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‘Alā’ al-Dīn Ḥusayn (Ghūrid)

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Islam, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Indian Religions ((EIR))

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Synonyms

‘Alā’ ud-Dīn Ḥusain; Jahānsūz

Definition

‘Alā’ ud-Dīn Ḥusayn (r. 1149–1161) was a senior Shansabānī who may be regarded as the effective founder of the Ghūrid Empire (c. 1150–1215).

Early Shansabānī History

‘Alā’ al-Dīn Ḥusayn (r. 1149–1161) was a senior member of the Shansabānīs of Ghūr, the remote and mountainous region of what is today central Afghanistan [1, 14], during whose eventful reign the family first rose to the rank of a regional power. He may therefore be regarded as the effective founder of the Ghūrid Empire (c. 1150–1215), a Perso-Islamic polity that at its height encompassed the eastern Iranian province of Khurāsān and northern India.

The Shansabānīs arose to prominence in the first half of the twelfth century, initially as tributaries of the Ghaznavids and later of the Saljūqs, the two great powers of the eastern Islamic lands. When the Ghaznavid ruler Bahrām Shāh (r. c. 1117–1157) ascended the throne of Ghazna as vassal to the Saljūq sultan Sanjar b. Malik...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Washington, DC, USA

    Michael O’Neal

Authors
  1. Michael O’Neal
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Correspondence to Michael O’Neal .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Pomona College Religious Studies, Claremont, CA, USA

    Zayn R. Kassam

  2. Rollins College Jewish Studies Program, Winter Park, FL, USA

    Yudit Kornberg Greenberg

  3. World Zoroastrian Organization, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Jehan Bagli

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O’Neal, M. (2018). ‘Alā’ al-Dīn Ḥusayn (Ghūrid). In: Kassam, Z.R., Greenberg, Y.K., Bagli, J. (eds) Islam, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism. Encyclopedia of Indian Religions. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1267-3_1993

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