a dynasty of Iranian peoples, Iranian ''dehqan'' origin. The empire was centred in Greater Khorasan, Khorasan and Transoxiana, at its greatest ...

governor of Ghazni *

Böritigin of Ghazni Böritigin or Böri (in Old Turkic the name means ''wolf prince''), also known as Pirai, was a Turkic officer, who served as the Samanid governor of Ghazna from 974/975 to 977. Reign During his rule, the people of Ghazni revolted against Samanid ...

, Turkic officer and the

governor of Ghazni *

Ismail of Ghazni Ismail of Ghazni () was the emir of Ghazna, reigning for 7 months, from August 997 until March 998. He succeeded his father emir Sabuktigin, who died of an illness acquired in Balkh during a campaign in the Samanid civil war. Ismail was design ...

, son of

and brother of

Mahmud Mahmud is a transliteration of the male Arabic given name (), common in most parts of the Islamic world. It comes from the Arabic triconsonantal root Ḥ-M-D, meaning ''praise'', along with ''Muhammad''. Given name Mahmood * Mahmood Ali (1928 ...

emir Emir (; ' (), also Romanization of Arabic, transliterated as amir, is a word of Arabic language, Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocratic, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person po ...

Ghazna 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 ...

* Ali ibn Ishak, financial minister of the

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 ...

Abd al-Razzaq Maymandi Abd al-Razzaq Maymandi (; died 11th-century) was a Persian ''vizier'' of the Ghaznavid Sultan Maw'dud Ghaznavi and Abd al-Rashid. Biography Abd al-Razzaq was the son of Ahmad Maymandi, a prominent Persian nobleman who served as the vizier of th ...

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 ...

of the

Ghaznavid The Ghaznavid dynasty ( ''Ġaznaviyān'') was a Persianate Muslim dynasty of 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 to the Indus Va ...

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 ...

Mawdud Ghaznavi and Abd al-Rashid *

Toghrul of Ghazna Toghrul of Ghazna (full name: ''Qiwam ad-Dawlah Abu Said Toghrul''), was a Turkic slave general and usurper of the Ghaznavid throne. He was originally a ''ghulam'' in the service of the Ghaznavid Empire. Following his usurpation of the Ghaznavid ...

, Turkish slave general and usurper of the

throne *

Azad Khan Afghan Azād Khān Afghān ( Persian, ), or Azād Shāh Afghān () (died 1781), was a Pashtun military commander and a major contender for supremacy in western Iran after the death of Nader Shah Afshar in 1747.Perry, J. R. (1987), "Āzād Khan Afḡān ...

military commander from the 18th-century *

Nur Muhammad Taraki Nur Muhammad Taraki (; 14 July 1917 – 9 October 1979) was an Afghan communist politician, journalist and writer. He was a founding member of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) who served as its General Secretary from 1965 to ...

, former president of Afghanistan * Abdul Hakim Dalili, Ambassador of Afghanistan to Doha Qatar.

Poets and scientists

* Abu Rayhan Al-Biruni, famous 10/11th-century

Iranian Iranian () may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Iran ** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran ** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia ** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...

scholar and

polymath A polymath or polyhistor is an individual whose knowledge spans many different subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific problems. Polymaths often prefer a specific context in which to explain their knowledge, ...

, worked and died in Ghazni *

Abu'l-Fadl Bayhaqi Abūʾl-Fazl Muḥammad ibn Ḥusayn Bayhaqī (; died September 21, 1077), better known as Abu'l-Fazl Bayhaqi (; also spelled Beyhaqi), was a secretary, historian and author. Educated in the major cultural center of Nishapur, and employed at the ...

