Toghrul III

Who is Toghrul III?

Toghrul III was the last sultan of the Great Seljuq Empire.

The son of sultan Arslan Shah, he succeeded him in 1175 or 1176. In 1190 he tried to free himself from the tutelage of the Atabeg of Azerbaijan, Kizil Arslan, but he was overthrown and imprisoned by the latter, who proclaimed himself sultan. The usurper was assassinated the following year and Toghrul regained his throne.

On 19 March 1194, he was defeated and killed near Ray in the war that he had waged against the Shah of Khwarezm, Ala ad-Din Tekish. Toghrul's head was sent to the Caliph Al-Nasir who showed it in front of his palace in Baghdad. The Great Seljuq Empire disappeared with Toghrul's death.