Battle of Dandanaqan

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Battle of Dandanaqan
partof=the Seljuk-Ghaznavid Wars


caption=A Ghaznavi-Seljuk fight in Dandanaqan
date=May 23, 1040
place=Dandanaqan
casus=
territory=
result=Seljuk victory
combatant1=Ghaznavid Empire
combatant2=Seljuq Oghuz Turcomans
commander1=Mas'ud I
commander2=Chaghri
Tughrul
strength1=50.000 men
60 war elephants
strength2=20.000 men
casualties1=Unknown but were likely very heavy
casualties2=Unknown The Battle of Dandanaqan was fought 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.

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, the Ghaznavid Sultan Mas'ud I (son of Mahmud of Ghazni) resolved to force the Seljuqs to leave his territories.

The battle

During the march of Sultan Mas'ud's army to Sarakhs the Seljuq raiders wore out the Ghaznavid battalions with hit-and-run tactics. Seljuq raiders also harmed 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.

Aftermath

The three day long battle ended with the victory of the Seljuks. Mas'ud barely escaped from the battlefield with 100 cavalrymen. The victory marked the ascent of the Seljuks as a major power and the decay of the Ghaznavids. Seljuks occupied Khorasan and the cities of the area, establishing the empire which would later be named as the "Great Seljuk Empire'.