The power of the Great Seljuqs has been sapped in the century since the death of Malik Shah by a decline in the quality of dynastic leadership and division of Seljuq rule among military commanders and provincial regents (“atabegs”).
As the Seljuq state has fallen into chaos, the Khwarezm-Shahs, rulers of the region in present Uzbekistan located along the Amu Darya (Oxus River) south of the Aral Sea, have expanded their territories southward.
The last Sultan of the Great Seljuq Empire, Toghrul III, is defeated and killed in 1194 by the Khwarezm ruler Ala ad-Din Tekish, who conquers parts of Khorasan and western Iran.
Toghrul's head is sent to the Caliph Al-Nasir, who displays it in front of his palace in Baghdad.
The Great Seljuq Empire disappears with Toghrul's death.
