Where was the capital of Hindushahi kingdom at the time of Mahmud Ghaznavi attack ?

Question

Accepted Answer

The correct option is 4:
The Hindu Shahi dynasty controlled a vast territory encompassing modern-day eastern Afghanistan and Gandhara (present-day Northwest Pakistan) from the 9th to the early 11th centuries. Initially, the capital of the Shahi kingdom was located at Kabul. However, due to the constant westward pressure and repeated attacks from the rising powers in the west, specifically the Saffarids and later the Ghaznavids under Mahmud of Ghazni, the Shahi rulers were forced to relocate their capital eastward. By the time Mahmud Ghaznavi launched his major campaigns in the late 10th and early 11th centuries, the capital had been firmly established at **Udbhandpur**, which is also known by the name **Waihind** (or Und), situated on the bank of the Indus River near Attock. Waihind served as the strategic last stronghold and the primary political center of the Shahi kingdom under rulers like Jayapala and Anandapala, where the decisive battles against Mahmud were fought.

The incorrect option is 1:
Kabul was indeed the initial capital of the Shahi kingdom (known as the Turk Shahis and later the Hindu Shahis). However, Kabul was lost to the Muslim rulers (Ya'qub ibn al-Layth al-Saffar) decades before the major attacks by Mahmud Ghaznavi began.

The incorrect option is 2:
Peshawar, while an important city in the region of Gandhara and frequently a site of conflict between the Shahis and the Ghaznavids, was not the primary capital at the time of Mahmud's attacks. It was a major frontier city and a center that fell early during the Ghaznavid invasions, confirming the capital had already shifted.

The incorrect option is 3:
Attock is a major historical location on the Indus River, but it primarily refers to the fort and the area around the river crossing. The capital city itself was Udbhandpur, or Waihind, which was located close to modern-day Attock, making "Udbhandpur or Waihind" the more precise historical answer for the capital.