Ghurid dynasty emerges in Afghanistan

1150

The little mountain principality of Ghor, between Herat and Kabul, began its explosive rise under the brothers Ghiyath al-Din and Muhammad. Within a generation they would sack Ghazni, end the Ghaznavid dynasty, and launch the invasions that would plant Muslim rule in northern India. The Ghurids' sudden emergence from an obscure Afghan valley to conquer the richest prize in South Asia was one of the century's most dramatic political transformations.