The Qarlughids, a tribe of Turkic origin, controlled Ghazna and the lands of the Bamyan and the Kurram Valley (Banban and Kurraman), establishing a Muslim principality and dynasty lasting between 1224 and 1266. The Qarlughids arrived from the north to settle in the regions of Hazarajat together with the armies of Muhammad II of Khwarezm, the Shah of Khwarezm. The establishment of the Qarlugh Kingdom was a result of turbulent power struggles in the 12th and 13th centuries in Greater Khurasan, resulting in the establishment of two powerful empires, the Delhi Sultanate to the east and south and the Mongol Empire to the north and west, with the Qarlugh Kingdom functioning as a buffer state. The Malik at the throne of Qarlugh would frequently switch allegiances between their two powerful neighb