Malik Ayaz

In 1021, the Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi raised Ayaz to Lordship, awarding him the throne of Lahore, which the Sultan had taken after a long siege and a fierce battle in which the city was torched and depopulated. As the first Muslim governor of Lahore, he rebuilt and repopulated the city. He also added many important features, such as a masonry fort, which he built in the period of 1037–1040 on the ruins of the previous one, demolished in the fighting, and city gates (as recorded by Munshi Sujan Rae Bhandari, author of the Khulasatut Tawarikh (1596 C.E.). The present Lahore Fort is built in the same location. Under his rule the city became a cultural and academic center, renowned for poetry. The tomb of Malik Ayaz can still be seen in the Rang Mahal area of Lahore. The tomb and the garden was destroyed by the Sikhs during their rule of Lahore and the tomb was rebuilt after the Partition of India. == Relationship with Mahmud of Ghazni ==

The nature of the relationship between Mahmud and Ayaz is disputed. Some sources written several centuries later, particularly from Persian poetry, state that the two men were lovers. However, contemporary Ghaznavid authors like Al Biruni, Gardizi, Farrukhi and Bayhaqi make no mention of a romantic relationship between Mahmud and Ayaz, rather describing Ayaz as either a commander, a noble or a close associate of Sultan Mahmud. ==Malik Ayaz in Sufism==

Amjad Farid Sabri, the slain Qawwal of Pakistan performed a song dedicated to Malik Ayaz, which praises the man for his feudalistic loyalty to Mahmud of Ghazni, the song also mentions Ajmer Sharif Dargah and how it attracts female devotees with the same devotion. ==Bibliography==