Khusrau Malik

Abu'l-Muzaffar Khusrau Malik ibn Khusrau-Shah (Persian: ابوالقاسم مظفر خسرو مالک بن خسرو شاه‎‎), better simply known as Khusrau Malik (خسرو ملک; also spelled Khosrow), was the last Sultan of the Ghaznavid Empire, ruling from 1160 to 1186. He was the son and successor of Khusrau-Shah (r. 1157-1160).

Reign

In 1061/2, a group of Oghuz Turks seized the Ghaznavid capital of Ghazna, forcing Khusrau Malik to retreat to Lahore, which became his new capital. From there he made incursions into northern India, expanding his rule as far as southern Kashmir. He also created an alliance with the Indian Khokar tribe. In 1170, Khusrau (or one of his commanders) invaded the southern part of the Ganges.

In 1178 the Ghurid ruler Mu'izz al-Din Muhammad invaded the southern part of Ghaznavid Punjab and reached as far as Gujarat. In 1179/80 he seized Peshawar, and by 1181/2 swept around Lahore, but Khusrau Malik managed to keep him from the city by paying him. However, Lahore was finally captured by the Ghurids in 1186, while Khusrau-Malik and his son Bahram-Shah were taken to Ghur and imprisoned, marking the end of the Ghaznavid Empire.

Sources

• Bosworth, C. E. (1968). "The Political and Dynastic History of the Iranian World (A.D. 1000–1217)". In Frye, R. N. The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 5: The Saljuq and Mongol periods. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 1–202. ISBN 0-521-06936-X. 
• Bosworth, C. E. (1993). "The Encyclopedia of Islam, VII". The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Vol. VII. Brill. pp. 1–1056. ISBN 90-04-09419-9. 
• Bosworth, C. E (1995). The Later Ghaznavids: Splendour and Decay: The Dynasty in Afghanistan and Northern India 1040-1186. Retrieved 17 May 2014. 
• Bosworth, C. Edmund (2001). "GHAZNAVIDS". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. X, Fasc. 6. London et al. pp. 578–583. 
• Bosworth, C. Edmund (2013). "ḴOSROW MALEK". Encyclopaedia Iranica.