Power

An 11th-century Depiction

This was probably part of the decoration of a Ghaznavid palace in Ghazna, Afghanistan.

An 11th-century Coin

Obverse, in Field, written in Arabic:  “no god but God, Muhammad is the messenger of God, Nizam al-Din, Abu’l-Qasim, al-Qadir billah”; in margin: “in the name of God this dirham was struck in Mahmudpur the year eighteen and four hundred”

Reverse, in field, written in Sanskrit:  “The Invisible is One, Muhammad is the manifestation, Muhammad the king”; in margin: “in the name of the Invisible, this tanka was struck at Mahmudpur 418”

A 14th-century Depiction

This is an image from Rashid al-Din’s Compilation of Histories, dated to 1307. It shows Mahmud of Ghazna putting on a robe of honor sent by the ‘Abbasid caliph Qadir.

This image is from the same manuscript, showing Mahmud’s invasion into the Punjab:

This image shows his defeat of the king of Bengal:

This image shows Mahmud crossing the Ganges:

A 19th-century Depiction

This is a Qajar image of Mahmud of Ghazni and his slave. The three figures at the bottom are famous Persian poets: Firdawsi, ‘Unsuri, and ‘Asjadi.