[1] However, during the reign of his son and successor, Muhammad Jahan Pahlavan (r. 1175–1186), the dynasty was weakened and lost many of its territories, retaining only control of Azerbaijan and Arran.

[1] Qizil Arslan ascended the throne in 1186 after Jahan Pahlavan's death, and assumed the title of al-Malik al-Mu'azzam ("the respected king").

[1] However, Qizil Arslan immediately came in a conflict with a faction under the leadership of Jahan Pahlavan's widow Inanj Khatun who supported their two sons.

Meanwhile, the Seljuk sultan Toghrul III (r. 1176-1194), who had been a mere figurehead under Jahan Pahlavan, freed himself from the grip of the Eldiguzids and withstood them until he was seized by Qizil Arslan's men in 1190, and shortly afterwards imprisoned.

Even Shirvanshah Akhsitan I who used to be Atabegs’ liegeman attempted to intervene the interior affairs of the Eldiguzids and opposed Qizil Arslan's aspiration to the throne.