Muhammad of Ghor
Defeated a Rajput coalition, took Delhi, and opened the way for the Delhi Sultanate.
Life
Mountains of Ghor
Mu'izz al-Din Muhammad came from Ghor in the mountains of central Afghanistan and ruled the Ghurid dynasty jointly with his elder brother Ghiyath al-Din; his brother managed the west while he took charge of the east and India. In 1173 he took Ghazni and used it as a base for expansion eastward.
Battle of Tarain
In 1191 he was defeated and wounded by Prithviraj III at the First Battle of Tarain, but he returned the next year and crushed the Rajput coalition at the Second Battle of Tarain, then captured Delhi, Ajmer and other places.
Origin of the Delhi Sultanate
After his brother's death in 1203 he ruled the whole realm alone. In 1206 he was assassinated on the banks of the Indus. His Indian territories passed to his slave general Qutb al-Din Aibak, who founded the Delhi Sultanate.
Legacy
The conquests of Muhammad of Ghor established the pattern of Muslim rule over northern India for the next six hundred years.
Did you know? Pakistan named one of its ballistic missiles the "Ghauri" after him.
Key dates
- 1173Takes Ghazni
- 1186Destroys the remnant of the Ghaznavids at Lahore
- 1191Defeated at the First Battle of Tarain
- 1192Wins the Second Battle of Tarain
- 1203Sole ruler of the Ghurids
- 1206Assassinated