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)