Toghrïl Beg

Toghrïl Beg

(born c. 990—died Sept. 4, 1063, Rayy, Iran) Founder of the Seljuq dynasty. He and his brother Chagrï took refuge in Khwarezm in Central Asia after being defeated by Mahmud of Ghazna. Later they entered Khorasan (northeastern Iran), where they gradually built a power base, returning to defeat Mahmud's son (1040). Chagrï took over Khorasan, and Toghrïl prepared to conquer the rest of Iran. In the 1040s he extended his authority to Rayy, Hamadan, and Esfahan, and in 1055 he entered Baghdad, where he had been commissioned by the caliph of the 'Abbasid dynasty to overthrow the Shi'ite Fatimid dynasty. In 1060 Toghrïl crushed a rebellion in Baghdad.