Isma'il Khandan was the ruler of
Khwarazm
Khwarazm (; Old Persian: ''Hwârazmiya''; fa, خوارزم, ''Xwârazm'' or ''Xârazm'') or Chorasmia () is a large oasis region on the Amu Darya river delta in western Central Asia, bordered on the north by the (former) Aral Sea, on the ea ...
, an ancient state along the previous
Aral Sea, from 1035 to 1041
AD. He was the son of
Altun Tash
Altuntash (died 1032) was a Turkic Khwarazmshah from 1017 until his death in 1032.''The Political and Dynastic History of the Iranian World'', C.E. Bosworth, The Cambridge History of Iran, Vol. 5, Ed. J. A. Boyle, (Cambridge University Press, 196 ...
.
In 1035 Isma'il's brother
Harun was assassinated by his guards at the instigation of the
Ghaznavid
The Ghaznavid dynasty ( fa, غزنویان ''Ġaznaviyān'') was a culturally Persianate, Sunni Muslim dynasty of Turkic ''mamluk'' origin, ruling, at its greatest extent, large parts of Persia, Khorasan, much of Transoxiana and the northwest ...
sultan
Mas'ud I of Ghazni
Masoud (; ) is a given name and surname, with origins in Persian and Arabic. The name is found in the Arab world, Iran, Turkey, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Russia, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, and China. Masoud has spellin ...
. Isma'il took control of Khwarazm, and like his brother defied Mas'ud and gave support to the
Seljuks
The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; fa, سلجوقیان ''Saljuqian'', alternatively spelled as Seljuqs or Saljuqs), also known as Seljuk Turks, Seljuk Turkomans "The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes
by the Turk ...
, who were also hostile to Mas'ud. In response Mas'ud turned to the
Oghuz Yabghu (chieftain),
Shah Malik
Shah Malik was the head of the Oghuz Yabghus of Jand and Yengi-kent (two towns near the mouth of the Syr Darya), and was also Khwarazm Shah (1041–1042).
Life
''Shah Malik'' held the title of Yabgu (the traditional leader of the Oghuz) ...
, for support, inviting him to take over the governorship of Khwarazm. In the winter of 1040/1041 Isma'il was defeated by Shah Malik and forced to flee to the Seljuks.
References
*"Altuntas." ''Encyclopædia Iranica.'' 15 November 2006
Khwarezmid rulers
11th-century monarchs in Asia
11th-century Turkic people
{{Asia-royal-stub
de:Altuntaschiden#Ismail Chandan ibn Altun-Tasch (reg. 1035–1041)