formerly GHAZNA, city, east-central Afghanistan. It lies beside the Ghazni River on a high plateau at an elevation of 7,300 feet (2,225 m). Afghanistan's only remaining walled town, it is dominated by a 150-foot- (45-metre-) high citadel built in the 13th century. Around the nearby village of Rowzeh-e Sultan, on the old road to Kabul (the nation's capital, 80 miles [130 km] northeast), are the ruins of ancient Ghazna, including two 140-foot (43-metre) towers and the tomb of Mahmud of Ghazna (971-1030), the most powerful emir (or sultan) of the Ghaznavid dynasty.

Ghazni's early history is obscure; it has probably existed at least since the 7th century. Early in the 11th century, under Mahmud of Ghazna, the town became the capital of the vast empire of the Ghaznavids, Afghanistan's first Muslim dynasty. The dynasty lost much of its power later in the same century, and Ghazni was sacked in 1150-51 by the Ghurids. The town was fought over by various peoples before the Mongols secured it by 1221. They ruled the area until Timur (Tamerlane), the Turkic conqueror, arrived in the 14th century, and his descendants ruled it until 1504, when the Indian Mughals took Ghazni and Kabul. In 1747, under Ahmad Shah Durrani, Ghazni became part of the new Afghan kingdom. It was captured by the British during the First Anglo-Afghan War (1839-42). Ghazni recovered some importance when it became the main town on the Kabul-Qandahar highway.

Ghazni is now a chief commercial and industrial centre of Afghanistan, dealing in livestock, furs, silk, and agricultural products. Pop. (1988 est.) 35,900.