The Cambridge History of India, Vol. III: Turks and Afghans v3.c30.8.4

v3.c30.8.4

Along the lower edge of the lintel is an inscription in Kufic² lettering invoking the forgiveness of God and his blessings on ‘Abū-l-Qāsim Maḥmūd,’ son of Sabuk-tigīn, while round the framing of the doors is repeated in the same script the formula, ‘the sovereignty belongs to God.’ Assuming that these doors are of the same age as the tomb (and it is *prima facie* improbable that a later generation would have lavished so much care upon their carvings), they acquire a special interest from the exceptionally developed character of their arabesques, and interlaced designs, which resemble Cairens work of the later twelfth rather than of the eleventh century³. As more materials become available for the study of this period of Islamic art, it may well prove that in work of this kind, Afghānistān, which was under the immediate influence of Persia, was a century ahead of Egypt.