Sister cities of Ghazni

For the Province of Ghazni see Ghazni Province

Ghazni (Pashto/Persian: غزنی - Ġaznī; historically known as غزنین / Ġaznīn and غزنه / Ġazna) is a city in Afghanistan with a population of about 141,000 people. It is located in the central-east part of the country. Situated on a plateau at 7,280 feet (2,219 m) above sea level, the city or town serves as the capital of Ghazni Province. It is linked by a highway with Kandahar to the southwest, Kabul to the northeast, Gardez and Khost to the east. The foundation stone of the Ghazni International Airport was laid in April 2012 which will be operational in 2013.

Just like other cities of Afghanistan, Ghazni is very old and has witnessed many military invasions. In pre-Islamic period, the area was inhabited by various tribes who practiced different religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism. Arab Muslims introduced Islam to Ghazni in the 7th century, they were followed by the 9th century Islamic conquest of the Saffarids from Zarang in the west. Sabuktigin made Ghazni the capital of the Ghazanvid Empire in the 10th century. The city was destroyed by one of the Ghurid rulers but was later rebuilt. It fell to a number of regional powers, including the Timurids and the Delhi Sultanate, until it became part of the Hotaki dynasty followed by the Durrani Empire or modern Afghanistan.

During the First Anglo-Afghan War in the 19th century, Ghazni was partially destroyed by the British-Indian forces. The city is currently being rebuilt by the Government of Afghanistan in order to revive the Ghaznavid and Timurid era when it served as a major center of Islamic civilisation. The Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) have established bases and check-points to deal with the Taliban insurgency.