[1] Toghrul started his service as a ghulam of Sultan Mahmud and by the reign of Abd al-Rashid had risen to commander in chief of the army.
Abu n-Nasr was taken back to Ghazna and later exchanged for a son of the Ghaznavid vizier, Ahmed Hasan Maimandi.
[2] Toghrul led an army against Alp Arslan and won a victory at Hupyan in the Hindu Kush during the winter of 1051.
He besieged the fortress of Taq and held it under siege for a month, defeating a Seljuq relief army, commanded by Payghu.
[5] With Ghazna under his control, Toghrul sent letters to the ghulam general Kirghiz, commander of the Ghaznavid forces in India, seeking his support.