Jharkhand PSC Prelim Exam 2010 Solved Paper

(4) Mahmud of Ghazni (971-1030) was the first sultan of the Ghaznavid dynasty in Afghanistan. A zealous Sunni Moslem, he plundered wealthy India and used the booty to patronize culture in Ghazni, making it the center of Perso-Islamic civilization.
A patron of the arts, Mahmud attracted poets from all parts of Asia. Among these were Uzari, Asadi Tusi, Unsuri, and perhaps the most famous of them all, Firdausi. All were commissioned to wri te panegyrics. Firdausi’s Shahnamahas placed Mahmud among the immortals of history.