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Ghazni City ( - Gazni; Ghazna and Ghaznin are the old names for Ghazni) is a city in central Afghanistan
Afghanistan

Afghanistan , officially the Islamic republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country that is located approximately in the center of Asia....
, with an approximate population of 141,000 people. It is the capital of Ghazni Province
Ghazni Province

Ghazni is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It is in the east of the country. Its capital is Ghazni. The province lies on the important Kabul-Kandahar highway, and has historically functioned as an important trade center between those two major cities....
, situated on a plateau at 7,280 feet (2,219 m) above sea level. It is linked by highways with Qalat
Qalat (Zabul)

Qalat is a town in southern Afghanistan and the capital of Zabul Province. It is linked by a highway with Kandahar to the west and Ghazni to the east....
 to the south-west, Kabul
Kabul

Kabul is the Capital and largest city of Afghanistan, with a population of approximately three million. It is an economic and cultural centre, situated 5,900 foot above sea level in a narrow valley, wedged between the Hindu Kush mountains along the Kabul River....
 to the northeast and Gardez to the east.

History Ghazni was founded sometime in antiquity
Ancient history

Ancient history is the history from the History of writing until the Early Middle Ages in Europe, the Qin Dynasty in China, the Chola Empire in India, and some less defined point in the rest of the world ....
 as a small market-town and is mentioned by Ptolemy
Ptolemy

Claudius Ptolemaeus , known in English as Ptolemy , was a Roman Greek mathematics, Greek astronomy, geographer and astrologer. He lived in History of Roman Egypt, and was probably born there in a town in the Thebaid called Ptolemais Hermiou; he died in Alexandria around 168 AD....
.






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Ghazni City ( - Gazni; Ghazna and Ghaznin are the old names for Ghazni) is a city in central Afghanistan
Afghanistan

Afghanistan , officially the Islamic republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country that is located approximately in the center of Asia....
, with an approximate population of 141,000 people. It is the capital of Ghazni Province
Ghazni Province

Ghazni is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It is in the east of the country. Its capital is Ghazni. The province lies on the important Kabul-Kandahar highway, and has historically functioned as an important trade center between those two major cities....
, situated on a plateau at 7,280 feet (2,219 m) above sea level. It is linked by highways with Qalat
Qalat (Zabul)

Qalat is a town in southern Afghanistan and the capital of Zabul Province. It is linked by a highway with Kandahar to the west and Ghazni to the east....
 to the south-west, Kabul
Kabul

Kabul is the Capital and largest city of Afghanistan, with a population of approximately three million. It is an economic and cultural centre, situated 5,900 foot above sea level in a narrow valley, wedged between the Hindu Kush mountains along the Kabul River....
 to the northeast and Gardez to the east.

Ethnography


The population of Ghazni City is multicultural and multi-ethnic, with approximately 55% Tajiks
Tajiks

Tajik is a general designation for a wide range of mostly Persian language peoples of Iranian peoples, with traditional homelands in present-day Afghanistan, Tajikistan, southern Uzbekistan, north west Pakistan and western China....
, 20% Pashtuns, 15% Hazaras, and a small number (5%) of Hindus.

History

Ghazni Minaret
Ghazni was founded sometime in antiquity
Ancient history

Ancient history is the history from the History of writing until the Early Middle Ages in Europe, the Qin Dynasty in China, the Chola Empire in India, and some less defined point in the rest of the world ....
 as a small market-town and is mentioned by Ptolemy
Ptolemy

Claudius Ptolemaeus , known in English as Ptolemy , was a Roman Greek mathematics, Greek astronomy, geographer and astrologer. He lived in History of Roman Egypt, and was probably born there in a town in the Thebaid called Ptolemais Hermiou; he died in Alexandria around 168 AD....
. Ghazni City was a thriving Buddhist center before and during the 7th century AD. In 683 AD, Arab armies brought Islam
Islam

Islam is a Monotheism, Abrahamic religion originating with the teachings of the Prophets of Islam Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure....
 to the nearby regions. Yaqub Saffari
Ya'qub bin Laith as-Saffar

Ya'qub bin Laith as-Saffar or Ya'qub-i Laith Saffari was the founder of the Saffarid dynasty in Sistan, with its capital at Zaranj . He ruled territories that are now in Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan....
 from Zaranj
Zaranj

Zaranj is a town in south-western Afghanistan, with a population of approximately 70,000 people. It is the capital of Nimruz province and is situated right next to Iran's eastern border....
 reigned over the vast region. After the city was rebuilt by Yaqub’s brother, it became the dazzling capital of the Ghaznavid Empire
Ghaznavid Empire

The Ghaznavids were an Islamic and Persianate dynasty of Turkic peoples mamluk origin which existed from 975 to 1187 and ruled much of Persia, Transoxania, and the northern parts of the Indian subcontinent....
 from 994 to 1160, encompassing much of northern India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
, Persia and Central Asia
Central Asia

Central Asia is a region of Asia from the Caspian Sea in the west to central China in the east, and from southern Russia in the north to northern India in the south....
. Many iconoclastic campaigns were launched from Ghazni into India, resulting in large scale destruction of ancient temples, libraries and palaces. The Ghaznavids took Islam to India and returned with fabulous riches taken from both Indian princes and temples. Contemporary visitors and residents at Ghazni wrote with wonder of the ornateness of the buildings, the great libraries, the sumptuousness of the court ceremonies and of the wealth of precious objects owned by Ghazni’s citizens.

