چکیده:
During the history of India, there had been relations between
Indians and Muslims. With the foundation of independent rulerships in
the east of Iran during the 3rd and 4th Islamic centuries, the form of
Muslim Arab commanders’ direct attacks on the Indian lands changed
into non-Arab warrior emirs’ conquests ( against the infidels). Arising
of Ghaznavids in the east of the Islamic lands and the thought of
conquering India by Sultan Mahmud was the beginning of this trend.
Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi launched sixteen or seventeen attacks on the
wealthy country of India. Of course, these attacks were started by
Sabuktiginand reached their peak during the time of Sultan Mahmud
and were continued by his successors severely. The reasons for these
military expeditions can be dealt with from three different but related
aspects:Firstly, India was a rich and wealthy country in which Ghaznavids’
wars (against infidels) meant access to a lot of wealth which could be a
powerful support for the survival of the Ghaznavid army-based
government. Secondly, one of the main reasons could be religion; that
is, the invasions were launched for the sake of spreading the religion of
Islam through which they wanted to gain legitimacy. Thirdly, there was
a problem resulted from the presence of the army in the center of the
government.
The present research deals with the reasons and consequences of
Ghaznavids’ invasion and conquest of India which continued
throughout the Ghaznavid dynasty. The first attack was launched from
the north of India, and the way Ghaznavid sencountered and governed
the Indian conquered lands was different from that of other conquerors.