Their number amounts to twelve, and their rule endured for
one hundred and sixty-one years. The origin of this family
dates from the middle of the days of the Dailamites, but as its
members were great men under the Sámánís, I am desirous that
my accounts of these two dynasties should not be separated.
The following are the names of these kings, viz.:—1. Sultán
Yamínu-d daula Abú-l kásim Mahmúd, son of Násiru-d dín
Subuktigín; 2. Mas'úd, son of Mahmúd; 3. Muhammad Ma-
According to the will of Mahmúd, his son Mas'úd was to have the government of Khurásán, 'Irák, and Persia, and his second son, Muhammad, the kingdom of Ghazní and the country of Hind. Mas'úd requested his brother to have his name read along with his own in the Khutba, but this was not complied with, therefore Mas'úd marched to invade Ghazní. Before he reached there, Muhammad was taken prisoner by Yúsuf, son of Subuktigín, and sent to the fort of Bulbad.* Mas'úd, after his arrival at Ghazní, sent Yúsuf to prison, and became master of all the dominions of his father. In his time the Saljúks crossed the Jíhún and invaded Khurásán. He fought with them and made peace with them several times, but being defeated in A.H. 432 (1040 A.D.) he returned to Ghazní where his brother Muhammad had regained power in his absence. On his arrival he was consigned to a fort, and Ahmad, son of Muhammad went direct from his father to the fort and there slew him, A.H. 433 (1041 A.D.)
Sultán Muhammad Makhúl bin Mahmúd ruled for nearly four years over the dominions of Ghazní, after the death of his father. When his brother was slain, Maudúd, son of the deceased, armed against him, and proving victorious, put him and his sons to death.
Maudúd, having taken revenge for his father's death, sat on the throne for nearly seven years, and brought the country of his uncle under his dominion. He died in A.H. 441 (1049 A.D.).
Mas'úd, son of Maudúd, was quite a boy at the death of his father. The Government was carried on for a few days in his name, but the ministers and nobles then conspired to place the royal crown on the head of his uncle.
When Sultán 'Alí, son of Mas'úd, obtained the throne, 'Abdu-r Rashíd, son of Mahmúd, who for many years had been in prison, contrived to escape, and having collected an army, 'Alí fled before him, and was discomfited.
He reigned nearly seven years, and died A.H. 445 (1053 A.D.).
Sultán Ibráhím, son of Mas'úd, ruled for a period extending from A.H. 450 to 492 (1058 to 1098). He raised no palaces for himself, but only mosques and colleges for the great and glorious God.
Mas'úd, son of Ibráhím, occupied the throne for sixteen years, and expired in A.H. 508 (1114 A.D.)
Sultán Arslán Sháh, by his wisdom and prudence, obtained
the succession to his father Mas'úd. His brother Bah-
Bahrám Sháh, son of Mas'úd, had reigned some days, when he was attacked in Ghazní by 'Aláu-d dín Husain, son of Hasan, the first of the kings of Ghor. Bahrám Sháh fled before him from Ghazní, in which place 'Aláu-d dín established his own brother, Saifu-d dín, and then returned. Afterwards Bahrám Sháh came back to Ghazní, and ordered Saifu-d dín to be seated on a cow, and paraded round the city. When 'Aláu-d dín heard of this he became greatly infuriated, and marched with a large army towards Ghazní, but Bahrám died before his arrival. He was succeeded by his son, Khusrú Sháh.
A few days after his accession 'Aláu-d dín arrived, and Khusrú fled to the country of Hind. 'Aláu-d dín then plundered Ghazní, and massacred a great number of its inhabitants. He left there his nephews, Ghiyásu-d dín Abu'l Fath Muhammad, and Shahábu-d dín Abú-l Muzaffar, sons of Sám, son of Hasan. They having succeeded in the capture of Khusrú Sháh, by various expedients through which he was lulled into security, kept him prisoner in a fort. They subjugated all the countries which had been under the rule of the kings of Ghazní, and and chose Dehli for their residence. Khusrú Sháh died in A.H. 555 (1160 A.D.), and with him ended the Ghaznivide dynasty.
After some time Ghiyásu-d dín died, and the country remained in the sole and absolute possession of Shahábu-d dín to the time of Sultán Muhammad Takash, when he was assassinated by the Maláhida (Isma'íleans) in Hirát. He was succeeded in the kingdom of Hind by Sultán Shamsu-d dín Altamsh, one of his slaves (mawálí), with whose descendants it remains to this day. The only names which the compiler knows of the Ghorian dynasty who ruled in Hind are these three:— 'Aláu-d dín Husain Jahán-soz, Ghiyásu-d dín Muhammad, Shahábu-d dín Muhammad,