Mahmud of Ghazni

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Abu al-Qasim Mahmud ibn Sabuktigin (Persian: ابوالقاسم محمود بن سبکتگین, romanized: Abu al-Qāṣim Maḥmūd ibn Sabuktigīn; 2 October 971 – 30 April 1030), commonly known as Mahmud of Ghazni or Mahmud Ghaznavi (محمود غزنوی), was the Sultan of the Ghaznavid Empire, ruling from 998 to 1030. Mahmud was known by his honorific title Yamin al-Dawla (یمین‌ الدوله, lit. 'Right Hand of the State'). At the time of his death, his kingdom had been transformed into an extensive military empire, which extended from present-day northwestern Iran proper to the Punjab in the Indian subcontinent and Khwarazm in Transoxiana. Highly Persianized, Mahmud continued the bureaucratic, political, and cultural customs of his predecessors, the Samanids. He ascended the throne at the age of 27 upon his father's death, albeit after a brief war of succession with his brother Ismail. He was the first ruler to hold the title Sultan ("authority"), signifying the extent of his power while at the same time preserving an ideological...

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