A fascinating coin in that it is one of the few bilingual coins from this period, showing the Islamic professions of creed in both Arabic and Sanskrit! This variety has al-qadir above and billah to the left on the obverse. Also, the reverse margin reads: avyaktiya name ayam tankam hato mahamudapura samvati. Although the first Muslim conquerors in India were the Habbarids of Sind and the Amirs of Multan, their effect on the country was not very far-reaching. The Ghaznavids were a Turkic dynasty that started out as regional governors for the Samanids in the area of Ghazni in modern Afghanistan. They became independent in AH 389 (= 999 CE) and expanded their realm into northern India. Mahmud, the son of the founder of the dynasty, embarked on a major military campaign, as a result of which he became the ruler of most of present-day Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, and northwestern India. The Ghaznavid dynasty succumbed to the Ghorids in the late 12th century.