Ismail of Ghazni ( fa, اسماعیل غزنوی) was the

emir Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cerem ...

Ghazna 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 ...

, reigning for 7 months, from 5 August 997 until 998. He succeeded his father

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 38 ...

, who died of an illness acquired in

Balkh ), named for its green-tiled ''Gonbad'' ( prs, گُنبَد, dome), in July 2001 , pushpin_map=Afghanistan#Bactria#West Asia , pushpin_relief=yes , pushpin_label_position=bottom , pushpin_mapsize=300 , pushpin_map_caption=Location in Afghanistan ...

during a campaign in the

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 origin. The empire was centred in Kho ...

civil war. Ismail was designated his successor by Sabuktigin on his death-bed, while

Mahmud Mahmud is a transliteration of the male Arabic given name (), common in most parts of the Islamic world. It comes from the Arabic triconsonantal root Ḥ-M-D, meaning ''praise'', along with ''Muhammad''. Siam Mahmud *Mahmood (singer) (born 1 ...

, the older brother who was involved in the Samanid 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 wr ...

. Upon receiving this news

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 th ...

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

in what is now

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 ...

. Mahmud won the

Battle of Ghazni The Battle of Ghazni (or Ghuznee) took place in the city of Ghazni in central Afghanistan on Tuesday, July 23, 1839, during the First Anglo-Afghan War. Prelude In the 1830s, the British were firmly entrenched in India but by 1837, feared a Rus ...

and took the crown from Ismail. Ismail spent the rest of his life confined to a fort in

Guzgan Guzgan ( fa, گوزگان, also known as Gozgan, Guzganan or Quzghan, in Arabic Juzjan or Juzjanan) was a historical region and early medieval principality in what is now northern Afghanistan. Etymology The area was known as "Guzgan" or in the ...

. The reason behind Sabuktigin's choice to appoint Ismail as heir over the more experienced and older Mahmud is uncertain. It may have been due to Ismail's mother being the daughter of Sabuktigin's old master,

Alptigin , image = Pınarbaşı 5.JPG , caption = Bust of Alp Tegin as one of the founders of the " 16 Great Turkic Empires", part of the "Turkishness Monument" (''Türklük Anıtı'') in Pınarbaşı, Kayseri (opened 2000, 2012 ph ...

References

Sources

External links

Ismail Sebuk Tigin
entry i
Encyclopaedia Iranica
{{Ghaznavid sultans Ghaznavid rulers 10th-century Turkic people 10th-century rulers in Asia