Mahmud’s sieges of Lohkot

01Snow and the mountain fort

Lohkot, the Lohara fort of the Kashmiri sources, stood on the southern slopes of the Pir Panjal and guarded one of the routes into the Kashmir valley. It was the home fortress of Sangramaraja’s family, the Lohara dynasty. In 1015, after his defeat of the Kashmir army at Nandana, Mahmud marched on it. The Persian writer Gardizi says the siege dragged on, the fort could not be taken by force, and snow began to fall. Mahmud ordered a retreat. His guides lost the way, the streams were in flood, and much of the army was lost before it reached the plains.

02The second attempt

Mahmud came back in 1021, at the height of his power, and sat before Lohkot for about a month. The walls and the height defeated him again, and as winter approached he withdrew, this time for good. Kashmir stayed out of Turkish hands for three more centuries, until a Muslim dynasty arose from within the valley in 1339. For the Ghaznavid army, which took plains cities by assault, a strong fort on a mountain in winter proved too much.