Canberra, 9 September 2016 Prologue Muhammad of Ghur died without siring any sons and not leaving a clearly nominated successor to the empire that he had forged. At the time of his death the Ghur domains were divided into three principalities and administered by three chief nobles who immediately declared their independence—Taj al-Din Yildiz in […]
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Indian History Part 53 Genghis Khan marches through the Khyber Pass
July 26, 2016 
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Canberra, 26 July 2016 Of all the armies that have passed through the Khyber Pass over the centuries, none was imbibed with as much hurried determination as the great, all-conquering Mongol army of Genghis Khan. The presence of the Mongols in this region raises two interesting questions. What made Genghis Khan’s command so powerful that […]
Continue readingIndian History Part 52 The Medieval Indian (Hindu) Military System: An Appreciation
July 11, 2016 0 Comments
Canberra, 11 July 2016 The period 600 – 1200 A.D. can be considered the most critical in the long history of the Indian sub-continent. It saw the beginning of the Islamic onslaught on the Indian polity as well as the crescendo of the invasion when the northern Indian Hindu kingdoms were decisively defeated in battle. […]
Continue readingIndian History Part 51: The Origins of Arab-Muslim Conquest
June 12, 2016 0 Comments
Canberra, 12 June 2016 The armies that burst out of the Arabian Peninsula with the message of the Prophet Muhammad and the initial teachings of a fledgling religion were numerically small, seldom more than 20,000 soldiers and often much smaller. However, they were a homogeneous group, fully comprised of Arabs who had embraced the […]
Continue readingIndian History Part 50: The Ghurids
June 1, 2016 0 Comments
Canberra, 1 June 2016 The Sansabani clan of Ghur (also known as Ghor) were of Tajik Iranian origin as can be derived from their original name Al e-Sansab in Persian, which in the colloquial language of Afghanistan became Sansabani. There are recent claims that the Ghurids were Pashtuns, which is an incorrect assertion not […]
Continue readingIndian History Part 49 The Ghaznavids Section VI: A Brief Appraisal
May 20, 2016 0 Comments
Canberra, 19 May 2016 Rising from obscure origins, the Ghaznavids managed to conquer lands and carve out a viable kingdom in the north and east of Afghanistan and North-West India. The kingdom, actually a sultanate, remained intact for almost a century before the Seljuq invasion deprived it of its Persian territorial holdings. The Ghaznavids […]
Continue readingIndian History Part 49 The Ghaznavids Section V The Whimpering End of the Dynasty
May 2, 2016 0 Comments
Canberra, 2 May 2016 The Ghurid expedition into Ghazni was led by Alauddin Husain, the brother of the slain Saif ad-Din Suri. The dates of the invasion cannot be determined accurately and vary in different sources from 1152 to 1155 and can probably be placed at 1153. The Ghurid army was primarily infantry, whereas […]
Continue readingIndian History Part 49 The Ghaznavids Section IV: The Beginning of the End
April 8, 2016 0 Comments
Canberra, 8 April 2016 In 1118, Bahram Shah settled down to rule the Ghaznavid kingdom, having conclusively dealt with the challenges that were mounted against his coming to the throne. He assumed a number of honorifics—some of which compared him, in a flatteringly favourable manner, to the status and titles that were assumed by […]
Continue readingPart 49 The Ghaznavids Section III: Incipient Decline
March 22, 2016 0 Comments
Canberra, 22 March 2016 For the next fifty years after Ibrahim’s stable rule, the Ghaznavids were on a slope of gradual decline, ultimately culminating in a fatal struggle with the Ghurids for supremacy and then mere survival. This insipient decline could also be noticed in the domestic affairs of the State. Ibrahim was succeeded […]
Continue readingIndian History Part 49 The Ghaznavids Sect II: Fragile Equilibrium
March 8, 2016 0 Comments
Canberra, 8 March 2016 Farrukh-Zad continues to remain a shadowy figure in the firmament of the Ghaznavid dynasty, especially since very little is known regarding his personal preferences and behaviour pattern, making it difficult to build a picture of his personality. However, he managed to induce a sense of peace into the kingdom, which […]
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