Ghaznavids - Mahmud of Ghazni - Sultan: 389-421 A.H. / 999-1030 A.D. -
Gold Dinar 22mm (3.36 grams) Herat mint: 403 A.H.

You are bidding on the exact item pictured, provided with a Certificate of Authenticity and Lifetime Guarantee of Authenticity.

Mahmud of Ghazni (Persian: محمود غزنوی Maḥmūd-e Ghaznawī) (November 2, 971 - April 30, 1030), also known as Yāmīn al-Dawlah Maḥmūd (in full: Yāmīn al-Dawlah Abd al-Qāṣim Maḥmūd Ibn Sebük Tegīn) was the most prominent ruler of the Persian Ghaznavid dynasty of Turkic origin and ruled from 997 until his death in 1030. Mahmud turned the former provincial city of Ghazni (now in Afghanistan) into the wealthy capital of an extensive empire which extended from Afghanistan into most of Iran as well as Pakistan and regions of North-West India. He was also the first ruler to carry the title Sultan ("authority"), signifying the extent of his power, though preserving the ideological link to the suzerainty of the Caliph.

Legacy

Under his reign the region broke away from the Samanid sphere of influence. While he acknowledged the Abbassids as Caliph as a matter of form, he was also granted the title Sultan as recognition of his independence.

By the end of his reign, the Ghaznavid Empire extended from Kurdistan in the west to Samarkand in the north-east, and from the Caspian Sea to the Yamuna. Although his raids carried his forces across the Indian Subcontinent, only the Punjab and Sindh in modern-day Pakistan, came under his permanent rule; Kashmir, the Doab, Rajasthan and Gujarat remained under the control of the local Rajput dynasties.

The booty brought back to Ghazni was enormous, and contemporary historians (e.g. Abolfazl Beyhaghi, Ferdowsi) give glowing descriptions of the magnificence of the capital, as well as of the conqueror's munificent support of literature. He transformed Ghazni, the first centre of Persian literature^[4], into one of the leading cities of Central Asia, patronizing scholars, establishing colleges, laying out gardens, and building mosques, palaces, and caravansaries. He patronized Ferdowsi to write the Shahnameh; and, after his expedition across the Gangetic plains in 1017, of Al-Biruni to compose his Tarikh Al-Hind in order to understand the Indians and their beliefs.

On April 30, 1030, Sultan Mahmud died in Ghazni, at the age of 59. Sultan Mahmud had contracted malaria during his last invasion. The medical complication from malaria had caused lethal tuberculosis. During his rule, universities were founded to study various subjects such as mathematics, religion, the humanities, and medicine. Islam was the main religion of his kingdom. The dialect of Persian spoken in Afghanistan, Dari, was made the official language.

The Ghaznavid Empire was ruled by his successors for 157 years. The expanding Seljuk Turkish empire absorbed most of the Ghaznavid west. The Ghorids captured Ghazni in 1150 A.D., and Muhammad Ghori captured the last Ghaznavid stronghold at Lahore in 1187. The Ghaznavids went on to live as the Nasher Khans in their home of Ghazni until the 20th century.

Modern Pakistan has named one of its short-range ballistic missiles Ghaznavi, in honour of him.

The Ghaznavids (Persian: غزنویان) were a Persianate^[1][2][3] Muslim dynasty of Turkic mamluk origin^[4] which existed from 975 to 1187 and ruled much of Persia, Transoxania, and the northern parts of the Indian subcontinent.^[5][6][7] The Ghaznavid state was centered in Ghazni, a city in present Afghanistan. Due to the political and cultural influence of their predecessors - that of the Persian Samanid Empire - the originally Turkic Ghaznavids became thoroughly Persianized.^{[5][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]}

The dynasty was founded by Sebuktigin upon his succession to rule of territories centered around the city of Ghazni from his father-in-law, Alp Tigin, a break-away ex-general of the Samanid sultans.^[14] Sebuktigin's son, Shah Mahmoud, expanded the empire in the region that stretched from the Oxus river to the Indus Valley and the Indian Ocean; and in the west it reached Rayy and Hamadan. Under the reign of Mas'ud I it experienced major territorial losses. It lost its western territories to the Seljuqs in the Battle of Dandanaqan resulting in a restriction of its holdings to Afghanistan, Balochistan and the Punjab. In 1151, Sultan Bahram Shah lost Ghazni to Ala'uddin Hussain of Ghor and the capital was moved to Lahore until its subsequent capture by the Ghurids in 1186.