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 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 ...

Shah (1041–1042).

Life

''Shah Malik'' held the title of

Yabgu Yabghu ( otk, 𐰖𐰉𐰍𐰆, yabγu,Entrabγu">"𐰖𐰉𐰍𐰆_[yabγuйабғұ"in_"Ethno-Cultural_Dictionary"_''Türik_Bitig''_),_also_rendered_as_Jabgu,_Djabgu_or_Yabgu,_was_a_state_office_in_the_early_Turkic_peoples.html" ;"title="abγuй ...

(the traditional leader of the Oghuz). In 1034, the Seljuks, representatives of the Qiniq (tribe), Qiniq tribe of the Oghuz Turks who earlier we part of the Oghuz Yabgu State, split from the Yabghus and moved into Khwarazm at the invitation of its

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 ...

governor, Harun. In a battle between Shah Malik and the Seljuks, the latter were defeated and forced to seek refuge in

Khurasan. In 1038, the Ghaznavid sultan

Mas'ud 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 spelling varia ...

invested Shah Malik with the title of Khwarazm Shah. He did so in the hopes that Shah Malik would overthrow Harun's successor, Isma'il, who had become an enemy of the Ghaznavids. In the winter of 1040/1041, Shah Malik led his forces across the desert into Khwarazm. After fighting a long battle against Isma'il's troops he emerged victorious, forcing Isma'il to flee. He occupied the capital,

Gurganj Konye-Urgench ( tk, Köneürgenç / Көнеүргенч; fa, کهنه گرگانج, ''Kuhna Gurgānj'', literally "Old Gurgānj"), also known as Old Urgench or Urganj, is a city of about 30,000 inhabitants in north Turkmenistan, just south fro ...

and placed Mas'ud's name in the

khutba ''Khutbah'' ( ar, خطبة ''khuṭbah'', tr, hutbe) serves as the primary formal occasion for public preaching in the Islamic tradition. Such sermons occur regularly, as prescribed by the teachings of all legal schools. The Islamic tradition ...

, although by this time Mas'ud was dead.

Death

The Seljuks, however, would not allow Shah Malik to remain in Khwarazm. The Seljuk ruler

Tughril Abu Talib Muhammad Tughril ibn Mika'il ( fa, ابوطالب محمد تغریل بن میکائیل), better known as Tughril (; also spelled Toghril), was a Turkmen"The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes by the Turk ...

and his brother Chaghri descended upon Khwarazm in 1042 and forced him from the province. He chose to flee to Kerman and then Makran (his territories of Jand and Yengi-kent may have been occupied by the Kipchaks, preventing him from returning there). He was eventually captured in Makran and turned over to

Chaghri Beg Abu Suleiman Dawud Chaghri Beg ibn Mikail, widely known simply as Chaghri Beg (989–1060), ''Da'ud b. Mika'il b. Saljuq'', also spelled Chaghri, was the co-ruler of the early Seljuk Empire. The name ''Chaghri'' is Turkic (Çağrı in modern Turk ...

, who ended his life. Shah Malik's wife Altun Jan Khatun married Tughril around 1043, and his son Anoushirvan remained with him after her marriage.

Bibliography

*"Altuntas." ''Encyclopædia Iranica.'' 15 November 2006.

References

Khwarezmid rulers 11th-century deaths 11th-century monarchs in Asia Year of birth unknown 11th-century Turkic people {{Asia-royal-stub