The Sultanate of Delhi, 711–1526 A.D. c12.s7: Successors of Mahmud
The Sultanate of Delhi, 711–1526 A.D. c12.s7
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Successors of Mahmud
c12.s7.1
Mahmud seems to have been conscious of the unwieldiness of his empire. Before his death he divided it among his two sons, Masud and Muhammad; but there was no peaceful succession to his throne. As soon as his eyes were closed in death, there was a war of succession between them. Masud gained the upper hand. He defeated his brother, blinded him and threw him into prison. Masud reigned for ten years, from 1030 to 1040 A.D., and was invested with the title of Sultan by the Khalifa. Though Masud was gifted with great personal prowess, he was badly defeated by the Seljuqs in 1040 A.D. near Merv and compelled to flee towards Lahore. The province of the Panjab had been ruled, during the later days of Mahmud’s reign and throughout that of Masud, by deputies. The administration of the province was disorganised by the disloyalty, selfishness and inefficiency of Muslim officers. Masud was, however, ably and loyally served by a Hindu general, named Tilak, who had risen from obscurity to the rank of a minister in the time of his (Masud’s) father. The affairs of the Panjab, inspite of Tilak’s loyalty and devotion, were not going on well when Masud fled to Lahore for shelter. His defeat at the hands of the Seljuqs had disorganised his army. His troops mutinied on the way, dethroned and handed him over to his blind brother, Muhammad, who now crowned himself king. Masud was put to death by the new ruler. A little later, Masud’s son, Maudud, organised a party of his own with the help of some prominent nobles. He defeated Muhammad and put him and his son to death.
c12.s7.2
Maudud was a weak ruler. He ruled from 1040 to 1049 A.D. On his death there was again a war of succession, and one after another, a series of incompetent rulers sat upon the throne at Ghazni. The reigns of these weaklings were short and inglorious. Besides the trouble in the Panjab, these rulers were constantly menaced by the rising power of the Seljuqs. The greatest danger to the decadent house of Ghazni, however, came from the principality of Ghur. The family feud between these two ruling houses, namely, those of Ghazni and Ghur, developed into a conflict which reached a climax in 1155 A.D. when Ala-ud-din Husain of Ghur invaded Ghazni, subjected it to thorough plunder and burnt it so completely that he earned the nickname of *Jahan Soz*, ‘the World Burner’. Ala-ud-din slaughtered the people of Ghazni in thousands and enslaved its women and children. All its buildings were dug up and destroyed except the tomb of Mahmud. In the forth quarter of the 12th century A.D. the house of Mahmud was extinguished by Shahab-ud-din Muhammad Ghuri.