Alp-Tegin

Alp-Tegin, (Persian: الپتگین‎‎; Alp Tegīn, Turkic for brave prince) sometimes spelled as Alptigin, was a Turkic slave commander of the Samanid Empire, who would later become the semi-independent governor of Ghazna from 962 until his death in 963.

Before becoming governor of Ghazni, Alp-Tegin was the commander-in-chief (sipahsalar) of the Samanid army in Khorasan. In a political fallout over succession of the Samanids he crossed the Hindu Kush mountains southward and captured Ghazna, located strategically between Kabul and Kandahar in present-day Afghanistan, and thereby establishing his own principality, which, however, was still under Samanid authority. He was succeeded by his son, Abu Ishaq Ibrahim.

Biography

Alp-Tegin was originally part of the nomadic Turks that roamed the steppes, but was later captured and brought as a slave to the Samanid capital of Bukhara. During the reign of Nuh I (r. 943–954), Alp-Tegin was appointed as the head of the royal guard (hajib al-hujjab). During the reign of Nuh's son and successor Abd al-Malik I (r. 954-961), Alp-Tegin was appointed as the governor of Balkh, and by 961 he was the commander-in-chief (sipahsalar) of the Samanid army in Khorasan, thus succeeding Abu Mansur Muhammad. Alp-Tegin also played a major role in the appointment of Muhammad Bal'ami as vizier.