Zahir ad-Din Toghtekin had been a junior officer to Tutush I, Seljuq ruler of Damascus and Syria.

After the former's death in 1095, civil war had erupted, and Toghtekin had supported Tutush's son Duqaq as emir of the city against Radwan, the emir of Aleppo.

In the chaos of the ensuing years, Toghtekin had been sent to reconquer the town of Jebleh, which had rebelled against the qadi of Tripoli, but he was unable to accomplish his task.

When the Crusader army appeared at the gates of Antioch on October 21, 1097, the local emir, Yaghi-Siyan, though nominally under Radwan's suzerainty, had appealed to Duqaq to send an armed force to their rescue.

Duqaq had sent Toghtekin, but on December 31, 1097, he was defeated by Bohemond of Taranto and Robert II of Flanders, and was forced to retreat.

Another relief attempt had been made by a joint force under Kerbogha, the emir of Mosul, and Toghtekin, which was also crushed by the Crusaders on June 28, 1098.

When the Crusaders moved southwards from the newly conquered Antioch, the qadi of Jebleh had sold his town to Duqaq, who had installed Toghtekin's son, Taj al-Muluk Buri, as its ruler.

His tyrannical rule, however, led to his quick downfall.

In 1103, Toghtekin is sent by Duqaq to take possession of Homs at the request of its inhabitants, after the assassination of the emir Janah al-Dawla by order of Radwan.