Yamin-ud-Dawla Abul-Qasim Mahmud ibn Sebuktegin; more commonly known as Mahmud of Ghazni (2 November 971 CE - 30 April 1030 CE); also known as Mahmud-i Zabuli; was the most prominent ruler of the Ghaznavid Empire. He conquered the eastern Iranian lands and the northwestern Indian subcontinent (modern Afghanistan and Pakistan) between 997 and his death in 1030. Mahmud turned the former provincial city of Ghazni into the wealthy capital of an extensive empire which covered most of today's Afghanistan; eastern Iran; and Pakistan.

Al-Qadir (947 - 29 November 1031) was the Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad from 991 to 1031. Pictures From History