As for the House of Buwayh, the great rivals in former
The House of
Buwayh.
days of the House of Ghazna, their power
ended when Ṭughril entered Baghdád on
December 18, A.D. 1055, and practically took
the 'Abbásid Caliph entirely under his tutelage. Three years
later died the last prince of this noble house, called al-Maliku'r-
To return now to the Seljúqs. They were originally, according to al-Bundárí and the Ráḥatu'ṣ-Ṣudúr, invited by Sulṭán Maḥmúd to settle in the region about Bukhárá, but their rapidly increasing power soon alarmed the Sulṭán, who, about A.D. 1029, * seized one of Seljúq's sons (Músá Arslán Payghú, according to Ibnu'l-Athír, Isrá'íl according to the other authorities) and interned him in a fortress in India called Kálanjar, where, after languishing in captivity for seven years, he died. According to a well-known story (given by the Ráḥatu'ṣ-Ṣudúr) the cause of Sulṭán Maḥmúd's uneasiness was that one day in the course of a conversation he asked Isrá'íl how many armed men he could summon to his standard in case of need, to which the other replied that if he should send to his people an arrow from his quiver, 100,000 would respond to the call, and if he sent his bow, 200,000 more. The Sulṭán, who, as our author says, had forgotten the proverb: “Do not open a door which thou shalt find it hard to shut, nor fire an arrow which thou canst not recall,” was so much alarmed at this boast that he decided on the harsh measure mentioned above.
On the death of Isrá'íl b. Seljúq in exile and bonds, his son Qutalmish * escaped, and made his way to Bukhárá, where he Southward migration of the Seljúqs. joined his kinsmen, swearing vengeance against the treacherous Sulṭán. About A.D. 1034-35, having suffered further treachery at the hands of the King of Khwárazm, Hárún b. Altúntásh, they moved southwards to the region between Nasá and Báward. This migration is placed earlier by the author of the Ráḥatu'ṣ-Ṣudúr, who says that it took place in Sulṭán Maḥmúd's time and by his permission—a permission which Arslán Jádhib, the Governor of Ṭús, strongly advised him not to accord to such powerful neighbours, his recommendation being to cut off the thumbs of every one of them whom they could catch, so that they should be unable to use the bow, wherein lay their special skill.*
It was after Mas'úd had succeeded in overthrowing his
brother and establishing himself on the throne of his father
Mas'úd and the
Seljúqs.
Maḥmúd that the real trouble began. Once,
apparently about A.D. 1035, during the time of
his invasion of Ṭabaristán, he seems to have had
the advantage, but shortly afterwards, at the conclusion of that
campaign, his soldiers being weary and their weapons rusted
with the damp of that humid climate, he suffered defeat at
their hands;
*
and, instead of listening to his advisers, who
warned him not to make light of the matter or neglect
Khurásán for foreign adventures, he made speedy terms with
them in order that he might indulge in another expedition
against India. The result of this neglect was that on his
return matters had passed far beyond his control, and that in
the summer of A.D. 1038 Ṭughril b. Míká'íl b. Seljúq was
declared king, by the insertion of his name in the khuṭba, or
public homily, at Merv, and soon afterwards at Níshápúr. In
connection with the occupation of the latter city (A.D. 1039-
The deposition and murder of Mas'úd (A.D. 1040) and the fresh distractions caused by this at Ghazna served still further to confirm the power of the Seljúqs, who in the following Establishment of Seljúq power. year reduced Ṭabaristán. Three years later they defeated Mawdúd, the son of Mas'úd, in Khurásán, and then indited a letter to the Caliph al-Qá'im, detailing their grievances against the House of Ghazna, assuring him of their loyalty to himself, and craving his recognition. Then they proceeded to divide the vast territories which had so quickly passed under their sway. Bust, Herát, and Sístán fell to Seljúq's son Músá Arslán Payghú, whose nephews, Chaghrí Beg Dá'úd and Ṭughril, took Merv and 'Iráq respectively; of Chaghrí's sons, Qáwurt took Kirmán, Tún, and Ṭabas, and Yáqútí Ádharbayján, Abhar and Zanján, while the third son, Alp Arslán, elected to remain with his uncle Ṭughril, who selected Ray as his capital. Hamadán was given to Ibráhím b. Ínál * b. Seljúq, while Músá's son Qutalmish received Gurgán and Dámghán.
The Caliph al-Qá'im, on receiving the letter above mentioned,
despatched as an ambassador Hibatu'llah b. Muḥammad
Recognition of
Ṭughril by the
Caliph al-Qá'im.
al-Ma'múní to Ṭughril, who was then at Ray,
with a gracious reply, and shortly afterwards
caused his name to be inserted in the khuṭba
and placed on the coins before that of the Buwayhid Amír
al-Maliku'r-Raḥím. Finally, in December, A.D. 1055,
Ṭughril entered Baghdád in state, and was loaded with
honours by the Caliph, who seated him on a throne,
clothed him with a robe of honour, and conversed with
him through Muḥammad b. Manṣúr al-Kundurí, who acted
as interpreter.
*
Shortly afterwards Ṭughril's niece, Arslán
Khátún Khadíja, the sister of Alp Arslán, was married to
the Caliph with great pomp, and Ṭughril, warned in a dream
by the Prophet, left Baghdád after a sojourn of thirteen
months, partly in consequence of serious disorders caused
by the presence of his Turkish troops in the metropolis of
Islám, partly in order to subdue Mawṣil, Diyár Bakr, Sinjár,
and other lands to the west.
*
Shortly afterwards Ṭughril
returned to Baghdád, where the Caliph thanked him for his
services to religion, exhorted him to use well and wisely the
great power committed to his hands, and conferred on him
the title of “King of the East and of the West” (Maliku'l-
But Ṭughril's ambitions were not yet satisfied, and, on the death of his wife in A.D. 1061-62, ne demanded the hand of Death of Ṭughril. the Caliph's daughter (or sister, according to the Ráḥatu'ṣ-Ṣudúr) in marriage. The Caliph was most unwilling, and only yielded at length to importunities in which a minatory note became ever more dominant. The bride-elect was sent with the circumstance befitting her condition to Tabríz, but ere Ray (where it was intended that the marriage should be celebrated) was reached, Ṭughril fell sick and died, on September 4, A.D. 1063, at the village of Ṭájrisht, and his intended bride was restored to Baghdád. He was seventy years old at the time of his death, and is described by Ibnu'l-Athír (X, 9-10) as being possessed of extraordinary self-control, strict in the performance of his religious duties, secretive, harsh and stern when occasion arose, but at other times very generous, even towards his Byzantine foes.
Ṭughril was succeeded by his nephew Alp Arslán, though
an attempt was made by the late King's minister, the already-
Accession of
Alp Arslán.
mentioned al-Kundurí, generally known as the
'Amídu'l-Mulk, to proclaim Alp Arslán's brother
Sulaymán. This false step proved fatal to al-