Mahmud Ghaznavi was the king of Ghazni who ruled from 971 to 1030 AD. He was the son of Subuktgeen. He attacked India and defeated the Rajput ruler Anandpala and his alliance of 6 Rajput kingdoms (known as Rajput Confederacy) which included Ujjain, Gwalior, Delhi, Kalinjar, Ajmer and Kannauj in 1008 near Peshawar. The victory in the battle made him the undisputed ruler of Punjab, Sindh and Multan.
His next target was Nagarkot which he attacked in 1009 for loot and plunder. After that, he attacked Thaneshwar in 1011. He also looted and plundered Meerut, Kannauj and Mathura and came back to his kingdom with heavy booty and tributes.
Mahmud Ghaznavi attacked Trilochanpala in 1021 and defeated him. Trilochanpal, the last Shahi King was forced to flee to Ajmer.
India was once attacked by Mahmud Ghaznavi in 1024 AD. Besides raiding Ajmer, Gwalior and Kalinjar, he plundered Somnath temple and destroyed it. He died in 1030 AD due to Malaria during his last invasion.
Why Mahmud Ghaznavi attacked India?
He was attracted to the enormous wealth of India. This made him repeatedly raid India. He also added religious dimension to his invasion of India. He destroyed the temples of Somnath, Kangra, Mathura and Jwalamukhi to earn the nickname of Idol Breaker.
Impact of Ghaznavi’s attacks on India
Although there is no deep political impact of the Ghanavi’a invasions o India, It exposed the shortcomings of the war strategies of the Rajput kings. It also revealed that there was no political unity in India and it invited more attacks in future.
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