Islamset-Islam - Turkish Ghaznawid State

Features of Unity in the Civilization of the Islamic World

Islamic Civlization in Asia

Turkish Ghaznawid State

Its first founder was Amir Alptigin who was a Turkish Mamluk for the Samanids at Bukhara. He was appointed over Ghazna in Afghanistan. Alptigin managed to establish a state independent of the Samanids called the Ghaznawid State.

After his death, he was succeeded by his mamluk and son-in-law Nasser-El-Din Sabuktigin who fought in the name of Samanids in northern India; he captured Pest and Kasdar in 368 A.H. and defeated the armies of Jeebal, Raja of Lahore, on the Punjab border.

He was succeeded by his son Mahmud of Ghazna (388-421 A.H. -998 -1030 A.D.) under whose rule the state reached the peak of its prosperity. He abolished the Samanid name from the Friday prayers in his kingdom and used the Abbasid Caliph's name Al-Kadir Billah instead. He was then endowed with the title of Amin al-Dawla and Amin Al-Milla". He was also given the title of the "invader" -an early title in Islam, and the title "Sultan" thus becoming the first Ghaznawid to bear that title.

It is reported that Sultan Mahmud al Ghaznawid had invaded India over twelve times inspired by the desire to spread Islam among the Indians. He managed to reach beyond Kashmir and PtJnjab and to destroy their idols. He converted the Punjab region to Islam with Muslim governors appointed by Ghaznawids based in Lahore.

It is worth mentioning that Muslims conquered the Sind region, northwest India, under Mohammad Ibn al Qassem al Thaqafi. By the end of the fourth century, Mahmud al Ghaznawi added the Punjab, the Multan and Bengal regions; these regions constitute today the two Islamic states of Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Mahmud al-Ghaznawid also developed the Urdu language which is a mixture of Farsi, Turkish, Arabic and Sanskrit. Urdu became the language for India and Pakistan in Arabic script.

Some great scientists and poets lived under the Ghaznawid patronage, including the famous Iranian Poet Abu al-Qassem al-Firdawsi who presented his epic called" Al-Shahnamah" written in Farsi verses which the Iranians consider a literary masterpiece. The historian Abu Nasr Mohammad Ibn Abdul Jabbar al-Utbi also lived there and wrote the "History of the Yamini", a biography of Mahmud al-Ghaznawi and his holy wars up to 409 A.H. This book was written in Arabic so that Iraqis would read it. Scientist-historian Abu Al- Thani Al-Biruni Al-Khawarizm; (d. 440 A.H.) accompanied Mahmud al-Ghaznawi on some of his wars in India and settled with him at Ghazna being accorded a high status. He wrote" Al-Masoudi Canon" which he presented to Sultan Mawdoud Ibn Maserud; and his famous work called "Surviving News of Past Centuries" in Arabic in which he talked about ancient groups, sects and peoples with an account of their feasts, religious and national celebrations. Edward Skhaou translated and published this work in English in the last century .Finally, we refer to the Persian historian Abu al-Fadhl Mohammed Ibn al-Hussein al-Baihaqi (d. 470 A.H.) who wrote in Farsi a book of history for Sultan Mas'ud and his father Mahmud al-Ghaznawi known as "al-Baihaqi History". Dr. Yahia al-Khashab completed the Arabic translation of the book in 1956.

The Ghaznawid state was terminated in the 6th Hijri century (12 century A.D.) by two big powers, the Afghan Ghurids and the Turkish Seljuks.