The city was sacked in 1151 by the Ghorid
Ghurids

The Ghurids or Ghorids were a Persian people and Muslim dynasty in Greater Khorasan, most likely of Eastern Iranian Tajiks origin. The Ghurid empire was based in the region of Ghor Province , and stretched over a vast area that included the whole of Afghanistan, parts of modern Iran and South Asia ....
 Ala'uddin but then made into their secondary capital from 1173. It again flourished but only to be permanently devastated, this time in 1221 by the Mongol armies
Mongols

The name Mongol specifies one or several ethnic groups, now mainly located in Mongolia, China, and Russia....
 of Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan

Genghis Khan , born , was the founder, Khan and Khagan of the Mongol Empire, the World's largest empires contiguous empire in history....
 led by his son Ögedei Khan
Ögedei Khan

?gedei Khan, , was the third son of Genghis Khan and second Great Khan of the Mongol Empire by succeeding his father. He continued the expansion of the empire that his father had begun, and was the Great Khan when the Mongol Empire reached its furthest extent west during the mongol invasion of europe....
.

Ghazni City is famous for its minarets
Minarets

"Minarets" is a song by Dave Matthews Band released on their album Remember Two Things. It is one of only two songs to have been studio recorded on the Remember Two Things album....
 built on a stellar plan. They date from the middle of the twelfth century and are the surviving element of the mosque
Mosque

A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. Muslims often refer to the mosque by its Arabic name, masjid, ? . The word "mosque" in English refers to all types of buildings dedicated for Islamic worship, although there is a distinction in Arabic between the smaller, privately owned mosque and the larger, "collective" mosque ,...
 of Bahramshah. Their sides are decorated with geometric patterns. Upper sections of the minarets have been damaged or destroyed. The most important mausoleum
Mausoleum

A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or persons....
 located in Ghazni City is that of Sultan Mahmud's
Mahmud of Ghazni

'Mahmud of Ghazni Province' , also known as , was the founder of the Ghaznavid Empire, which he ruled from 997 until his death. Mahmud turned the former provincial city of Ghazni into the wealthy capital of an extensive empire which extended from Afghanistan into most of Iran as well as Pakistan and regions of North-West India....
. Others include the Tombs of poets and scientists, for example the Tomb of Al Biruni. The only ruins in Old Ghazni retaining a semblance of architectural form are two towers, about 43 m (140 ft) high and some 365 m (1,200 ft) apart. According to inscriptions, the towers were constructed by Mahmud of Ghazni
Mahmud of Ghazni

'Mahmud of Ghazni Province' , also known as , was the founder of the Ghaznavid Empire, which he ruled from 997 until his death. Mahmud turned the former provincial city of Ghazni into the wealthy capital of an extensive empire which extended from Afghanistan into most of Iran as well as Pakistan and regions of North-West India....
 and his son. In the 1960s a 15-meter female Buddha was discovered lying on its back and surrounded by empty pillars that once held rows of smaller male Buddhas. Parts of the female Buddha have been stolen. In the 1980s a mud brick shelter was created to protect the sculpture, but the wood supports were stolen for firewood and the shelter partially collapsed.

During the First Anglo-Afghan War
First Anglo-Afghan War

The First Anglo?Afghan War lasted from 1839 to 1842. It was one of the first major conflicts during The Great Game, the 19th century competition for power and influence in Central Asia between Great Britain and Russia, and also marked one of the major losses of the British after the consolidation of India by the British East India Company....
, the city was stormed and taken over by the British forces on July 23, 1839 in the Battle of Ghazni
Battle of Ghazni

The Battle of Ghazni took place in city of Ghazni in central Afghanistan on July 23, 1839 during the First Anglo-Afghan War....
. The Civil war in Afghanistan
Civil war in Afghanistan

The Civil war in Afghanistan, also known as Afghan Civil War, began in 1978 and has continued since, though it has included several distinct phases....
 and the continued conflict between the Taliban and the Northern Alliance
United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan

The United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan , also known as the Northern Alliance , was a military-political umbrella organization created by the Islamic State of Afghanistan in 1996....
 during the 1990s put the relics of Ghazni in jeopardy.

