Ghaznavid

Refers to the art and culture associated with the Islamic Turkish dynasty of this name that ruled eastern Persia, Afghanistan, Turkestan, and northwestern India. The Ghaznavids, beginning as Turkish military slaves who assimilated Perso-Islamic ways, ruled from the 10th century until the 11th and 12th centuries when they were expelled by the Seljuks and Ghurids. Little Ghaznavid art has survived although the two monumental tomb towers or minarets still standing at Ghazni give an idea as to its magnificence. Of a tall and slender Persian type, they were built on the plan of an eight-pointed star and their surfaces are decorated with Kufic inscriptions and abstract designs in brick.