SEBUKTIGIN

in full Abu Mansur Sebktigin born c. 942, , Barskhan, Afg. died August 997, Balkh founder of the Ghaznavid dynasty, which ruled much of the area of present-day Afghanistan for more than 150 years. Once a Turkish slave, Sebktigin married the daughter of the governor of the town of Ghazna (modern Ghazni), which was under the control of the Samanid dynasty. He succeeded the governor in 977 and later rejected Samanid control. In the next 20 years Sebktigin extended his rule over much of what is now Afghanistan. At his own request, he was succeeded in 977 by a younger son, Isma'il. Many of the nobles, however, preferred his eldest son, Mahmud, as their sovereign. Mahmud was able to defeat his brother in battle (and imprison him for the rest of his life) and to ascend the throne in 998, to become the great Mahmud of Ghazna.