Tugrul and Cagri Beys moved just like Bilge and Kül
Tegin brothers who were the commanders of Gokturk State. They were in a perfect state of
consolidation. They did not shelter anybody who wanted to bring discord to them. The elder
brother, Cagri Bey was a peerless warrior like Kül Tegin and the younger brother, Tugrul
Bey was a genius of policy. The two brothers had reached to an agreement for an extensive
geographic expedition in the west for the Oguz-Turkment tribes that they dominated. Tugrul
Bey pulled back the people to the steppe lands where the people would not be subject to
any marauds or forays. Cagri Bey set in motion towards Anatolia together with his force
composed of three thousands of cavalrymen. He advanced over Khorasan and Azerbaijan that
were under the dominion of Gazneli State, but he did not lose any time in these regions
and he went to the environs of the lake of Van that was a southern province of the
Byzantine. He defeated the forces of Armenian Vaspuragan Kingdom and invaded their lands. In the resources pertaining to that
period, the cavalrymen of Cagri Bey that were seen in the eastern provinces of the
Byzantine were stated as "Long-haired Turkmens on swift-winged horses with their bows
and lances…". When Cagri Bey invaded the surrounding places of Van, he oriented
towards the north. Here the Georgian forces did not dare to fight with him and they
withdrew. The Armenian Ani Kingdom that was located on the more north tried to stop the
advance of Cagri Bey. But Cagri Bey defeated the crowded army of Vasak Pahlavuni who was
the commander of Ani Kingdom due to his few but swift-winged cavalrymen and the steppe
technique. Pahlavuni died in this war. Afterwards, Armenians in the region of Eastern
Anatolia immigrated towards the Central Anatolia that was under the dominion of the
Byzantine.
Cagri Bey stayed for a
specific period in the Armenian and Georgian lands and returned to his brother, Tugrul Bey
in Transoxania in the year of 1201. As a result of this geographical expedition, they had
determined the places that they would settle in as a homeland. From that date on, the
target of Turkmens would be Anatolia.Arslan Yabgu had collaborated with Ali Tegin from
Karahanli State and helped him to capture Bokhara (1020-21). The alliance of Arslan Yabgu
and Ali Tegin who did not recognise the great khanate of Yusuf Kadir Khan was a powerful
obstacle for Karahanli and Gazneli States that wanted to establish dominion in
Transoxania. Considering this situation, Yusuf Kadir Khan wanted to negotiate with Gazneli
Mahmud. The two Turkish rulers met in Samarkand in the year of 1025. In this meeting that
was called as "Transoxania Negotiation", Kadir Khan said that the Seljuk State
had also posed a threat for the Gazneli State and Gazneli Mahmud was in the same opinion.
He planned to go to the expedition towards India, but he was afraid of the attacks of
Seljuk State to his country. Therefore, he made up a trick. He invited Arslan Yabgu to
Samarkand as if to negotiate some important issues and to take his opinion. He arrested
Arslan Yabgu who had come to Samarkand with a trick and exiled him to India. Arslan Yabgu
who was arrested in a castle here died after 7 years (in 1032).
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