Malik Ayaz

Who is Malik Ayaz?

Malik Ayaz, son of Aymáq Abu'n-Najm, was a Turkish slave from Georgia who rose to the rank of officer and general in the army of Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni. His rise to power was a reward for the devotion he bore his master.

In 1021, the Sultan raised Ayaz to kingship, 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