Malik Ayaz

Malik Ayaz (Persian: ملک ایاز; d 1041), son of Aymāq Abu'n-Najm, was a Historical slave of the Muslim world from Georgia who rose to the rank of officer and general in the army of Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni. He was later awarded the governorship of Lahore. Malik Ayaz's slave-generalship to Mahmud inspired poems and stories, and caused Muslim historians and Sufis to commemorate Malik Ayaz due to his unwavering feudalistic loyalty to Mahmud Ghaznavi. He was found dead in his bed in 1041, with suspicions of foul play being involved.

Early life and feudal career
In 1021, the Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi raised Ayaz to Lordship, awarding him the throne of Lahore, which the Sultan had taken after a long siege and a fierce battle in which the city was torched and depopulated. As the first Muslim governor of Lahore, he rebuilt and repopulated the city. He also added many important features, such as a masonry fort, which he built in the period of 1037–1040 on the ruins of the previous one, demolished in the fighting, and city gates (as recorded by Munshi Sujan Rae Bhandari, author of the Khulasatut Tawarikh (1596 C.E.). The present Lahore Fort is built in the same location. Under his rule the city became a cultural and academic center, renowned for poetry.

The tomb of Malik Ayaz can still be seen in the Rang Mahal area of Lahore. The tomb and the garden was destroyed by the Sikhs during their rule of Lahore and the tomb was rebuilt after the Partition of British India.

 Relationship with Mahmud of Ghazni 

Malik Ayaz in Sufism
Amjad Farid Sabri, the slain Qawwal of Pakistan performed a song dedicated to Malik Ayaz, which praises the man for his feudalistic loyalty to Mahmud of Ghazni, the song also mentions Ajmer Sharif Dargah and how it attracts female devotees with the same devotion.

Related pages
Ghaznavid Empire

Further reading
Khalid, Kanwal. "Lahore During The Ghaznavid Period: A Socio- Political and Cultural Study."

References


Bibliography


Category:Muslims
Category:Military people
Category:History of Lahore
Category:History of Pakistan
Category:Slaves
Category:Iranian people
Category:Ghaznavid governors
Category:1041 deaths
Category:11th-century people