Ghazi Saiyyad Salar Masud

Ghazi Saiyyad Salar Masud or Ghazi Miyan (1014 – 1034 CE) was a semi-legendary Ghaznavid army general, said to have been the nephew of Sultan Mahmud. He supposedly accompanied his uncle in the conquest of India during early 11th century, although the Ghaznavid chronicles do not mention him.

By the 12th century, Salar Masud had become reputed as a warrior-saint, and his tomb (dargah) at Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh, India, had become a place of pilgrimage. However, his association with the Ghaznavids appears only in later sources. The main source of his biography is the 17th century historical romance Mirat-i-Masudi.

The Mirat-i-Masudi narrates the legend of Salar Masud as follows:

In 1011 CE, the Muslims of Ajmer, who were being oppressed by the local Hindu rulers, appealed Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni for help. Mahmud agreed to help them on the condition that they would mention his name in the Friday sermons (Khutbah), which would signify their acknowledgment of his suzerainty. Mahmud's general Salar Sahu defeated the Hindu rulers of Ajmer and surrounding regions. As a reward, Mahmud married his sister to Salar Sahu; Masud was the issue of this marriage. Masud was born on 10 February 1014 CE, in Ajmer.

Even as a child, Masud was a capable military leader and participated in his uncle Mahmud's campaigns. In fact, it was Masud who persuaded Mahmud to demolish the famous idol at the Hindu temple of Somnath, against the advice of Vizier Khwaja Hasan Maimandi.

Driven by martial and religious fervour, Masud asked the Ghaznavid emperor to be allowed to march to India and spread Islam there. At the age of 16, he invaded India, crossing the Indus river. He conquered Multan, and in the 18th month of his campaign, he arrived near Delhi. With help of a reinforcement from Ghazni, he conquered Delhi and remained there for 6 months. He then conquered Meerut after some resistance. Next, he proceeded to Kannauj, whose ruler received him as friend.

...
Wikipedia