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208 The old town of Ghazni is built upon an isolated ridge, a natural mound, partly rock and partly earth. It is surrounded by a high ditch-wall, having a circuit of about a mile and a half. The form of the town is a sort of irregular square, the well being built so as to suit the outline of the mound on which it rests. The foundation of the wall is a little above the surround- ing country, and as it winds round the hill, it presents a very formidable appearance. The mound which it encircles resembles a fortress of which the citadel is the apex. Unfortunately, the bitter feud between the Ghazavides and the princes of Ghore during the of middle the 12th century A. D. had tragic effects upon beautiful Ghazni, the capital of Sultan Mahmoud (998—1030). Ala-ud-din of Ghore entered the city triumphantly in 1148 and gave it up to massacre and destruction. Nothing was spared except the tombs of Sultan Mahmoud, Masoud and Ibrahim. The city was set on fire and most of the splendid buildings were razed to the ground. Since then Ghazni has not been able to attain its former glory. The present town of Ghazni is in no way attractive, with scarcely a shadow of its past grandeur. It is small and congested with narrow lanes, not worthy of its great name. But Ghazni is still famous for its shrines and other archæological remains. The most notable of these shrines are those of Sultan Subaktagin (977-997), Sultan Mahmoud-i-Ghaznavi (998-1030), Masoud (1030-1040), Bahram Shah (1117-1153), Hakim Senai, the well- known Sofi-poet, Ali-Lala, Bahlol-i-Dana, and Sayyed Hassan. Recently, a few miles to the east of Ghani, at a place called Dehak, the tomb of Mohammad Ghori was discovered. Two pillars, tapering to the sky between Ghazni and the Rowza (Sultan Mahmoud's tomb), are all that are left of its past grandeur and glory.