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

sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...

of the Ghaznavid Dynasty 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 ...

to Ala al-Din Husayn, Malik of Ghurid empire. He was succeeded by his son, Khusrau Malik.

Background

Khusrau Shah was eldest and only surviving son of Bahram Shah. Due to civil wars, tributary pact with

Seljuk Empire The Great Seljuk Empire, or the Seljuk Empire was a high medieval, culturally Turco-Persian tradition, Turko-Persian, Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslim empire, founded and ruled by the Qiniq (tribe), Qïnïq branch of Oghuz Turks. It spanned a total are ...

and struggles with Ghurid Empire, Ghaznavid Empire was in its weakest times. Although his father tried to recapture the lost lands in India, he was stopped by Arnoraja, 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 Ala al-Din Husayn, 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 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.

Reign

Khusrau Shah became

in 1157. Shortly afterwards, Ala al-Din Husayn ran a new campaign. Although Minhaj-i-Siraj 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 Province, Helmand and encompasses the ap ...

, according to Bosworth it could be "an anticipation of what actually happened".

Fakhr-i Mudabbir Fakhr al-Din Muhammad ibn Mansur Mubarak Shah al-Qurayshi, commonly known by his pen-name Fakhr-i Mudabbir (1157–1236) was a Persian author who was active at the court of the Ghaznavids, Ghurids, and Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate wa ...

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 Safēd ...

, 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 Khusrau Malik, 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 Suzerainty () is the rights and obligations of a person, state or other polity who controls the foreign policy and relations of a tributary state, while allowing the tributary state to have internal autonomy. While the subordinate party is calle ...

, although he died in 1157. Probably news of his death didn't reached Ghazni at the time.

References

Sources

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