Editing Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (section)

====Mahmud====

[[File:Mahmud in robe from the caliph.jpg|thumb|400px|centre|Mahmud receives a robe from Caliph [[Al-Qadir]]; painting by [[Rashid-al-Din Hamadani]]]]

The Samanid amir [[Mansur II]] appointed Bektuzun as Khorasan's governor after Sabuktigin's death. Mahmud however wished to reacquire the governorship after defeating his brother Ismail and his allies. Bektuzun and Fa'iq, the ''de facto'' power behind the Samanid throne, toppled Mansur II as they did not trust him, and replaced him with [[Abd al-Malik II (Samanid emir)|Abu'l Fawaris 'Abd al-Malik]]. Their forces were however defeated in 999 by Mahmud, who acquired all the lands south of Oxus, with even those to the north of the river submitting to him. The Samanid dynasty was later ended by the [[Karakhanids]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hvx9jq_2L3EC&pg=PA159|title=The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 4|author=Richard N. Frye|pages=158–159|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|author-link=Richard N. Frye|isbn=9780521200936|date=1975-06-26}}</ref> In 1002, Mahmud also defeated the Saffarid Amir [[Khalaf ibn Ahmad]] and annexed Sistan.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=16yHq5v3QZAC&pg=PA50|title=The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 5|editor=[[John Andrew Boyle]]|page=50|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=9780521069366|year=1968}}</ref>

=====Wars against Kabul Shahi=====

Mahmud systemized plunder raids into India as a long-term policy of the Ghaznavids. The first raid was undertaken in September 1000, but was meant for reconnaissance and identifying the possible terrain and roads that could be used for future raids. He reached Peshawar by September 1001 and was attacked by Jayapala. The two sides [[Battle of Peshawar (1001)|clashed]] on 27–28 November 1001 and Jayapala was captured.<ref>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=xx7ICQAAQBAJ&pg=PA88|title= Warfare in Pre-British India – 1500BCE to 1740CE|publisher=Routledge|author=Kaushik Roy|page=88|isbn= 9781317586920|date= 2015-06-03}}</ref> [[Anandapala]] who was at Waihind, had to pay a heavy ransom to have his father and others released. Jayapala later self-immolated out of shame and Anandpala succeeded him.<ref>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=iUk5k5AN54sC&pg=PA51|title= Advanced Study in the History of Medieval India, Volume 1|publisher=Sterling Publishers|author=Jaswant Lal Mehta|page=51|isbn= 9788120706170|year= 1979}}</ref> Mahmud attacked Anandpala later over his refusal to allow him passage during his attack on [[Multan]], which was controlled by [[Fateh Daud]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The History and Culture of the Indian People: The struggle for empire|author=Ramesh Chandra Majumdar|page=8|publisher=Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan|year=1966|author-link=Ramesh Chandra Majumdar}}</ref> The two sides clashed in 1009 in the eastern side of [[Indus]] at Chhachh, with Mahmud defeating Anandapala and capturing the fort of Bhimnagar.<ref name=SatishChandra>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=L5eFzeyjBTQC&pg=PA18|title= Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals-Delhi Sultanat (1206–1526) – Part One|publisher=Har-Anand Publishers|author=Satish Chandra|page=18|author-link= Satish Chandra|isbn= 9788124110645|year= 2004}}</ref> He was allowed to rule as a feudatory in [[Punjab (region)|Punjab]] for some time.<ref name=SatishChandra/>

