founder of the Ghaznavid dynasty, which ruled much of the area of present-day Afghanistan for more than 150 years.

Once a Turkish slave, Sebüktigin married the daughter of the governor of the town of Ghazna (modern Ghaznī), which was under the control of the Sāmānid Dynasty. He succeeded the governor in 977 and later rejected Sāmānid control. In the next 20 years Sebüktigin extended his rule over much of what is now Afghanistan. At his own request, he was succeeded in 977 by a younger son, Ismāʿīl. Many of the nobles, however, preferred his eldest son, Maḥmūd, as their sovereign. Maḥmūd was able to defeat his brother in battle (and imprison him for the rest of his life) and to ascend the throne in 998, to become the great Maḥmūd of Ghazna.