Episode 4 | The Story of India - Timeline

Mahmud of Ghazni

Under Mahmud of Ghazni (971-1030 CE) the Ghaznavid Empire, an Islamic dynasty centered in the Afghan city of Ghazni, reached its height. Mahmud's father, a Turkish slave named Sebüktigen, founded the kingdom in the 10th century CE, and Mahmud ruled as sultan from 998 CE to 1030 CE. Invading the Sind and Punjab regions at least once a year between 1000 CE and 1026 CE, the sultan, known as the "Sword of Islam," waged ruthless campaigns into northern India.

Mahmud's invasions of India, which never extended to the central, south, and eastern portions of the region, were exceedingly ruthless. He is said to have carried away huge amount of booty on each visit, and among other Indian dynasties, the Chandellas of Khujaraho, the Pratiharas of Kanauj, and the Rajputs of Gwalior all succumbed to his formidable military. Places such as Kanauj, Mathura, and Thaneshwar were plundered, but it is the destruction of the Shiva temple at Somnath, on the southern coast of Kathiawar in Gujarat, which most people in India remember him by even today. Some Muslim chronicles claim that 50,000 Hindus died in the sack of Somnath, and it is said that the Shiva lingam (the main symbol of the god) was destroyed by Mahmud himself. After the battle, Mahmud and his troops are described as having carried away across the desert the equivalent of 6.5 tons of gold. Modern historians have questioned some of the assumptions of the "black legend" of Mahmud.

Though there can be no doubt that Mahmud of Ghazni waged ruthless campaigns and terrorized the people who came in his way, there is nothing to suggest that he only attacked Hindus. The Muslim ruler of Multan, an Ismaili, and his subjects were dealt with just as ruthlessly. Revisionist historians argue that Mahmud pillaged Hindu temples because of the wealth in them, that he had Hindus among his commanders, and that Hindu temples were still allowed to function under his rule. But Mahmud remains a deeply controversial and divisive figure in the perceptions of history across the subcontinent today.

With the plunder acquired from his raids into India, Mahmud made Ghazni a great cultural center, home to an extensive library and scholars such as Abu Rayhan al-Biruni, a mathematician and philosopher whose Kitab al-Hind was among the earliest literature about India's religious and philosophical traditions. The Muslim Ghorid dynasty succeeded Ghaznavid rule in the 12th century CE and was followed by the , a series of five successive Muslim dynasties that ruled northern India into the 16th century CE.

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