, 10/11th-century

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

secretary, historian and author at the court of the Ghazanvids, also died in Ghazni *

Asjadi Abu Nazar ʿAbdul ʿAziz bin Mansur ʿAsjadi () was a 10th-11th century royal Persian poet of the Ghaznavid empire located in the Ghazni province of today's Afghanistan. Originating from Merv, and in some accounts Herat, he was a follower of th ...

royal poet at the court of the

in Ghazni *

Farrukhi Sistani Abu'l-Hasan Ali ibn Julugh Farrukhi Sistani (), better known as Farrukhi Sistani (; – 1040) was one of the most prominent Persian court poets in the history of Persian literature. Initially serving a ''dehqan'' in Sistan and the Muhtajids in ...

royal poet at the court of the

, spent most of his life in Ghazni and also died there * Manuchehri Dāmghānī,

royal poet at the court of the

in Ghazni, most probably died in Ghazni, too * Unsuri Balkhi,

royal poet at the court of the

in Ghazni * Hakim Sanai Ghaznavi, 11/12th-century

Sufi poet and mystic *

Hassan Ghaznavi Ashrafuddin Abu Muhammad Hasan ibn Muhammad Husayni Ghaznavi () known as Ashraf (اشرف) was a 12th-century Persian poet. A sayyid, he boasted of his lineage from the family of the Islamic prophet Muhammad in his poetry. Originating from Ghaz ...

, 12th-century

poet *

Faiz Mohammad Katib Hazara Faiz Muhammad Kāteb () also known as Kāteb () was a prominent writer and historian. He was Afghan court's chronicler, a skilled calligrapher and secretary to the Afghan ruler Habibullah Khan from 1901 to 1919.Kitab-e Tadakkor-e Enqilab, Tran ...

, 19/20th-century historian, writer and intellectual *

Abdul Rahman Pazhwak Abdul Rahman Pazhwak (; 7 March 1919 – 8 June 1995) was an Afghan poet and diplomat. He was educated in Afghanistan and started his career as a journalist, later joining the foreign ministry. During the 1950s, he became ambassador to the ...

Afghan Afghan or Afgan may refer to: Related to Afghanistan *Afghans, historically refers to the Pashtun people. It is both an ethnicity and nationality. Ethnicity wise, it refers to the Pashtuns. In modern terms, it means both the citizens of Afghanist ...

poet and diplomat * Bhai Nand Lal Goya, court poet of the 10th

Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...

Guru,

Guru Gobind Singh Guru Gobind Singh (; born Gobind Das; 22 December 1666 – 7 October 1708) was the tenth and last human Sikh gurus, Sikh Guru. He was a warrior, poet, and philosopher. In 1675, at the age of nine he was formally installed as the leader of the ...

Religious leaders

* Shaykh Syed ʿAlī al-Hujwīrī, 11th-century

Sunni Muslim Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Musli ...

mystic,

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

, and preacher * Jamal al-Din al-Ghaznawi, 12th-century

Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...

Hanafi The Hanafi school or Hanafism is the oldest and largest Madhhab, school of Islamic jurisprudence out of the four schools within Sunni Islam. It developed from the teachings of the Faqīh, jurist and theologian Abu Hanifa (), who systemised the ...

jurist,

, and

Kalam ''Ilm al-kalam'' or ''ilm al-lahut'', often shortened to ''kalam'', is the scholastic, speculative, or rational study of Islamic theology ('' aqida''). It can also be defined as the science that studies the fundamental doctrines of Islamic fai ...

scholar of the

Maturidi Maturidism () is a school of theology in Sunni Islam named after Abu Mansur al-Maturidi. It is one of the three creeds of Sunni Islam alongside Ash'arism and Atharism, and prevails in the Hanafi school of jurisprudence. Al-Maturidi codified a ...

school *

Abdullah Ghaznavi Abdullah Ghaznavi (1811 – 15 February 1881) was an Afghan Islamic scholar and pietist. A pupil of Sayyid Nazir Husain, he was exiled from his native Ghazni, Afghanistan on account of his adherence to and propagation of Ahl-i Hadith doctrines a ...

