The Nāṣirī Generations 9: VIII. — Tughril, the accursed.

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Tughril had been a slave of Mahmud, and was a man of great energy and courage. In the reign of Sultan Maudud he went from Ghazni to Khurasan, and entered the service of the Saljuks. For some time he remained there, and learnt their method of war. In the time of 'Abdu-r Rashid he returned to Ghazni, where he took 'Abdu-r Rashid and slew him, together with eleven other princes. He then ascended the throne of Ghazni, and reigned for forty days with great tyranny and injustice. Some one asked him how the desire of sovereignty had entered into his mind, and he replied, "When 'Abdu-r Rashid sent me against Alp Arslan he made some promises to me, and confirmed them by giving me his hand. He was then so overpowered by fear that the sound of the tremor which had seized upon his bones came to my ears, and I knew that such a coward could never rule and govern. It was then that the desire of sovereignty fell upon me." Forty days after his usurpation, a Turk, by name Noshtigin, who was a soldier, turned against Tughril, and conspiring with some of his friends, they killed him on the throne. His head was then brought out, placed upon a pole, and carried round the city, so that the people might have assurance of security.