Sultan Muhammad Ghori and Sultan Qutubuddin Aibak constructed mosques and schools. Ameer Khusru is considered among great poets and writers. He wrote five Persian collected odes dewans and ten verses comprising couplets (Masnawian).
Mu'izz ad-Din Muhammad Ghori (Persian: م, born Shihab ad-Din (1149 – March 15, 1206), also known as Muhammad of Ghor, was Sultan of the Ghurid Empire along with his brother Ghiyath ad-Din Muhammad from 1173 to 1202 and as the sole ruler from 1202 to 1206.
Mu'izz ad-Din was one of the greatest rulers of the Ghurid dynasty and is credited with laying the foundation of Muslim rule in the Indian subcontinent, which lasted for several centuries. He reigned over a territory spanning over parts of modern-day Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Iran, north India, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
Mu'izz ad-Din took the city of Ghazni in 1173 to avenge the death of his ancestor Muhammad ibn Suri at the hands of Mahmud of Ghazni and used it as a launching-pad for expansion into northern India.[2] In the meantime, he assisted his brother Ghiyath in his contest with the Khwarazmian Empire for the lordship of Khorasan in Western Asia. In 1175, Mu'izz captured Multan from the Hamid Ludi dynasty, which were Muslim Pashtun, and also took Uch in 1175. He also annexed the Ghaznavid principality of Lahore in 1186, the last haven of his Persianised rivals.[2] After the death of Ghiyath in 1202, he became the successor of the Ghurid Empire and ruled until his assassination in 1206.
A confused struggle then ensued among the remaining Ghuri leaders, and the Khwarizmi were able to take over the Ghurid Sultanate in about 1215. Though the Ghurids' empire was short-lived, and petty Ghurid states remained in power until the arrival of the Timurids, Mu'izz's conquests laid the foundations of Muslim rule in India. Qutbu l-Din Aibak, a former slave (Mamluk) of Mu'izz, was the first Sultan of Delhi
Early life
Mu'izz ad-Din Muhammad was born in 1149 in the Ghor region of what is now Afghanistan. The exact date of his birth is unknown. His father, Baha al-Din Sam I, was the local ruler of the Ghor region at the time.[2] Mu'izz also had an elder brother named Ghiyath al-Din Muhammad. During their early life, Mu'izz and Ghiyath were imprisoned by their uncle Ala al-Din Husayn, but were later released by the latter's son Sayf al-Din Muhammad.[3] When Sayf died in 1163, the Ghurid nobles supported Ghiyath, and helped him ascend the throne. Ghiyath shortly gave Mu'izz control over Istiyan and Kajuran. However, the throne was challenged by several Ghurid chiefs; Mu'izz aided Ghiyath in defeating and killing a rival Ghurid chief named Abu'l Abbas.
Early campaigns
Ghiyath was then challenged by his uncle Fakhr al-Din Masud, who claimed the throne for himself, and had allied with Tadj al-Din Yildiz, the Seljuq governor of Herat, and Balkh.[4] However, the coalition was defeated by Ghiyath and Mu'izz at Ragh-i Zar. The brothers managed to kill the Seljuq governor during the battle, and then conquered Zamindawar, Badghis, Gharjistan, and Urozgan. Ghiyath, however, spared Fakhr al-Din and restored him as the ruler of Bamiyan. Mu'izz, after returning from an expedition from Sistan, was shortly awarded with Kandahar by his brother. In 1173, the two brothers invaded Ghazni, and defeated the Oghuz Turks who had captured the city from the Ghaznavids. Mu'izz was then appointed as the ruler of Ghazni.[4][5]
In 1175, the two brothers conquered Herat from its Seljuq governor, Baha al-Din Toghril, and also managed to conquer Pushang. The ruler of Sistan, Taj al-Din Harb ibn Muhammad, shortly acknowledged the sovereignty of the Ghurids, and so did the Oghuz Turks dominating Kirman.[6]
During the same period, the Khwarazmian Sultan Shah, who was expelled from Khwarezm by his brother Tekish, took refuge in Ghor and requested military aid from Ghiyath. Ghiyath, however, did not help the latter. Sultan Shah managed to get help from the Kara-Khitan Khanate, and began plundering the northern Ghurid domains