The first Seljuk rulers were Toghrul Beg, ChaIir Beg and Ibrahim Niyal, the son of Mikail, the son of Seljuk, the son of Tulal, or Tuq (also styled Timuryalil, iron bow ). They belonged to the Turkish tribe of the Ghuzz which traced its lineage to Oghuz, the famous eponymic hero not only of this but of all Turkish tribes. There arose, however, at some undefined epoch a strife on the part of this tribe and some others with the rest of the Turks, because, as the latter allege, Ghuzz, the son (or grandson) of Yafeth (Japhet), the son of Nub (Noah), had stolen the genuine rain-stone, which Turk, also a son of Yafeth, had inherited from his father. By this party, as appears from this tradition, the Ghuzz were not considered to be genuine Turks, but to be Turkmans (that is  according to a popular etymology, resembling Turks). But the native tradition of the Ghuzz was unquestionably right, as they spoke a pure Turkish dialect. The fact, however, remains that there existed a certain animosity between the Ghuzz and their allies and the rest of the Turks, which increased as the former became converted to Islam (in the course of the 4th century of the Flight). The Ghuzz were settled at that time in Transoxiana, especially at Jand, a well-known city on the banks of the Jaxartes, not far from its mouth.Some of them served in the armies of the Ghaznavids Sabuktagin (Sebuktegin) and Mabmud (997-1030); but the Seljuks, a royal family among them, had various relations with the reigning princes of Transoxiana and Khwarizm, which cannot be narated here. But, friends or foes, the Ghuzz became a serious danger to the adjoining Mahommedan provinces from their predatory habits and continual raids, and the more so as they were very numerous.

   It may suffice to mention that, under the leadership of PIgu Arslan Israil, they crossed the Oxus and spread over the eastern provinces of Persia, everywhere plundering and destroying. The imprisonment of this chieftain by Masd, the son and successor of Mabmud, was of no avail: it only furnished his nephews with a ready pretext to cross the Oxus likewise in arms against the Ghaznavids. We pass over their first confficts and the unsuccessful agreements that were attempted, to mention the decisive battle near Merv (1040), in which Masd was totally defeated and driven back to Ghazni (Ghazna). Persia now lay open to the victors, who proclaimed themselves independent at Merv (which became from that time the official capital of the principal branch of the Seljuks), and acknowledged Toghrul Beg as chief of the whole family. After this victory the three princes Toghrul Beg, Chalir Beg and Ibrahim Niyal separated in different directions and conquered the Mahommedan provinces, east of the Tigris; the last named, after conquering Hamadan and the province of Jebel (Irak i Ajami), penetrated as early as 1048, with fresh Ghuzz troops, into Armenia and reached Manzikert, Erzerm and Trebizond. This excited the jealousy of Toghrul Beg, who summoned him to give up Hamadn and the fortresses of Jebel; but Ibrahim refused, and the progress of the Seljukian arms was for some time checked by internal discordan everrecurring event in their history. Ibrahim was, however, compelled to submit.