An alliance between Anandpala's son, Trilochanpala, and Kashmiri troops was later defeated.<ref>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=1eMfzTBcXcYC&pg=PA152|title= Culture and Political History of Kashmir, Volume 1|publisher=M.D. Publications Pvt. Ltd.|author=Prithivi Nath Kaul Bamzai|page=152|author-link= Prithivi Nath Kaul Bamzai|isbn= 9788185880310|year= 1994}}</ref> During the warfare from 990–91 to 1015, Afghanistan, and later Punjab and Multan were lost to the Ghaznavids.<ref name=SatishChandra/> Trilochanpala's rule was limited to eastern Punjab and he gained respite from the Muslim invasions with retreat to [[Sirhind]]. He allied with the [[Chandellas]] and in 1020-21 was defeated at a river called Rahib by Al-Utbi, while Firishta and [[Nizamuddin Ahmad]] identify it as [[Yamuna]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The History and Culture of the Indian People: The struggle for empire|author=Ramesh Chandra Majumdar|page=16|publisher=Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan|year=1966|author-link=Ramesh Chandra Majumdar}}</ref> He was killed in 1021 AD by his mutinous troops and succeeded by Bhimapala,<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Central Asia|issue= 23|title= Janjuas: The Sahis of Udabhanda (Hund)|author=Husain Khan
|publisher=Area Study Centre (Central Asia), University of Peshawar|page=78|year=1988}}</ref> who became the last ruler of the Kabul Shahi and was killed fighting the Ghaznavids in 1026 AD. The remnants of the royal family sought refuge with the [[Lohara dynasty]] of Kashmir and Punjab passed under the control of Muslim conquerors.<ref>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=rOVpOG6MPMcC&pg=PA500|title= History of Ancient India|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|author=Rama Shankar Tripathi|page=500|isbn= 9788120800182|year= 1967}}</ref>

Mahmud used his plundered wealth to finance his armies which included mercenaries. The Indian soldiers, presumably Hindus, who were one of the components of the army, with their commander called ''[[sipahsalar]]-i-Hinduwan'', lived in their quarter of Ghazni while practicing their own religion. Indian soldiers under their commander Suvendhray remained loyal to Mahmud. They were also used against a Turkic rebel, with the command given to a Hindu named Tilak according to [[Abu'l-Fadl Bayhaqi|Baihaki]].<ref name=Fadl>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=PnBMFaGMabYC&pg=PA40|title= Somanatha: The Many Voices of a History|publisher=Verso|author=Romila Thapar|page=40|author-link= Romila Thapar|isbn= 9781844670208|year= 2005}}</ref>

The renowned 14th-century Moroccan Muslim scholar [[Ibn Battuta]] remarked that the [[Hindu Kush]] meant the "slayer of Indians", because the slaves brought from [[Indian subcontinent|India]] who had to pass through there died in large numbers due to the extreme cold and quantity of snow.<ref name=Ransom>{{cite book|author=Christoph Witzenrath|title=Eurasian Slavery, Ransom and Abolition in World History, 1200–1860|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7LG1CwAAQBAJ&pg=PA45 |year=2016|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-14002-3 |page=45|quote=Ibn Battuta, the renowned Moroccan fourteenth century world traveller remarked in a spine-chilling passage that Hindu Kush means slayer of the Indians, because the slave boys and girls who are brought from India die there in large numbers as a result of the extreme cold and the quantity of snow.}}</ref> He states:

{{Quote box
|quote=After this I proceeded to the city of Barwan, in the road to which is a high mountain, covered with snow and exceedingly cold; they call it the Hindu Kush, that is Hindu-slayer, because most of the slaves brought thither from India die on account of the intenseness of the cold.
|source=''The Travels of Ibn Battuta: in the Near East, Asia and Africa, 1325–1354''<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SZW8AQAAQBAJ&pg=PA97|title=The Travels of Ibn Battuta: in the Near East, Asia and Africa, 1325–1354|publisher=Courier Corporation|year=2013|page=97|isbn=9780486123042}}</ref>
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}}

=====Invasions of Ghur=====

[[File:MuhammadibnSuriPaintingHistoryofIran.jpg|thumb|300px|Painting of [[Muhammad ibn Suri]] (white-haired) with his men by [[Rashid-al-Din Hamadani]]]]

The conversion of Ghur occurred over a long period and it was mostly pagan until the 10th century, which [[Mohammad Habib]] and [[Khaliq Ahmad Nizami]] say was probably a result of the missionary activities by the [[Karramiyya]] movement established in the region in 10th–11th centuries. Its imperfect conversion is visible by the fact that while the people of Ghur had Muslim names, they led the life of pagans. Muhammad b. Suri, who had acknowledged Sabuktigin as his sovereign, withheld tribute after his death, started plundering caravans and harassed the subjects of Mahmud.<ref name=Nab/> [[Rawżat aṣ-ṣafāʾ]] called him a pagan, and al-Utbi stated that he was a Hindu.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=xd5VonTOppMC&dq=al+otbi+ghor+hindus&pg=PA161] Page 161 from "E.J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam 1913–1936"</ref>

