Ghaznavid Sack of the Somnath Temple

Timeline

1. c. 1025Ghazni · AfghanistanMahmud organized an expedition against the coastal temples of western India; the army set out from Ghazna, passing through Multan and the arid lands of Rajasthan toward the Gujarat peninsula. Later historians listed it as one of the largest and most symbolically significant of his Indian campaigns.
2. c. 1026Somnath · GujaratGhaznavid forces reached coastal Somnath, defeated local resistance, entered the Shiva temple, destroyed the principal deity's image, and carried off gold, silver, and jewels. The temple, a pilgrimage center of western India, was devastated; the event is extensively recorded in Persian and Indian sources.
3. c. 1026Ghazni · AfghanistanMahmud escorted the spoils north back to Ghazni. The expedition bolstered the dynasty's narrative of control over Punjab and became, in South Asian memory, a symbolic event of the temple's destruction; the temple was rebuilt several times and again suffered destruction in later centuries.