Mahmood Ghaznavi was offered rubbies to save the idols of Somnath but he replied, "I am breaker of idols and not the seller of idols".
Yamīn al-Dawla Abul-Qāṣim Maḥmūd ibn Sebüktegīn, more commonly known as Mahmud of Ghazni (Persian: محمود غَزنوی / Maḥmūd-e Ġaznawī; 2 November 971 – 30 April 1030), also known as Mahmud-i Zabuli (Persian:محمود زابلی), was the most prominent Turkic ruler of the Ghaznavid Empire. In the name of Islam, he conquered the eastern Iranian lands and the northwesternIndian subcontinent(modern Afghanistan and Pakistan) from 997 to his death in 1030. Mahmud turned the former provincial city of Ghazna into the wealthy capital of an extensive empire which covered most of today's Afghanistan, eastern Iran, and Pakistan He was the first ruler to carry the title Sultan("authority"), signifying the extent of his power, though preserving the ideological link to the suzerainty of the AbbassidCaliphate. During his rule, he invaded and plundered parts of Hindustan (east of the Indus River) 17 times
Early life and origins
Mahmud was born on Thursday, 10th of Muharram, 361 AH/ November 2, 971 AD (Old Style) in the town of Ghazna in Medieval Khorasan (in what is now south-eastern Afghanistan). His father, Abu Mansur Sabuktigin, was a Turkicslave-soldier of the Samanids. His mother was the daughter of a Persianaristocrat from Zabulistan.
Early career
Sultan Mahmud and his forces attacking the fortress ofZaranj
In 994, Mahmud joined his father Sebuktigin in the capture of Khorasan from the rebel Fa'iq in aid of the Samanid Emir, Nuh II. During this period the Samanid state became highly unstable, with shifting internal political tides as various factions vied for control, the chief among them being Abu'l-Qasim Simjuri, Fa'iq, Abu Ali[citation needed], the General Bekhtuzin as well as the neighbouring Buyids and Qarakhanids.
Reign
Mahmud took over his father's kingdom in 998 after defeating and capturing Ismail at theBattle of Ghazni. He then set out west from Ghazni to take the Kandahar region followed by Bost (Lashkar Gah), where he turned it into a militarized city.
In 1001, Mahmud initiated the first of numerous invasion of northern India. On 28 November, his army fought and defeated the army of Raja Jayapala of the Kabul Shahi dynasty atPeshawar. In 1002, Mahmud invaded Sistan, dethroned Khalaf I, last of the Saffarid amirs, and ended the Saffarid dynasty.[5] From there he decided to focus on Hindustan to the southeast, particularly the highly fertile lands of the Punjab region since south easternKhorasan (his native province) was mostly mountains, dry deserts and the fertile lands there had been poorly harvested and let to waste during the reign of the previous rulers.[citation needed] It should be noted that Punjab was well known for itsmangoes, oranges, bananas and other tropical fruits that Khorasan lacked and instead was famous for pomegranates and watermelons. It suggests that this has been the main reason for the Ghaznavids invading India because the fruit as well as rice, sugar, wheat, and other products exported to the Middle East and Central Asia generated more income than anything else for the rulers.[citation needed]