د "سلطان محمود غزنوي" د بڼو تر مېنځ توپير

Sabuktigin was recognized by the [[Caliph]] in [[Baghdad]] as governor of his dominions. He died in [[997]], and was succeeded by his younger son Sultan [[Ismail of Ghazni]]. Mahmud rebelled against his younger brother, Sultan [[Ismail of Ghazni]], and took over the Ghazni as the new Sultan.

 

 

In 994 Mahmud was engaged with his father [[Sabuktigin]] in the capture of [[Khorasan]] from the rebel Fa'iq in aid of the [[Samanid]] Emir [[Nuh II of Samanid|Nuh II]]. During this period the [[Samanid]] state became highly unstable, with shifting internal political tides as various factions vied for control, chief being Abu'l-Qasim Simjuri, Fa'iq, Abu Ali, the General Behtuzun as well as the neighbouring [[Buyid]] and [[Qarakhanid]]s.

===Consolidation of Rule===

Sultan Mahmud's first campaign was against the [[Qarakhanid|Qarakhanid Empire]] in the North to his Empire. After his defeat he had to enlist the alliance of [[Seljuk Turks]] in southern [[Soghdiana|Soghdia]] and [[Khwarazm]] and diplomatically secure his north by 998. In 999 under the reign of [['Abd al-Malik II]] of the Samanids engaged in hostilities with Mahmud over Khorasan after political alliances shifted under a new Samanid Emir. These forces were defeated when the Kharakhanids under Nasr Khan invaded them from the North even as Fa'iq died. He then solicited an alliance and cemented it with by marrying Nasr Khan's daughter.

Mahmud's first campaign to the south was against the [[Ismaili]] [[Fatimid]] Kingdom at [[Multan]] in a bid to curry political favour and recognition with the [[Abbassid]] [[Caliphate]] engaged with the [[Fatimid]]s elsewhere. Raja [[Jayapala]] of the Hindu [[Shahi]] Dynasty of [[Gandhara]] at this point attempted to gain retribution, for an earlier military defeats at the hands of Ghazni under Mehmud's father in the late [[980]]s that had lost him extensive territory, and is defeated once more. His son Anandapala succeeds him and continues the struggle assembling a powerful confederacy which is defeated once more at Lahore in 1008 bringing him control of the Hindu Shahi dominions of Updhanpura.<ref name="Lewis"> P. M. ( Peter Malcolm) Holt, [[Bernard Lewis]], ''The Cambridge History of Islam'', Cambridge University Press, Apr 21, 1977, ISBN 0-521-29137-2 pg 3-4.</ref>

 

There is considerable evidence from writings of [[Al-Biruni]], [[Soghdiana|Soghidan]], [[Uyghur language|Uyghur]] and [[Manichean]] texts that the [[Buddhist]]s, [[Hindu]]s and [[Jain]]s were accepted as [[People of the Book]] and references to [[Buddha]] as ''Burxan'' or as a prophet can be found. After the initial destruction and pillage Buddhists, Jains and Hindus were granted protected subject status as [[dhimmi]]s.<ref>Alexander Berzin, Berzin Archives, The Historical Interaction between the Buddhist and Islamic Cultures before the Mongol Empire, Part III: The Spread of Islam among and by the Turkic Peoples (840 - 1206 CE) [http://www.berzinarchives.com/e-books/historic_interaction_buddhist_islamic/history_cultures_18.html]</ref>

 

Following the defeat of the Rajput Confederacy Mahmud then decides to teach them all a lesson for combining against him and soon finds out that they are rich and that the temples are great repositories of wealth; he then sets out regular expeditions against them, leaving the conquered kingdoms in the hands of Hindu [[vassal|vassals]] [[annex|annexing] only the [[Punjab region]].<ref name="Lewis"/> He is also on record for having vowed to raid [[Hindustan|Hind]] every year.{{Fact|date=February 2007}}

 

The later invasions of Mahmud were specifically directed to temple towns as Indian temples were depositories of great wealth, in cash, golden idols, diamonds, and jewellery; [[Kangra|Nagarkot]], [[Thanesar]], [[Mathura]], [[Kanauj]], [[Kalinjar]] and [[Somnath]]. Mahmud's armies stripped the temples of their wealth and then destroyed them at [[Varanasi]], [[Ujjain]], [[Maheshwar]], [[Jwalamukhi]], and [[Dwarka]].

 

The last four years of Mahmud's life were spent contending with the influx of [[Oghuz Turks|Oghuz Turkic]] horse tribes from [[Central Asia]], the [[Buyid]] Dynasty and rebellions by [[Seljuqs]].