March 15, 1206

Muhammad of Ghor

Assassination of Muʿizz al-Din Muhammad of Ghor at Damyak

The assassination killed the ruler but named no successor: his commanders divided the military network among themselves.

15 March 1206, on the road to Ghazni

Muʿizz al-Din Muhammad of Ghor was assassinated on 3 Shaʿban 602 AH, conventionally converted as 15 March 1206.

The killing occurred at the halting place of Damyak, or Dhamiak, on the road to Ghazni, after Muhammad's campaign against the Khokhars in Punjab. The spelling and the exact modern identification of the place both vary.

A near-contemporary chronicle preserved the death as a dated verse naming that roadside halt.

Who killed him is still unresolved

Muhammad was returning from the violent suppression of a Khokhar rebellion, and revenge by Khokhars is one explanation for the attack.

Other sources attribute the killing to Ismaili assassins, possibly connected with Ghurid operations against Ismaili territory.

Medieval and later accounts name Ismailis, Khokhar avengers or a mixed group; their identity is unresolved.

Aibak did not simply inherit

Aibak did not succeed to the whole Ghurid Empire that day. Muhammad's territories were divided in practice among leading amirs — Taj al-Din Yildiz at Ghazna, Nasir al-Din Qabacha in Multan and Sind, and Aibak in Lahore, Ajmer and Delhi.

Local governors acknowledged Aibak as the leading ruler in India, but confirmation from the Ghurid court followed only months later.

His reported proclamation as king at Lahore came on 27 June 1206, more than three months after the assassination.

Sources

Researched 23 Aug 2026 6 sources not yet audited

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What the sources leave uncertain

The date 15 March 1206 is strongly supported by the conversion of 3 Shaʿban 602 used by Encyclopaedia Iranica, although some modern retellings give other March dates.
Damyak/Dhamiak’s spelling and exact modern identification vary.
The assassins’ identity remains disputed among accounts naming Ismailis, Khokhars or both.
Scholars differ on whether Aibak ever formally used the title “sultan”; one Encyclopaedia Iranica treatment says he probably did not, despite later dynastic tradition.