The Battle of Dandanaqan was fought in 1040 between the army of the Seljuqs and the Ghaznavid Empire

Ghaznavid Empire

The Ghaznavids were a Persianate Muslim dynasty of Turkic slave origin which existed from 975 to 1187 and ruled much of Persia, Transoxania, and the northern parts of the Indian subcontinent. The Ghaznavid state was centered in Ghazni, a city in modern-day Afghanistan...

. The battle ended with a Seljuq victory and brought down the Ghaznavid domination in the Khorasan

Greater Khorasan

Greater Khorasan or Ancient Khorasan is a historical region of Greater Iran mentioned in sources from Sassanid and Islamic eras which "frequently" had a denotation wider than current three provinces of Khorasan in Iran...

.

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, Sultan Mas'ud I

Mas'ud I of Ghazni

Mas'ud I seized the throne of the Ghaznavid Empire upon the death of his father Mahmud from his younger twin Mohammad who had been nominated as the heir upon the death of their father Mahmud of Ghazni. His twin was blinded and imprisoned...

 (son of Mahmud of Ghazni

Mahmud of Ghazni

Mahmud of Ghazni , actually ', was the most prominent ruler of the Ghaznavid dynasty who ruled from 997 until his death in 1030 in the eastern Iranian lands. Mahmud turned the former provincial city of Ghazni into the wealthy capital of an extensive empire which covered most of today's Iran,...

) resolved to force the Seljuqs to leave his territories.

The battle

During the march of Sultan Mas'ud's army to Sarakhs

Sarakhs

Sarakhs is a city in and capital of Sarakhs County, Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran. Sarakhs was once a stopping point along the Silk Road, and in its 11th century heyday had many libraries and a famous school of architects. Much of the original city site is now just across the border at Saraghs...

 the Seljuq raiders harassed the Ghaznavid army with hit-and-run tactics. Seljuq raiders also destroyed 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

Merv

Merv , formerly Achaemenid Satrapy of Margiana, and later Alexandria and Antiochia in Margiana , was a major oasis-city in Central Asia, on the historical Silk Road, located near today's Mary in Turkmenistan. Several cities have existed on this site, which is significant for the interchange of...

 and Sarakhs.

Aftermath

The Seljuks occupied Khorasan and the cities of the area encountering little resistance. Tughrul's successful siege of Isfahan in 1050-1051, led to the establishment of an empire which would later be called the "Great Seljuk Empire". On Mas'ud's retreat to India, he was overthrown and later murdered in prison.