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Mas‘ūd I

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Islam, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism

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

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Synonyms

Mas‘ūd b. Maḥmūd; Mas‘ūd Ghaznavī

Definition

Mas‘ūd I, Abū Sa‘īd (r. 1030–1040), the eldest son of the famous Maḥmūd b. Sebüktegīn, was the fifth Ghaznavid ruler under whose turbulent reign the Iranian plateau was permanently lost to the Saljūq Turks.

Mas‘ūd’s Career and Significance

Mas‘ūd I, Abū Sa‘īd (r. 1030–1040), was the eldest son of the famous Maḥmūd b. Sebüktegīn and the fifth Ghaznavid ruler. His turbulent reign saw the loss of the Iranian plateau to the Saljūq Turks; under his immediate successors, the Ghaznavid Empire was reduced to eastern Afghanistan, Balūchistān, and northwest India. Personally a brave and accomplished warrior, Mas‘ūd proved incapable of stemming the incursions of the steppe nomads into the settled lands of Iran.

He was born in 997 or 998 and had already demonstrated his warfighting prowess in 1015 during an expedition against the pagans of Ghūr [13, 16]. Soon thereafter, Maḥmūd designated Mas‘ūd his heir (walī ‘ahd) and by 1020 had named him...

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References

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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). Mas‘ūd I. 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_2046

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