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Ghurid Sultanate

Type Object Region Afghanistan Time 879–1215

The Ghurid Sultanate, an Islamic regime from the Ghur mountains of Afghanistan, rose in the 12th century to control vast territories in Central and S…

Timeline

  1. 879–1149Ghor · AfghanistanThe Ghurid Sultanate originated among Berber-descended Muslim tribes in the Ghur mountains of central Afghanistan; initially vassals of the Samanids and Ghaznavids, they gradually established an independent Islamic regime in the mountains with Firuzabad as their capital.
  2. 1149–1173Ghazni · AfghanistanAla al-Din Husayn overthrew the Ghaznavid dynasty and made Ghazni his capital; the Ghurid Sultanate became a major power controlling eastern Afghanistan and northern Pakistan, laying the groundwork for subsequent southward expansion into the Indian subcontinent.
  3. 1173–1206Delhi · NorthMuhammad of Ghor campaigned repeatedly in India from 1173; in 1192 he defeated the Rajput confederacy at the Battle of Tarain, conquering Delhi, Punjab, and the northern Gangetic plain, establishing the foundation of Islamic rule in India, and the Ghurid empire reached its zenith.
  4. 1206–1215Ghor · AfghanistanMuhammad of Ghor was assassinated in Pakistan in 1206, and the empire split into Indian and Afghan halves. The Indian portion became the Delhi Sultanate under his general Qutb al-Din Aibak, while the Afghan homeland was destroyed by the Khwarazmian shah in 1215, ending the Ghurid Sultanate.

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