Anushtegin Gharchai

Who was Anushtegin Gharchai?

Anūştegin Gharachaʾī was a Turkic slave commander of the Seljuqs and the governor of Khwārezm from around 1077 until 1097. He was the first member of his family to rule Khwārezm, and the namesake for the dynasty that would rule the province in the 12th and early 13th centuries.

Of Qipchaq origin, Anushtegin was originally a slave of the rulers of Gharchistan, known as the Shars. But was later sold to the Seljuq officer Gumushtegin Bilge-Beg.

Anushtegin was put in command together with his master Gumushtegin Bilge-Beg in 1073 by the Seljuq sultan Malik-Shah I to retake territory in northern Greater Khorasan that the Ghaznavids had seized. He was subsequently made the sultan's tasht-dar, and, as the revenues from Khwarezm were used to pay for the expenses incurred by this position, he was made governor of the province. The details of his tenure as governor are unclear, but he died by 1097 and the post was briefly given to Ekinchi bin Qochqar before being transferred to his son, Muhammad I.