The Battle of Ghazni was fought in 998 between the rival

Ghaznavid The Ghaznavid dynasty ( fa, غزنویان ''Ġaznaviyān'') was a culturally Persianate, Sunni Muslim dynasty of Turkic ''mamluk'' origin, ruling, at its greatest extent, large parts of Persia, Khorasan, much of Transoxiana and the northwest ...

forces of Amir

Ismail Ishmael ''Ismaḗl''; Classical/Qur'anic Arabic: إِسْمَٰعِيْل; Modern Standard Arabic: إِسْمَاعِيْل ''ʾIsmāʿīl''; la, Ismael was the first son of Abraham, the common patriarch of the Abrahamic religions; and is cons ...

and the rebel forces of his older brother

Mahmud of Ghazni Yamīn-ud-Dawla Abul-Qāṣim Maḥmūd ibn Sebüktegīn ( fa, ; 2 November 971 – 30 April 1030), usually known as Mahmud of Ghazni or Mahmud Ghaznavi ( fa, ), was the founder of the Turkic Ghaznavid dynasty, ruling from 998 to 1030. At t ...

.Kaushik Roy, ''Warfare in Pre-British India – 1500BCE to 1740CE'', (Routledge, 2015), 88. On his death-bed Amir

Sabuktigin Abu Mansur Nasir al-Din Sabuktigin ( fa, ابو منصور سبکتگین) ( 942 – August 997), also spelled as Sabuktagin, Sabuktakin, Sebüktegin and Sebük Tigin, was the founder of the Ghaznavid dynasty, ruling from 367 A.H/977 A.D to 3 ...

had designated Ismail as his successor while Mahmud, the older brother who was involved in the

Samanids People Samanid Samanid Samanid The Samanid Empire ( fa, سامانیان, Sāmāniyān) also known as the Samanian Empire, Samanid dynasty, Samanid amirate, or simply as the Samanids) was a Persianate Sunni Muslim empire, of Iranian dehqan orig ...

civil war, was stationed in

Nishapur Nishapur or officially Romanized as Neyshabur ( fa, ;Or also "نیشاپور" which is closer to its original and historic meaning though it is less commonly used by modern native Persian speakers. In Persian poetry, the name of this city is wri ...

. Upon receiving these news Mahmud contested Ismail's right to the throne and divested his charge of Nishapur to his uncle Borghuz and younger brother Nur-ud-Din Yusuf and marched upon Ghazni. Both armies met at Ghazni, Ismail's containing elephants. The battle was a long, drawn out affair, but at an opportune moment Mahmud charged Ismail's center which broke up. Mahmud would capture his brother and take the crown.

Notes

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References

* Kaushik Roy, ''Warfare in Pre-British India – 1500BCE to 1740CE'', Routledge, 2015. Ghazni 998 History of Ghazni Province Ghazni 998 998 Wars of succession involving the states and peoples of Asia