Togtekin Arslan

Khagan Togtekin Arslan (Turkish: Togtekin Doganoglu Han), was an Oghuz Turkic Khagan who ruled over the territory known as the Arslan Khaganate following the Kurultay of 832 following the death of Alp Arslan The Wolf from a short bout of syphilis. He succeeded his half-brother despite a previous Kurultay 30 years earlier rejecting his claim to the throne, the later Kurultay selected him as the only candidate who took put his name forward.

Early Life
As with his half-brother and other contemporary steppe nomadic rulers, little is known for certain about the early life of Togtekin. The court physician Aurang who had served his half-brother noted that as the fourth child and second son of Khagan Dogan he was never really expected to assume leadership. This was reflected in his apparently religious education. His time with the court shamans allowed him to gain a functional grasp of Tengriist customs and lore, as well as giving him the opportunity to become literate in the languages of other peoples.

Though the typical expectations of his people would be that he would have to ride a horse effectively during childhood, sources indicate that it took him longer than all of his brothers to ride comfortably. This also impeded his ability as an archer, hunter and general. According to Aurang, he would routinely scare away creatures intended to be hunted by his clumsiness in his childhood.

Though his father was not overly close to him, he did afford him a significant degree of protection and favour in his court. This however would come to an abrupt end upon his fathers death in 802 aged 13.

Kurultay of 802
Following the death of Dogan The Wall, a Kurultay was held in the clan encampment. The elector clans withdrew from the campaign against the Bajanids to participate in the election of a new Khagan. Despite his youth and inexperience, Togtekin put his name forward alongside his much more favoured elder half-brother Tugrul. The Kurultay refused to elect either, choosing instead to elect Alp Arslan The Wolf who would go on to recover a significant portion of the lands lost by the two previous Khagan's.

The precise nature of the rejection is known to have soured relations between both Tugrul and Togtekin with their brother. Though due to the nature of the Kurultay both were required to be civil and work with their hated half-brother.

Besides the completion of his education, little is known about what Togtekin did in the intervening 30 years between the Kurultay and his eventually rise to the throne. Aurang noted that he was not married until the death of the presumptive heir Tugrul, placing him in line for the role of Khagan. He married Bozcin of the Kimak, from the same clan as his half-brothers wife. From what is known about Togtekin from before his reign, he was considered an unworthy and incompetent individual by many of the Khagan's court, though the two clans who made up a significant portion of the Kurultay, the Tigin and the Tugrul clans, both had strong relations with him. It is speculated that despite his relative weakness as a ruler, he won over a lot of supporters by entertaining them with festivals and parties. A reflection of his consistently charitable nature.

Kurultay of 832, Reign and Death
Following the death of his half-brother from complications due to syphilis, an emergency Kurultay was called. Unlike previous Kurultay's called on campaign, the clans were assembled in one place and chose to elect Togtekin as the Khagan. This was despite strong opposition from his elder brother Caka, who was rejected to his physical fragility and his ambitious nephew and son of Alp Arslan, Sokmen who was considered to have achieved too little to take up the mantle of ruler. This strong opposition brought out a strong paranoia in the Khagan, who often flew into fits of rage whenever he suspected a member of his own clan of conspiring against him. It was noted that he would often seal himself within his yurt for days, caring little about his appearance, a quirk that was often a product of his relative laziness rather than just his paranoia.

One of his first acts was to reorganise his court to allow for his preferred heir, his nephew Kutay to assume a role in court as his administrator, as well as his half-sister the famous shield-maiden Nur as his martial continuing in the tradition of his half-brother in allowing women a role in the military. He withdrew his horde after the successful sacking of Turgay and began the process of winning the trust of the other clans.

His first significant act was to declare war on the Bashkir's who were suffering from internal turmoil in order to claim new grazing land. Despite initially prosecuting the war successfully, winning many skirmishes against the divided Bashkirs. During this time, he was visited by the Islamic missionary Kure, who he imprisoned in order to prevent the division of his society by new religious ideas.

According to Aurang, the Khagan's health began to fail at the beginning of 833, despite only being aged 44. It is speculated that his failing health and a desire to leave a legacy motivated his desire to continue the war with the Bashkirs despite being severely outnumbered upon the entry of the Khazar's on the side of the Bashkir Khaganate. Upon news of the entry of the Khazar's 4000 strong army, outnumbering his own 2000 into his territory his health failed decisively resulting in his death aged 44.