Their first appearance was in 432 AH—indeed, even a little earlier. Their grandfather Duqāq was an amir, and so was his son Seljuq. The khan Begu advanced Seljuq, his army swelled, and he began to raid the pagan Turks. He lived very long, surpassing a hundred years. After him his son Mikāʾil led for a time, until he was martyred on campaign. Around the year 400 AH the two sons of Mikāʾil waged a series of wars until their dominion became firmly established (1).
After Jaghri Beg, the throne passed to his son Alp Arslan (2).
52 – Ṭughril Beg Muḥammad ibn Mikāʾil *
The Great Sultan, Rukn al-Dīn, Abū Ṭālib.
The Seljuks trace their origin to the steppe lands of Bukhara. They possess numbers, strength, boldness, courage, gallantry, and a certain wild ferocity. They refuse to come under anyone’s authority, and if a king sets out against them they slip away into the wilderness
(1) See al-Kamil, vol. 9, p. 473 ff.; see also Mukhtasar Tarikh Dawlat Al-Saljuq, pp. 7–11.
(2) His biography will be given under no. 210.
(*) Principal sources: al-Muntazam, 8/190, 201, 231–234; al-Kamil, 9/473–477, 496–497, 504–511, 536, 556, 562, 594, 598, 605, 609, 611, 626, 633, and 10/12, 20, 25–28; Mukhtasar Dawlat Al-Saljuq, 12–29; Wafayat al-Ayan, 5/63–68; al-Ibar, 3/220, 234, 235–236; Duwal al-Islam, 1/267; Tammat al-Mukhtasar, 1/547, 548–549, 553, 556; al-Wafi bi-l-Wafayat, 5/102–104; al-Bidaya wa-l-Nihaya, 12/79, 81–83, 85, 86, 87–90; al-Nujum al-Zahira, 5/73; Tarikh al-Khulafa, 418–420; Shadharat al-Dhahab, 3/294–296; Mujam al-Ansab wa-l-Usar al-Hakima, 12, 73, 322, 333.
Ibn Khallikan explains that the Turkish proper name Tughru l-bek is vocalised with ḍamma on the initial t, sukun on the gh, ḍamma on the r, sukun on the l, fatḥa on the b, followed by a final k. It is a compound: tughru l is the Turkish name of a well-known bird, while bek means “prince.” Ibn Taghribirdi records the name with kasra on the r.