Tomb of Shahabuddin Ghori I Fateh e Hind I Founder of Muslim Rule in India I Vlog I Gilani Logs

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Tomb of Shahabuddin Ghori I Fateh e Hind I Founder of Muslim Rule in India I Vlog I Gilani Logs

Videography: Amin Rajput
   / aminrajput  

Mu'izz ad-Din Muhammad ibn Sam, born Shihab ad-Din (1149 – March 15, 1206), also known as Muhammad of Ghor, was the Sultan of the Ghurid Empire from 1173 to 1206. He is credited with laying the foundation of Muslim rule in the Indian subcontinent, which lasted for several centuries. He reigned over a territory spanning over parts of modern-day Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Iran, Northern India, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.

Mu'izz al-Din along with his brother Ghiyath captured Ghazni and Herat and used them as their base for expeditions in Indian subcontinent and Central Asia. In 1175, Mu'izz crossed the Indus plain through Gomal Pass and captured Multan from its Ismaili Muslim community, and also took Uch (situated between Chenab and Jhelum rivers) by 1176. His forces were routed in the mountainous pass of Gadararaghatta by a coalition of Rajput chiefs, which forced him to change his route for future inroads into India. Hence, Mu'izz pressed upon the Ghaznavids and uprooted them by 1186, conquering Sindh, Peshawar, Lahore and Sialkot. After consolidating his hold in northwest, he penetrated into the north Indian Plain through the Khyber Pass which was under the sway of Rajputs.

In 1191, his forces were defeated by a Rajput Confederacy led by Prithviraj Chauhan near Tarain. However, in 1192, Mu'izz ad-Din returned with a vast army of Turkish mounted archers and defeated the Rajputs on the same battleground and executed Prithviraja shortly afterwards. His victory at Tarain, paved the way for the establishment of Muslim rule in Indian subcontinent. He limited his presence in India afterwards to concentrate on his expansion in the west and left his conquests in India under his slave generals who expanded the influence of the Ghurids till Bengal in the east.

After the death of Ghiyath in 1203, Mu'izz al-Din ascended to the throne as the sole ruler of vast Ghurid empire. Within a year or so in conflict with the Khwarazmian Empire, Mu'izz suffered a sharp reverse near the Oxus river in the Battle of Andhkhud which halted his expansion in Central Asia and resulted in the loss of Merv and most of the Khorasan. Mu'izz raised a vast army and built a bridge across the Oxus to launch a full-scale invasion of Transoxiana to avenge his defeat, although a rebellion in his empire in Punjab forced him to move towards India once more around 1205-1206.

On his way back, Mu'izz was assassinated at Dhamiak, Kot Dhamiak near Sohawa on March 15, 1206, by a group of assassins from the rival Muslim sect while offering Isha prayer. After his death, his empire collapsed during the rise of Khawarazmian empire who reached up to the Indus but was eventually swept away by the Mongols under Genghis Khan. Mu'izz's conquests in Indian subcontinent continue to thrive under the Delhi Sultanate which withstood the turmoil in Central Asia caused by the Mongol hordes.

Around 80 kilometres from Islamabad, the mausoleum of Sultan Mohammad Ghori, who conquered Delhi in 1192 and founded his sultanate in India, is a picture of neglect.

The mausoleum was built by nuclear physicist Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan in 1994-1995 and later handed over to the Punjab archaeology department.

In 1994, Dr Khan built a mausoleum for Ghori. Locals say Dr Khan had employed a driver from the village who told him about its history, after which Dr Khan paid for the construction of the tomb.

“It was a simple grave until the 90s, and locals lit lamps on the grave. The land of the tomb was originally bought by retired Maj Gen Nawabzada Sher Ali Khan Pataudi, and his grave is also in the compound,” said Ashfaq Ahmed, who lives next to the tomb.

Pataudi is the second son of Nawab Ibrahim Ali Khan Pataudi (Nawab of Pataudi) and the great uncle of Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan.

Three graves for the unknown guards have also been dug in the mausoleum – each grave is eight feet long and made with white marble.

“Earlier, the graves of the muhafizeen – the guards – were far away from the sultan’s grave, but it was reconstructed and the remains were shifted to the compound of the tomb in 1994,”.

Pataudi had purchased the land around the grave of the sultan, and the tomb was constructed by Dr Khan. Most people visit the tomb on Eid or on holidays.

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