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Abu Saʿīd, the eldest son of Sulṭān Maḥmūd of G̲h̲azna, was born in the year 388 (998). In 406 (1015—1016), Sulṭān Maḥmūd nominated him his heir-apparent, and two years later made him governor of Herāt. In ¶ 411 (1020), at the command of his father, he led an expedition to G̲h̲ūr and reduced the northwestern part to submission. Shortly after this, he was disgraced and sent as a prisoner to Multān, but he was soon taken back into favour and was reinstated in his government at Herāt. When the province of Raiy was conquered in 420 (1…

, S̲h̲amsu ’l-Kufāt Abu ’l-Ḳāsim Aḥmad b. Ḥasan, the famous wazir of Sulṭān Maḥmūd of G̲h̲azna, was a fosterbrother of the Sulṭān, and had been brought up and educated with him. Ḥasan, the father of Aḥmad, was the ʿĀmil of Bust under Subuktigīn; but on a charge of misappropiation of the revenue, he was put to death. In 384 (994), when Amīr Nūḥ b. Manṣūr the Sāmānid conferred on Maḥmūd the command of the troops of Ḵh̲urāsān, Maḥmūd put Aḥmad at the head of his correspondence department. After this Aḥmad rapidly rose in the service of his master, and occupied in succession, the posts of Mustawfī-i Ma…

, Abū Naṣr Muḥammad b. Muḥammad al-Ḏj̲abbār, the author of the Kitāb al-Yamīnī, was born at Raiy about the year 350 (961). He left his home in early youth and came to live in Ḵh̲urāsān with his maternal uncle Abū Naṣr al-ʿUtbī who held an important post under the Sāmānids. After the death of Abū Naṣr, al-ʿUtbī served as secretary first to Abū ʿAlī Sīmd̲j̲ūrī, the commander of the army of Ḵh̲urāsān from 378 to 383 (988—993), then for a short time to S̲h̲ams al-Maʿālī Ḳābūs who was living as an exile in Ḵh̲ur…

b. Ziyār, Abu ’l-Ḥad̲j̲d̲j̲ād̲j̲, the founder of the Ziyārid dynasty, was descended on his father’s side from the rulers of Gīlān and on his mother’s side from the Ispahbads of Rūyān. He had taken service under the ʿAlīd rulers of Ṭabarīstān and was a captain in the army under Asfar b. S̲h̲īrawaihi. In 316 (928) Mardāwid̲j̲ slew Saiyid Abū Muḥammad Ḥasan al-Dāʿī, and shortly after that rebelled against Asfār, made himself independent at Zand̲j̲ān which he held in d̲j̲āgir and captured Ḳazwīn. He then defeated Asfār, forced him to fly to Ṭabas in Ḳuhistān and put him to de…

, Abū Manṣūr, like his father was a captain in the army of the ʿAlid rulers of Ṭabaristān. Saiyid Abu ’l-Ḳāsim Ḏj̲aʿfar b. Saiyid Nāṣir, son-in-law of Mākān, who came to the throne after the flight of Saiyid Abū Muḥammad Ḥasan b. Ḳāsim, known as the Dāʿī (“the summoner unto the truth”), appointed Mākān to the governorship of Ḏj̲urd̲j̲ān. Saiyid Abu ’l-Ḳāsim died in 312 (924) and was succeeded by Saiyid Abū ʿAlī Muḥammad b. Abu ’l-Ḥusain Aḥmad. Mākān deposed him, sent him as a prisoner to ʿAlī b. Ḥ…

b. Aḥmad al-Asfarāʾinī Abu ’l-ʿAbbās, the first wazīr of Sulṭān Maḥmūd of G̲h̲azna, was formerly the Ṣāḥib-i Barīd (Master of the Post) of Marw under the Sāmānids. At the request of Subuktigīn, Amīr Nūḥ b. Manṣūr the Sāmānid sent Faḍl to Nīs̲h̲āpūr in 385 (995) as the wazīr of Maḥmūd who had been appointed to the command of the troops of Ḵh̲urāsān, in the previous year. Faḍl managed the affairs of the expanding empire of Sulṭān Maḥmūd with great tact and ability till 404 (1013), when he was accused of extorting …

, Abū ’l-Fatḥ, S̲h̲ihāb al-Dawla wa-Ḳuṭb al-Milla, ruler of G̲h̲azna, was born about 412 (1021—1022). In Muḥarram 432 (September 1040) he was appointed to the government of Balk̲h̲ with Ḵh̲wād̲j̲a Abū Naṣr Aḥmad b. Muḥammad as wazīr. A few months later, his father Sulṭān Masʿūd was deposed and Muḥammad, son of Sulṭān Maḥmūd, was raised to the throne. On learning news of this, Mawdūd left Balk̲h̲, took possession of G̲h̲azna, and spent the winter in making preparations for a struggle for the throne with Muḥammad. At the end …

, Abū ʿAlī Ḥasan b. Muḥammad b. ʿAbbās, commonly known as Ḥasanak, was the third wazīr of Sulṭān Maḥmūd of G̲h̲azna. He entered the service of the Sulṭān as a young man, and gradually rose to be the governor of the province of Ḵh̲urāsān. In 414 (1023), Ḥasanak went on a pilgrimage to Mecca, and returned by way of Cairo where he received a k̲h̲ilʿa from the Fāṭimid Caliph al-Ẓāhir. This offended al-Ḳādir ¶ bi’llāh, the ʿAbbāsid Caliph of Bag̲h̲dād, who denounced Ḥasanak as a Ḳarmaṭian [cf. ḳarmaṭ] and ordered Sulṭān Maḥmūd to put him to death as such. The Sulṭān however appeased th…