Mehmood Ghaznavi as a Ruler & an Empire Builder:

According to Sir Wolseley Haig, “Mahmud is one of the most prominent figures in the history of Islam. During the reign of thirty-two years, he extended his empire over the whole of the country now known as Afghanistan, the greatest part of Persia and Transoxiana and the Punjab. He is stated to have made a vow to wage every year a holy war against the misbelievers of India, and he invaded the country no fewer than 17 times, extinguishing ruling house of the Punjab, crossed the Ganges, penetrated into Bundelkhand and reached the western sea.”


Mahmud’s Character:


Mahmud was a man of medium height but strong built. He did not look like a king. He was a very ambitious person. He was great general and great soldier. He was extremely intelligent and shrewd. He possessed cool courage, prudence and resourcefulness. He was an expert in statecraft.

Professor Habib tells us that the outlook of Mahmud on life was essentially secular and he did not follow the Ulema blindly. He was not fanatic at all. Utbi, his court historian, looked upon the expeditions of Mahmud to India as Jihad or holy war for the destruction of Hindus and spread of Islam.

Ishwari Prasad says, “Mahmud was stern and implacable in administering justice, and was always ready to protect the persons and property of his subjects”.


As a Soldier and General:


According to S. M. Jaffar, “Mahmud was endowed with a genius of war. He was a scientific general, skillful in planning and thorough in execution”. He made fullest preparations and plans before undertaking any invasion. His army consisted of heterogeneous elements such as Arabs, Afghanis, Turks and Hindus but he showed wonderful ability in welding together these elements into a powerful and invincible unit. As a conqueror, his purpose was to achieve fame and glory and he had achieved it.

Professor Sharma is of the view that, “Mahmud was a seasoned soldier. Fear did not find any place in his heart. His army won against the rulers of India ‘like comb through a poll of hair.” It was no small achievement to “develop a small mountain principality of Ghazni into a large and prosperous empire by sheer force of arms.” He never shrank from war; rather he took delight in it. His military exploits in the east effaced the glories of Alexander’s conquest from the minds of many.


As an Empire Builder:


Mahmud was not only a soldier and general, but also a great empire-builder. It has been alleged that he paid no attention to the building of his empire. This view of the critics is not correct. His aim was to conquer the entire territory of his enemies and destroy their power and he was certainly successful in achieving this object. The hostile neighboring chiefs were duly punished and replaced by others who were friendly and loyal to him.

“His rule was so firmly established in the Punjab” that his family was able to take shelter at Lahore after their departure from Ghazni. He found Ghazni a petty kingdom but it turned it into a vast empire. Before him no Arab and Turkish rulers of Central Asia could conquer further than Herat, Kabul and Ghazni. He was the first of the Muslim rulers to invade India from North-West Frontier which opened the gates of India to his co-religionists.


As a Ruler:


As a ruler, Mahmud was just, firm and generous. He had a well organized and well-conducted government. He divided his empire into provinces, each under a governor. He exercised strict supervision over the administration of provinces so that the governors did not oppress the people. He was particularly famous for his administration of justice. He meted out justice to all irrespective of caste and creed, rank and station. Even his own sons and relatives were not spared from the law of the Shariah, if they committed offence.

Utbi, his court historian hails him, “as the glorious lord of the people who displayed equality between the widow and the wealthy, so that the boasting and oppression was closed”.

Mahmud was very strict in the administration of justice. Once upon a time a person came to the Sultan with a complaint against his nephew, when Mahmud found his nephew guilty; he cut off his head with his own hands. It is said that a merchant brought a suit against Prince Masud, the son of Sultan Mahmud. The only way for the prince to escape from appearing before the Qazi was that he paid the merchant his money.


Criticism of Mahmud as a Ruler:


According to some historians Sultan Mahmud was not a constructive genius nor a far-sighted statesman. Lanepoole says, “We hear of no laws or institutions or methods of government that sprang from his initiative. Outward order and security was all he attempted to attain in his unwieldy empire, to organize and consolidate was not in his scheme”.

Dr. Ishwari Prasad corroborates this view when he says that the empire of Mahmud “was a huge agglomerator of people who could no be held in check only by Argus-eyed Sultan”. That was why his empire crumbled into pieces after his death. This view of the historian is not correct according to C. V. Vaidya. There are no records to disapprove the statement “that it was a well-organized and well-conducted government.” The reason why the empire fell was not the incapability of Mahmud to organize and consolidate. It was rather due to the weakness and incapability of Mahmud’s successors who lacked the qualities of generalship and statesmanship.
Patron of Arts and Letter:

Mahmud was great pattern of art and letters. Great architects, poets and artists flocked to his court. According to Lanepoole, “From the cities of the Oxus and the shores of Caspian from Persia, and Khorasan, he pressed into his service the lights of oriental letters, and compelled them, not unwillingly, to revolve around his sun like planets in his firmament of glory”.

Utbi was a great literary figure of the time of Mahmud. He was his court historian. His kitab-ul-Yamni or Tarikh-e-Yamni is one of the most important authorities on the life and work of Mahmud.

Firdausi was the most famous poet at the court of Mahmud. He was the author of Shahnama which is one of the best pieces of literature. Firdausi has been described as “the immortal Homer of the East”. According to Ishwari Prasad, “The Shahnama has placed Mahmud among the immortals of the history”.

Alberuni also belonged to the court of Mahmud. He was a great mathematician, philosopher, astronomer and Sanskrit scholar. He has given a full account of the social and political conditions of India.

Mahmud patronized artists and architects. A large number of Madrassas, Khankahs and mosques were built in Ghazni. The Celestial Bride which is described as “a wonder of the East”, was one of the most important buildings of Mahmud. It was a big mosque which was surrounded be 3,000 quarters for the residence of the researchers and students of the university.


Mahmud’s Place in History:


Sultan Mahmud was kind and just to his subjects and shared in their joy and sorrows. He was the embodiment of toleration. He allowed the Hindus to perform their religious duties with the utmost freedom. He appointed many Hindus to high posts in the State. He was a pious Muslim who observed all the injunctions of Islam in his daily life but he never forced religion on others. He knew the Quran by heart and possessed sufficient knowledge of the Hadith. A great leader of men, a just ruler, a gifted soldier, a dispenser of justice and a patron of letters, he deserves to be ranked as the greatest king of his age and one of the greatest personalities of the world.