A Turkish dynasty whose founder, Sebuktegin, was appointed governor of Khurasan by the Persian Samanids and established his own power in Ghazna, Afghanistan, in 962. His successors extended their realm into Persia and the Punjab, but after the reign of Mahmud (969–1030) it fragmented under Seljuk pressure, although the dynasty clung on in Lahore until 1186, when it was extinguished by the Ghurids, founders of the Delhi sultanate.