Mahmud of Ghazni was the ruler of the Ghaznavid Empire from 971 A.D to 1030 A.D. Mahmud turned the city of Ghazni into a wealthy capital and a cultural centre of an extensive empire. The empire originally compromising of modern Afghanistan, northeastern Iran and eventually northwestern India (now Pakistan) through his conquests. Mahmud of Ghazni (971-1030) was the first sultan of the Ghaznavid dynasty in Afghanistan.

Mahmud descended into India, to plunder wealth. Punjab was mainly the territorial acquisition for him. The first large-scale campaign began in 1001 AD. The first expeditions were against the Punjab and northeastern India. His most important expedition was against the Somnath temple of Gujarat in 1025. It was estimated that he took more than 3 billion dinars from India. He in addition took hundreds of thousands of slaves.

Mahmud had already had relationships with the leadership in Balkh through marriage as Abu Nasr Mohammad offered his daughter to Mahmud`s son, Muhammad and his services to the Sultan. After Nasr`s death Mahmud brought Balkh under his control. This alliance was a great help for him during his expeditions into Northern India.

Mahmud set out regular raids against the rajputs. He decided to teach a lesson to the Rajputs as they have defeated him. His invasions were specifically directed to those Indian temple towns that were depositaries of great wealth. Nagarkot (Now Kangra), Thanesar (now in Haryana), Mathura (Holi city of Uttar Pradesh), Kanauj ( Now in Uttar Pradesh), Kalinjar (fortress-city in the Bundelkhand region) and Somnath of Gujarat were the cities of his target. After raiding the temples of Varanasi, Ujjain, Maheshwar, Jwalamukhi and Dwarka, Mahmud`s army destroyed the temples and plundered the temple wealth.

Mahmud has showed remarkable administrative ability and statesmanship.Being the son of a Turkish slave, he became the rular of Ghazna in 977. With more than 20 successful expedition Mahmud accumulate the wealth which lay the foundation of his wealthy empire. The caliph of Bagdad recognized Mahmud as the legitimate ruler of the occupied land as he gave allegiance to the caliph.

Mahmud returned home in 1026 after his last famous expedition to the southern coast of Kathiawar. The last years of his life he spent in fighting the Central Asian tribes threatening his empire. The nature of his expeditions in the Indian Subcontinent were marked him as plunderer. It has led to the accusation that he attempted to convert the non-muslims to muslims by force.