997 CE
1st Raid — Frontier Raids (Punjab)
Mahmud's first military incursions into the Indian subcontinent targeted the
frontier regions of modern-day Punjab and NWFP. He tested Indian defenses and
assessed the wealth available for plunder. Minor skirmishes established his
foothold across the Indus.
📜 Tarikh-i-Yamini (Al-Utbi)
1000 CE
2nd Raid — Defeat of Jayapala at Peshawar
Mahmud defeated the Hindu Shahi king Jayapala at the Battle of Peshawar.
Jayapala was captured along with 15 of his relatives. The humiliation was so great that
Jayapala later committed self-immolation. Mahmud extracted enormous tribute and booty.
This raid opened the gates of India to systematic invasion.
📜 Tarikh-i-Yamini; Tarikh-i-Ferishta
1001 CE
3rd Raid — Battle Against Anandapala
Mahmud invaded again and fought Anandapala, Jayapala's son and successor.
Despite fierce resistance, the Hindu Shahi forces were defeated. The Shahi treasury at
Waihind (Und) was looted, and the Shahi kingdom was permanently weakened. This effectively
destroyed the last major Hindu buffer state against Central Asian invasions.
📜 Tarikh-i-Yamini
1004 CE
4th Raid — Conquest of Bhera
Mahmud attacked and conquered the city of Bhera (modern-day Bhera in Punjab,
Pakistan). The population was given the choice of conversion to Islam or death.
Those who refused were massacred. The city's temples were destroyed and wealth plundered.
📜 Tarikh-i-Yamini; Tabaqat-i-Nasiri
1005 CE
5th Raid — Multan
Mahmud attacked Multan to crush the Ismaili Fatimid influence and
consolidate his control. He destroyed the Sun Temple of Multan (Aditya Temple),
one of the most revered Hindu temples in the region. The Ismaili rulers were replaced
with his own governors.
📜 Tarikh-i-Yamini; Chach Nama references
1006 CE
6th Raid — Second Attack on Multan
A second campaign against Multan to suppress a revolt. Mahmud defeated a combined force
and re-established Ghaznavid authority. The region was further stripped of its remaining wealth
and religious sites desecrated.
📜 Tarikh-i-Yamini
1008 CE
7th Raid — Nagarkot (Kangra Fort)
Mahmud attacked the fortress of Nagarkot (Kangra) in the Himalayan foothills.
The fort housed the famous temple of Bhimnagar/Jawalamukhi with enormous
treasures.
According to Ferishta, the loot from Nagarkot included 700,000 gold dinars,
700 maunds of gold and silver, 200 maunds of pearls, and other valuables.
📜 Tarikh-i-Ferishta; Tarikh-i-Yamini
1009 CE
8th Raid — Narayan (Narayanapur)
Mahmud attacked the fort of Narayanapur, which was defended by a large Hindu
garrison. After a fierce battle, the fort was captured. Temples were destroyed, treasures
looted,
and many defenders killed. The pattern of targeting fortified temple-cities continued.
📜 Tarikh-i-Yamini
1011 CE
9th Raid — Thanesar
One of the most devastating raids. Mahmud attacked Thanesar (Sthaneshwar),
one of the holiest Hindu pilgrimage centres and the seat of the Chakraswamin temple.
According to Al-Utbi, the temple treasury yielded millions of dirhams.
The sacred idols were taken to Ghazni to be placed at the doorsteps of mosques.
Thousands were enslaved.
📜 Tarikh-i-Yamini (Al-Utbi); confirmed by Ferishta
1013 CE
10th Raid — Defeat of Trilochanapala
Mahmud finally destroyed the remnants of the Hindu Shahi dynasty by defeating
Trilochanapala, the last significant Shahi ruler. The Shahi kingdom, which
had been India's primary buffer against Central Asian invasions for centuries, was permanently
eliminated. India's northwestern frontier was left completely exposed.
📜 Tarikh-i-Yamini; Al-Biruni's Kitab-ul-Hind
1014 CE
11th Raid — Nandana
Mahmud attacked the fort of Nandana in the Salt Range.
The fort was taken after a significant siege, its temple destroyed,
and its treasury plundered. Al-Biruni used this campaign to study Indian
astronomical knowledge — even as the civilization producing it was being destroyed.
📜 Tarikh-i-Yamini; Kitab-ul-Hind
1018 CE
12th Raid — Mathura & Kannauj
One of the deepest penetrations into the Indian heartland. Mahmud attacked
Mathura — one of the holiest Hindu cities, the birthplace of Lord Krishna.
Al-Utbi records that Mahmud was so awed by the beauty of Mathura's temples that he said
it would take 200 years to build such structures — before ordering them
all destroyed. He then marched to Kannauj, the ancient capital, which
was plundered without resistance as the ruler Rajyapala fled.
Over 50,000 people were taken as slaves from this single campaign.
📜 Tarikh-i-Yamini; Tarikh-i-Ferishta
1019 CE
13th Raid — Campaign Against Chandela Rulers
Mahmud launched a campaign against the Chandela dynasty in Bundelkhand.
After facing stiff resistance initially, the Chandela cities were subjected to plunder.
Temples in the region were looted and damaged. The 53,000 captives
taken as slaves from this campaign were so numerous that the slave price in Ghazni
dropped drastically.
📜 Tarikh-i-Yamini; Tabaqat-i-Nasiri
1021 CE
14th Raid — Kalinjar
Mahmud besieged the mighty fort of Kalinjar, held by the Chandela rulers.
After protracted negotiations, a large tribute was extracted. While the fort itself was not
taken, surrounding temples and towns were plundered. The Chandela kingdom was permanently
weakened by the massive tribute payments.
📜 Tarikh-i-Yamini
1023 CE
15th Raid — Lahore & Frontier Campaign
Another campaign into Punjab to consolidate Ghaznavid control. Mahmud permanently
annexed Lahore and established it as a provincial capital of the Ghaznavid
Empire. The Hindu Shahi resistance was permanently crushed. Punjab became a permanent
base for future Islamic invasions of India.
📜 Tarikh-i-Ferishta; Tabaqat-i-Nasiri
1025 CE
16th Raid — SOMNATH: The Most Devastating Raid
The most famous and devastating of all raids. Mahmud marched across the Thar Desert with
30,000 cavalry to attack the legendary Somnath Temple in
Gujarat.
According to multiple sources, over 50,000 Hindu defenders were killed
defending
the temple. Mahmud personally smashed the sacred Jyotirlinga with his mace.
The loot was so immense — gold, diamonds, rubies, pearls — that it took hundreds of camels to
carry it back to Ghazni. The temple's sandalwood gates were carried off to Ghazni.
This raid has become the singular symbol of Islamic iconoclasm in India.
📜 Tarikh-i-Yamini; Tarikh-i-Ferishta; Kitab-ul-Hind; Tabaqat-i-Nasiri
1027 CE
17th Raid — Campaign Against the Jats
Mahmud's final major campaign targeted the Jat tribes of Sindh who had
been harassing his return routes from Somnath. He built a fleet of 1,400 boats and launched
a naval campaign on the Indus, defeating the Jats. Thousands were killed.
This was his last military action in India before his death in 1030 CE.
📜 Tarikh-i-Yamini; Tarikh-i-Ferishta
