Capital Ghazna, Binban Government Monarchy | Religion Islam | |
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Languages Nāgarī script (written) 1238–1249 Saif al-Din al-Hasan Qarlugh 1249–1259 Nasir al-Din Muhammad Qarlugh | ||
The Qarlughids, a tribe of Turkic origin, controlled Ghazni and the lands of the Bamyan and the Kurram Valley (Ghazna, Banban, and Kurraman), establishing a Muslim principality and dynasty lasting between 1224 and 1266. The Qarlughids arrived from the north to settle in the regions of Hazarajat together with the armies of Muhammad II of Khwarezm, the Shah of Khwarezm. Throughout most of its existence, the Qarlugh Kingdom functioned as a buffer state between its two powerful neighbors, the Delhi Sultanate to the east and south and the Mongol Empire to the north and west, with The Malik at the throne of Qarlugh would frequently switch allegiances between their two powerful neighbors, and through balanced diplomacy managed to become an important trade intermediary between the Mongols of Central Asia and the lands of the subcontinent. Testimet to Qarlughid prosperity is the significant coinage found from this dynasty.
History
The establishment of the Qarlugh Kingdom was a result of the turbulent power struggles of the 12th and 13th centuries in Greater Khurasan as the Ghurid Empire gave way to the Delhi Sultanate and the Mongols. The lands of Peshwar and the Kurram valley were ruled in rapid succession by Muhammad of Ghor, Taj al-Din Yildiz, Nasir ad-Din Qabacha, Iltutmish, Genghis Khan, Mingburnu, and again Iltutmish, who incorporated them into the Delhi Sultanate. The Sultana of Delhi, Razia al-Din, appointed Saif al-Din al-Hasan Qarlugh as governor of Ghazni, who in 1238 seceded from the Sultanate and asserted the independence of the Qarlugh Kingdom ruling Ghazni, Bamyan, and Kurraman.