The killing of Arslan Arghun and Berkyaruq's takeover of Khurasan in 490

قتل أرسلان أرغون وتسلم بركياروق خراسان سنة 490

c. 1097 CE · 490 AH

In 490 Arslan Arghun b. Alp Arslan — lord of Marw, Balkh, Nishapur and Tirmidh, an overbearing stubborn man — was killed by his own ghulam at Damghan; Berkyaruq, already marching with his brother Sanjar against their uncle, then took Nishapur and Balkh without battle, was proclaimed at Samarkand, installed Sanjar over Khurasan and set Muhammad b. Anushtegin over Khwarazm as Khwarazmshah ¹.

Depth

At a glance

Era: The Buyid, Fatimid and Seljuk Era
Region: Persia & Central Asia
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In time

The Buyid, Fatimid and Seljuk Era · The Crusades, Ayyubids and Mamluks

Summary

In 490 AH Arslan Arghun, son of the sultan Alp Arslan and ruler of Merv, Balkh, Nishapur and Termez, was killed by one of his slaves at Damghan ².

Consequences

Barkiyaruq had sent an army under his brother Sanjar to fight their uncle. When news of the killing reached them, Barkiyaruq took Nishapur and Balkh without a fight, and the khutba was read for him in Samarkand. Sanjar was left in charge of Khurasan. Muhammad ibn Anushtakin, a freedman of the amir Mikail the Seljuq, was placed over Khwarazm and given the title Khwarazmshah ¹.

Connections

Explore the connections

Had participant: أرسلان أرغون بن ألب أرسلان· Barkiyaruq

People and things also explored

ألب أرسلان عضد الدولة بن جغري بك· أرسلان أرغون بن ألب أرسلان· Barkiyaruq

Sources

Shadharat al-Dhahab — Ibn al-Imad al-Hanbali , p. 394-395
Shadharat al-Dhahab — Ibn al-Imad al-Hanbali , p. 394

Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “The killing of Arslan Arghun and Berkyaruq's takeover of Khurasan in 490”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/arslan-arghun-killed-490/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-22.

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ألب أرسلان عضد الدولة بن جغري بك

Second Seljuk sultan, succeeding his uncle Tughrul in 455 with al-Qa'im's investiture; al-Dhahabi: the first called 'sultan' on Baghdad's minbars, he reached what no king had reached, opened many Christian lands, and took Nizam al-Mulk as vizier — who ended his predecessor's cursing of the Ash'aris, championed the Shafi'is, honoured Imam al-Haramayn and al-Qushayri, and built the Nizamiyya, 'said to be the first school built for the jurists'. He died of Yushk the Khwarizmian fortress-keeper's knife at Barbar on the Jihun in 465, entrusting the realm to Malikshah and Nizam al-Mulk; he never saw Baghdad though it lay within his kingdom, and it was he who domed Abu Hanifa's grave.