Begtoghdi (; meaning “a prince has been born, has arisen”), also known by the Persianized form as Baktoghdi (), was a Turkic slave commander who served under the early

Ghaznavid The Ghaznavid dynasty ( ''Ġaznaviyān'') was a Persianate Muslim dynasty of Turkic ''mamluk'' origin. It ruled the Ghaznavid Empire or the Empire of Ghazni from 977 to 1186, which at its greatest extent, extended from the Oxus to the Indus Va ...

rulers, but later fell out of favor and was executed.

Biography

Begtoghdi is first mentioned as a minor officer during the reign of

Sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...

Mahmud, but during the reign of the latter's son Mas'ud I, he rose to high offices; he was in 1035 appointed as the commander-in-chief of Khorasan, thus succeeding his comrade Ali Daya. Meanwhile, the

Seljuq Turks The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; , ''Saljuqian'',) alternatively spelled as Saljuqids or Seljuk Turks, was an Oghuz Turkic, Sunni Muslim dynasty that gradually became Persianate and contributed to Turco-Persian culture. The founder of t ...

under the leadership of

Tughril Abu Talib Muhammad Tughril ibn Mika'il (), better known as Tughril (; also spelled Toghril / Tughrul), was a Turkoman"The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes by the Turkomans at the battle of Malazgirt (Manzikert) is ...

, asked Mas'ud for asylum. Mas'ud, however, considered the nomadic Turks a dangerous threat and sent an army under Begtoghdi, who fought them near Nasa, but was defeated. However, another Ghaznavid officer named Sahib Husain Mikali, continued to fight, but was also defeated and was captured by Tughril's brother Chaghri Beg. Mas'ud was then forced to cede Nasa, Farava and Dihistan to the Seljuq in return for their recognition of Ghaznavid authority. Because of his failure, Begtoghdi was replaced by another general named Subashi as commander-in-chief of Khorasan. In 1038, Begtoghdi, this time with Subashi, were sent by Mas'ud to combat the Seljuqs, but once again suffered a defeat near

Sarakhs Sarakhs () is a city in the Central District (Sarakhs County), Central District of Sarakhs County, Razavi Khorasan province, Razavi Khorasan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Sarakhs was once a stopping po ...

. Begtoghdi, along with his comrades Ali Daya and Subashi, are later mentioned as participating at the Battle of Dandanaqan, which resulted in a disastrous Ghaznavid defeat, and gave the Seljuqs the opportunity to conquer all of western Khorasan. Mas'ud, who blamed Begtoghdi and his comrades for the disastrous Ghaznavid defeat, had them imprisoned and then shortly executed in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

References

Sources

* * {{cite encyclopedia , article = BEGTOḠDÏ , last = Bosworth , first = C. Edmund , url = http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/begtogd-turkish-lit , editor-last = , editor-first = , editor-link = , encyclopedia = Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. IV, Fasc. 1 , pages = 86 , location = London et al. , publisher = C. Edmund Bosworth , year = 1989 , isbn = 1040 deaths Year of birth unknown Ghaznavid generals People executed by the Ghaznavid Empire Ghaznavid governors 11th-century Asian people 11th-century slaves 11th-century military personnel