APersonIndependent states
Tughril Beg and Chaghri Beg
The brothers who founded the Great Seljuk state and defeated the Ghaznavids near Merv in 1040.
Tughril (c. 990–1063) and Chaghri (c. 989–1060) were grandsons of Seljuk Beg. They united Turkmen tribes of the Qiniq branch of the Oghuz and came to Khorasan; Chaghri means "little falcon" in Turkic.
In 1040 they routed the Ghaznavid army at Dandanaqan near Merv, the beginning of the Great Seljuk state. Chaghri ruled Khorasan from Merv while Tughril advanced west.
Tughril entered Baghdad in 1055 and the Abbasid caliph named him "Sultan of the East and the West". Their successor Alp Arslan opened Anatolia to the Turks with the victory at Manzikert in 1071. Tughril's portrait appears on the Turkmen manat.
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Updated: October 3, 2026