, 19th-centrury, Muslim scholar and pietist * Pir Ghulam Mohiudin Ghaznavi (1902-1975), was an Islamic Sufi scholar. He was born in Ghazni and later went to Pakistan for business. He became a

disciple A disciple is a follower and student of a mentor, teacher, or other figure. It can refer to: Religion * Disciple (Christianity), a student of Jesus Christ * Twelve Apostles of Jesus, sometimes called the Twelve Disciples * Seventy disciples in t ...

of Pir Qasim Sadiq Mohrvi from

Mohra Sharif Mohra Sharif is a village and religious site located in the Murree Hills of Punjab, Pakistan, near Islamabad. It is the spiritual center of the Naqshbandi Sufi order, specifically the Mujaddidi and Qasmiya branches. History Mohra Sharif was e ...

and converted to

Sufism Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

and settled at

Nerian Sharif Nerian Sharif is a muslim shrine ( dargah) located in the eponymous village, situated in Tarar Khel Tehsil, Sudhanoti District, Azad Kashmir, Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. ...

Azad Kashmir Azad Jammu and Kashmir (), abbreviated as AJK and colloquially referred to as simply Azad Kashmir ( ), is a region administered by Pakistan as a nominally self-governing entitySee: * * * and constituting the western portion of the larger ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. *

Gholam Mohammad Niazi Gholam Mohammad Niazi (‎; 1932–1979), was a leading professor at Kabul University, member of the Muslim Brotherhood, and the founder of the Islamic movement in Afghanistan. In 1974 he was jailed for promoting the Islamist regime and was k ...

, Political Islamic movement thinker, Dean of the faculty of theology at

Kabul University Kabul University (KU; ) is one of the major and oldest institutions of higher education in Afghanistan. It is in the 3rd District of the capital Kabul near the Ministry of Higher Education. It was founded in 1931 by King Mohammed Nadir Shah, wh ...

Others

Abdul Ahad Mohmand Abdul Ahad Momand (; born 1959) is an Afghan-German and former Afghan Air Force aviator who became the first, and currently only, Afghan astronaut to journey to outer space. He became one of Soyuz TM-6 crew members and spent nine days aboard ...

, first

citizen and fourth

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

to journey to outer space * (born June 21, 1947), Afghan-German choir director and composer, wrote the music for the

National anthem of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan The "Afghan National Anthem" was the national anthem of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan used from 2004 to 2020. The lyrics were written by Abdul Bari Jahani, and the music was composed by German-Afghan composer . It was replaced by "This I ...

Points of interest

* Minarets of Ghazni *

* Tomb of Sebuktigin * Mausoleum of Sultan Mahmud * Mausoleum of

Sanai Hakim Abul-Majd Majdūd ibn Ādam Sanā'ī Ghaznavi (), more commonly known as Sanai, was a poet from Ghazni. He lived his life in the Ghaznavid Empire which is now located in Afghanistan (At that time, Ghazni was considered part of the cultura ...

* Museum of Islamic Art * Tapa Sardar Excavations * Tomb of Al Biruni

Twin towns – sister cities

Hayward, California Hayward is a city located in Alameda County, California, United States, in the East Bay subregion of the San Francisco Bay Area. With a population of 162,954 as of 2020, Hayward is the sixth largest city in the Bay Area, and the third largest in ...

, US *

Giżycko Giżycko (former or ''Łuczany''; ) is a town in northeastern Poland with 28,597 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is situated between Lake Kisajno and Lake Niegocin in the region of Masuria, within the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship. It is ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

Co Giżycko łączy z Ghazni?

References

External links

Map of Ghazni district

Ghazni.info

Ghazni.org

* * * {{Authority control Cities in Afghanistan Populated places in Ghazni Province Provincial capitals in Afghanistan Bactrian and Indian Hellenistic period Populated places along the Silk Road Archaeological sites in Afghanistan Cities founded by Alexander the Great

History

Geography

Land Use

Climate

Demography

Infrastructure

Transportation

Education

Resources

Sports

Notable people

Rulers and emperors

Politicians and military leaders

Poets and scientists

Religious leaders

Others

Points of interest

Twin towns – sister cities

See also

References

Further reading

External links