Musa Yabghu (Bayḡu in some sources) or Musa Ibn Seljuk was a Turkish ruler from the Seljuk family and one of the four sons of Seljuk Bey. His brother Arslan Yabghu wanted to lead the family when he was captured by the

Ghaznavids The Ghaznavid dynasty ( ''Ġaznaviyān'') was a Persianate Muslim dynasty of Turkic peoples, 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 ...

, but was overshadowed by his nephews

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 ...

and Chaghri, who took charge of eastern affairs in the family council that met after the

Battle of Dandanaqan The Battle of Dandanaqan () was fought in 1040 between the Seljuq Turkmens and the Ghaznavid Empire near the city of Merv (now in Turkmenistan). The battle ended with a decisive Seljuq victory, which subsequently brought down the Ghaznavid domina ...

. His son Hasan (Abu Ali Hassan) Bey was killed by the Georgians in an operation in eastern Anatolia in 1047. Persian sources indicate that during his long life he was involved in a series of conflicts between the Seljuks and the Ghaznavids, and after the Battle of Dandanaqan and during the division of lands between the Seljuq dynasty,

Herat Herāt (; Dari/Pashto: هرات) is an oasis city and the third-largest city in Afghanistan. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains (''Se ...

, Bost,

Sistan Sistān (), also known as Sakastān (, , current name: Zabol) and Sijistan (), is a historical region in south-eastern Iran and extending across the borders of present-day south-western Afghanistan, and south-western Pakistan. Mostly correspond ...

and their surrounding areas were handed over to him. Musa traveled to Sistan in 1040 AD (432 AH) and 1042 AD (434 AH) respectively, each time returning to

Khorasan KhorasanDabeersiaghi, Commentary on Safarnâma-e Nâsir Khusraw, 6th Ed. Tehran, Zavvâr: 1375 (Solar Hijri Calendar) 235–236 (; , ) is a historical eastern region in the Iranian Plateau in West and Central Asia that encompasses western and no ...

after a short stop in that region. His third trip to Sistan in 1051 AD (443 AH) coincided with the Ghaznavid invasions to occupy and destroy it. He captured

Zaranj Zaranj ( Persian/Pashto/) is a city in southwestern Afghanistan, which has a population of 160,902 people as of 2015. It is the capital of Nimruz Province and is linked by highways with Lashkargah and Kandahar to the east, Farah to the north an ...

in this year, but retreated to Herat as a result of violent attacks by the Ghaznavids. In 1053 AD (445 AH), he settled in the citadel of General Sistan, and during the reign of Tughrul, the areas ruled by Musa expanded and he obtained the titles of ''"Mu'izz

al-Dawla The Arabic title ''al-Dawla'' (, often rendered ''ad-Dawla'', ''ad-Daulah'', ''ud-Daulah'', etc.) means 'dynasty' or 'polity', (in modern usage, 'government' or "nation-state") and appears in many honorific and regnal titles in the Islamic worl ...

Musa"'' () and ''

Amir al-Mu'minin () or Commander of the Faithful is a Muslims, Muslim title designating the supreme leader of an Ummah, Islamic community. Name Although etymology, etymologically () is equivalent to English "commander", the wide variety of its historical an ...

''. But later, he rebelled during the time of

Alp Arslan Alp Arslan, born Muhammad Alp Arslan bin Dawud Chaghri, was the second List of sultans of the Seljuk Empire, sultan of the Seljuk Empire and great-grandson of Seljuk (warlord), Seljuk, the eponymous founder of the dynasty and the empire. He g ...

, but he was defeated and brought to him. Alp Arslan did not punish him and was content to be close to him. Details about the last years of his life are not known. But he died after 1064.

See also

References

Further reading