Battle of Dandanaqan

Timeline

1. 1037–1040Nishapur · KhorasanTughril and Chaghri led Oghuz tribesmen from Central Asia into Khorasan, taking Nishapur and other places. Ghaznavid Sultan Mas'ud assembled a large army to march north, attempting to expel the Seljuks, and the two armies faced off on the wasteland west of Merv.
2. 1040Dandanaqan · KhorasanThe Ghaznavid army, short on supplies, was struck by Seljuk cavalry at Dandanaqan and its formation collapsed. Mas'ud fled in defeat, suffering heavy losses of elite troops. This battle decided the fate of Khorasan, ending the Ghaznavid dynasty's military dominance in eastern Iran.
3. 1040Merv · KhorasanMas'ud's remnants withdrew south to the Afghan and Indian frontier, while the Seljuks consolidated Khorasan and turned toward the Iranian Plateau. Dandanaqan is therefore regarded as the watershed of the rise of the Seljuk Empire, laying the groundwork for Tughril's entry into Baghdad more than ten years later.