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The Qarlughids, a tribe of Turkic and Hazaras origin, controlled Ghazni and the lands of the Bamyan and the Kurram Valley (Ghazna, Banban, and Kurraman), establishing a Muslim principality and dynasty lasting between 1224 and 1266. The Qarlughids arrived from the north to settle in the regions of Hazarajat together with the armies of Muhammad II of Khwarezm, the Shah of Khwarezm. Throughout most of its existence, the Qarlugh Kingdom functioned as a buffer state between its two powerful neighbors, the Delhi Sultanate to the east and south and the Mongol Empire to the north and west, with [4] The Malik at the throne of Qarlugh would frequently switch allegiances between their two powerful neighbors, and through balanced diplomacy managed to become an important trade intermediary between the Mongols of Central Asia and the lands of the subcontinent. Testimet to Qarlughid prosperity is the significant coinage found from this dynasty.[5]

Qarlughid Dynasty
CapitalGhazna, Binban
Common languagesNāgarī script (written)
Malik, Khan 
• 1238–1249
Saif al-Din al-Hasan Qarlugh
• 1249–1259
Nasir al-Din Muhammad Qarlugh
• Established
• Disestablished
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Khwarazmian dynasty
Ghurid dynasty
Delhi Sultanate
Mongol Empire
Today part of
History of the Turkic peoples
History of the Turkic peoples
Pre-14th century
Turkic Khaganate 552–744
  Western Turkic
  Eastern Turkic
Khazar Khaganate 618–1048
Xueyantuo 628–646
Great Bulgaria 632–668
  Danube Bulgaria
  Volga Bulgaria
Kangar union 659–750
Turk Shahi 665–850
Türgesh Khaganate 699–766
Uyghur Khaganate 744–840
Karluk Yabgu State 756–940
Kara-Khanid Khanate 840–1212
  Western Kara-Khanid
  Eastern Kara-Khanid
Ganzhou Uyghur Kingdom 848–1036
Qocho 856–1335
Pecheneg Khanates
Kimek confederation
Oghuz Yabgu State
Ghaznavid Empire 963–1186
Seljuk Empire 1037–1194
  Sultanate of Rum
Kerait khanate 11th century–13th century
Khwarazmian Empire 1077–1231
Naiman Khanate –1204
Qarlughid Kingdom 1224–1266
Delhi Sultanate 1206–1526
  Mamluk dynasty
  Khalji dynasty
  Tughlaq dynasty
Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo) 1250–1517
  Bahri dynasty
Bengal Sultanate 1352–1487
  Ilyas Shahi dynasty


The establishment of the Qarlugh Kingdom was a result of the turbulent power struggles of the 12th and 13th centuries in Greater Khurasan as the Ghurid Empire gave way to the Delhi Sultanate and the Mongols. The lands of Peshawar and the Kurram valley were ruled in rapid succession by Muhammad of Ghor, Taj al-Din Yildiz, Nasir ad-Din Qabacha, Iltutmish, Genghis Khan, Mingburnu, and again Iltutmish, who incorporated them into the Delhi Sultanate. The Sultana of Delhi, Razia al-Din, appointed Saif al-Din al-Hasan Qarlugh as governor of Ghazni, who in 1238 seceded from the Sultanate and asserted the independence of the Qarlugh Kingdom ruling Ghazni, Bamyan, and Kurraman.

The Qarlughids developed rapidly in the wake of the Mongolian invasion and the resulting power vacuum of the preceding decade. They repopulated, rebuilt, and administered the devastated areas, most notably the city of Bamyan that was completely destroyed in the Siege of Bamyan (1221) by Ghenghis Khan, turning the rebuilt city into their stronghold.

See alsoEdit


  4. ^ André Wink (1997). Al-Hind the Making of the Indo-Islamic World: The Slave Kings and the Islamic Conquest : 11Th-13th Centuries. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-10236-1.
  5. ^ Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland (1908). Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Cambridge University Press for the Royal Asiatic Society. Archived from the original on 2010. Retrieved 2016-06-13.

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