Compare and Contrast the invasion of Mahmud Ghori and Mahmud of Ghazni.
Answers
Muhammad Ghori and Mahmud of Ghazni both were Turkish invaders who came from Ghazni . Inspite of having lot of similarities in respect to their way of operation there were few dissimilarities among them.
Mahmud unlike Ghori (who had to face few defeats) never encountered defeat in his 17 invasion of India. Mahmud was more successful king than Ghori in Central Asia.
Mahmud was never interested in establishing his empire in India as he was more inclined in looting the wealth of India. He concentrated more in spreading Islam in India as a result he destroyed idols of Hindu Gods and even destroyed temples. On the other hand Ghori attacked on important forts and towns.
Mahmud had a great interest in the subject of art and literature while Ghori was a just a politican and military commander. Ghazni under the rule of Mahmud became a great cultural centre as a result many famous architects, poets,artists and scholars visited his court. Historians like Utbi and Alberuni, poets and scholars like Firdausi, Unsari and Baihaqi were amongst some of the scholars who visited his court. University at Ghazni which has a vast collection of valuable books of different languages was founded by him.
Mahmud built museum, madaras (institutions of higher learning) and mosques. and even awarded scholars with scholarships.
The most famous ‘Celestial Bride’, the great Jama Masjid of Ghazni is one of the greatest monument built during his time which was certainly ‘a wonder of the East’ Ghori on the other hand showed minimal interest in the field of art and literature.
Hope this helps.