Sultan Mahmud of Ghazna was the first Muslim sovereign to give practical shape to the idea of a Muslim empire in India. Hailing from the small kingdom of Ghazna, Abu'l Qasim Mahmud, was a indefatigable warrior and in the course of his long reign of 32 years (998-1030) became the master of an empire whose boundaries extended from the Punjab in the east to the Tigris valley in the west and from Bukhara in the north to Makran in the south. Notwithstanding the outstanding military achievements of his controversial ruler, not much has been written about him. Muhammad Nazim, in the present work, The Life and Times of Sultan Mahmud of Ghazna, has given connected account of the history of his times and a survey of his remarkable career. Sir Thomas Arnold, in his Foreword to the book, says: :For the student of Indian history, Dr. Muhammad Nazim's book will not only shed light upon a hitherto obscure period in the annals of that century, but will clear up many confusions and misunderstandings…" In the preparation of this work Dr. Nazim has not only utilized all the known sources for the history of the period but has also collected much relevant and useful information from a number of hitherto unpublished manuscripts. Particularly important is the information that he has gathered from a qasida in a collected of poems by a courtpoet, Farrukhi, besides many others who accompanied Mahmud on his Somnath expedition. This book has been divided into three parts. The first part contains, list of authorities, contemporary Muslim world and the early life of Mahmud and the struggle for the throne. In the second part are described wars Mahmud fought in Central Asia, Iran, Sistan and adjoining lands and India. In the third part, Mahmud's administrative system has been made of his character and work. Equally important and interesting are the appendices containing useful notes on the Farighunids, Ma'munids, Saffarids, Buwathids, the Hindushahiyya Dynasty of Waihind, the Somnath temple and a detailed chronology of Mahmud and his predecessors besides a Bibliography, a map and index.
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