Ghazni’s strategic position, both economically and militarily, assured its revival, albeit without its dazzling former grandeur. Through the centuries the city figures prominently as the all important key to the possession of Kabul
Kabul

Kabul is the Capital and largest city of Afghanistan, with a population of approximately three million. It is an economic and cultural centre, situated 5,900 foot above sea level in a narrow valley, wedged between the Hindu Kush mountains along the Kabul River....
.

Water

Ghazni City is located in an area of extreme drought. Recently, one of the gates on a fifty-year-old dam on the Jikhai River
Jikhai River

The Jikhai River is a river in Ghazni Province, central Afghanistan, originating in Nawur District and crossing the Ajristan District valley. It is the only source of water available to the small number of inhabitants as the area is affected by a severe drought....
 broke, bringing up concerns among the inhabitants of Ghazni city about the water supply. The dam serves as a good source of irrigation water to Ghazni City and the surrounding agricultural areas. Nearby dams have a history of flooding and causing severe damage and death. Efforts have begun to remedy this situation.

Places to see

  • Citadel


  • Minarets of Ghazni


  • Palace of Sultan Mas'ud III


  • Tomb of Sebuktigin
    Sebük Tigin

    Abu Mansur Seb?k Tigin is generally regarded by historians as the founder of the Ghaznavid Empire and dynasty in what is today Afghanistan and Pakistan, even though the Amir Seb?k Tigin was the son-in-law of Alptigin who actually seized Ghazni in a political fallout for the throne of the Samanids....


  • Mausoleum of Sultan Mahmud
    Mahmud of Ghazni

    'Mahmud of Ghazni Province' , also known as , was the founder of the Ghaznavid Empire, which he ruled from 997 until his death. Mahmud turned the former provincial city of Ghazni into the wealthy capital of an extensive empire which extended from Afghanistan into most of Iran as well as Pakistan and regions of North-West India....


  • Mausoleum of Sanai
    Sanai

    Hakim Abul-Majd Majdud ibn Adam Sana'i Ghaznavi was a Persian people Sufi poet who lived in Ghazna, in what is now Afghanistan between the 11th century and the 12th century....


  • Museum of Islamic Art


  • Tapa Sardar Excavations


Notables from Ghazna

  • Hajweri Ghaznawi
  • Mahmud of Ghazni
    Mahmud of Ghazni

    'Mahmud of Ghazni Province' , also known as , was the founder of the Ghaznavid Empire, which he ruled from 997 until his death. Mahmud turned the former provincial city of Ghazni into the wealthy capital of an extensive empire which extended from Afghanistan into most of Iran as well as Pakistan and regions of North-West India....
  • Sanayee Ghaznawi
    Sanai

    Hakim Abul-Majd Majdud ibn Adam Sana'i Ghaznavi was a Persian people Sufi poet who lived in Ghazna, in what is now Afghanistan between the 11th century and the 12th century....
  • Hassan Ghaznavi
    Hassan Ghaznavi

    Ashrafuddin Abu Muhammad Hasan ibn Muhammad Husayni Ghaznavi known as Ashraf was a 12th century Persian language poet.Originating from Ghazna now in Afghanistan, he served mostly under Bahram Shah of the Ghaznavid dynasty....
  • Farrukhi Sistani
    Farrukhi Sistani

    Abul Hasan Ali ibn Julugh Farrukhi Sistani was a 10th century and 11th century royal poet of Ghaznavids.He was one of the brightest masters of the panegyric school of poetry in the court of Mahmud of Ghazni....
    , Manuchehri Damaghani, Abul-fazl Bayhaqi (royal poets and writers lived during the Ghaznavids period)


Sister cities

  • Hayward
    Hayward, California

    Hayward is a city located in the East Bay in Alameda County, California. The sixth largest city in the San Francisco Bay Area, it is one of the larger suburbs of Oakland, California....
    , California
    California

    California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
     


See also


  • Ghazni Province
    Ghazni Province

    Ghazni is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It is in the east of the country. Its capital is Ghazni. The province lies on the important Kabul-Kandahar highway, and has historically functioned as an important trade center between those two major cities....
  • Ghaznavid Empire
    Ghaznavid Empire

    The Ghaznavids were an Islamic and Persianate dynasty of Turkic peoples mamluk origin which existed from 975 to 1187 and ruled much of Persia, Transoxania, and the northern parts of the Indian subcontinent....
  • Mahmud of Ghazni
    Mahmud of Ghazni

    'Mahmud of Ghazni Province' , also known as , was the founder of the Ghaznavid Empire, which he ruled from 997 until his death. Mahmud turned the former provincial city of Ghazni into the wealthy capital of an extensive empire which extended from Afghanistan into most of Iran as well as Pakistan and regions of North-West India....
  • Ghurids
    Ghurids

    The Ghurids or Ghorids were a Persian people and Muslim dynasty in Greater Khorasan, most likely of Eastern Iranian Tajiks origin. The Ghurid empire was based in the region of Ghor Province , and stretched over a vast area that included the whole of Afghanistan, parts of modern Iran and South Asia ....


External links