Question

Who was Mahmud Ghazni?

Answer 1

Mahmud Ghazni (also called Mahmud of Ghazni) was the sultan of the Ghaznavid state in Central Asia who expanded Ghazni into a powerful kingdom and ruled roughly c. 998–1030 CE.

He is best known for a series of large-scale campaigns into northern India about 17 raids between AD 1001 and 1027 carried out mainly for plunder rather than permanent occupation (his 1027 attack on the Somnath temple is especially famous). He defeated regional rulers such as Jaipal and Anandapala and annexed parts of the Punjab, using the wealth taken from India to decorate palaces, mosques and tombs and to patronize Persian culture.

Mahmud patronized Persian poets and scholars (the court included figures such as Ferdowsi) and died in AD 1030; his raids weakened several Indian polities and helped pave the way for later Muslim incursions into the subcontinent.