Muhammad of Ghur Muslims lost a following confrontation, ably led by the prophet Muhammad, they ultimately triumphed and returned to Mecca with Muhammad as the acknowledged new leader of most of Arabia Muhammad died in 632 in the city of his birth Muhammad had no sons who lived to adulthood and left no instructions as to who should lead the Muslim community after his death Following the Prophet’s death, the community gathered and in a remarkably open and democratic fashion chose, by consensus, Abu Bakr to be their new caliph or representative See also Ethiopian Empire; Five, or Six, pillars of Islam Further reading: Ishaq, Ibn The Life of Muhammad Trans by A Guillaume London: Oxford University Press, 1955; Rodinson, Maxime Muhammed Trans by Anne Carter London: I.B.Tauris, 1971; Watt, W Montgomery Muhammad at Mecca Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1953; ——— Muhammad at Medina Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1956 Janice J Terry Muhammad of Ghur (1149–1206) sultan The victory of Muhammad of Ghur over the Rajput king, Prithviraj Chauhan III (r 1178–92), was a turning point in the history of South Asia Islam began to pervade the northern portion of the Indian subcontinent, in present-day India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan It was Muhammad of Ghur who prepared the groundwork of the establishment of political power Muizuddin Muhammad of Ghur, also known as Shahbuddin, came from the Ghur region located in modern Afghanistan In the rivalry between the house of the Ghaznavids and Ghurids, the latter under the leadership of Alauddin Husain (r 1149–61), emerged victorious Muhammad’s early career began with the conquest of Ghazni in 1173 He was ambitious and bent upon a career of territorial aggrandizement Muhammad could not expand toward the west because of the presence of the powerful Khwarizm dynasty of Persia He found the Indian subcontinent ruled by regional kingdoms, with no unity among themselves to check external aggression Prevailing social tensions, apathetic attitude of the common people, and advanced military technology facilitated his conquest In 1175 Multan fell into the hands of Muhammad, and afterward he occupied Uch and the lower Sind 287 Three years afterward he faced defeat at the hands of the Chalukyas of Gujrat Bhimdev II defeated Muhammad near Mount Abu Muhammad planned an attack through the Punjab region, where Ghanazvid king Tajuddaula Khursav Malik (r 1160–86) ruled By 1179 he was master of Peshawar, Lahore, and Silakot Most of the areas in present-day Pakistan were under his sway His territorial border was contiguous with Prithviraj III, the Chauhan ruler of Delhi and Ajmer At the first Battle of Tarai in 1191, he defeated Muhammad The latter was captured and brought before Prithviraj, who released the vanquished as an act of magnanimity Prithviraj was not friendly with the Gaharwar ruler of Kannauj, Jaychandra (r 1170–93), and Muhammad exploited it Jaychandra sided with the Ghur ruler, as he was bitter over Prithviraj’s forced marriage with Princess Sanjukta The Rajput control over North India was over after Muhammad defeated Prithviraj in the second Battle of Tarai of 1192 The defeated Rajput ruler was taken as a captive to Ghur and ultimately he was blinded and killed The rule from the northwest began, which culminated in establishing the political kingdom of the Delhi Sultanate Muhammad controlled much of northern India and parts of Gujarat and Gwalior Qutubuddin Aibak (r 1206–10), the general of Muhammad, was put in charge of Delhi and Ajmer He made Delhi capital and conquered Ranthambhor, Bulandshahr, Aligarh, and Meerut Muhammad returned to the Indian subcontinent in 1194 He defeated his erstwhile ally Jaychandra in a decisive battle fought on the banks of the Jamuna River near Chandawar Within a year Muhammad was master of northern India after occupying Bayana, Varanasi, and Gwalior He returned to Ghur leaving his generals, who consolidated and further expanded the territory of Muhammad Even outlying provinces like Bengal, Bihar, and Gujarat felt the onslaught of a new rule While Muhammad’s lieutenants were busy on the Indian subcontinent, he returned to settle the affairs of his parent kingdom His elder brother Ghiyasuddin had died in 1202 and Muhammad became the ruler of Ghur After three years Alauddin Muhammad (r 1199–1220), the Khwarizm Saha ruler, defeated him in the Battle of Andhkhud Muhammad came to India again in 1205 to suppress the rebellion of the Ghakkar tribe in the Punjab On his way back home during the next year, Muhammad made a stop at Dhamyak on the banks of the river Jhelum He was stabbed and killed while offering evening prayers in the Ghokkar territory Some authorities believe that the Isma’ili sect were responsible for his death Qutb ud-Din Aibak took control of Muhammad’s