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Lawik dynasty
c.750 CE–977 CE
Ghazni was the power-center of the Lawik dynasty. Citadel of Ghazni pictured above
LAWIK DYNASTYSAFFARIDSSAMANIDSABBASID CALIPHATEBYZANTINE EMPIREGUJARA- PRATIHARAPALA EMPIREUTPALA DYNASTYHINDU SHAHISclass=notpageimage| Approximate location of the Lawik dynasty
Hindu ShahisLAWIKSSamarkandHeratSAFFARIDS/ SAMANIDS/ GhaznavidsBalkhKandaharGhazniGardezKabulHundUTPALA DYNASTYKHUDAHSBukharaAFSHINSBostclass=notpageimage| The Lawik Dynasty was located in Ghazni and Gardez
Capital	Ghazni
Religion	Hinduism (before 782) Islam (after 782)
Government	Monarchy
Historical era	Early Middle Ages
• Established	c.750 CE
• Disestablished	977 CE
Preceded by Succeeded by Turk Shahis Zunbils Samanids Ghaznavids
Today part of	Afghanistan

The Lawīk dynasty was the last native dynasty which ruled Ghazni prior to the Ghaznavid conquest in the present-day Afghanistan. Lawiks were originally Hindus, but later became Muslims. They were closely related to the Hindu Shahis, and after 877, ruled under the Hindu Shahi suzerainty.

A branch of Lawiks ruled the nearby city of Gardez. The Siyasatnama of Nizam al-Mulk, the Tabaqat-i Nasiri of Juzjani, and the Majma' al-ansāb fī't-tawārīkh of Shabankara'i (14th century) mentioned Lawiks.

History

Wujwir Lawik

Lawik dynasty appears to have belonged to the Tak (Takshak) people of the frontier regions of Indian subcontinent. According to Afghan historian Abdul Hai Habibi, Wujwir Lawik built a great idol-temple at Bamyan Gate, Ghazni in honor of the Ratbil and the Kabul Shah.

Khanan Lawik

Wujwir's son, Khanan (referred to as Khaqan in Zayn al-Akhbar), converted to Islam around 782 but then became an apostate. Around 784, Khanan demolished the idol-temple and buried his father's idol underneath it, converting the site into a mosque.

Khanan was sent a poem by the Kabul Shahis, saying: "Alas! The idol of Lawik has been interred beneath the earth of Ghazna, and the Lawiyan family have given away their kingly power. I am going to send my own army; do not yourself follow the way of the Arabs ."

Abu Mansur Aflah

According to Zayn al-Akhbar, written by historian Abu Sa'id Gardezi, Abu Mansur Aflah Lawik was reduced to a tributary status in Gardez by Emir Ya'qub ibn al-Layth al-Saffar in 877.

Around this time nevertheless, it is thought that the Lawik dynasty remained as a ruling family under the suzerainty of the Hindu Shahis.

Abu Bakr Lawik

In 962, the Turkic slave commander of the Samanid Empire, Alp-Tegin, attacked Ghazni and besieged the Citadel of Ghazni for four months. He wrested the town from its ruler Abu Bakr Lawik. Alp-Tegin was accompanied by Sabuktigin during this conquest.

Around 965, Abu Bakr Lawik recaptured Ghazni from Alp-Tegin's son, Abu Ishaq Ibrahim, forcing him to flee to Bukhara. However, this was not to last long because Abu Ishaq Ibrahim shortly returned to the town with Samanid aid, and took control of the town once again. Abu Bakr Lawik was thereafter no longer mentioned; he died before 977, the year that Ghaznavid control was established in Ghazni.

Although Juzjani gave Abu Bakr Lawik the Islamic kunya of Abu Bakr, Shabankara'i claimed he was a non-Muslim.

Abu Ali Lawik

Abu Ali Lawik was the son of Abu Bakr Lawik, and also a brother-in-law of the Turk Shahi ruler of the region, Kabul Shah.

About one decade after Abu Ishaq Ibrahim's capture of Ghazni, the people of Ghazni invited Abu Ali Lawik to come back, take the throne, and overthrow the tyrant Samanid-appointed governor, Böritigin. The Kabul Shahis allied with Lawiks and the king, most likely Jayapala, sent his son to assist Lawiks in the invasion. When the allied forces reached near Charkh on Logar River, they were attacked by Sabuktigin who killed and captured many of them while also capturing ten elephants. Böritigin was expelled and Sabuktigin became governor in 977 A.D. The accession was endorsed by the Samanid ruler Nuh II. Lawik himself was killed in the battle along with his ally.

On the other hand, the neighboring town of Gardez remained in Lawik hands until c. 977, when the dynasty was finally uprooted. Samanid-appointed governor Bilgetegin was killed by Lawiks during his siege of Gardez in 975.

See also

• Turk Shahi
• Ghaznavids
• Samanids

References

1. Jan, Changez (18 July 2022). Forgotten Kings: The Story of the Hindu Sahi Dynasty. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-93-92099-01-4.
2. ^ Clifford Edmund Bosworth (1977). The Medieval History of Iran, Afghanistan, and Central Asia. Variorum Reprints. pp. 301–302.
3. ^ Unesco (1 January 1998). History of Civilizations of Central Asia. UNESCO. p. 96. ISBN 978-92-3-103467-1.
4. ^ Petrie, Cameron A. (28 December 2020). Resistance at the Edge of Empires: The Archaeology and History of the Bannu basin from 1000 BC to AD 1200. Oxbow Books. p. 92. ISBN 978-1-78570-306-5.
5. Alikuzai, Hamid Wahed (1 October 2013). A Concise History of Afghanistan in 25 Volumes. ISBN 978-1-4907-1441-7.
6. Devra, G.S.L.; Arora, Shashi (2012). "Hindu Commanders in the Army of Sultans of Ghazna: A Case Study of Vijaypal of Bayana". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 73: 205–211. ISSN 2249-1937.
7. The Islamic Quarterly, Volumes 7–10. London, England: Islamic Cultural Centre. 1963. p. 19.
8. Clifford Edmund Bosworth (1977). The Medieval History of Iran, Afghanistan, and Central Asia. Variorum Reprints. pp. 302–303.
9. John Andrew Boyle (1968). The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 5. Cambridge University Press. p. 165. ISBN 9780521069366.
10. Clifford Edmund Bosworth (1977). The Medieval History of Iran, Afghanistan, and Central Asia. Variorum Reprints. p. 298.
11. Mishra, Yogendra (1972). The Hindu Sahis of Afghanistan and the Punjab, A.D. 865–1026: A Phase of Islamic Advance Into India. Vaishali Bhavan. p. 102.
12. The wonder that was India II by S A Rizvi Published by Picador India Page 12
13. Ramesh Chandra Majumdar (1966). The History and Culture of the Indian People: The struggle for empire. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. p. 3.
14. Cameron A. Petrie (28 December 2020). Resistance at the Edge of Empires: The Archaeology and History of the Bannu basin from 1000 BC to AD 1200. Oxbow Books. p. 83. ISBN 9781785703065.
15. Bosworth, C.E. (1992). History of Civilizations of Central Asia. Motilal Banarsidass Publ., 1992. p. 96. ISBN 9788120815957.

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