Founding of the Ghaznavid Dynasty

Timeline

1. c. 963Ghazni · AfghanistanAlp Tegin, a former Samanid general, lost out in power struggles, led his troops south to seize Ghazni, broke from Samanid suzerainty, and established himself as an independent ruler, founding the precursor state of the Ghaznavid dynasty.
2. c. 977–997Eastern Khorasan · AfghanistanAlp Tegin's son Sebüktegin expanded eastward and southward after inheriting, controlling more fortresses in Afghanistan and the northwestern Indian frontier, and establishing a military-political system combining Turkic cavalry with Persian civil officials, laying the foundation for the dynasty's zenith.
3. 998–1000Ghazni · AfghanistanAfter acceding, Mahmud further integrated the territory; Ghazni became the center of an Islamic great power spanning north and south of the Hindu Kush, forming a new balance of power with Samanid remnants and Indian states, completing the dynasty's founding process.