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Ghaznavid, Ghurid and Sultanate period

era

Ghaznavid and Ghurid campaigns from Afghanistan make Lahore and Multan major cities, and Sufi shrines at Multan and Uch become centres of learning and pilgrimage. The Delhi sultanates that follow govern the Indus plains for three centuries, building fortresses, tombs and the brick-and-tile tradition still visible in southern Punjab and Sindh.

Period
1000 CE to 1526 CE
Focus
Lahore, Multan and the Delhi sultans

Last updated

Quick facts about Ghaznavid, Ghurid and Sultanate period
Period1000 CE to 1526 CE[1]
FocusLahore, Multan and the Delhi sultans[1]

Ghaznavid, Ghurid and Sultanate period: overview

Ghaznavid and Ghurid campaigns from Afghanistan make Lahore and Multan major cities, and Sufi shrines at Multan and Uch become centres of learning and pilgrimage. The Delhi sultanates that follow govern the Indus plains for three centuries, building fortresses, tombs and the brick-and-tile tradition still visible in southern Punjab and Sindh.

Timeline

  1. 1030

    Lahore under Ghaznavid rule

    Lahore becomes an eastern capital of the Ghaznavid state.

  2. 1206

    Delhi Sultanate founded

    Ghurid commanders establish sultanate rule over northern South Asia.

  3. 1320

    Tughlaq tomb building

    Multan and Uch develop their distinctive brick and tile funerary architecture.

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era

  • Hindu Shahi period

    1001 — Defeat at Peshawar

    After Gandhara's monasteries decline, the Turk Shahi and then Hindu Shahi rulers hold the corridor between Kabul and the Punjab. Their temple complexes survive in the Salt Range at Katas Raj and along the Indus, and their defeat by Ghaznavid armies at the end of the tenth century opens the plains to rule from the west.

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Sources

  1. [1]Ghaznavid dynasty — Encyclopaedia Britannica. Accessed 2026-08-30.
  2. [2]Delhi sultanate — Encyclopaedia Britannica. Accessed 2026-08-30.
  3. [3]Monuments of Uch — UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Accessed 2026-08-30.
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