The Ghaznavids were a Turkic dynasty of Muslim rulers that came to power in the city of Ghazna in what is now Afghanistan, when Sabuktigin, a former slave soldier of the Samanids, took control. His son Mahmud of Ghazni expanded the realm into a large empire in Iran, Central Asia and northwestern India, and carried out many raids into India that brought immense wealth and the destruction of Hindu temples. Though Turkic in origin, the dynasty adopted Persian culture and administration, and its court patronised scholars and poets such as Ferdowsi, who completed the Shahnameh, and al-Biruni. The empire weakened after the Seljuks defeated it at Dandanqan in 1040. It was reduced to a small state centred on Lahore and was finally overthrown by the Ghurids.
Before and after
- from August 971 CE to December 971 CEFirst Qarmatian invasion of Egypt
- 972 CEBirth of Leif Erikson
- from 972 CE to 1301Árpád dynasty
- 4 September 973 CEBirth of Al-Biruni
- 977 CERise of Ghaznavids
- 977 CEConstruction of Imam Ali Mosque
- 10th centuryConstruction of Boyana Church
- 980 CEBirth of Avicenna
- 985 CERajaraja I builds the Chola empire of southern India
More in Civilizations & archaeology
- from 618 CE to 907 CETang dynasty
- 622 CEConstruction of Prophet's Mosque
- 637 CEConstruction of Potala Palace
- from 750 CE to 1258Abbasid Caliphate
- from 800 CE to 1258Islamic Golden Age
- 1070Construction of Windsor Castle
The era
This moment belongs to the Medieval world (500 CE to 1500 CE), kingdoms, faiths and trade routes. You can also browse everything in the 10th century.