Battle of Dandanaqan
| Battle of Dandanaqan | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Seljuk-Ghaznavid Wars | |||||||
 A Ghaznavi-Seljuk fight in Dandanaqan |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
| Ghaznavid Empire | Seljuq Oghuz Turcomans | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Mas'ud I | Chaghri Tughrul |
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| Strength | |||||||
| 50,000 men 60[2] or 12[3] war elephants |
20,000 men | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown but were likely very heavy | Unknown | ||||||
The Battle of Dandanaqan was fought in 1040 between the army of the Seljuqs and the Ghaznavid Empire. The battle ended with a Seljuq victory and brought down the Ghaznavid domination in the Khorasan.
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[edit] Preparations
When the Seljuq leader Tughrul and his brother Chaghri began creating a strong army, they began to threaten the Ghaznavid territories. After Seljuq raiders started looting Ghaznavid border cities, Sultan Mas'ud I (son of Mahmud of Ghazni) resolved to force the Seljuqs to leave his territories.
[edit] The battle
During the march of Sultan Mas'ud's army to Sarakhs the Seljuq raiders harassed the Ghaznavid army with hit-and-run tactics. Seljuq raiders also destroyed the supply lines of Ghaznavids, cutting them off from the nearby water wells. The discipline and morale of the Ghaznavid Army dropped seriously. Finally, on May 23, 1040, 20,000 Seljuk soldiers engaged in battle the 50,000 Ghaznavid soldiers in Dandanaqan, between Merv and Sarakhs.
[edit] Aftermath
The Seljuks occupied Khorasan and the cities of the area encountering little resistance.[4] Tughrul's successful siege of Isfahan in 1050-1051,[5] led to the establishment of an empire which would later be called the "Great Seljuk Empire". On Mas'ud's retreat to India, he was overthrown and later murdered in prison.[6]
Coordinates: 37°23′31″N 61°20′43″E / 37.391933°N 61.345353°E
[edit] Notes
- ^ Grousset, Rene, The Empire of the Steppes: A History of Central Asia , (Rutgers University, 2002), 147.
- ^ Christian, David, A history of Russia, Central Asia, and Mongolia , (Wiley-Blackwell, 1998), 373.
- ^ C.E. Bosworth, The Ghaznavids:994-1040, (Edinburgh University Press, 1963), 115.
- ^ The Histories of Herat, Jürgen Paul, Iranian Studies, Vol. 33, No. 1/2 Winter - Spring, 2000, 106.
- ^ Tony Jaques, Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: F-O, (Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007), 476.
- ^ Ghaznawids, B. Spuler, The Encyclopedia of Islam, Vol. II, Ed. B.Lewis, C. Pellat and J. Schacht, (Brill, 1991), 1051.
[edit] References
- Bosworth, C.E., The Ghaznavids:994-1040, Edinburgh University Press, 1963.
- Christian, David, A History of Russia, Central Asia, and Mongolia , Wiley-Blackwell, 1998.
- Grousset, Rene, The Empire of the Steppes: A History of Central Asia , Rutgers University, 2002.
