Question:

Who destroyed the Somnath temple in Gujarat?

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Match names to centuries to avoid traps: Ghazni (11th c.) → Somnath, Ghori (12th c.) → Delhi conquest, Timur (14th c.) → sack of Delhi.
Updated On: Aug 12, 2025
  • Mohammed Ghouri
  • Mahmud Ghaznavi
  • Genghis Khan
  • Taimur Lang
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The Correct Option is B

Solution and Explanation

The most famous early medieval sack of the Somnath temple occurred during Mahmud of Ghazni’s raid in 1025–26 CE, when he attacked the shrine on the Kathiawar coast.
This expedition is repeatedly cited in medieval chronicles because of the temple’s wealth and the political message of the raid.
Option (a) Muhammad Ghori (Muʿizz al-Din) fought Prithviraj and established Ghurid control in North India in the late 12th century, but he is not linked with the 1025 Somnath destruction.
Option (c) Genghis Khan, the Mongol conqueror of the early 13th century, never campaigned in peninsular Gujarat or against Somnath.
Option (d) Timur (Taimur Lang) invaded North India in 1398–99 and sacked Delhi, not Somnath.
Therefore, the historically attested destroyer in the classic exam question context is Mahmud Ghaznavi.
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