Shahabuddin Ghouri was born in 1143, in Jilan , Ghour province of current Afghanistan. He is best known in history for conquering and consolidation of large portions of territory currently under Pakistan, Northern India, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. He paved the way for Muslims to rule this region for the next seven hundred years. It should be noted that Shahabuddin Ghouri was of Pakhtun Lineage. Some writers are mistakenly calling him Turk. His Pakhtun lineage can be seen in books from his era such as Tabaqat-i-Nasiri by Minhaj-i-Siraj, Tarikh Fakhr-e Mudabar, Tajul-Masr and in books written by later authors such as Abdul Hai Habibi(Afghanistan ke Mukhtasar Tarikh), Louise Dopri (History of Afghanistan), and Mohammad Hassan (Shahabuddin Mohammad Ghouri). One of his great contributions is establishment of a strong centralized government. Before him, this region was dispersed in several small fiefdoms, whose rulers were constantly fighting with each other. As a result, there was no peace in the entire region. When Shahabuddin took reign, he established rule-of-law and provided people with security, a revenue collection system, and a land distribution system. He is also credited for establishing and naming the city of Delhi. It should be noted that Delhi is a Pashto word which means ‘there’. “Delhi lar sha: Go there.” Shahabuddin Ghouri is best known for his visionary leadership and benevolent rule. His leadership qualities and military acumen place him among the ranks of great military generals such as Julius Ceaser, Hannibal, and Napoleon. With smaller sized armies and military strategies he was able to overcome large size armies. Unfortunately, this great Pakhtun General was untimely assassinated in 1206 near Jehlum (current Pakistan). However, prior to dying he left a cadre of able sub-ordinates who continued his great his legacy.
Posted on: Fri, 11 Apr 2014 12:52:27 +0000
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