Hindu Shahi period

era

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.

Period
500 CE to 1000 CE
Focus
Kabul to the Salt Range

Last updated

Quick facts about Hindu Shahi period
Period500 CE to 1000 CE[1]
FocusKabul to the Salt Range[1]

Hindu Shahi period: overview

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.

Timeline

  1. 870

    Hindu Shahi dynasty established

    Kallar founds the dynasty ruling Kabul, Gandhara and the western Punjab.

  2. 1001

    Defeat at Peshawar

    Mahmud of Ghazni defeats Jayapala, ending Shahi power in the plains.

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Sources

  1. [1]Shahi dynasty Encyclopaedia Britannica. Accessed 2026-08-30.
  2. [2]Mahmud of Ghazni Encyclopaedia Britannica. Accessed 2026-08-30.