Enthroned figure usually identified as the last sultan of the Seljuk Empire, Tughril III (r. 1176–1194), from Rayy, Iran. Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Tughrul III ibn Arslan (also spelled Tuğrul, Toghroul, or Toghrul) was the last Seljuk sultan of Persia, son of Mu'izz ad-Din Arslan, whom he succeeded in 1175 or 1176. In 1190, after attempting to free himself from the guardianship of the atabeg of Azerbaijan, Qizil Arslan, he was overthrown and imprisoned by the latter, who then proclaimed himself sultan. The usurper was assassinated the following year, and Tughrul regained his throne. On March 25, 1194, he was defeated and killed near Rayy in the war he had recklessly launched against the Khwarezmian shah Ala ad-Din Tekish. His head was sent to the Abbasid caliph An-Nasir, who displayed it in front of his palace in Baghdad. The Seljuk sultanate of Persia thus came to an end.
