Islamic bronze basin with inscription, 877 CE - 1187 CE
5.8 x 11
MS.1902
Ghaznavid dynasty, (977–1186 ce), dynasty of Turkic origin that ruled in Khorasan (in northeastern Iran), Afghanistan, and northern India. Detail of the victory tower of Mas?ud III, constructed in 1099–1115;...
Ghaznavid dynasty, (977–1186 ce), dynasty of Turkic origin that ruled in Khorasan (in northeastern Iran), Afghanistan, and northern India. Detail of the victory tower of Mas?ud III, constructed in 1099–1115; in Ghazni (formerly Ghazna), Afghanistan.
Detail of the victory tower of Mas?ud III, constructed in 1099–1115; in …
Josephine Powell, Rom The founder of the dynasty was Sebüktigin (ruled 977–997), a former Turkic slave who was recognized by the Samanids (an Iranian Muslim dynasty) as governor of Ghazna (modern Ghazni, Afghanistan). As the Samanid dynasty weakened, Sebüktigin consolidated his position and expanded his domains as far as the Indian border. His son Ma?mud (ruled 998–1030) continued the expansionist policy, and by 1005 the Samanid territories had been divided. The Oxus River (Amu Darya) formed the boundary between the two successor states to the Samanid empire, the Ghaznavids ruling in the west and the Qarakhanids in the east. Ghaznavid power reached its zenith during Ma?mud’s reign. He created an empire that stretched from the Oxus to the Indus valley and the Indian Ocean; in the west he captured (from the Buyids) the Iranian cities of Rayy and Hamadan. A devout Muslim, Ma?mud reshaped the Ghaznavids from their pagan Turkic origins into an Islamic dynasty and expanded the frontiers of Islam. The Persian poet Ferdowsi (d. 1020) completed his epic Shah-nameh (“Book of Kings”) at the court of Ma?mud about 1010.
Detail of the victory tower of Mas?ud III, constructed in 1099–1115; in …
Josephine Powell, Rom The founder of the dynasty was Sebüktigin (ruled 977–997), a former Turkic slave who was recognized by the Samanids (an Iranian Muslim dynasty) as governor of Ghazna (modern Ghazni, Afghanistan). As the Samanid dynasty weakened, Sebüktigin consolidated his position and expanded his domains as far as the Indian border. His son Ma?mud (ruled 998–1030) continued the expansionist policy, and by 1005 the Samanid territories had been divided. The Oxus River (Amu Darya) formed the boundary between the two successor states to the Samanid empire, the Ghaznavids ruling in the west and the Qarakhanids in the east. Ghaznavid power reached its zenith during Ma?mud’s reign. He created an empire that stretched from the Oxus to the Indus valley and the Indian Ocean; in the west he captured (from the Buyids) the Iranian cities of Rayy and Hamadan. A devout Muslim, Ma?mud reshaped the Ghaznavids from their pagan Turkic origins into an Islamic dynasty and expanded the frontiers of Islam. The Persian poet Ferdowsi (d. 1020) completed his epic Shah-nameh (“Book of Kings”) at the court of Ma?mud about 1010.