Ghurid Dynasty: Map & History
The Ghurid dynasty was a culturally Persianate dynasty of eastern Iranian Tajik origin, which ruled from the 8th-century in the region of Ghor, and became an Empire from 1175 to 1215.
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The Ghurid dynasty was a culturally Persianate dynasty of eastern Iranian Tajik origin, which ruled from the 8th-century in the region of Ghor, and became an Empire from 1175 to 1215. The Ghurids were centered in the hills of the Ghor region in the present-day central Afghanistan, where they initially started out as local chiefs. They gradually converted to Sunni Islam after the conquest of Ghor by the Ghaznavid ruler Mahmud of Ghazni in 1011. The Ghurids eventually overran the Ghaznavids when Muhammad of Ghor seized Lahore and expelled the Ghaznavids from their last stronghold.
Modern Countries Once Part of Ghurid Dynasty
At its mapped extent, Ghurid Dynasty covered territory in 5 present-day countries. The period shown is when the mapped borders include that country, and the note says how much of it.
- Pakistan1177–1209 CE · nearly all
- Afghanistan1152–1209 CE · most
- Iran1177–1209 CE · a large part
- India1192–1209 CE · a large part
- Turkmenistan1188–1201 CE · a small part
States and Provinces
Largest Present-Day Cities in Its Territory
Each opens on the live map inside Ghurid Dynasty's borders of that time.
Derived by testing mapped cities against this polity's dated territorial polygons, so the list is indicative and follows the borders in the source dataset.
Ghurid Dynasty in Depth
History
A certain Ghurid prince named Amir Banji was the ruler of Ghor and ancestor of the medieval Ghurid rulers. His rule was legitimized by the Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid.
Before the mid-12th century, the Ghurids had been bound to the Ghaznavids and Seljuks for about 150 years. Beginning in the mid-12th century, Ghor expressed its independence from the Ghaznavid Empire. The early Ghurids followed Paganism before being converted to Islam by Abu Ali ibn Muhammad. In 1149 the Ghaznavid ruler Bahram-Shah of Ghazna poisoned a local Ghurid leader, Qutb al-Din Muhammad, who had taken refuge in the city of Ghazni after having a quarrel with his brother Sayf al-Din Suri. In revenge, Sayf marched towards Ghazni and defeated Bahram-Shah.
Origins
In the 19th century some European scholars, such as Mountstuart Elphinstone, favoured the idea that the Ghurid dynasty was related to today's Pashtun people but this is generally rejected by modern scholarship. Contemporary scholars state that the dynasty was of Tajik origin. Later, due to intermarrying, the Ghurid princes were distinguished by their significant blending of Tajik, Persian, Turkic, and native Afghan ethnicities.
Encyclopædia Iranica states: "Nor do we know anything about the ethnic stock of the Ḡūrīs in general and the Šansabānīs in particular; we can only assume that they were eastern Iranian Tajiks".
Culture
The Ghurids were great patrons of Persian culture and literature. The Čahār maqāla, a work of Persian prose, was written by the poet Nizami Aruzi and dedicated to prince Abu’l-Ḥasan Ḥosām-al-Dīn ʿAlī.
Ghurid contributions laid the basis for a Persianized state in the Indian subcontinent. However, most of the literature produced during the Ghurid era has been lost. They also transferred Persian architecture to India. According to Amir Khusrau (died 1325), the Indians learned Persian because of the influence of the "Ghurids and Turks." The notion of Persian kingship served as the basis for the imperial formation, political and cultural unity of the Ghurids.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Ghurid dynasty (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Ghurid Dynasty: Key Facts
| Capital | Firozkoh |
|---|---|
| Religion | Sunni Islam |
| Form of government | hereditary monarchy, sultanism |
| Founded | 1011 |
| Dissolved | 1215 |
Succeeded by
Facts from Wikidata Q199443 (CC0).
Ghurid Dynasty Map Over Time
Dated world maps on which Ghurid Dynasty appears, with the other states of the time.
Ghurid Dynasty Timeline
Key historical inflections from foundation to peak territorial expansion
Expansion to peak recorded area of 2,143,165 km² in 1204 CE.
Ghurid Dynasty: Frequently Asked Questions
When did the Ghurid Dynasty exist?
The Ghurid Dynasty is dated to 1152 CE – 1209 CE, in the High & Late Middle Ages era.
What was the capital of the Ghurid Dynasty?
The capital of the Ghurid Dynasty was Firozkoh, Herat, Ghazni (1170s–1215).
How large was the Ghurid Dynasty at its peak?
At its peak in 1204 AD the Ghurid Dynasty covered about 2,143,165 km².
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