Ghazna
(2002 pop. 39,000). Ghazna is the old name of the present town of Ghazni, situated 145 kilometers southwest of Kabul in east-central Afghanistan at an altitude of 2,220 meters. The town is the administrative center of the province of Ghazni.
The early history of Ghazna is obscure. The town was probably the political center of the region of Zabulistan, invaded during the seventh century CE by the Arabs. In 977 CE, a slave commander of the Samanid dynasty, Sebuktigin, established himself in the city and founded the dynasty of the Ghaznavids. Under Mahmud of Ghazna (971–1030), it became the core of a vast empire, stretching from western Persia to the Indian subcontinent. With the decline of Ghaznavid power, Ghazna was sacked by the Ghurids in 1150–1151 and finally lost in 1163. Afterward, different kingdoms and empires, such as the Mongols, Timurids, and Mughals, contended for the city, but it never regained its old glory.
In 1747 Ghazna became part of the new Afghan kingdom of Ahmad Shah Durrani (1722–1773). During the first Anglo-Afghan War (1838–1842), the town was captured by the British, due to its important strategic position on the way to Kabul. During the twentieth century, Ghazni became the form in use for its name; the town rose again in importance as one of the main Afghan centers, mainly due to its geographical position along the Kabul-Kandahar road.
Further Reading
Dupree, Luis. (1980) Afghanistan. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Raverty, Henry George. (1995) Ghaznin, and Its Environs: Geographical, Ethnographical, and Historical. An Account Extracted from the Writings of the Little Known Afghan and Tajik Historians, Geographers, and Genealogists. Rev. and enlarged ed. Lahore, Pakistan: Sang-e-Meel.
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