Ghiyath al-Din Muhammad

Ghiyath al-Din Muhammad
Sultan of the Ghurid Empire
Artwork of Ghiyath al-Din Muhammad
Reign	1163– 11 February 1203 (40 years)
Coronation	1163
Predecessor	Sayf al-Din Muhammad
Successor	Mu'izz al-Din
Born	1139 Ghor, Ghurid dynasty, now Ghor Province, Afghanistan
Died	11 February 1203 (aged 63) Herat, Ghurid dynasty, now Afghanistan
Burial	Herat, Ghurid dynasty, now Afghanistan
Issue	Ghiyath al-Din Mahmud
Father	Baha al-Din Sam I
Religion	Sunni Islam

1163– 11 February 1203

Ghiyath al-Din Muhammad (Persian: غیاث‌ الدین محمد بن سام‎‎), was sultan of the Ghurid dynasty from 1163 to 1202. During his reign, the Ghurid dynasty became a world power, which stretched from Gorgan to Bengal.

During his early reign, he defeated the Ghurid claimants to the throne and fought with the Khwarazmian Empire over the lordship of Khorasan. He occupied Herat in 1176 and went on to establish control over most of what is now Afghanistan and the surrounding areas by 1200, and as far west as Bastam and Gurgan. His brother, Mu'izz al-Din, helped manage and expand the eastern part of the empire (as far as Bengal) and served Ghiyath with utmost loyalty and deference. Ghiyath died in 1202 and was succeeded by his brother Mu'izz al-Din.

Ghiyath was born in 1139; he was the son of Baha al-Din Sam I, who briefly reigned as king of the Ghurid dynasty in 1149. Ghiyath also had a younger brother named Mu'izz al-Din. During his early life, Ghiyath along with Mu'izz al-Din were imprisoned by their uncle Ala al-Din Husayn but were later released by the latter's son Sayf al-Din Muhammad. When Sayf died in 1163, the Ghurid nobles supported Ghiyath, and helped him ascend the throne.

When Ghiyath ascended to the throne, he was aided by his brother in the killing of a rival Ghurid chief named Abu'l Abbas. However, this was not the end of Ghurid family disputes; Ghiyath was soon challenged by his uncle Fakhr al-Din Masud, who claimed the throne for himself and had allied with Taj al-Din Yildiz, the Seljuq governor of Herat, and Balkh. However, the coalition was defeated by Ghiyath and Mu'izz al-Din at Ragh-i Zar. Ghiyath managed to kill the Seljuq governor during the battle, and then conquered Zamindawar, Badghis, Gharchistan, and Guzgan. He spared Fakhr al-Din and restored him as the ruler of Bamiyan. Fakhr al-Din later died and was succeeded by his son Shams al-Din Muhammad ibn Masud, who shortly conquered Balkh, Chaghaniyan, Vakhsh, Jarum, Badakhshan, and Shighnan from the Kara-Khitan Khanate, and was given the title of Sultan by Ghiyath.