Eldiguz eventually married Mu’mina Khatun, the widow of Toghril II, and his sons Nusrat al-Din Muhammad Pahlavan and Qizil Arslan Uthman were thus half-brothers of Arslan Shah, but despite close ties with the Royal Seljuk house, Eldiguz had remain aloof of the royal politics,[3] concentrating on repelling the Georgians and consolidating his power.

His vassals included feudal lords of Shriven, Ahlat, and Arzan-ar-Rum[3] Arslan Shah lived in Hamadan, he was looked after by his younger half-brothers, and fathered Toghril, in 1168.

[13] After death of Eldiguz in 1175, his son Nusrat al-Din Muhammad Pahlavan continued the same policy towards his half-brother Sultan Arslan Shah II, and he shifted his capital from Nakhchivan to Hamadan in western Iran.

[14] Arslan Shah resented domination of the Eldiguzids, and he raised an army with the help of discounted Amirs and marched towards Azerbaijan to confront his half-brother, but at Zinjan, he died suddenly at the age of 43, maybe a victim of poisoning, and the seven year old Toghrul III was installed as Sultan at Hamadan, Jahan Pahlvan then defeated the attempt of Muhammad, the elder brother of Arslan Shah, to dethrone his nephew.

[22] Qizil Arslan had declared Sanjar b. Suleiman-Shah as the Seljuk Sultan of Iraq, and reinforced by troops sent by the Caliph now invaded Hamadan, Toghrul, unable to resist the invasion, first retreated to Isphahan,[23] then to Urmia.

[16] He was joined by an army led by his brother in law Hasan Kipchiq, and Toghrul also tried to get help from the Ayyubids and the Caliph, even sent his infant son as hostage to Baghdad in a futile gesture.

Toghrul occupied Hamadan, secured the treasury and came to rule over Isphahan and Jibal, but did not attempt to negotiate an agreement with Abu Bakr, against Qutlug Innach.

Toghrul felt threatened with the presence of a hostile force in Rey, which was a strategic town commanding communication with Jibal and Azerbaijan was unacceptable to the Sultan.

[31] The Sultan discussed the proposal with his commanders, who wished to make peace, or at least wait for the reinforcements coming from Zanjan and Isfahan to bolster the army before engaging the enemy.

[31] Shah Ala ad-Din Tekish sent Toghrul's head to the Caliph Al-Nasir who displayed it at the Nubi Gate in front of his palace, while his body was hanged at Rey.

[34] Toghrul was seven years old when he came to the throne, and being disgruntled with the harsh treatment of Qizil Arslan, availed the first opportunity at the age of 19 to break the Eldiguzid shackles and become the first Seljuk ruler after Sultan Muhammad II ibn Mahmud[3] who tried to assert direct rule over his domain.

His resources were limited to the Amirs who rallied to him, the domain Jibal was comparatively poor, and the Atabegs of Fars and Yazd, nominally loyal to the throne, never came to his aid.

While some hold him as a noble, virtuous warrior, possessing the spirit of his great ancestors,[9] struggling against impossible odds, others had painted him as "rash, wilful, proud and bloodthirsty".

Malik Berqyaruq and his brother Alp Arslan[38] were taken as hostages to Gurganj, and they were executed on the order of Terken Khatun, mother of Shah Ala ad-Din Muhammad II in 1220 to prevent their falling in the hands of the Mongols.