Lashkari Bazar

The site of a large royal palace erected in the 11th and 12th centuries, on the Helmand Rud, near the site of Bust in Afghanistan. Lashkari Bazar was the winter retreat of the rulers of Ghazni. It was conquered by the Arabs c 661, and the 10th century writer Ibn Hauqal described it as a large and wealthy town. Apart from the tell, the principal monument is a ceremonial arch of the Ghorid period. The palace complex at Lashkari Bazar extends northwards from Bust for more than 5 km and was founded by the Ghaznavid sultan Mahmud (998-1030), who with his son Masud I (1030-1041) built the so-called South Palace. Later rulers added two other palaces. The complex also contained barracks and a bazaar. Lashkari Bazar was sacked by the Ghorids in 1151; it was restored by them, then destroyed by the Khwarezmshah or the Mongols in the early 13th century. Excavations revealed elaborate wall paintings in the South Palace and a fine stucco Mihrab in an adjacent mosque.

Situated on the Helmand Rud, near the site of Bust in Afghanistan, Lashkari Bazar was the winter retreat of the rulers of Ghazni. Bust, which overlooks a river-crossing, has a massive tell, thought to conceal an Achaemenid settlement. It was conquered by the Arabs c661, and the 10th- century writer Ibn Hauqal described it as a large and wealthy town. Apart from the tell, the principal monument is a ceremonial arch of the Ghorid period. The palace complex at Lashkari Bazar extends northwards from Bust for more than 5 km. It was founded by the Ghaznavid sultan Mahmud (998-1030), who with his son Masud I (1030-41) built the so-called South Palace. Later rulers added two other palaces. The complex also contained barracks and a bazaar. Lashkari Bazar was sacked by the Ghorids in 1151; it was restored by them, then destroyed by the Khwarezm-shah or the Mongols in the early 13th century. The site stands in an area of low rainfall and the buildings, although of mud brick, are astonishingly well-preserved. Excavations revealed elaborate wall paintings in the South Palace and a fine stucco mihrab in an adjacent mosque.