Qualla: Sack of Somnath https://qualla.com/sack-of-somnath en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:31 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_res/siteimages/rsslogo.png Qualla: Sack of Somnath https://qualla.com/sack-of-somnath Sack of Somnath: Introduction https://qualla.com/sack-of-somnath/ Three hundred and fifty people -- men and women -- sang and danced before the sacred linga at Somnath Temple every day. The income of 10,000 villages sustained it. Centuries of offerings had filled its vaults with gold, silver, pearls, and jewels. When Mahmud of Ghazni heard that the Hindus believed their god Somnath had allowed other temples to fall because he was displeased with them, the Ghaznavid sultan decided to test that claim with 30,000 cavalry and a march across the Thar Desert.

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]]> Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/e/d/n/sack-of-somnath-wp/tedn-sack-of-somnath-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Sack of Somnath: Across the Desert with Thirty Thousand https://qualla.com/sack-of-somnath/ Mahmud departed Ghazni on October 18, 1025, his army riding with two camels per soldier and an additional 20,000 to 30,000 camels carrying supplies. After resting at Multan in late November, the force pushed through the desert, seizing the fort of Ludrava near Jaisalmer before cr...

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]]> Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/e/d/n/sack-of-somnath-wp/tedn-sack-of-somnath-across-the-desert-with-thirty-thousand.mp3 0:06 2 full Sack of Somnath: Three Days at the Temple Walls https://qualla.com/sack-of-somnath/ Mahmud reached the Somnath fort on the southern coast of the Kathiawar Peninsula in early January 1026. On Friday, January 7, the Ghaznavid forces launched their assault with a storm of arrows that drove the garrison from the battlements. By afternoon, attackers had scaled the wa...

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]]> Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/e/d/n/sack-of-somnath-wp/tedn-sack-of-somnath-three-days-at-the-temple-walls.mp3 0:06 3 full Sack of Somnath: Gold, Rubble, and a Title https://qualla.com/sack-of-somnath/ Inside the temple, Mahmud shattered the Shiva Linga and oversaw the looting of what sources describe as 20,000,000 dinars in treasure -- an almost incomprehensible sum, though medieval chroniclers had reason to exaggerate both the wealth and their patron's glory. The fragments of...

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]]> Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/e/d/n/sack-of-somnath-wp/tedn-sack-of-somnath-gold-rubble-and-a-title.mp3 0:06 4 full Sack of Somnath: The Long Road Home https://qualla.com/sack-of-somnath/ The return march proved nearly as dangerous as the conquest. A wave of indignation swept through the Hindu chieftains of the region. Raja Paramdeva of Abu organized a coalition that blocked the Ghaznavid army's overland passage, forcing Mahmud to divert through the Aravalli hills...

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]]> Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/e/d/n/sack-of-somnath-wp/tedn-sack-of-somnath-the-long-road-home.mp3 0:06 5 full