Mahmud Ghaznavi (971-1030) Alptigin, one of the Turkish slaves of the Samanid ruler, Abdul Malik, rose to the status of governor of Khurasan. However, when his patron died, he was stripped of his title and forced to leave the
land. He captured a small area in Afghanistan and established his rule in the city-state of Ghazni in 962 with the aim of conquering his own land, a desire that remained in the hearts of his successors After his death in 977, he was succeeded by his son-in-lavw Subuktigin under whose rule, Ghazni soon emerged as a political and military power of the region.
Alarmed at the rising power in the neighbourhood, the Hindu Shahi Raja Jaipal attacked Ghazni. Jaipal was defeated. In order to save his life, he promised to pay tribute. But after going back home he not only defaulted but also took support from other Hindu rajas of the region and again attacked Subuktigin in 991. His fate was not different this time. He was defeated and had to pay a heavy ransom besides giving away the areas of Lamghan and Peshawar.
Meanwhile, Subuktigin died and his son Mahmud ascended the throne in 998. Jaipal took advantage of the situation, and to avenge his defeat at the hands of Subuktigin, organized an army of 12,000 horsemen, 30,000 foot soldiers and 300 elephants. This movement forced Mahmud, who was preparing to invade Central Asia, to turn his attention towards India. The battle against Jaipal was the beginning of a long series of attacks by Mahmud gainst
South Asia.According to most historians, Mahmud invaded India 17 times to crush the power of the Hindu rajas and maharajas who were always busy planning conspiracies against him. After defeating Tarnochalpal in 1021, Mahmud formally annexed Punjab. After the fall of Punjab, the Hindu think-tank assembled at Somnath - which
was more of a political centre than a temple - to plan a big war against Mahmud. He took all the rajas and maharajas by surprise when he attacked Somnath and crushed the Hindu headquarters of political intrigue.
During his 17 expedition, he did conquer a number of places in the subcontinent but never established his rule over them or annexed any part of the conquered territories except the Punjab. The most important impact of Mahmud's expeditions was the conquest of Punjab for the first time by Muslims and the establishment of Muslim rule and society in the region. This was a significant event in the history of Islam as the Muslims gained their first foothold in northern India. He spent his last five years in dealing with the affairs During his 17 expeditions, he did conquer a number of places of Ghazni and in making plans to conquer Central Asia.
After the death of Mahmud, the Ghaznavid dynasty lost much of its vigor; yet during the days of his son Masud and grandson Mahmud, Lahore remained an important province of the Ghazvanid Empire. Later, the Ghaznavid rulers moved their headquarters from Ghazni to Punjab and ryled Peshawar, Lahore and Multan till the
last half of tweflth century when Muhammad Ghori defeated them. Muslim conquests were expanded under Mahmud and his successor Ghazvanid until the late twelfth century, when the Ghoris overran the Ghaznavids and extended the conquests in northern India.
From the time of the Ghaznavids, Persian more or less replaced Arabic as the official language. The economic, political and religious institutions developed by the Muslims bore their unique impression The law of the State was based on shariah and in principle the rulers were bound to enforce it. A new language, Urdu, derived ainly from Arabic and Persian vocabulary and adopting indigenous words and idioms, came to be spoken and written by the Muslims and it gained currency among the rest of the Indian population.
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