had the chance to negotiate with the Atabeg of Yazd, Langar ibn Wardanruz, or the Salghurid ruler of Fars, Degle ibn Zangi, both were nominally loyal to the Seljuks but no initiatives were taken to unite against their common enemy. Breaking of Truce and War declaration of Tekish and al-Nasir 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. The Sultan marched towards Rey with his available forces in March 1193, defeated and killed Tamghach, captured Rey and drove out the Khrarizmian forces from the province. Toghrul III next married Innach Khatun, mother of Qutlug Innach and Amirin Umar, as part of the peace agreement on her request, however, she was executed after the discovery of a plot to poison the Sultan. The Sultan returned to Hamadan, Qutlug Innach fled to Zanjan, from where he sent messages to Tekish, and al-Nasir also asked the Tekish to move against Toghrul. Toghrul again moved east in 1194 and defeated Qutlug Innach in battle despite the presence of 7,000 Khwarazmian troops aiding Qutlug Innach. Qutlug Innach and other survivors moved east and joined up with the main Khwarizmian army led by Shah Tekish at Semnan. Tughril was defeated in the battle of Ray by Tekish with the help of al-Nasir. Ala ad-Din Tekish sent Toghrul's head to al-Nasir who displayed it at the Nubi Gate in front of his palace, while his body was hanged at Rey. His Rejection of Khwarezmid's claim By 1217, Muhammad had conquered all the lands from the river Jaxartes to the Gulf. He declared himself shah and demanded formal recognition from the caliph. When the caliph al-Nasir rejected his claim, Ala ad-Din Muhammad gathered an army and marched towards Baghdad to depose al-Nasir. However, when crossing the Zagros Mountains, the shah's army was caught in a blizzard. Thousands of warriors died. With the army decimated, the generals had no choice but to return home. Death Al-Nasir spent his last three years paralysed and nearly blind. He suffered from dysentery for twenty days and then died. He was succeeded by his son al-Zahir in the year 1225 as the thirty-fifth Abbasid caliph. His son ruled for a short period, al-Zahir lowered the taxes, and built a strong army to resist invasions. He died on 10 July 1226, nine months after