| Ahmed Ayaz | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Malik (Lord) | |||||
 Ayaz standing behind Sultan Mahmud shaking hands with the Sheykh. The figure to his right is Shah Abbas I who reigned about 600 years later.
Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, Tehran | |||||
| Ghaznavid Governor of Lahore | |||||
| Reign | 1021 – 8 August 1041 | ||||
| Predecessor | Position established | ||||
| Successor | Majdud Ghaznavi | ||||
| Born | c. 993 Kingdom of Abkhazia (present day Georgia) | ||||
| Died | 8 August 1041 Lahore, Ghaznavid Empire (present day Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan) | ||||
| Burial | Tomb of Malik Ahmed Ayaz, Walled City, Lahore | ||||
| |||||
| Father | Aymaq Abu'n Najm | ||||
| Religion | Sunni Islam | ||||
| Military career | |||||
| Allegiance |  Ghaznavid Empire | ||||
| Service | Ghaznavid Army | ||||
| Rank | Wali, Malik, Ghulam, Mamluk | ||||
| Battles / wars |
| ||||
Malik Ahmed Ayāz bin Aymāq Abu'n-Najm (Persian: ملک احمد ایاز بن ایماق ابن نجم; d. 1041), was a slave from Georgia[1][2] who rose to the rank of officer and general in the army of Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni. He was later awarded the governorship of Lahore thus becoming the first Muslim viceroy of the city. Malik Ayaz's generalship to Mahmud inspired poems and stories,[3] and caused Muslim historians and Sufis to commemorate Malik Ayaz due to his unwavering feudalistic loyalty to Mahmud Ghaznavi.[citation needed] He was found dead in his bed in 1041, with suspicions of foul play being involved.[4]
- ^ Allsen, Thomas. The Royal Hunt in Eurasian History. p. 264.
- ^ Pearson, Michael Naylor. Merchants and Rulers in Gujarat: The Response to the Portuguese in the Sixteenth Century. p. 67.
- ^ Ritter 2003, p. 309–310.
- ^ Sheikh, Majid (August 20, 2017). "Myths and mysteries of Ayaz, the slave from Lahore". DAWN.com. Retrieved January 20, 2023.