The Initial Slave Dynasty

Delhi Sultanate, principal Muslim state in India before the advent of the Mughal Empire. It was founded in 1206 by Qutubuddin Aibak, a lieutenant of Muhammad of Ghaur, the Muslim conqueror of north India. It remained confined to the north under Qutubuddin Aibak's Slave dynasty (so called because he was once a slave of Muhammad). Under the Khalji dynasty (1290-1320) its control was extended over most of the subcontinent. Alauddin, the second Khalji sultan, repelled an attempted invasion by the Mongols, but in 1398, following a period of internal strife, the territory of the sultanate was overrun by the armies of the Turkic conqueror Tamerlane. Under the Sayyid (1414-1451) and Lodi (1451-1526) dynasties the sultanate's power was greatly reduced and was finally destroyed by the Mughal emperor Humayun in 1555-1556. The Ghaznavid state grew weaker under Mahmud’s descendants and gave way in the middle of the 12th century to the Ghurid kingdom, which arose in Ghur, in the west central region of present-day Afghanistan. The Ghurids in turn were routed early in the 13th century by the Khwarizm Shahs, another central Asian dynasty. They were swept away in about 1220 by the Mongol conqueror Genghis Khan, who devastated the land.

Muhammad of Ghaur Muhammad of Ghur (died 1206), also called Muizuddin Muhammad ibn Sam or Shihabuddin Muhammad Ghuri, Muslim conqueror of northern India. In 1173 Muhammad rose to control the Turkish Ghurid Empire, centered in what is now west central Afghanistan. Finding his ambitions to control Central Asia blocked by other Turkish-influenced states, he embarked on yearly raids into northern India, which was then largely Hindu. Between 1175 and 1186 he overran the regions of Sindh and Punjab, although he was defeated in an attempt to subdue Gujarat. In 1191 he was dealt a major defeat by a confederation of Indian princes in present-day Haryāna