In 1011, Mahmud dispatched an expedition to conquer Ghur under Altuntash, governor of [[Herat]], and Arslan Hajib, governor of [[Tus, Iran|Tus]]. Muhammad b. Suri, the king, placed himself in inaccessible hills and ravines. The Ghurids were however defeated and Suri was captured along with his son Shith. [[Abu Ali ibn Muhammad|Abu Ali]], who had remained on good terms with the Sultan, was made the ruler of Ghur by him. Eastern Ghur was brought under Ghaznavid control.<ref name=Nab>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=lodSckjlNuMC&pg=PA179|title= History of Civilizations of Central Asia – Volume IV, Part I|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|editor1=M. S. Asimov|editor2=C. E. Bosworth|page=179|isbn= 9788120815957|year= 1992}}</ref> In 1015, Mahmud attacked Ghur's southwestern district of Khwabin and captured some forts.<ref name=Nizami>{{cite book|title=A Comprehensive History of India: The Delhi Sultanat, A.D. 1206–1526|publisher=[[Orient Longmans]]|year=1970|page=147|editor=[[Mohammad Habib]], [[K. A. Nizami]]}}</ref>

In 1020, Mahmud's son [[Ma'sud I of Ghazni|Ma'sud]] was dispatched to take Ghur's northwestern part called Tab. He was helped by Abul Hasan Khalaf and Shirwan, chieftains of the south-western and north-eastern regions respectively. He captured many forts, bringing the entire region of Ghur, except maybe the inaccessible interior, under Ghaznavid control.<ref name=Nizami/> He also captured the stronghold of the chieftain Warmesh-Pat of Jurwas, levying a tribute of arms.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Medieval History of Iran, Afghanistan, and Central Asia|pages= 142|publisher=Variorum Reprints|year=1977|author=Clifford Edmund Bosworth|author-link= Clifford Edmund Bosworth}}</ref> Minhaj al-Siraj Juzjani praises Abu Ali for firmly establishing Islamic institutions in Ghur. The progress of Islam in this divided region after his death is however unknown.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Medieval History of Iran, Afghanistan, and Central Asia|pages= 138, 149|publisher=Variorum Reprints|year=1977|author=Clifford Edmund Bosworth|author-link= Clifford Edmund Bosworth}}</ref>

Ghur remained a pagan enclave until the 11th century. Mahmud who raided it, left Muslim precepts to teach Islam to the local population. The region became Muslim by 12th century, though the historian [[Satish Chandra]] states that [[Mahayana Buddhism]] is believed to have existed until the end of the century.<ref name= "Satish2">{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=L5eFzeyjBTQC&pg=PA22|title= Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals-Delhi Sultanat (1206–1526) – Part One|publisher=Har-Anand Publishers|author=Satish Chandra|page=22|author-link= Satish Chandra|isbn= 9788124110645|year= 2004}}</ref> Neither Mahmud nor Ma'sud conquered the interior. Habib and Nizami say that the Ghurids were gradually converted by propagandists of new mystic movements. The Shansabani eventually succeeded in establishing their seniority in Ghor, if not its unification. By the time of [[Bahram-Shah of Ghazna|Sultan Bahram]], Ghur was converted and politically unified.<ref name=Habib>{{cite book|title=Politics and Society During the Early Medieval Period: Collected Works of Professor Mohammad Habib|pages= 141|publisher=People's Publishing House|year=1977|author=Clifford Edmund Bosworth|author-link= Clifford Edmund Bosworth}}</ref> According to Minhaj, both [[Ghiyath al-Din Muhammad|Ghiyasuddin]] and [[Muhammad of Ghor|Mu'izzuddin]] were Karamis who later converted to [[Shafi‘i]] and [[Hanafi]] Islam respectively.<ref>{{cite book|title= A Comprehensive History of India: Volume Five – The Delhi Sultanat (A.D. 1206–1526)|publisher=People's Publishing House|editor=[[Mohammad Habib]], [[Khaliq Ahmad Nizami]]|page=150}}</ref> ''[[Tarikh-i guzida]]'' however says that the Ghorids were only converted to Islam by Mahmud.<ref>Tarikh -I-Guzida of Hamdu-lla-Mustaufi. Page 65 from ''The History of India told by its own Historians H M Eliot and Dowson'' Volume 3</ref>