Ghurid dynasty

What it is: The Ghurids came from Ghor, a mountain region of central Afghanistan, with Firozkoh as capital. Wikipedia, which cites the Encyclopaedia Iranica, calls them Tajiks of eastern Iranian origin. From 1011, when Mahmud of Ghazni conquered Ghor, their chiefs were vassals of the Ghaznavids, and they later served the Seljuks.

Rulers in order: Ala al-Din Husayn (1149 to 1161) sacked Ghazni and made Firozkoh his capital. Ghiyath al-Din Muhammad (1163 to 1203) ruled jointly with his brother Muhammad of Ghor, whose given title was Mu'izz al-Din. Muhammad ran the Indian campaigns from Ghazni and became sole ruler when Ghiyath died, in 1203 according to Wikipedia's text (its infobox and World History Encyclopedia say 1202). He ruled until 1206.

Its part in this history: Muhammad took Multan and Uch in the 1170s, then, after a defeat in Gujarat, turned to Punjab. Wikipedia says he annexed the last Ghaznavid principality, centred on Lahore, in 1186 "through stratagem after three incursions", and also took Peshawar and Sindh. Dawn dates the fall of Lahore to 1181 and World History Encyclopedia to about 1190, so the year is not settled across the sources.

Key moments

• 1191: Muhammad was defeated at the first battle of Tarain by a force led by Prithviraj III.
• 1192: he returned with mounted archers and won the second battle of Tarain, and Prithviraj was later executed.
• 1193: Delhi fell to his general Qutb ud-Din Aibak, who was made viceroy there (Wikipedia). Dawn says Aibak later made both Delhi and Lahore his capitals.
• March 1206: Muhammad was assassinated while returning from putting down a revolt in Punjab, at Dhamiak near Sohawa in Jhelum district. Dawn and World History Encyclopedia name the Ghakkars or Khokhars as the likely killers; Wikipedia mentions Isma'ili assassins. His grave and a mausoleum paid for by Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan in 1994 and 1995 are at Dhamiak.
• 1206 to 1215: his former slave-generals divided his lands, Aibak taking Delhi, Yildiz Ghazni and Qabacha Multan. Ghazni fell in 1215 to Muhammad II of Khwarazm, which ended Ghurid rule in the west.

Where it stands: The dynasty is gone, but its Indian conquests became the Delhi Sultanate founded by Aibak. Wikipedia notes that early Delhi coinage followed Ghurid standards and that Persian became the court language.