Khusrau Shah (b. 1121 – d. 1160) was the penultimate sultan of the

Ghaznavid Dynasty 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 ...

from 1157 to 1160., and the eldest son of Bahram-Shah. During his short reign, he lost southeastern

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

Ala al-Din Husayn Ala al-Din Husayn ( Persian: علاء الدین حسین) was king of the Ghurid dynasty from 1149 to 1161. He was one of the greatest Ghurid kings, and it was during his reign that the Ghurid dynasty rose to prominence. Early life When Ala al- ...

, Malik of

Ghurid empire The Ghurid dynasty (also spelled Ghorids; fa, دودمان غوریان, translit=Dudmân-e Ğurīyân; self-designation: , ''Šansabānī'') was a Persianate dynasty and a clan of presumably Iranian peoples, eastern Iranian Tajik people, Tajik ...

. He was succeeded by his son,

Khusrau Malik Abu'l-Muzaffar Khusrau Malik ibn Khusrau-Shah ( fa, ابوالمظفر خسروملک بن خسروشاه), better simply known as Khusrau Malik (; also spelled Khosrow), was the last Sultan of the Ghaznavid Empire, ruling from 1160 to 1186. He w ...

Background

Khusrau Shah was eldest and only surviving son of

Bahram Shah Al-Malik al-Amjad Bahramshah was the List of Ayyubid rulers#Emirs of Baalbek, Ayyubid emir of Baalbek between 1182–1230 (578–627 AH). Reign Bahramshah succeeded his father Farrukh Shah, Farrukhshah as ruler of the minor emirate of Baalbek and ...

. Due to civil wars, tributary pact with

Seljuk Empire The Great Seljuk Empire, or the Seljuk Empire was a high medieval, culturally Turko-Persian, Sunni Muslim empire, founded and ruled by the Qïnïq branch of Oghuz Turks. It spanned a total area of from Anatolia and the Levant in the west to ...

and struggles with

Ghurid Empire The Ghurid dynasty (also spelled Ghorids; fa, دودمان غوریان, translit=Dudmân-e Ğurīyân; self-designation: , ''Šansabānī'') was a Persianate dynasty and a clan of presumably Iranian peoples, eastern Iranian Tajik people, Tajik ...

, Ghaznavid Empire was in its weakest times. Although his father tried to recapture the lost lands in India, he was stopped by

Arnoraja Arnoraja (IAST: Arṇorāja, r. c. 1135-1150 CE) was an Indian king belonging to the Shakambhari Chahamana dynasty. He ruled the Sapadalaksha country, which included parts of present-day Rajasthan in north-western India. Arnoraja repulsed a Gha ...

, an Indian king from Chahamanas dynasty. His struggles with Ghurid Empire were also unsuccessful as he was defeated by two Ghurid Maliks. Later he was defeated by

, who burned

Ghazni Ghazni ( prs, غزنی, ps, غزني), historically known as Ghaznain () or Ghazna (), also transliterated as Ghuznee, and anciently known as Alexandria in Opiana ( gr, Αλεξάνδρεια Ωπιανή), is a city in southeastern Afghanistan ...

for seven days. Bahram Shah recaptured Ghazni from Ghurids and later died in 1157. Nothing but few poems written by

Hassan Ghaznavi Ashrafuddin Abu Muhammad Hasan ibn Muhammad Husayni Ghaznavi ( fa, اشرف‌الدین ابو محمد حسن بن محمد حسینی غزنوی) known as Ashraf (اشرف) was a 12th-century Persian poet. A sayyid, he boasted of his lineage f ...

remains about life of young Khusrau during reign of his father. It seems that he was a hostage to the court of Saljuk emperor,

Ahmad Sanjar Senjer ( fa, ; full name: ''Muizz ad-Dunya wa ad-Din Adud ad-Dawlah Abul-Harith Ahmad Sanjar ibn Malik-Shah'') (''b''. 1085 – ''d''. 8 May 1157) was the Seljuq ruler of Khorasan from 1097 until in 1118,sultan in 1157. Shortly afterwards, Ala al-Din Husayn ran a new campaign. Although

Minhaj-i-Siraj Minhaj-al-Din Abu Amr Othman ibn Siraj-al-Din Muhammad Juzjani (born 1193), simply known as Minhaj al-Siraj Juzjani, was a 13th-century Persian historian born in the region of Ghur. In 1227, Juzjani migrated to Ucch then to Delhi. Juzjani was ...

stated that Ala al-Din Husayn already had captured the Ghaznavid possessions in southeastern

, including

Zamindawar Zamindawar is a historical region of Afghanistan. It is a very large and fertile valley the main sources for irrigation is the Helmand River. Zamindawar is located in the greater territory of northern Helmand and encompasses the approximate area of ...

, according to Bosworth it could be "an anticipation of what actually happened". Fakhr-i Mudabbir started a battle between two armies in which Khusrau Shah was defeated. According to O'Neal, Khusrau Shah rebuilt army and moved towards west to capture the western lands of Ghurids, but faced with Ala al-Din army in

Herat Herāt (; Persian: ) is an oasis city and the third-largest city of Afghanistan. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains (''Selseleh-ye Safē ...

, he was defeated. He was forced to agree with pact that gives the Ghurids mentioned lands. Khusrau Shah's reign after war is mostly unknown, but it is known that he died in 1160 and was succeeded by his son

, the last Ghaznavid Sultan, which was defeated by Ghurids and died sometime after 1184.

Coinage

Few remaining Khusrau Shah coins stated Ahmad Sanjar as suzerain, although he died in 1157. Probably news of his death didn't reached Ghazni at the time.

References

Sources

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