Abu'l-Harith Muhammad was ruler of

Khwarazm Khwarazm (; ; , ''Xwârazm'' or ''Xârazm'') or Chorasmia () is a large oasis region on the Amu Darya river delta in western Central Asia, bordered on the north by the (former) Aral Sea, on the east by the Kyzylkum Desert, on the south by th ...

for a period in 1017. The son of

Abu al-Hasan Ali Abu al-Hasan 'Ali (died c. 1009) was ruler of Khwarazm (a large oasis region on the Amu Darya river delta in western Central Asia) from 997 until his death c. 1009. The second member of the Ma'munid dynasty, he was the son of Ma'mun I ibn Muhamm ...

, he was the last member of the

Iranian Iranian () may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Iran ** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran ** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia ** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...

Ma'munid dynasty to rule Khwarazm. In 1017, a young Muhammad was declared shah by the murderers of his uncle Abu'l Abbas Ma'mun. Mahmud of Ghazna, who had been Ma'mun's brother-in-law, was afforded a pretext for invading and a force was assembled in northern

Khurasan KhorasanDabeersiaghi, Commentary on Safarnâma-e Nâsir Khusraw, 6th Ed. Tehran, Zavvâr: 1375 (Solar Hijri Calendar) 235–236 (; , ) is a historical eastern region in the Iranian Plateau in West Asia, West and Central Asia that encompasses wes ...

. The Khwarazamis were unable to provide any effective resistance, and Muhammad was captured and imprisoned; Khwarazm therefore became a part of the

Ghaznavid Empire The Ghaznavid dynasty ( ''Ġaznaviyān'') was a Persianate Muslim dynasty of Turkic peoples, Turkic ''mamluk'' origin. It ruled the Ghaznavid Empire or the Empire of Ghazni from 977 to 1186, which at its greatest extent, extended from the Oxus ...

. After taking vengeance on the Ma'mun's murderers Mahmud installed a Turk, the '' hajib'' Altun Tash, as governor of the province.

Sources

* 11th-century monarchs in Asia 11th-century Iranian people Ma'munids Year of death unknown {{Iran-royal-stub