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Battle of Dandanaqan

Coordinates: 37°23′31″N 61°20′43″E / 37.391933°N 61.345353°E / 37.391933; 61.345353
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Battle of Dandanaqan
Part of the Seljuk-Ghaznavid Wars

Artwork of the battle of Dandanaqan
DateMay 23, 1040
Location
Dandanaqan, near Merv
Result Seljuk victory[1]
Belligerents
Ghaznavid Empire Seljuq Oghuz Turcomans
Commanders and leaders
Mas'ud I
Ali Daya
Ahmad Shirazi
Abd al-Razzaq Maymandi		 Chaghri
Tughrul
Faramurz[2]
Strength
50,000 men
60[3] or 12[4] war elephants		 20,000 men
Casualties and losses
Unknown, likely heavy Unknown

The Battle of Dandanaqan was fought in 1040 between the Seljuqs and the Ghaznavid Empire. The battle ended with a Seljuq victory and brought down the Ghaznavid domination in the Khorasan.

Preparations

When the Seljuq leader Tughrul and his brother Chaghri began raising an army, they were seen as a threat to the Ghaznavid territories. Following the looting of border cities by Seljuq raids, Sultan Mas'ud I (son of Mahmud of Ghazni) decided to expel Seljuqs from his territories.

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, around 20,000 Seljuk soldiers engaged in battle with an estimated 50,000 Ghaznavid soldiers in Dandanaqan, between Merv and Sarakhs.

Aftermath

The Seljuks occupied Khorasan and the cities of the area, encountering little resistance.[5] Tughrul's successful siege of Isfahan in 1050-1051,[6] led to the establishment of the "Great Seljuk Empire". On Mas'ud's retreat to India, he was overthrown and later murdered in prison.[7]

The Great Seljuk Empire as of 1092, showing the location of the 1040 Battle of Dandanaqan

37°23′31″N 61°20′43″E / 37.391933°N 61.345353°E / 37.391933; 61.345353

Notes

  1. ^ Grousset, Rene, The Empire of the Steppes: A History of Central Asia , (Rutgers University, 2002), 147.
  2. ^ ABŪ MANṢŪR FARĀMARZ, C. E. Bosworth, Encyclopaedia Iranica, (July 19, 2011).[1]
  3. ^ Christian, David, A history of Russia, Central Asia, and Mongolia , (Wiley-Blackwell, 1998), 373.
  4. ^ C.E. Bosworth, The Ghaznavids:994-1040, (Edinburgh University Press, 1963), 115.
  5. ^ The Histories of Herat, Jürgen Paul, Iranian Studies, Vol. 33, No. 1/2 Winter - Spring, 2000, 106.
  6. ^ Tony Jaques, Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: F-O, (Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007), 476.
  7. ^ Ghaznawids, B. Spuler, The Encyclopedia of Islam, Vol. II, Ed. B.Lewis, C. Pellat and J. Schacht, (Brill, 1991), 1051.

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.
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